French.

But be warned...they aren't very loud (if you are using it in a car, for example).

Did they bother to tell you the City Navigator DVD is on backorder and they won't have any more in until Monday, April 16th at the earliest? I'm confused why they are charging you $15. And did that $15 cover an extra unlock code? And if so, then you have a 3rd device you are trying to load the software on? Because the way it was explained to me, you are entitled to two unlock codes. One is automatically assigned to the Nuvi, and the other can be used on the GPSMAP 60CSx. When I found out the DVD was on backorder I asked them to send me a burned copy. I wish they had disclosed the backorder a week ago when I called them. I'm fine with getting a burned copy.

Oh...yes...gotcha now. Thanks for clarifying. I ordered my DVD on Wednesday (when I received my Nuvi 360 and Vista cx), and still haven't gotten it yet. Hopefully today or tomorrow.

I just wanted to let you all know I sent an e-mail to Garmin asking them if they thought they would ever offer geocaching mode support using POI files instead of just using the waypoints. They say it's been requested from the "geocaching community" and that they will pass it on to the engineers. To me, it doesn't seem like it would be a difficult thing to program (but then again, these things never do seem to be difficult for those of us that don't know the first thing about programming). I'm thinking it would just be a matter of the software looking at waypoints AND POIs when in Geocaching mode. I just thought I would mention it here as it seemed appropriate, and by all means, if you agree with me feel free to contact Garmin for the request. Maybe the more requests they get, the more likely they would be to add the capability. Using the POIs for geoacaching would open up all of our Garmin units to being "limitless".

I purchased the Nuvi 360...I liked the smaller form factor, and it's very light. I can easily put it in my purse when I leave my car (this was important to me). The difference between the 350 and 360 is that the 360 can connect with a bluetooth compatible phone so you can use the GPS as a hands free cell phone device. I will say, I have a rather noisy car (CR-V) and someone called me last week all excited about her engagement and upcoming wedding plans, and the quality of her voice over the speaker was lousy enough that I finally just pulled over so I could hear and understand what she was saying. Actually, the volume wasn't an issue, but she did sound quite garbled at times. Of course, she could tell I was on a speaker phone so she was yelling, which probably didn't help matters. The 600 series Nuvis are wide screen, which I didn't deem important for my purposes. I think the SiRF chipset is a definite must have. I've used GPS without the SiRF and while most of the time it might not be an issue, when it is an issue and you lose connection, it sucks. I've been playing with the 360 for about a week now and while I do like it, I'm thinking it might have been overkill in my case. In all honesty, if Verizon Wireless could figure out how to get their VZW Navigator to work across all networks (even in extended areas), I would prefer to use that service. Searching POIs is easier, the TTS is much better, and it's plenty loud. But I've been in extended network twice now where it just wouldn't work and that is beyond frustrating. Hence the reason for going with a dedicated GPS. I initially tried using a 60CSx exclusively...as a geocaching AND car routing unit, but found that I prefer to be told specifically which direction I'm turning and the name of the street is very helpful. With the 60CSx I was constantly having to look at the actual unit to determine where I was supposed to go, and the beeps weren't as loud as I need them to be in my noisy vehicle. Anyway, I only mention this because if the text to speech isn't critical, you might want to look into this as a possible solution. P.S. You can enter lat and long into the 360 directly, as well as upload POIs AND waypoints.

If you do a search on these formus there are at least 2 threads discussing swag. I'm new to this, too, and found them helpful. Here is one: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...419&hl=swag Here is another: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...282&hl=swag

These two posts reminded me of my earlier trading days. Value must be in the eye of the beholder. One of my hobbies is/was being a rockhound. I have no formal training in geology, I just think rocks are way kewl. I had a rock tumbler that I would run day & night. I'd spend all of one day gathering a small handful of unique stones, then purchase a new batch of abrasive medium and run them through the tumbler for 24 to 48 hours, depending on their hardness. I was always amazed at what came out, and I thought I'd share my wonder with the geo-community. After seeing a few logs following mine in which the finders were deriding my polished stones, (comments like, "I can't believe someone left friggin' rocks"), I got rid of my tumbler. Often, one man's trash really is another man's treasure. I want to respond to this. I didn't say I found a polished rock in the cache...I said it was a rock from the river 5 feet away. To me, placing something in the cache that I could have picked up on my own by just walking a few feet FROM the cache, is not trading swag. I hope you know that I, for one, love those polished rocks you are talking about. I'm sorry you gave up something you truly enjoy. I wouldn't let logs like you describe stop you from something you like doing. Just like I'm not going to let crappy swag keep me from searching out geocaches. I wish I had found a cache with your rocks. I truly do love them and I would have been happy to trade fairly if I saw one I just had to have.

