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Garmin Nuvi 500?


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Is this unit actually available? I've looked a few places online and some seem to be selling pre-orders and others actually seem to be selling it right now. I can't find any user reviews or comments on it.

 

If it is available, did anyone buy/try one yet? It looks like a good overall gpsr. I am currently using a 76s for everything, although I haven't had a chance to go geocaching for a while, and the 500 seems like it would be a huge step up.

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My understanding is that they had a production delay and that units will not be shipping to dealers until 8/18.

 

Not so. I picked one up at Best Buy on Sunday (10% off all Garmin units this week.) I haven't actually taken it out in the field yet, so I can't give a practical report on it, but it is available.

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I had one on Pre-Order from Amazon.com. They estimated availability on Aug. 10th with delivery today (Aug. 12th). This morning they sent out an email saying the revised arrival was between Sep. 5th and Sep. 23rd.

 

I found our local REI store had 4 in stock since late last week and picked up one there today after canceling my Amazon order. Looks great so far (during my 2 mile drive back from the store).

 

Thanks reimero for saying you found it locally too, else I would still be waiting.

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Thanks for the update. Can't wait to hear your impressions!

 

First things first, I'm a complete newbie when it comes to geocaching, but I do a number of road trips, so auto navigation was actually more important. This unit is a replacement for an eTrex Legend Cx which got stolen - I had a full auto kit, and I really liked the unit, but it wasn't the easiest thing to use in the car. I really liked it on foot, though.

 

My out of the box impressions: it looks and feels like a Nuvi. The large touch screen (compared to the eTrex) is nice, but it doesn't sit in my hand as nicely, and it doesn't have that nice wrist strap. It also doesn't have quite that same rugged feel. The screen is much, much easier to read. Transitioning between "on-road" and "off-road" modes is quite simple.

 

The battery comes mostly charged, but the only means for charging the battery "out of the box" is the car charger. I happened to have a USB cable for my Legend, so I'll be experimenting with charging through my computer, but it's something to be aware of. You may want to invest in an AC adapter.

 

Just off the cuff, it seems to me like the 500 is ideal for people who want a good auto navigation system with some geocaching capability. If you want a good geocaching unit with auto navigation ability, I'd consider going the eTrex route and buying City Navigator.

 

I'll post more info as I get the chance to use the unit. It may be a few days, though.

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I did a little experimentation with it yesterday evening. The one sorta important thing worth reporting is that if you have a Garmin USB cable, you can plug the 500 into your computer while it's off and it will recharge the battery. I don't know if the other nuvis do that (I'm guessing they do), but now I'm satisfied I won't need a dedicated AC adapter.

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I took the Nuvi 500 on a road trip (unfortunately, didn't have time to go geocaching. I'll try that locally soon.) Overall, it behaved fairly well, although the spoken directions were somewhat last-second (is this typical for nuvis?)

 

What I liked:

  • Routing was more sophisticated than the Legend Cx
  • Indicator in the upper left telling you what's coming up is extremely useful
  • Battery life seemed good (I accidentally left it on for several hours)
  • Route calculation is very fast
  • Works fine with my older version of City Navigator NT (the fact that I didn't lose any of my saved waypoints from my stolen Legend Cx was HUGE!)

What I was less than thrilled about:

  • No wrist strap
  • The unit seems somewhat brittle. I don't know that it can survive a drop onto a hard surface.
  • It's very easy to turn on accidentally during storage

What I still need to check:

  • On-foot accuracy
  • POI Loader
  • Paperless geocaching

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Overall, it behaved fairly well, although the spoken directions were somewhat last-second (is this typical for nuvis?)

 

Mine seemed this way on the drive home from picking it up at the store, but I didn't note the distances or timing specifically. When I got home I hooked it up to the computer to register it, and I believe it upgraded the system and software, and seems like I saw a couple of "unlock" messages during the update/registration too.

 

I noticed two things after the update: The spoken directions work like a charm now, giving usually about 1 mile and then .2 mile and a turn right/left prompt after that, just before the turns. Seems like plenty of advanced notice. The other thing was a menu change. When I first powered it up before the register/update process and initialized it for my state (CA), I could not select another state to navigate to on the "Where To...Address...Select City In" screen. The button at the bottom of that screen only had "Change Country" I believe. After the registration and update, the same button now shows "Change State/Country" and I can select any place in the U.S.

 

I'm a Nuvi newbie, upgrading from first a Garmin GPS III for several years and then a GPS V for a few, but this 500 is really impressive. I took it out to a Geocache the other evening too and the switch over to walking mode and topo is pretty cool.

