Santa Brought Me A Gps And I Want To Get Started !

[Drax and zee]

I got a Meridan Gold for Christmas as a friend turned me on to caching this summer. I managed to get my home base coordinated into the GPS and even named home. 1?) Actually I have two things named Home and Homee but don't know how to get rid of one of them.

 

2?) I want to put a waypoint in from a geocach site into the GPS so we can go on our first find? I read the manual which speaks of ones already in the unit etc but not of entering one from a geo site. I have the longtitude and latitude points and have tried holding down the GOTO for 2-3 seconds and a "Mark' comes up but when I try to put in those coordinates there are number points that don't go above 5 yet I need them to go to 9 for the latitude. (wondering if anyone knows what I am trying to explain)

 

3?) Once I do get the waypoint entered into the GPS. How do I 'tell' it to guide me from my home to there?

 

4?) If I go to a friends home and want to cach from there. Do I set their waypoint as 'starting point?' and how do I do that without losing my home base point.

 

I am so excited to get started but know I need to learn a lot of things before that step. The basic guide book that comes with it just runs really really short of explanations.

 

I hate taking up forum space for all this 'back to the basics" stuff and would be willing to converse through e-mail with someone who can guide us. I live in Windsor, Ontario Canada.

 

Thank you so much and Happy Holidays.

[+briansnat]

The key is to figure out how to mark a waypoint. I think the Meridian has a "mark" button but I'm not sure (if not find out how to mark a waypoint in your manual). Once you mark the waypoint all you have to do is to edit the coordinates to match those of the cache you're hunting. THen press "goto" and follow the arrow.

 

No need to mark your starting point. The GPS knows where you are. It is a good idea though to mark the location of your car if you're hiking a ways to the cache.

[+Sputnik 57]

A MeriGold user will stop by with more info but:

 

2?) I want to put a waypoint in from a geocach site into the GPS so we can go on our first find? I read the manual which speaks of ones already in the unit etc but not of entering one from a geo site. I have the longtitude and latitude points and have tried holding down the GOTO for 2-3 seconds and a "Mark' comes up but when I try to put in those coordinates there are number points that don't go above 5 yet I need them to go to 9 for the latitude. (wondering if anyone knows what I am trying to explain)

 

If you can't go past 5, then your unit is set to dd mm ss (degrees minutes and seconds). You need to set it to dd mm.mmm (degrees, minutes and decimal minutes).

 

You may want to check out:

 

Thot's Beginner's Guide

Markwell's Update to the FAQ and

CyBret's Geocacher University.

 

Lot's of great advice there for beginners.

 

Welcome to the recreational activity/sport/hobby!

[yelo]

I got a Meridan Gold for Christmas as a friend turned me on to caching this summer. I managed to get my home base coordinated into the GPS and even named home. 1?) Actually I have two things named Home and Homee but don't know how to get rid of one of them.

 

2?) I want to put a waypoint in from a geocach site into the GPS so we can go on our first find? I read the manual which speaks of ones already in the unit etc but not of entering one from a geo site. I have the longtitude and latitude points and have tried holding down the GOTO for 2-3 seconds and a "Mark' comes up but when I try to put in those coordinates there are number points that don't go above 5 yet I need them to go to 9 for the latitude. (wondering if anyone knows what I am trying to explain)

 

3?) Once I do get the waypoint entered into the GPS. How do I 'tell' it to guide me from my home to there?

 

4?) If I go to a friends home and want to cach from there. Do I set their waypoint as 'starting point?' and how do I do that without losing my home base point.

 

I am so excited to get started but know I need to learn a lot of things before that step. The basic guide book that comes with it just runs really really short of explanations.

 

I hate taking up forum space for all this 'back to the basics" stuff and would be willing to converse through e-mail with someone who can guide us. I live in Windsor, Ontario Canada.

 

Thank you so much and Happy Holidays.

i also get a gps for x-mas and i'm eager to get start to.

 

i recieve a garmin etrex legend

 

i'm a bit like you in regard to taking place for some basic stuff, but since we're now two in the same "problem" why not. if we put both are question in the same topic. we will learn a lot i think

 

since i never did some geo caching, i'm also looking for someone around québec city to help me get start. anyone up for it?

 

yelo

[+SixDogTeam]

Sounds like you need the owners manual to your GPSr. If you don't have one, you can probably download one from the internet...

[Drax and zee]

Thanks everyone!

Sputnik - regarding changing to dd.mm.mmm. I have read through the Adobe manual CD that came with the GPS but I can't find anything pointing me in the direction for changing this area. Any ideas? What would the name of that area be? Where and how do I get there?

 

Sure wish the GPS people would also include a manual for geocaching folks.

