New automotive gps

[+jimnsusie]

I know I have seen this in the forums before but can't seem to find them now. I have a nuvi 500 which I use in the vehicle and it works great in the car. It displays the caches correctly and they load thru gsak. I am wondering if some of the newer nuvi models work as well in the car. Some friends have bought newer nuvis and they found the cache symbols did not work and the caches only loaded as POIs. I thought I read in the forums recently that maybe a nuvi 1450 and a nuvi 3760 would work but when I tried to read the information again I couldn't find it. I see the 1450 is listed in gsak but the 3760 isn't. Has anyone had luck these or other newer nuvis? I use an Oregon 400t for walking and it works great for that.

[+Redwoods Mtn Biker]

While it doesn't answer your specific question, the best dual use option going as of now if the Garmin Montana series.

[+jimnsusie]

If you simply drop a PQ into the 14xx series GPX folder then the caches display as favourites and with the closed cache icon. I use that to navigate to the area, or to spot caches as I'm driving along, and then use my Etrex 20 to locate the cache. Given that you have an oregon I wouldn't bother with trying to load caches with GSAK to the nuvi.

 

So if you hook up any of the 14xx series to the computer it will show a gpx folder or do you need to make one named gpx?

[+BAMBOOZLE]

GSAK will load caches to a Nuvi ( 780 , ? ) just like a handheld and they show on your screen even when zoomed out unlike POI loaded caches where you have to zoom in to 150' or so to see the cache symbol.

If you already have a 500 you have the only factory-made-for-caching Nuvi( totally paperless )

As has been said, a Montana may fit the bill.

[+jimnsusie]

GSAK will load caches to a Nuvi ( 780 , ? ) just like a handheld and they show on your screen even when zoomed out unlike POI loaded caches where you have to zoom in to 150' or so to see the cache symbol.

If you already have a 500 you have the only factory-made-for-caching Nuvi( totally paperless )

As has been said, a Montana may fit the bill.

 

Thanks for the info. I am going to try a new nuvi. Not sure which one for sure yet.

[+AndyT1]

GSAK will load caches to the 3760 as POI's - but you will not be able to see them on the screen until you are zoomed in to 50m.

I use a GSAK macro to do this.

Not even the built in POI's on the City Navigator mapset that came with the unit show any POI's until the 50m zoom level is reached.

 

You can load them as a GPX file and they will show up in your favourites.

You will be able to see most / some of them on your screen (if loaded in gpx format) as you drive unless they are too close together in which case only a few will show up.

They dissapear after you zoom out to beyond 1.2Km

Also bear in mind that you will hit the limit for waypoints on the unit at some stage.

 

I bought a 3760 a while ago and am somewhat dissapointed that not all of the caches (or any POI's for that matter) loaded as POI's appear on the screen.

Not what I wanted - I was hoping to be able to see which caches were coming up on the road, especially on long trips. But it doesn't work like that.

 

From the Garmin Website:

 

The nuvi 2200, 2300, 2400, 3700 series units and the LIVE 1695 will only display icons on the map for your saved Favorites and any custom Points of Interest (POI) files that you may have installed. You will need to zoom in the map to 200 feet or closer to view the custom POI icons. The preloaded points of interest (restaurants, hotels, attractions, etc.) will not be displayed on the map as icons with the previously mentioned series of units.

 

All other nuvi series units will display the preloaded points of interest icons on the map in addition to the saved Favorites and any custom POI files that were installed.

 

POI icons will NOT display on the map if your map view is set to either North Up or Track Up.

 

Points of Interest will show depending on the zoom level. The further out the zoom level, the fewer Points of Interest will show.

 

The nuvi 2405, 2505, 3400, and 3500 series will only display POI icons when you have that map layer selected. For more information on map layers, view the following article: https://support.garmin.com/support/searchSupport/case.faces?caseId={dc9ee940-c9f4-11e0-cf56-000000000000}

[+Lieblweb]

I have a Nuvi 2450 and have the same experiences.

 

AndyT1 explained it well. We load the POI's (geocaches) in it using GSAK/macro.

 

My husband and I spent a good couple days playing with this Nuvi loading geocaches in it various different ways and getting various different results. If you load them as 'Favorites', you can only fit a limited amount. If you load them as POI's, you can fit thousands and thousands in it.

 

The whole thing with these Nuvi's and geocaches is quarky...... and we've learned to live with it.

 

Right now, we have 5,000 POI's (geocaches) loaded in it - we use the same PQ's for both the Oregon & the Nuvi. Like others have said, sometimes they show up and sometimes not depending on zoom level. We simply pick a cache, search for it on the Nuvi and hit GO. I've actually used the trip planner (??) on the nuvi to have a list of caches we want to visit along a 'route' (per say). That's kinda neat once you figure out how it works (kinda weird...). But then again, we've only used that once.

