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JohnTee

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Everything posted by JohnTee

  1. Hi capers19, Give this a try . . . Download the latest Garmin Communicator Plugin and install it. Connect your eTrex to your PC with the serial cable. Turn your GPS on. Go to a cache page description and click on the "Send to GPS" button just below the coordinates. This should send the GCxxxxxx name and coordinates to your GPS. Cache On! JohnTee
  2. If you have a Palm and use HotSync, HotSync often does not 'play nice' with Com Ports and other devices . . . Cache On! JohnTee
  3. Man, I love reading the forums for idea! Cache On! JohnTee
  4. The blue eTrex Legend is a great little unit . . . however, if you're buying new, you can get an 'H' series model for just a little bit more and get a considerable jump in accuracy. Cache On! JohnTee
  5. Dohh, just re-read to the bottom of the Garmin Vista HCx total ascent computed incorrectly thread and looks like it's getting discussed there. Might as well close this thread. Cache On! JohnTee
  6. Has anyone had time to play with the new v2.60 Software changes for the Legend HCx/Vista HCx? Looks as if they have addressed the 'screen fading issue in cold temperature' and 'total ascent calculation', among others. Cache On! JohnTee Changes from version 2.50 to version 2.60: Correct German translation of 'delete all waypoints'. Fix data card unlock failure when 2 cards of the same map set are used in one device. Improve sun times for polar regions. Fix issue where ETA in non motor vehicle modes can be unreasonably short. Increase precision of distance measurement to the cursor on the map page. Allow backlight adjustment on the track back point selection page. Fix shutdown when editing Estonian Grid coordinates. Correct daylight saving time for New Zealand. Improve selection of the names of cross roads with NT maps. Correct potential shutdown when viewing a vertical profile. Correct European word translation of 'Find' and 'Mark'. Support multiple languages in American version. Fix screen fading issue in cold temperature. Correct total ascent calculation. Correct direction symbol of vertical speed. Fix reboot issue of GPS firmware update. Correct battery issue of lithium battery.
  7. Great work Tom! There's been a LOT of speculation on WAAS, compass and power useage and it's nice to have a definitive answer on this subject. Keep up the good work and we'll keep you on another week! Cache On! JohnTee
  8. Hi Randyredneck, A geocaching friend of mine recently sold his Magellan and bought a Garmin 60CSx. He's bit techno-illiterate (tends not to RTFM - Read the Fine Manual), so is still finding features of his unit. He was not happy with the accuracy of his Magellan; I can't recall which model it was. The 60CSx is probably the quintessential Garmin machine for geocaching. My dad also has one and is very happy with it. It has the QuadraHelix antenna, which gives it very good accuracy (versus the high sensitivity chip in the Garmin 'H' line). Unless you get a package deal, it only comes with a base map, which only shows major highways. It operates very differently from the Magellan, so you will have an adjustment to make there. I think my friend complains that the buttons are not lit up. I've found Garmins fairly easy to use; my first was a Lowrance Ifinder Go2, which did not seem to be very user friendly. It has a geocaching mode which is kind of fun to use. It takes a Micro SD card, so you will have to change up. Maps can be bought on Micro SD Card or CD-ROM. There are advantages both ways and depends on your preferences. You might do a search in the forums. With the Garmin POI loader, you can load thousands and thousands of caches to a Micro SD card as POI's (Points of Interest). You can load up to a thousand to the on-board memory, most easily with a program like GSAK or EasyGPS. Apparently the Magellan would allow you to drag and drop a GPX file to it and display the cache name? My friend likes having the cache name on the screen. I'm paperless and use the GCxxxxxx name everywhere. With the Garmin you can display limited characters on the screen (uh, mind blank, 8-10?). So I display the GCxxxxxx name and use GSAK to send the hint to the available 30 characters of the geocache description. Using GSAK you could also send the cache Name, terrain, difficulty, date of last log, etc., you preference, within 30 characters. That's all I know! Well, not really, but hope it helps a little bit. Cache On! JohnTee
