cobalt_abyss

Is the DeLorme MapPack Subscription worth it? I am leaning towards getting a subscription, but want to get input from those that have used it. Also everyone's instructions were spot on! I have downloaded local to me maps on my GPS and the area in Mexico I am going. I created two pocket queries, one for mexico, and one local to me and am waiting for them to be emailed to me from geocaching.com. I uploaded one pocket query I had for the route between my house and my parents and it worked like a charm. Thanks again everyone!

---Issue resolved I called support and they immediately deciphered the issue. The serial cable was about the width of a fingernail from being fully pushed into place. After firmly (and I do mean firmly) pressing the cable, it moved the last 1/32 of an inch and the PC immediately recognized it. They told me they get a lot of calls with this problem, so please keep it in mind the next time someone has this problem and posts for help. ---As for the time frame for my Mexico trip, I leave in 3 days, but wont be using the unit till 10 days from now for geo-caching (On the island of Cozumel). I will be spending this evening trying to learn the ins and outs of the unit before I go. Additionally I do not have an SD card reader so caches will have to be loaded before I go or take my laptop which I dont want to do. Thanks for all the information everyone!!

so actually that post doesn't help at all. My unit wont connect on one system and not another. It won't connect at all on multiple systems running multiple OS's. On USB ports that other pieces of hardware run on just fine. PC nor laptop even recognize that anything was connected. It's not a battery issue as I have tried multiple sets of new batteries. I appreciate the effort, but still drawing blanks.

I have received no commiseration over there. That forum is a graveyard

I still feel there is an out of box failure here. Sad too because I wanted to geocache in Mexico...

I confirmed the USB Power Switch was on and tried new batteries, no luck. I will just call support in the morning as it looks like the Delorme forums are a graveyard. On a side note do Delorme units not like rechargeable batteries? Every set of fully charged rechargeable batteries I tried showed 10% power. I had to put in a pair of new non-rechargeable to get it to 80%... just curious.

Thank you all very much for the information. My unit arrived already this morning and I was excited to get it up and running. I have already installed the map software on my PC and am ready to go. That was the good news, now for the bad. I can not get the PN60 to connect to either my PC or my laptop. I have tried on all 4 USB ports on my PC and both on my laptop. I have even taken the time to clean the contact points on the unit. Neither the map software nor this website recognize my unit. My guess is either the data cable is bad out of box, or my unit is bad out of box. Has anyone had a problem with this? I cant call customer support until tomorrow morning so I am sitting on my thumbs in the meantime.

Greetings everyone! So I find myself in an odd predicament . I have used a Garmin E-Trex GPS until it recently gave up the ghost. Tomorrow I will receive in the mail a new Delorme PN-60 as a replacement. However I leave for Mexico in a few days (geo-caching including on trip) and have very little time to learn to use it. I am hoping to tap the knowledge base here and get some input on this unit. What are the tips/tricks, do's/dont's, manual updates etc I will need to know or do before I take off to Mexico with it? Will I need to buy any additional accessories? I know it comes with a map pack that I will have to install. I am generally good at figuring out technical details, but with such limited time, I am looking for all the help I can get. Thanks in advance...

I responded to you in PM

I appreciate the input everyone. I fear that I may have confused some of you by the meaning of my post. I don't mind the bells and whistles on my GPS, I just prefer my GPS unit do the core things best, and everything else is icing on the cake. I realize most if not all GPS units have color displays now, however I don't want simplicity of use to be sacrificed for such upgrades. Nothing is more irritating that having to do 10 key clicks and joystick flicks just to get to the screen that tells me which way to go.

---Greetings from Arkansas! ---So my wife and I were active Geocachers from 2007-2009. I am posting in the new persons area because it's been 4 yrs since we have done this and I feel like a noobie all over again. We used an old Garmin ETrex Legend GPS unit w/ black LCD display. It wasn't at all fancy and had none of the bells and whistles of GPS units today. What it did do, it did well. It was very accurate in my novice opinion. Regularly it would lock down a location to 10-13 feet ( I assume WAAS technology?). It also had VERY easy user interface, very easy to read and very easy to navigate through. The one thing it failed at was that you had to be moving to get proper bearing but I was willing to live with that. Sadly that unit went belly up about 2 yrs ago. ---Now I find myself older and in need of getting in shape. My wife and I thought it would be a great idea to mix my exercise routine in with Geocaching. Thusly I went shopping for a new unit and bought a Magellan eXplorist 110 after reading the reviews. Needless to say I am GREATLY disappointing. It is extremely intimidating to navigate through and impossible for my wife. Click here, right press on joystick here, now hit the back key and hit left on the joystick, now navigate to the dashboard... On top of that it is not very accurate at all. The best I could get it was 'accurate within 26 feet. a 52 foot diamaeter search area in the middle of the Ozark woods is a BIG place to be stumbling through. Sure it has bells and whistles on it... it's color (that I cant see in the direct sunlight), it can give me the details of the cache ( after clicking this and that and hitting the back button a bazillion times) and I can log entries from it as well (that I can do from my phone just as easily). So yeah I pretty much call this GPS a failure. ---So I incorrectly assumed that years of GPS technology would have refined the units into a unit that is both easy to use, and accurate at doing its job. So I would love to get some input from you all as you are the experts and I am the padawan. I am looking for a unit that does two things very well and maybe a third. Those being... 1: Accurate. I realize 10 feet radius's aren't going to happen everytime, but I should do better than 26 feet at the very best. 2: easy to use, easy to read. No fluff here, I dont need a unit that can log a cache for me, or is color, or is a touchscreen or that serves coffee. I want something that is intuitive and requires minimal button munching to get to the basics, and that being finding caches. 3: and if possible a unit that works well while stationary. FYI: Also I assume that most all units today use USB connections? This old geezer from Arkansas would certainly appreciate everyone's input.

