+HodgePodgeB4 Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 We went out today with our new Explorist 500 and had nothing but a hard time! We previously had borrowed someone's Legend to geocache last summer, and we went with the Explorist 500 for ourselves because we liked having the buttons on the front of the unit. Well, we found out that you cannot zoom in anymore than 100 ft. (whereas I believe the Legend is 20 ft.?). We went to 2 caches and just went in circles and circles. Is there a way to tell how close you are (within 6 ft., 10 ft., etc.) that changes as you walk closer/further away from the cache? We tried everything and just ended up EXTREMELY frustrated! Any help would be appreciated ---- if we can't get in close enough with the Explorist, we'll probably return it! Thanks again for all of the help! Quote Link to comment
+skysensor Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 Well, we found out that you cannot zoom in anymore than 100 ft. (whereas I believe the Legend is 20 ft.?). We went to 2 caches and just went in circles and circles. Is there a way to tell how close you are (within 6 ft., 10 ft., etc.) that changes as you walk closer/further away from the cache? We tried everything and just ended up EXTREMELY frustrated! Before you give up on the unit, consider this: I am a novice and use an older Garmin eMap. I believe the max zoom is 120 feet, and it hasn't been an issue for me. I can't believe a 20 ft. zoom would be useful, because you're getting close to normal error range: you couldn't trust your position on the screen anyway. The eMap does show distance to target, and I've got to believe this would be true of any modern receiver, though I have no experience with the 500. Like the Explorist 500, the eMap lacks a compass. A trick I learned on this forum to maximize positioning accuracy before starting my visual search: When my distance to target indicates about 20 feet or so, I switch to the coordinate view. I try to match latitude, then longitude. Generally speaking, using this method, the old tech eMap puts me within about 15 feet (worst case) and about 5 feet (best case). A fairly simple 360 degree visual sweep reveals the potential hides I'll want to check out. Before adopting this technique, I found myself getting frustrated by the chicken dance (circling, circling), trying to follow the spinning direction pointer. Good luck. Quote Link to comment
+cartographe Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 (edited) Is there a way to tell how close you are (within 6 ft., 10 ft., etc.) that changes as you walk closer/further away from the cache? We tried everything and just ended up EXTREMELY frustrated! First off, I would suggest you to read your manual from cover to cover, they do put these things in the box for a reason you know! Second, when you're looking for cache, you shouldn't use the map view but the compass view instead. By default, on the top right of the compass view, you should see the distance that separates you from the waypoint. As long as you're moving, the arrow will tell you which direction to go to find the cache. Tip: Look where the arrow is pointing and try to estimate, as you walk, when you get closer, where the cache could be. I have always used Garmin units myself but they all work the same. You choose a waypoint, you click goto, and you follow the arrow! Good luck. Edited March 26, 2007 by cartographe Quote Link to comment
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