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Hi,

 

I am planning to buy an Oregon 300 and I am left with 2 questions which I couldn't find a satisfactory answer to.

 

Firstly, how do you change or add coordinates when you do a multicache.

Secondly, are there any reports regarding Egnos reception? I read that WAAS doesn't work properly. Is this also true for Egnos?

 

Many thanks in advance

Robert

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I stumbled upon a bug that freezes the Oregon completely, it’s battery out to recover.

 

To reproduce: View the altitude profile of a planned route. Zoom in on both scales so that the whole profile is seen and the height variations are clearly shown.

Now pan the profile sideways back and forth several times and notice how the profile flattens until it’s a flat line and the Oregon dies.

 

Time to take out the batteries.

 

Version 2.30

Edited by Gimbal1
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I stumbled upon a bug that freezes the Oregon completely, it’s battery out to recover.

 

To reproduce: View the altitude profile of a planned route. Zoom in on both scales so that the whole profile is seen and the height variations are clearly shown.

Now pan the profile sideways back and forth several times and notice how the profile flattens until it’s a flat line and the Oregon dies.

 

Time to take out the batteries.

 

Version 2.30

 

I have tried it and got the same. But I could switch the oregon on without removing the batteries

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Can anybody please tell me if the accuracy and drift problems have been addressed in the new firmware.

 

These are obviously the most important problems of the Oregon, at least for me. Ultimately a GPSr should be all about getting precise coordinates and in the end everything else is secondary to that.

 

This is obviously just my opinion, other people might think differently.

 

On another note, how bad is the screen really? Can you easily read it in direct sunlight (with the light at 100%) or is it very hard to read? I saw the pictures on the wiki but do they represent reality? It is always difficult to judge from pictures.

 

I really would like to buy the Oregon, but just feel it would be a step backwards from my Vista HCx in terms of the quality of the GPS receiver - I am obviously not talking about all the other features.

 

Sorry if I come across as grumpy :P but I get increasingly annoyed by reading about all the problems with the Oregon (and Colorado for that matter). Anyway, it seems to me that Garmin has a bit of a reputation for releasing products prematurely :yikes: .

 

PS: I never had the drift problem on the Vista Hcx which people are discussing elsewhere on this board

Edited by StanByk
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The accuracy is improved, at least according to the GPS itself. I now have accuracy numbers down to 3m, never saw that with the previous version.

But there still seems to be a drift problem.

And Waas/Egnos is still broken.

 

The screen was a real disappointment in the beginning, but now, somehow, I have gotten used to it. It works even in direct sunlight, but you have to hold it in the right angle.

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Well, I guess I've been lucky.

When I'm GeoCaching with my Oregon, it takes me RIGHT to Ground Zero! EVERYTIME! In dense tree cover or not!

 

As far as drift, I haven't noticed it at all.

 

The screen could be better in direct sunlight, but I can see it fine enough. The touchscreen navigation MORE than makes up for it!

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I wanted to add my thoughts on the Oregon. I love it. It is extremely cool! I had the same reservations as others about #1 accuracy and #2 screen brightness. After owning for 3 weeks here are my observations.

 

The accuracy is a non-issue. I geocache with 2 buddies who both have a 60CSX. Most of the time, my Oregon had a better GZ than either of The 60CSX. Another point about accuracy is the Oregon is pretty rock solid in its analysis. Not too much jumping around like on the 60CSX. I had the Sat screen up on both and the 60 constantly gave a new coordinate every second or so while the Oregon stayed locked on the same number for several minutes. This has been verified by others as well. I have even had a 1st for me last week, my GZ was dead on the cache (literally 0' off) even though my accuracy of the sats screen showed 26' EPE. I was really concerned about the EPE the Oregon showed because it gives confidence if you have a low number. On the previous software, I was averaging about a 20-30 RPR. (Quick test on the new software showed a 12-20' EPE like the 60CSX usually gave me. However, I am starting to really trust the Oregon to direct me to the cache regardless of EPE. On the WAAS issue, the new version seems to have helped mine get WAAS better. But honestly, WAAS has not shown me any better accuracy readings. I think it gives me again more confidence in the accuracy but not necessarily better accuracy. As far as finding caches, I have had no problem finding a cache since I had my Oregon.

 

On to number 2. The screen could be brighter and better. That being said, I love it as is. I was prepared not to get the Oregon because of the screen. When I went to REI and actually looked at it, I decided on the spot to get it. It is better than I imagined and better than some have described in the Wiki. Honestly, I have not had any problems with the screen brightness. I even have to turn the back-light way down at night cause it is too bright. During the day, I have a profile set up to turn the color of the background off and call it "Day Drive" and Day Caching".