Hey guys... remember me? The one who started the thread? Not that I don't appreciate the passionate feedback, but I think you all have got WAAAAAYYYY off topic. ---The whole point of the post was to compare moral compasses between geocaching and other mainstream sports/activities. I was trying to express my grattude that there is an activity out there that people still take seriously, and whose ethics are important.---Now back to your normal programming...

I don't want this to turn into a flaming war or anything. I was merely complimenting the geocaching community for being so aboveboards, and in my opinion, doing a great job of policing themselves. All and all these are very admirable qualities for this day and age. I'm just curious if the general opinion is that it will remain this way...

---Greetings all! I am a relatively new geocacher from the states. Even though I am new, I can tell I will be at this, for years to come... ---Yesterday I found a geocoin that came from China, and is now on it's way back. It got me thinking about sending my own bug/coin across the ocean. My wife and I are planing a trip to Ireland this fall (hopefully). Our idea was to send a coin/bug with instructions to make it to a specific cache in Ireland, and then pick it up when we got there. Then we thought how much more fun it would be to find someone from Ireland that would send a bug/coin to here in Arkansas. Perhaps we could race them, and see whose got to their destination first? Maybe the loser could buy the winner a round of drinks when we arrived in Ireland? ---If this sound like fun, I would love to exchange ideas to do this. It would certainly add some extra spice to what proves to be a great vacation anyway...

---I have been a mainsteam sports enthusiest all my life. One thing that has turned me off to many sports is the unethical behavior of many sport stars in recent years. The sancity of many sports has been tarnished, if not ruined, by those that play outside the lines (Pro baseball and basketball come to mind)... ---On the flip side golf has always been a sport of high moral standards. Players would rather lose than to cheat, and often times turn themselves in over minor infractions. This is how I see geo-caching in my limited time participating in this sport. I was wondering how you all view the "state of the game"? Do you think that the average player has above average honor and ethics when abidding by the rules? Most importantly, can the game remain respectable? Or will it be ruined by those that have low standards...

---I'm thumbing through the "Complete idiots guide to Geocaching, and on pp 73 I notice the topic rating a cache (how fun it was to find). I am however unable to determine how to do this on the cache pages. Is this something that is still in use?

It's a white plastic rectangle with a brass eye embedded in one end. It says... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Coralgeo's Released: April 25 2005 USA Geocoin Origin: California United States GOAL: Please help this coin to travel to the Houston area. Use TBJKK0 to reference this geocoin" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It certainly looks like it was attached to the coin at one time. If it wasn't, what is it for?

---In my journeys today, I found a tag for a geocoin, but it has been seperated from it's coin. I looked up the coin on Groundspeak, and see that it is currently located a few miles away. SHould I try to return the tag to the coin? Or does it really matter?

---Thanks! I have successfully posted my finds...

---I found my first 4 caches today (tried for five). I even found my first travel bug (and yes I will get it in another cache asap.). ---My question is other than post an entry on each caches page, do I do need to do anything else to make these offical finds? Basically I want to know what the proper procedure is for reporting finds...

pocket queries?

---Greetings all! Just wanted to say first off that I am excited to start geocaching. I have been interested for a cpl of years but just recently looked up the details. I own a Garmin Etrex legend that I bought about 2 yrs ago for hiking. ---I have spent a few hours looking through the faq's and still have some questions. If they have been asked before, please just point me to the thread. ---1: I downloaded "easy GPS" but what are some of the advantages to the pay versions? And are they worth it? ---2: Is there a way to download coordinates into my Etrex Legend by hand instead of donloading it? I have skimmed the manual many times, but wonder if I missed something. ---3: What are the advantages to being a member in laymens terms. ---4: How do you determine the difficulty/terrain rating for a cache?