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Just re-read your post and it looks like I missed what you were saying. I think you can change some of the settings in each profile to match what features you want -- ie not locking onto a road, etc... You can also delete some menu items you don't need for that mode, like the game, etc...

Here is what I do: Change two of the items on the compass page to show the current GPS position and the GPS error. Use the map page to get you close, then switch to the compass. Compare the GPS position with the cache position you have written down. Move either north / south or east / west until one of the numbers agrees. Then move in one of the intersecting directions until the numbers agree. This method worked will on my cheapy GPS with poor mapping. Alternately, you can change the two items at the bottom of the mapping page to GPS position and GPS error as well. This might work better as the compass seems to rotate the map so it agrees with the way you are facing.

Were you just going to use it for a paperless record, or did you get a bluetooth GPS for it? If you install the latest OS release and install Maemo Mapper, you can import maps from many different sources at various zoom levels and have all sorts of fun. This includes Google maps, Google satellite maps, Topo maps, aviation maps, etc... The Holux 1000 bluetooth GPS works really well on the Nokias -- I have a N770 and a friend has an N800, and it works great with both of them. The only issue is losing the bluetooth signal when you get near a large cell tower.

Well, I got to actually sit down and look at the update for more than five minutes before rushing out the door, and it looks like I was smoking crack when I said it merged the waypoints and caches. New stuff looks pretty good -- need to hit a couple of caches to be sure, though. One thing I noticed while driving is that I think the backlight came on randomly a couple of times -- I don't think I hit any buttons when I picked it up off the seat, but it beeped and the backlight came on. This was right after I had stopped and parked. I did kill a set of batteries playing with it and it tells you its shutting off the backlight and beeper to save power. Pretty cool. I still think some of the menus are laid out awkwardly and some features should be more obvious, but hopefully we'll figure it out before the next update. One feature that would be nice is the ability to show the coordinates of the waypoint or cache as well as the current coordinates. I used this comparison on the old GPS because it had no way to know which direction you were headed until you started walking. I thought the 'location (selected)' would do this, but it seems to show the same coordinates as the other 'location' option.

I'm so excited about the software update I think I peed myself just a little. What little I looked at after doing the update is pretty impressive, but I think I found one issue. Before I figured out the whole GPX file thing I created a waypoint for a local cache. Later I downloaded the GPX file from geocaching.com. One was listed in my waypoints, the other in my caches. Now it appears the two lists have merged somehow and I have one entry, but two icons. I'm gonna mess with it more tonight and make sure.

I'll go along with the Maxpedition bags. I bought one when they first came out for a survival kit and I will take it along on anything longer than a park-and-grab. Never know what may happen. For some reason the O.D. colored bags tend to fade into a sort of emerald green color over time. Contents include first aid kit, pen, flashlight, survival cards, multi-tool, fire starter, survival blanket, signal mirror, compass, 30 feet of parachute cord, a Storm whistle, one of those sardine can survival kits, pepper spray and 'other' items that fit well in the back zippered pocket. For swag I have a weird one-strap triangular-shaped backpack my wife got as a freebie from work. Its bright red an has plenty of storage. I keep a bottle of water, some sunscreen, spare batteries, a backup GPSr and a first aid kit down in the bottom. I sort out the swag in ZipLock bags to keep it from getting dumped when I have the bag open. Also have a couple of small pre-made caches should I want to place one. If you are looking for a messenger bag, eBags.com has a pretty good selection, although some of them are rather large. I picked up one for Xmas that is just big enough to hold standard magazines and has a few pockets and places for pens and glasses. I carry my computer books and tablet PC in it for urban travel. I had a lot of difficulty finding a reasonably priced small messenger bag that didn't look feminine. The bag I bought from them was located through a Google search, but can't be found by searching directly from their website -- go figure.

I've got a couple of more expensive GPS units and they work fine for caching, but the one that gets me to the right place most of the time is a Lowrance iFinder Go2 -- I think it was $80 or so. The mapping feature is pretty poor (ie slow to update, zoom, etc...), and the interface is confusing, but once you get it set up you use the navigation 'page' to get you near the cache, then switch over to the page that displays the coordinates, comparing them to the cache coordinates. More than once I've nearly stepped on or ran into the cache it was so accurate. The battery life is also very good and its a pretty small unit. http://www.lowrance.com/Products/Outdoors/iFINDER-GO2/

The comma in the 1,2 voltage rating on the battery is the decimal point. The comma is used as a decimal point in some European countries. Haven't tried rechargeables in the IFinder Go2 I have -- it lasts forever on plain alkaline batteries. Not to mention its pretty accurate for caching. Keep in mind some of the chargers you get with sets of batteries at WalMart, Target, et al are pretty cheezy. I went through this with camera batteries and finally got a good MaHa charger from Thomas Distributing. It brought a couple of sets of batteries back from the dead and it puts a good charge on new batteries, not to mention being able to test and revive questionable batteries. Also, standard NiMH batteries will self-discharge over time, possibly losing half their charge in a month or so. Try the low-discharge models -- they don't have quite the capacity of a standard NiMH battery, but they do keep a charge longer when stored.