 

The only thing that I'm having issue with is what appears to be a bug, but I've not had time to mess with it much or research more... My Geocaches are stored on a 4gb Micro SD (I've only got about 5 or 6 caches on there currently). When one views the cache details, there's a "View Logs" button. When I select that for any of the stored caches, the Nuvi powers down immediately. Funky, but certainly not a show-stopper at this point.

 

It's a great little unit.

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I am a complete GPS newbie...and got this thing yesterday....my first comment is....Where is the manual? All I got was a "Quick Guide". :)

 

I went online and registered...what a fun experience that was....NOT! :)

 

I plan to use this for everything it can do...caching, road trips, boating everything...but I sure would like to get a lot of questions answered.. manual please!

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Thanks...I checked the tips out...I've fooled with this thing for hours already...not a lot of help with questions like how much is the internal memory? I added the 4gb external card. Is there a way to access the memory info? What does the camera icon do? It clicks like it's taking a picture when I tap it...is it? Where does it go and how do I access it if it does?

 

I took it for a test spin and it works great in the driving mode...it even told me when I got to the nearest cache to my house.....but since it's raining and going to for the next week ...I can't really get out and test the walking mode.

 

No manual is available at Garmin online and none packed with it...I've never heard of such...especially at the price of this thing...that's crazy! :)

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how much is the internal memory? I added the 4gb external card. Is there a way to access the memory info?
Connect to your PC via USB. It'll be a drive letter, D: or later. Back up all the files to your HD or a DVD, it'll take an hour. Use Win Explorer to see total memory and free memory. My 205W has 2GB total and 700MB free. Hold the battery icon for 10sec to see the guts.

 

 

What does the camera icon do? It clicks like it's taking a picture when I tap it...is it? Where does it go and how do I access it if it does?
Yepp, you just took a screenshot, cool feature. Stored in the scr folder as .BMP's. Your tracklogs are in the GPX folder. You sure need a lot of hand holding. :)

 

 

No manual is available at Garmin online and none packed with it...I've never heard of such...especially at the price of this thing...that's crazy! :)
Welcome to Garmin. :)
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If you're going to make a crossover GPS unit that is meant for both road use and trail use, it needs to have the sensors on it (magnetic compass, pressure altimeter). The Nüvi 5xx's have neither of those.

It also will not allow you to do a Wherigo cache ... [ouch]

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If you're going to make a crossover GPS unit that is meant for both road use and trail use, it needs to have the sensors on it (magnetic compass, pressure altimeter). The Nüvi 5xx's have neither of those.

 

It is not a do all...do you know of one in this price range?

 

If you have to have a "magnetic" compass and "altimeter" get an Oregon...but it is not a do all either and costs a lot more after you add the maps this one already has.

 

This one has a compass and altimeter but they don't seem to function...maybe an software update later?

I don't need that stuff in Alabama anyway.

 

As for Wherigo caching..I don't know...but it has a Wherigo tutorial already built in.

 

So this is going to turn into a trash the Nuvi 500 thread? :D

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I stand corrected ... the Nuvi 500 is capable of finding a Wherigo cache as shown here.

 

Nuvi 500 review from PC Magazine can be read here.

 

Nuvi 500 review from GPS Magazine can be read here.

 

We've been interested in the Nuvi 500 since it was first announced. There are a number of pros and cons listed in both of the above reviews. Many of the cons can be overcome with the addition of other tools like GSAK macros. Bottom line ... these are nice units and would be a nice compliment to any routine geocacher's arsenal, especially in lieu of some other Nuvi automotive model. The biggest shortcomings I see for routine geocaching (i.e., this is the only unit you own) are the battery (relatively short life rechargeable Lithium Ion versus replaceable AA) and the plastic (vs. rubber) housing that could crack if dropped.

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The battery has a relatively short life, yes, but at least you can buy extra batteries and swap them out on the fly, something the other nuvis don't have.
Have you done a battery life test?

 

On most handhelds, you can set a BL delay, such that after 1-min the BL goes off, does your Nuvi 500 have this setting?

 

My Nuvi 205W cannot turn its BL off. However, I've discovered, if you set the power switch so that TS is deactivated, then the BL will turn off after a short delay. Been able to extend the battery life to 5-6 hours doing this.

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My Nuvi 205W cannot turn its BL off. However, I've discovered, if you set the power switch so that TS is deactivated, then the BL will turn off after a short delay.

