Jump to content

Did I miss something here


acachebox

Recommended Posts

I just bought a Garmin 450 from Garmin directly and now am told it won't predictable load caches from Geocaching.com, that I have to spend another $100.00 to put maps on it, and when I put coordinates in it to test the accuracy they seam to be off by more than 50 ft.

 

What did i miss here?

Link to comment

I just bought a Garmin 450 from Garmin directly and now am told it won't predictable load caches from Geocaching.com, that I have to spend another $100.00 to put maps on it, and when I put coordinates in it to test the accuracy they seam to be off by more than 50 ft.

 

What did i miss here?

Ouch!

Link to comment

OK....take a deep breath.....

 

Now.....where does it say you can't download caches from Geocaching.com? I have an Oregon 550 (essentially the same unit) as do many others....so what is the problem you are encountering?

 

Second...you don't have to buy Garmin's maps. You can download excellent topographical maps from GPSfiledepot.com for free (yes, it's legal)

 

Third....what coordinates are you putting in to test it and how do you know those coordinates are correct?

 

Give it a little time, the Oregon 450 is a great unit but it takes a little time to learn everything that it can do and how to make it do what you want. A bit of a learning curve but worth the effort.

Edited by Chief301
Link to comment

...am told it won't predictable load caches from Geocaching.com...

By who? Garmin? If so, it's probably just an attempt to get you to switch from Groundspeak to their own lame service. If it was someone else, they don't know what they're talking about. I use the Oregon 450 for ALL of my geocaching, as do two other family members. It has no problems loading Geocaching.com caches.

 

...when I put coordinates in it to test the accuracy they seam to be off by more than 50 ft.

I wonder if you used something like Google Earth or Google Maps to get these coordinates? If so, such online satellite mapping services aren't consistently accurate. They can be off by as much as hundreds of feet. For best testing results, use something that's known to be very accurate, like a benchmark.

Link to comment

I just bought a Garmin 450 from Garmin directly and now am told it won't predictable load caches from Geocaching.com, that I have to spend another $100.00 to put maps on it, and when I put coordinates in it to test the accuracy they seam to be off by more than 50 ft.

 

What did i miss here?

 

Big fat lies. The Oregon 450 is an excellent GPS.

 

The thing about the map is partially true, though. They don't come loaded with decent maps, at least mine wasn't. However, you do not need to spend $100. You can download openstreetmaps for free.

 

View them here:

 

http://www.openstreetmap.org/

 

Download them here:

 

http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/

Edited by The_Incredibles_
Link to comment

Very interesting. Once loaded can these maps be used for street navigation with turn by turn or will they just be displayed under the Geocaching azimuth?

Care to add instruction on how to get the map on the GPS. If I download it to the computer then what?

 

Big fat lies. The Oregon 450 is an excellent GPS.

 

The thing about the map is partially true, though. They don't come loaded with decent maps, at least mine wasn't. However, you do not need to spend $100. You can download openstreetmaps for free.

 

View them here:

 

http://www.openstreetmap.org/

 

Download them here:

 

http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/

Link to comment

Very interesting. Once loaded can these maps be used for street navigation with turn by turn or will they just be displayed under the Geocaching azimuth?

Care to add instruction on how to get the map on the GPS. If I download it to the computer then what?

 

Yes, the maps are routable i.e. you can select a geocache or waypoint then get it to give you driving instructions.

 

Before you go downloading the map, I would first look here to see what the maps are like for your area. They are built by volunteers, so the quality may vary from area to area.

 

http://www.openstreetmap.org/

 

Basically you download a file, unzip, then copy it into your gps.

 

Instructions:

 

Go to

http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/ and accept the defaults except tick "Enable Manual Tile Selection"; zoom in and click on the tiles you want. Note that the webpage is VERY SLOW!. When done enter your email address and click on "Build My Map". An email will be sent to you with expected available date for download. You'll get another email when the maps are ready for downloading.

 

This service generates four different configurations of your personal map:

 

•Installer for Garmin MapSource (Windows)

•Installer for Garmin RoadTrip (Mac OSX)

•A combined image for direct manual placement on the GPS device (gmapsupp.img)

•A zip file just containing all the Garmin map tiles as selected on this website. This is useful for Linux users (e.g. Qlandkarte)

 

You'll want to download option#3 (the gmapsupp.img file). I *think* it's zipped so you'd need to unzip it, then copy into the Garmin directory of your GPS. That's it!

