stantastic

I would really like to see fully interactive maps which allow me to make cache selections for creating a PQ. You see the caches on the map, then just click and drag either a rectangle, a circle, a line, or create a multi-sided polygon. All the caches within those areas, or along the line if it's a line (and within your specified distance from the line), are included in the PQ. There would be the same filters that are currently used in PQs (disabled, found, not found, difficult, terrain, type of cache, blah, blah, blah, etc.) Add to that the ability to make multiple selections on the map at the same time (a circle here, a rectangle there, a line here), and it would be SIMPLE to choose any area or route that you'd like to use. Click-and-drag, click-and-drag. Also include what is now part of GSAK v8.0 -- the ability to exclude caches already found by multiple cachers in a group (so everyone would be searching for caches that are NEW for everyone, not just for some). This is the 21st century! We sent men to the moon. This CAN be done -- can't it?

I was just reading through the FAQ's and on my Venture Cx I can input 14 character waypoint names, using its interface, not GSAK. FWIW Hermit I only have access to my 60CS which allows for a max of 10 characters in the waypoint name. I have a friend who has a 60CSx which allows for 14 characters, but she doesn't use GSAK. Can you NOT enter "14" in the maximum characters field for the waypoint name during an export using GSAK and get it to transfer to your Vista Cx? Since I can't try it here, I don't know if it works or not -- you'd think it would, though. Have you tried it?

I've been out with 3 geocaching friends and we managed to do 131 in a day up in San Jose -- that was a record we set in California a few years ago. That was beat within a few weeks by another group. And it was easily surpassed some months ago by another cacher who managed to rack up over 200 in a day. It takes A LOT of route planning before you even leave your house. NO Multi's. NO puzzle caches unless they are already solved and the coords are confirmed previously by e-mail with the cache owner. NO trinket trading (no spending time rummaging through the cache looking for anything to trade). NO signing the logbook unless you HAVE TO because of its size -- otherwise, we print up lots and lots of stickers and just slap them on the log book. It really is a whirlwind event -- get up early, start caching before sunup. Bring lots of car snacks. Maybe a QUICK stop for lunch somewhere -- but very quick. Same for dinner. We did our 131 starting at around 4:00 a.m., finished at midnight, and we wasted a good half hour on ONE particular cache where we refused to just say "let it go, man!" That hurt us. Even with route planning prior to the event, having an auto-routing GPS like the 60CS has proved time and time again to be one of the biggest advantages of getting around town. I went out the other day and after about 11 hours of caching we only could find 11. I can see maybe 15 but how in the world did you get 144? No life maybe.JK, there's no way, even if they are all placed say in the same park etc.

I'm also on Mac OS X 10.4.5 using Safari -- a very (VERY!) quick "old" map appears, then a gray square. I flipped over to Netscape 7.2 and THAT seems to work, but I'd really like to stay in Safari. Yep, I've got Firefox, and I've got IE as well. Wish these changes worked under ALL the browsers.

For geocaching -- maps and waypoints are loaded in the Garmin 60CS, and it is used for auto-routing to get to a cache (and maybe finding a place for lunch!) The geocaches themselves are loaded into a PDA and accessed through CacheMate. Once in a blue moon, if I know for some reason I might need a printout -- like some long-winded multi that might require a bunch of calculations, etc. -- THEN I'll print the page -- otherwise, totally paperless. For hiking and backpacking -- maps are loaded into the 60CS and used for all hiking, marking trails, creating tracks, etc., etc., etc. -- BUT -- we ALWAYS TAKE PRINTED MAPS and a compass. You never know when your GPS might die for some reason, even with good batteries. Take printed maps -- and a compass -- and KNOW how to use them!! Never rely on JUST a GPS alone (but, then again, it depends on YOU -- how familiar you are with where you're going, your skill levels, etc.)