 

thank you for any help you can offer. I have e-mailed the Ontario Regional rep to see if there is someone who would be willing to volunteer to converse with me or even stop by my home to help us get started. I am a tactile learner so pick things up faster if I can see or hands on 'do it' rather then reading words alone.

[+Markwell]

There's a "format" menu on the etrex lines - it should say "H DDD° MM.MMM" or something like that - it may say "H DD.DDDD°" or "H DDD° MM SS.S" - but you should be able to scroll up/down to find the right one ("H DDD° MM.MMM")

[Drax and zee]

Thank you Markwell. Everyone is so nice taking the time to help me hear. I truly appreciate it.

 

I could not find extrex lines anywhere on the menu list. I feel so silly having to ask in this forum, the most basic's of questions but the manuals are so poorly explained.

I did get my home fixed and named it as well. ( was so very proud of myself for that accomplishment.... don't laugh!) But from there it is very confusing.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Carol

[+the hermit crabs]

Thanks everyone!

Sputnik - regarding changing to dd.mm.mmm. I have read through the Adobe manual CD that came with the GPS but I can't find anything pointing me in the direction for changing this area. Any ideas? What would the name of that area be? Where and how do I get there?

I don't have a Magellan, but try page 60 of the manual for the Meridian Gold (in the "Setup" section). It describes how to select a coordinate system. (It lists the default primary configuration as Lat/Lon dd mm.mmm.)

[Drax and zee]

Hi Sputnik and Maxwell.

 

I went to Coord System and Primary. Then chose Lat. Long. then chose from a list of 4 , DEG/MIN.MMM.

 

They show :

DEG/MIN/MM

DEG/MIN.MMM

DEG/MIN.SEC

DEG.DDDDD

 

Did I choose the right one?

[+Maingray]

Hi Sputnik and Maxwell.

 

I went to Coord System and Primary. Then chose Lat. Long. then chose from a list of 4 , DEG/MIN.MMM.

 

They show :

DEG/MIN/MM

DEG/MIN.MMM

DEG/MIN.SEC

DEG.DDDDD

 

Did I choose the right one?

Yuppers!

[RexBloodman]

Thank you Markwell. Everyone is so nice taking the time to help me hear. I truly appreciate it.

 

I could not find extrex lines anywhere on the menu list. I feel so silly having to ask in this forum, the most basic's of questions but the manuals are so poorly explained.

I did get my home fixed and named it as well. ( was so very proud of myself for that accomplishment.... don't laugh!) But from there it is very confusing.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Carol

Goto your main menu screen and look for setup.

now using that little stick looking thing in the upper left corner tap it left or right or up or down to get there. Click the top of the stick and you are in the setup screen. click down to units. and in the first slot it should say one of the aforementioned settings. set it to hddd mm.mmm.

[+Team Cotati]

1?) Actually I have two things named Home and Homee but don't know how to get rid of one of them.

 

To get rid of aka delete a waypoint, do: menu, database-enter, user waypoint-enter, position-enter, use arrows to highlight the waypoint that you want to delete, menu, select edit to edit or delete to delete.

 

2?) I want to put a waypoint in from a geocach site into the GPS so we can go on our first find?

 

- hold down ‘goto’ and get the ‘mark’ screen. the ‘name’ field will be at the top right and be filled in with something like WPT001. To enter a name, arrow up to the name field press ‘enter’. using the arrow keys, arrow up into the section where the alphabet is displayed. arrow to the letters and press enter and the letter appears in the large name window. repeat for the rest of the name max. 8 characters. when finished arrow down to ok and press enter. this will take you back to the ‘mark’ screen’ showing the name that you just entered. the ‘location’ window is selected (dark). press enter. this places you into data entry mode. use the arrows up and dn to increase/decrease the numbers and left/right to move across the screen digit by digit. when finished, press enter. skip the next two windows by doing a down arrow twice. this places the cursor in the ‘save’ window. press ‘enter.

 

You have now created, and named your waypoint. repeat for other waypoints. if you are only doing a few, you can just use the WPT001, WPT002 default names and write those names on the cache pages that you print out to take into the field. you’ll soon want to use easygps or gsak to allow multiple waypoint loads directly into the gpsr via the serial cable.

 

3?) Once I do get the waypoint entered into the GPS. How do I 'tell' it to guide me from my home to there?

 

You don’t, the gpsr will always point to the waypoint from wherever on the surface of the earth that you are standing. just start moving either by walking or driving or whatever. keep your eyes on the road!!! you must be moving to maintain an accurate fix and speed, direction,distance info. you can tell if you are recieving accurate fix info on the gpsr by navigating to the satellite information screen. you must have either 2D or 3D displayed in the upper right corner to get accurate fixes. wait for these indicators before attempting to navigate towards a target or to establish a fix.