 

Other great things are the profile button which changes your options for driving, caching or hiking, the geocache counter-which keeps a tally of caches found (either daily, weekly, monthly or however you decide), And finally the touch screen itself for text input is awesome-like no other GPS out there. Plus the ability to upload caches directly into geocaching.com for quick logging is a feature I never want to do without again. I just upload my field notes and it uploads all caches and notes into my account. No more writing down what caches I have done or trying to remember what that bug number was.

 

I hope this helps answer your question as to whether or not to get it. I recommend it to my friends and would give it 4.5/5 stars.

Edited by night-ranger
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On the Oregon:

1. How do you delete recent finds?

2. How do you reset the barometric pressure chart?

4. How do you reset the main odometer--not the trip odometer?

5. What does auto-locate position mean? I noted that you cannot manually locate a position like you can on the CO by scanning off the map if need be--I guess? Not sure I understand this--that's why I ask.

6. Same with how to Search for a location on map?

7. While tracking an active route there are no turn-direction indicators? Is this different from auto-routing? I think you must be auto-routing to a waypoint before even the CO gives you turn-direction indicators.

 

I'm trying to determine if and when I should jump from the Colorado to the Oregon. The above doesn't concern the more serious issues.

 

Thanks.

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On the Oregon:

1. How do you delete recent finds?

2. How do you reset the barometric pressure chart?

4. How do you reset the main odometer--not the trip odometer?

5. What does auto-locate position mean? I noted that you cannot manually locate a position like you can on the CO by scanning off the map if need be--I guess? Not sure I understand this--that's why I ask.

6. Same with how to Search for a location on map?

7. While tracking an active route there are no turn-direction indicators? Is this different from auto-routing? I think you must be auto-routing to a waypoint before even the CO gives you turn-direction indicators.

 

I'm trying to determine if and when I should jump from the Colorado to the Oregon. The above doesn't concern the more serious issues.

 

Thanks.

 

You can't delete recent finds on the OR

You can't reset the main odometer on the OR

As of 2.3 you can manually set your position. If you move large distances and are having problems locating satellites this can help the GPS find them faster.

I'm not sure what you mean search for a location on the map, can you elaborate?

The OR autoroutes which gives you turn-by-turn directions. The issue is that each individual turn does not have an graphic arrow like the Colorado does.

 

GO$Rs

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You can't delete recent finds on the OR

You can't reset the main odometer on the OR

As of 2.3 you can manually set your position. If you move large distances and are having problems locating satellites this can help the GPS find them faster.

I'm not sure what you mean search for a location on the map, can you elaborate?

The OR autoroutes which gives you turn-by-turn directions. The issue is that each individual turn does not have an graphic arrow like the Colorado does.

 

GO$Rs

Wow, why wold anyone build a worse mouse trap? Even the CO won't let you reset barometric pressure data but you at least can clear your list of finds and can clear your total mileage reading...

 

Searching for a location on the map was one feature you list in the Colorado Oregon comparison chart. I probably didn't state it correctly but I didn't understand it either. :D Honestly, I listed these questions from your chart because I like to hope against hope that some or all were in error or outdated and fixed. :D

 

Re autorouting... Oh, you mean it gives the turn by turn instructions at the top of the screen? Well, that is better then nothing but not including the arrows also is really weird. Does the Oregon autorouting auto zoom but have the option to turn that off if desired?

 

Clearly neither of these units were ready for market--that doesn't need to be said again. And to think that some looking for GPSr's will fall back on older 60CSx and NP-20 models. What do you know about Delorme's NP-20 mapping capabilities compared to what the 60CSx can do? I get the impression from others here that Delorme mapping and overlays are far superior to what Garmin mapping can do. But maybe there is something better then MapSource that will cost more and run on the Colorado?

 

You've done so much good work tracking these Garmin GPSr's. Thank you.

Edited by Ratsneve
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Clearly, the oregon WAS ready to be released. It is the best garmin unit I have used to date(400t). The Colorado did have issues that required firmware updates even to make it usable but the oregon has functioned perfectly for me since day one. I have found at least 100 caches with it and there is no drift and the paperless feature is a lifesaver. The touchscreen and menu design are a breeze to use/navigate. It is extremely easy to do everything with the unit. The screen is not an issue outdoors and you even have to turn down the backlight in the evening/night time. I have used it flawlessly for auto-routing in several cities in the US (using city nav nt 09) and never had any problems.

 

I was eager to move on from the colorado since I always felt the colorado should have been touchscreen. I probably would have waited and got the 300 since I don't use topography very often but I'm very happy.

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I couldn't have said it any better!

 

Coming from a 60CSx which is one of the most accurate GPSr's out there, I had complete trust in it.

