cwhlam

Maybe you can try OpenStreetMap with RMP creator. I use OpenStreetMap on a Garmin with good results. It may work well with the Triton too. Let us know how it works.

Does the 62s has a demo mode? If it does, then after you enter "go", you will have a choice of moving to that location, in addition to navigating there. By moving the "current location" to the location of the cache will allow you to see the map where the cache is located.

Copied from the magellan explorist 500 faq: http://www.gpsfaqs.org/faqs/magellan/explorist/explorist500/mapping.html "6. How do I restore a basemap? Basemaps can be downloaded from here:http://rhamphorinkx.newmail.ru/ These downloads are in .rar compressed format. If you need a free decompressor, one can be obtained here: http://www.winace.com/xaceplus.html. Decompress the file. Rename attached file to "BASEMAP.MGI" then copy it to the Explorist internal memory Background maps folder. Finally, BASEMAP.MGI must have the system attribute set before the Explorist will recognize the file. Use the DOS command "attrib +s BASEMAP.MGI", executed from the folder containing BASEMAP.MGI or providing the appropriate path. " Comments: 1. The rhamphorinkx site is probably no longer available; but the OP has found a source for the rar files which should be good enough. 2. I haven't use winace. I usually use the "unrar" command in linux. I heard that winrar also work. 3. You have to connect your E500 to your PC as an external drive, and choosing to access the internal memory and NOT the SD card. Without a basemap, I don't remember whether you will have trouble connecting to the PC. I have given my E500 away and cannot test out the procedure. 4. Giving the basemap system attribute is necessary. Good luck.

The OP may want to take a look at Smartgpx <http://www.smartcaching.de/smartgpx.html>. It is free and it works on a Nokia N95.

Maybe send a note to the developer of Maps4me. Or, ask a question in the Explorist Forum, the developer of Maps4me seems to frequent that forum regularly. Another source of free maps is MAGicMaps, but it is for Canada only. It works for the Tritons, but I am not sure whether it works for these new Explorists. Good luck guys. I am following your adventure with great interest.

A NA basemap can be found in the file section of the Yahoo's Explorist group. It does not say which model the basemap is for. You may have to go back to 2008, when the file was deposited, to find out which basemap it is.

Mapsend Lite can be found in the file section of Yahoo's Explorist group.

What makes you say that? It could just as well be the other way around. Or, even much more likely: both have an offset, in an unknown direction and by an unknown amount. Take for example the geocache GCA028. Google map will put GZ in the water. Reading the logs, it is clear that GZ is on the dam, near the boat landing, as shown on the satellite map and on my North American gpsr.

You have an additional problem when it comes to maps for China. Google's street maps are offset by a few hundred meters. If you do not have a made-for-china gprs, you will find that the location reported by the gps does not agree with the map's location. If you want to see the extent of the offset, compare Google's street map to its satellite map. The satellite maps have no offset.

That - um - is a data point you hadn't provided to us before. Indeed, it should and would have pulled all of the requisite info during your drive. Double check WAAS/EGNOS enabled, datum is WGS84. Then if you've still got major issues, please check satellite page for number and strength and report back. I had a similar experience with my Dakota 10 (10 to 20 meters off, had to navigate to a cache using the map) and I was on the road from Quebec to Ontario. Well, I had the Dakota set to lock on road, and the cache was not on the road. Once I set the gps to not lock on road, it behaved normally again (but it showed me sometimes driving in a lake).

Where is your friend located? Both "MAGic Maps<magicmaps.ca>" and "Maps4me<maps4me.net>" have maps for the explorist 500le. You will need the ".imi" maps.

For Canadian maps, you can also try MagicMaps: http://www.magicmaps.ca/.

