Triton Question

[+Evshro & son]

I have been trying to get an answer to a question and have asked Magellan and attempted posting within a topic that became cluttered. Many of us have had problems with Magellan in the past, but please don't post that here. My question was phrased much better by someone else on the Web, here it is:

 

Q: Will the Triton include the display of geocaching log data (like descriptions, hints, previous logs) along with the actual geocache points? Offering paperless caching within the actual GPS device would be a huge leap for us geocachers.

If so, what would the memory limits be? How many points could you potentially upload?

I am assuming the unit will accept standard .gpx files through USB.

[sanramonhunter]

If it's not on the website I don't think anyone can answer the question till they get a triton with a USB cable. I haven't seen any post where someone has a USB cable for the Triton yet.

[sakko]

I did download the vantagepoint software (do not have a triton unit yet however) and there is plenty of room for entering geocache data... here are two hopefully helpful pics:

 

In this pic it looks as though other than the usual statistics there is a "HINT" field, which probably ties in with the vantage point software hint field shown below.

 

 

This is all speculation.

[+Evshro & son]

I too have used Vantage, and it looks promising...but then again looks can be deceiving. The prospect of paperless caching without a PDA or ipod with me would be a step in the right direction.

 

 

I did download the vantagepoint software (do not have a triton unit yet however) and there is plenty of room for entering geocache data... here are two hopefully helpful pics:

 

In this pic it looks as though other than the usual statistics there is a "HINT" field, which probably ties in with the vantage point software hint field shown below.

 

 

This is all speculation.

[sakko]

I feel the same way buddy hehe... I will be anxious to hear some HAPPY people with tritons telling us more about their experiences. This newegg debacle seems like a nightmare, I will try to pick mine up from a store... with a nice juicy return policy JUST IN CASE lol.

[+Sarge104]

(((Monitoring post)))

 

Just a post so I can monitor Triton news.

[+JohnnyVegas]

I just got off the phone with Magellan

 

The tritons will not be reshipped to the dealers for 3-4 weeks. Figure the first or second week in Jan,

[+miniwhip]

LL Bean is showing a ship date of January 3rd. Three to four weeks will be reasonable to assume at this point. It sounds like you got some decent info there! I'm currently waiting for a 2000 myself. I'm so obsessed at this point that I started a forum for them, check it out here Triton Forum

Edited December 10, 2007 by miniwhip

[+Evshro & son]

But does anyone know the answer to my question

[+Jhwk]

Q: Will the Triton include the display of geocaching log data (like descriptions, hints, previous logs) along with the actual geocache points? Offering paperless caching within the actual GPS device would be a huge leap for us geocachers.

If so, what would the memory limits be? How many points could you potentially upload?

I am assuming the unit will accept standard .gpx files through USB.

1. The eXplorist line does this now, with limits. You can see the locations on the map, scroll to it and bring up 'basic' information (type, DT, owner, placed date) and can look at an abbreviated hint (limited to 50 characters, including spaces). I assume... that magellan would improve the overall capabilities of a new handheld to try to include most of the data found in a .gpx file - text and full hints, and possibly past logs, but I wouldn't bet my life on it. We have to get a real unit - with cable - in hand and run some tests before we can say for sure what the Triton line will or won't do.

2. SD card will allow your memory pool to be nearly limitless. I'm sure the on-board memory will fall between 64-128MB, but the SD will allow you to expand that greatly. The last I heard, from a VP at magellan, was that the unit would hold 1000 waypoints at a time, which is five times more than the eX line. BUT, there has been some speculation that it is really 500 points (geocache type) and 500 waypoints (user defined). again, we need to get a unit in hand before we can confirm - because getting info out of Magellan is like getting money out of me...

3. .gpx files - again, not sure, but it looks like they [magellan] are leaning towards using vantage point for your waypoint manipulations. Me? I'll stick with clydeE and GSAK for my waypoint management.

 

HTH

[+Firespinner]

I will be watching this closely as well. I am new to geocaching and this will be my first GPS.

 

I know its not the exact question but since the USB cable has been talked about, I thought I'd mention it here. In other threads, people have been posting that the USB cable comes with all tritons. However, I would seriously recommend anyone buying anything OTHER than the 1500 or 2000, buy it at a brick-n-mortar store where you can look at the contents before buying. Websites have conflicting information as to whether the cable is included in the 200, 300, 400 and 500 models. Pictures (of the boxes ) that I've seen in other forums show the cable listed in the 'package contents' of only the two upper end models, and not the others.

