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I own a Garmin 60C and I enjoy it a lot. But how does a Garmin or Magellan handheld GPSr compare with a GPSr that comes in a luxury car such as a BMW? In mean in terms of reception, cartography....

Thanks for that puzzle. I was chuffed to bits that I worked it out. But there really is no-one in my real life that I could share the triumph with. At our Christmas drinks party (well trip to the local) the conversation turned to 'Anorakdom' with a guy who was accused of being one as he knew far too much about the BMW range. He maintained that everyone in the room would have a 'specialist' subject that they knew lots about but everyone else would not see the point of. Now could I openly claim to an unhealthy knowledge of navigation, map co-ordinate systems, datum lines, and tupperware boxes....no. They all know I've got so many anorak areas, what with IT, networking, music particularly guitars, they didn't even have to ask me to reveal mine... perhaps that was lucky.

Sitting around the turkey table, one of the folks had their new Sprint phone out, and I asked what one of the screen icons was.... it was the Locator via GPS - Then we got into the discussion.... I did some surfing and found this link about the A-GPS technology and others that might be embedded into various cellphones. http://www.gps-practice-and-fun.com/a-gps.html My comments were basically... how the heck could these cellphones and other devices receive a GPS signal when my 12 channel Garmin laying on the table could not ? how ? One of the other folks mentioned how his laptop with a GPS card worked just fine in his house..... how ? And lastly, another with his BMW mentioned his GPS nav system works fine everywhere, even in downtown areas, and doesn't even have a roof bubble or other outside antenna that he can see - he can't figure out where the signal is being received So - if these devices are all getting GPS signals just about everywhere, including indoors, then why do our Garmin/Magellan handhelds not hold a candle to them ? At that point - I went to the kitchen....

ok this'll sound daft but i'm 6'7'' and until recently drove.......a mini (not that bmw parentless offspring the classic) with seat extention brackets it's roomier than most modern cars as it has no dashboard or console etc. you can get the older ones cheaply, parts easily available great little cars with loads of character. dirt cheap insurance the list goes on. i could go on but you either love em or hate em.

A few things to consider before denying hunters their chosen sport on Sundays for what I suspect started out as a religious reason, which would be unconstitutional due to seperation of church and state. 1. Hunters pay a lot of money to participate in what is a very short season for most, and the money they pay in the form of tags and liscenses primarily goes to conservation of wildlife in your area. This is outside of the normal taxes that everyone pays, along with expenses such as camping gear, rifles, ammunition, etc. How much do you pay to be in the woods? 2. You can cache all year round, and can select which areas to go to according to your preferences, not what the rulebooks tell you when and where you can. Hunters (the legal ones)have to follow very specific rules that you are not subject to. 3. How would you feel if the new rules stated that due to hunting season you are no longer allowed to go into the woods to geocache from Sep. to Dec.? Banning hunting on Sundays so that non hunters can go into the woods without having to hear rifle shots is essentialy the same thing. Sounds a bit hypocritical to me. Yes, there are bad hunters out there that make "sound shots", but you have the option of finding caches in other areas during those seasons if you are worried about it. Hunters don't have those kinds of options. Luckily in Idaho we don't have such silly laws (although we have enough of our own), so the only thing I can't do on Sunday is buy liquor (another stupid religous reason I'm sure). So in short, go find some other place to cache hunt during hunting season. The hunters will appreciate your not crashing through the woods scaring all the game, and you'll be less likely to have to deal with Bambi running out in front of your BMW on the way home from caching next spring. Everyone wins.

I clip my Etrex to my BMW and it goes dead at 132 MPH. I think it is from the vivration.

you bet, especially if i could trade it in for a BMW

Wow, thats pretty cool! I didn;t know that BMW made a dual sport. I have a Kawasaki KL250 as a dual sport bike, as my first bike its been pretty good. Here is my other cachemobile, a 2001 Isuzu Rodeo: Shannon

My current cache mobile is a BMW 325i as well. Hey my motto is, if you're gonna go caching, you might as well go caching in comfort.