 

Then I got the Colorado, thinking that it was a natural progression to the 60CSx. IT, however, had MAJOR accuracy problems! And the DRIFT issue was more than I could stand. I had NO trust in it! It got to the point that when caching with friends, they would ask me where MY GPSr said the cache was, then they'd say, "Nevermind, I forgot you have a Colorado". It was VERY frustrating and HUGH letdown! My caching numbers went WAY down. I would go after all the FTF's around and usually find them quick, with the 60CSx that is. When I got the Colorado, that all changed. People would get the FTF right in front of me (well about 70-140 feet away!) even though I arrived at the cache site about 15-20 minutes ahead of anyone else (being self-employed has it's advantages...). And forget about going in the woods with the Colorado! I would be at the edge of the woods and the unit would say 110 feet ahead. I'd walk about that far and look at the unit again and it would say 110 feet ahead!

 

Now, with the Oregon, my trust factor is back! It has been DEAD ON! Even in deep woods

 

The Oregon is a FAR superior unit to the Colorado!! My friends liked it WAY better when I used the Colorado because they'd have a much better chance to get an FTF!

 

Not any more!

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I probably would have waited and got the 300 since I don't use topography very often but I'm very happy.

 

So, for the mainly urban/provincial parks that I cache in here... the 300 would work with City Nav just fine for caching? Topo hasn't been a feature I've really used with my Explorist, even though I have the software, I usually just turn the topo off and head for the cache, if there's a hill involved, so be it... Most of the hiking I do is marked trails, I'm not off trailblazing very often.

 

But, I'm wondering what features I would lose by going down from the 400t to the 300? From what I can see, just the internal memory space, correct?

 

Thanks to everyone who has done an awesome job keeping us informed on the latest toy! You are making my choice much easier! (Especially since in Canada a PN-40 is useless with no maps...)

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Do you have any trick to hold it in the right angle if it is mounted on a mountainbike :)

 

I wouldn't get it for mountain biking unless you're only going to look at it and use it when stopped. IMHO.

 

Totally disagree. The Oregon is way better for biking than non-touch screens, since you can do it with one hand when mounted on the handlebars. Just mount it at the angle that you need to see it.

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You can't delete recent finds on the OR

You can't reset the main odometer on the OR

As of 2.3 you can manually set your position. If you move large distances and are having problems locating satellites this can help the GPS find them faster.

I'm not sure what you mean search for a location on the map, can you elaborate?

The OR autoroutes which gives you turn-by-turn directions. The issue is that each individual turn does not have an graphic arrow like the Colorado does.

 

You can certainly delete recent finds by loading a new GPX file and removing the old one. (may also need to get rid of geocache_visits.txt, but i'm not sure.. i think simply replacing the GPX file does the trick)

 

You can search from a position by marking a waypoint (using either tapping on the map or other methods), then going to Where To... Touch the 'bullseye' button on the bottom of the screen... Choose Waypoint/Recent Find or Current Location.

 

The Oregon is a GREAT unit. I think many people here are focusing too strongly on a few negatives which aren't really major issues when you are actually using the thing. It's great, i love it.

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The Oregon is a GREAT unit. I think many people here are focusing too strongly on a few negatives which aren't really major issues when you are actually using the thing. It's great, i love it.

Okay, so what are the negatives of the Oregon now--anyone?

What are the negatives of the Colorado now? (You can't use 'not a touchscreen' as a negative.) :)I know, it's the Oregon wiki...oh well. How about limiting it to receivers, chipsets, antennas, drifting, WA, accuracy (clear and in mountainous forest on cloudy day).

 

I just disconnected my Colorado from 5 V leaving unit on under battery, moved unit 25 feet southeast, returned to exact same spot, plugged into external power again and noticed the location marker was 25 feet off to the east. It seemed stable there after not moving for five minutes or so. I turned the unit off and on and the location marker was back in its "correct" location where I've been averaging waypoints for over 24 hours now. Was this Drift? Was 25 feet excessive? Does the Oregon never experience this? With the Oregon, when you attempt "manual waypoint averaging" by manually setting waypoints over a prolonged period of time, what cluster diameter do you basically end up with for the Oregon? For my Colorado I end up with around a 20 foot diameter core.

 

I've used the Cororado successfully too for auto-routing and geocaching and I basically like it. But I still think Garmin did a poor job beta testing it and should not have released it when they did--and likewise from what I've read the Oregon too. That doesn't mean things may not be better now by a magnitude from when these units were released. It just means their release was premature and Garmin wittingly set us up to finish beta testing them for them at our cost. You can argue that that is the way it is now with technology and I can still argue that it is dirty business as far as I'm concerned. The Colorado should be as good a GPS as the Oregon if not a couple notches better by now since it has been out longer--it isn't and that's dirty dirty dirty!

