gelfling6

I think I took a more brutal path, but it worked! Before I installed the 2.13 update, I did a image copy of the device on a Linux laptop which still accepted the GC as a flash drive.. Took close to an hour to copy the entire 2GB space. When 2.13 wasn't cutting it, I put it back on the Linux laptop, and under Disk Utility, WIPED the memory down to zeros, then used DD to write the 1.7 image back.. result, the device thought it was still 3:15PM,about the time I started the image copy 3 days ago.. took it outside, and in 30 seconds, it locked in on home again, and I was back in business. (again, it still took about an hour, but understandable.) So, basically, right back to where I left off before installing the update. I would, still like to see if I can integrate the new map into the old firmware version. It was an improved view.

You can go this route, load the .gpx with MapSource, and do the same, or if you don't mind the missing map, EasyGPS is another zero-cost alternative to migrating from one to the other.. As long as the computer is talking via the USB cable, simply have that GPS model selected and USB as the cable connection under EasyGPS. I used to load the entire GPX file under MapSource, which came with the GPS, and view it under a map, but moving them to the GPS in bulk, I would use EasyGPS, and just select the ones around a central cache location. Stephen

I've run into this too.. the "newlogs.txt" file is a weird format.. It's not a true ASCII text file, rather it's more like something you'd find on a UNIX machine.. (linefeed only, or c/r only, still understood as a line break.) I've run into this too, whenever I go to upload the file after offloading it from the GC, and whipping-up extended notes for the log entry under Wordpad. (which will handle it as a standard text file, but it too can corrupt the file.) I've run into times,where I've found/logged 21 or so finds, 2-3 DNF's, etc.. BUT..... sometimes, it'll lose some of the entries once I make the upload.. I have been able to recover the entries, since I haven't wiped out the log file, but just needed to re-do the end of line's.. It will still handle a standard C/R+L/F text file. It is a weird format, though.. Especially for Win-CE, which you would expect to be creating a plain text format.

It was their version of the 310, but about 10 years ago... same as the 500 was the version of the 5-10 years ago. The 110, was kind of Magellan's version of the Garmin eTrex Classic. (yellow, non-H).. It also had a slightly different way to load/unload data.. Kinda more like how Lorance did theirs, loading/saving the memory to a flash card. Their Map-410 was like Garmin's GPS-40.. (B&W LCD,) except the 410 had a swinging/removable antenna.) Stephen (gelfling6)

Yep.. the 510 has a little mini CCD camera,like the iPhone and quite a few other cell phones I've scrapped down over the years. They appear to have the main CPU & flash chip under the shield on the 2nd photo.. LOL! Yes, they actually have the board & case-front/screen flipped.. ^ v .. the microphone hanging off the bottom of the board is the give-away.) Yes, it is definitely a different board in comparison.. I haven't found any photos of the insides of the 310 either, even back-tracking junglehost.. The CPU for the GC/310 may be on the screen side, and that appears to be connected on the front side of the board as well.. It strikes me, that it may be an ARM-11 based CPU, but no ideas as to who the maker is.. Surprising, that they chose Win-CE over Linux like many others have been doing with the ARM, lately. Well.. after 3 failed hunts today, I managed to locate Magellan's 1.7 firmware page again, and download that version.. 2.13 is on the shelf, and Magellan has also opted to pull it because of many bugs.. (data entry modes, and I just ran across a navigation bug that made even the 1.7 jumping around look like a calm child, compared to 2.13's wild-child. (give that firmware some Ritalin!!!!) Hopefully, I can downgrade it back. It's frustraiting! Stephen

I think I just ran into another bug.. Accuracy is paying a BIG price! It may zero-down to about 10 feet, but you're nowhere near the cache.. I just stripped down my GPX file to only 200, and I was able to enter a new waypoint, BUT...... it had me standing smack in the middle of a 30 X 30 foot field, where it said I was within 0 of the cache (+/-26 feet), and there was NOTHING around me.. Nothing but a storm drain, and I checked that thoroughly! (no place to put an altoids tin in there, less than 2-feet depth and nothing with a magnet.) then, it would suddenly jump out 30 feet away, +/- 20 feet, so.. start walking that way.. suddenly I'm walking the wrong direction.. Okay, turn the other way, start walking, Still going thew wrong direction, and now 40 feet away even after walking 20 feet.. (it never changed from the 30..) It still jumps all over the place... Time to retrieve 1.7 again...