I'm really new to geocaching (a week and 3 days), but have to say that out of 11 caches I've found, only 1 had anything near decent in it. And since I have no swag, while I wanted something in there I did not take it. I figure if there's something I want that bad, then I need to come back later with an equal or better trade item. So far all I've done is TNLNSL. And from what I've seen, I doubt I'll ever do much more than that. It is disappointing. The one cache where there was half decent stuff was in memory of a deceased woman, and it brought a tear to my eye after seeing such junked up ones, to see this one in memory was still in decent shape. I hope it remains that way, but I don't hold out much hope. The cache was only 5 months old with a relatively quiet log for the last 4 months. While I think it's great there are children's items in a lot of these caches, the fact is we aren't all schlepping around the woods with kids in tow. I'm an adult and take no children with me. I would love to see adult themed caches, and I'm not talking the x rated kind folks! Or a dog-themed cache. Even though I don't own a dog, I would probably still search it out just to sign the log and check out the contents. And I have friends with dogs so I would possibly even trade if I knew in advance what the theme was. I agree that the Mctoys need to go away. It is sad to see a marble, or a bone from some dead animal, or a rock from the river 5 feet away, left in the cache. Maybe I have no right even making a comment with my newbie status, but this has been bugging me a little. Fortunately I'm really in it for the exercise and exposure to all the hiking areas near me I never knew existed. But finding the one good cache opened my eyes to the real possibilities of this game. And I got real excited when I opened that one and went through it with care. It was a true pleasure to find it and be a part of it. The rest kind of leave you with a feeling of, "Great hike, great outdoor exposure, but WTH".

Hi...I live very close to OM, and in fact work in OM. Can you send me an e-mail (through this post) and we can converse a little "offline". I'm curious as to where you are interviewing.

I'm not 100% certain, but I think you actually have to have a poi.gpi file in that directory or else the unit doesn't think it supports POIs. You can simply open the poi.gpi file in notepad and delete everything in it, then resave it. That will keep a poi.gpi file on your receiver but it will also delete everything you had.

I'm new with 1 week today under my belt, but found a nice shoulder sling bag type thing. In it I carry my digital camera, a pen, extra batteries, a PDA, Garmin Vista CX, lip balm, car keys, wallet (mainly because it's very small and just as easy to throw in rather than just taking my license out). And I bring a large water bottle. Oh, and pepper spray on a retractable lanyard attached to my belt loop. Oh, I also have a small flashlight. If it's cold out, in my jacket I have a removable hood and gloves. It only took 2 hikes in the mud to realize that keeping clean tennis shoes in the car is a smart thing. I can then change shoes when I get back to the car and just put my muddy boots in the back of the car on my all purpose plastic matt.

There is an updated, Beta version of POI loader...2.4.0.1, available at this link: http://www.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=1673 And it supports the magenta transparent background. In other words, icons now have a transparent background when uploading the version that looks magenta. I for one am glad to see this fixed.

Actually, your post has confused me. If you already have a DVD with the maps and those maps have been unlocked on 2 devices (presumably your C330 and a handheld), then you would have to purchase more unlock codes to do any more activations. The Garmin 60CSx can take City Navigator regular and City Navigator NT maps. I think you can get more maps on the memory card using NT...I believe the NT in the name indicates some type of compression that is necessary for the car units, but not necessary for handhelds. In my case I ordered the NT version as that's what comes on the Nuvi 360, and Garmin confirmed the NT version of the maps will also work on a handheld.

