jopasm

The main difference is the 450T has topo maps pre-installed, the 450 doesn't. The 450T has more built-in memory but most of that is taken up by the topo map. The pre-installed topo map is a relatively low-resolution 100K one. You can buy better maps from garmin for around $100 or you can download free maps from http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/ or other sources online. Your best bet may be to pick up a 450, add an 8gb microSD card ($20 from Amazon), and then load it up with the free maps. If you're not happy with them give the Garmin maps a try.

1.) Like others have said, the DVD is unlocked for one unit, you'll have to call Garmin and get a new code. They may charge you for it. 2.) You're seeing a combination of several factors. Roads on the topo maps aren't as accurate as on a dedicated road map - for example, a highway might have one track for the centerpoint of the road. If it's a 4 lane highway and you're traveling in the far right lane you're already 50+ feet off the line on the map without any GPS error. That's why "lock to road" was invented. 3.) Things changed between the 60c(s)x series and the Oregon with the USB power port. You need a USB cable that's made for the Oregon or you need to work through spanner mode. Check out this page on the Oregon wiki.

If you use GSAK, the Field Notes Import and Log macro is very useful. It will update the status of the caches in GSAK, list your found caches in a "Found" database (useful for stats), and prepare a text file for upload to GSAK. I've been using it - makes it easy to synchronize GSAK, GC, and my GPS.

The chipset used in the Oregon, Dakota, and PN-30/40 apparently has issues with WAAS support. A Garmin 60csx will probably give you better accuracy, but it's still not going to be great. Even on a good day you'll easily see errors of up to 10'. It might work for what you want, but it's not going to be incredibly accurate. You're also going to need the software to manipulate the data. If you have a copy of ArcMap from ESRI you might want to look into the DNR Garmin app. If you don't you'll need some sort of GIS program to pull everything together. QGIS might work for what you want, not sure - I'm not very familiar with it. I've used a Garmin 60cx and DNR Garmin to do some survey work, the results were barely useable and not very accurate.

Hi Denis, I am just getting started with geocaching, and I decided to go with the Triton 500 also. Any tips on how to transfer the info from the web site to Vantage Point so it will include all of the other info with the download? I am able to download the cache, and its location... but the other detail is not included. Things that would help make it a "paperless" system. One of the caches I had downloaded included the information the others did not... I have upgraded to become a premium member, but I am still having problems getting the information to cross over. Any tips?? Anyone? Thanks! Make sure you are downloading the .gpx file not the .loc file - only the .gpx file has the extra info.

Check out "A Trail of Two Cities" if you visit Fort Raleigh (aka The Lost Colony). It's a traditional cache but it's a learning experience. It's one of my favorites so far just because the story of the area is so interesting.

I bought a Dakota 20 to complement my 60cx a couple of weeks ago. I bought it because of the size, paperless support, and the brighter screen compared to the Oregon models. I primarily use it for geocaching and Waymarking. I've loaded it with various free maps. So far I am pleased with the unit. It does suffer from a WAAS issue same as the Oregon, Colorado, and DeLorme PN series (it seems to be a chipset issue with the GPS chip). Supposedly Garmin is finally admitting there is an issue and is working on a fix. That's been my biggest issue, but it hasn't been a deal-killer for any caches I've found. I'm impressed with the battery life. I can get a full day's use out of 2000mah NiMH cells or a couple of days of use out of lithium cells (non-rechargeable though). The screen brightness has been acceptable, although it's not as bright/easy to read as the 60cx in sunlight. The touch screen overlay and the higher-resolution screen both limit the brightness a bit. It is brighter than Oregons I've seen, although I don't have easy access to an Oregon unit to compare. There is no support for Wherigo - honestly I didn't care. There are no modules for any area I've spent time in. You can't load your own pictures for the background and there's no built-in picture viewer, once again, I don't care. The road routing functions seem acceptable, but all I use it for is guiding me to the cache, I have a TomTom for most of my highway navigation needs. The Dakota has no Spanner support, you can't get NMEA output through the USB port. This is only an issue if you want to use it as a GPS dongle for a program like MS Streets and Trips. I kept my 60cx partially because it can output NMEA through serial or USB and I have a couple of legacy applications that need that. Most people probably won't. One thing I do like is that it creates and reads standard .gpx files. It's very easy to drop tracks or waypoints into google earth. In summary: Pros: - reads/creates standard GPX files - good geocaching support - fast GPS lock - reasonably bright screen (for a touch screen) - compact, can pass off as a cell phone - good battery life - good quality free maps available - custom maps (raster maps) - compatible with Oregon/Colorado accessories (bike mount, carabiner clip, etc) Cons: - WAAS issues - no Wherigo support - no Spanner support (no NMEA mode) So far having a compact paperless unit has outweighed the cons! I hated entering text on the 60cx (waypoint names, etc), it's less of a chore on the Dakota. The touch screen makes all the difference there.