 

Maybe g-o-cashers needs to get a replacement Oregon and go over all his points on the Oregon and finish up a good review of the GPS if you all think the beta testing was so good and that the remaining problems are so minor?

 

And maybe he should do likewise with the Colorado? I'm just dying to see the Colorado go from 2 to a 4 out of 5 rating--but not holding my breath.

Edited by Ratsneve
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The Oregon is a GREAT unit. I think many people here are focusing too strongly on a few negatives which aren't really major issues when you are actually using the thing. It's great, i love it.

Okay, so what are the negatives of the Oregon now--anyone?

What are the negatives of the Colorado now? (You can't use 'not a touchscreen' as a negative.) :)I know, it's the Oregon wiki...oh well. How about limiting it to receivers, chipsets, antennas, drifting, WA, accuracy (clear and in mountainous forest on cloudy day).

 

I just disconnected my Colorado from 5 V leaving unit on under battery, moved unit 25 feet southeast, returned to exact same spot, plugged into external power again and noticed the location marker was 25 feet off to the east. It seemed stable there after not moving for five minutes or so. I turned the unit off and on and the location marker was back in its "correct" location where I've been averaging waypoints for over 24 hours now. Was this Drift? Was 25 feet excessive? Does the Oregon never experience this? With the Oregon, when you attempt "manual waypoint averaging" by manually setting waypoints over a prolonged period of time, what cluster diameter do you basically end up with for the Oregon? For my Colorado I end up with around a 20 foot diameter core.

 

I've used the Cororado successfully too for auto-routing and geocaching and I basically like it. But I still think Garmin did a poor job beta testing it and should not have released it when they did--and likewise from what I've read the Oregon too. That doesn't mean things may not be better now by a magnitude from when these units were released. It just means their release was premature and Garmin wittingly set us up to finish beta testing them for them at our cost. You can argue that that is the way it is now with technology and I can still argue that it is dirty business as far as I'm concerned. The Colorado should be as good a GPS as the Oregon if not a couple notches better by now since it has been out longer--it isn't and that's dirty dirty dirty!

 

Maybe g-o-cashers needs to get a replacement Oregon and go over all his points on the Oregon and finish up a good review of the GPS if you all think the beta testing was so good and that the remaining problems are so minor?

 

And maybe he should do likewise with the Colorado? I'm just dying to see the Colorado go from 2 to a 4 out of 5 rating--but not holding my breath.

 

My negative for the day...I am trying to project a waypoint. Could not remember exactly how to do it on my Oregon, so, I went to the owner's manual. Guess what...I could not find anything in the very thin owner's manual. Anyone have the answer for me?

 

As far as the deleting the Geocaches you have found, I am upset about that issue. I want to be able to delete the waypoints (easily accomplished) AND delete any other data that I have installed without doing a complete reset or deleting out an entire file. That just doesn't make good sense! What is it with Garmin and their lame attempts at product creation. They obviously have multiple competing developers who cannot and do not talk to one another to determine where mistakes have been made and work TOGETHER to prevent the same mistakes from repeating themselves! Geeeeeez PEOPLE! B)

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Totally disagree. The Oregon is way better for biking than non-touch screens, since you can do it with one hand when mounted on the handlebars. Just mount it at the angle that you need to see it.

Agreed on the point about the touch screen, I find it much easier to control on the bike than the 60csx or the Colorado. I think the point being made was relative to the brightness of the screen. When riding (or hiking) I find that in direct sun it is hard to see the unit no matter what angle it is mounted at.

You can certainly delete recent finds by loading a new GPX file and removing the old one. (may also need to get rid of geocache_visits.txt, but i'm not sure.. i think simply replacing the GPX file does the trick)

That only works for the geocaches on recent finds and you have to be connected to a computer for that to work. Any waypoint you create or POI you search is still on the recent finds list. geocaching_visits.txt doesn't have anything to do w/recent finds.

You can search from a position by marking a waypoint (using either tapping on the map or other methods), then going to Where To... Touch the 'bullseye' button on the bottom of the screen... Choose Waypoint/Recent Find or Current Location.

I realized what the original post was referring to and fixed the comparison list. The Oregon added a feature in 2.3 that allows you search from a location on the map. Same as described above except pick "A Map Point".

Maybe g-o-cashers needs to get a replacement Oregon and go over all his points on the Oregon and finish up a good review of the GPS if you all think the beta testing was so good and that the remaining problems are so minor?

 

And maybe he should do likewise with the Colorado? I'm just dying to see the Colorado go from 2 to a 4 out of 5 rating--but not holding my breath.

