Garmin eTrex vista and Mac

[+geoheine]

I am new to geocaching and i am considering aGarmin eTrex vista. However, I am a mac person. Does only know if the software is compatible with a mac?

 

Thanks

George

[+UncleJimbo]

There are many of us who use Garmins, including eTrex Vista, with Macs. Go to the top of this forum page, click on Search, and search "Vista and mac" (no quotes) to find many threads related to this subject.

 

 

I am new to geocaching and i am considering aGarmin eTrex vista. However, I am a mac person. Does only know if the software is compatible with a mac?

 

Thanks

George

[Tacomahunter]

I too am a new mac user (new macbook pro) and a geocacher. The software that I have found is: maccaching and I was already using cachemate and that works as well with the mac. I would recommend both and registered them both as soon as I used them. Have fun!!

http://www.maccaching.com/

Edited October 20, 2007 by Tacomahunter

[+UncleJimbo]

I also use MacCaching.

 

I too am a new mac user (new macbook pro) and a geocacher. The software that I have found is: maccaching and I was already using cachemate and that works as well with the mac. I would recommend both and registered them both as soon as I used them. Have fun!!

http://www.maccaching.com/

[+Vodor and Scorsby]

Is there any reason to buy a mac? Ive used one at work before and I cant find any benefit to them......... back on topic there is lots of software out there but garmin themselves dont have very much mac support. Will be even less if microsoft buy garmin lol.

[+SpiritGuide]

Be aware that Garmin provides poor support for Macintosh users. Their Communicator Plugin which geocaching.com uses to download will not work for most Garmin devices.

[+kit'n'kaboodle]

Be aware that Garmin provides poor support for Macintosh users. Their Communicator Plugin which geocaching.com uses to download will not work for most Garmin devices.

Um, it may not work with YOUR GPSr but it will work with all currently produced ones which use USB.

[gallet]

Is there any reason to buy a mac? Ive used one at work before and I cant find any benefit to them...

 

Er how about no viruses, malware, adware or crapware? Or an OS based on rock solid industrial strength unix?

[murs]

Is there any reason to buy a mac? Ive used one at work before and I cant find any benefit to them...

 

Er how about no viruses, malware, adware or crapware? Or an OS based on rock solid industrial strength unix?

 

Here, here! My MacBook Pro gets shut down/rebooted about once a month, and that's generally due to a software update.

 

And if you really want to run Windows software, simply install XP on your Mac. I'd turn it around and ask why anyone would purchase a Windows machine?? History has shown us that the features released on the next version of Windows years from now will be available to Mac users on Friday.

 

-murray

[+fratermus]

Is there any reason to buy a mac? Ive used one at work before and I cant find any benefit to them.

 

Horses for courses.

 

If you do not have special needs or special interests then Windoze is the default OS for most people.

 

Mac folk tend to be creative types who appreciate the high level of GUI quality, stability, and ease of use. They are willing to trade off software/hardware compatibility and will pony up non-trivial amounts of $$$.

 

Linux folk tend to be geeks, purists, or cheapskates. I am all three; people like me appreciate the open source nature of linux, the customizability of the whole experience, the stability, and industrial-grade services, and an ability to run on minimal hardware. We are willing to give up ease of installation, software compatibility (WINE notwithstanding), lack of drivers for newer hardware, etc.

 

Windows folk are general users, and like the consistency and familiarity of the GUI, the software and hardware availability. They are willing to spend money on the OS every few years and put up with Microsoft shenanigans and the viral infestations that MS products get caught up in.

 

Pays your money and makes your choice. Have fun. Find some caches, regardless of the OS your machine{s} runs.

[murs]

Is there any reason to buy a mac? Ive used one at work before and I cant find any benefit to them.

 

Mac folk tend to be creative types who appreciate the high level of GUI quality, stability, and ease of use. They are willing to trade off software/hardware compatibility and will pony up non-trivial amounts of $$$.

 

 

Well, if we're throwing out generalizations, I'd say Windows users are those that are willing to put up with viruses and not infrequent crashes in order to save a couple dollars or run some specialized piece of software.

 

Seriously, Garmin MapSource is the only piece of software I'd run if I loaded Windows on my Mac. There's nothing else on Windows that I want or have any desire to run.

 

(Oh, and thanks for calling me creative and appreciative of higher quality goods )

 

-murray

Edited October 21, 2007 by murs

[+SpiritGuide]

Be aware that Garmin provides poor support for Macintosh users. Their Communicator Plugin which geocaching.com uses to download will not work for most Garmin devices.