Both the 60C/S and 76C/S have the same basemap. The 76 will only route you city-to-city as well. Gotta give up the money for the detailed maps - no way around it. Not true, the 76C has this, Americas Autoroute Basemap: This basemap comes factory installed with the BMW Motorcycles Navigator, StreetPilot III, StreetPilot 2610, StreetPilot 2620, StreetPilot 2650, StreetPilot 2660, GPS V, GPSMAP 196, GPSMAP 276C, GPSMAP 296, GPSMAP 76C, GPSMAP 76CS, and Quest. Garmin mapping units come with built-in, permanent basemaps that cannot be altered. These basemaps come in a variety of global designations (i.e., Atlantic basemap). Please see your local dealer when purchasing a Garmin mapping unit to ensure that you are purchasing one with a basemap that's appropriate for your location and needs. Factory-installed basemaps cannot be altered. The Americas Routable basemap includes the United States, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, and Central and South America, and covers an area from W180 to W30 Longitude, S60 to N72 Latitude. Also included is a high-level worldwide map with political boundaries and major cities. standard map coverage includes: Oceans, rivers, and lakes (greater than 30 sq. miles) Principal cities and a small amount of smaller cities and towns Major interstates and principal highways Political boundaries (state and international borders) Railroads Major Airports A. United States - In addition to the standard map coverage, it also includes: Small lakes, major streams, and rivers Principal urban areas (including Alaska and Hawaii) National- and State-level roads Many local roads in or near urban areas More detailed coastline Airports A database of exits for the Federal Interstate highway system. This includes many businesses within about ¼ mile of the exit, including: restaurants, diesel/gas, hotels/lodging, overnight RV parking, dumps, campgrounds, truckstops, medical facilities, shopping and outlet malls, ATMs, and many more attractions. Tide stations B. Alaska - In addition to the standard map coverage, it also includes: National- and State-level roads, plus some local roads in or near urban areas Lakes greater than 5 square miles Small cities and towns Tide stations C. Canada - In addition to the standard map coverage, it also includes: Lakes greater than 5 square miles (Southern Canada) Lakes greater than 10 square miles (Central Canada) D. Mexico, Central and South America Standard Map Coverage while the 60C has this, Detailed basemap with general map data, including highways, major roads, river, lakes, and borders

Here's mine.... 1993 BMW R100GS. Great for caching, benchmark hunting, and daily driving. - Kewaneh

I don't know about being able to create an event from that far away, but we have plenty of local cachers that would probably be willing to set up an event cache or an informal get-together. Nostrada leaps to mind because he's German. There are also several TB-oriented caches in the San Jose area if needed, including one in a coffee house. Do you know specifically where you will be in the area? I've been planning to create a TB with a BMW theme to send over to Germany, so maybe I should hurry up and get that done before you get here.

Americas Autoroute Basemap: This basemap comes factory installed with the BMW Motorcycles Navigator, StreetPilot III, StreetPilot 2610, StreetPilot 2620, StreetPilot 2650, StreetPilot 2660, GPS V, GPSMAP 196, GPSMAP 276C, GPSMAP 296, GPSMAP 76C, and GPSMAP 76CS. SORRY 60 series not included. http://www.garmin.com/products/gpsmap76cs/# http://www.garmin.com/include/basemaps/ame...te_basemap.html The 76C/CS does Have this Database loaded in it.

Something like this?? Yes, but I keep telling people that pouring a glass of red wine over their BMW won't do the paintwork any good! Nice to see a message from Waspman! We want MORE Day Rover caches and more magnets!! Cheers! Seasider

all the items listed below were purchase for geocaching Magellan Meridan w/ Handlebar mount and windshield moutn Magellan Sportrack map Magellan Sportrack color ( for use as a back up) Pocket PC Cable to connect Pocket PC to GPS Lap top computer for road trips Titanium hiking sticks-Leki Map Send topo Map Send Streets and destinations Map send direct route National geographic TOPO Ca. and Ha. National geographic Back roads Microsoft street and trips 4mp digital cacmera to photograph Virtuals Compass Next purchase will be one of the following for longer road trips MB SLK 320 BMW 330i Crossfire Acura TL ect.