How do you do this?

The Nuvi power switch, momentary slide from center to power on/off, or slide right, it stays put, to deactivate the touchscreen. I believe this is a universal Nuvi feature, but I have but a sample of one.

 

Believe it or not, B) this feature is covered in the manual, p12. The BL turn-off I discovered.

Edited by MtnHermit
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My Nuvi 205W cannot turn its BL off. However, I've discovered, if you set the power switch so that TS is deactivated, then the BL will turn off after a short delay.

How do you do this?

The Nuvi power switch, momentary slide from center to power on/off, or slide right, it stays put, to deactivate the touchscreen. I believe this is a universal Nuvi feature, but I have but a sample of one.

 

Believe it or not, B) this feature is covered in the manual, p12. The BL turn-off I discovered.

 

Ah, unfortunately, the nuvi 500 only has a push button power switch, as does my 660.

 

I'm really surprised that the 500 doesn't have this, since in all other areas it appears to be based on the 2x5 platform. AFAIK, there is no way to deactivate the touch screen!

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Test Report

 

My partner and I got out in the middle of tropical storm “Fay” and played this weekend. In between rain bands we hunted for 5 “caches. We located 4 of the 5…the 5th is a micro that we will need to go back for.

 

First the “driving” report.

 

The speedo is right on. The GPS device gave me plenty of lead time for making turns. It rerouted with no problems if I failed to follow directions. I don’t care if it doesn’t have “text to speech” …I can easily read the name of the streets. Bottom line….it worked very good.

 

Geo caching…I plugged in the info from this site…told the unit to go and off we went. I was able to get a great signal even under heavy cover. It got me to within “2’ of one cache….the others were within 10-15’.

 

Cons: Battery life…I had it in battery mode all the time at 50% power. It went to 1 bar and started warning me of low battery after 5 hours. Maybe it will get a little better after the battery is run through the charge cycle a few times…I don’t know. The unit takes a while to recharge from empty. It will charge off the USB cable while I’m uploading to it.

 

I’m having problems finding software…it seems none of the “Werigo” stuff is available for this model yet…it’s not in any of the pull down lists.

 

Also I’m unable to upload multiple files…I have to do them one at a time….I’ve tried everything to include reinstalling the software…and the “Easy GPS” software does not have this unit listed in it’s pull down list.

 

Although I’m a paying member of this little club now…some of the cache waypoint downloads are not dumping the “cache information or hints” into the device…when you try to bring up the information you get the “you need to be a premium member” routine.

 

The compass does not seem to work...not sure what it’s supposed to do.

 

I'm not too happy about the power button...I accidentally turned it off. It is very sensitive...and in a place that is easy to press accidentally. You can press it once quickly and it will give you the screen to adjust screen brightness...but you can't turn off the screen completely to save power..even at "0%" the screen is still dimly lit.

 

This is my first taste of GPS and while I’m new to this and I’m still like a kid at Christmas… I’m pretty happy with the unit. I think it’s going to do what I want it to do.

 

This just in on my inquiry about Wherigo...

 

Robert,

 

Thanks for your interest in Wherigo. Unfortunately, Wherigo is not available for Nuvi 500. It is currently only available on a few Pocket PCs, Garmin Colorado, and Garmin Oregon.

 

Thanks!

Wherigo Media Group

Groundspeak

 

Ticket Details

===================

Ticket ID: IXB-371971

Department: Wherigo

Priority: Medium

Status: On Hold

 

One other thing...I had my unit turn itself off several times this morning while messing with it. I'm inside a 8 story building and have no satellite connectivity...but it seems weird it did that. Tried it later and it worked fine.

 

Edited by Capt. Crash
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Well...got me a $20.00 gift certificate being the first to review this thing over a GPSNOW.com...it will come in handy for another battery or carry case. :laughing:

 

After loading (one at a time) the 120 closest caches into the Nuvi...I enjoyed seeing them pop up on the Nuvi while in driving mode on the 20 mile commute this morning. I was surprised that so many are right next to interstate exits and some even appear to be right off the shoulder of the interstate. Not my idea of where I would care to park! :laughing:

 

I'm trying to get my name changed because my wife and I are both registered here and doing double entries. I emailed to the link at the bottom of the page Sunday but haven't heard back yet...we would like to join our names and be the team we are...Crash & Sunshine. :laughing:

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After loading (one at a time) the 120 closest caches into the Nuvi

 

Does anyone know how to load more than one cache at a time?

