gcfishguy

I was just wondering if there was an easy answer to the question, "just how 'off' will you be using different datums?" I know the standard for geocaching is Lat/Lon hddd mm.mmm and WSG84, but I will be helping out staking some claims this summer, and the prospectors in N.B. are told to use UTM NAD83 for coordinates on claim posts when registering the claims. Lat/Lon to UTM is just a conversion, I realize, but how different will things be if I start switching back and forth between WGS84 and NAD83? I use my GPS a lot, for camping spots, fishing, boating, and of course, caching....and I also use TopoCanada and GSAK. I just want a qualified answer on: 1. If he's set to NAD83 and I'm using WGS84, will we be off (compared to each other)? 2. If I start bouncing back and forth between the 2, will I run into issues where some of my waypoints and routes will end up in the wrong place in the software? (Because of using 2 different Datums) As a test, I waypointed a spot in topocanada with the software set to WGS84, and then changed it to NAD83 and created another waypoint with the identical coordinates. Well, the waypoints were right on top of each other. (As I had hoped) Now, was my test a valid test? I had have read on these forums that people were quite a ways off by using the wrong datum, but I never got to see what datum they were using. Also, it could be that in a different area of the country, there may be a big difference between those 2 waypoints...but the same test gave the same result on the west coast. Now, maybe it's TopoCanada just making some sort of a correction on my behalf, as an idiot-proof thing that's built into the software... If my topocanada test is a valid one, then I'll just switch back and forth between UTM and Lat/Lon when I need to, and the datum should be irrelevant. (At least NAD83 vs. WGS84) Other combinations will surely put a person way out in the rhubarb.... Anyway, could someone confirm that there is no difference (for my intentions) between NAD83 and WGS84? Thanks in advance! <>< **Edit - I just went and did some quick reading and found that my memory isn't that good. I was sure I read (a while back) that the 2 could be up to 50m apart....but it looks like it's more like a meter.

Excellent. Many thanks to you both. I found a store in Quebec (I'm in NB) selling the CX with the 64MB card for 199. (Canadian) Taxes, shipped, etc it comes to $228.36 (Canadian). I don't think I'll do better than that.....

Looking to make a purchase in the next few hours, depending on the answer to one simple question... On a Legend CX, can you overcome the 500 waypoint limit by storing more waypoints on the card? If I could get a definate answer to that, I'm off to the races... On a side note - If so, is it a simple matter, or is there more to it? If there is more to, it, does someone have a link to a how-to? I know I saw someone say something about overcoming that 500 limit in a post that i read a while back, but, search as I might, I can't seem to find it. Thanks!! <><

Garmin Venture, not sure how old, bought it used a few months ago. Last couple times out, it's been getting that thing where the display goes to heck...the best way to describe it is like the black pixels become really heavy and everything droops and compresses in the botton 1/3 of the lcd display. I have read some articles on the net about the displays getting 'black bands' and I'm not sure this is the same thing..... Anyway, the temporary fix seems to be the same....a good hard smack usually smartens it up temporarily. Either that or pushing in hard on the power button...not long enough to turn it off, but just enough to 'flex' it. So, it's a bad connection somewhere. I've searched through the forums, and haven't actually found anything concrete on it.... Another forum on the 'net someone posted that there were lots of articles out there describing how to fix it, but I'm not able to find them. I found the 'twist fix' but that's not really a fix...I'd think it would make it worse over time, if anything... I want to be able to repair the intermittent connection and have a reliable GPS again. Soo....if anyone has links that they've stashed away, I'd really like to have a go at fixing it..if not, I'll save up and just get a new etrex yellow. I had one before trading up to my venture, and have regretted it since.... Aside from the click stick and the higher res display, the venture had nothing over the yellow... The yellow had MUCH better reception, and held lock way better. Maybe the venture has a loose antenna connection too.... It will have a lock on 5-6 birds, then you drop your hand to your side and it loses them. And it won't maintain a lock sitting on the front seat of my car, but the yellow was solid as a rock in the same conditions... Anyway.....some help would be welcomed. Thanks in advance.

Okay then, I'll rephrase... If I'm heading out to a certain area, and want to do some caching in that area, and would like to have a usable map on my PPC, what software would you recommend? I'm using Garmin Mapsource (TopoCanada) on my PC, and if I could find some PPC software that would handle exports from either gsak or Mapsource, and make a map out of them that can be used on the PPC, I'd be a happy camper.

Is there any software out there that will allow a PPC to run .mps files from mapsource? I have tried just taking a screenshot and using an image viewer but zooming makes it grainy (naturally).... Thanks!! gcfishguy <><

Upgrading the yellow etrex (Euro) for a Venture. I still don't have mapping, but still keep telling myself I don't need it...or at least I haven't found a need for it yet. I always have a provincial book of topo maps in my car... Anyway.... I haven't had a chance to really read up on the Point Of Interest stuff that the venture does, but was just wondering if anyone that has/had one found a way to use that 1MB of memory for something other than what Garmin had intended....maybe store more than 500 waypoints...something like that... Also, just what does the point of interest functionality actually give you....is it even useful? I'm able to pick this one up, and have a buyer for my yellow etrex, so it'll only be a few $ out of pocket...and the better resolution display that will hold more data fields is worth the extra right off the bat. (To me, at least) Feedback from owners/pervious owners of the venture??

