oldsoldier

I'm waiting till sunday. PErsonally, I dont care about getting wet, but, I am going to a Red Cross bone marrow drive tomorrow, so, thats booked up. Its only a DNA swab test, to check for matches; NOT giving marrow tomorrow. I want to use my new 60cx!!! Stupid rain gods...

as an alternative to firetacks, alot of outdoor stores (hunting mostly) have luminescent tape, that can be removed after the event. It is designed to stick on trees, so, hopefully, it wont come off. Just a thought. And, I like the idea of this. There is a local cache here that does a train theme and, if you hit it on the right day, has an actual working model train, out in the woods. I havent hit upon it yet, but its on my to do list!

Has anyone had any probs with 2.70? I just DLed it...and now am kinda worried. I havent even had a chance to use my 60cx yet!!

Yes, you must be connected, and the unit turned on for GSAK to work. Top of the toolbar, there is a thing marked "GPS" click on that, and go to "send waypoints" That should do it for you.

Yesterday, I got a brandy new GPSMAP 60Cx...cheap!!! Cant wait to try this thing out!!

Mines a team breakout picture while playing tournamnet paintball, in April I ithink it was. I'll the farthest on the right.

I use my 3600 for getting to the general area, and finding parking. I also use mine extensively at work. Ad, with paperless caching, I use it to put all the caches in my area into. So, I use mine wuite alot, and love it. Once I get to the area, I put it into a softcase, and it goes into my pack. Doesnt come out until I need it, to look at the cache page, or whatever (I use a foretrex to seek caches). All in all, I'd say I'd be lost without mine . Wish I paid $250 for mine though.

I use a foretrex, and its never let me down. I am going to be upgrading soon, but, for basic caching, the wrist one works great. Good luck, and good purchase!

Yes, I'm sorry, I meant the patchware update. Sorry about that confusion. Here is the link to the patch: http://www.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=209

orienteering with a compass is actually quite easy. On the GPS, there isnt a compass rose with any numbers on it (not on the model you have, anyway), but, you should be able to find a "bearing" by scrolling through the menus on the pages on the GPS. the bearing can also be called heading, and, it will be read in degrees. A little hint on cheating using bearings; if you know the bearing, and it is between two cardinal points, you can rough guess it just using the compass rose. 57* would be about 2/3 the way towards E (off the top of my head). For cahing, thats close enough. Hell, you dont even need a compass with tickmarks on it, just a generic walmart one would work fine. As for me, I always carry my old Army compass, I've had since I enlisted in 88. Orienteering and mapreading are excellent outdoor skills to learn, and there are several good books on the subject. Good luck!

You can get the latest version of topo from garmin, free. The updates get rid of alot of bugs; none I had problems with, but, apparently, quite a few other people did. And, there are new features. I just updated mine yesterday from 3.0 to 6.whatever is the most recent.

Replied

Title says it all. I currently use a foretrex 201, love it, but am looking for more features (mapping, etc). I'm looking to purchase used, as I dont have tons of cash to put out for a new one. So, if you've recently upgraded, and are looking to dump your old one, let me know. Feel free to post any ebay links too. Found a few there, little out of my price range. Doesnt have to be in great condition, but DOES have to be fully functional. I dont mind scratches & the like. Any help is appreciated!!

An Etrex will work fine. Granted, you dont get alot of the fancy mapping stuff, but, hey, reading maps is an art, and fun . I use a foretrex, which I love. I just print a map of the area before I go out. I like mapreading though.

Or, like me, go quick & dirty. I uses the garmin 101 foretrex. simple, easy to use. Of course, I also have a Garmin ique 3600...but, thats for driving and DLing cahces

I'm not one of em. I fit every other category though

You're gonna love the simplicity of this unit. Its easy to DL points from your PC. I've never had any issues. As a side note; my brother got me one while in Iraq, of all places. In 2003, he fought in Fallujah. About a month before the battle, They were trying to figure out routes and the like (if you've ever seen pictures, it doesnt do it justice. It looks like the city planners were absent during road planning. That, and half the city is a cemetary). He and a buddy wrote to Garmin, to see if they could get a bunch of discounted units, buying wholesale (they had to purchase 8). Well, Garmin sent them 12 of the 101s, for nothing, wishing them luck. These things performed flawlessly there, were simple to use, easy to read, and didnt require an extra hand to look at it with. That, coupled with airial overlays (no real maps existed of the areea), kept my brother from getting lost in indian country. He gave me one of his leftover units when he got back. I used mine extensively overseas as well as caching here, and have zero complaints. I, however, like carrying maps (also served in the army for 15 years), and, I feel that the combo of both the 101 and a map, you'll be spot on. That, and the fact that Garmin did that for my brother's unit, has made me a lifelong supporter of them. Ease of use, compactness, lightness (I am now a through and through lightweight hiker), and the fact that you can change batteries in the field, are pretty much the selling points, to me. That, and its not some crazy color . But, last one is just based on me. Sorry for the rambling. But, I feel you've made a great choice. Stick with paper maps; mapreading is becoming a lost art. There is something about being able to plot you point on a paper map that is satisfying, at least to myslef.

UPDATE: I am glad I kept this thing. This is quite possibly the handiest GPS I've ever used!

I agree 100% with your concern. Although it may be interesting to have a cache in a foreign area, safety is ALWAYS a chgief concern, especially in tactical areas. And, its not like you're free to roam the country all willy nilly on your limited time off. Perhaps, if there are cachers overseas (which there are, obviously), you can use a secure site, like AKO or something. Posting coordinates online on as public forum is hazardous, and, in fact, could probably lead to a court martial. Good topic though.

Lets see, 88-91 Infantry in Ft Lewis, then, go out right after the war and went into national guard until 96. Got out, went back in in 2000, just got out on Thanksgiving.. I've been to Cuba, England and Germany, and a few other areas not so nice to be in. got my vet status after the Gulf, even though I wasnt there at the time. Did anti terrorism stuff in NJ right after 9/11, got home, 8 months later was deployed to Cuba for a year. Got back from that, and am a civilian once again. For now.

I havent been on any caches in a couple of years, due to being deployed. My brother, when he went to Fallujah, "acquired" several Foretrex 101 models (I think they are...the ones that take AAAs). Anyway, he gave one to me upon his return. I am wondering how well these things work, how many people here use them, etc. I had an old Etrex, that, alas, did not survive my last deployment. This new Foretrex came at the right time, as I want to get my nephew out into the world, and this is the perfect medium. I guess I am just looking for anyt pros/cons on this model. Thanks for any help ion advance!

I have an original Garmin etrex I can let go for cheap. I have no use for it at all. email me at reedalpiniste@hotmail.com if you're interested at all.