 

I just got my Nuvi 500 yesterday, and didn't have any problems loading them, besides the time it took to do them individually. If it involves 3rd-party software, I'm on a Mac.

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A couple of new items.

 

You can get almost 50MB of additional on board space by removing the foreign language files...ie...text, voice, and help files. I moved them to my PC just in case I want to reload them later. I only kept the American English files.

 

Here is a disturbing observation...I'm only able to get 128 caches to show in my display. I have 220 loaded on the disk...you can see them when looking in PC explorer...but only the first 128 will pop up on the Nuvi. I tried calling the missing up by GC#...no go. I moved them from internal to external drives..still no go. I'm not sure what this means...maybe this is a limitation. Maybe it will pull up out of the drive as some are deleted...I don't know.

 

I fired off a email yesterday to Garmin asking if the Inland Lakes VISIONS and Map Source U.S. Inland Lakes software will work in this unit. Also if the 3D features will all work...and if and when these will be updated again. It looks like we all need to send in some questions and suggestions for fixes to maybe get this thing to be more to our liking.

 

I will send another email asking about the capacity of the caching files and if the screen can be turned off rather than just turned down to save on the battery.

 

Here's a thought...I wonder if this unit only pulls up the closest 128 cache files to where I am when I access them? Reasoning...it changes the order of files from when I'm at home and in the office.

 

I got the the Nuvi 500 this past weekend and have problems with the lower right corner down arrow icon. With repeated pressing while scrolling through geocache files it will sometimes (about every 10th press) select the file right above the down arrow icon...instead of continuing to scroll. I also have intermittent problems entering my security code...it selects a wrong number making me reenter the 4 digit code again.

 

I don't see any distortion on the what appears to be tight touchscreen. It's not too annoying at this point...but if it gets worse it will become very annoying. I got my unit @ GPSNOW.COM...I hope they have a good return policy? :unsure:

 

Anyone else having problems with the touchscreen?

 

Here is a thread about the Oregon and Nuvi units where some folks are posting about this problem.

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...p;#entry3617061

Edited by Crash & Sunshine
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I have a unit in hand to review, but it will be a couple more weeks before I finish up with it and get it posted. The worst thing I can say so far is that the compass doesn't seem to work very well.

 

I will be very interested in what you think about this unit. I'm learning more about it every day. I just found out you can get the satellite positioning/strength screen by pressing and holding the signal strength bar in the upper left corner. It would be nice to know more about what I'm looking at. Is there a tutorial available somewhere about this screen and how to use it?

 

I got a email back from Garmin this morning about the Inland Lakes software. Here is what is says:

 

Thank you for contacting Garmin International.

The inland lakes program is updated every year. The vision card is the

mapping that we recommend with the Nuvi 500. You will get the spot

soundings and light sectors. You will not get the other 3d features or

auto guidance.

With Best Regards,

 

Jason B

Product Support Specialist

Marine Team

Garmin International

913-397-8200

800-800-1020

913-397-8282 (fax) Att: Jason B

www.garmin.com

 

So they don't recommend the Mapsource-U.S. Inland Lakes software that is available on a DVD...only the Visions software. I don't know what a "light sector" is. :cry:

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Wow..this thread is 4 pages back already? Am I the only lab rat with one of these in their sweaty hands?

 

We snagged 4 caches Monday, and I tried out the satellite screen on the last one....that thing is the bomb man...put us right on the cache...I mean to the foot....I will be watching those GPS coordinates once I get close from now on....and not relying on the little feet icons any more.

 

So far my biggest complaint is still the power button location...I keep on accidentally turning this thing off with the way I grasp it. I removed the extra memory so I can plug in the Inland Lakes Vision card...should be here tomorrow...hope it works! ;)

 

I will also be testing the GPS coordinate repeatability of a couple of locations soon and report back on that.

Edited by Crash & Sunshine
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Wow..this thread is 4 pages back already? Am I the only lab rat with one of these in their sweaty hands?

 

We snagged 4 caches Monday, and I tried out the satellite screen on the last one....that thing is the bomb man...put us right on the cache...I mean to the foot....I will be watching those GPS coordinates once I get close from now on....and not relying on the little feet icons any more.

 

So far my biggest complaint is still the power button location...I keep on accidentally turning this thing off with the way I grasp it. I removed the extra memory so I can plug in the Inland Lakes Vision card...should be here tomorrow...hope it works! :laughing:

 

I will also be testing the GPS coordinate repeatability of a couple of locations soon and report back on that.