I'm really new to this, but test drove a 60CSx, which was admittedly good. But I decided it was too big for me and didn't care for the rocker switch (I'm female and have fingernails so the rocker pad just doesn't work that well if you have longer nails). I was in the Bass Pro Shop and played with a Garmin eTrex Vista CX and really, really like the form factor, button location and LOVE the joy stick. My nails are no longer a problem, I can be a bit more inconspicuous since it fits in my hand better. I understand it doesn't have the SiRF III chipset, but was surprised to see I could still get a satellite signal in my bedroom on the top floor of the house (attic overhead). I didn't know if the compass and altimeter were really that important to me, but can tell you that now that I have them, I am definitely using the compass. Haven't used the altimeter, though, and doubt I ever will. But the compass is nice for reassurance that you are, in fact, going the right way. And compass is good for when you are really close. I'm looking forward to putting the Vista CX through its paces once the trees have filled in. I'm optimistic since I got satellite lock in the house. Anyway, that was a really long answer to say I don't like the rocker pad on the 60 CSx, and that if you are still open other units I am 2nd (or third??) the recommendation on the eTrex Vista, Legend or Venture. I can't speak to the other unit at all.

Well I'm now up to number 5, and hoping to go for 6, 7 and 8 today or tomorrow (weather permitting). Number 5 will be one I never forget. In fact, I think I'm going to save the track just so I can refer to my own stupidity from time to time. Though I suspect I'll have plenty more moments of stupidity to keep me going. I found the cache I was going for, but after I got home and studied my tracks, where it was located, etc., well let's just say I took the l-o-n-g way. After I was walking for about 10 minutes I was thinking, "This can't be a 2 on a scale of 5...it just can't". I was right. The way I went it was probably more like a 3 - 3.5. Who knew there were 2 completely different roads with exactly the same name, that had a place to park? I have lived in the area for 8 years and didn't know, and when I asked DH about said road, which he drives ON to get to work, and PAST the "other" one enroute, didn't know about it, either. I hope this kind of thing gets more untuitive (the figuring out where to park when it isn't listed). Or that I learn to read instructions/GPS better. Anyway, still having fun and because the one from yesterday was such a long hike, I am especially proud of myself. I really worked on listening to the GPS and understanding what it was telling me and I think yesterday was a great exercise in that. It took me right to it. And I'm seeing areas I never knew existed. I'm really glad I found this.

Actually, I talked to Garmin about something very similar to this just last week. The short answer is you can do what you want. If you purchase a unit with built in maps (in my case the Nuvi 360), it does not come with a DVD of said maps. However, as an owner of the unit you can request a copy of the DVD and Garmin will send it free of charge. They do not do this automatically, but will do it upon request. Once you have the DVD, it can actually be activated on up to 2 devices. So you will receive the DVD and install it to your computer and then load maps to your handheld device. That will be the 2nd activation for the software (the unit with preinstalled maps is considered the first activation). Call Garmin...they were very helpful when I asked them about this. ETA: I think Navigator 7 will work on GPSMap 60csx...the whole key here is calling Garmin to send you the DVD.

Err...well I'm not sure "enjoy" is the word I would use. Note I said I went back without my husband to actually find the cache. I think for the sake of our marriage and my sanity he will be needing his own, dedicated GPS. There was a little tussle over who would get to hold it.

I just had to tell everyone that I found my first cache and then my second this morning. How exciting. I was using a 60csx and still trying to figure everything out. DH and I were at the first cache last night but never found it so I went back today determined. And when I got to it, the unit beeped and it was dead on! I've decided, though, that I don't need anything quite as good as the 60 csx...so I'm actually going to return that and get the Vista cx. I played with one today in the store and I love the form factor, button location, and the joystick on the face. Actually, I REALLY love the joystick. Being of the female gender I do have longer nails than your average male user. I have found the 60 csx pad to be difficult to use as a result. But the joystick is perfect. I would LOVE to see the Vista upgraded with a SiRF III chipset. IMO, that would make the handheld absolutely perfect. A girl can dream, can't she. Anyway, I'm excited to have had success and looking forward to more caches. And apparently there are quite a few in my immediate area.

