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ClairBrock

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Everything posted by ClairBrock

  1. Sorry if this has been posted before, but my searching did not turn up much. Background: My cache team has just returned to searching after a two-year hiatus and my trusty 76CSx is proving to be the least effective of all of our cache seeking tools. I am heartbroken because me and this "big guy" found many caches when lesser GPSr's failed under tree cover, clouds, power lines, etc. Current Situation: For miles, the 76 seems dead-on until we get to within 50 yards or less of a cache, then the compass needle goes crazy. We've only cached one Spring weekend so far, but the nine we found, were eventually only found because we had a Geomate Jr and GC Navigator near GZ. I was sure that I needed to do something with the Garmin so I updated software, installed even newer batteries, callibrated several times, turned off and on WAAS and retested, but no luck. Anyone else encountered this with their 60CSx or 76CSx?
  2. I am a future cruiser also interested in seeking caches in Cozumel and Costa Maya (and also Belize if anyone has already researched this Carnival itinerary). I'm sure there are caches by past cruisers hidden near these ports, but I'm having a difficult time searching for them. Maybe this is an opportunity to hide rather than seek (?), but it sure would be a difficult cache to check up on/maintain from my location in the U.S. Tell me everything you know -- in English please if possible. Mucho gracias!
  3. Just a happy followup: I installed the latest Mapsource update (6.12.4), which includes the USB 2.2.1.0 upgrade, and after three days of rugged testing, I am happy to report that all of my 76CSx mapping problems seem resolved. Not only are my "Find Waypoints" and "Find Geocaches" working for both offroad and onroad, but I'm no longer losing street map detail after ending searches and/or starting new ones. I also received an unexpected bonus of seeing much larger directional arrows and more sound alerts before turns, etc. I know the upgrade description sounds minor, but the Garmin tech's email specifically said that the update "seems to take care of an issue that is causing incomplete map transfers to the GPS unit." Impossible to say if that was my problem, but I'm just glad that its fixed now. Clair "Back in love with the 76CSx!" Edit: Oh yeah...as mentioned before: You need to go to the website http://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=209 for the upgrade. The update tool in Mapsource doesn't pull this one.
  4. FWIW, I overcame my CN8 download problems by first highlighting (selecting) all of the Mapsource maps first in Map tab before downloading them. Evidently, it wasn't enough just to have them listed there. My second problem, "detailed street mapping suddenly disappears", seems to happen more frequently if: 1. I travel more than 15 miles from my home base. 2. I do multiple Finds on addresses, business, waypoints, etc, while I'm on the road. (It does not happen if I just Find-> Geocaches.) For this problem, I submitted an online trouble ticket to Garmin, and received an email today advising me to download the latest Mapsource update that was released on May 17. I'm going to do that tonight, but will probably not get a chance to test it until this weekend. I have a 76CSx, not a 60, but thought I'd offer this up in case it helps both units. Clair (Also, thanks, Garmin, for the super-quick reply to my online request!)
  5. Thanks Neo! That is a reasonable expectation. Also, I found out that I wasn't zooming in enough for some neighborhoods -- not all, but enough to make the problem not nearly as bad as before. I should have tested more. Thanks again, Clair
  6. Hi all, I haven't encountered any missing streets in my 76CSx since loading it with City Navigator 8 maps last month, but I also haven't traveled very far from home. Today, however, I went into Mapsource to create a new route for a county-wide garden tour and found several missing sections of streets. Now granted, Florida is growing faster than anyone can keep up with, but many of these housing subdivisions have existed for four or more years. Considering that the software release date is officially April 2006, I'm a little disappointed. I am expecting to do much more out-of-state traveling this summer and really want to rely on these maps more than paper maps. So I decided to come here and ask you: Are you finding many missing streets for your local areas in CN8? Also, does anyone know when the next release is expected? Thanks much, CB
  7. I didn't even know that the software was available on an SD card when I purchased the DVD last month, but I would have chosen the DVD anyway. I love my memory cards, but I feel safer with my expensive software on read-only DVD media. I do have a question about the streets that seem to missing from the application, considering the April 2006 release date, but I'm posting that question on the forum next. Overall, I'm really enjoying the software on my 76CSx. I didn't get a big break on the MSRP, but I was able to buy it immediately from my local West Marine for $129. With over 400 West Marines in the nation, you probably have one near you, too. www.westmarine.com
  8. Its not a question of being "better" than anyone else. It's that many of us don't like the direction the sport is headed and will say so. If this is elitism, so be it. I really don't have an opinion on either side since I'm a newbie, but I will admit that, as a geek girl, I was originally attracted to geocaching because of the tech factor. However, once I started, I received a totally unexpected gift: remembering what is was like to get outdoors and explore again. I've discovered that even if I don't find a cache, if I've been led on a beautiful hike or to a new park, I still feel successful. I haven't had any luck with micros yet, but I may like that challenge down the road. For now, I'm just enjoying nature again. I also have a comment about briansnat mention of this as a sport. I think it's a sport, too, but Barnes & Noble does not. When I first became interested, I searched the Sports section of the bookstore for geocaching books. I found books on camping, hiking, and even mountain climbing, but nothing on geocaching. I finally asked a clerk to search, and found them in the GAMES section! Yep, right alongside the Texas Hold Em, Bridge, and Magic Tricks books! Crazy in my eyes, but adds a little credence to the "this is a numbers game" group. Clair