What the...? I don't believe this!!! I've had my 60CS for a couple of years and I have NEVER been able to get a reading from my upstairs office at home -- NEVER, EVER, EVER. It never got a strong enough signal from any satellites at all, barely up to the first graph line, and even then only one satellite, maybe two at the most, and those would jump in and out. I just did the 4.10 firmware update and as soon as it was done, it grabbed 4 satellites within about 15 seconds and it has held strong for over 10 minutes. What the heck did Garmin do to my GPSr? Cool!!!!!! Now I'm just waiting for the Mac software to be released

Been away from these forums for a while, but wish I'd been here when Bubba Smiths started this thread, since I was having the same exact problems for the last few years and have a few answers/insights. As you already have read, VPC under Mac OS X WILL NOT WORK for transferring waypoints/tracks/routes/maps to your GPS60CS via a direct USB cable. It WILL work IF you use a USB-to-serial port adapter (e.g. Keyspan) (which is obviously a LOT slower). The older version of VPC (< v5.x ???) which runs under Mac OS 9.2.2 WILL transfer EVERYTHING to your GPS60CS via the USB cable (at a faster USB speed) as well as using the slower USB-to-serial port adapter. With this setup, I personally have had total success -- in fact, when I do any large map transfers or software updates, I usually switch over to OS 9 to do the work. Also, since VPC under OS 9 recognizes the 60CS's USB port, so does GSAK!! You CAN transfer waypoints from GSAK to the 60CS via the USB cable directly -- NO Keyspan adapter needed!! The ONLY maps that will load into the 60CS is Garmin's own proprietary Mapsource maps, which currently runs ONLY under Windows -- thus the need for VPC at the moment. As has been posted here, Garmin just made a press release that they WILL (finally!!!!!!!!!!) be supporting Mac users under OS X, but not until much later in the year. Still, a bunch of us have been complaining to Garmin for over 4 (count 'em -- FOUR) years that there IS a Mac user community out there. They finally woke up. But, we'll see it when we see it. For me, I "love" GSAK -- yeah, it costs a few bucks, but it's a LOT better than all those other freebie geocaching databases or waypoint transfer apps. What I don't think has been mentioned here is MacGPSBabel -- that is a FREE app that runs under OS X, and WILL transfer waypoints/routes/tracks FROM and TO the 60CS using the USB cable. It WILL NOT transfer maps. My procedure is this under OS X: unstuff my pocket queries to .gpx files, drag them over to the VPC window, start up GSAK, run a macro with a couple of clicks that converts EACH of the .gpx files to .mps (Mapsource) files (for the 60CS) AND .pdb files (for CacheMate on my Palm PDA), drag the resulting files out of VPC over to the Mac side, then sync the .pdb files to the PDA, and transfer the .mps files to the 60CS via MacGPSBabel -- total time for the whole thing is about 5 to 10 minute. I DESPISE VPC. I hate almost all Microsoft products. But I DO love GSAK, and I don't think Clyde is going to rewrite it for us Mac users, so that's the only way to go if you really want to use GSAK. Those people that have posted that apps such as MacGPSPro and such work with OS X and their 60CS's are correct -- they DO work -- but NOT if you want to connect directly with USB. You need a Keyspan (or similar) USB-to-serial adapter.

Well, if you do get ripped off and find that you need a lawyer for any reason -- you can always call either Allen Shore or Denny Crane. I heard they're really good...

Three years and at least five Garmin tech support calls later, hearing every single time that Garmin will NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, EVER support the Mac community, I finally read this. I'm ecstatic!! I'll believe it when I see it -- a press release does not a Mapsource OS X product make. But, hey, they said it. They wrote it. It'll be a great day for Mac/Garmin owners when it finally happens. I'll tip my hat to Garmin for finally seeing the light. Thanks, Garmin.

