Jenischmeni

Oh! How could I have possibly forgot to mention using GSAK with a Palm! *slaps forehead* YES! With GSAK, you can also transfer all these cache pages over to your Palm and use in the field. It's kind of like having your laptop along for the find without all the bulk! And the pages view on the Palm pretty much like they do on your computer (less the pictures) and no wasted paper & printer ink!

Another solution would be to use GSAK (Geocaching Swiss Army Knife). It has a free trial and you can see if you like it. After that, it's only $25 and that license allows you to install it on your PC AND your laptop! When you have the caches loaded into GSAK, the cache pages show up on the bottom half of the screen, with the database on the top half. IMO, it's easier than cutting & pasting and storing. Since you have a premium membership, you can download GPX files which have a lot of information. GSAK can open these files. I love it and it's saved me a ton of paper!

Quote from one of my favorite movies "The Replacements": "Chicks dig scars, but glory is forever"

I have a Nuvi (not as fancy as yours, but.....) and a Magellan Explorist 210. This kind of gives me the best of both worlds. I use the Nuvi for in-car navigation. (It's too hard to try and drive utilizing the 210, the screen is too small and not as easy to read.) When I've arrived & parked the car, I switch over and use my handheld. IMHO, the Nuvi just isn't as practical for using outdoors, hiking, etc. Yes, the Nuvi IS wonderful for P&Gs, and those LPCs. But anything off of the beaten path just needs a little more than the Nuvi can provide. A very easy solution would be to just purchase a very inexpensive handheld. But, I'd at least purchase one that can have coordinates downloaded from the computer. It can get very tiresome to hand-enter each and every one. You won't really need to purchase additional road maps for the handheld, the Nuvi is preloaded with the road maps. If you're in a splurging mood, consider buying TOPO maps for the handheld and then you're really, really all set! Addressing the issue of downloading POIs onto the Nuvi: You can get (free) software from Garmin's site called POI Loader. You can move over your PQs using POI Loader. I've read that some were having difficulty loading multiple databases. I've found that if I export my list from GSAK (in gpx format), my Nuvi can take multiple files. It's just a manner of naming them differently. I choose to load them on the sd card, rather than straight onto the Nuvi's. (Only because I read that it's a pain to delete them individually on the Nuvi.) I just go to "Where to", click "Extras", click POIs, and then I can find the cache I need by GC#. If you transfer over a PQ or exported GSAK gpx file, all the caches will be sitting there. Just for the record, I've just purchased a 60CX. I still plan to use my Nuvi. The 60CX does not have the voice guidance that is pretty helpful when you're caching alone. The 60CX's screen is considerably nicer than that of my Explorist, but I like the voice guidance of the Nuvi. These are just my opinions, though. I hope I've explained it well enough.

The August 11th date won't work but....the Indiana Fall Picnic is September 8th. I'm sure there will be a few Michiganers there. If a delay is okay, then something could easily be worked out.

Yippee! WTG! Congratulations! Nice Job, Mark!

LOL, Chuy! That's my "last resort" when I can't find the cache! Now you've divulged my secret! Of course, that's providing that the cache I'm seeking had good coordinates to begin with! LOL

Wow! Thanks for the update. I was skeptical about solar flares because I regularly listen to a radio show that reports unusual activity and hadn't heard anything mentioned. But, 'ya never know! Thanks for the input & the links.

I'm so reluctant to admit this, because I fear it will start a firestorm of Magellan-haters, but yes, I have noticed it. I have an Magellan Explorist 210, but I use it differently than most. Rather than using the compass w/ feet to destination, I use the navigational page that shows the cache (looks like a treasure chest). I just walk until it looks like I'm standing on the chest (the triangle is over the chest). That's the area I look in. I've never had really good luck using the compass portion and this is only MY opinion. That being said, I was caching over the weekend and noticed that the unit was sluggish in reflecting my movements. Then, it'd catch up and the triangle would 'jump' to my location. This is usually not the case. I'd been caching earlier in the week and everything was fine. Not until Saturday & Sunday did I notice some unusual activity. I thought to myself "Gee? Sun Flares?!" Funny that you thought the same! Also, I have a Garmin Nuvi for the car and this weekend it was taking much longer for it to acquire satellite reception. Normally, it acquires it in about 15-20 seconds and it was taking a few minutes. P.S. I'm in Indiana though and not close to you.

