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Garmin GPSMAP 66 series announced on 2018-08-06


Mineral2

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Ok. Then it's a good idea to keep the files on your SD card so that you can perform what is essentially a database reboot in the field.

Also, I think it was you who said you were a Mac person? Do you use iCaching? I haven't had any problems since I started exporting my caches as GGZ files (that said, I'm an Oregon 600 user, so slightly different can of worms there).

Edited by Mineral2
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9 minutes ago, RecipeForDisaster said:

I've never had this issue come up after successfully accessing those geocaches, on another device ... I do have occasional episodes of having to reload PQs after deleting, emptying trash, and restarting the empty GPSr, because the caches aren't showing up from the start, but none of the other Garmins have "lost" their PQs. I can see if my SD card has room for the GPX files (I have a lot of maps)... but this really stinks.

 

When this comes up, a computer won't be available. It's when we are using devices out somewhere-I've never had a crash in my house. I don't have Geocaching Live when out, either, as I have no phone.

 

The caches were loaded the old fashioned way, with a cable and GPX files.

 

This is why you really want those GPX files on the micro-SD card!

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1 hour ago, dprovan said:

Why? Are the caches on the SD card treated differently that caches on the internal file system?

 

If you remove the SD card with caches and switch on, the unit re-indexes it's database (0 caches) effectively clearing any errors in the index. When the SD card is inserted again the unit re-reads the file and writes a new index. This might solve any issues that came up. When the caches are on internal memory you can't re-index "in the field".

 

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I am a Mac person. I haven't used iCaching-I'll give it a try if it's available for my not so current OS. I'm sure the GGZ file would hold a lot more caches in a smaller amount of space! 
 
I have only two issues with this plan-I don't know if there's room for the files (I believe I got the largest SD card supported for both devices) and I load the eTrex 20 and 66s at the same time, so if I start using GGZ files, I have to load them differently. Not a big deal, I'm hoping I can pull this off. 
 
One friend confirmed that he was using a GGZ file when I was with him and this happened to him, though.
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3000 caches will only take up a few megabytes, compared to maps which take up anywhere from hundreds of megabytes to gigabytes. You can use a card as large as 32GB if need be, but if you have that much mapping data on the card, you're probably hitting your map tile limit before you hit space capacity.

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9 hours ago, on4bam said:

If you remove the SD card with caches and switch on, the unit re-indexes it's database (0 caches) effectively clearing any errors in the index. When the SD card is inserted again the unit re-reads the file and writes a new index. This might solve any issues that came up. When the caches are on internal memory you can't re-index "in the field".

Good to know. Thanks! I never would have consider that approach. I've been putting my pocket queries on the internal memory just because that's where I found a GPX directory, but it sounds like if I'd just gone ahead and created the directory and put my PQs on the SD card, I could have gotten them "refound" when they disappeared for no particular reason.

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The tile limit for Birdseye imagery of highest quality is about 32Gb in itself :D

I need a 64Gb card before any vector maps are even loaded.

Raster map products, including Huntview are essentially also Birdseye JNX files.

 

They are taking their time with updates for it. I guess it’s not selling well.

 

Edited by _Art_
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3 hours ago, _Art_ said:

The tile limit for Birdseye imagery of highest quality is about 32Gb in itself :D

I need a 64Gb card before any vector maps are even loaded.

Raster map products, including Huntview are essentially also Birdseye JNX files.

 

They are taking their time with updates for it. I guess it’s not selling well.

 

 

Where does the 32GB limit come from?

 

The GPSMAP 66 allows unlimited BirdsEye mapping.

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I tried loading Birdseye once and it crashed the device so hard I had to do a hard reset. I'd love to use that feature but I don't want to have to reset again.

 

I know I found out there was a limit to the size of the card and I got the largest. My camera works the same way, it can only handle a card up to a certain size. 

 

I don't want to lose any maps, so I hope there's room for my PQs... or I'll mess around with iCaching if can get it. Oddly, I had a disappearing PQs issue on the eTrex 20 twice this week: suddenly only 1 out of 3 was showing up, and I can't use GGZ on that... so the GPX files would need to fit on the card.

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1 hour ago, Atlas Cached said:

 

Where does the 32GB limit come from?

 

The GPSMAP 66 allows unlimited BirdsEye mapping.

I didn’t say anything about a 32Gb limit, just that the tile limit for Birdseye (if it is all highest quality) is about 32Gb.

