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jjmcwill

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Everything posted by jjmcwill

  1. Well, I've gone around with them over this for several days. An inquiry on their Facebook page elicited a response saying their Mapselect.com server is down, and they don't know when they will get it replaced. A call to a Customer Service rep said they were no longer supporting Mapselect.com, and an email based inquiry said the same thing. The email based CSR response said they were still supporting the AccuTerra regional microSD map cards. I find it "amusing" that they still promote two of the Endura product line on their web site: The Out&Back and the Safari. The web page still says maps will be available as a download, which implies that they will still support mapselect.com, since they is no other way to download maps. For me, ala carte purchasing and downloading of eTopo "tiles" was a better way for me to get maps for areas I was interested in. I think I've spent maybe $40.00 on ala carte maps, but these have been for different areas in Michigan, Wyoming, Kentucky, and upstate New York. To get that same coverage using their regional cards would cost me something like $240.00 retail! I am investigating another option. There is a Shareware mapping tool called OziExplorer for Windows. The creator wrote a companion product called OziExplorer CE, which runs on Windows CE handheld devices equipped with a GPS receiver chip or add-on. As it turns out, Lowrance Endura units run Windows CE, and this software developer figured out how to run his OziExplorer CE software on the Endura units by putting his program onto a microSD card, plugging it into the Endura, then powering it on. I just started playing with it. It works, but most of the OziExplorer CE screens have VERY SMALL user interface buttons, that I assume work fine when using a bigger Windows CE device and a stylus to tap the buttons. On the Endura, it's annoying. I want big, easy to navigate menus that I can tap on the screen with my finger, or using the up,down,left,right button while wearing gloves. There is a way to customize the OziExplorerCE screens, so maybe I can re-design his user interface to have big, obvious buttons that are finger friendly. The software lets you create your own topo maps (from free USGS sources, for example) and import them. So, I could get get all the free maps I want if I can get OziExplorerCE running on the Lowrance Endura satisfactorily. The question is whether I want to spend the time fiddling with this. I have two Endura Out&Back units. I may be better off just tossing them in the trash and buying a couple Garmin 62S units. I already own one Garmin 62s. Now that the Garmin 64's are out, the 62S units seem to be going for pretty cheap at various online places. (Yeah, some of them are refurbished. ) In case you're wondering, yeah, I have more than one GPS. I am often out with my wife and sharing, or teaching friends how to use GPS and sharing with them, so it's good to have one or two loaners in addition to my primary receiver. I just wish there were a way to put user "Custom Maps" on the Endura line like Garmin now supports with their newer units, effectively allowing me to put topo maps on the Garmin 62s for free.
  2. Any other users of Lowrance Endura GPS units out there? I can't seem to reach the mapselect.com website to purchase and download topo maps for my GPS. It's says that the server at navico.datadoors.net cannot be reached. Thanks Jeff
  3. The thingverse Cryptex looks pretty good! There were two sets of pictures of completed or semi-completed devices, and i thought the quality looked pretty good.
  4. Has anyone looked into using a 3D printer for the difficult to machine parts? I don't have personal experience with them, but I've read about ones like the makerbot or reprap. You may even be able to get access to one at a member based workshop like makerworks in Ann Arbor, MI Just a thought. If someone developed the 3D models and shared them, others could "print" the parts on their own machines.
  5. I don't recall which maps, exactly. I helped a friend load some maps from GPSFileDepot onto a Garmin 60csx, and I think I used the same "northeast" multi-state mapset from GPSFileDepot that got loaded on the eTrex 20, but we only loaded coverage for several counties in Michigan. On my Lowrance Endura, the eTopo maps are the EXACT same imagery as the printed USGS 7.5 minute quadrangle maps you purchase from the USGS - down to the same contour lines, and the same printing: at least in areas that I've looked: parts of Michigan, and the Adirondack High Peaks region of New York. By exact I mean exact. The GPS map may indicate I'm standing next to the "W" in "Waterloo State Recreation Area" printed on the map near the rec area headquarters, and I can look on my hard copy of the USGS map and see the same "Waterloo State Recreation Area". The Garmins did not show this. On the Garmins, there may or may not have been small blue blobs on the GPS map to indicate ponds located within the Ortonville State Rec Area. On my Lowrance, the ponds are indicated, as are the surrounding marsh/wetland areas as printed on the USGS map. Maybe there is a different map set on GPSFileDepot that is more detailed that what me and my friend both independently found and loaded onto two different Garmins. By the way, Delorme units also have access to the same high resolution digitized versions of the USGS maps. However, you need to pay the $30.00 / year to get access, download them through the DeLorme TOPO USA software, and push them down to the GPS. The backpacking club I belong to has 4 Delorme PN-40's, and I tested them side-by-side with my Lowrance up at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The maps that come with the Delorme TOPO DVD are the basis vectorized types, but the ones downloaded from online are high resolution digitized USGS maps.