Um, it may not work with YOUR GPSr but it will work with all currently produced ones which use USB.

 

Um, it won't work with the majority of GPS units shown on Garmin's web site (count them) and the retail channels many newbies will buy from. Makes no difference if it works on YOUR gps if it won't work on those who unknowingly buy units with serial and then find out later that the Communicator Plugin won't work.

[+UncleJimbo]

Be aware that Garmin provides poor support for Macintosh users. Their Communicator Plugin which geocaching.com uses to download will not work for most Garmin devices.

Um, it may not work with YOUR GPSr but it will work with all currently produced ones which use USB.

 

Um, it won't work with the majority of GPS units shown on Garmin's web site (count them) and the retail channels many newbies will buy from. Makes no difference if it works on YOUR gps if it won't work on those who unknowingly buy units with serial and then find out later that the Communicator Plugin won't work.

 

Why do you even care about that Communicator Plugin?

I have been geocaching for 3 months with a Garmin eTrex Vista HCx and a Mac, and I have not even bothered to install that plugin. It is not needed since there are alternatives (e.g., MacCaching).

[+SpiritGuide]

Be aware that Garmin provides poor support for Macintosh users. Their Communicator Plugin which geocaching.com uses to download will not work for most Garmin devices.

Um, it may not work with YOUR GPSr but it will work with all currently produced ones which use USB.

 

Um, it won't work with the majority of GPS units shown on Garmin's web site (count them) and the retail channels many newbies will buy from. Makes no difference if it works on YOUR gps if it won't work on those who unknowingly buy units with serial and then find out later that the Communicator Plugin won't work.

 

Why do you even care about that Communicator Plugin?

I have been geocaching for 3 months with a Garmin eTrex Vista HCx and a Mac, and I have not even bothered to install that plugin. It is not needed since there are alternatives (e.g., MacCaching).

 

I use MacCaching too and it is how I download to my GPS. But that requires a middleman approach. With the change in geocaching.com web site I have no easy way (that I know of) to select caches from Google maps and download them without having to bookmark caches then create a pocket query to import to MacCaching then send to GPS. I would like to directly select a cache and immediately send to Garmin like all the Window users do. Seems much easier. If you know a more direct approach, I'd be thankful to hear about it.

[+UncleJimbo]

Be aware that Garmin provides poor support for Macintosh users. Their Communicator Plugin which geocaching.com uses to download will not work for most Garmin devices.

Um, it may not work with YOUR GPSr but it will work with all currently produced ones which use USB.

 

Um, it won't work with the majority of GPS units shown on Garmin's web site (count them) and the retail channels many newbies will buy from. Makes no difference if it works on YOUR gps if it won't work on those who unknowingly buy units with serial and then find out later that the Communicator Plugin won't work.

 

Why do you even care about that Communicator Plugin?

I have been geocaching for 3 months with a Garmin eTrex Vista HCx and a Mac, and I have not even bothered to install that plugin. It is not needed since there are alternatives (e.g., MacCaching).

 

I use MacCaching too and it is how I download to my GPS. But that requires a middleman approach. With the change in geocaching.com web site I have no easy way (that I know of) to select caches from Google maps and download them without having to bookmark caches then create a pocket query to import to MacCaching then send to GPS. I would like to directly select a cache and immediately send to Garmin like all the Window users do. Seems much easier. If you know a more direct approach, I'd be thankful to hear about it.

 

I suppose I have never found the need to download only one cache at a time to my GPSr, and so I have not minded using .LOC files or .GPX (pocket queries) files and MacCaching software. You get so much more information with the pocket queries that they are hard to beat.

 

Cheers

[+Paulsan]

Be aware that Garmin provides poor support for Macintosh users. Their Communicator Plugin which geocaching.com uses to download will not work for most Garmin devices.

Um, it may not work with YOUR GPSr but it will work with all currently produced ones which use USB.

 

Um, it won't work with the majority of GPS units shown on Garmin's web site (count them) and the retail channels many newbies will buy from. Makes no difference if it works on YOUR gps if it won't work on those who unknowingly buy units with serial and then find out later that the Communicator Plugin won't work.

 

Um, try researching your purchases BEFORE you buy. It's your mistake, take responsibility for it.

[+SpiritGuide]

Be aware that Garmin provides poor support for Macintosh users. Their Communicator Plugin which geocaching.com uses to download will not work for most Garmin devices.

