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Took a smiley on a cache that was actually disabled more recently than the pocket query I did for the area the cache is in. Apparently the CO did some maintenance on 4/22, and on 6/8 two cachers reported finding the contents of the cache scattered about, but no container. They both took the find, but left the contents of the cache laying there. They did report the cache needing maintenance, and the CO acknowledged. My wife and I, working off a dated pocket query, found the cache remnants today and decided to save what we could. The original log was intact, although wet, but the other contents were pretty much trashed. I bagged it all up and brought it home to dry out. In the mean time I logged it as a find and let the CO know I had the old log. I was wishing I had another container with me to put out, but this was a spur-of-the-moment stop on the way to the in-laws. Got in touch with the owner this morning, and he is placing a new container in the near future. I'll dry out the log and either place it in the new cache or give it to him when I get back in that part of town. Hopefully he will use a container thats easier to conceal and less likely to be muggled.

Lets see -- to load 3rd party software on an iPhone you need to jailbreak it. Not to mention you may brick the phone, which is definitely a no-warranty deal. I was thinking the latest firmware and the 2nd generation was going to at least temporarily defeat this work-around anyway. And from what I have read, the GPS enabled phones have a pretty short battery life with the GPSr and screen on full-time. My Colorado is still a bit buggy, but for caching its been great. Gave it a workout in Shreveport this weekend, and other than a few locational errors due to being amongst downtown buildings on a cloudy day, it took is to each and every cache within 10 feet. Walked about 8 miles in 6 hours and still had plenty of battery left. I know I'm late to the game, but put me on the list of folks who will buy your 'defective' unit.

Best as in a difficult puzzle cache, a difficult location, a good hide, a humorous cache container, or what? Lots of criteria for calling a cache 'best'. I like the ones that don't take me down in a bunch of junk / trash, that don't make me look for a film can zip-tied to a tree, or yet another light pole base hide. Billy Goats Gruff is a good one, as is Deciduous Bifurcate -- both well-hidden micros with some very subtle hints in the description. The hides in Tandy Hills Stratford park in Fort Worth are good, but bring bandaids.

Mind if I take a look at it? I've seen in the past a few deleted variables still being referenced in the lua file, causing problems like that. If you don't want the source posted in the forum, just email the file to me. I'm interested in seeing this for myself. I should have some free time tonight to sit down at the computer -- I can upload it then. One thing I might mention is that I did the uninstall from the uninstall menu item, and not through the add / remove programs in Windows. Not sure if this makes a difference or not. Will look at this as well. I have a XP load on another box I can try as well -- it has never had the builder loaded on it. I'm rather limited on computers with Windows as ours is a Linux household.

...And you must buy a routable map. If you are in the U.S., CNNA 2008 NT works great. You get visual prompts of upcoming turns, basic directions and a very pathetic beep. Its a good setup for occasional road trips, but I would go with a more automotive style unit if you need the voice prompts, touch screen, etc...

Mac or Windows? Individual files, pocket query or GSAK? On my Colorado 300, running the 2.51 beta firmware, I've used the pocket queries most of the time, with an occasional individual cache done from GC and the send to GPS button using Garmin Communicator. With the pocket queries, I just copy / delete the file(s) to the SD card using Windows explorer and it works fine.

2.50 is apparently what Garmin is shipping on new and repaired units. 2.51 beta is the current download on their site. Might look to see if they have a change log that lists the fixes and improvements.

The Exit/Save/Navigate isn't implemented yet on the Colorado so if a cart has this command, it will cause the colorado to error out. David Yeah, I saw a note to that effect after I messed with it a bit. However, the cartridge wouldn't even compile, and once I tried to load the cartridge after a reboot it failed to load.

Depends on how much space you have on the internal memory. If you want to have both the City Nav maps *and* another type of map, you have to select both and build them together. The combined maps may exceed the amount of memory you have. If you are using the SD card, the fastest way to load maps on them is to use an SD card reader. This lets the PC talk to the SD card much faster than the Colorado will let you.

I uninstalled the old builder and installed the new version per the directions. I created a simple cartridge just like one I had working, but added the exit / save / navigate command to see what it looks like on the Colorado. I got an error when I tried to publish the cartridge to my computer, so I decided to exit the builder and reboot the PC to make sure everything was reloaded properly. After reboot, I tried to open the cartridge and got an error. Haven't tried it with any known working cartridges yet, and I did not jot down the errors as I was just goofing around killing some time the other night. Will take another shot at it tonight and try to post the error messages -- if I recall correctly they weren't the same ones others have reported with the new builder.

Quick follow-up: I posted a 'needs maintenance' entry to the log -- we'll see what happens.

Gee, kennychan posted this exact same message with the same spelling errors on gpsreview.net forums. Looks like it may be a GPS support line for Best Buy.

Along with useless hints, I hate long-winded descriptions. If you do paperless caching (save that tree) some of the units only store so many characters, so part of the description is lost, perhaps the part with an actual clue. I don't want to know your life story, the names of your dogs, etc... Just tell me about the cache and send me on my way.