As far as being dead accurate with a compass, it's not training and skill, it's being careful. nturally you have to know what bearing you need to follow, and after that you just take great care in lining up all your marks and your N needle each time you sight. Also, make sure the mirror is adjusted so it looks like you're looking perfectly straight down at the needle. When I was in search and rescue, we did a night training exercise. Groups of 4, and 2 people in my group didn't have the first clue how to use a compass. We flagged our entry point, 3 of us took turns with the compasses and the 4th was designated as the one measuring distance by pacing. We went in 1500M, turned 90 degrees, went 500M, turned another 90 degrees and came 1500M back out to the road. We paced back to our starting place, we were off by less than a meter. That was my first time using a compass with any degree of finesse....I was always the one that checked before I left the road.."Okay, road runs east-west, I'm going in north, so I'll have to head south to get back to the road. I really had no idea that you could be so accurate if you tried hard. A friend was given a chunk of woodland that bordered on a creek by his mother in law. Nothing around it was marked but he wanted to know where the boundries of the land was on the bank of the creek. He had an old map that showed all the lots in about a 25 square mile area, and we could see that the boundry lines were all parallel, so we went looking for pins. We found some a few lots away from his, spent an afternoon and flagged the lines of his land. For what it's worth, when we came out to the creek and I said "This has to be pretty darned close..." There was a tree within a couple feet with an old blaze on it, at each side of the land. So, it was pretty much dead on. It's tricky with one person, because the most common error is losing track of the particular tree you sighted on..."Yeah, it was THIS tree....or...maybe it was that one....." If you have 2 people, sight ahead as far as you can, and send your partner ahead and guide him/her left or right and out as far as you can and still see them. When they're lined up perfect, walk to them, they step 'out' and you step into their foot prints. Then you do it again. It's even easier at night, because you can sight on a flashlight or headlamp...and you will be able to see the flashlight or headlamp a heck of a long ways in the dark. If you get in a jam and your compass is all you have to get out out of the woods, trust it. So many people wind up in trouble because they checked their compass and thought it was wrong. A great way to practice: Next time you have to bushwack...check the GPS right at the car, look at what it tells you the bearing is to the cache. Set your compass to a back bearing. (If the cache is on a bearing of 120 degrees, add 180 to it...your back bearing will be 300 degrees) After you find the cache, use the compass to navigate back to your car. Oh, and make sure that your compass and gps are both coordinated for magnetic north the same way. For ease, I set my compass to zero degrees declination, and I set the gpsr to display "magnetic". If you're going to be mapping a journey with the compass, make sure you set it back to the proper declination for your area. I always carry 2 compasses i my pack...I had a Sylva that must have got a hard knock in my pack and the needle got dislodged...it still worked, but I had to tilt it to get it to swivel..... It's worth another few dollars to me, to get out of the woods in one piece, so I carry a good quality compass and a general duty spare..just in case.

Well, things fell together and a co-worker came up to me yesterday and asked if I knew anyone who wanted to buy an old palm. $20 later, I am paperless. Not exactly what I planned, butit'll pay for itself in ink, paper, and lack of frustration. It's an old visor, but 8MB of memory, so realistically that's enough. I just have to load the DB for whatever area I'm headed to. Thanks for the input....I had figured I'd need a fairly high-end palm to go paperless, but found from your posts that wasn't the case. thanks again!!

What I'm talking about is paper caching, and keeping everything together. I've been at it a few weeks and have found that the hardest part is organizing information. When I head out, I want to have a list (paper) of caches in the area, along with a short description. So I started with EasyGPS. That worked pretty good, then I picked up a copy of TopoCanada. I then found GSAK, and I like how it works with TopoCanada, so I'm in the process of switching all my data over into GSAK. I also like that you can select a bunch of caches on the site, and pop them into GSAK by downloading the .loc. Anyway...I'm just looking for input on what software you folks use, if you bring along ump-teen sheets of paper with waypoints and short descriptions on them, etc... If I had a higher model GPSr I could include some info when i create the waypoints, but with a yellow eTrex, 6 letters is all you have. If I use the print feature of GSAK, I'll have 7 sheets of paper if I use the 'Grid Columns' pick, and 45 sheets if I use 'Condensed HTML'. Ugh. I know, "Get a PDA..." No offence to the paperless folks, but I'm only looking for hints from the paper-pushers. I actually sold a PDA that I wasn't using and used the $ to buy my GPSr, now I'm imagining using the PDA while caching and kicking my butt...but then I wouldn't have a GPSr.. Anyway...just looking for some onfo on the best (paper) way to be able to go out, have my bases covered, have info on caches (description, parking location, hints) and have enough info to be able to have fun. Thanks!!