Colorado 400T Tutorial

[+cethomas]

I just got my Colorado 400T. But trying to use it is a steep climb. The manual that came with it is almost usless.

 

Does any body know where I can find some help on using the Colorado 400T? Like a tutorial. I'm new to GPSs.

[+Atschi]

Garmin Colorado Wikispaces

[+Atschi]

double post

Edited May 21, 2008 by Atschi

[+JPatton]

There's also a lot of good information in this Word document:

 

Link

[+cethomas]

There's also a lot of good information in this Word document:

 

Link

 

There is a lot of good information in both of these links. But I need a tutorial that would show each step to download a geocache, put in your 400t and then how to go from there using the 400t to find your cach and the steps to take after that. And a tutorial on how to use the 400t in planning a back packing trip and using the features in the 400t on your trip.

[+twolpert]

But I need a tutorial that would show each step to download a geocache, put in your 400t and then how to go from there using the 400t to find your cach and the steps to take after that.

You may want to try posting again, perhaps in the "Getting Started" geocaching forum.

 

Since you are a premium member, the easiest way to download caches to the Colorado is to use a pocket query.

1. After logging in, click My Account on the left side of the main geocaching.com page.

2. On the Account Details page, click Build Pocket Queries under Premium Features on the right side of the page.

3. Click Create a New Query.

4. Carefully fill out the form to specify the caches you want included. See the tips at the bottom of the form for additional information. Be sure to select .GPX format and check the box to zip the resulting files. If you want the results more or less immediately, be sure the check the current day of the week at the top.

5. Click the Submit Information button.

6. Wait for your pocket query results to arrive in your e-mail. Sometimes, this may take several hours. Other times, you will receive it almost immediately. The results will arrive as an attachment to the e-mail. There will be one file with a .zip extension. If you use web-based e-mail, download the attachment file to your PC and save it. If you use a desktop e-mail client like Outlook Express, just save the attachment file.

7. On Windows XP and Vista, the .zip file will be represented as a compressed folder. Use Windows Explorer to open that folder. You will typically see two .GPX files. One contains your caches. The other, with "wpts" in the name, contains auxiliary waypoints such as parking places.

8. Connect your Colorado to the PC using the supplied USB cable. (If you have not done so, you must first install the MapSource software that came with your Colorado. We won't be using MapSource this time, but you do need the USB drivers that are part of the package.) Your Colorado will show up as two disk drives, typically E: and F:. The first is the internal memory. The second is the SD card, if you have one installed.

9. Using Windows Explorer, copy the two .GPX files to E:\Garmin\GPX. (Use the drive letter that corresponds to the internal memory on your PC.) If you are not using XP or Vista, be sure that you decompress the .GPX files before copying them to the unit.

10. Use the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon in the system tray (bottom right corner of your screen) to dismount the Colorado drives. Disconnect the USB cable.

11. Power the Colorado back up and you're ready to go.

 

You can do this with any properly formatted GPX file. You can download individual caches -- one at a time -- directly from the cache search results list using Garmin Communicator. Look for the "download to GPS" icon to the right of the check box. However, this results in one .GPX file for each cache. There is a limit (we think it's around 128) to the number of .GPX files the Colorado will process. You can also use tools such as GSAK to produce .GPX files.

 

Edited to add: .GPX files containing a lot of caches can be quite large. You may wish to limit your queries to the default 100 caches, at least to start.

 

Once you have the caches on the Colorado, select Where To from shortcuts. From the resulting list, select Geocaches. This will display a list of geocaches on the unit which you have not found. The list is displayed in increasing order of distance from your current location. Simply select the cache you want to find from the list. Now you are in geocaching mode. The standard geocaching screen shows a summary of the cache, the map, distance to destination, the red arrow (assuming you are moving or have the compass on and calibrated), and estimated time to destination. The up and down rocker "buttons" allow you to alternate among the standard geocaching screen, a screen which includes the compass, and a screen which shows more of the map.

 

The Options button (left soft key) allows you to display the full description. From the description screen, the Options button allows you to display logs and hints, if any. The Back button (right soft key) allows you to back up until you reach the geocaching screen.

 

You can also log your attempt. This is available via the Options button on the geocaching screen. Be careful not to actually log your attempt until you are finished with the cache. You cannot fully undo the action and the unit does not allow you to search for the cache again once you have logged it.

 

Logging your finds makes it easier to create your logs on geocaching.com. On the right side of the Account Details page, under Field Notes, click Access My Field Notes. On the resulting page, click Upload Field Notes from your Garmin Colorado. Connect the unit to the PC using the supplied USB cable. Follow the directions on the web page to upload your field notes from the unit to the site. Then click Return to Field Notes. For each note in the list, click Post Log and log your visit in the normal manner. Note that the date of your visit and the result are automatically set for you based on the information from the Colorado. You should delete each note as you log it, or click Clear All Field Notes when you are done. You may also wish to manually delete geocache_visits.txt from the Colorado, as suggested on the download page. The geocaching.com site is supposed to filter out visits prior to the date/time you last uploaded field notes. But there have been problems reported with this feature.

Edited May 25, 2008 by twolpert