+Carbon Hunter Posted November 19, 2009 Posted November 19, 2009 I have been using a Garmin Quest 2 for my caching over here. It works well - except with the fact that lately (last few months) it is really frustrating as I often get the cursor "stuck" on the nearest road from the Garmin mapset - and it will not go "offroad" as I walk towards GZ. Really frustrating - and updating firmware etc. is not helping. So I end up going in blind to some caches - and this is hectic when it is on the side of a hill with sharp loose stones. Really frustrating - leading to a few DNF's (not logged because I did not get close enough - and it was a hardware issue - not a cache issue). what do you use and how do you find it? I'm thinking of getting another GPSr unit in the next while. Quote
+cincol Posted November 19, 2009 Posted November 19, 2009 I, like many of the other local cachers whom I have met around here, use the Vista HCx. Only downside, if one could call it that, is the size of the screen - it is a tad small. Apart from that it is a wonderful piece of hardware. I at one stage was seriously looking at teh Oregon, but after having used it for a week in Australia and accompanied others who use it here I have decided that it does not perform any better than what I have. In fact I find it is more cumbersome to use. As for the paperless caching issue - that is why I was looking at the Oregon - I have covered that by using my iTouch with the Groundspeak Application which cost $10-00. Works very well indeed, even off-line. No graphics are available off-line but all the text is - and that is what one needs. Quote
M&Ms Posted November 19, 2009 Posted November 19, 2009 (edited) This appears to be straightforward. You have in all likelihood the 'lock to road' feature activated. The aim of this setting is to ensure that you are shown as on a road when you are travelling along one but the actual GPS fix is a little distance off it. When you travel to a great distance off road then the Quest will revert to the actual GPS position. If the cache is located close to a road on the Quest's map then the lock to road feature will position you on the road. It is very simple to switch this feature on or off. Edited November 19, 2009 by M&Ms Quote
+Carbon Hunter Posted November 19, 2009 Author Posted November 19, 2009 This appears to be straightforward. You have in all likelihood the 'lock to road' feature activated. The aim of this setting is to ensure that you are shown as on a road when you are travelling along one but the actual GPS fix is a little distance off it. When you travel to a great distance off road then the Quest will revert to the actual GPS position. If the cache is located close to a road on the Quest's map then the lock to road feature will position you on the road. It is very simple to switch this feature on or off. Great I will see if this got switched somewhere along the line. If this solves the problem - voila!!!! Thank you (Shukran) Quote
+leosoul Posted December 28, 2009 Posted December 28, 2009 Yesterday I purchased a Oregon 300 after few of DNF from iPhone due to its weak GPS. Its a nice device with similar feel of Iphone due to touchscreen. Leo Quote
+pseacraft Posted December 29, 2009 Posted December 29, 2009 (edited) I use several as I am a gadget pig. Primary for caching is my Oregon 300 it takes a beating and paperless is nice. I also use an old Etrex Vista when signal bounce is bad. I will load the files in my Nuvi 200w and GPSMAP 276C for the automotive leg. Oh, I think the Oregon 300 is the best alround device right now, direct downloads from geocaching, it tracks, routes, easy to select differing map sets....If only one gps it would be this one. Edited December 29, 2009 by pseacraft Quote
+Carbon Hunter Posted December 29, 2009 Author Posted December 29, 2009 Well I'm a gadget geek now too. I got the Oregon 300 too (looks like this is becoming an exclusive requirement for Abu Dhabi caching ) And my Quest 2 stays in the car as the route finder. Agreed - the Oregon 300 seems to be a pretty good caching tool. I really like the paperless feature after going without for so long. It also picks up satellites very quickly. Quote
+pseacraft Posted December 29, 2009 Posted December 29, 2009 The only thing I do not like is that with my old etrex vista when I travel I can tell it to search for birds in the new area. The oregon and all the other garmins I have, nuvi, gpsmap, zumo, do not have that feature. So it takes a spell to get sync'd. No big deal though I really like this one. Quote
+leosoul Posted December 30, 2009 Posted December 30, 2009 Wow...Oregon 300 is the way to go :-) First I thought I will wait until the Ruwais CITO and then buy it. But my iPhone GPS on the Emirates Palace cache disappointed us a lot and I had to go to Location Specialist to get my Oregon ... Oops did I spell any beans ? Leo Quote
+terratin Posted January 2, 2010 Posted January 2, 2010 Another pair of Vista HCX users here. We're happy with it. Especially the follow-road function is very useful in Doha Only the rubber band around it fell off some time ago and we're still looking for the right kind of glue to fix it. Btw, has anyone an idea where to buy small magnets? Are there hobby shops around that might have them? Quote
+Carbon Hunter Posted January 3, 2010 Author Posted January 3, 2010 Magnets - I found some in one of those staionary shops that sell everything (1 Riyal shops ). But the quality differs with them. Quote
+cincol Posted January 4, 2010 Posted January 4, 2010 Another pair of Vista HCX users here. We're happy with it. Especially the follow-road function is very useful in Doha Only the rubber band around it fell off some time ago and we're still looking for the right kind of glue to fix it. Btw, has anyone an idea where to buy small magnets? Are there hobby shops around that might have them? I have re-glued my Vista with a normal contact adhesive. So far seems to be doing the trick but don't know for how long. This is a problem that Garmin are well aware of but have not addressed. The best magnets are those from old HDD's. Ask a few IT friends for some old HDD's. You can also order from caching suppliers on the Internet. I have a few that I bought that way - about $3-00 each for some pretty mean ones. I have yet to find any magnets of decent quality in Doha. Quote
+Carbon Hunter Posted January 4, 2010 Author Posted January 4, 2010 I went to a local souk and got a few old speakers from a radio repair shop - going to reclaim the magnets from those too. Perhaps that will work too? Quote
+leosoul Posted January 5, 2010 Posted January 5, 2010 I just happened to be in a gift shop just next to Technical scissors on Murror Road in Abu dhabi. They had a pack with bunch of small magnets of different sizes. Around 5 Dhs. Maybe someone can check that if they want. Leo Quote
+Lennu Posted March 8, 2010 Posted March 8, 2010 I bought a Garmin Etrex Legend one and half year ago when I started geocaching. For paperless geocaching I was using my Ipod with cache info loaded via Cachemagnet Last week I upgraded myself to the Oregon 300. Grat thing! - Electronic Compass - Improved sensitivity compared to the Etrex Legend - Wherigo - Background Maps - Big memory .... and many more features to discover Quote
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