geoprincesss

Either Florida or Michigan. Garmin will release it prematurely, then sit back and see if anyone complains. If so, they'll attempt to fix it over time, but the results will only be 50% of what was expected!

Hi I am having the hardest time attempting to download the way-points to any file including the topo maps. This is what I have done. I have downloaded several programs including easy GPS, GPS swiss army and several others. Once I download way points from the geocaching web site I save it to a file on my desktop. The saved waypoints file shows only a white paper with the geocaching on it. I cannot open it with Topo Maps. It will show on easy GPS but I cannot load it to my Earthmate PN-20. It says that it is not compatible. What can I do so that I can get the way points downloaded to my GPS. I followed the instructions that geoprincesss left for me but it is not working out for me. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you and hope to hear from you soon. Thanks again. Manny&tiffy, I suspect your difficulty is with operating the interface between TopoUSA and your PN20, and possibly getting more confused with external programs like EasyGPS and GSAK which aren't necessary for loading basic Geocache waypoints to your PN20. Chip Noble (DeLorme Staff Member) offered to help and has been an excellent resource for PN20 users. I'd suggest taking his offer to assist and emailing him privately via his post above. Also, DeLorme has an EXCELLENT forum for helping PN20 and TOPO USA users. For help with specific PN20 or related products, consider posting to their site directly at http://forum.delorme.com/index.php

I have not used EasyGPS, but getting Geocaching.com waypoints to the PN20 is a 3 step procedure: 1. From geocaching.com, select the 20 or so geocaches you want to download and save them to any folder on your hard drive. (you will only be able to save one page of cache files at a time unless you are a premium member) It will save them as a .LOC flie on your hd. 2. Open Delorme Topo USA map program and IMPORT the .loc file from your hd. That saves your cache waypoints within Topo USA. 3. Connect your PN20 to your pc via USB and do an EXCHANGE function in Topo USA to transfer the .loc file info to your PN20. Should only take a minute or two and the Cache waypoints will then be visible on your PN20.

2GB $10 delivered. http://www.meritline.com/kingston-2gb-microsd-card1.html

Could you simplify that for NUVI owners?

Forget 5-6 feet. "Under ideal conditions" is the operative phrase, but that could also mean 1" sometimes. These consumer gpsr's should give repeatable accuracy in the 50' range. With a metal detector and gps you should do ok in that range assuming there are some iron markers. Get a SIRF 3 or similar High Sensitivity Chip receiver. Use the 50' figure for planning purposes. Many will tell you they get 10-15' accuracy, but that is reading what the gpsr is telling them which is often very different from actual and also not very repeatable if you need to understand what accuracy a tool will give you.

Are geocache "customized" poi's? My concern would be that the limited 24M memory be eaten by geocache info, leaving only a small area for Topo map segments. Topo 2008 takes nearly twice as much memory space to display the same geographic area as the earlier Topo US version.

Thanks for the fast reply Coggins!

Thinking about the Venture HC for a birthday gift to Grandkids to geocache with. I know some gps's store maps on an sd card and waypoints and tracks go to internal memory. Just wondering if the 24M of internal only memory on the Venture HC is used for both geocache waypoints and maps or if the 24M is used exclusively for maps and waypoints go in another internal memory.

You're probably right that I can get by with a page at a time. Up till now I've just been manually entering coords for 2 or 3 at a time. I was going to download a hundred or so via the pc and thought I was doing something wrong when I couldn't get more than a page at a time. Thanks to all for the tips. If we do get into this very heavily I'm sure I'll go the premium member route.

Yeah, but that requires assigning a different filename to each download making pc/gps cache management difficult. Maybe gpsbabel is what I need for now. So far this has been a very casual hobby. I wouldn't mind the $30 for a Premium membership and pocket querries, etc., if I was one of those who had the cache bug, but so far it's just been something to do a few times and not all that thrilling. Would have been great if this had been around when we had young kids.

Checking all caches on page 1 of 10, then checking all caches on page 2 of 10, then clicking DOWNLOAD only ends up downloading all caches on the current page (2). Page 1 caches do not download. Am I doing something wrong? Certainly there must be a demand for more than one page of downloads at a time. If this is a geocaching.com limitation, how do you merge more caches to the same .loc file?