After much pressure & persuasion from miss.betsy, mr.charles, brazilindy & anabel I have reserved site #57. Add me to the bunch. I'm looking forward to the campfire stories.

I, too, have an Explorist 210 and am very pleased with it's performance. A word of warning about the base maps that you've probably already noticed. They are VERY basic and only contain major thoroughfares. It's not a problem if you're caching in areas that you are familiar with. I just got a Nuvi for the car. I use the Nuvi to navigate through unfamiliar streets (it has voice guidance) and then use my 210 once I've parked the car. I use POI loader (free from Garmin's site) to load the Caches into the Nuvi. I use GSAK & Cachemate to load the caches (and related info) onto my Palm. I use Magellan's Geocache Manager to load cache info into the 210. Most use GSAK for this, but I find Magellan's Geocache Manager very easy to navigate. Another downfall of the 210 is that it will only hold 100 caches in a file. An easy workaround to this is to make multiple files. I sort them by city or region. When you're in that 'region', you'll need to go into Preferences/Active Setup and set the file up as the default file. It's not really all that complicated and I find it to be quite workable. The battery life on the 210 seems to be very good if you don't use the backlight a lot. The 'bread crumb' trail is very accurate when you're needing to backtrack back out of the woods/forest. All this being said, I should state that generally I cache alone. My family 'just isn't into it'. So the voice guidance of the Nuvi is very helpful. It's just too difficult to try and figure out where you need to drive, unassisted, with the 210. Like I said, I love the 210 and it's become like a little friend to me.

Just my .02 cents worth, but I agree with FamilyDNA. I don't have the model(s) you are speaking about, but I do have an Explorist 210. It only holds 100 per file. It's not really been an issue. I load them in individual files for the city/area/direction I am heading (like FamilyDNA stated). It's not really that big of a deal to change the default map for whichever file I need at the moment. I DO use GSAK to synch with my Palm (running cachemate). I do NOT use GSAK to load up my GPS. I use the geocache manager, just because I'm used to it and find it easy to navigate. The only issue with using Geocache Manger (Magellan's software) is that it has that 20 character limit. If you have numerous caches with similar names, e.g. Indiana Spirit Quest #???, it will only load one of them. There's a pretty easy work-around in that I change them in the Geocache Manager to ISQ #??? and all is well. In GSAK and on my Palm, I don't have the problem. I, too, am glad to hear about Magellan's customer service working something out with you. My Explorist 210 has been dead on accurate and has really been a sweet little unit (knock on wood!).

I have a 210 also and ran into this problem too. Unfortunately, I didn't catch it until I was out in the field. Luckily, I was with some other cachers, so they had the ones I was missing. As stated above there is a limit of 200, although I can find no mention of this in the user's manual or at Magellans site. (According the manual and site, it can hold as many POIs as there is memory.) How I worked around this, and it's not that great of a solution is to create multiple folders like was mentioned above. That being said though, if I'm out of my home area (and away from those 200 caches near home), you have to go into preferences and change your default list. You can access the other locations by accessing their folder, but those caches will not show up around you (how they look like little treasure chests). They will show up if you've changed the default list. This is useful if you're going out-of-town and want to cache there. Load up those pocket queries in a folder with that city's name. Then, change the default list to be the list named that city and then they'll show up like you're accustomed. I hope I've explained this well enough. It's one of those things that I could show you easier! LOL

That's exactly what I meant, I just thought I couldn't reference them by name. I use badge-a-minit too. It is very inexpensive and very easy. And yes, they ship promptly.

I'm not sure what kind of buttons you are ordering, but if you're talking about the type of pin on badges, you can easily make them yourself. Just google badge making equipment and you may be quite surprised at how easy and inexpensively you can make them yourself. I make my own as sig items to leave. (Not to mention each holiday.) You can make them for about .50 or less (depending on what quantity you buy). Sorry to butt in, but hope it helps!

I, too, have a 210 and love it to bits. It's my first unit, but I'm new to geocaching. I figure if this little baby could help me find 13 caches, and I could figure out how to use it, it must be terrific! I love the geocaching software, but I've not yet had to slave away at entering coordinates by hand. I'm sure I started off spoiled! Count this as another vote for the $210!