[+Evshro & son]

I like the flexibility of GSAK, but Vantage Point, at first glance, looks promising in that the Triton line can show all cache info. Heck, you would think if the thing can play mp3s, take pictures, store voice data, have a flash light, and allow you to "add Unlimited Optional Maps, Tracks, Waypoints, Routes, Geocaches & Other User Generated Content," it would allow you to view cache info.

 

Time will tell..........

 

 

.

Q: Will the Triton include the display of geocaching log data (like descriptions, hints, previous logs) along with the actual geocache points? Offering paperless caching within the actual GPS device would be a huge leap for us geocachers.

If so, what would the memory limits be? How many points could you potentially upload?

I am assuming the unit will accept standard .gpx files through USB.

1. The eXplorist line does this now, with limits. You can see the locations on the map, scroll to it and bring up 'basic' information (type, DT, owner, placed date) and can look at an abbreviated hint (limited to 50 characters, including spaces). I assume... that magellan would improve the overall capabilities of a new handheld to try to include most of the data found in a .gpx file - text and full hints, and possibly past logs, but I wouldn't bet my life on it. We have to get a real unit - with cable - in hand and run some tests before we can say for sure what the Triton line will or won't do.

2. SD card will allow your memory pool to be nearly limitless. I'm sure the on-board memory will fall between 64-128MB, but the SD will allow you to expand that greatly. The last I heard, from a VP at magellan, was that the unit would hold 1000 waypoints at a time, which is five times more than the eX line. BUT, there has been some speculation that it is really 500 points (geocache type) and 500 waypoints (user defined). again, we need to get a unit in hand before we can confirm - because getting info out of Magellan is like getting money out of me...

3. .gpx files - again, not sure, but it looks like they [magellan] are leaning towards using vantage point for your waypoint manipulations. Me? I'll stick with clydeE and GSAK for my waypoint management.

 

HTH

[+EScout]

Sports Chalet store advertised the 400 last Sunday for $199.99 and said the shipment was due Tuesday. Stopped by today and they said it should have been there today......

While waiting for them to check, I got to play with the Triton 300 they have in stock ($149.99.) The display is impressive. The graphics and colors are very nice.

From my many years of Meridian and eXplorist use, the interface was different and not intuitive. The reduced number of buttons seem to make navigating the menus slower to get where you want to go....However, the interface appears to be made for touch screen (only in the 1500 and 2000), which would be much more intuitive and quicker.

I did not have enough time to try to get into the file system, but it showed 53MB of internal memory available for maps and files (no SD card on the 300.)

[+GooTech]

I have been trying to get an answer to a question and have asked Magellan and attempted posting within a topic that became cluttered. Many of us have had problems with Magellan in the past, but please don't post that here. My question was phrased much better by someone else on the Web, here it is:

 

Q: Will the Triton include the display of geocaching log data (like descriptions, hints, previous logs) along with the actual geocache points? Offering paperless caching within the actual GPS device would be a huge leap for us geocachers.

If so, what would the memory limits be? How many points could you potentially upload?

I am assuming the unit will accept standard .gpx files through USB.

 

I received my Triton 300 from Newegg last week. After hearing all the horror stories from other people, I was expecting the worse. When the unit arrived, I was very happy to see the cable and software was intact. Now I notice on Newegg’s web site, they aren’t listed any more.

 

To answer your question, YES, the Triton will display log data like descriptions, hints, previous logs, along with the actual geocache points? You can definitely do paperless caching with the Triton.

 

I bought the 300 mainly for the Sirff chipset. I have a Garmin Venture CX which does great under open skies. My Triton can now be used for tree cover and whatnot.

 

So far so good. I am very pleased with the Trton. This unit packs a lot of punch.

 

Yes it does download .gpx files. I’m not real big on the non standard USB cable, but I can live with it. Hope this answers your question.

[+embra]

To answer your question, YES, the Triton will display log data like descriptions, hints, previous logs, along with the actual geocache points? You can definitely do paperless caching with the Triton.

The next question I would pose is how many characters are permitted in the description field. If you (or anyone) ever notice a description that is truncated, I'd be grateful if you'd do a count.