Didn't read through all the long replies, so this may be a repeat, but... On a Windows computer, when you plug in your Colorado, one or two new mass-storage devices will show up. They 'look' just like a flash drive or other plug-in storage device. The first one will be internal memory of the Colorado, the second will be the SD card you add. You can browse the contents of these devices and add / delete files (careful there) as needed. The geocache GPX files are stored in Garmin > GPX directory in the internal memory. The wallpaper files are stored in the Garmin > Profiles directory. FYI -- you can make your own wallpaper as well -- any JPG sized 240 x 400 will work. If you have have installed the Garmin Communicator software, you can click on the little icon to the far right of a cache listing on geocaching.com and it will fire up the Garmin Communicator software. The software will find your Colorado, and with one more click, upload the GPX file for the cache to the internal memory of the unit. These will be listed under the Geocaching shortcut and not the Waypoint shortcut. I haven't found a way to upload more than one at a time from the geocache listing. I have not tried doing a pocket query and uploading the file with the multiple listings either -- it may or may not work. Once you find a cache, you can delete if from the GPS by browsing the Garmin > GPX directory and deleting the GCxxx.GPX file. Just be sure to use the Windows feature to safely disconnect the storage devices before unplugging your unit from the PC.

I ordered my Colorado 300 from GPSNow -- $426.54 with overnight shipping for an additional $14.28 to DFW. Ordered it Thursday afternoon, shipped Thursday night, arrived Friday before lunch. Their return and DOA policy is rather strict, but I trust Garmin to do the right thing if I get a dog, so I'm really not worried. On this particular order, they offered free USPS shipping, $ 0.33 for standard FedEx, $1.40 for 2-day, $14.28 for standard FedEx overnight and $16.82 for FedEx priority overnight.

Pardon any mis-spellings and grammar errors as we have just arrived back from the pub... I've had my Colorado 300 for a couple of days, and so far its been interesting. Yes, it has a bunch of cool features. No, its not the be-all, end-all of GPS units. Having used an eMap for the last 9 years, as well as a cheap Lowrance unit and some computer and tablet PC-based packages, I was ready to move into the 21st century. The color screen is pretty cool -- very high-res compared to other color handheld GPS units I have seen.Haven't tried it outdoors in bright sunlight yet, but indoors with the backlight all the way up its almost too dim. Compared a laptop or tablet PC, is pretty dark. The supplied background screens are rather dark as well. The can be changed, but it requires moderate PC knowledge. Haven't loaded any maps yet. Just bought a 4 MB SDHC card this evening and haven't tried it yet. Still waiting on Topo 2008 to arrive, and debating on Mapsouce NT. Had Mapsource (1999 vintage) on the eMap and was very pleased. Bought this unit instead of the 400t because I heard the built-in maps were so-so compared to the ones on DVD. Once you install the Trip and Waypoint Manager software, download and install the Garmin Communicator software add-on. This allows you to download complete cache info straight to your Colorado 300 from geocaching.com with a couple three mouse clicks. This is the whole shebang visible on the geocaching site including the hint, comments, first 10 or so logs, etc... pretty damned cool. Unfortunately, there is no way to mark the caches as found and to delete them you must connect to the PC, treat the GPS as a memory device and delete the individual GPX files manually. As far as the caches, once they are loaded, they are available in a separate category from waypoints -- sorted by distance from your current position and listed by name or GC code (your choice) -- a really cool feature. However, when you select a cache, you get a red compass arrow showing you the direction you need to go to find it, as well as the distance, etc..., but the map below it shows your location and cache -- always north up. You can also select to GOTO the cache -- which treats the navigation like a waypoint which allows the track-up view, etc... Kinda flaky until you figure it out. We tried the Colorado 300 with 7 local caches that I had printed info on, and we were batting .571 in the end. Not sure if the overcast skies contributed to the issues, but the Colorado 300 was way freakin' off. Sad to say, but the old Lowrance I-Go Finder II totally blows it out of the water -- 80% of the time it takes you to spittin' distance. In some cases I have been inches from stepping on a cache -- not bad for a $80 bottom of the barrel unit. I'll need to get the maps loaded and take the Colorado 300 on a motorcycle trip before I can pronounce final judgegement. So far its just so-so.