Even though it is a bit dated, the Explorist 400 is still a fine gps for someone just starting geocaching. The GPS can beep for many reasons; one of which is the proximity alarm. I usually use the Compass Screen. When you have an active GOTO, the compass points you to the direction you should be going. There are two customizable data fields on the top of the Compass screen. I usually use "Distance to End" and "Accuracy". The first tell you the GPS's estimate of how far you are from the cache and the second tells you have trustworthy the distance estimate is. When you get within a few meters of the cache, it is time to put the gps down and start thinking where are the likely hiding locations for the cache. You can continue using the Explorist 400 until you decide you have to have some of the more advanced features, such as paperless caching. Have Fun.

Any GPS receiver should work in Japan. I visited Japan in 2009 and used an Explorist 500 to find several caches.

I tried it and it works on the Dakota too. The quality of the photo is not great, though.

You can use POIloader to create a custom poi's with photo. The process is a bit complicated. See: <http://gsak.net/board/index.php?showtopic=14095&st=0entry96277> for more details.

Thanks for this information. I never know that the Dakota would jump back out when it can't find a computer. Now, I can use it in the car without a special Garmin vehicle power cable!

The firmware can be found in the file section of the Yahoo's Explorist group: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eXplorist/files/Firmwares/>. Depending on the serial number of your Explorist 600, you update to either the 2.57 version, or the 2.71 version. Make sure you use the correct version, because loading the wrong version may brick your unit. I do not have a windows 7 machine and cannot help you on that. Clement

With the GC, you do not have to buy maps. My understanding is that the included "basemap", for most countries, is as good as the detail maps that one has to buy for other GPSs, and that includes all of the US, Canada and Western Europe. You should consider the total cost: hardware + maps, before deciding.

It may be a problem with the contrast. Page 4 of the Explorist 100 manual <http://www.activegps.co.uk/gps-navigation/magellan-explorist-100/magellan-explorist-100.pdf> has a paragraph on how to adjust the contract. May be it would work on the Explorist 210 too.

There is a project under way. It is slowly moving. It is a lot harder with Magellan. There are tools, they are not as nice. http://www.magicmaps.ca/ The Triton 300 can handle both vector (.imi) and raster (.rmp) maps. It is much easier to create raster maps, and the project to create .rmp maps are moving along quite well at Magicmaps. I think all of Nova Scotia are done. The size of a map is small enough to fit into the limited internal memory of the Triton 300.

The instructions on updating the Vista nmea driver for the Explorsit is in their FAQ: <https://www.magellangps.com/support/faqdetail.asp?faqid=467&prodid=1073>. Please check whether that is of help to you. Clement

An Explorist with a 133 serial number will not take the 2.57 firmware. However, there is another one which is reported to work. See <http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=204533> for more details.

To answer the first question, please take a look at Skramblr's review of Direct Route V3 <http://www.mtgc.org/robertlipe/DirectRoute3/>. Robert's FAQ (link at the top of this forum) also provides some information. Based on Skramblr's review, I bought Direct Route V2 two years ago, and has been very happy with it. However, the major selling point of DR is auto-routing. Given the dramatic price drop of dedicated in-car GPS units, you may want to investigate whether DR is still worth buying. There is no doubt that you will enjoy your Explorist 500 much more if you have detail maps in it. The question is which one. As for your second question, the other mapping software with street information (but not auto-routing) are the Topo 3D USA or Topo 3D Canada. Only Magellen software can generate maps for the Explorist 500. If you are worried about Magellan software being too expense, you can made your own maps. Please see Yahoo's MobileMapper2 group for more information. But, only do it if you enjoy the challenges of making maps. In terms of saving money, you will be saving may be a few cents for every hour you put into making the maps.

Can you start with a smaller raster map? Say, divide your current map coverage into 4 parts. Each part will only be about 6 mb, which should fit into the internal memory. If your map data source is google map or equivalent, you can download a map with a lower level number. Typically, the size of the map reduces by a factor of 4 for each reduction in level. Yet, another possibility is to make a vector map (i.e. a .imi map). For the same map size, a vector map covers much more area. However, making a vector map is much more complicated than making a raster map.