You can use higher capacity cards if they are formatted as FAT32.

 

You get unlimited Birdseye download, but the tile limit for the device is 250 tiles. After that you get an error at startup.

The 250 tiles include Birdseye, Huntview, or any other Garmin raster map, since they all use the same JNX files.

 

 

 

 

Edited by _Art_
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Garmin might say the largest card can be 32Gb, but that’s only because any larger card is SDXC, and is formatted exFAT off the shelf,

bu there’s no difference between SDHC & SDXC cards other than that, and there are tools to format SDXC cards as FAT32. On a Mac it’s a breeze.

 

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On 3/28/2019 at 4:29 AM, _Art_ said:

You get unlimited Birdseye download, but the tile limit for the device is 250 tiles. After that you get an error at startup.

The 250 tiles include Birdseye, Huntview, or any other Garmin raster map, since they all use the same JNX files.

 

That's not what it says here 8^)

 

edit: Garmin has since updated this page to show correct information

Edited by Atlas Cached
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2 hours ago, _Art_ said:

Garmin might say the largest card can be 32Gb, but that’s only because any larger card is SDXC, and is formatted exFAT off the shelf,

bu there’s no difference between SDHC & SDXC cards other than that, and there are tools to format SDXC cards as FAT32. On a Mac it’s a breeze.

 

Almost just as easy on a PC, but requires additional software that can be easily acquired. 8^)

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I see, but that’s not right. It’s as it says here:https://support.garmin.com/en-AU/?faq=pxlzojy45AAkZMZtuQiSx7

It’s exactly the same as the 64.

 

I’ve reached that 250 tile limit in two ways. Filled it with downloaded Birdseye imagery,

and also I own HEMA raster map for Australia, which is IIRC 86 JNX files on a card in the Birdseye directory, but they are scans of paper maps, and are small in size for the area covered. Then I can fill the rest of the internal memory and the card with downloaded Birdseye imagery until the same limit is reached in total.

 

After that you get a message at startup the same as the 64, the first 250 tiles work, and the rest don’t.

 

Edited by _Art_
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9 minutes ago, _Art_ said:

I see, but that’s not right. It’s as it says here:https://support.garmin.com/en-AU/?faq=pxlzojy45AAkZMZtuQiSx7

It’s exactly the same as the 64.

 

I’ve reached that 250 tile limit in two ways. Filled it with downloaded Birdseye imagery,

and also I own HEMA raster map for Australia, which is IIRC 86 JNX files on a card in the Birdseye directory, but they are scans of paper maps, and are small in size for the area covered. Then I can fill the rest of the internal memory and the card with downloaded Birdseye imagery until the same limit is reached in total.

 

After that you get a message at startup the same as the 64, the first 250 tiles work, and the rest don’t.

 

 

Interesting.

 

Your link is an older publication that is generic and does not mention any specific device or model other than 'Compatible Units'.

 

The other link was very specific to the GPSMAP 66, and a much newer publication.

 

However, you suggest you are not able to get more than 250 files to work on your GPSMAP 66, a task I have not attempted to duplicate (yet).

 

I have requested clarification from Garmin. Lets see if they respond, and what that answer may be!

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On 3/26/2019 at 5:16 PM, Mineral2 said:

Ok. Then it's a good idea to keep the files on your SD card so that you can perform what is essentially a database reboot in the field.

Also, I think it was you who said you were a Mac person? Do you use iCaching? I haven't had any problems since I started exporting my caches as GGZ files (that said, I'm an Oregon 600 user, so slightly different can of worms there).

 

I'm a Mac user but am not familiar with iCaching? Is that a computer app? If you're a Mac user, are you familiar with Cachly?

 

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On 3/6/2019 at 10:14 PM, Atlas Cached said:

 

Have you renamed the SQL folder yet?

 

I'm still having problems loading PQs on my newest 66s. So I did rename the SQL folder. I noticed the original folder had a date of 12/31/2026 on it, as did the files inside. But the one that was created after renaming gave today's date and time. Interesting. 

 

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I spent a few hours today getting aquainted with my new 66s and have been very happy overall with the set-up process, with only a few minor hiccups that were quickly sorted out. I'm up to date with version 280 as well. I am puzzled about one thing, however. When I look at a geocache's description, I notice there is no 'Additional Hint'. The name, description and logs are all there but no 'Additional Hint' on all the caches I loaded. For the record, all of the caches do have additionl hints, lol. I'm not sure if this has been addressed on this forum. I didn't get a hit when I searched. Regards.

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2 hours ago, luvvinbird said:

I spent a few hours today getting aquainted with my new 66s and have been very happy overall with the set-up process, with only a few minor hiccups that were quickly sorted out. I'm up to date with version 280 as well. I am puzzled about one thing, however. When I look at a geocache's description, I notice there is no 'Additional Hint'. The name, description and logs are all there but no 'Additional Hint' on all the caches I loaded. For the record, all of the caches do have additionl hints, lol. I'm not sure if this has been addressed on this forum. I didn't get a hit when I searched. Regards.

 

GPSrChive > GPSMAP 66 > Pages > Geocaching > Hint

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I'm a little disappointed with Garmin: it seems that if I don't allow them to exchange my unit, they aren't going to interact with me anymore. I have two long unanswered emails about seemingly fixable software issues. The last message they sent, in response to my submitting a new bug, was that "they had already offered to exchange the unit", and they ignored my new bug in their response. I still plan on keeping it for now... I can get around the issues, it just seems like the bugs should be fixed and the unit should work as advertised.

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On 3/29/2019 at 8:58 PM, luvvinbird said:

Okay, I get it. I need to be actively pursuing a cache in order to get those extra details. A bit of a learning curve from my 64 series, but I really like what I"ve seen so far. It seems there's a lot of technology in this GPSr just waiting to be unleashed. Thanks for your reply.

 

I agree it's a pain to have to switch between the Map page where you navigate to the cache, and the to the Geocache page where you can see the details about the cache, as well as where you can log it as found/DNF/unattemepted. Steep learning curve for me as well, switching from the 64sc to the 66s

 

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On 3/29/2019 at 5:10 PM, RecipeForDisaster said:

I don't use Cachly on my Mac-I thought that was just a phone app and I don't have a phone. Maybe it's a Mac app too? 

 

if 2.80 makes the hints go away, I need to make sure I don't update!

 

Cachly is only available for the iPhone/iPad right now. We had a geocache event yesterday in Vancouver WA, and the Cachly author who lives there attended (he gave all the Cachly users a nice geocoin). It was great hearing and talking to him about the app. He said that he might move it to the MacOS depending on how Apple implements that functions. Their WWDC in June should shed more light on that. He said it wouldn't be difficult to do. Here's the GC for the event: https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC84184_meet-and-greet-and-cachly?guid=077ea46b-4012-438c-a0fa-de977c9362a9

 

 

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17 hours ago, grateful cacher said:

 

I agree it's a pain to have to switch between the Map page where you navigate to the cache, and the to the Geocache page where you can see the details about the cache, as well as where you can log it as found/DNF/unattemepted. Steep learning curve for me as well, switching from the 64sc to the 66s

 

Hej, if you put geocaching list on the page ribbon next to the maps, it is just one clic to see the discription of the active cache. 

Edited by Team Fridhem
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I did that and I find it helpful. I also added profile change to the ribbon. Now it's quick to switch between map, navigating, and the cache.

 

Garmin wrote back and said they'd cover the screen protector I'll lose... and apparently they won't troubleshoot anymore because they think it needs to be exchanged. So, I guess i will. I sure hope the new one doesn't have the same issues!

 

I'll lose hours of fine tuning setup... is there a folder or something I can copy to at least save my page sequence, profiles, etc? I don't want to clone the whole device in case there's an error somewhere with my current one.

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On 4/2/2019 at 1:00 AM, Team Fridhem said:

Hej, if you put geocaching list on the page ribbon next to the maps, it is just one clic to see the discription of the active cache. 

 

 

That's what I've done

 

But in the 64s it was a matter of having the data available without having to switch between apps. A step backward, IMHO

 

 

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On 4/2/2019 at 3:49 AM, RecipeForDisaster said:

I did that and I find it helpful. I also added profile change to the ribbon. Now it's quick to switch between map, navigating, and the cache.

 

Garmin wrote back and said they'd cover the screen protector I'll lose... and apparently they won't troubleshoot anymore because they think it needs to be exchanged. So, I guess i will. I sure hope the new one doesn't have the same issues!

 

I'll lose hours of fine tuning setup... is there a folder or something I can copy to at least save my page sequence, profiles, etc? I don't want to clone the whole device in case there's an error somewhere with my current one.

 

I wouldn't copy any of the fine tuning that you've done, just on the outside chance that some of those settings maybe contributing to the problems. Garmin did exchange my 66s, and I have to admit it works better than the first one I had, but it still has some limitations that I can only attribute to product growing pains......

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It can't be the settings contributing because I reset it a few times and still had all the same problems. Still, I'd hesitate to clone the whole thing.

 

I'm going to exchange mine... sort of surprised that I have to put a deposit down on the new one before they'll ship it (I am not going to ship mine first... I use it all the time) .

 

What are the problems you are still experiencing?

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1 hour ago, grateful cacher said:

But in the 64s it was a matter of having the data available without having to switch between apps. A step backward, IMHO

 

I don't understand.

 

I have both a GPSMAP 64 and 66 here in front of me, and with both units I can get to all geocache information from the Map page with two clicks from either unit by moving the cursor over the geocache on the screen and pressing Enter twice.

 

What are you doing that is more difficult on the 66 than the 64?

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On 4/1/2019 at 9:53 AM, grateful cacher said:

I agree it's a pain to have to switch between the Map page where you navigate to the cache, and the to the Geocache page where you can see the details about the cache, as well as where you can log it as found/DNF/unattemepted. Steep learning curve for me as well, switching from the 64sc to the 66s

 

I'm having trouble duplicating this.

 

I have a GPSMAP 64 and 66 in front of me now, and both have a Map Page and a Geocache Page which function identical between the 64 and 66.

 

You still have to open the Geocache page on the 64 to log a geocache as found/DNF/unattempted, just like the 66 and virtually any other Garmin handheld with Geocaching support.

 

Other than some new and improved features/functions/graphics, the 66 functions the same as the 64 before it.....

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1 hour ago, Atlas Cached said:

 

I'm having trouble duplicating this.

 

I have a GPSMAP 64 and 66 in front of me now, and both have a Map Page and a Geocache Page which function identical between the 64 and 66.

 

You still have to open the Geocache page on the 64 to log a geocache as found/DNF/unattempted, just like the 66 and virtually any other Garmin handheld with Geocaching support.

 

Other than some new and improved features/functions/graphics, the 66 functions the same as the 64 before it.....

I guess it's those "new and improved features/functions/graphics" that have some of us confused, lol. I'm very pleased with my 66s, we'll get used to it.

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22 hours ago, Atlas Cached said:

 

I don't understand.

 

I have both a GPSMAP 64 and 66 here in front of me, and with both units I can get to all geocache information from the Map page with two clicks from either unit by moving the cursor over the geocache on the screen and pressing Enter twice.

 

What are you doing that is more difficult on the 66 than the 64?

 

When you are in the Geocache profile, and are actively searching for a geocache, when you hit the Menu button on the 64s, it will give you options of looking at the cache description, hint, logs, etc. On the 66s, when you hit the menu button, the only option you get is to stop Navigation. To see the cache information, you have to hit the quit button, and select the Geocaching app (assuming that you have the Geocaching app set up to display on the scrolling selections on the main page) to see any of that information. Than you have to select the Map app to go back to searching for the caching. 

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On 4/5/2019 at 3:34 PM, grateful cacher said:

 

When you are in the Geocache profile, and are actively searching for a geocache, when you hit the Menu button on the 64s, it will give you options of looking at the cache description, hint, logs, etc. On the 66s, when you hit the menu button, the only option you get is to stop Navigation. To see the cache information, you have to hit the quit button, and select the Geocaching app (assuming that you have the Geocaching app set up to display on the scrolling selections on the main page) to see any of that information. Than you have to select the Map app to go back to searching for the caching. 

 

Thank you, that is exactly what I needed to know.

 

The Geocaching function are available from the Map Page when pressing [Menu] if the Geocache Dashboard is enabled.

 

I will submit this information to Garmin....

 

Now Missing Feature #4 at GPSrChive > GPSMAP 66 > Common Issues > Missing Features

 

 

Edited by Atlas Cached
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I'm quite frustrated. I received the replacement 66s and upgraded to the latest software. I added some PQs (on the SD card!). Still, "search near" continues not to work with geocaching live or simply "search near" in the list of caches. I just get the same incorrect list of caches that is closest to me. I wrote back to Garmin but am not hopeful that they'll fix this... they should have better info when they receive my old one back, but who knows if they'll implement a fix when most people don't seem to have this issue.

 
I searched near a cache that's 50 miles away, or a map point 40 miles away , and I consistently got caches centered on where I am now. I hard reset the device (causing me to have to redo all of my settings for at least the 10th time total) but I'm otherwise at a loss here. 
 
I had a friend's 66s in my hands a while back and successfully used "search near", so it's not me :)
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47 minutes ago, RecipeForDisaster said:

I'm quite frustrated. I received the replacement 66s and upgraded to the latest software. I added some PQs (on the SD card!). Still, "search near" continues not to work with geocaching live or simply "search near" in the list of caches. I just get the same incorrect list of caches that is closest to me. I wrote back to Garmin but am not hopeful that they'll fix this... they should have better info when they receive my old one back, but who knows if they'll implement a fix when most people don't seem to have this issue.

 
I searched near a cache that's 50 miles away, or a map point 40 miles away , and I consistently got caches centered on where I am now. I hard reset the device (causing me to have to redo all of my settings for at least the 10th time total) but I'm otherwise at a loss here. 
 
I had a friend's 66s in my hands a while back and successfully used "search near", so it's not me :)

 

I just tested these functions on both of my GPSMAP 66 units, and they are functioning properly.

 

Can you try removing the uSD card (with your PQ's) and testing again?

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17 minutes ago, RecipeForDisaster said:

Plus, what would I be searching for if there were no caches?

 

LOL, you would be searching for new geocaches! This is exactly what GCLive is for, to find and load new caches to your GPSr. You suggest in your post above that the 'GCLive > Search Near' feature does not work, yet it appears to me after this post that you may not understand the purpose or function of this feature. You most certainly do not have to pre-load any geocaches on your device before you can use the GCLive function. In fact, the beauty of the GCLive features is that you never have to transfer geocaches to the unit manually if you do not desire doing so!

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I understand very well how to use it and what it's for... I've never primarily used the feature to load caches mostly because it hasn't worked properly. I can try to seek caches near a map point with no PQs loaded, that's a good idea... until I do, or unless I load using a GC code, I won't be able to test "search near" using a cache... nor will I be able to test "search near" without geocaching live, inside a list of downloaded caches.

 

It's just as much an issue to me that I can't search for downloaded caches using "search near" while not using geocaching live.

 

I believe my etrex is the device that doesn't display a tile for geocaching if there are none loaded... I could be misremembering.

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6 minutes ago, RecipeForDisaster said:

I removed the PQs from the device and tried "search near" using a map point and geocaching live. Each time I got "no results found". This is a big issue. I was absolutely planning to use this feature-to see what caches are near some place, and grab them on the fly.

 

Gonna need to know the exact sequence of menus/pages/keys pressed.

 

'no results found' should only be displayed when searching for geocaches already on the device, and no geocaches are found that meet the current search criteria, including filter settings. Do you have a filter set? Try selecting the 'Show All' filter and test again.

 

If you were using GCLive to download geocaches near a map point (in which case it is labeled 'download near', not 'search near'), the only potential errors I am aware of are related to internet connection issues. 

 

Do you ever see the 'Requesting Geocache Information' page?

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Yep, the "requesting geocaching information " page is up (before I get the useless list of my closest caches). For a while. This all works when I use my friend's device.

 

I'm connected with strong signal with wifi AND Bluetooth. I have no filter set (this device doesn't seem to have "show all", you ave to manually make sure everything is ticked). In fact, the only filter I really use is non-traditional and all of the nearby caches (showing when I search) are traditional, so that's out.

 

Here's what I'm doing now: geocaching/menu click/GC live download/download near/map point 50 miles away. Every single time I get "no results found". I understand it's not supposed to work this way, but this is what i get. 

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16 minutes ago, RecipeForDisaster said:

Yep, the "requesting geocaching information " page is up (before I get the useless list of my closest caches).

 

Are you certain the resulting list are the caches closest to your actual location?

 

When I perform this function, every time the list of caches that is presented are listed by distance, closest first, but from the map point I selected, not my current location....

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18 minutes ago, RecipeForDisaster said:

I'm connected with strong signal with wifi AND Bluetooth. I have no filter set (this device doesn't seem to have "show all", you ave to manually make sure everything is ticked). 

 

Have you read through all these functions at GPSrChive > GPSMAP 66 > Pages > Geocaching?

 

See 'Geocache Filters > Saved Filters' on that page to see how to access the 'Show All' filter.

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