  6. There are two ways to get updated maps. 1) Purchase them via Mapselect.com. You need to create an account that's associated with your particular GPS unit. You then use the online web software to select the region you are interested in, the type of maps you want, and then pay for, and download them. They offer standard USGS topo maps (called eTopo), aerial imagery maps, and BLM maps. I have not tried the BLM maps. The USGS ones are in most cases, identical to the USGS 7.5 minute quadrangle printed maps. Getting coverage of a LARGE area could be expensive. I think the eTopo files are $0.99 per 7.5 minute quad. However, I DO like them. My friend has a Garmin eTrex 20, and has loaded some of the GPSFileDepot maps for our area (Southeastern MI). The amount of detail, especially elevation contours in our flat state, is severely lacking in the Garmin GPSFileDepot maps compared to what I have on my Lowrance with the eTopo maps. 2) Purchase a regional card. There are seven regions in the US. I think each region cost $99.00. I don't own one, so I can't tell you how the detail in these cards compares to downloading individual eTopo files from Mapselect.com
  7. Agreed LadyBee4T. I keep a MicroSD card in the unit containing topo maps, because I also do a lot of hiking, and like to see the topos. It's a pain to require removing of the card in order to upload Geocaches or waypoint files. Out backpacking/outdoors club owns 4 Delorme PN-40 units. They have a menu options that allows the user to specify what happens when the GPS is connected to a PC: access the SD card, access the internal memory, or act like a GPS sending NMEA data. Nice feature. The H2O also has "find closest", which I think is also missing from the Endura units. Nothing but an alphabetical list, or I have to go to the map and hunt around to find the next closest waypoint or GC. Do the Sierra or Safari models also suffer from the pointer problem? I'm just wondering if the software bug is related to the lack of an electronic compass in the Out&Back or not. On a positive note, I was out hiking this weekend with a friend who owns an eTrex 20. His unit took significantly longer to warm up and get a satellite lock than my Out&Back did. He also seemed to be quite about 50 feet off on the 1st waypoint we went to. After the eTrex 20 "warmed up" more, and after he changed the screen orientation to "North Up", things got better for him.
  8. Has there been any further investigation into the cursor not correctly indicating direction of travel when geocaching and frequently changing direction? I see the this problem on my Out & Back with the latest firmware. I don't recall seeing it with some of the earlier firmware revisions. M My iFinder H20 now seems to work better in this regard.
  9. $80.00 in store?? Is this part of a sale or something?
  10. I found some parts Oxfordia, so I'll try and get a cable built over the weekend.
  11. Good to hear you figured it out. Since the 1.5.1a firmware update, I've been pretty happy with the GC capabilities of my Out&Back.
  12. I've owned my Endura Out & Back for about a year and a half. It's been working fine up until now. This week, it has started to malfunction. The battery life indicator shown when displaying the menu now has a red "X" in it. I use rechargeable NiMH batteries. I tried swapping in several freshly charged pairs, to no effect. I tried flipping the Settings for battery from "Alkaline" to "NiMH", and that didn't help. I tried resetting to factory settings. That did not help either. Yesterday, the touch screen also stopped working. I can still navigate using the buttons, but the touchscreen is useless. The "Support" section of the Lowrance website suggests going through a touchscreen calibration procedure, but I can't find an entry for this in the menus. Does my GPS need to be sent in for repair? I'm using the latest firmware update. (1.5)
  13. I just visited the site and read about the new features. This sounds like a GREAT update to the Endura line. Many of the issues that people (including me) have complained about have been addressed. Thanks for the notification. I'm eager to update my Out&Back now!
  14. I haven't made the cables in some time, because many other things took me away from Geocaching. I may still have some of the parts lying around. If you find yourself in desperate need of a cable, with nowhere else to turn, I'll see what I can do. It may take me a few weeks to find the time to put one together.
  15. The Lowrance Endura GPS's are excellent units. The only people who have a problem with them are the ones unwilling to learn how to use them properly. I have had my Sierra in addition to several Garmins, and Delormes and find the Enduras to be exceptional units, and I prefer to use my Sierra in deference to the others ( yes, I own the others as well) because the others all lack something the Sierra has or the Sierra does better, in my opinion. Please do a search on this forum to see a less skewed perspective than those ridiculous very early comments that people seem bent on focusing on. If you have questions or concerns, please contact myself or Endura Expert for a tad more positive, and accurate information about these products. Be safe. N I respectfully disagree with your assertion that some of us who point out flaws in the Endura don't know how to use it properly. It's not like I have a beef against Lowrance. I own an iFinder Go, an iFinder H2O, and now the Endura Out&Back. I really want to like this GPS. I paid what I consider a non-trivial sum for it, and I'd like to feel like I made the right investment. You can't deny that there are still some lingering flaws with the unit. I have the benefit of directly working with other GPS units and being able to compare. Our backpacking club just bought 5 Delorme PN-40's, and several club members own Garmin GPSMap 60csx models. We've spent some time Geocaching together with the various units, comparing features, etc. The touch screen makes it hard to read in direct sunlight. In forested areas, it's not a big problem. Response time to clicking on the screen or hitting the buttons can be slow. I'm not the only one who's reported this. Yes, you can filter the Geocache list to eliminate ones logged as found, but that doesn't eliminate the fact that on the map, you can still be confused by GC icons for found and not-found having the same icons. The Delorme PN-40's properly address this. So do the Garmins. These aren't cases where I am "unwilling to learn to use it properly". These are flaws in the unit, some of which can hopefully be fixed by firmware updates. There are other things that I do like about the Endura. I like how I can copy .gpx files directly onto the unit's internal memory or the microSD card as a mounted drive. I don't need to convert the file to a different format or to use some special software to sync with the unit. I like how it handles paperless geocaching features . Aside from the found/not found icon problem, I think they are easier to use than, for example, the Delorme PN-40. I like the screen size. I like the high resolution USGS topo maps from mapselect.com, though they are expensive if I hope to cover a large area. I haven't tried one of the preloaded map cards yet, but plan on purchasing the Great Lakes one soon. I also do a lot of hiking, backpacking, and trail running. For recording trails, it also does very well. I also appreciate the presence of EnduraExpert on these forums. Hopefully, Lowrance can continue to work on firmware updates for the Endura line. I think it's come a long way from where it was when the product was originally released.
