+dalongz Posted March 25, 2008 Posted March 25, 2008 (edited) My 6 year old daughter and I are brand new to this awesome sport and we just bought a basic Garmin eTrex H, but we are so lost!! Would anyone be willing or interested in meeting us at Marymoor Park (or anywhere closer to you) to give us some basic pointers about using this little machine? I have called REI so many times they know me by name. and I just think I need a quick lesson from a "guru" to get us on our way. Anyone like to help, or have suggestions where to go? Thanks in advance and hopefully we will be able to help you someday in someway! Rick and Sarah in Redmond *email removed by moderator* Edited March 26, 2008 by Team Misguided Quote
+AndrewRJ Posted March 26, 2008 Posted March 26, 2008 (edited) My 6 year old daughter and I are brand new to this awesome sport and we just bought a basic Garmin eTrex H, but we are so lost!! Would anyone be willing or interested in meeting us at Marymoor Park (or anywhere closer to you) to give us some basic pointers about using this little machine? I have called REI so many times they know me by name. and I just think I need a quick lesson from a "guru" to get us on our way. Anyone like to help, or have suggestions where to go? Thanks in advance and hopefully we will be able to help you someday in someway! Rick and Sarah in Redmond <e-mail removed> When are you thinking. There are plenty of us in the area. By the way you should probibly remove your e-mail. Not much abuse here but generally just a good idea. Edited March 26, 2008 by AndrewRJ Quote
Team Misguided Posted March 26, 2008 Posted March 26, 2008 Good idea on the email thing Andrew. The best thing you can do is check out local events and show up for one. Lot's of people at an event would be more than happy to help you out. Quote
+-Hawk- Posted March 26, 2008 Posted March 26, 2008 Good idea on the email thing Andrew. The best thing you can do is check out local events and show up for one. Lot's of people at an event would be more than happy to help you out. Welcome to the obsession!!! , and agreed on both points. As far as events go, be sure to check out Spring Fling 2008 . It won't help you out in the immediate future, since it is in the beginning of May, but is a bustling heap of fun and information, and a great place for someone new to the sport to meet others that are, both new to the sport, and experienced at this obsession as well. Fell free to introduce yourself and ask away. Everyone is more than happy to help you out. In regards to a more immediate solution, Snookie74 and I may be available this weekend in the West Seattle area to meet up with you. The schedule is kinda iffy right now, so we will have to let you know closer to the weekend. Quote
square_peg Posted March 26, 2008 Posted March 26, 2008 (edited) Welcome, Rick and Sarah. There are numerous ways to use your new Garmin. I'll describe one simple way to use it for a basic cache find. Scroll thru the menu until you get to display settings. Set the unit to read out in the following format, DD(D) MM.MMM, this is Degrees, Minutes and decimal minutes. Now switch your Garmin to Satellite mode. Your current coordinates should be visible (or they will be once your Garmin finds some satellites). Compare your coordinates to the cache coordinates. Each 1/1000th of a minute in North latitude translates to about 6 feet. Each 1/1000th of a minute of West longitude translates to about 4 feet at our latitude. When you come to a fork in the trail note which coordinate is further off from the cache coordinates, latitude or longitude. Try to choose the path that will be correcting the larger difference. Don't worry about your coordinates going in the wrong direction for a short time as the trail winds around. When you get within a few digits of the cache location put the GPS unit in your pocket and begin to search for likely places for a cache hide. Where in this vicinity would you hide an Easter egg? Check there! If you have more technical questions about accessing specific features of your Garmin then post them here for us. Happy trails, Pegster Edited March 27, 2008 by square_peg Quote
+Shop99er Posted March 26, 2008 Posted March 26, 2008 If you can try to come to Port Orchard for the Spring Fling. It's a fun time for both the kids and adults. Not only are there lots of friendly people who can sit down and help you understand your 'gizmo' we have the Adult GPS Accuracy contest that will give you a hands on experience of how your GPS works. If you can make it to Spring Fling please do try your luck at the Accuracy game and make sure you tell the crew out on the field that you are new at this and need some instruction. They will be more than happy to help you. Shop99er & TTUMS Quote
+dalongz Posted March 26, 2008 Author Posted March 26, 2008 WOW...I have had 6 replies and several emails since yesterday and I gotta say that you people are so kind. What other activity would have this many kind responses to a newby trying to get some answers to "newby" questions? THANK YOU ALL for your kindness and advice. Pegster, I followed your instructions just this afternoon, followed the pointer on our Garmin and BOOM!! we FOUND OUR FIRST CACHE!!! What a thrill and what a great activity to do with my daughter. Again, thank you to you all and we look forward to hopefully meeting you in person at an event soon, because we are addicted now!! AWESOME!! Thank you so much!! Quote
+ProjectFred325 Posted March 27, 2008 Posted March 27, 2008 Welcome to the adiction.. uh I mean sport Quote
+Lookout Lisa Posted March 27, 2008 Posted March 27, 2008 WOW...I have had 6 replies and several emails since yesterday and I gotta say that you people are so kind. What other activity would have this many kind responses to a newby trying to get some answers to "newby" questions? THANK YOU ALL for your kindness and advice. Pegster, I followed your instructions just this afternoon, followed the pointer on our Garmin and BOOM!! we FOUND OUR FIRST CACHE!!! What a thrill and what a great activity to do with my daughter. Again, thank you to you all and we look forward to hopefully meeting you in person at an event soon, because we are addicted now!! AWESOME!! Thank you so much!! Thanks for sharing about your experience today! Reading all the nice logs, and then about your first find today, made my heart beat a little faster, and brought back all that excitement of finding MY first cache. Thanks! Quote
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