Um, it may not work with YOUR GPSr but it will work with all currently produced ones which use USB.

 

Um, it won't work with the majority of GPS units shown on Garmin's web site (count them) and the retail channels many newbies will buy from. Makes no difference if it works on YOUR gps if it won't work on those who unknowingly buy units with serial and then find out later that the Communicator Plugin won't work.

 

Why do you even care about that Communicator Plugin?

I have been geocaching for 3 months with a Garmin eTrex Vista HCx and a Mac, and I have not even bothered to install that plugin. It is not needed since there are alternatives (e.g., MacCaching).

 

I use MacCaching too and it is how I download to my GPS. But that requires a middleman approach. With the change in geocaching.com web site I have no easy way (that I know of) to select caches from Google maps and download them without having to bookmark caches then create a pocket query to import to MacCaching then send to GPS. I would like to directly select a cache and immediately send to Garmin like all the Window users do. Seems much easier. If you know a more direct approach, I'd be thankful to hear about it.

 

I suppose I have never found the need to download only one cache at a time to my GPSr, and so I have not minded using .LOC files or .GPX (pocket queries) files and MacCaching software. You get so much more information with the pocket queries that they are hard to beat.

 

Cheers

 

Thanks, I like using GPX files too. I've got an iPhone and use a nice piece of software that lets me transfer the GPX files to it for paperless caching. Is there a way with the recent changes to geocaching.com to select a group of caches for downloading to a GPX without having to bookmark them? Or do you download individual LOC or GPX to upload to MacCaching? Trying to find the quickest and easiest way to select and transfer a group instead of individuals.

[+UncleJimbo]

Be aware that Garmin provides poor support for Macintosh users. Their Communicator Plugin which geocaching.com uses to download will not work for most Garmin devices.

Um, it may not work with YOUR GPSr but it will work with all currently produced ones which use USB.

 

Um, it won't work with the majority of GPS units shown on Garmin's web site (count them) and the retail channels many newbies will buy from. Makes no difference if it works on YOUR gps if it won't work on those who unknowingly buy units with serial and then find out later that the Communicator Plugin won't work.

 

Why do you even care about that Communicator Plugin?

I have been geocaching for 3 months with a Garmin eTrex Vista HCx and a Mac, and I have not even bothered to install that plugin. It is not needed since there are alternatives (e.g., MacCaching).

 

I use MacCaching too and it is how I download to my GPS. But that requires a middleman approach. With the change in geocaching.com web site I have no easy way (that I know of) to select caches from Google maps and download them without having to bookmark caches then create a pocket query to import to MacCaching then send to GPS. I would like to directly select a cache and immediately send to Garmin like all the Window users do. Seems much easier. If you know a more direct approach, I'd be thankful to hear about it.

 

I suppose I have never found the need to download only one cache at a time to my GPSr, and so I have not minded using .LOC files or .GPX (pocket queries) files and MacCaching software. You get so much more information with the pocket queries that they are hard to beat.

 

Cheers

 

Thanks, I like using GPX files too. I've got an iPhone and use a nice piece of software that lets me transfer the GPX files to it for paperless caching. Is there a way with the recent changes to geocaching.com to select a group of caches for downloading to a GPX without having to bookmark them? Or do you download individual LOC or GPX to upload to MacCaching? Trying to find the quickest and easiest way to select and transfer a group instead of individuals.

 

So far I have only downloaded groups of caches as GPX by using pocket queries. I set up a query, preview it to make sure it looks like what I want, and then have the site execute it and email the GPX to me.

[+SpiritGuide]

Be aware that Garmin provides poor support for Macintosh users. Their Communicator Plugin which geocaching.com uses to download will not work for most Garmin devices.

Um, it may not work with YOUR GPSr but it will work with all currently produced ones which use USB.

 

Um, it won't work with the majority of GPS units shown on Garmin's web site (count them) and the retail channels many newbies will buy from. Makes no difference if it works on YOUR gps if it won't work on those who unknowingly buy units with serial and then find out later that the Communicator Plugin won't work.

 

Um, try researching your purchases BEFORE you buy. It's your mistake, take responsibility for it.

 

Please give it a rest. I bought my GPS months ago before Garmin released their software and finally gave specifics that serial won't be supported on Macs. Before I bought the GPS I researched as much as I could and found statements from Garmin that said they would soon be supporting Macs and that the model I bought was a good one. They gave no qualifications that only certain Garmin models would be supported on the Mac. And no research shows that Garmin considers their serial models cheap, or bad, or a mistake to buy.