 

4?) If I go to a friends home and want to cach from there. Do I set their waypoint as 'starting point?' and how do I do that without losing my home base point.

 

Just follow the instructions from above after you have gotten a fix at the house and name this waypoint after your friend and enter the cords and save under the friend’s name. this will only make sense for caches located relatively near the friend’s home. otherwise just neter the cache waypoints drive near there and follow the pointer on the compass rose. once within 50 ft. or so begin looking for likely hiding spots and read the other cacher’s logs and the hint.

 

If you want, just send me individual emails via my geocaching.com account and I'll be glad to assist in any way possible. "Cache on Garth!!"

Edited December 28, 2005 by Team Cotati

[vagabond]

[

Carol

Goto your main menu screen and look for setup.

now using that little stick looking thing in the upper left corner tap it left or right or up or down to get there. Click the top of the stick and you are in the setup screen. click down to units. and in the first slot it should say one of the aforementioned settings. set it to hddd mm.mmm.

The op has a Magellan gold the 4th or 5th poster has an etrex.

Don't confuse her anymore then she already is

[Drax and zee]

First I want to thank everyone so very much for all the help I have received to try and get started. You are all great examples of the people I am sure to meet along the way with this new addictive hobby.

 

Earlier I had said that I : I went to Setup - Coord System --- Primary-----. chose Lat. Long. then chose from a list of 4 , DEG/MIN.MMM.

 

They show :

DEG/MIN/MM

DEG/MIN.MMM

DEG/MIN.SEC

DEG.DDDDD

 

I was told this was correct but I am still unable to go above '5' in the third area when entering. eg. 82.949833. It is the first '9' that I can't go above 5 with and then I can't get the full amount of numbers in it either. Should I have gone to the DEG.DDDDD one?

 

Again thank you so much for the help. I have also contacted the Ontario geocaching group for some hopefully 'buddy' caches in the near future.

 

Carol

[+Sputnik 57]

82.949833 is in the format DEG.DDDDDD. You apparently didn't get this one from the geocaching.com cache page. Those coordinates are in DEG/MM.MMM.

 

You can either change to DEG.DDDD (rounding the last two places) or multiply .949333 times 60 (60 minutes in a degree)

 

In other words, .949833 x 60 = 56.990 (rounded).

 

82.949833 is the same as 82° 56.990 minutes.

 

There usually isn't this much math involved in caching, because most people just download the GC.com coordinates in the standard format.

[Drax and zee]

Hi Sputnik

 

thank you for replying. I got the cache from Geocach.com. It is called Hit-A Home-Run- in - Riverside.

 

Perhaps the problem is when I clicked to print it MapQuest came up with their coordinates and I would take it from there.

 

Where else would I find the coordinates for a cache from the cache page other than taking it from Mapquest?

 

My GPS can do the download thing but I am not at that point in knowledge about the whole equipment to do that. I wanted to learn how to put them in manually.

 

So at this point: If you can tell me how to get their coordinates, other than taking them off Mapquest, then I would like to leave my set up system in the mmmm though that does explain why things are off a bit from all the cache coordinates.

 

Thank you so very much Sputnik.

 

Carol

[+StarBrand]

On any cache page such as my Oregon Trail cache you can find the coordinates in bold letters - look for: N 41° 33.408 W 102° 43.845 on the linked page.

 

That is always in the DDD MM.MMM Format.

 

Hope that helps.

[Draggin'BaitZ]

Carol, go to the top of the page to the "Read first" section with the FAQ's. Scroll down until you see "How do I manually enter cache coordinates into my GPSr?"

 

I'm new too! I just got my GPSr (Garmin eTrex Legend-C) for Christmas, as you did. I'm not a hi-tech guy. Computers and gadgets like gps easily confuse me. I took my gps with me to Bass Pro Shops near my home and a salesman showed me how to do some things with it. He actually walked out to the parking lot and created a route using 3 waypoints for us to follow right there in the lot!

 

When I got home, I read the owners manual all the way through and it made more sense after having the fellow at Bass Pro's help.

 

I bought the "City Navigator north America v7" MapSource DVD to down load to my GPSr. I now have fully routable detailed maps with updated road details throughout the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico! This things' unbelieveable!!! Turn by turn directions to my destination with prompting tones before each turn.

 

I also purchased a cigarette lighter adapter to use in the car and the gps came with a USB cable to connect to the computer, so I can save batteries while experimenting and playing around with the unit.

 

I started by reading a small section in the manual and then practicing with the gps connected to the computer before moving on to the next operation. I've also been helped alot by reading the input all over this site. I'm addicted now!

 

Good luck,

 

DBZ