The Legend is a great starter gps and the street price is down to close to $100. As long as you have a pc that can accept a serial cable interface it should work fine. If you have a newer pc that has only a USB interface, then consider another model for about $25 more, street price. I won't tell you the name since you don't want to know it, but it has a V and an HC in it and has the USB cable, high sensitivity receiver and more memory built in.

Excellent PN20 and TopoUSA7 info at DeLorme's site... http://forum.delorme.com/index.php

I played with Topo 2008 and the older TopoUSA at a friends house. There appeared to be very little difference in terms of useable map detail (new roads, rural structures, etc.) but a HUGE difference in memory required. Sometimes we found 2008 required 4 times the amount of memory to display the same map segments. I suspect this is due to the shading (DEM) that is added to 2008. On the pc monitor using Mapsource, the shading was useful to help visualize elevation. However, I believe the only gpsr that "might" take advantage of these type maps is the Colorado series. Even then I suspect the shading feature might be rather useless on the tiny gpsr screen.

I think you would find the Nuvi 350 does everything you want, short of the battery type. If Dad is going hunting for a week away from a power source, probably better get him a handheld in addition to the Car gps. If he's just going for a walk in the woods for a few hours and needs to find the car after getting lost, most any pocketable car gps will have enough battery to do the job. They do charge of course when plugged into the cigarette lighter. Most models run 4-8 hours before needing to be recharged. Check out this review of the Nuvi 350. It does allow entering lat/lon, has TTS (speaks street NAMES), excellent windshield mount system and is highly regarded in the moderate price range units. http://www.gpsmagazine.com/2007/08/garmin_..._350_review.php Another possibility: http://www.gpsmagazine.com/2007/06/magella...view.php?page=1

Thanks dualcore. Is their policy written somewhere? How far back does the free upgrade extend? If I buy a Nuvi 350 (or other model) that's been sitting on a shelf with CN2007, will that still qualify for the 2009 update?

I am considering a car gps like the Nuvi 260. This forum is so full of Garmin enthusiasts I thought it would be a good place to ask. Seems like in the past they would honor updates within a certain time frame for new purchases, but I don't know if that still applies with their more restrictive marketing policies today.

CN 2009 is coming shortly. If I purchase a new Garmin gps will they allow me to swap for the current map version? If not, how can I tell which map version comes with which products (gps models)? Their website seems to ignore making policy statements available.

Amazing...whatever it takes to make a buck I guess...Any such restrictions on the CN dvd?

So THAT'S why my prom date still had the sticker on his underwear...

Superduty1... I just ordered a PN20 so have no specific experience finding addresses yet. But I have been on Delorme's forum quite a bit the last couple days and have no problem whatsoever navigating, searching, etc. Here's a couuple posts that may help: http://forum.delorme.com/viewtopic.php?t=1...=address+search http://forum.delorme.com/viewtopic.php?t=1...=address+search From what I have read on the forums, the PN20 has better quality maps and certainly allows more control over what can be done with overlays, routes, tracks, raster imports, etc. However, all that does require a learning curve. If user simplicity is a key factor, maybe the Nuvi line would be more appropriate.

People have reported success with the 60/76 series using HC cards. http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...618&hl=sdhc Why don't you buy one of those cheapies, try it in the Vista HCX and let us know how it works?

OK lets see if I got this...I have track logging on. I complete a track and shut the gps off (leaving logging on). I move a mile down the road with the gps off, then turn it on to start a new track. The gps will show a mile long excursion track from where I was when I shut it off to where it is now. (I did such activity last year marking atv trails with a SP2610 and don't remember it showing tracks I had to edit out).

I've been following this thread with interest since I plan to buy a Vista or Legend HCX soon. It seems all the confusion over exteraneous tracks/track points are due to the Vista collecting barometric trackpoints while the unit is shut off. Can someone comment on what value having the gps operate this way is? Does anyone even use the barometric altimeter after the first few weeks of playing with the features?