 

I'd readily recommend my Gecko 201 to anyone new to caching. It's very easy to read and use one-handed. I don't consider that a mistake. I do believe Garmin could develop software though to use serial just like the other caching software I use. It's not that serial is a problem... it's just a company decision not to put development resources into it.

[+SpiritGuide]

Be aware that Garmin provides poor support for Macintosh users. Their Communicator Plugin which geocaching.com uses to download will not work for most Garmin devices.

Um, it may not work with YOUR GPSr but it will work with all currently produced ones which use USB.

 

Um, it won't work with the majority of GPS units shown on Garmin's web site (count them) and the retail channels many newbies will buy from. Makes no difference if it works on YOUR gps if it won't work on those who unknowingly buy units with serial and then find out later that the Communicator Plugin won't work.

 

Why do you even care about that Communicator Plugin?

I have been geocaching for 3 months with a Garmin eTrex Vista HCx and a Mac, and I have not even bothered to install that plugin. It is not needed since there are alternatives (e.g., MacCaching).

 

I use MacCaching too and it is how I download to my GPS. But that requires a middleman approach. With the change in geocaching.com web site I have no easy way (that I know of) to select caches from Google maps and download them without having to bookmark caches then create a pocket query to import to MacCaching then send to GPS. I would like to directly select a cache and immediately send to Garmin like all the Window users do. Seems much easier. If you know a more direct approach, I'd be thankful to hear about it.

 

I suppose I have never found the need to download only one cache at a time to my GPSr, and so I have not minded using .LOC files or .GPX (pocket queries) files and MacCaching software. You get so much more information with the pocket queries that they are hard to beat.

 

Cheers

 

Thanks, I like using GPX files too. I've got an iPhone and use a nice piece of software that lets me transfer the GPX files to it for paperless caching. Is there a way with the recent changes to geocaching.com to select a group of caches for downloading to a GPX without having to bookmark them? Or do you download individual LOC or GPX to upload to MacCaching? Trying to find the quickest and easiest way to select and transfer a group instead of individuals.

 

So far I have only downloaded groups of caches as GPX by using pocket queries. I set up a query, preview it to make sure it looks like what I want, and then have the site execute it and email the GPX to me.

 

Thanks again for taking the time to respond. I am confused how you set up a query to select the caches you want. The only way I know how to do that is via a bookmark, but that seems more of a hack. I don't know how to create the list to begin with. Normally I use the Google map feature to see where I could cache, but there is no way to select groups from there.

[+UncleJimbo]

Thanks again for taking the time to respond. I am confused how you set up a query to select the caches you want. The only way I know how to do that is via a bookmark, but that seems more of a hack. I don't know how to create the list to begin with. Normally I use the Google map feature to see where I could cache, but there is no way to select groups from there.

 

You set up the Pocket Query from your Account page, using the categories of interest. When the GPX file arrives in my email, I import it into MacCaching, and from there I can either transfer all the caches to my GPSr or I can transfer only selected caches.

[+Charbs]

It seems nobody hear mentioned GeoJournal ( http://www.geoingenuity.com/ ). I am new to caching and have a Garmin Etrex Legend Cx. I've searched thoroughly for every mac compatible software out there related to geocaching and this is one of the most impressive I have seen. It's an easy user interface that does everything you could want for geocaching. It even allows me to drag and drop multiple pictures into my journal of found caches. It's shareware with a 30 day trial which just ended for me and I'm definitely going to invest the money to register.

[+CacheFreakTim]

I have used MacCachingon my Mac. It works very well.

[+GrateBear]

Is there any reason to buy a mac? Ive used one at work before and I cant find any benefit to them......... back on topic there is lots of software out there but garmin themselves dont have very much mac support. Will be even less if microsoft buy garmin lol.

Other than the fact that there are rarely pop-ups? They start up very quickly and shut down just as quickly? There is no need to buy new anti-virus programs every year? If only for geocaching, probably not. I have a Lenovo netbook for caching purposes, and it never fails to irritate me when it takes a minimum of 3 minutes to be able to use any program, and then takes 2 minutes to shut down.

[+coggins]

there is lots of software out there but garmin themselves dont have very much mac support.

They have tons of Mac software: http://www8.garmin.com/macosx/

 

They don't support the legacy GPS units with the RS232 interface from days gone by.