Entering Waypoints In The Gps?

[+mainecampingfamily]

Okay...it may just be because I am blonde, But I cannot get the waypoint to work on my GPS.

It is my understanding that the waypoints that are posted on the site can be entered into the GPS and coordinates will automatically pop up on the GPS for that waypoint. Every time I put in a waypoint from the site it puts the coordinates for exactly where I am standing! What am I doing wrong?

[bogleman]

What you are doing is just fine and is how I started. Once you have marked a point all you have to do is edit the waypoint to match what you are looking for.

 

If you have a computer cable & software with your GPS you can download .loc files (non premium members) which will load the waypoint (and numbers) into the software then you can send them to the GPS. Spend some time nosing around here and you should be able to get the hand of things.

 

I am quite sure you will get many posts with more detailed information. Enjoy and dont get too frustrated.

[+El Diablo]

What type of unit do you have?

 

El Diablo

[+Kacky]

Hang in there, fellow Mainieac! If you don't have an external cable and premium membership ($3.00 a month) that automatically puts the waypoint into the gps-r for you, then you'll have to punch in all those latitude and longitude numbers along with the waypoint, or GC number that you are already doing.

Edited April 29, 2006 by enfanTerrible

[+mainecampingfamily]

What type of unit do you have?

 

El Diablo

 

 

I have a Garmin Etrek. And I recently paid for the premium membership. going geocaching today, will try again to use the waypoint.

[+mainecampingfamily]

Hang in there, fellow Mainieac! If you don't have an external cable and premium membership ($3.00 a month) that automatically puts the waypoint into the gps-r for you, then you'll have to punch in all those latitude and longitude numbers along with the waypoint, or GC number that you are already doing.

 

i have the premium membership, I don't have an external cable (should I get one?) I don't even know if my unit will support a cable. My unit is a garmin etrek. Just a basic model.

[+gLOBALfINDER]

I don't know if that model supports external data load. But I was out caching with a fellow this afternoon who had one, and he did just as suggested above: marked current location as a waypoint and then edited the lat./long. until it matched the to-be-found cache coordinates, and punched "go to." BTW it did a fine job in the field.

[+Kacky]

You are right, when you tell it to waymark, it waymarks the exact spot where you are standing. After you punch in the GC number, use the "down" button (2nd button down on the left side) to highlight the co-ordinates at the very bottom of the screen. Then press "enter", which is the third, or biggest, button on the left side. Now you can use "down" and "enter" to punch in the latitude and longitude of the cache, for instance N 44 05.858 W 070 13.442 which is a cache just north of you in Lewiston. Keep at it! It does get easier! The cable is a nice thing to have. Mine didn't come with one, but someone had an extra one they gave me. These cachers are a generous bunch! With the cable, you just press a couple buttons on your computer keyboard and it loads the co-ords instantly. Someone told me they run about 35 bucks. It's good for me because I am scatterbrained and I punch in the wrong numbers sometimes. Hope to see you out there!

Edited May 1, 2006 by Kacky

[+Trekker Tribe]

You are right, when you tell it to waymark, it waymarks the exact spot where you are standing. After you punch in the GC number, use the "down" button (2nd button down on the left side) to highlight the co-ordinates at the very bottom of the screen. Then press "enter", which is the third, or biggest, button on the left side. Now you can use "down" and "enter" to punch in the latitude and longitude of the cache, for instance N 44 05.858 W 070 13.442 which is a cache just north of you in Lewiston. Keep at it! It does get easier! The cable is a nice thing to have. Mine didn't come with one, but someone had an extra one they gave me. These cachers are a generous bunch! With the cable, you just press a couple buttons on your computer keyboard and it loads the co-ords instantly. Someone told me they run about 35 bucks. It's good for me because I am scatterbrained and I punch in the wrong numbers sometimes. Hope to see you out there!

The Garmin Etrex basic model is what we have - and we recently bought the Garmin E-trex legend which comes with a cable - It is a birthday present for my son who is moving up from cub scouts. ( I removed the cable and gave the GPS. This made the B-Day present more affordable since I was going to buy a cable anyway.) The cable works for both and makes it REALLY easy to put waypoints into your GPSr. You will need some software to do it - I use the GSAK software and really like it. At first I was not sure how to use it but soon figured it out. I really like it because you can sort your caches in any way you can think of, just about. You can hand enter each coord, but like others have told you, you "mark" a new way point, then edit it. The user manual does not really give clear instructions for entering waypoints for cahes. Good Luck! I hope my post helped.

[+Adrenalynn]

There are aftermarket garmin-like cables on eBay. Some pretty darned good - and pretty darned cheap compared to the highway robbery that garmin tries to conduct...

 

I have two from: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...Y_BIN_Stores_IT

 

These will work fine with the eTrex.

 

These guys were really great to me. 11,000+ positive feedback, 0 negative!

 

$6.95 for the cable, 4.95 for shipping. $12 vs Garmin's ~$50...

 

Highly recommended!