Edited February 19, 2012 by Lieblweb

[+BAMBOOZLE]

I just bought a third Nuvi 780 on Ebay...they can be had around $50 ( the one I just received was mint in orig. box with all accessories for $80). I use GSAK to load 500 caches ( send waypoints to Nuvi 780 ) and they go in to favorites and can be seen when zoomed out....great for caching ( you can't beat touching the cache on the screen and having the Nuvi take you there ) and caches along a route. I bought extra for backup and also with 3 I can bracket an area with 1500 caches. As has been said hundreds of thousands can be put in as POI's which is great for storing cache info. on long trips but you have to be zoomed in to 150' to see the cache symbol making this feature worthless.

[+Lieblweb]

 

And that's the problem if you load them as POIs. You can be driving by and not even know they are there, and with some nuvis they don't show POIs regardless of the zoom level, others you need to be down to 200 feet or less. As favourites you'll see them as you're driving along ... unless you're zoomed out beyond 1.2 miles which I never am

 

We tried them as favorites and it was 'inconsistent' how/when they'd show up. Nothing was ever consistent no matter how we got them in the Nuvi. I think you can only fit 1000 favorites no matter if they're geocaches or not.

 

We've rather have 5,000+ geocaches in as POI's, and save the favorites for non-geocaching related stuff.

 

So, we simply pick a cache and hit go .... Or drive to a certain area, load up the POI screen - which always pinpoints the closest POI to your location, and hit go.

[+AndyT1]

When I bought my 3760 I never even thought to check that POI's were going to show up - they do on my Oregon 450 and 60Csx - I just took it for granted that they would.

I almost returned the unit as I was so dissapointed regarding the "missing" feature. But then I used it to navigate to caches loaded as POI's that I kept it - the display is awesome, just what my eyes needed.

The real pain is that it is almost essential to keep a papre list of the caches that you want to visit for the day or look them up on the Oregon 450 if you want to see a map.

 

sussamb thanks for the confirmation on the 14xx series - perhaps I should be looking at one of those 2nd hand for long trips and load all of the caches as POI's

The POI's do show up as well unless you go past the 1.2Km zoom ? Is there a limit in the number of POI's the unit will accept?

 

Lieblweb I am going to try out the trip planner thing and see how that goes.

[+AndyT1]

Ok, thanks for the clarification. I'm sure it will hep someone else to make a decision as well.

 

But the favourites thing will still work for me if I don't travel more than say 600Km from home - there are less than 1000 caches available in that range.

Plus I could do a "caches along a route" selection.

And more sd cards are also an option, so I guess that I could make it work ......

[+AndyT1]

@ sussamb - do all of the favourites show regardless of how close together they are on the 14xx series?

Which model do you have?

[+AndyT1]

Thanks for the screenshot.

I may consider one of these and perhaps sell the 3760.

Pity the 14xx series don't do portrait mode or have a powerd mount. But I guess you can't have it all .....

[+jimnsusie]

Thanks for all the replies. I went with a 1490t. One of the reasons for my getting a new one is I wanted the lane assist and junction view which my 500 doesn't have. Also will give the blue tooth thing a try. I know a lot of posters say to just use your smart phone but I try to save my battery on my iphone for other uses. The geocaching app on it works very well but I seldom use it.

[+Lieblweb]

Thanks for all the replies. I went with a 1490t. One of the reasons for my getting a new one is I wanted the lane assist and junction view which my 500 doesn't have. Also will give the blue tooth thing a try. I know a lot of posters say to just use your smart phone but I try to save my battery on my iphone for other uses. The geocaching app on it works very well but I seldom use it.

 

If I remember correctly...My previous unit had the blue tooth feature. It was like an FM transmitter signal to your radio. In my area, I couldn't find an FM frequency that was quiet enough. There was always 'noise' and other signals leaking across the frequencies (or however you call that). I couldn't hear anything from it because all the noise. So, I never used it.

[+jimnsusie]

Thanks for all the replies. I went with a 1490t. One of the reasons for my getting a new one is I wanted the lane assist and junction view which my 500 doesn't have. Also will give the blue tooth thing a try. I know a lot of posters say to just use your smart phone but I try to save my battery on my iphone for other uses. The geocaching app on it works very well but I seldom use it.

 

If I remember correctly...My previous unit had the blue tooth feature. It was like an FM transmitter signal to your radio. In my area, I couldn't find an FM frequency that was quiet enough. There was always 'noise' and other signals leaking across the frequencies (or however you call that). I couldn't hear anything from it because all the noise. So, I never used it.

 

Good to know. Will watch for that.