[+3doxies]

GooTech, have you used either Vantage Point or GSAK to upload caches? Would be particularly interested to see if GSAK works seamlessly with it...

[+geognerd]

To answer your question, YES, the Triton will display log data like descriptions, hints, previous logs, along with the actual geocache points? You can definitely do paperless caching with the Triton.<snip>

 

Yes it does download .gpx files. I’m not real big on the non standard USB cable, but I can live with it. Hope this answers your question.

The next question I would pose is how many characters are permitted in the description field. If you (or anyone) ever notice a description that is truncated, I'd be grateful if you'd do a count.

I'll pile on. GooTech, you said it can accept .gpx files. Are you saying you just copied and pasted the .gpx file into the unit or did you do some sort of operation in VantagePoint? I have a pocket query loaded in VP, and when I am in the library mode and go to the Export function, it only gives choices for eXplorist .gs files and GPX. No mention of a Triton-specific format. Makes me wonder if there isn't one and the Triton just reads the GPX file directly. Admittedly, you would probably just do the Sync process in the MyGPS section of VP, but I'm curious about the file formats and how files are structured in the unit (folder-based like eXplorist?) Also would you be able to take a photo of what the geocaching information screens look like on the unit and post it here? It's kind of odd that the unit has been shipping for a few weeks (albeit without all the parts until recently) and we're having to lean on the early adopters so much just to get basic information about the thing. Very skittish rollout of the product by Magellan.

[+Doc-Dean]

Since my explorist is dying - rapidly losing pixels, I'm considering the new triton so I'm gonna listen in on what others are finding.

[+GooTech]

To answer your question, YES, the Triton will display log data like descriptions, hints, previous logs, along with the actual geocache points? You can definitely do paperless caching with the Triton.<snip>

 

Yes it does download .gpx files. I’m not real big on the non standard USB cable, but I can live with it. Hope this answers your question.

The next question I would pose is how many characters are permitted in the description field. If you (or anyone) ever notice a description that is truncated, I'd be grateful if you'd do a count.

I'll pile on. GooTech, you said it can accept .gpx files. Are you saying you just copied and pasted the .gpx file into the unit or did you do some sort of operation in VantagePoint? I have a pocket query loaded in VP, and when I am in the library mode and go to the Export function, it only gives choices for eXplorist .gs files and GPX. No mention of a Triton-specific format. Makes me wonder if there isn't one and the Triton just reads the GPX file directly. Admittedly, you would probably just do the Sync process in the MyGPS section of VP, but I'm curious about the file formats and how files are structured in the unit (folder-based like eXplorist?) Also would you be able to take a photo of what the geocaching information screens look like on the unit and post it here? It's kind of odd that the unit has been shipping for a few weeks (albeit without all the parts until recently) and we're having to lean on the early adopters so much just to get basic information about the thing. Very skittish rollout of the product by Magellan.

 

Good news, bad news. Seemed like the unit worked fairly well when it was working.

 

Then, I was trying to see how many characters it would let me enter in the hint field, when I got a screen with some kind of an error message. I shut it down & rebooted and haven’t been able to get satellite reception since. Needless to say, I’m not real happy right now.

 

I wasn’t able to try GSAK, but I did load some caches with VP. I downloaded the .gpx files and then ran the sync process. All the data on the caches were there, including the hints. When I was adding characters to the end of the hint (just to see how many it would let me enter) I would estimate there was somewhere between 80-100.

 

Maybe there is some kind of a master reset I can do on the unit. I know exactly how to do it on my Venture CX, but on the Triton I’m in the dark.

 

Have to make a call to Magellan (I’m really looking forward to that) More latter.

[+embra]

Yow, I feel badly for exhorting you to push your unit beyond its limits.

 

If it's any help...and I'm not at all sure it is...there are a list of service functions for the Explorist here. It might be useful, as Magellan kept most of these things in the same arrangement for SporTraks, Meridians, and Explorists. I fear that with its Windows CE OS, that they may have gone in a new direction that makes this list obsolete for your needs.

[+Evshro & son]

To answer your question, YES, the Triton will display log data like descriptions, hints, previous logs, along with the actual geocache points? You can definitely do paperless caching with the Triton.

The next question I would pose is how many characters are permitted in the description field. If you (or anyone) ever notice a description that is truncated, I'd be grateful if you'd do a count.