  16. When you log a cache as found, the Enduras also fail to update the icon for the GC on the map to indicate it's found. Other GPSrs do this correctly. Yes, the Geocache list can be set to only list GCs that haven't been found, but it doesn't fix the map icons. Annoying, but not necessarily critical. I have the Out&Back. I have further noticed that when navigating to a cache and using the Map screen, the little arrow indicating direction of travel is often wrong. It will point 90 degrees off of my bearing, even while it continues to update the map showing that I'm correctly closing in on the GC/Waypoint. Maybe the Safari and Sierra models with electronic compasses are better at this. I don't recall having this problem with my iFinder H2O, and it is also without an electronic compass.
  17. Went geocaching with my Endura Out&Back with 1.4 firmware. Friend was using a Delorme PN-40. I noticed that when we logged a GC as found on the Delorme, the icon for the GC changed to a smiley on the map. The icons don't change on the Lowrance Endura, nor is there any other indication that I know of, to show that the cache has been found. Is there something I'm missing or is this an omitted feature? Jeff
  18. Do you mean eeebuntu as in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_(operating_system)? Looks like that's built off of Ubuntu 9.04, which I'm using right now to type this, and with Open Cache Manager running in the background. Somewhere on this forum there's a list of dependencies which are required to run OCM... hold on... here you go: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=252620 Basically, you need the following packages: mono-gmcs, libwebkit1.0-cil, libgtkhtml3.16-cil. On one line: sudo apt-get install mono-gmcs libwebkit1.0-cil libgtkhtml3.16-cil If this doesn't work, contact the dev - he's embarrassingly responsive (as in, puts my work ethic to shame!) EDIT: Just re-read this bit: "The webkit for csharp isn't part of the standard EEbuntu repo". OK, so you con probably ignore my ramblings... Thanks for the apt-get link. I'm sure I did a apt-cache search and came up empty earlier. Using your line, I was able to pull in the required packages from Jaunty. I'm having some compile issues, though, so I guess I'll send a message to the dev. Jeff
  19. Just wanted to say that I started to look at running this on my Asus Eee PC 901 running EEbuntu. Got hung up by the webkit for csharp requirement. Frankly, this is the first app I've run into that requires the Microsoft .NET runtime on Linux. The webkit for csharp isn't part of the standard EEbuntu repo, so I haven't pursued it further. Back to command line scripts wrapping gpsbabel.... Jeff
  20. The OCM project is here: http://sourceforge.net/projects/opencachemanage/. I'm trying to give us Linux users something like GSAK, still early in it's development. Q: For the older GPX, is there a default location for .usr files? For the iFinder H2O, the .usr files sit in the root folder of the memory card.
  21. I'm a Linux user. I have a Lowrance iFinder H2O and now a Lowrance Endura Out & Back. The older one requires the use of GPSBabel, but Out&Back can load .loc and .gpx files directly. I'm not familiar with your OCM program. Jeff
  22. Actually, it's probably actually Linux. Look at the taskbar and system tray. On the right side is an "Arrow" which collapses the system tray to the right. That's a Linux Gnome panel type feature, not something you see on WinXP. The window minimize, maximize, and close buttons look like XP, but that's easy to do with a UI theme on Linux.
  23. I look forward to the update. Thanks, Jeff We have noted that there is a discrepancy between the "Trip Distance" on the trip computer page and the "Current Trail" information. Off the top of my head the current trail distance is the correct distance. This issue has been resolved in the version 1.4 update that is due out next 2 weeks, from what I have been told.
  24. I went for a trail run today, carrying my Lowrance Endura Out&Back. At the beginning of the run, I cleared the "Current Trail" as well as the data on the "Trip Distance" page. At the end of the run, the Trip page said I ran 7.1 miles. The information about the trail said it was 6.7 miles long. When I uploaded the GPX for that trail to "Mapmyrun.com", the website said I ran 6.33 miles. Which one is the most accurate? Why the discrepancy? Thanks, Jeff
  25. I have the Out&Back with a 2GB Kingston SD card in mine. I don't have any trouble powering on the unit with the SD card installed.
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