Doink!!! I shoulda just left well enough alone with your pre-programmed defaults. Sheesh... Thanks, Clyde

All righty -- one MORE question, now that I figured out the Waypoint Name field needs to have something in it in the export field... How do I export as a Cachemate PDB file BOTH the name of the cache AND the GC waypoint number so that it works the same as the "cmconvert" application? It must be tied to the Waypoint Name in the export dialog box, correct? Only, what do I enter? I used %name and got the full cache name (I asked for 31 characters -- that should be kosher, since it worked). But when I imported the file to my PDA, I see the "waypoint" reads the same as the name (only shortened). Out of cmconvert, I get both. When viewing the database on the PDA, I see the name AND the GC number in parens -- and CacheMate allows me to sort by either. On the "I" page, I see the name, and the GC number shown beside "Waypoint:" With cmconvert I get Name: Alhambra Urban Micro Eight-Oh Waypoint: GCXXXX using the exporter in GSAK I get Name: Alhambra Urban Micro Eight-Oh Waypoint Alhambra Urb I tried %name%code but that didn't work. Gimme a clue? Thanks, Stan

Okay -- doh!! Just answered my own question -- I figured it out!! Needed to specify just a tad more info in the Waypoint Name section of the CacheMate PDB export dialog box -- it doesn't like to be empty Whoopee...

Great job on the newest version, as usual, Clyde! But -- I've got a problem (occured in earlier versions of GSAK as well -- for me, anyway -- so it didn't just pop up in 6.5.0). Whenever I try to export a Cachemate .pdb file from the current database, GSAK does its magic, sends everything to GPSBabel UnderTheHood, and finishes with a dialog box that says "CmConvert: 1 waypoint converted. finish ok." And that's it. When I look at the .pdb file and load it into CacheMate, sure enough, I've got 1 waypoint. Only thing is, my database consisted of 300 waypoints!!! What happened to the other 299? Am I doing something wrong? Some setting somewhere? If I take the same .gpx file that I originally loaded into GSAK and run it through the standalone "cmconvert" application, everything works as expected. Help!?!?!? TIA, Stan

Not that it's perfect, mind you, but my Garmin 60CS surprises me all the time in treesy, woodsy areas where with my old B&W Vista I would loose signal all the time. I've gone on long hikes in our local mountains with lots of sporadic tree cover, and the 60CS seems to catch the signal "most" of the time. Again, it's not the be-all end-all of units, but the Quad Helix Antenna of the 60CS is pretty impressive when compared to the one in the Vista model. Just my two cents...

I've GOT Delorme Street Atlas 2006 Handheld, but do I USE IT? NO!!! My Garmin 60CS does SO MUCH MORE, and so much faster, that it puts SA2006H to shame. But, trying to give you a little idea -- I've got an area of downloaded maps for my local area consisting of about 10 miles by 15 miles in size -- according to my Tungsten E, it takes up about 1464K of memory. Delorme supplies a sample map of the Yarmouth area (where they are located) of about 5 miles by 7 miles, and it only takes up 153K. I suppose the more streets, locations, POI's, etc. for a particular area will influence the map size. There's a sample route given by Delorme that's about 1.5 miles long -- it takes up 792 bytes. The application itself (including its support files) takes up about 800K, from what I can gather. I have never been impressed with ANY of Delorme's products (just me, I suppose, a Mac guy who expects more) -- the interface is kind of clunky, entering waypoints/coordinates is a pain, and the autorouting feature is pathetically slow on my version of the Palm. Just to calculate from one location to another across town takes it at least a minute, if not more. My Garmin 60CS can calculate a route from my house to a remote location 400 miles away in about 5 to 7 seconds!! Still, if you want something cheap (what, about $40?) to play around with, I'd say give it a try -- it's your money. If you have NOTHING else, it'll probably do.