 

I was thinking the same thing.......I was also wondering if it the last couple of posts are present like cachemate allows. PAPERLESS CACHING WITH ONLY A GPS?!?!?!?!?!?!

[2oldfarts (the rockhounders)]

 

Maybe there is some kind of a master reset I can do on the unit. I know exactly how to do it on my Venture CX, but on the Triton I’m in the dark.

 

Have to make a call to Magellan (I’m really looking forward to that) More latter.

 

Here is a link to another thread that has a link to the on-line owners manual. The part that might help is at the top of page 24 that seems to be a 'master reset' (actually "Restoring Factory Settings"). It does say "Use with caution" though.

 

Hope this helps, maybe.

[+geowizerd]

Yow, I feel badly for exhorting you to push your unit beyond its limits.

 

If it's any help...and I'm not at all sure it is...there are a list of service functions for the Explorist here. It might be useful, as Magellan kept most of these things in the same arrangement for SporTraks, Meridians, and Explorists. I fear that with its Windows CE OS, that they may have gone in a new direction that makes this list obsolete for your needs.

 

Geeez... they actually went with Windoze as the OS?!? What were they thinking? Although, I have to say that after more than a decade of battling the BSOD and trying to master Linux (largely unsucessful), XP w/sp 2 has been very stable on my machine, running sometimes for weeks at a time without a reboot. Vista? Not on your life!

[+cache_venturers]

To answer your question, YES, the Triton will display log data like descriptions, hints, previous logs, along with the actual geocache points? You can definitely do paperless caching with the Triton.<snip>

 

Yes it does download .gpx files. I’m not real big on the non standard USB cable, but I can live with it. Hope this answers your question.

The next question I would pose is how many characters are permitted in the description field. If you (or anyone) ever notice a description that is truncated, I'd be grateful if you'd do a count.

I'll pile on. GooTech, you said it can accept .gpx files. Are you saying you just copied and pasted the .gpx file into the unit or did you do some sort of operation in VantagePoint? I have a pocket query loaded in VP, and when I am in the library mode and go to the Export function, it only gives choices for eXplorist .gs files and GPX. No mention of a Triton-specific format. Makes me wonder if there isn't one and the Triton just reads the GPX file directly. Admittedly, you would probably just do the Sync process in the MyGPS section of VP, but I'm curious about the file formats and how files are structured in the unit (folder-based like eXplorist?) Also would you be able to take a photo of what the geocaching information screens look like on the unit and post it here? It's kind of odd that the unit has been shipping for a few weeks (albeit without all the parts until recently) and we're having to lean on the early adopters so much just to get basic information about the thing. Very skittish rollout of the product by Magellan.

 

Good news, bad news. Seemed like the unit worked fairly well when it was working.

 

Then, I was trying to see how many characters it would let me enter in the hint field, when I got a screen with some kind of an error message. I shut it down & rebooted and haven’t been able to get satellite reception since. Needless to say, I’m not real happy right now.

 

I wasn’t able to try GSAK, but I did load some caches with VP. I downloaded the .gpx files and then ran the sync process. All the data on the caches were there, including the hints. When I was adding characters to the end of the hint (just to see how many it would let me enter) I would estimate there was somewhere between 80-100.

 

Maybe there is some kind of a master reset I can do on the unit. I know exactly how to do it on my Venture CX, but on the Triton I’m in the dark.

 

Have to make a call to Magellan (I’m really looking forward to that) More latter.

[+Evshro & son]

Everything that I have heard from users of the Triton state that Vantage will allow you to view cache descriptions on the computers, and that the cache descriptions do not transfer to the Triton.

 

Does anybody know any different? If so, I'd like to see the screen shots.

 

As far as transfering files...I take the gpx file from geocaching.com and drag it into Vantage. From there I transfer the points using the transfer button.

[+Sileny Jizda]

Yow, I feel badly for exhorting you to push your unit beyond its limits.

 

If it's any help...and I'm not at all sure it is...there are a list of service functions for the Explorist here. It might be useful, as Magellan kept most of these things in the same arrangement for SporTraks, Meridians, and Explorists. I fear that with its Windows CE OS, that they may have gone in a new direction that makes this list obsolete for your needs.

 

I seriously have to stop clicking that Russian link when I see it here or block it altogether. Every time I go to it I get a security message about an exploit being downloaded there.