casey97

Yes. Ordered three, 1 for Venture Cx, 1 for Fuji Finepix and 1 for my wife's Canon EOS 40D (yes it is as awesome as she thought). The shield works great and after it settles there are no bubles or dots.

Vista Operating System is crap, but if you are talking about the GPS then I have heard much good about the HCx, and it will be my next GPSr, baring something newer/better.

I have always thought local cacher groups could offer to help the authorities to search for lost children or adults. With the use of GPSrs the cachers could cover more area in an organized fashion. This would maximize the search area, instead of hit and miss searches the authorities currently run. Cachers could search in mostly straight lines 500 yards apart (just a random number, so I could do the math). With 10 cachers (again a random number of cachers) walking an average of 1 mile an hour (slow enough to occasionally search and traverse sporadic rough terrain), they could cover over 1,800 acres and hour. (Do the math! I know you will because you're probably a nerd like me. What am I saying, you look for used, dirty, Tupperware with the aid of high tech electronics, of course you are a nerd.) 10 cachers each covering 500 yards (15,000 feet) X 1 mile (5,280 feet) ___________ 79,200,000 square feet Divided by 43,560 square feet per acre 1,818.18 acres The current searches are like throwing darts and hoping to get lucky. Using cachers to search is like using a mile long net, to sift through the wilderness. This would be a great way of getting a lot of positive press for our hobby, if we offered to help in times of crisis. Besides, if I can find a woods micro, finding a person who screams "over here", should be a bit easier. edited for spellin

I would tell everyone I have had two steroid shots for poison ivy this summer, but fear my cache finds would be disallowed for doping. As this is the case I can neither confirm nor deny my cache prowess is enhanced by artificial hormones. If there were no poison ivy, how would cachers visually ID each other? I mean if you did not have calamine-covered lesions on your arms, you would look just like every other man in hiking boots on the Tupperware isle, with a GPSr hanging from a lanyard around your neck. How else could we tell who among us is a cacher with out the distinctive poison ivy markings?

I have no beef with other brands of GPSrs, but the ability of clicking send to GPS while on GC.com, is a huge feather in the Garmin cap.

I thought the Cx and the CSx had the same chip. They are the same unit except the Cx does not have the electronic compass and barometric altimeter. This is the S (for Scientific) in the CSx. Garmin lists both as being high sensitivity. I did not know reception was any different between the 60Cx and 60 CSx. The reviews I have seen with side by side's of the Vista HCx and the 60CSx have shown them the be almost the same, with the H chip having the slight edge on occasion. How can the addition of a better antanae not improve this, to beyond the reception of both units? Unless the H chip is not compatable with the quad helix of the 60's.

I also have a Venture Cx, and love it. I am looking at upgrading to a Vista HCx in the future. C = Color x = eXpandable H = High sensitivity S = Scientific So now we know what all this means. Cx = Color eXpandable (Venture Cx has no H chip) HC = High Sensitivity Color (Venture HC no expandable memory) HCx = High Sensitivity Color eXpandable (Vista HCx has it all) CSx = Color Scientific eXpandable (Map 60CSx has it all, but instead of H chip has Sirf III)

If the H chip were used in a 60 style unit with the improved antanae, would that mean it would be even more accurate?

I think it was a typo. The poster meant Brazilian. People from South America, may not share your religion.

I saw mention of a Venture HCx. Do they make a Venture, that is both H chip and xpandable? I thought the H chip Venture only had 24 megs and no ability to add a media card. Please let me know.

My wife and I are two of the 37 people who watch Who Wants To Be A Super Hero. To find someone who is/was involved in that show who also geocaches is really strange.

Yea, he starred in the movie Caddyshack. Just because an actor swings a golf club, does not mean he was in Caddyshack. Besides Jack ("Jack? Jack is dead, call me Joker!") took way to many stokes on that car and person to be a serious golfer. A good golfer could have done that much damage in 3 maybe 4 swings depending on handicap. As far as Buffet being a cacher, we went to Margaritaville in Cozumel recently, after hitting a couple of caches (wife had too shop, but still let me do 2 caches on the island). I do not recall a cache being anywhere near the place and I had the whole island in my GPSr.

Why I share my faith. If people you know claim to be Christians and they do not attempt to share their faith with you at least once, then you should worry about whether they are actually your friend or actually a Christian. If they actually believe in a real hell, and do not try to warn you about it, then it appears they do not care if you go there, or they do not actually believe. One example is this: If you were on a road that curved sharply ahead. As you were rounding the blind curve a man stopped you and said, “I am the bridge engineer, the bridge I designed has serious flaws I have just came aware of. It will collapse if another car drives on it, killing the people in the car.” This guy just saved your life. He asks you to stop traffic while he tries to repair the damage. You are now armed with the knowledge that you believe can save another from destruction. If you actually believe there is destruction ahead, wouldn’t you do everything in your power to try to warn people? Would you care if some people talked about you, or said things like, “What a moron, doesn’t that guy know this bridge was just built with the best materials and best engineering minds.” Wouldn’t you try hardest to save those you liked. I like geocaching, and like every geocacher I have met, I would try as hard as I could to flag down the car’s I see with Geocaching window stickers or a Signal the Frog antennae ball from going over the broken bridge. Whether you believe like I do (that the bridge is out and there is destruction ahead) or not, wouldn’t you find it intolerant if I did not at least warn you of the destruction I believe in? I think it is hilarious and hypocritical to see people in one breath make fun of the Crazy Christians like me who are afraid of the invisible man, but in their next breath they condemn any mention of the invisible man. Who is the bigger crazy person, the person who believes in the invisible man, or the person who fears any mention of the invisible man they do not believe in? If you do not like a cache item, in a cache what gives you the right to remove anything from it. I would not take anything relating to religions other than my own, or anything overtly secular. For every person who does not want something left in a cache, there are others who would like to get it. If you want to trade for something to then throw it away, that is your business, but to take something just because you disagree with it seems intolerant and against the trade even or trade up policy. It seems every poster who has identified themselves as a Christian has said they would pass over non-Christian material in a cache. Are your beliefs (or non-beliefs) so flimsy as not to tolerate opposing view points? Seems like you are the intolerant one and the one who is trying to force their ideas on others. This all being said, I do not put tracts in caches, as I do not see that as trading up or trading even. However if it is a key chain cache, I have no qualms about putting in a cross keychain. For anyone to take anything from a cache just because of they disagree with it is intolerant. What would you say if someone took every carabineer out of a cache because they did not like them. They would not trade them out, just remove them and throw them away. This is against the spirit of our hobby. If you are unwilling to trade even or trade up, just log the find and go on. Unless you are the cache owner, you have no right to clean out caches, of what you find objectionable. Who is the ideologue, the person who will pass on things he disagrees with, or the person who has to remove it every chance he or she gets? Stop the evil proliferation of carabineers!!!!