  9. Hi bikehead, As mentioned above, a common problem with the eTrex Legend is a loose ribbon connector. If this is an older unit, you may want to pursue the DIY option. Or, whack the side on the palm of your hand. If it's still under warranty, send it back. I'm not clear on which problem/problems you are having . . . one other known issue is the unit shutting down in mid-use and showing a thin vertical, black line. You usually have to remove the batteries, reinstall and it comes back on fine. This is a known software issue when WAAS is enabled. In the short term, it can be remedied by going into setup and turning WAAS off. Garmin is aware of the issue and is supposed to be working on a software update. When mine was having display issues that were probably related to the ribbon connector, it would show a faded/ghosted display, I would see horizontal faded bars across the entire screen or something like a checkerboard pattern across the entire screen. In addition to the display issues and the WAAS issues, mine also had the 'rubber band' around the case coming loose. I contacted Garmin Tech Support (who told me about the WAAS problem) with a hope that they might just honor 'known' problems out of warranty. They ended up replacing mine with a newly refurbished unit for $40; they said that is normally $80. Cache On! JohnTee
  10. Hi Jac, You've really got a very good basic unit that will work great for geocaching. Once you get into things a little bit, it even has a geocaching mode. To enter coordinates at the most basic: There will be a button you can push and hold to 'mark current position' or 'man overboard'. The eTrexH is a little different than my eTrex Legend or eTrex Vista HCx, so I can't point out the specific button. It will open up a page you can navigate through and change things like the waypoint name and edit the coordinates. Edit the name to the GCxxxxxx name and change the coordinates to those found on the GC page description. If yours came with a USB cable and a disc . . . Install the USB drivers from the disc. Connect your GPS to your PC with the USB cable. Go to a GC (Geocaching.com) cache description page. Click on the button that says, "Send to GPS". That will, first time, take you to a Garmin site where you can download the Garmin Communicator Plugin. From now on, when you click on, "Send to GPS", the info will be sent straight to your GPS. Have fun. Cache On! JohnTee
  11. Not sure if this will help you or not . . . Map Multiple Locations by Address Cache On! JohnTee
  12. That's just wrong! I'm going 'round in circles . . . Cache On! JohnTee
  13. Location, location,location . . . When I was a relatively new cacher, and eager to place my first cache, I came up with plans for a great cache! I was going to take cachers through a nearby subdivsion, where they would get numbers from mailboxes at different waypoints to build the final coordinates. Cache was going to be located in a big white pine on six acres that I own. I learned how to average coordinates and shot multiple sets, different days and different times of day for that pine. Before I actually placed and listed it, I found more caches and read more in the forums. I finally GROKed that there was nothing of interest in the nearby subdivision that warranted dragging cachers through them to get those numbers. Ultimately, this subdivision ended up being a gated area, which would have posed problems! Not to mention making homeowners uncomfortable with strangers nosing around and cachers uncomfortable doing the nosing. Also, there would really have been little of interest to drag people out to search my white pine for an ammo box, other than a smiley. It would have been a well-intentioned cache, but poorly implemented. I'm glad I never did it. I have not enjoyed caches in residential areas. As mentioned above, take cachers someplace interesting; historical, fantastic view or a cleverly implemented cache. So, do give back and place a cache, and try to make it a good quality cache. Cache On! JohnTee
  14. Not mentioned yet, so I'll jump in on your paperless quest . . . Your Premium Membership will allow you to build Pocket Queries. They look complicated at first, but are a very powerful tool on the website. You can choose which types of caches you want to download, sorted by a tremendous number of variables, up to 500 caches for an area. That can be centered around your home coordinates, your zip code, or any other zip code. An advanced feature allows you to build a Pocket Query to find 'Caches along a Route'. By downloading the POI loader you can send GPX files to your Garmin GPS if you have a storage card. You can do something similar with Magellans. Several programs will allow you to manipulate the PQ (Pocket Query). As mentioned above, I use and like GSAK (Geocaching Swiss Army Knife) on my PC and CacheMate on my PDA. You can send caches to your GPS with GSAK and send full descriptions (sans pictures) to your PDA. Paperless!!!! Cache On! JohnTee
