rennybenny Posted June 25, 2008 Posted June 25, 2008 I heard about Geocaching through a co-worker and couldn't wait to learn more! So I bought a simple Garmin etrex and I did figure out how to put waypoints in but now what? Where do I start? Do I start from my "home" coordinates? I know that it isn't like a TomTom that you use on the road, so how do I even get close to caches with it? I obviously have no experience with a GPS! Quote
+lrosell Posted June 25, 2008 Posted June 25, 2008 I heard about Geocaching through a co-worker and couldn't wait to learn more! So I bought a simple Garmin etrex and I did figure out how to put waypoints in but now what? Where do I start? Do I start from my "home" coordinates? I know that it isn't like a TomTom that you use on the road, so how do I even get close to caches with it? I obviously have no experience with a GPS! Search for a cache by using for example ZIP code ssearch on the main page. Pick a cache that is fairly close to where you live. Also make sure that it do not have more than one or two stars on either difficulty and terrain. Enter or download the cache coordinates to the GPS. You can do this by either hooking the GPS up to your computer and use the 'Send to GPS' feature or by entering the coordinates manually. To enter coordinates manually you hit 'Mark' on the GPS and then change the coordinates to those of the cache. To download the coords to the Garmin you need to first install the drivers for the GPS. YOu do this by installing the Mapsource Manager that came with the GPS. Then, while having the GPS hooked up to the computer you will also need to install the Garmin Communicator plugin. You can find a link to that after you hit 'Send to GPS' . Use a good old fashioned map to get in the vicinity of the cache, about a half of a mile or so would be nice. Fire up the cache as your waypoint and hit Goto. Good luck Quote
+wapahani Posted June 25, 2008 Posted June 25, 2008 If you have a TomTom, then use it to get to your location. Use the Etrex to get you from your car to the cache. I highly suggest a notebook to write down COORDS before you start your day caching. This way you can just look at your paper and go. It also allows you to make notes about the cache and the cache owner and anything else. Quote
+El Diablo Posted June 25, 2008 Posted June 25, 2008 Toggle through the pages until you find the one with the arrow on it. Follow the arrow to the coordinates that you entered. You might want to start off by marking a spot in your yard or neighborhood and then trying to use the GPS to navigate back to that spot. El Diablo Quote
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