I have seen oriental trading company carabiner's in the shape of a Jesus fish or Cross that I thought were great swag items. I also leave retractable USB cords, but would hope this technology based trade item would not offend any Amish cachers. I have seen FTF prizes of a $20 gift card to Outback, and this would offend the vegans. By the way if you are a vegan cacher aren't you destroying the environment by driving to all these caches?

You should ask Sheryl Crow about going without paper. I think this is why Lance left her nasty butt.

I play golf and Geocaching is slightly cheaper than green fees and equipment. I can tell you that both golf and Geocaching are far (I MEAN FAR) less expensive than paintball. My wife and I not only played rec. ball, we played tourneys. It is nothing for me shoot a case or case and a half of paint at an event, by myself. Using the event paint was about $80 a case, entrance fee would be at least $20 a person, my marker was expensive, but my wife shot an Angel ($1000 plus), with a Halo loader ($100 plus) and a compressed tank ($200). With barrel upgrades, and the constant cost of air fills and paint for practice, the other equipment (mask, pods, pod packs) paintball is one of the most expensive hobbies out there. A friend who used to play paint ball with me introduced me to Geocaching. I have found a couple of caches made from old paintball pods. It appears Geocaching has ruined a few paintballers. However, since my tax dollars have already paid for the billions of dollars worth of satellites, it would be financial folly for me not to spend an extra $200 so I can enjoy them.

Older versions of topo can be found for cheap. Since there is no unlock code, ebay is as good as Amazon. I use a Venture Cx (Color and USB connectable) which can still be found for $180, with a 1 gig card $10. edited for bad spellin

Since this is such a great thread, I believe a bump is in order.

Thanks, I am basing my choice of which new GPS on reception alone. I have narrowed it down to either the eTrex Vista HCx or 60CSx.

A friend had mentioned someone he knew (already suspect of this story), uses Delorme on a laptop with a gps in his vehicle. The person was able to modify the voice to include actual audio from television and movies (like Mr. T from the A-Team saying “TURN LEFT FOOL”). Does anyone know if this is possible, or if there is a program which allows custom voices on Delorme?

Yes, but in german language: http://www.naviboard.de/vb/showthread.php?t=21730 CSX and HCX are very similar. I cannot say which one has the better reception. As there are different type of antennas this is the most difference. Both systems have a different scope of application. At this time the HCX needs a firmware update to get a correct trip odom. I thing the most important thing is how you like to press the keys of the unit (There is a big difference). I have friends who leave their 60CSx hanging upsidedown from the lanyard, but the antenna keeps pulling in signal, when my GPS will drop signal unless it is screen side up in my hand. I personally prefer the ergonomics (Ohh that's a big word like FIRETRUCK), of the Venture Cx. If the new H series keep signal without the antana while hanging from a lanyard(like the 60) I may endure the temptation to buy a 60CSx with the $50 mail in, and wait until all the newness bugs are fixed in the H series, and grab one of those. Although Amazon still has the Vista at a reduced price, Wal-MArt has gone up.

I hate to beat the same old dead horse, but has anyone done a side by side comparison between the H-chip GPSrs and the 60CSx? I have a Venture Cx and love the size, form and feel of it. However if the antennae on the 60CSx makes it any better a receiver, then I am willing to switch. With the $50 mail in, the price is not too much different. I already think my Venture Cx has better, brighter and more contrast on the screen than the 60’s I have seen, but it all comes down to reception. Does the Vista HCx have better reception than the 60CSx?

I find once I fold them small enough to fit into the GPSr, I have little room for batteries.

I am looking at buying US TOPO, either new or used. I am also looking at upgrading my Venture Cx to a 60CSx, before the end of the year (before end of $50 off). Does anyone know if there is an activation code for TOPO like other garmin map products? If so would I be able to get two unlocks, one for each GPS?

I currently use a Venture Cx, which is less than a year old and a great GPSr. Sometimes in deep cover I get drift or loose signal unless I keep the GPSr screen side up and flat on my hand. Are the HCx enabled GPSr’s as fickle with their internal antennae? I really enjoy the shape and size of my eTrex, but would be willing to switch to a 60Cx because of the antennae issue. Can someone tell me other than form and screen size, what are the accuracy differences in the HCx line and the Sirf III line? Also, I know people with a 60 who leave it on a lanyard hanging from their neck, and because of the external antennae it does not loose signal, are the HCx’s capable of this? The 60 series has USB and Serial, is this just so anyone can use it, or do you need a Serial port to access it?