I've updated the comparison chart and it should be accurate now, there were some items in OR2.3 that are fixed and are no longer differences. Granted most of these are minor points but my impression of the Oregon vs. Colorado is the same. I would still give the CO a 2 out of 5 because of the location drift issue, a lot of these minor issues that seem to be getting fixed on the OR, screen brightness and the lingering hardware problems. I'm still seeing way too many complaints about Rock'n Rollers not working, broken USB connectors, leaky units, etc. Maybe this is all isolated to the first few thousand units but I would have expected it to die down by now. If I were to rate the Oregon on the same scale today I would give it 3.5 out of 5. I still think the GPS receiver is not as sensitive as the 60csx, it is very slow to update when moving slowly and the screen brightness is poor under bright sun. I really like the touch screen and it tends to be the GPS I reach for most frequently for hiking, biking and geocaching. However if I'm searching micros in the woods I still take the 60csx because I find that it gets me to GZ more consistently and faster than the OR (or the CO).

My negative for the day...I am trying to project a waypoint. Could not remember exactly how to do it on my Oregon, so, I went to the owner's manual. Guess what...I could not find anything in the very thin owner's manual. Anyone have the answer for me?

Main Menu>Waypoint Manager>select waypoint>Project Waypoint

As far as the deleting the Geocaches you have found, I am upset about that issue. I want to be able to delete the waypoints (easily accomplished) AND delete any other data that I have installed without doing a complete reset or deleting out an entire file.

I'm still trying to understand why this is an issue. Why do you need to delete found geocaches once you find them? Found geocaches are taken off the default "unfound" geocache list and marked with a special symbol so they should be obvious between the time you find them and have a chance to load a new gpx file. As long as you are loading a new gpx file every few days/weeks, which I'm assuming you are doing normally to pick up new caches, then the found ones should just take care of themselves.

 

I actually think the issue of child waypoint management is a much bigger pain.

 

GO$Rs

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I actually think the issue of child waypoint management is a much bigger pain.

 

GO$Rs

What is child waypoint management and why is it a bigger pain? I think it is a pain that recent finds and the main odometer cannot be deleted or reset too.

 

g-o-cahers... Will you be working the new Delorme PN-40 when it comes out in October or do you stick solely with Garmin?

 

Thanks.

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The problem with waypoint management in general is that waypoints can come from two sources 1) gpx files and 2) they can be created on the unit. Geocaches are nice and simple, they come from only one place: gpx files. This makes geocache management easier because the list of geocaches on the unit is simply what is loaded onto the unit in gpx files. If you add gpx files geocaches get added, remove the files the geocaches get deleted.

 

Waypoints work differently. Adding waypoints via gpx file causes waypoints to be added to the internal waypoint list, however removing the gpx does NOT remove them. That is probably because you can edit the waypoints once they are on the unit and Garmin doesn't track the origin and modification history of a waypoint once it is in the internal list. Because of these two reasons Garmin only allows you to delete waypoints through the OR/CO user interface.

 

Now consider child waypoints. Like geocaches I want to be able to load a gpx periodically, use these waypoints and then I want to load a new gpx a few days later which removes my finds, any archived caches and adds new caches. I'd like the child waypoints to work the same way. But because of the issue above I have to periodically purge the child waypoints using a different interface. If I didn't child waypoints would accumulate for caches I've found or which have been archived. Deleting them takes a little work because if I want to save any waypoints that I've created I need to make sure that these are archived before I delete all waypoints.

 

I don't think I've ever changed a child waypoint, or I could certainly live without that feature if it meant I could manage them by just adding/removing gpx files.

 

BTW, there's another advantage of not being able to edit child waypoints and geocaches. You never inadvertently delete or modify one and lose the data in the field. Anyone who has used the 60csx for geocaching in the field has probably "moved" a geocache by accident. I did w/o noticing it and would have DNF'ed the cache if I didn't have a PDA with me -- which with the OR/CO I don't, it is my only source of information in the field.

 

I'll ask my question again about deleting geocaches in the field -- why do people want this feature? Is it just because you've had it in the past or is there something you are doing that requires it?

 

I may put a wiki together for the PN-40 but I'm waiting on several fronts to see if it is worth putting the effort in developing another site. No special attachment to Garmin.

 

GO$Rs

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I'll ask my question again about deleting geocaches in the field -- why do people want this feature? Is it just because you've had it in the past or is there something you are doing that requires it?

GO$Rs

 

I would like to be able to alter the coordinates of a geocache, this can be important when doing multicaches. Is this possible or will I have to create a new waypoint with the new coordinates?

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Hi,

What happens if I copy a gpx file with my finds onto the oregon? Will the Oregon recognise them as finds?

Thanks

Robert

 

I haven't tested this myself but I believe I read that it will and I know the Colorado works this way so I'm assuming it'll work on the OR.

 

I would like to be able to alter the coordinates of a geocache, this can be important when doing multicaches. Is this possible or will I have to create a new waypoint with the new coordinates?