The GSAK macro no-longer works with POI loader.. You'll have to export the GPX data manually, and manually point the POI loader to that file manually as well.. I ran across this when I updated POI Loader about a year ago.. the format of the sound file pilotsnipes used, is a generic WAV file.. However.. POI Loader won't accept anything other than MP3 format.. (which grows the file larger.. Yeah.. freaked me out too. replacing a 34KB ding, with a 2.4MB Ding.) I haven't used it since the change to POI.. But.... Ironic, even the newer Nuvi's (specific, the bottom of the barrel 40) is even more finicky. I was able to export a GPX 1.0 file to the MicroSD, with just a few log entries, but no icon or sound.. so, you're stuck with the generic silver ball icon.. I think the real problems began back when I began hitting a top limit on GPSBabel, when it began choking on a 34,000+ record database, and wouldn't export through the macro. I've since resolved to limit the exported GPX to just child waypoints, and keep the main cache list on the computer, and exporting only 1000-2000 packets to a Magellan eXplorist GC. (which, after upgrading the firmware to the new 2.13, has already reared it's ugly head of a limit on the number of chile waypoints.. If you loaded more than 100, it won't allow you to add any new ones. (kinda crimps putting next stage coordinates in, doesn't it?)

Apparently, an actual BUG! Version 1.7, had no problem allowing new waypoints to be added, even with 500+ child waypoints in storage.. Quite handy if you want to enter a child waypoint for a Multi. BUT...... 2.13, will not allow beyond 100 child waypoints.. Interesting, since when GSAK or even Vantage Point send the separate waypoint GPX, it can send more than 500! And 2.13 will allow seeing up to 100 from the central point. (while 1.7, allowed access to ALL )

The more I study it, the more that right-hand pad assembly strikes me as a touch-screen socket, noticing several missing components from the pads below-right of it, and the 'chalk-line' (sorry, feel like a CSI.. ) outline of the socket between the screw holes, looks like a compression-holder ("D"-shaped) for a ribbon connector. I'd take a stab, then, the center one under the center screw hole, might have been for a compass. I'd venture the board is for the smaller (same-size) case as the GC.. Oh, how I would love to be able to add the SD card socket! Expand the memory without needing to replace the flash.. (but, it looks like several missing components to the left of it (above the 1002), to the right of the outline, and a few more below.. ) Oh, the wonders of hardware hacking..

Don't laugh, until you've tried it... I ran across this awhile back when I was trying to get an old VEX programming USB to RS-232C dongle to talk to one of my old original Garmins.. It handles both FTDI, & Prolific... and comes from Neither.. It's a driver loader from Parallax, which made the Basic Stamp micro controller. It might work for the cable you have.. Everyone seems to be looking to the FTDI converter, over the Prolific, because there was a problem pushing the Prolific over 56000 baud. http://www.parallax.com/tabid/530/Default.aspx (this page goes to the site to download, click the red circle, and follow the instructions.)

Hmmm.. not sure on the center one.. It looks like a standard connector from the outline, with surface-mount tabs facing towards the center of the device.. (note the area around the screw hole is also bordered by a white outline.) GND/support tabs are on the left/right of the connector area, and an obvious GND/shield support through the upper-left corner of it. (just below-left of the screw area.) But, having looked at the MicroSD socket on an Arduino Ethernet/MicroSD board, Yes, that's EXACTLY what that left-most connector is. So, which newer eXp had the SD socket? I'm still thinking Compass, Altimeter, possibly even accelerometer, connection with those two extra pad areas. The 5 circular pads along the bottom, I would guess to be more of a Beta-testing or Pre-assembling testing connections.

