Brian_d

I've been Geocaching off & on (mostly off)since 2002. I started out with a Magellan meridian gold. I've enjoyed the hobby for the most part - It's taken me to places that I never would have seen otherwise. But it hs also gotten me into trouble. When you have a blank screen with an arrow & an "X" it's difficult at best to know that you are finding the easiest/safest route to a cache. I've wound up on my butt many a time on the way to a cache only to find an easier/better route out. I have a HTC Incredible now & I went cacheing with it last weekend for the first time in years. I d/l'ed an app many months ago that was free but out of habit, came here to search for caches. I found that Geocaching.com has an app for android - great! But I was shocked, it's $10. To me, that is alot of money for an app. I know, $10 isn't alot of money, but in a world of .99 apps, $10 is outrageous. So I loaded some caches into that free app & the merrigold & went out with my niece geocaching. I was very impressed with the gps in the phone & the app I used. It provided me with a satalite picture of my surroundings & for the first time, I could see that the cache is "on the other side of the canyon", or the cache is "on the other side of the river & here's the best/safest place to cross". When caching, esp. with a 9 y.o. girl, this was an immeasureable feature. I didn't find the accuracy to be much worse than the merrigold, including finding a cache in some big trees. I understand that there are limitations with battery life & durability when it comes to a smartphone, but I'm with the O.P. - GPS companies have ALOT of catching up to do. And for the first time in years, I'm looking forward to geocaching again. But the smartphone will definitely be in use!

Anybody Geocache with the Garmin Nuvi series gps? Tips, Tricks, Sugestions?

I think "Mapsend Directroute" is compatible with your mericolor. I have it for my merigold - this is a street map program that is loaded onto a SD card. It is an old program that if I remember right, needs a patch from Magellan to run on Windows XP. I just looked on evilbay & there are 3 avalable.

I have the c401fs also & if I remember right, it does put out a small trickle charge after charging completes - just enough to maintain battery charge. It's my understanding that that you do not want to completly discharge nihm's. I have 2300 powerex's & I love 'em! Last almost as long as alkalines!

Thanks robertlipe, that did the trick!!

I know this problem has cropped up before & I don't remember what the solution is. I'm trying to install mapsend direct route on my new computer - actually it's installed but will not run. When I try to start the program, it stops with a warning box stating that I've got the wrong disk in my drive & that I should intsall the cd labeled DNRA_100a. I've tried both cd's - same message. Thried removing & reinstalling - same. Ironic - did not have this problem on my old computer Thanks, Brian

I am trying to upload a point of interest region in Datasend on to a magellan 315. I tried com 1 - no gps. Com 2 shows a "gps unit POI data" box when "gps unit status" is clicked, so it seems like the computer "see's" the gps. I created a small region w/ just cities for now. Right clicked on region & selected region. When I click on "gps" then click on "transfer POIs.." a box pops up & says, "cannot get any response from the gps unit. Please check the cable & make sure the unit is on." Is there a step I missed or is there a firmware update that needs to be done first? Thanks for your help... Brian

Feeling a little slow tonight... Greymane, what do you mean by "goodies"?

I am going to cancun in May & I'm thinking about trying a cache or two while I'm there. The reason I say "thinking", is that I'm a little worried about getting thru customs with a gps & maybe I should leave it at home. Has anyone experienced any problems? Also does anyone have points of intrest coordinates saved - such as the ruins chichen itza, tulum or other POI'S? Thanks

Thanks

Ok, I figured out how to add & rename multiple maps on my SD card. Now is there a way to create a route from one map area to another?

Can you load city select & topo on a V (at the same time)?

I got a MH-C401FS 100 Minute Cool Battery Charger with the powerex 2300mAH batteries & I love it! It has fast & trickle charge settings for AA's as well as AAA's & comes with a power adapter for the car. Even on the fast setting, the batteries do not get hot. & best of all, it charges each battery individually! I've found that the 2300's that now come with the charger last just as long as alkalines - 12 hours in my power hungry marigold. The charger with batteries is under $50 now. goto Thomas distributing for more info.

You're wrong wupulamp. Look at the battery compartment again - there's a rubber seal that goes around the compartment only - not the whole cover.

Personal prefrence. Both units are almost identical. The color is...color & has an external antenna. I have the gold & sometimes wish I'd got the color, you may buy the color & wish you'd saved the $$ & bought the gold.

My first cache was Party, Party, Party. it had all the cool elements - close to the house, at a park most people don't know exists, short hike to cache site with great views, etc. I'll never forget the feelings of elation that swept over me: #1. This &%^$ actually works! #2. I can't belive someone went to the trouble to place a cache! #3. I got this &%^$ to work & found the cache!!

I had a close call late one Sunday night looking for a cache in a business complex. The street had no parking signs & the gate to the parking lot was closed. So I park on the street figuring it's sunday & I won't be there long anyway. After hunting (unsucessfully) until well after dark, my dog "Wiggles" started getting anxious & wimpering. We're walking back & all of the sudden Wiggles starts running & I run with her, all the way back to the car. We get in & just as we're pulling away...here comes a police car! I owe her an IN-N-OUT cheesburger bigtime!

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

This 1/1 has given me fits! It's called "Room 401"Room 401 & was put out by an elementry school class. I've tried four times to find it & have only found some destitute joggers *&^% on my shoe & the drawers they wiped up with ! (its by a bike/joging path) Anyway the hints say, "10 feet into the bush from the back"; but back of what? The path is on one side & the parking area is on the other & the "bush" is roughly 200x200 feet triangle shaped so if the coords are even 10 feet off - you ain't findin' it! I've decided to wait on this one for a few months & try again in the hopes that the cache area is "worn".

Thanks!

How do you restore the "goto line" when using point to point with direct route?

WHOA!! I can't wait to see CWL's list of complaints when he/she gets direct route!!

So it's the FIRMWARE thst hijacks all your settings? Jeff, that's my next quest also. Learning how to put maps on the card with a reader. Got the card reader because it takes FOREVER to load maps using the gps.

I got mapsend direct route for x-mas for my merigold which currently has firmware version 4.06 & mapsend streets & destinations. Directroute sounds great for the next road trip next summer, but I've read some negitive remarks about how its made the gps more cumbersome for geocaching. My questions are: is it the 5.xx firmware or direct route (or both) that cause these problems? Has anyone sucessfully "gone back" to a previous firmware version due to these problems? Can you put streets on one sd card & directroute on another & use them both at separate times (if its not the firmware) - one for 'caching, one for road trips? I'm real anxious to install DR. but not sure if I should now, or wait 'til vacation...

I was out geocaching at 5 p.m. pst. on dec. 31 2003. It's dusk & getting darker by the minute. So I woundered, "who got the last cache of 2003? There's got to be a few that are more diehard than me!" Anyone?