 

The later is how you'll need to do it.

 

GO$Rs

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The problem with waypoint management in general is that waypoints can come from two sources 1) gpx files and 2) they can be created on the unit. Geocaches are nice and simple, they come from only one place: gpx files. This makes geocache management easier because the list of geocaches on the unit is simply what is loaded onto the unit in gpx files. If you add gpx files geocaches get added, remove the files the geocaches get deleted.

 

Waypoints work differently. Adding waypoints via gpx file causes waypoints to be added to the internal waypoint list, however removing the gpx does NOT remove them. That is probably because you can edit the waypoints once they are on the unit and Garmin doesn't track the origin and modification history of a waypoint once it is in the internal list. Because of these two reasons Garmin only allows you to delete waypoints through the OR/CO user interface.

 

Now consider child waypoints. Like geocaches I want to be able to load a gpx periodically, use these waypoints and then I want to load a new gpx a few days later which removes my finds, any archived caches and adds new caches. I'd like the child waypoints to work the same way. But because of the issue above I have to periodically purge the child waypoints using a different interface. If I didn't child waypoints would accumulate for caches I've found or which have been archived. Deleting them takes a little work because if I want to save any waypoints that I've created I need to make sure that these are archived before I delete all waypoints.

 

I don't think I've ever changed a child waypoint, or I could certainly live without that feature if it meant I could manage them by just adding/removing gpx files.

 

BTW, there's another advantage of not being able to edit child waypoints and geocaches. You never inadvertently delete or modify one and lose the data in the field. Anyone who has used the 60csx for geocaching in the field has probably "moved" a geocache by accident. I did w/o noticing it and would have DNF'ed the cache if I didn't have a PDA with me -- which with the OR/CO I don't, it is my only source of information in the field.

 

I'll ask my question again about deleting geocaches in the field -- why do people want this feature? Is it just because you've had it in the past or is there something you are doing that requires it?

 

I may put a wiki together for the PN-40 but I'm waiting on several fronts to see if it is worth putting the effort in developing another site. No special attachment to Garmin.

 

GO$Rs

 

As far as child waypoints go, I use GSAK to export a gpx file of child waypoints to a sub folder in my custom POI folder that I load as custom poi's with it's own custom symbol. Its very fast and easy and keeps my waypoint list uncluttered and much easier to manage. When I export the child waypoints to its folder it is just written over so I always have a fresh list to match the caches that I sent to the Oregon (no more Colorado :laughing: ).

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I don't think I've ever changed a child waypoint, or I could certainly live without that feature if it meant I could manage them by just adding/removing gpx files.

 

I'll ask my question again about deleting geocaches in the field -- why do people want this feature? Is it just because you've had it in the past or is there something you are doing that requires it?

 

I may put a wiki together for the PN-40 but I'm waiting on several fronts to see if it is worth putting the effort in developing another site. No special attachment to Garmin.

 

GO$Rs

It is the term "child" that I have never fully understood? Is the child wp still part of the gpx because you have not gone after that particular geocache yet? I don't do elaborate geocaching. Recently I have done paperless caches but I've loaded them directly from the "Send to GPS" option on the geocache page. These may actually still get saved on the Colorado as a .gpx--I don't remember when I went into the CO file structure via my PC what the file extention was that I deleted to remove my old spent geocaches.

 

I don't appreciate the software engineer that is forced to design how software will work but might not have a clue what geocaching is. Just like the PC's operating system I LOVE software that offers otions--that doesn't restrict me in in what I can reset or delete. After I finish using the GPSr I'd like to "clean it up", delete geocaches I'm finished with and clear and reset fields like Recent Finds, Odometers, Routes, Barometric Pressure charts, and no longer needed Waypoints--you name...get rid of it...if no longer needed. I may not be managing some of this correctly but perhaps that is because there are no instructions or tutorials for the CO or OR explaining just what Garmin's intentions are. It isn't good enough for me that I can go into the files and delete some items to clean them up that way if other things I'd like to reset such as barometric data still cannot be reset. If there is "logic" why something cannot be reset I would like to, in the course of paying $600 for hardware and maps, be privileged to know what it is and that it was not because some programmer didn't know better and the developer didn't care. IMO it is a disservice that Garmin does not discuss their products with white papers and/or tutorials or communicate at all with us.

 

If I'm done with a geocache in the field I can see why I would want to keep them until I log my finds. Once that is done though it doesn't make sense that the only way to delete them is to interface with the PC and load new geocaches or to enter the GPSr files and to delete a file. There should be an option choice in the GPS to not only delete ALL Found caches but also to delete an individual Found cache and likewise options to delete ALL caches regardless of whether they are found or not--why develop restrictive tools?