 

OK, not to sound totally newbie and clueless (though I seem to be both), what is the satellite screen of which you speak? Those feet icons kinda rub me the wrong way, and the screen seems very inconsistent. So how do I get to the sat screen?

And thanks!

 

Edit: Duh, never mind!

Edited by fivefoxes
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Wow..this thread is 4 pages back already? Am I the only lab rat with one of these in their sweaty hands?

 

I've got one I've been trying. How well does the compass screen work for you? I've found it slow to respond, or worse. But I need to spend more time with it. I've primarily been out hiking with it; I hope to spend a good part of one of the next few days geocaching with it.

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I've got one I've been trying. How well does the compass screen work for you? I've found it slow to respond, or worse.

 

My "compass" seems to work OK in walking mode, but is really more of a display of current heading and desired heading instead of really compass functionality. BUT... the distance display does not seem to show anything on the compass screen for me (at least at close walking distances).

 

I really like my unit, have now had it for a few weeks, have been geocaching with it, loaded lots of caches and POI files onto it, and have been playing with GPX file functionality too.

 

In a previous post above, I mentioned an apparent bug. Garmin wrote back to me saying that it IS a bug and is on their fix list. For me, sending one of the "free" geocaches from the site here to my MicroSD card is where the problem manifests itself. Sending one of the full "subscription" geocaches to the unit does not cause the problem. The free files are an abbreviated GPX file and don't contain a "logs" element in the XML. When viewing a cache entry on the 500 for one of those, if you select the View Logs menu item, the 500 immediately powers down. The full geocache GPX files do have a "logs" element in the XML and the 500 seems to handle these OK.

 

Here are several other observations, mainly dealing with the handling of GPX and POI files. If anyone has any corrections to any of this, please post them. These are my observations through some initial testing. Some of these items may be common to other Nuvis, but I don't have experience with other models. And since there's no manual available from Garmin yet, hopefully this will help answer some questions or at least get discussion going...

  • The popular free GeePeeEx editor when running in "Plain Vanilla" mode (and maybe other modes) creates GPX files with a file encoding value of "Windows-1252" in the XML header. Other GPX files I've seen get created with an encoding of "UTF-8". Having an encoding value of "Windows-1252" in a GPX file seems to prevent anything in that file from displaying in the Favorites list on the 500. The 500's own "Current.gpx" file is encoded as "UTF-8".
     
  • The <cmt></cmt> comment elements in a GPX file don't seem to display on the 500 anywhere.
     
  • Editing the "Current.gpx" file in the Nuvi 500 does not seem to change anything after editing is done and the unit powered up again. Deleting the whole "Current.gpx" file does not even seem to do anything, so it must all get copied to internal memory somewhere. It seems like the only way to edit a waypoint via a file change is to delete it from the Nuvi directly with onscreen controls and then upload any new changes as an updated Current.gpx file or new separate GPX files.
     
  • Files can be copied to the GPX folder on either the unit or the memory card. They're then auto-imported into the main "Current.gpx" file on the unit.
     
  • Adding a new waypoint GPX file to the memory card's or the unit's garmin/gpx folder causes that new waypoint to be automatically (no prompting) imported into Current.gpx on the 500.
     
  • If a waypoint GPX file is on the memory card or in the unit (garmin/gpx folder) and you delete it from the Nuvi 500 edit screen, it remains on the memory card but won't display in the Nuvi any more (at least not until the file is updated with new date/time apparently)
     
  • Editing a GPX file and renaming a waypoint name seems to add a new/additional waypoint, and leave the original named one on the Nuvi (still in the current.gpx file)
     
  • Adding a new waypoint GPX file to the memory card will not cause the prompt at power up asking if you want to update the main unit with the new stuff from the memory card, like what happens with new POI data on the memory card.
     
  • Although you can't enter parenthesis "( )" for a phone number while editing it on the 500, they seem to display just fine if they exist in an imported GPX file.
     
  • This is not an MP3 playing unit and as such, does not currently seem to play MP3's or WAV files that are included along with custom POI files (apparently WAV files can be used on the 200 series Nuvis with some tweaks to POI loader, but the tweaks don't seem to work on the 500).
     
  • The 500 does not seem to be a text to speach (TTS) unit, so the included voice files can't be modified with the method like those Nuvis that are TTS capable (though apparently there is software to modify the voices, just not through text edits). There are also less voices than some other Nuvis (and there's no Australian English voices, which I thought might be neat to try).
     