If that's the case, whether categories or separate databases (overkill, probably) were used, a record count would be really easy to find. For categories, there's a Record Count option in the Record menu of the list view, and the Select Database popup will give you a per-database record count. Just wondering if there was a more elegant way to know in the field what find a cache I was logging was. Present options are ether leave the cache "pages" go to the database list and do a "Record Count" then return to the cache "LOG" page or use a freeware counter program set to my "find" count, and use that program to keep track. Ether way is very doable. But as a future feature I would like to seer would be to add a field for a record count on the "Log" page that would increase by one every time you clicked on the "Found" check mark. I'm using a Zire 21, so I know of the space limitations. If you changed the line that says; Date of Hunt |XX/XX/XX| to Date |XX/XX/XX| #|XXXX| Ether updated by the database or just a manual counter, just something I would like to see. You may want to try what I set-up this past weekend for my first day of caching with CacheMate. First of all I made a new category called "Found Today". Then when in any cache's "log page" choose "view options" in the top pull-down menus. Checkmark "Set category" and choose "Found Today". Now when you log a cache as found it "moves" from whatever category you had it in to the found today category. A quick glance at this list will tell you how many and the names of your cache finds so far that day. Cheers, Olar What I have always wanted to see was something like an "autonumbering" ability when the "Found?" button is tapped on the (L)og page. In other words, click on "Found" and CacheMate moves the cache from whatever category you originally placed it in to the Found category, and then tacks on a number to the cache name, like "001-", "002-", "003-" and so on. Not only will the Find category show the number of caches you have found (by the added "cache number" at the beginning) but it will also keep them in "found order" for the day. When we go out for a geogeek day marathon (where we plan to hit perhaps 50 to 80+ caches in one day), we have the route pretty much figured out before we go. We know which caches we're going to hit. But before we head out, I manually add "000-" to the beginning of all the cache names. It makes it a bit easier to tap and select on the "000" characters and edit them while we're bouncing around in the car heading for the next cache (trying to get the cursor to sit just before the letter "I" if it's the first character of the cache name, for instance, is almost impossible in a moving car!!) Anyway, as we find the caches, I manually number them in sequential order -- when I get home, I have a record of the order we did them. I'm just that way, I guess. But if CacheMate could "autonumber" them for me as I find them, that would really be great.

I agree with that one -- although, it's too late for me We went to Germany a few months ago and I DID purchase the Europe City Select package -- lotsa bucks as you well know!! I would have been happy as a lark to pay a one-time "use fee" for the few weeks we were there. Although, I must add, it SURE did come in handy. We were travelling with friends in a fancy-shmancy rented Mercedes with a nav system (that only spoke German! -- and DID NOT use maps!!) -- but it couldn't FIND anything, particularly addresses. It could find a street, but not a number -- my 60CS turned out to save the day a few times, and kept us from driving miles (or should I say kilometers) out of the way. One small factor I considered is that the streets in Europe don't change as often as those in the US (especially in the very old and well-established large cities and town) -- some "suburbs" or slowly being developed for housing, etc. -- but in the mainstream, old towns like Dusseldorf and Wismar and Bergen and Koln -- nothing changes "that" much to warrant any upgrade, at least in my lifetime. Still, the Europe package is waaaay overpriced!!!

Thanks, Robert -- but it's the "go nuts" part that GSAK enables me to do that Babel itself will not (at least not easily) -- considering what I'm doing, and the short amount of time it takes, I'm happy that I can do what I want to do. Now, if I could just upload mapsets into the 60CS using the USB cable under OS X...