Wondering if someone can help me combine my two favorite hobbies.... Geocaching and minis!!!! I love the classic mini. I own and drive a 71 morris. I know that in the UK they are a dime a dozen. Here in the US they are about as common as wings on a monkey! I also collect small toy car minis, which brings me to my point. I was hoping that maybe someone in the UK could put a few toy mini travel bugs together and put them in the wild with a destination of the "If you hide it they will come" cache in Burbank California (WGS84). I am interested in the classic mini and not the thing that BMW is calling a mini. (fun car but not even close the the real thing.) Perhaps I can return the favor and send something that you may collect back in that direction? Thanks and cheers.

I was (am) driving a BMW 320i that averages 25 MPG But I have just bought a Seat Alhambra 1.9TDi 110 bhp all singing and dancing (loads of toys :D ) that should be doing 40plus MPG when I pick it up in the morning Looks like some longer distance caches will be in range soon

This is my usual cachemobile, there's another pic of it on the Jeep sweepstakes thread where it's actually clean for a change... But sometimes I use the alternate/stealth cachemobile, a Dinan-tuned '97 BMW M3. It looks pretty generic but there's a reason it beat Corvettes, Porsches, Ferraris and well, everyone else as Car & Driver's "Best sports car at any price" that year! It's unbelievably fun to drive, assuming that you're the kind of person who enjoys driving of course.

I really have a hard time understanding the rationale behind this... I mean, you *have* to imcrease capacity as your subscriber base and traffic increases. Keep in mind that we're not talking about a faster server like getting a BMW instead of a Kia. As the amount of activity on a server increases, you're going to need: 1. More disk space - think about the hundreds of photos uploaded every day. 2. More bandwidth - nobody is going to use the site if it's slow as molasses, and people aren't going to pay for crummy service. 3. Faster servers - when hundreds of people are running the same program at the same time, you need enough CPU time and RAM to handle it. 4. Backup equipment - tape drives, disc arrays and other items needed to back up all this stuff in case of equipment failure. 5. Replacement and maintenance costs. Hardware fails and either you're paying for a maintanance contract or you're buying new parts. All those things cost money. In fact, for a site this massive, you should be thankful every day that it's free, because running it isn't cheap. That said, I think having a premium membership is the way to go. I think the sport should be accessable for everyone who wants to play. Nobody *needs* pocket queries, but they sure are nice, so why not pay for them?

Is it somehow more of a travesty that it hit a luxury car? I wouldn't want anything to hit my civic either. No, but the fact that he felt obliged to detail the make/model rather than just saying "my car" tells you something about the kind of in-duh-vidual we're dealing with here. Anyway, a lot of BMW convertibles have plastic rear windows, so probably no harm done

Two, The Magellan Sportrak Pro, And the one factory installed in my MINI Cooper S. I wish I could find some hints how to change the formats in the MINI (BMW) unit. It is noce, color and finds addresses and more but in the split screen mode you can only see coords in deg.min.sec.

Looks like that link points to the WRX STi.... No arguments there! I'd have waaaaay too much fun in one of those. (Although again for the $35k price I'd be considering a lot of other fun vehicles as well, like a nice 308GTB.) But for someone considering used Cherokees and Jettas, I'm pretty certain that an STi isn't what he/she had in mind. Speaking of Jettas, I've heard good things about them but I'd also be looking at comparible Audi A4/A6 models and BMW 3-series. Again, that's me.

Like BMW

The People's Republic of California Glorious Worker's Paradise, I think that's the full name these days. San Jose to be specific as it's a big state. Actually, when I first joined this forum I was shocked to see that each person's location was not listed below their avatar like it is on many other forums. I thought that if any forum had that listed, it would be this forum. Instead, this one doesn't and the BMW forum I frequent does? I think it's invaluable to help put many comments into context, and it helps to build community when you see another person that's local that you may want to meet up with or whatnot.

My Jeep's not been stuck either, although some people will tell you that means I'm just not trying hard enough - and they're right! So here's an obligatory pic of my baby when it's not covered with mud or dust for a change: There's been a few times when I've been out looking for a cache in my car (which has no ground clearance and I try very hard to keep it in nice condition) and suddenly I hit a dirt road or something and think "dadgum, wish I had brought the Jeep..." - Dave '98 Sahara with 4.5" RE Superflex lift, etc. (offroad fun) '97 BMW M3 (onroad fun)