wiredcur

First... the easy question. Is there a way to search the TB database for the purpose of finding if others have implemented a similar idea? I was trying to find out if anybody had tried my idea yet but was stumped on how to search the TB dB. Is it possible? Anyway... on to the idea. Way back in 1986 (i think) the US National Park Service created a National Park Passport. It's a very nice booklet and map that has places for cancellation stamps. The stamps are simple round stamps stating the name of the Park/Site/Trail/etc and the date. My friend and I were thinking that this would be an awesome idea for a TB. Granted, caches aren't allowed in National Parks (from what I remember) but that shouldn't stop the hearty cacher from visiting a cache or two and a national landmark as well. The goal being to get a cancellation stamp from every National Park. Anyone done this already? Thanks Tim

Just to make sure I'm getting the conversion right. The max draw you've ever seen was 100 milliAmps or 0.1 Amps? So then would a 2 Amp fuse allow a dangerous amount of power through?

My last post asked about proper voltage for a GPSmap 60C. Now I'm wondering about the correct fuse to put in line. I ordered a hard wire kit for my motorcycle and it came with a 2 Amp fuse. However the diagram on page 77 of the owner's manual shows only a 1/2 Amp fuse. Has anyone any idea if 1/2 Amp is big enough or if 2 Amps is too big? Thanks again

I've got the GPSmap 60C. (note to myself: Proofread, Proofread, Proofread)

The owner's manual states that the power source can be either two 1.5V AA batteries (3VDC) or a 12V Adapter Cable or up to a 36 VDC external power. I guess I'm a little confused by the 12V Adapter Cable versus the 36VDC external power. Does the 12V Adapter mean an AC-to-DC power brick that's output is 12VDC? But then does the "up to 36VDC external power" mean that I could chain four 9V batteries together serially and use that as a power source for the GPS? Thanks Tim VanVranken

I've got a friend whose eyesight, while not being horrible, doesn't let him read the small print on the GPS. This is primarily on the map screen and I know you can zoom. But I was wondering if any manufactur out there is making large display GPSr. I'm talking on the order of 5"x7" or larger. I might be to the point of suggesting a tablet PC with a GPSr PC Card except that it's going to be mounted on a motorcycle. Brand isn't important so even commercial units might be acceptable. Thanks Tim

Unless I'm using the wrong function on the 60c, the GPSr doesn't keep the same route as what's done in NA CitySelect v5. Any ideas?

Can someone please explain the difference between the following four items... 1. MapSource - U.S. Roads & Recreation 2. MapSource - City Select North America v5 3. MapSource - Trip & Waypoint Management (packaged with GPSMAP 60C) 4. The base map on the GPSMAP 60C I mainly want to make sure I'm not getting duplicate data either between the US R&R maps and the City Select or the US R&R and the map that is packaged with the 60c. Thanks Tim

Chiming in on the ExpertGPS side. I'll preface this by saying that I've not used OziExplorer at all so I can't compare the features. I find ExpertGPS great for Caching and other GPS activities. A few of the features that you get when you buy ExpertGPS (vs. using the free EasyGPS) is the ability to download various scales of topomaps and aerial imagry. You can also calibrate your own scanned maps and use them as well. For a little bit more, you can get the code to unlock the ArcInfo Shapefile export capability. Hope this helps in your decision. FINALLY!!! Something useful I can do with that Geography degree. :-D

PaulAg ... Yes, if you have one of the "Digita 1.5" compatible cameras I listed in a previous post. FINALLY!!! Something useful I can do with that Geography degree. :-D

GeckoGeek.... What did you use to recover that data? I've just really learn about EXIF within the last week and don't know how to get at the data. FINALLY!!! Something useful I can do with that Geography degree. :-D

I know for certain that the DC290 works since that's the camera 'Dad and the Dynamic Duo' uses. I think he's messing with the script to get the watermark he's looking for. At this point, I can only assume that the HP/Pentax camera I listed in a previous thread will have the same functionality. And as far as being Digita 1.5 compatible, only the Kodak DC290, the HP PhotoSmart C500, 618 and 912 and the Pentax EI-200 and EI-2000 are compatible. I am personally looking at the HP PhotoSmart 912. I think this camera is the most recent camera produced. There is also the issue of a the necessary cable you need to connect the GPS to the camera of your choice. For the Kodak cameras, they use a modified miniDIN-8 (pin seven needs to be pulled) while the HP/Pentax use the B-Type USB connector (square-ish vs. flat) on the camera. I had found a Serial to Mac adapter (DB9 to miniDIN-8) that I yanked out pin 7 and it worked great. FINALLY!!! Something useful I can do with that Geography degree. :-D

Raouljan - I'm pretty sure it just that list of camera my post with the picture. Paul Ag - What would you like to know? FINALLY!!! Something useful I can do with that Geography degree. :-D

So I've figured out how to read the data coming from the GPS in Garmin's TEXT mode and NMEA as well. Does anyone know how a waypoint is created and sent to a Garmin eTrex GPS? Thanks FINALLY!!! Something useful I can do with that Geography degree. :-D

ok... I'll hijack this post but the general topic is the same, walking sticks. I have a geek reason for wanting one, as an antenna platform. Here's my idea. Three 2.5' lengths of wooden poles. There would be a definite bottom section with a (s)pike/pointy-thing. A center section which might not always be used and a top section that could also double as a camera mount as well as a ground-plane for a MityMouse antenna. The top section could also be situated in my packback as an antenna pole. Just an idea. Any one seen anything like this? FINALLY!!! Something useful I can do with that Geography degree. :-D