 

Regarding Waypoints... I recently learned something that I was not applying correctly because I didn't know better _because_ there was no Garmin material to inform me. Using or playing with the GPS one can end up with many waypoints but there is no way to "lock" a waypoint that you don't want to delete. I end up in the GPS having to individually delete 20 waypoints I don't need so I can prevent from deleting 4 that I want to keep. If I deleted all waypoints then the onces I want to save would be gone. If there was a way to lock a waypoint OR maybe better yet a way of converting a waypoint to a POI and moving it physically to a different file of added POIs it would take care of the problem and one could globally delete all other unprotected waypoints in one fell swoop. The work around I learned of is to start using MapSource to hold waypoints I want to keep and easy delete ones I don't want to keep, then delete all waypoints in the GPS, and then, when needed, load waypoints I need back into the GPS.

 

I suppose that even if I had a 2" thick reference manual for the CO or OR I wouldn't use it until I had learned a lesson the hard way first. It may or may not become apparent why if you choose not to do a PN-40 wiki. If you choose not to do one I'm thinking that will be a sign not to need to consider one further.

 

Thanks for reading through my meanderings.

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I would like to be able to alter the coordinates of a geocache, this can be important when doing multicaches. Is this possible or will I have to create a new waypoint with the new coordinates?

What I did on the CO and hopefully can still do on the OR when I did a couple recent multicaches was to just create a "dummy" waypoint and then edit its coordinates to what I needed. This waypoint is outside of the geocache gpx so I could GoTo it.

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As far as child waypoints go, I use GSAK to export a gpx file of child waypoints to a sub folder in my custom POI folder that I load as custom poi's with it's own custom symbol. Its very fast and easy and keeps my waypoint list uncluttered and much easier to manage. When I export the child waypoints to its folder it is just written over so I always have a fresh list to match the caches that I sent to the Oregon (no more Colorado :laughing: ).

I need my new Oregon to play with now. :laughing: A child waypoint is a waypoint that has not been "used" or "activated" yet and has not been moved to normal waypoint file of the OR?

Custom POIs in a custom POI folder sounds like a good solution to protecting waypoints from accidental deletetion but I did not know this was possible to do. So you are converting waypoints that you want to keep into points of interest? Is this technique something I could read more about win MapSources help file? :laughing: Okay, where?

 

Thanks.

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Custom POIs in a custom POI folder sounds like a good solution to protecting waypoints from accidental deletetion but I did not know this was possible to do. So you are converting waypoints that you want to keep into points of interest? Is this technique something I could read more about win MapSources help file? :laughing: Okay, where?

 

Thanks.

 

Very simple to convert your waypoints into Custom POIs. If your waypoints are on your GPS transfer them to your computer using Mapsource and save the file (default saved file will be a .gdb file). Take out what you don't want in your Custom POI file from the saved .gdb file, such as all routes, tracks, and any waypoints you don't want in the Custom POI file and resave the file in Mapsoucre as a .gpx file. Now transfer the .gpx waypoint file back to your GPS as a Custom POI file using Garmins POI Loader.

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Hi,

I did a little test and copied two gpx files onto my oregon. One containing my finds and one containing a series of local caches I plan to search and find.

Firstly, the Oregon recognises my finds as finds - so far so good.

However, the second gpx file is a bit older and has in it caches which I have already found. Those do not show up in the list of found caches, but in list of "not-found" geocaches.

 

I am not sure yet how the Oregon decides which cache to show (the one already found, or the one not yet found in the older file)?

Robert

 

Edit

 

It depends on the file name of the gpx file. If there are duplicate waypoints in the gpx files, the Oregon will choose to display the one from the first file when sorted alphabetically, e.g. the one from file A.gpx but not from Z.gpx

 

Hi,

What happens if I copy a gpx file with my finds onto the oregon? Will the Oregon recognise them as finds?

Thanks

Robert

 

I haven't tested this myself but I believe I read that it will and I know the Colorado works this way so I'm assuming it'll work on the OR.

 

GO$Rs

Edited by StanByk
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Very simple to convert your waypoints into Custom POIs. If your waypoints are on your GPS transfer them to your computer using Mapsource and save the file (default saved file will be a .gdb file). Take out what you don't want in your Custom POI file from the saved .gdb file, such as all routes, tracks, and any waypoints you don't want in the Custom POI file and resave the file in Mapsoucre as a .gpx file. Now transfer the .gpx waypoint file back to your GPS as a Custom POI file using Garmins POI Loader.

Fascinating. I was wondering what that POI Loader shortcut was good for. Can't learn anything now until I get the new OR in a couple business-day weeks. Thanks.

Edited by Ratsneve
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I would like to be able to alter the coordinates of a geocache, this can be important when doing multicaches. Is this possible or will I have to create a new waypoint with the new coordinates?