  9. I also recently purchased the 76CSx after using the Compare Tool on the Garmin site. https://buy.garmin.com/shop/compare.do?cID=...pareProduct=351 Both are excellent units and they are almost identical including the MSRP. Main differences are: 60CSx: The antennas are different and the 60CSx will often pick up a better signal under heavy tree cover. 76CSx: Promoted more for marine applications, unit comes with basic marine mapping, and this unit floats. Also the 76CSx uses a transflective screen which (IMHO) is a little easier to see in bright sunlight, and the supplied SD card is twice as big as the one that comes with the 60CSx (128 mb vs 64). The tie-breaker was that we plan to purchase a boat soon. I have the City Navigator maps loaded on mine and I love it for geocaching. Now if I could just find those darn micros ... Clair
  10. Hi Sunrise -- My family has been caching for just around a month, too. I almost gave up on this sport over frustration from Micro DNFs in the beginning. Soon after, I fortunately found a few very well done regular-size caches in great venues, and I became an addicted GCer. Currently, I have Micros eliminated from my Pocket Queries, but I still have 422 non-micros within 20 square miles, so I will concentrate on those first. My 7-year-old grandson is my frequent cache buddy, and he prefers caches with prizes and not just logs like a Micro. I plan someday to tackle Micros, but it's nice having lots of time to do the easy big ones now. Cheers and happy hunts, CB
  11. A little more disturbing that he's been an eBay seller since Jan 1999 and has a 98.5% positive rating. Not a lot of interest so let's close this thread. For newbies, it's searchable. thanks
  12. Current bid: $51 for "Intro to GEOcaching - Buying a GPS - Geo cache" This auction ends in a little more than an hour, and my gut feeling is the bidders do not realize that they are bidding on an electronic book rather than the nice color eTrex shown in the photo advertising the auction. Ebay Auction The seller is not violating any eBay rules and is very clear on what he is selling in his description, but perhaps some got caught up in the photo. This happens often so thought I'd post this here in hopes of alerting other newbies. I'm a neocacher, but have been an eBayer for almost a decade. TGIF Clair
  13. I'm sorry if I gave any indication that I was disappointed in Garmin from my previous post, as that was absolutely the opposite from what I intended. I researched for a year before I bought my Garmin and know without a doubt that I made the right purchase. With a little more help from Garmin today, my problems were resolved by hard-resetting my 76CSx, reformatting my memory card, and changing some viewing settings. I was eventually given the direct phone line to a Tier 2 Support person because they had never seen my particular problems before. I've worked in software design and support since 1979, so had empathy, but the most important piece of this story is that I reached a Garmin employee within five minutes of calling on THREE different phone calls, and had someone walk me through every step of this solution. I was never left on hold, always treated with complete respect, and worked with people that liked their jobs and loved their company. . I hope no one here has the same problems with City Navigator installation, but if so, hopefully my experience will help. If I ever get by East Kansas, I'm going to stop by and tell Garmin Support "thanks", but in the meantime, I am off happily hunting with a perfectly working 76CSx, and grateful knowing there is a great company behind it. Cheers Clair 10-4 - over and out
  14. Hi Bob -- I also purchased CV8 this past weekend and somehow managed to get it installed, but it wasn't fun and not very successful. Like the last poster stated, you will need the GPS serial number and the 8 character coupon. I had my GPS device connected to the PC so the serial number was automatically captured. IMHO, the 8-char coupon is simply used to register your GPSr and create an account. After doing that, the actual 25-character unlock code will be provided. I got through all of that without calling Garmin, but had to call them for the "next chapter". Even though unlocked, my zoomed in maps show very little detail. The only thing that CN improved over the base map was that now local streets are showing and occasionally display street name, but the display is like an ancient low-res VGA monitor and looks nothing like the screen shots on the GPS box. As additional testament to the great Garmin Tech Support group, I was talking to a live person (based in Kansas) with 3 minutes of making a call. She was very hardware-knowledgeable and we spent almost an hour troubleshooting with no luck. She even called senior tech resources into the call. Eventually they transferred me to the software department (again with no phone hold time) and I worked with another well-trained woman. We didn't resolve the issue on the phone, but I did leave with an action plan that was going to take some time. I am now midway through reformatting my GPS memory card, installing the software on a newer computer, and then will test with fewer waypoints and smaller maps. Unfortunately, at this point, I've now lost both the CN and basemap from the unit and only have the standard marine map. I am not sure how this is going to end up, but I have full confidence in Garmin's support and availability. The worst part is that there are several local caches calling my name this week! I work from home fulltime and have discovered that I like hunting during the week when the parks and woods are less crowded. Anyway, I'll come back and post after I get it all resolved and best of luck to you on an easy installation yourself. Clair
  15. Hi Scoob, It's a long story, but the short version is that I got an offer too good to turn out from the manager of my local marina store so I splurged. I got to work with the 76 even more this afternoon and I'm in a total love affair with it. I hope you find the perfect unit for you, too, and if I don't see you on the boards before you leave, have a wonderful time in Scotland. Sounds like a great trip! Also to the others, thanks for the tip on maps...I think I incorrectly assumed that TOPO maps were focused on elevation -- something I don't need here much in flat Florida, but I'm going to check out those options. Happy hunts -- Clair
  16. Hi Scoob, I am a complete newbie looking for mapping answers, too. I picked up a 76csx this weekend and love it so far, but I really don't want to spend another US$140 on mapping data yet. Question for the experts out there: I'd like recommendations for getting street level maps at a state or county level for now. I'll eventually purchase the full Garmin set, but need to wait a while. Is there a 3rd party software you suggest that's provides at a more local level? Thanks much, Clair (yes, I searched first ... ...)
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