In the profile files, down with the marine-type settings, there is one that says something about off-course. I found this while looking at the automotive profile to see if I could hard-code a map selection. I haven't changed this value, and I don't know if it affects the re-routing capability, but it might be something to try. Make sure to have a backup copy of the original file before you start tinkering.

Some cachers must sneak out and check the logs very frequently. Around here it looks like more of a 'set it and forget it' atmosphere. I really chaps my butt when a cache goes missing and the owner is still putting out new caches, but not maintaining the existing ones. I think the GC prime reviewers need to look at a person's existing caches and say, 'Hey dude, fix or disable the missing / wet / broken cache or I'm not going to enable you new cache.' And maybe disabling easy caches that go unfound for a year so someone else can put on out in the same area.

It looks like the estimated position error is large enough that it thinks you are still on the freeway. Was the GPS down in the seat or up on the dash with a good view of the sky? I would check the lock to road setting to be sure -- its kinda weird that the arrow is right over the road you are on, but it still shows the freeway as a route. I'll have to mess around with mine a bit and see what it does if I get off the freeway and stay on the access road. I've played with the routing a bit, and sometimes it knows pretty quickly when I've taken an alternate route, and sometimes it doesn't. Haven't figured out if it looks at time, speed or direction or a combination to determine when to re-route.

Well, here's one that we found but couldn't sign the log. Apparently the cache has been wet off and on for a few years and the owner has not fixed it -- GCMCJD. Container lots of water in it and anything not waterproof was a soggy glob. Might be a good reason to carry a space pen and some rite-in-rain paper. We logged it as a find. Had to do something similar on a Wherigo when the program did not record the completion of the cartridge. We found the cache and signed the physical log, as well as logging the find on GC, but couldn't log it on Wherigo. Fortunately cache owner gave us a work-around for the find. Now that he's fixed a few bugs we're gonna have another go at it for fun.

I did notice the other day, if you create a waypoint, then rename it, when you download it to Mapsource you get both a numbered waypoint and the renamed waypoint with the same coordinates.

A well-hidden cache thats in a nice place, not some trash-strewn ravine, or a micro thats not a match container tie-wrapped to a tree limb. Also, a cache that doesn't require going somewhere in a park or business area where its obvious visitors shouldn't be.

(1) Fix the accuracy bug reported in other threads -- Yes. (2) Improve screen legibility (brighter screen or lighter color scheme) -- Yes (3) Improve battery life -- Seems fine to me. (4) Custom waypoint symbols -- Don't care. (5) Waypoint averaging -- Yes (6) Search on map from cursor location -- Not sure what this means. (7) Night mode -- Would be nice, but not a must have. (8) List all waypoints -- Allow the unit to list waypoints in alphabetical or numeric order *or* by proximity *or* by last used. Easy way to turn compass off -- perhaps in compass screen? Fix wandering issue when unit does not have perfectly clear shot at the sky. May be related to accuracy issue. As mentioned before, being able to select a map in the profile would be nice, as would being able to turn the compass and WAAS off when not needed.

Don't check anything in the attributes section (the one with the little icons of various things). I had a similar problem and when I skipped these items it worked fine. Also, remember the GC clock is probably in a different time zone, so today your time may be tomorrow on their time.

I unlocked my CN NA NT 2008 a few months ago and went through the coupon registration, but it doesn't show up on their web site. Guess its phone time...

I agree. I also like the caches that make you trust the GPSr. One local hider loves evergreen trees. They are not really too common here, but if there is one evergreen tree in the woods, the cache will probably be there because people are copycats. One local guy hid a cache right next to a huge evergreen tree -- and judging by the paths and the GC logs, everyone looks there. However, its hidden maybe 5 feet away in open terrain under some camo. My GPSr kept leading me to the right spot, but I figured it had to be the tree. After looking a bit, I used the force and let the GPSr lead me right to it. That was a good hide and it made me think.

There are four parts to the RAM mount I have. The suction cup and one of their compact bases (2), a long arm (1), and their RAM PDA (3rd style) mount. Here is the link to the RAM PDA (3rd style) mount. You can also get one of their standard 2 1/2 round bases which I believe is drilled for AMPS mounting as well. I know it fit on several cell phone cradles and satellite receivers, which I thing accepted AMPS mounting plates. It looks like they now have a square AMPS plate too, so just snag the kit with the suction cup, compact base, arm and AMPS plate. The neat thing is the PDA mount holds the Nokia on all four sides and its easy to remove the unit. I added a cable clamp to hold my power cable so it can't be jerked out of the Nokia accidentally. You can buy the individual parts or the whole thing. My preferred vendor is cyclegadgets.com. (I was looking for the photo of the N770 with Kismet running, but I guess I deleted it. I sent it to RAM for their photo gallery to get a chuckle out of a few folks who know what it is.)

RAM makes a good mount if you want to put the N810 in the car. Here is my N770 mounted in the van: