Philsgeo Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 I am new to geocaching and was gifted a garmin Etrex20. I find that it appears only to be able to access Garmin's own version of geocaching which is Opencaching. I have two questions. 1/. What is the best source of detailed maps to upgrade the built in basic version. The installed basic version is completely inadequate. 2/. How can I download cahes and data from Geocaching, which of course I perefer to use. Thanks Quote Link to comment
+andyakashrek Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Ok, for maps see Talkytoaster on the Web, excellent maps,you will need an sd card about 2gb will do. Also load garmin communicator that will allow you to download caches from Groundspeak. For the rest someone with '20 experience will be along shortly. Quote Link to comment
+luvvinbird Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 I have two eTrex20's and have no problem downloading caches from geocaching.com. You'll need to install the Garmin communicator plug-in which you can find on Garmin's website. On geocaching.com's website, locate the cache you'd like to download and click "send to my GPS". Premium members can download many caches at once using Pocket Queries. NOTE: there have been some issues with Internet Explorer 11 regarding the plug-in. There are various threads on this subject on this forum. Also, allow several seconds for your computer to recognize your eTrex20. Good luck! Quote Link to comment
Forkeye Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 For maps try GPSFileDepot.com, I am sure their are a few others too, and for geocaches this site is good. You can do a search for an area and list them or show them on a map. If you are new to Garmin and this site, you will have lots to learn. Also the use of Basecamp. Good Luck. Quote Link to comment
Fangamon Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 I have an eTrex 20 and have no problem downloading caches from geocaching.com. Quote Link to comment
+Chief301 Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Don't fall for Garmin's dog-and-pony show about their Opencaching site....they do try to make it sound like their listing site is the only game in town. I'm not sure you even need the Garmin Communicator plugin....we just wiped our computer back to factory configuration and I never reinstalled any GPS software, and I can download caches to my GPS just fine, either individually or through PQ's. Quote Link to comment
+Chief301 Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 For maps try GPSFileDepot.com, I am sure their are a few others too, and for geocaches this site is good. You can do a search for an area and list them or show them on a map. If you are new to Garmin and this site, you will have lots to learn. Also the use of Basecamp. Good Luck. I think the OP is in the UK....TalkyToaster would be a better bet. Quote Link to comment
+Chief301 Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 For maps try GPSFileDepot.com, I am sure their are a few others too, and for geocaches this site is good. You can do a search for an area and list them or show them on a map. If you are new to Garmin and this site, you will have lots to learn. Also the use of Basecamp. Good Luck. I think the OP is in the UK....TalkyToaster would be a better bet. Quote Link to comment
Philsgeo Posted December 27, 2013 Author Share Posted December 27, 2013 Thanks everyone for your support and helpful answers. I need to get an SD card and I think I will go for Talkytoaster for maps as I am in the UK. I need to look at Garmin Communicator too. I know there is lots to learn so I have to be patient, but I really appreciate your comments. I'll see how I get on and might be back with other related questions!! Thanks again. Quote Link to comment
Fangamon Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Get the SD card Garmin recommends and go for only 16 GB as the 32 GB cards are known to have issues! 32 GB are oddly not recommended by Garmin because of those issues even tho the unit can take 32 GB, go figure.... Quote Link to comment
+andyakashrek Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Following on from my earlier post the etrex 20 has sufficient internal memory to load the map from Talkytoaster and leaves room for caches. However I recommend loading to a micro card as it's easy to drag and drop from the pc to the card whilst in a usb caddy. Good how to on the Talkytoaster faq page. Its not necessary to use a large capacity card as it's better to load caches for the area you are looking at when needed as then you have up to date information as opposed to a cache that has been on the gps for a while and may have been archived. A bit of a learning curve but there's plenty of information on this forum and you'll receive loads of help so just shout and get out there and enjoy the game. Quote Link to comment
Fangamon Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 (edited) Yes I have even a raw copy of the eTrex 20 firmware, files and folders on the SD card should anything go down.. Edited December 29, 2013 by PigSti Quote Link to comment
Philsgeo Posted December 29, 2013 Author Share Posted December 29, 2013 Many thanks for the further updates. It will be a few days before i can go any further. Preliminary use of the 20 by navigating to co-ordinates which I have input suggest that it is a good little device and very accurate so i am looking forward to learning more. Quote Link to comment
Philsgeo Posted January 8, 2014 Author Share Posted January 8, 2014 Hi everyone, just thought I would let you know that thanks to your helpful comments I have got my eTrex20 up and running. I decided on a 16GB sd card, loaded Garmin Communicator, logged on to Talkytwister, downloaded the map I wanted and have now downloaded caches from Groundspeak. Still finding my way around but all seems to be working ok. Thanks again for your help. Quote Link to comment
+Mineral2 Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Don't fall for Garmin's dog-and-pony show about their Opencaching site....they do try to make it sound like their listing site is the only game in town. I'm not sure you even need the Garmin Communicator plugin....we just wiped our computer back to factory configuration and I never reinstalled any GPS software, and I can download caches to my GPS just fine, either individually or through PQ's. Oh how times have changed. I bought an Oregon 450t three years ago and it came with a one-month free trial premium membership to Geocaching.com. Those were the days. Quote Link to comment
+MartyBartfast Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Oh how times have changed. I bought an Oregon 450t three years ago and it came with a one-month free trial premium membership to Geocaching.com. Those were the days. Groundspeak still give a 1 month free Premium Membership when you register your Garmin. Quote Link to comment
Philsgeo Posted January 9, 2014 Author Share Posted January 9, 2014 Oh how times have changed. I bought an Oregon 450t three years ago and it came with a one-month free trial premium membership to Geocaching.com. Those were the days. Groundspeak still give a 1 month free Premium Membership when you register your Garmin. Thanks for this info - i will make enquiries. Quote Link to comment
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