Side note, since my GC is already out of warranty, and I've already bumped up to 2.13, I got a little adventurous with the screw driver.. There looks like so many things that can be added to the GC, to make the other versions.. the pads on the upper-left, above the battery connector, look like a Micro-SD socket.. not sure what to make of the top-center and top-right pad positions, but one might even be a electronic Compass connection. I closed everything back up, and it still works, but see what I found.... The chip in the center, obviously the Flash RAM.. I wouldn't be surprised, with a little tweak, you could put something a little larger.. Yes, I know, looks dangerous.. And yes, it could be.. But, as they say in the forums of MAKE: magazine, Unless you can open it, You don't actually own it. Main reason I opened it, I might be looking to get a new joy-button insert.. I've actually warn a small hole through the top of mine.

As someone already mentioned, EasyGPS is free (as in free as air, unless you go to one of those gas stations that now have the coin-operated air pump, then Skip this description.) Most Garmin hand-helds came with Mapsource, unless you got one separate.. There are plenty of freeware maps out there from GPS File Depot, and many others, that will load under Mapsource.. If your etrex is the Classic Yellow / H / Pretty sure the Geko models, you're out of luck for maps.) Before I got GSAK to work 100% (which is not free), I used to move .loc files (also, before I brecame a premium member here.) to/from the gps with EasyGPS, and to Delorme Street Atlas USA ($45 mapping program) by porting the gpx files exported from EasyGPS through GPSBabel, so the caches showed on a map on the laptop. (I still port the gpx files from GSAK to SA-USA, for a wide-range GPS radar.) You can obtain EasyGPS here http://www.easyGPS.com Simply go through [Edit}>[Preferences] [My GPS receivers], and [Add GPS] yours (select make, model, port required), then [send selected] to the GPS from the [GPS] menu.. Drawback with EasyGPS, NO MAP! Just a plain white background like the above GPS. Hope this helps! Stephen (gelfling6)

I'm running into an odd-ball problem.. I usually pack the GPX file to the maximum, and I think I've found a limit... If you try to add a child waypoint, and the waypoint file has 500 or so entries, (I've done this with 5000 geocaches selected with GSAK, 4500, and 4000 so-far..) I seem to get the following: Is there an absolute maximum? or did I hit a bug?

Right now, I'm presently downloading BOTH GC-MOD & 2.13 Firmware.. the size of the two is drastic, and I imagine the 2.13 firmware is mostly overhead.. One thing I noticed in your instructions, to delete EVERYTHING from the root directory of the GC when it's plugged in as a flash drive.. I've run into a similar task, with a cheapy netbook (sold by Sylvania, based on a WinBond MCU, based on the ARM-11).. there were a few mods people made to it, and usually to replace the firmware, it took wiping the flash-RAM.. My 1st attempt to do this, left me with a serious Brick. It was a bare-metal Windows CE 6.0 with just two folders, and absolutely nothing.. It took finding a site, which had three different versions of files, written to a SD card, which would re-write everything to the flash-RAM, and return the device to working again.. One serious suggestion, before anyone does ANY kind of replacement of the Firmware or content of the GC.. When it is connected as a flash drive, Back-up Everything! and I mean EVERYTHING! Hidden files, root directories, etc.. I've found 7-Zip sees hidden files, so that's a start.. (but it takes a good 2-3 hours to compress the content of the root.) Another alternative, connect the GC to a Linux based computer, and copy the entire content of the Root to a directory, before even thinking of deleting it.. Worse case, if the device comes back up as a flash RAM but with nothing in it, you can still recover and re-write everything back. You should also be able to do a 'DD' copy of the device from Linux as well.. an exact image, is better than just the files. It's always safer to cover your keester, than be left with a brick.. I, for one, won't have to worry about my warranty.. I got my GC more than 2 years ago.