Edited by The_Incredibles_
Link to comment

I'm another Oregon 450 owner that strongly endorses the Garmin open street maps. I *do* have the Garmin topo base maps for my GPS but they only cover the U.S. and I've done a lot of geocaching in other countries and have downloaded and used the Garmin open street maps for many different countries around the world. I'll be creating another mapset which covers Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Istanbul, Turkey for a trip I'll be taking in the beginning of May. I have two micro-SD cards I use; one for "local" cacheing which has the the official Garmin maps in the U.S. and one that I use for traveling and replace the base maps from open street maps for wherever I'm going to be traveling.

Link to comment

Sorry Guys but this thing is going back.

 

I tested it against my I Phone at 3 different locations and it is out in left field. Distances were not only off but showed me getting closer to a point as I moved away from that point. Next to a bridge it went nuts both in direction and distance. These inaccuracies and that fact it is insanely complicated gives no reason to keep it.

 

Maybe if I had seen someone use the Garmin first hand it would have been different but my time right now is committed to learning the manual for my new Jetta. I don't have time now for two doctoral efforts.

 

Thanks though for the comments.

Link to comment

Sorry Guys but this thing is going back.

That's unfortunate to hear. The Oregons are outstanding devices, and I'm sure it would meet all your expectations if we could help you troubleshoot your problems a bit more. If you do find it too complicated, then you might just want to stay with your iPhone. You won't find many handheld GPSrs that are more easy to use than the Oregon.

 

In case you want to try a little bit more troubleshooting before giving up, I'd recommend you check the datum that's being used. It should be set to WGS-84. Consistent inaccuracies like you describe are often due to an incorrect datum setting. Also, knowing what you're using as the source of your test coordinates might tell us if there are other factors in play.

Link to comment

Sorry Guys but this thing is going back.

That's unfortunate to hear. The Oregons are outstanding devices, and I'm sure it would meet all your expectations if we could help you troubleshoot your problems a bit more. If you do find it too complicated, then you might just want to stay with your iPhone. You won't find many handheld GPSrs that are more easy to use than the Oregon.

 

In case you want to try a little bit more troubleshooting before giving up, I'd recommend you check the datum that's being used. It should be set to WGS-84. Consistent inaccuracies like you describe are often due to an incorrect datum setting. Also, knowing what you're using as the source of your test coordinates might tell us if there are other factors in play.

 

^^^ This ^^^

 

Check the datum setting, that's been the cause of many newbie problems with various models of GPS.

 

Tell ya what.....put it aside for now. Cache with the iPhone. Learn all about your Jetta. Then come back to it later when you have the time to really get to know it. I think you may change your mind.

Link to comment

That's unfortunate to hear. The Oregons are outstanding devices, and I'm sure it would meet all your expectations if we could help you troubleshoot your problems a bit more. If you do find it too complicated, then you might just want to stay with your iPhone. You won't find many handheld GPSrs that are more easy to use than the Oregon.

 

In case you want to try a little bit more troubleshooting before giving up, I'd recommend you check the datum that's being used. It should be set to WGS-84. Consistent inaccuracies like you describe are often due to an incorrect datum setting. Also, knowing what you're using as the source of your test coordinates might tell us if there are other factors in play.

[/qu

 

I reviewed the Garmin manual and there does not seam to be any mention of or any search result that speaks to Datum Settings. I believe it is however set right after one of my many calls to Garmin.

 

I did go out again today and checked on a couple of caches. The first one it lead me to with in 2 ft of the cache. The second it was off by 30 to 50 ft depending on which time you looked. Now in all fairness the I phone was off also at that location but not by that much.

 

The source of my coordinates are downloads directly from Geocaching.com to the Garmin. The same ones the I Phone is using.

 

I have used Garmin GPSs all the way back to and still using a Street Pilot,13 years. I have had to replaced the screen on my current Street Pilot after it smashed into the shift knob of the car. Not an easy task but much less expensive than having it repaired or replaced.

 

I know that it seam simple to you'll as I have written for years on GM Diesel engines, Airstream trailers, and trailer hitches. Not everyone gets it at first.

 

I will keep trying over the weekend as Garmin did not send the return tags as they said they would

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...