Berrytooner Posted April 19, 2013 Share Posted April 19, 2013 Hi folks, want to give geocaching a try but need some info first. I have a Magellan Sportrak Color which I purchased in 2003 to use when I was a volunteer with the Maritime Volunteer Service. Is this a suitable GPS to use for geocaching and if so how do I input the cache coordinates? Do I use the GOTO function or the Waypoint function.I have the MapSend Street Europe disc which I previously used on a Windows laptop but I now use a MacBook Pro which is therefore not compatible with the disc. The Sportrak is not mentioned on any of the update/ support pages on the Magellan site so I am a little stumped. Dont want to buy a new Gps as the Sportrak is a very good unit that has never let me down. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks, Dave. Quote Link to comment
+Graculus Posted April 19, 2013 Share Posted April 19, 2013 I have an eXplorist GC and 710. The Sportrak is older so I can't help you with the geocaching side of it I don't think. You're not a premium member so won't be able to do Pocket Queries (multiple cache downloads). You should be able to transfer individual caches to it with the 'send to GPS' option when you have it connected to the MAC. You can then transfer the cache name and coordinates directly. Magellan's Vantage Point software is very good but sadly is not MAC compatible. This is a linkto the main forum on GPS and Technology where I've done a search for 'sportrak'. It's come up with some responses that may help. I also did a Google search for 'magellan sportrak geocaching' and that too brought up quite a few useful hits. Worth trying that. Sorry I can't help further. Chris Graculus Volunteer UK Reviewer for geocaching.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- UK Geocaching Wiki Geocaching.com Help Center UK Geocaching Information & Resources website Quote Link to comment
Berrytooner Posted April 19, 2013 Author Share Posted April 19, 2013 I have an eXplorist GC and 710. The Sportrak is older so I can't help you with the geocaching side of it I don't think. You're not a premium member so won't be able to do Pocket Queries (multiple cache downloads). You should be able to transfer individual caches to it with the 'send to GPS' option when you have it connected to the MAC. You can then transfer the cache name and coordinates directly. Magellan's Vantage Point software is very good but sadly is not MAC compatible. This is a linkto the main forum on GPS and Technology where I've done a search for 'sportrak'. It's come up with some responses that may help. I also did a Google search for 'magellan sportrak geocaching' and that too brought up quite a few useful hits. Worth trying that. Sorry I can't help further. Chris Graculus Volunteer UK Reviewer for geocaching.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- UK Geocaching Wiki Geocaching.com Help Center UK Geocaching Information & Resources website Thanks for the quick reply Chris, I will have a look at the links you posted over the weekend. I cant connect to the Mac as the connection cable I have was for a serial port I think on my old Toshiba. Might have to bring it out of retirement and see if it will work enough to let me try loading some coordinates. Thanks again, Dave Quote Link to comment
+Gitchee-Gummee Posted April 19, 2013 Share Posted April 19, 2013 At the time that the Sportrak Color was produced by Magellan, they were not "into" geocaching. Therefore, their units were not aligned to geocaching operations as were other manufacturer's units. They can be used for geocaching, but one must manually enter the cache page coordinates into the unit (individually). It is a bulky process, but fairly easy to do once you get the hang of it. Download this manual: Sportrack Color . Pages 39 and 40 tell you how to enter waypoints -- geocache coordinates are nothing other than waypoints. You will have no information regarding the geocache on that unit so you probably should print out the page from your computer. We used to do that with our old unit -- enter the coords, print the page(s), put them on a clipboard and go caching. Page 38 instructs you on retrieving saved waypoints. Page 34 tells you how to set up Datum and Coordinate programming (use WGS-84 and HDD(D)° MM.MMM Datum and Format). That unit may or may not reach to the 3rd decimal in the format. If not, it is of little consequence and you shouldn't sweat it. Lots of geocache "finds" were made without use of the 3rd decimal digit. If you stick with geocaching, you most certainly will eventually want to upgrade to a current "paperless" unit. No hand-entering coordinates, no printing of pages and the like. Just plug the unit into your computer, download the info and go. All cache info will be contained within the GPSr, and you can even enter field notes at the cache (Found, Not Found, Note and the like), return home and upload that info to geocaching.com (hence, "paperless"). Quote Link to comment
Berrytooner Posted April 19, 2013 Author Share Posted April 19, 2013 At the time that the Sportrak Color was produced by Magellan, they were not "into" geocaching. Therefore, their units were not aligned to geocaching operations as were other manufacturer's units. They can be used for geocaching, but one must manually enter the cache page coordinates into the unit (individually). It is a bulky process, but fairly easy to do once you get the hang of it. Download this manual: Sportrack Color . Pages 39 and 40 tell you how to enter waypoints -- geocache coordinates are nothing other than waypoints. You will have no information regarding the geocache on that unit so you probably should print out the page from your computer. We used to do that with our old unit -- enter the coords, print the page(s), put them on a clipboard and go caching. Page 38 instructs you on retrieving saved waypoints. Page 34 tells you how to set up Datum and Coordinate programming (use WGS-84 and HDD(D)° MM.MMM Datum and Format). That unit may or may not reach to the 3rd decimal in the format. If not, it is of little consequence and you shouldn't sweat it. Lots of geocache "finds" were made without use of the 3rd decimal digit. If you stick with geocaching, you most certainly will eventually want to upgrade to a current "paperless" unit. No hand-entering coordinates, no printing of pages and the like. Just plug the unit into your computer, download the info and go. All cache info will be contained within the GPSr, and you can even enter field notes at the cache (Found, Not Found, Note and the like), return home and upload that info to geocaching.com (hence, "paperless"). Thanks gitchee, suppose I could also use my Samsung Galaxy S3 for the hunt. Quote Link to comment
+Graculus Posted April 19, 2013 Share Posted April 19, 2013 If you are thinking of upgrading and want to stick to Magellan, I've written a detailed review of the GC and 710 (includes the 510 and 610). You'll find these on my resource site (link under my signature). You'll also find a lot of info too about both Garmin and Magellan GPS's, features, maps (UK specific) and guide prices and a detailed comparison table. Chris Graculus Volunteer UK Reviewer for geocaching.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- UK Geocaching Wiki Geocaching.com Help Center UK Geocaching Information & Resources website Quote Link to comment
+Flyfishermanbob Posted April 22, 2013 Share Posted April 22, 2013 Acht Dinnae listen tae thon experts . Yes I've got and used the "colour" for the 1st 1500 or so , yes its brilliant at averaging ... and pretty good under cover load from GSAK , its a dawdle Quote Link to comment
Berrytooner Posted April 23, 2013 Author Share Posted April 23, 2013 Acht Dinnae listen tae thon experts . Yes I've got and used the "colour" for the 1st 1500 or so , yes its brilliant at averaging ... and pretty good under cover load from GSAK , its a dawdle Cheers bob, I will have a go with the Sportrak and see how I get on. Can try it alongside the Samsung as a trial. Not bothered too much about not being "paperless" at the moment as there are quite a few caches within a couple of miles of my house that I can input manually or I can try to load them directly from my laptop as I have the adaptor for the serial connection. Want to try to get the wife interested in this hobby and get out in the fresh air a bit more. She has a condition which makes it difficult to walk very far and uses a walking stick but if I pick the right caches I think she would manage to tag along and hopefully enjoy it. Many thanks, Dave. ps..........good to hear another another Scottish accent, its the berries. Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
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.