I'm probably over-kill, especially having done it for 6+ years, and still in the 1000's for finds. Software are GSAK to manage the caches, and handle transfer to the GPS. (the Nuvi macro for GSAK is incompatible, likewise the recent version of POI loader hates the sound file from the macro. (must be an MP3 instead of a WAV) DeLorme Street Atlas USA for the mapping & 'overhead view' navigating. Magellan Vantage-Point, for managing the content of the GC.. GPSBabel, I still use a few small batch files for converting the GPX files from GSAK, or databases, to the SA-USA draw files, because I'm still trying to figure out how to change the default outputs from GSAK, which seems to ignore some of the settings from GPSBabel. (I.E. a ton of treasure-chests when zoomed out, cluttering the map, when a file translated by GPSBabel, changes to smaller squares as you zoom out to a certain scale.) Wordpad.. Yep, Microsoft's stripped-down WORD, is used to edit the newlogs.txt file on the GC, before uploading to field notes. I put a simple marker when I find or DNF a cache, then jot it down on a notepad, or if I remember to charge it, Pocket-Word on an old Ipaq 3970 pocket-pc... GPS's are... a Magellan Explorist GC, main finder, notes a Garmin eTrex Vista HCx, 2ndary finder, calculator, and track recording. a Garmin Nuvi-40 for road navigation to the closest parking areas. I admit, I'm a bit overkill, but I haven't upgraded to a smart phone (I have an old clunky pre-paid), and I'm still a rank novice by any standard.

(reply in english) Excuse the sloppy translation, I'm using Google's translate page.. I have a GC myself, also with the 1.7 firmware... I use Magellan's 'Vantage-Point' as the primary loader/downloader for the GC, but also feed the majority of the cache packets to the GC from GSAK. You might want to go into the geocaches folder, and delete ALL (yes, ALL) files.. Likewise to the Waypoint folder, then 'eject' the device and allow it to boot-up with no caches.. Now, when you get a pocket query, you need to separate the main & child waypoint .GPX files to these seperate folders.. the 'Vantage Point' software will do the splitting automatically, if you point it to the pocket query .zip file. Also, don't feed the GC more than 5000 total caches. It has a little trouble digesting more than that.. Worse case, you can use EasyGPS to combine multiple GPX files. (again, keep the child waypoint and cache files seperate.) One of the advantages of GSAK, if you check right option box, will automatically erase old GPX files from the GC, when you transfer new groups. I'm finding, as mentioned before, feeding the GC more than 5000 caches, tends to choke it. (even with that many, it takes long to boot-up, because it is checking the validity (structure) of the GPX files.. Hence, bigger file, longer time to check it. Hope this helps! Stephen (gelfling6) (Reply in German) Entschuldigen Sie die schlampige Übersetzung, ich bin mit Google übersetzen Seite .. Ich habe eine GC mich auch mit dem 1,7 Firmware ... Ich benutze Magellan 'Vantage-Point "als primäre loader / Downloader für den GC, aber auch in die Mehrheit der Cache-Pakete an den GC aus GSAK. Vielleicht möchten Sie in die Geocaches Ordner gehen und löschen Sie alle (ja, alle) Dateien .. Ebenso zum Waypoint Ordner, dann "Auswerfen" das Gerät und lassen Sie ihn hochfahren-up ohne Caches .. Nun, wenn Sie eine Tasche Abfrage zu erhalten, müssen Sie die Haupt-und Kind Wegpunkt zu trennen. GPX-Dateien in diesen separaten Ordner .. der 'Vantage Point' Software wird die Spaltung automatisch tun, wenn Sie es in der Tasche Abfrage. zip-Datei verweisen. Auch nicht füttern die GC mehr als 5000 insgesamt Caches. Es hat ein wenig Mühe verdauen mehr als das. .. Schlimmer Fall, können Sie EasyGPS mehrere GPX-Dateien zu kombinieren. (immer wieder, dass das Kind Wegpunkt und Cache-Dateien separat.) Einer der Vorteile von GSAK, wenn Sie richtige Option Kontrollkästchen aktivieren, werden automatisch gelöscht alten GPX-Dateien aus dem GC, wenn Sie neue Gruppen zu übertragen. Ich finde, wie bereits erwähnt, das Füttern der GC mehr als 5000 Caches, neigt zu ersticken. (auch mit, dass viele, dauert es lange, bis Boot-up, weil sie die Überprüfung wird die Gültigkeit (Struktur) der GPX-Dateien .. also, größere Datei, längere Zeit, um es zu überprüfen. Hope this helps! Stephen (gelfling6)