Hi, tumbleweed2 -- I'm running OS X 10.4.2 on an older Mac G4 450 Mhz dual-processor desktop model. Back when I was running OS 9.2.2, my Garmin 60CS worked fine USING THE USB cable directly!! But, to clarify, everything was being up/down loaded under VPC (Virtual PC 4), a Windows emulator -- Garmin REFUSES to support the Mac in any way, shape or form. Having the 60CS (and using it for caching) just BEGS for you to purchase the MapSource software for street maps (City Select and/or Topo) -- but it ONLY runs under Windows, so on a Mac, you MUST use an emulator, and that ain't cheap. For geocaching, the only REALLY GREAT application is GSAK (Geocaching Swiss Army Knife). That, fortunately, IS INEXPENSIVE and worth every dollar -- BUT, it too only works under Windows. I've got a Palm-based PDA, and going paperless for caching has its merits -- for that, CacheMate wins hands down. When I transitioned from OS 9.2.2 to OS X, everything went to hell in a handbasket. I still wanted to connect the 60CS to the Mac USING THE USB CABLE, but nothing seemed to work. I needed to upgrade VPC to run on OS X, so there was another big expense. Transferring maps to the 60CS from MapSource and waypoints from .gpx files out of geocaching.com could be done using the Keyspan USB-to-serial port adapter, but it was pathetically slow. Finally -- FINALLY -- Garmin's latest firmware release seemed to do the trick -- partially. VPC still WILL NOT communicate with the 60CS using direct USB -- but MacGPSBabel DOES!! So, here's my routine -- and it has become very simple: generate a .gpx file from geocaching.com using a Pocket Query. Run VPC to get into Windows emulator mode. Drag and drop the .gpx file from the Mac side to VPC and run it through GSAK and export the file in two file formats -- 1) as a CacheMate .pdb file for my PDA and 2) as a Garmin MapSource file for my 60CS. Drag and drop both back over to the Mac side. Now I sync the .pdb file with my PDA and load that into CacheMate on the Palm. And I use MacGPSBabel to download the Garmin MapSource file to my GPS -- again, USING THE USB cable only -- no Keyspan adapter needed!! Only problem that STILL exists is transferring MAPS from MapSource to the 60CS. To use USB, I have to switch back to OS 9.2.2 and do it all under VPC 4 -- otherwise, I could stay in OS X and use the serial port, but it takes almost 3 hours for a complete 56MB map transfer. Anyway, to sum it all up -- it CAN be done!!

I'd imagine if it was STILL UNDER WARRANTY that it would be covered. Of course you'd have to give up the unit until it was returned My power button is doing fine, but all of the other buttons are losing the rubber "coating" that appears to be on them. When I go out caching and start digging and scratching in the dirt and in holes and nooks and crannies and crevices, all that gunk gets on my hands and then onto the buttons of my 60CS. Wear and tear is starting to make the coating flake off (although I can still read what's printed on the buttons). It's starting to look like it's getting over a bad sunburn...

Thanks, guys!! Keeping the Country field blank did the trick. Guess I'll be waiting for the MapSource update. At least Garmin admits there's a problem...

I was using the 6.6.2 beta version of MapSource since it got released and have had no problems with it. I saw that Garmin released MapSource 6.7 on Aug 2, 2005 and I downloaded and installed it today. OS is Windows XP Home. When I do a "Find -> Find Places..." menu command it ALWAYS crashes with an application error AFTER I enter the find options and click "Find," no matter whether I choose "City," "Feature," "Address," or "Intersection.". When I try the "Find -> Find Nearest Places..." menu command, it appears to work (but of course I can't find an address). I even tried uploading the nRoute software to experiment with that. I get the same results for each of the Find menu options as I do in MapSource. Is anybody else experiencing this problem? I tried calling Garmin's Tech Support today, but with a 40 minute wait time, I gave up.

It's the xImage software you are referring to, but according to the website, the 60CS splash screen is NOT supported -- you can create your own waypoint symbols, though. Check out http://www.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=545 for more details.

Tried this option and it worked -- when exporting as a Mapsource file from GSAK, it allows you to easily select the icons for Not Found (e.g., Navaid Red in my case, along with Blue and Green for two other databases). (Can do the same exporting as GPX XML output but have to set up the GPS Export dialog box beforehand -- and as discussed, MacGPSBabel seems to cough up those "other" symbols for multi's, virts, etc. when it uploads to the GPSr). Anyway, I dragged the files exported as Mapsource.mps files to the Mac OS X side, ran MacGPSBabel, and pumped all 900 waypoints into the 60CS in about 5 seconds -- and all the symbols stuck -- just like I wanted!! Cache names came across as I expected. Cool... Thanks, Robert :-)

Looks like I have some experimenting to do :-)