I bought my Dakota from Universal Mania - http://www.universalmania.com - I had good results. Shipped quickly in a new package and I registered it with Garmin with no problems. They've also got good ratings on http://www.resellerratings.com - I *always* check the ratings b/f I buy from a new place online. REI doesn't have the lowest price (unless you catch them on sale) but they do have some of the best customer service and return policies in the business. If you're an REI member you do get 10% back on purchases in the forms of dividents, so a $350 GPS will end up costing you $315.

What's your budget? Garmin Oregon: touch screen, Wherigo support Garmin Dakota: touch screen, no Wherigo, less expensive Either one will replace the iPhone for caching purposes.

Make sure the folder hasn't been locked/set to "read only". If you select the folder on your garmin and hit cmd+i you should see an information panel.

Just to note that the OP has an Etrek, not a Colorado/Dakota/Oregon so the chipset issue probably isn't what's causing his problem. You may have an out of date almanac. Leave the GPS on and somewhere with a clear view of the sky for 10-15 minutes or try resetting it then leaving it out.

ys u cn. Check out this entry on the Oregon wiki. Also works on the Dakota and Colorado.

Like some of the other posters have pointed out - the Colorado is one of the newer paperless units from Garmin. Unlike older units like the 60cx or Venture, it keeps geocaches stored in their own category and file(s), separate from waypoints. You can have up to 2000 geocaches or 200 files - whichever limit you hit first. If you are downloading waypoints one at a time from geocaching.com you will most likely hit the 200 files limit first. I see you're a premium member so you might want to consider using pocket queries. They'll let you download up to 500 caches at a time in one file that is emailed to you. You can drag and drop the gpx file onto your Oregon or you can use a program like GSAK to keep track of your caches. I use GSAK to combine 3 pocket queries covering the area I usually cache in so at any time I have around 1500 caches on my GPS - I can just hit "find nearest geocache" and off I go. It's very convienent.

You should be able to load cache descriptions on the palm (I used to do this with a Palm III) but you won't get a map on it unless you hook it up to a GPS, and this will require a cable (kind of cuts down on the stealth). Basically if you just want to have the cache descriptions in your pocket the Palm will do that. So will most iPods, many cell phones ("smart" phones in particular), and PocketPC devices. If you want moving maps and descriptions you might want to save towards a paperless GPS unit. Garmin, Lowrance, and DeLorme all have units with good caching support. I've got a Dakota 20 and really like the size (It can pass for a small touch-screen cell phone) and paperless caching. The DeLorme PN-30/PN-40 series are getting good reviews on the forums as are the Lowrance Endura series.

You're going to spend around $100 (US) on the software, you can buy a good car navigation GPS for that amount and turn around and sell it at the end of the trip to recover some of your investment. If you do decide to go with City Navigator and a handheld, get the MicroSD card version - I think you can sell it far more easily than the DVD version since the license goes with the card and not the GPS it's registered to.

I carry a daypack whenever I'm out whether it's caching or a dayhike. Obviously for a park & grab I don't strap it on, but I'll often have it in the car. It always has: water first aid kit lighter/matches swiss army knife (with knife & saw) bug spray sharpie pencil pen spare batteries for GPS flashlight UV flashlight (not actually for caching) headlamp clipboard & pad (mostly not for caching) I may add a leatherman in the near future. If I know I'm going to be out for a day there's room for lunch or a snack. If the weather is cool I keep a fleece jacket in the pack (stuffed into a ziplock bag, works as a poor-man's space saver bag when you squeeze the air out). I always have a point & shoot camera with me, if I'm on a photo-trip I have an insert that fits in the pack and holds a dSLR and a couple of lenses and spare battery packs. The first aid kit is based on a cheap $1 from walmart. I added a few things that are useful for outdoors (tweezers, small bottle of hydrogen peroxide instead of neosporin [allergies on my part], better band-aids). It won't hurt to carry a spare log (you can print them out online) and a few spare small baggies to replace damp logs. I haven't printed any out yet but I probably will soon. I don't have a dedicated "swag bag", but I carry a couple of trade items in a side pouch of the backpack.