I've relied on DeLorme Street Atlas USA for many years, for both navigation & Geocaching.. The latest I have is the 2011 Plus, and, I'll be honest, 2009 Plus has more options I wanted, and I still need 2006 to be able to use an old iPaq Pocket PC, but it swallows the maps made by the 2009 version.. (which, the 2011 version decided to remove from their capabilities list.. I've noticed the software is more sold online, than in stores. (Walmart, Staples, etc.. I was lucky to find the 2011 package at an Office Depot!) Their maps aren't all too accurate either.. It lists a state forest up the road from me as being part of a state forest on the other side of town, but the two aren't even connected in any way or form..... It still has a road listed in one town, as crossing a river, but that same road was washed out long before I was even born! (washed out by a flood in 1955!) It still shows roads that are incomplete, yet they've been completed for close to 12 years! Though, I can say the same for Garmin, Topo-200K, incomplete roads, roads that were closed years ago, yet, I have a copy of IBYCUS-USA, and OpenStreetMaps for the same area, which show the changes.. As someone said, they may've found their 'Cash-Cow' in subscriptions to the tracking radios.

As some wise person once said, If it's too good to be true, it probably isn't! the GC doesn't have a SD card socket of any type.. and they want how much for it? Sounds more like a Garmin 62S than a GC at that price.

just simply pressing the center joy-button when on the map, brings it back up.. Another, would be the zoom- / zoom+ buttons (the lower left & right).. Hopefully, when they DO make the next firmware update, this will be fixed as well. (just don't like the Windows-8 format.)

no way to handle it, or to satisfy their 'profit margin', they refuse to handle it, and give us a "We made it, You wanted the device, Now take it! we're Not changing it!"

I agree recently.. Last year, when I got the new Nuvi 40 (On BlackFriday special), I noticed the inability to delete the old breadcrumb trail.. The new software update it made, seems to make it even tougher to locate a town, even if you give the postal code, until the unit can indeed find a satellite to narrow its search. Otherwise, it refuses to acknowledge the place exists. But, the Breadcrumb track, this was STANDARD ISSUE with the older Nuvi's.. Now, the ONLY way to get rid of the old record, is to perform a hard reset. (holding your finger in the lower-right corner, while powering the device on.) Now, once you do this hard reset, you must reset ALL of your preferences, because they have been all reset back to the factory default. (thankfully, it does not erase POI's, different vehicles, or voices.) I think Garmin has become too disconnected.. Even their quality seems to be lacking.

One thing I hope they improve, is the micro-tiny font.. Even with 2x reading glasses, it's nearly impossible to read! (I'm 49, and sight is already at 23/21.. so much for 20/20.. writing off 36 years of good luck.)

Having seen the recent models, I think Garmin may've taken the "Cheaper, and more product sales" route.. their older models, like the Venture, the Legend, and the classic yellow Pre-H models, were nearly indestructible. (until the outer rubber came un-glued, then all bets were off. ) I still think their newer models look a little too much like Magellan's recent models.. (the GC and up.) Likewise, Magellan's quality is lacking too.. It's all about selling more product, than selling a Quality product. Meanwhile, despite a loose rubber, my Vista-HCx is still bombing away on the trails. Stephen (gelfling6)

If the 265 is designed like the Nuvi 40, the only way to remove past data, is to do a warm reset. (while powering-up, hold your finger in the upper-right corner of the screen, and once the device boots, it will ask if you wish to reset the data.) DRAWBACK...... You'll need to set your preferences all over again.. This was a stickler when the 40 came out, that the track data would not erase if you told it to clear the trip record. Thus, if you're like me, and leave the breadcrumb trail on, you'll also have a boat-load of tracks all over the place.. previous models, like the 205, the 1300, which I've owned, have the option to clear the track record along with the trip record, and I used to always download the track GPX file to my computer before erasing it.. But now, the record is harder to erase.. Some already hypothesized this was Garmin's attempt to recover the track records, to improve their map quality & accuracy.. BUT... that's a bit on the paranoid, right?