I looked up gpsbabel with Synaptic Package Manager and it lists 1.3.2-2 as the latest version. Under supported formats it lists Garmin serial -- will it do USB as well? I'm looking at a Colorado 300, but I don't want to get anywhere near Windows to upload caches, POIs, maps, etc... Didn't find geoqo on the repositories I currently have enabled. Also, does Garmin have a maximum capacity on the SD card for the Colorado units? Looks like the 1gb and 2gb cards are dirt cheap online. As far as the Nokia N800, I have an N770 and a friend has an N800, and we have both been pleased with the Holux 1000 Bluetooth GPS receiver. We've both run it extensively with Maemo Mapper and had no issues other than it may temporarily lose the Bluetooth connection when you get near a cell site. Haven't tried geocaching with the N770 yet. I currently use a bottom-line Lowrance unit for geocaching -- it gets me closer than other units I have tried.

Be sure to check back and see if the Startlegram prints a correction Tuesday: http://www.star-telegram.com/corrections/

I got the same letter this morning. Sounds like we need to get on the reporter for his snafu. Good idea on telling the city thanks.

Gracias. It sounds like they don't want people to be able to use the parks at all -- I'm surprised they allow laughing and running. In any case, glass containers, dogs off-leash and on long leashes, treasure hunters and the restrrom pervs are probably the only things they need to worry about. Unsupervised children riding bikes / electric scooters, etc... in the parking lots are probably the greatest hazzard I have seen, followed by people cruising the parks in their loud, obnoxious cars. People who fly real RC planes are pretty good about picking a spot away from people -- and the one they show in the photo is a $30 Wally-World special anyway. Why weren't kites on the list -- they are more unpredictable than planes. I think the Arlingington city council has been visited by the flying crack monkeys. Hopefully enough of us local folks can blast them with emails and set them straight.

OOPS! I didn't see you had already posted a notice on this -- I just posted a similar message, but included a link to the city parks department email.

http://www.star-telegram.com/arlington_new...ory/162385.html In case the article is later removed, here is the geocaching mention from the article: DFW geocachers wishing to contact the Arlington, TX parks department may do so via email at: parksdepartment@arlingtontx.gov

They look like the remains of an old snakebite kit. They used to come in interlocking rubber pieces that were actually suction devices. The one with the curve is for fingers and such.

Not sure about your area, but around here the gun shows typically have folks selling hard drive magnets and other high-strength magnets in various shapes.

As far as the trees go, its bad karma to place a cache that damages a tree, either by driving a nail, etc..., binding a wire tightly on a limb, or placing it so the finder can potentially break limbs trying to find it. Not to mention disturbing nests during breeding season. One local cache was in an ornamental tree in a public park. When I found the cache, I noticed a nest on a nearby limb. I checked out the nest, and it contained a couple of eggs. In my log I noted the nest and mentioned this cache should be avoided for a few months due to the birds. Unforunately, no one seemed to care and some did not even notice the nest at all. As far as evil caches, How about a hollowed out padlock or a micro suspended by a wire down one of the holes in a manhole cover (not one in the street obviously).

A couple of us from Memphis are planning to motorcycle to Geowoodstock 4. We're hoping to get a few more people. There are several local DFW area motorcyclists who camp and geocache who will probably attend as well. Also have a trailer in case someone needs a rescue.

OK, but what is snow? Didn't think about gloves, but do have several pair in the van at all times. In some places, a machete would be good to have, or at least some small pruning shears to get out of the briars.

Get one of those belt-pouch thingies (not a fanny pack) with a spot for a multi-tool, an AA Maglite and a small pen. www.rei.com -- item # 643154 is a good one. In a cheap backpack, gather up a first aid kit, bug repellent, a loud whistle, waterproof matches, a larger flashlight, some TP, a few pencils, some cheapy pencil sharpeners, a few small spiral notebooks, a nice quart water bottle with a spout top, some gimmee stuff to leave in caches, some small and medium zip-lock bags, a decent compass and possibly a cheap plastic poncho. The walking stick, mirror and magnet pickup tool would be some good additions as well. ************ I've got a shoulder bag deal I got at a gun show that I keep a survival kit in. It contains most of the above non-caching items as well as an emergency foil blanket, pepper spray (for bears, dogs, etc...) 25 feet of nylon parachute cord, some stainless steel wire, a knife and fork, signal mirror, survival guide and one of those magnesium fire starter deals. I usually take it, plus water and some caching items in a small bag.

I got the dead frog once, then this: Access to this server is forbidden from your client

I prefer the wipes. Easy to carry and apply, no aerosol cans to explode in the hot car, and no pump-spray bottles to leak.