Thanks for the replies. This is what I was afraid of. I'm going to be trying a Vista Cx. I think it will be more my speed but will also give me room to grow. I'm disappointed it doesn't have the Sirf III, but in my reading on these forums, I should still have great fun and success with the Vista. And of course, this "downgrading" totally justified my purchase of the Nuvi 360.

I'm looking on Garmin's site and frankly, the 60csx is overkill for me. I'm playing with one now and I don't need all the bells and whistles. I'm thinking about downgrading and with the money and then also investing in a portable car GPS (so I would have one for trail and one for car). I don't care for the autorouting on the 60csx. Warnings aren't loud enough, and I really do prefer being told which way to turn rather than trying to read a tiny screen as I'm driving. Having said all that, from what I can tell on Garmin's site, the 60 csx (or 60 cs series) appears to be the only handheld that has the SiRF III receiver. I strongly prefer to have a receiver with this chipset as I have used the SiRF III and a less sensitive one together and hands down the SiRF III performs better. So what's the deal...am I only going to get SiRF III by sticking with the overkill 60CSx?

If you have 'em and want to get rid of 'em, please PM me.

testing

Is anyone using either of these programs? I'm just wondering which one works best "in the field"? I think I'm going to hold off on buying a dedicated GPS unit (if I can) until they improve a bit more. I already have the SiRF III chipset in my bluetooth receiver so why buy a dedicated unit with an inferior antenna. I would like to wait and hopefully the SiRF III will become standard in the hand held units. Anyhoo...anyone have experience with these programs? I can't even tell when GeoNiche was last updated...looks like the last comments I can find on it are from June of '05. I would prefer to see something more recent. CacheNav is supposed to work with CacheMate (which I plan to download but haven't worked with it yet). I was going to use GSAK to get information from the computer to the PDA (converting it).

Man I'm daft...this never even occured to me (armored case). Can you read the screen in the daylight with your PDA? I assume you have a separate GPS for the "off road stuff? Or are you using TomTom and just dealing with no detail? I do love the TomTom, except the maps are slightly inferior to Garmin...I noticed it was missing information for the roads leading to my office in Colorado Springs. But I figured out a way to make a waypoint in Mapsource and loaded it to TomTom as a POI, and then marked the POI as a favorite to really make it stand out. Sounds like I can also accomplish this by enterting location into GSAK and then converting to POI. Anyway, I'm curious to see if it will actually understand my destination is another 3 blocks further than where the road ended (I work in MD but will be visiting the CO Springs area where I'm not familiar).

Thank you for the information! I currently run TomTom on my Palm TX and am pleased with that because I literally never have to take my eyes from the road (it tells me, "At the end of the road, turn left". I am very interested in the Garmin 60CX, even more so if it talked. I saw a picture that someone posted of a PDA "in the field" and it nearly made me cry. The screen was cracked and the PDA was unusable. I'm a little worried that having a unit only beeping at me could be a distraction (taking eyes away from road to look at screen), but it doesn't sound like you all feel that way about it at all. So I was thinking the money for the 60CX would well be worth it if I could leave my PDA at home. Which leads to another question (maybe I should post it separately). How much info will the Garmin actually take from GSAK? Can I go paperless using just the Garmin? It sounds like the note field may not be big enough to see an entire hint? If I buy the City Select (or Navigator...not sure which product is compatible), does it also let me route to addresses, POIs, "entertainment", "restaurants", etc. I had the Garmin 10 for a brief period of time and it had all the categories, etc. I can't see paying that much money for the software if it doesn't have the same capability. From what I could tell from the 16+ page thread I think I can. With 1 gig cards fast on the way it is enticing to have a GPS that I could use for recreational Geocaching (some of you sound professional...just wanted to differentiate my usage) and a unit that could get me from A to B, all while running on standard batteries so I don't have to worry or freak out if I forgot to charge the darn thing. Oh, is the beep audible? The main reason the GPS 10 went back is because I simply could not hear the directions being given through the PDA speaker. That was unacceptable to me since 1) I can hear TomTom's directions just fine with no extra speaker, and 2) I wanted a unit that I could virtually take anywhere. With the Garmin I would have had to have an external speaker hook up of some kind to hear the darn thing.