Are you downloading individual caches as GPX files? Sounds like you might be hitting the 200 file limit, try doing a pocket query instead or use GSAK to combine the individual files into one.

double post, browser hiccuped.

I've had no complaints about the garmin units I've used and owned (can't say the same for Magellan). However, I'm glad to see DeLorme and Lowrance coming on strong in the market. The competition helps keep prices low(er) and drives the companies to keep producing better products.

There are two types of NiMH batteries on the market today, the standard ones and low-discharge types. Standard NiMH batteries slowly lose power over time. It's referred to as "Self-discharge". They won't go dead in a day or two, but over time they can lose most of their charge. Low-discharge batteries self-discharge at a much slower rate and maintain their charge better. Personally, I prefer low-discharge batteries for my AA devices because I don't always plan ahead. I can let my camera or GPS or whatever sit for a couple of weeks and if the urge to take some photos or go geocaching hits I can grab it and go. The trade off is a low-discharge battery has a lower energy capacity than a traditional one. It's not a huge difference (2400 mah in a good traditional vs. 2000 mah in a good low-discharge). If you're the more organized sort a traditional, high-capacity battery might work better, you can charge it up the night before and be good to go all day. They're also a bit cheaper. No matter which type of battery you choose get a *good* charger and avoid "15 minute chargers", they put too much strain on the battery and greatly shorten its lifespan. I've had good luck with the Sanyo Eneloops and the Rayovac Hybrids (at one point I think they were made in the same factory). Both are low-discharge batteries. I'm currently using a cheap "smart" charger that charges in a couple of hours, but I'm going to upgrade to something better soon. No matter which type you use carry spare batteries. I carry a second pair of rechargeables and a set of lithium (non-rechargeable) batteries. Energizer lithiums come in a nice "clamshell" plastic 2 pack (once you strip off the cardboard). I kept the "clamshell" from a set and I use it hold my spare set of rechargeable batteries. Both sets of spares fit in a side pocket on my backpack so I know where they are.

For car navigation you might want to consider picking up a $100 Garmin or TomTom automotive GPS. Generally, handheld GPS's don't do a great job of car navigation. With the exception of the Lowrance units none of them offer voice prompts, for example. A larger issue is that they simply don't reroute very quickly or at all. For example, if you miss a turn a car GPS will begin rerouting right away, a handheld may require you to select a "reroute" button or will be so slow that it's not very useful. The Lowrance units might do better in this regard, I'm not sure. The other advantage of having a dedicated car GPS is so when she has to take that weekend business trip you don't lose your fishing GPS for the weekend too....

AFAIK all the newer garmin units are using a high sensitivity receiver of some sort. If you like the size/form factor of the Vista you might want to check out the Dakota series - the Dakota 20 is comparable to an Oregon 300 but without the Wherigo support and with a brighter/more contrasty screen.

Second that. GSAK is a very useful took for keeping your caches organized. It's extensible through macros and can load caches directly to many GPS units. It's a great way to keep all your cache information together. It's free to use but the nag screen gets annoying after a while, but registration is dirt cheap considering it's a lifetime registration and all the functionality.

With an Oregon or Dakota that's all you have to do, drop the .gpx files in the /garmin/gpx directory on the unit. You can have up to 200 files in there. Investing in GSAK can still be very good idea though, it's handy to have a database of found/not found/placed/etc on your laptop/desktop and the macros really expand the functionality of GSAK. I bought a copy to use w/ my 60cx but it's been handy with the new Dakota too! Field notes are a nice feature as well, but they're not unique to the Garmin series.

You might want to check out this link: http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=81315 Look into this software as well: http://www.bt747.org/ It's free and is usually better than the manufacturer supplied tools. It will read the log from your GPS and convert it to a format google earth can import (.kml or .gpx). Just use 9600 for the com port speed if that seems to work. It'll be fast enough for what you are doing.