But of course!!! Chocolate/Vanilla twist with a peanut butter dip!!! I am actually going to start researching if I can have my camera take a picture and create a waypoint on the GPS with the same name as the image file. Reverse the whole situation. I'll keep ya posted FINALLY!!! Something useful I can do with that Geography degree. :-D

ok... I got it working for my older Kodak DC camera and here's the results. Also, if anyone is interested, the following cameras have the capability of running the Digita scripts. Version 1.5 offer a lot better text manipulation. Manf. Camera Name Digita Version ----------------------------------------------- Kodak DC 220 Zoom 1.0 DC 260 Zoom 1.0 DC 265 Zoom 1.1 DC 290 Zoom 1.5 ----------------------------------------------- Minolta Dimage Ex Zoom 1500 1.1 Dimage Ex Wide 1500 1.1 Dimage Ex Zoom 1500 v2 1.1 Dimage Ex Wide 1500 v2 1.1 ----------------------------------------------- HP PhotoSmart C500 1.5 PhotoSmart 618 1.5 PhotoSmart 912 1.5 ----------------------------------------------- Pentax EI-200 1.5 EI-2000 1.5 FINALLY!!! Something useful I can do with that Geography degree. :-D

As far as your story idea goes... Final Fantasy comes to mind. But that's WAY out there. FINALLY!!! Something useful I can do with that Geography degree. :-D

SparrowHawk... way-kewl site. Not just UrbanCaching... UrbanDecayCaching Oh well, in some other time, some other place. FINALLY!!! Something useful I can do with that Geography degree. :-D

Hi Thcri, It's really up to you on how you want to manage your waypoints. But just to give you an idea, I'll download a page of waypoints from geocaching.com and let that get saved as the default "geocaching.loc" file. Using some waypoint management software - there are a number of these out there and some for free - I'll upload the caches to the GPSr that I want to try for that day. After I get back from caching, I'll download all waypoints and tracks from the GPSr into a new *.loc file and save that as that Date, like 071903caches.loc I try to keep only what I'm going to use on the GPSr as far as waypoints and such. One of the benefits of being a "Charter Member" (read: Paying Member) of Geocaching.com is the ability to run pocket queries. You can run up to five pocket queries and each will, on a schedule you set up, email you a *.loc file of up to 500 waypoints base on the criteria you select. I have three pocket queries running that pull all the caches for a corridor I travel from MD to Upstate NY. FINALLY!!! Something useful I can do with that Geography degree. :-D

ok... I'll bite.. this is a future dream, but if I don't have my dreams, what do I have. R1150GS Adventure Of course it has to have the BMW Motorcycle Navigation unit. It's a Garmin StreetPilot III with base maps supplied by Navigation Technologies. my $0.02 FINALLY!!! Something useful I can do with that Geography degree. :-D

The day after I found geocaching, not only did I buy my GPSr but I found EasyGPS. EasyGPS is free. The day after that, I bought ExpertGPS which is the big brother of EasyGPS. Similar to Logscaler, I have only tried EasyGPS/ExpertGPS so I can't offer advice on the other programs. However, I can tell you what I like about ExpertGPS (US$60). It downloads topo maps and aerial imagry off the web. The latest version also lets you calibrate your own scanned maps. These features are what you pay for over EasyGPS, I'm pretty sure. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. TopoGraphix also offers a PanTerra program for waypoint management, but I've never tried that. Could someone tell me what the feature breakdown is between EasyGPS, PanTerra and ExpertGPS. Just Curious. And no, I've never heard or read of anyone hiding a micro in the holes of a bowling ball FINALLY!!! Something useful I can do with that Geography degree. :-D

The garm.csm script was originally written for the DC265 which is only compliant with Digita Scripts upto v1.1. The big difference between v1.1 and v1.5 is the new "t" data type. The older "s" data type meant a String field of size 31 characters while the newer "t" data type meant a Text field of upto 255 characters. Familiarize yourself with the SUBSTRING function in Digita and you should be good to go. If I get a chance I'll take a look at the script that Nelle & Jay sent us. FINALLY!!! Something useful I can do with that Geography degree. :-D

So George, Let's recap a little. You're using a DC290 running the garm.csm script with an eTrex model GPSr, right? You could create another "t" variable and format that string of characters adding labels and such. You could also change the current "s" variable that receives the text from the GSPr to a "t" variable and get all of the simple text output from the GPSr. Just some thoughts. BTW, I haven't gotten a price on the cable yet FINALLY!!! Something useful I can do with that Geography degree. :-D

It's a shame that the Kodak DC265 camera are only compliant up to Digita Scripting version 1.1. The next version, 1.5 (which the DC290 runs) has a much larger string variable. This would allow the capture and manipulation of the full Text Output from the GPS. George, this is why you only get up the 'g' from the output. I'm should be getting a quote back from the Pfranc guy in Florida on a custom cable. A miniDIN-8 to an eTrex adapter. FINALLY!!! Something useful I can do with that Geography degree. :-D