  15. Hmmmm, DeLorme's Street Atlas has a PDA map feature. I played with it and downloaded the St. Louis streets to my Palm. Zoomed in to nice detail. I've uninstalled it, so can't answer about the ability to accept coordinates . . . Cache On! JohnTee
  16. There aint no such animal! Would that I could make such a complaint. Within 15 miles of my house there are a total of 87 caches (For some of those, you have to make up to a 50 mile round trip), and I own 28 of them. I'd love to have your cache diversity!!! Cache On! JohnTee
  17. Lord Elph, You do fine work! Have you considered, or is it possible, to create a Greasemonkey Script that would work in 'View New Posts' and allow you to ignore either specific threads or entire forums? I've installed your recent script, which worked in regular forum views. However, they are all back when I'm in 'View New Posts'. Thanks for all you do! JohnTee
  18. Destrin, A lot depends on what your budget is. You would certainly do well with any of the Garmin eTrex H Series. As you get into the upper end of the eTrex H Series you start getting into mapping/routing capbability, which, owning a Tom Tom, you probably don't need. They don't come with maps, unless you get it as a package. Another very popular Garmin is the Map 60CSx. The 'H' Series have a 'patch' antenna with a High Sensitivity Chip while the Map60 has a QuadraHelix Antenna; both seem to be comparable in performance. The newer Garmins have a geocaching feature, which won't help you find caches any better than any other GPS, but can be a nice feature. Cache On! JohnTee
  19. Hi pli, I experienced what I believe is the exact same failure a while back. I uninstalled the custom geocaching symbols and the problem went away. Something is not playing nicely there. Here's the message thread I had for my problem. Cache On! JohnTee
  20. Hi Sprout703, Looks like you were ordering the Serial Cable from eBay. So, sounds like your blue eTrex Legend did not come with a serial cable. If you have a serial port on your PC, you're in good shape and can connect directly to your PC. You will have some COM PORT set up to do. The Legend has not been supplied with a USB cable, so if all you have is USB ports, you need a USB/Serial adapter. Those can work seamlessly or can require some COM PORT set up. I used my eTrex Legend with a serial cable, USB/Serial Adapter and GSAK or M$ Streets and Trips for almost two years with great results. Used my laptop as a moving map, interfaced with my Legend. Post here again if you have problems with setup. Cache On! JohnTee
  21. Why, you are quite welcome, JenksFam! Hope you and your kids had a good day. Cache On! JohnTee
  22. Hi JenksFam, Just like coggins said, it's very easy. Go to http://www8.garmin.com/support/agree.jsp?id=3607 and download the Garmin Communicator Plugin. Run it. Connect your GPS to your PC by USB cable. Go to any cache page description and click the "Send to GPS" button. Now, there are ways to send up 1000 waypoints to your GPS at a time . . . but that's a later lesson. Cache On! JohnTee
  23. This recent 'Found' smiley on one of my caches . . . "Found area but not the cache. Thanks for bringing us here to learn history." The experienced (300 some odd caches) geocacher logged it as a find. I wonder if he would accept that for one of his own??? Maybe I'll stop by and log one, "Looked at your cache page in Google Satellite. Found area, but not the cache. Thanks for the cache." Cache On! JohnTee
  24. Hi gullyh, I have found that, in the woods, following the compass tends to bounce me around quite a bit. I've started popping over the map view, which I always used with my eTrex Legend, to get close instead. The map view does not seem to bounce as bad. I like my Vista HCx, there may still be some ironing out to do. Cache On! JohnTee
  25. Check out this link . . . Garmin: What is WAAS? Using WAAS will improve your accuracy . . . if you have a clear view of the satellites close to the horizon that send out the corrected signal. So, if you're in relatively flat terrain, it will improve your accuracy. If you're in hilly terrain and just seeing the satellites overhead, WAAS will not help and may even hinder you. I don't have any links to support this . . . however, I was recently caching with my eTrex Legend, WAAS turned on, in a hilly/ravine area. It would lead me 70' in one direction, then then 100' in another, searching for GZ (Ground Zero). I spent half an hour searching until I finally turned WAAS off and went almost straight to the cache. Cache On! JohnTee
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