What I did on the CO and hopefully can still do on the OR when I did a couple recent multicaches was to just create a "dummy" waypoint and then edit its coordinates to what I needed. This waypoint is outside of the geocache gpx so I could GoTo it.

With the Oregon you can go to the geocache description page and there is a button at the bottom that looks like a flag on an X - click it and it copies the geocache to a waypoint. You can then edit that waypoint for multi-cache coordinates. It saves you having to enter coordinates from scratch (though not really a big issue on the OR) and from having to type a name for it.

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With the Oregon you can go to the geocache description page and there is a button at the bottom that looks like a flag on an X - click it and it copies the geocache to a waypoint. You can then edit that waypoint for multi-cache coordinates. It saves you having to enter coordinates from scratch (though not really a big issue on the OR) and from having to type a name for it.

 

Thanks! Will give this a try the next time I do a multicache.

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Ratsneve: "Child waypoints" are the additional waypoints associated with various geocaches, e.g., things like parking locations, trailheads, and stages for some types of multicaches. ("Child" because they are additional coordinates associated with a "parent" geocache waypoint.) It's a geocaching.com term, not a Garmin term.

 

When you do a pocket query, you get two GPX files: one with the caches themselves, and one with all of these child waypoints that go along with the caches. The paperless geocaching features of the CO and OR do a good job of handling the first GPX file, but for the child waypoints GPX file you're stuck working with it the old-fashioned way -- i.e., either uploading them as normal waypoints or converting them to a POI database.

 

(In other news, http://www.gpscity.ca is now selling the Oregon 300 for CAD$450 !)

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How do you backup the factory maps on the 400c or 400t? And how would you restore those maps if you somehow corrupted/deleted them?

I assume the Oregon is the same as the Colorado. To back up, connect the unit to the computer and copy the entire contents of the drive which represents internal memory (not the one for the SD card) to your hard disk. If you have to restore, you can then copy individual files from the hard disk to the unit. No special software needed. You can do this with Windows Explorer (or the equivalent Mac software).

 

Although I don't know for sure, I don't think this works (even on the Colorado) for unit or chipset firmware. I believe the process of loading the firmware requires an update file which is no longer present on the unit after you first boot it. At least, this appears to be the way the updates work.

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How do you backup the factory maps on the 400c or 400t? And how would you restore those maps if you somehow corrupted/deleted them?

 

When you connect the OR in mass storage mode you will see a file called [drive]:\Garmin\gmapprom.img . This is the map file, you can simply copy it to your PC to back it up (along with all of the other files on your Oregon). This is a multi-GB file so it will take some time to copy.

 

GO$Rs

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I am not sure yet how the Oregon decides which cache to show (the one already found, or the one not yet found in the older file)?

Robert

 

Edit

 

It depends on the file name of the gpx file. If there are duplicate waypoints in the gpx files, the Oregon will choose to display the one from the first file when sorted alphabetically, e.g. the one from file A.gpx but not from Z.gpx

 

Yep, copying two gpx files with different versions of the same geocache can lead to results like this. The entire geocache database appears to be indexed by cacheid which is a unique integer that Groundspeak assigns to each cache. When you load a file with cacheid=n that location in the database gets added, if the OR encounters that cacheid=n again is simply overwrites what was there before.

 

GO$Rs

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I am not sure yet how the Oregon decides which cache to show (the one already found, or the one not yet found in the older file)?

Robert

 

Edit

 

It depends on the file name of the gpx file. If there are duplicate waypoints in the gpx files, the Oregon will choose to display the one from the first file when sorted alphabetically, e.g. the one from file A.gpx but not from Z.gpx

 

Yep, copying two gpx files with different versions of the same geocache can lead to results like this. The entire geocache database appears to be indexed by cacheid which is a unique integer that Groundspeak assigns to each cache. When you load a file with cacheid=n that location in the database gets added, if the OR encounters that cacheid=n again is simply overwrites what was there before.

 

GO$Rs

 

Hi,

many thanks for the explanation. Do you know in which order cacheid parses the gpx files? I had the impression it was by alphabet. By renaming the gpx files to A and Z and vice versa I could influence which version would show up on the Oregon. In my case it seems like the version from file A.gpx shows up, but not the one in file Z.gpx.

 

Robert

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The smallest type on the Oregon display is the legalese. At least with UTM coordinates, the next smallest type is the location!

 

Not only is the location very hard to read, you can only find it in one place, the rather cluttered satellite page.

 

Wouldn't it be nice if the Oregon had a page (which could have different-sized fields) onto which the user could put any information from any other page? Kind of a "home page". Perhaps you could even display time in seconds. It is a pity to own what is almost a portable atomic clock that only tells time in minutes.

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