  • "Tour Guide" style proximity alerts don't seem to work (a proximity set in a GPX file waypoint) -- probably because the 500 is not MP3-capable — maybe no Tour Guide features work (at least I've not figured out how yet, though I've not tried creating a GPX file with TourGuide in the GPX file name (some sites say this only matters for associated MP3 files)). In fact, GPX files copied to the 500 with proximity elements get auto-imported into Current.gpx but the proximity element gets completely stripped off. Putting a waypoint with the proximity element directly into Current.gpx seems to do nothing.

Again, just my current observations without a manual or any other online technical info about the 500.

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  • The popular free GeePeeEx editor when running in "Plain Vanilla" mode (and maybe other modes) creates GPX files with a file encoding value of "Windows-1252" in the XML header. Other GPX files I've seen get created with an encoding of "UTF-8". Having an encoding value of "Windows-1252" in a GPX file seems to prevent anything in that file from displaying in the Favorites list on the 500. The 500's own "Current.gpx" file is encoded as "UTF-8".

 

A correction/addition to my above post. I got an email back from the GeePeeEx author about the file encoding issue. If one exports the favorites from GeePeeEx directly to the 500, they get created with UTF-8 file encoding and show up fine in the favorites list. The issue only occurs when saving a GPX file locally on your computer first (Windows XP in my case) and then copying it to the 500.

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How do I get caches on this?

 

Get this plugin first: Garmin Communicator Browser Plugin and then when you're on a desired cache page at the main geocaching.com site, select the send to GPS or send to Garmin link.

What about Pocket Query's?

 

Go here and follow this...it worked for me.

 

http://pilotsnipes.googlepages.com/index.html

 

If you want the caches to show in the Geocache Icon folder on the Nuvi...here is what I do.

 

Loading the Nuvi

 

1. Do pocket query @ Geocache.com

2. Go to email and drop unopened zip file onto opened GSAK program

3. Click Nuvi button in GSAK program then click start...follow through

4. Run POI program…next…next…next…etc

5. To upload to the Geocache Icon in the Nuvi…Go to Nuvi hard disc and copy the new GSAK file from the POI folder into the GPX folder in the Garmin file...your done

 

POI files will still be there and they have everything plus all the logs with them...the Geocaches files will not have the logs....but I like having both available in my unit. You have plenty of space for them unless you loaded a butt load of pics or something in there.

 

Now...about the Inland Lake Visions Card.

 

It gets a thumbs up IF it has the lakes you will need it for. Even if it doesn't have those lakes on the "list" most of the lakes are still more detailed than on the preloaded topo maps. None of the 3D stuff works in my Nuvi. It does give a way points screen to some wrecks. Is it worth the $....that is up to you to decide...but the software does work on my Nuvi....and it does give detailed contour for some lakes along with the depth at the point you touch the screen on the contoured map. Its looks a little better (more detailed) than the demo for the US Inland Lakes software I looked at on line.

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What is the easy way to go from streets to offroad while using it for caching?

 

From what I have seen of the Nuvi 500 so far, I would say the answer is no. I think you need to go back to the menu, select the wrench, then make the change in the Navigation section (and also(?) in the system usage mode perhaps.)

 

One question of my own - is there an easy way to move saved data from a Garmin iQue 3600 to the Nuvi 500 using a Mac? Hate to have to recreate all of the waypoints I've generated over they years if possible.

 

Tim

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What is the easy way to go from streets to offroad while using it for caching?

 

From what I have seen of the Nuvi 500 so far, I would say the answer is no. I think you need to go back to the menu, select the wrench, then make the change in the Navigation section (and also(?) in the system usage mode perhaps.)

 

Actually, after initial setup and usage mode preference settings, I don't think it could be much easier. It's four button presses:

 

1. Menu

2. Select the car icon

3. Select "Walking"

4. Select "OK"

 

And you're in "Walking" mode for geocaching...

 

1. From the Menu, select the car icon:

1.jpg

 

2. Select "Walking" and then "OK":

2.jpg

 

3. You're in "Walking" mode:

3.jpg

 

4. Selected "View Map" and we have topo view with a few caches:

4.jpg

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Well, I was going to try and answer this, but upon firing up the unit this morning, I got the following message:

 

"No detailed maps were found on this unit. They are required for navigation.”

 

After a couple of calls to Garmin, I am told that I have a pre-production unit and that it could very well be a software glitch. Back it goes. Hopefully I'll get a new one and have a full review posted within a week.

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