Man, I hate to jump into something that I may only know enough to be dangerous BUT... I am... This could, very well, be a Windows Vista issue. Vista has some very serious compatibility issues. Eventually, there will be fixes for most (if not all) of these, but for the time being, it could be frustrating. It sounds like the OP has had success with a different computer (which may have been running XP). We just bought a new laptop for my son, Vista equipped (reluctant choice, but Windows XP is GONE). Ended up having to spend another $500 just to buy new software and new accessories for his sound engineering job. All because Windows Vista was not compatible with the older software and accessories. Again, just a thought.

Hello fellow Hoosier. I don't have the exact Magellan model as you, but I am using the Geocache Manager. Hopefully I'm explaining this so you can understand (things are easier to explain verbally!). Here's what I do: I've made a special folder within "My Documents" called "Geocaching". (Warning: I am a folder-aholic.) When I download the coordinates, I make sure that I'm downloading them to this folder and NOT just "My Documents". When I open the Geocache Manager, I can then more easily locate the downloaded files because I know they're in that "Geocaching" folder. If you have no coordinates yet in geocache manager, then add the first one. After the first coordinate has been put on the list, click on the folder (open), and select the next coordinate to add. As the above poster mentioned, you need to be SURE to check the box "Append to existing list" at the bottom of the dialog box. Yes, each addition to the list has to be added one-at-a-time and yes, it is a pain in the rear end. BUT, it's still a lot easier than trying to enter in the coordinates by hand. Save the list by calling it whatever you want. You can identify it by area or whatever. (If you're a multi-state cacher, you may want to have lists by state. Depending on how much you choose to load into your GPS and depending upon the memory limitations of your GPS, you can decide how best to divvy up the information. I only have one list (but I'm still new and still have plenty to find around my own home). After I've added all the ones to the list (and deleted any that I've found), I'm ready to transfer and/or update my GPS. On my GPS, I have to attach the transfer cable so that the cable is running DOWN the back of the unit. It fits the other way, but doesn't communicate with my computer. Additionally, the unit must be manually turned on to communicate with the computer. Again, these instructions are for my specific model but... After the unit is on and communicating with the computer, the GPS unit will want to know what you are doing. It will want to know if you're doing a file transfer or just using the USB for power purposes. Select the option of file transfer. On the Geocache Manager, click on the button that looks like a globe & satellite (send to GPS), and then it will bring up a dialog box to select which list you want to send. Select the list you just created and you should be good to go. Later, when you've updated your list (added more or deleted ones you've found), you can repeat this process and when it asks if you want to replace the list, you can. Again, I hope this explains it. If not, drop me a line and I'll be happy to help any way that I can.

Daughter and I are are still new to geocaching and the current weather in Indiana is not exactly favorable for geocaching forays. Not to be intimidated (and there IS a beauty of a snow encrusted field or woods), we still attempt to find a cache or two. Our foot of snow has melted and refroze through several cycles. This made for an icy covering over the snow. Some places you sink through, some places you cannot stomp a foot hold. It was quite a slippery path. After schlepping through a park, around baseball diamonds, past a playground and through some woods, we come to a hill. Even though we are doubting the trusty GPS, we plunge ahead. Up the steep hill. We found the cache (I still cannot believe we found it, but we did. It was an awesome cache and really well hid deep inside a hollow, fallen tree. Just as daughter replaces the cache (using a stick to push it all the way back down to its original position), she slips and begins to slide all the way back down the hill we just climbed. Since she was not injured, it proved to be hilarious. Imagine sledding without a sled. Or, imagine sledding on blue jeans. As she went zinging past a tree, she shot out an arm and grabbed on successfully. (Otherwise, she may have just made it all the way back to the car - she was picking up steam as she went!) After she has stopped, regained her senses (and probably mentally checked for any internal injuries), she smashes through the snow to get a foothold. She rises to her feet and has just regained an upright posture when her cell phone rings. Not missing a beat, she answers. Her cell phone is always on speaker (her preference), so I can hear the conversation. It is a good friend, who asks "Whatcha doing?" Again, not missing a beat, she replies "Sliding down a hill. You?" Now, the trip turned out to be one of most fun caches we have ever found. Imagine the disappointment that when we got home, I could not log the find. For some odd reason, it has been turned into a member only cache. (It must not have been before, though, lest I would not have been able to read it in the first place!) So, after all the effort (and risk of life and limb), it is not logged as a find! I guess that is how they will get me to join! LOL