Yet another newbie question

[JonnieReb]

I'm new to GPS units and new to geocaching, but very excited to give it a try. I just bought an eTrex Vista. My question is this...

 

I noticed that most caches are listed by their coordinates. I have been through my user manual and the FAQ's on the Garmin site, but I haven't figured out how to enter those coordinates into my GPS to save them as a waypoint. Is there a way to enter waypoints by coordinates?? (That may be a stupid question, but hey, I'm a newbie so it's ok, right? )

 

Thanks -

 

JonnieReb

 

[This message was edited by JonnieReb on July 02, 2003 at 07:32 PM.]

[+quills]

jonniereb i'm new to this also. theres another thread about this and easy gps. you can download it from the main page. i haven't transfered any waypoints yet i'm getting my vista on friday. i have downloaded about a dozen caches into easygps very easy to do that. i hope this helps.

[+briansnat]

As Quills said, the easiest way to do it is to use EasyGPS. But to do it manually, go to "mark waypoint" and use your clic stick to page down to the coordinates. Press down on the clic stick and it will display a menu. Use the clic stick to edit the coordinates, then press OK.

 

The Vista (and Legend) will default to a number for the waypoint (001, 002, etc...). You can also use the method mentioned above to change the name to something more meaningful to you (I use the waypoint name of the cache, e.g. GC4A53). And the dot used for a waypoint can be changed as well. Garmin provides some geocaching icons.

 

"Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, he'll sit in a boat and drink beer all day" - Dave Barry

[JonnieReb]

Thanks! I will check that out.

[+junglehair]

EasyGPS is definitely the way to go. You will find it under the links on the geocaching page. Once you have downloaded and installed that program, you click the 'Download Waypoints' link from any cache page, or from the search pages. They will open up in EasyGPS and from there you just have to click the Send button to load them on your GPS.

 

Alternatively, if you need to enter coordinates manually (parking coordinates for example), you just have to go to the Main Menu and select Mark to create a waypoint. You can then edit the coordinates for that waypoint.

 

-Junglehair

 

I thought I was wrong once, but I was mistaken.

[twoball]

hey im another newbie and this is my first post.thought it fitting to say hello here first on a question about newbies.hey is the opposite of a newbie an oldie ?

 

I am drunk and you are ugly, but tomorrow I will be sober but you will still be ugly

[+Brainerd]

quote:

---

hey is the opposite of a newbie an oldie ?

---

 

That's no way to treat your elders.

 

Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.

Henry David Thoreau

[+quills]

Since this thread was already open I thought I would ask here. I downloaded several caches into easy gps no problem there. When I went to send them to my gps yesterday I highlighted the waypoint clicked on send to gps and nothing happened. The gps was on and data cable connected. Is there something I'm not doing right. I read the manual but it was pretty vague about the data cable. Thanks for any replies.

[+Brainerd]

Was the GPS turned on? Do you have anther piece of software using the port? (i.e. Palm's Hot Sync? Shut down any programs that may also be using the serial port.

 

Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.

Henry David Thoreau

[+quills]

The gps was on and there's nothing else on that port. I clicked on the send to gps and checked the gps afterward and there was nothing there. I think I might have done it wrong but the book was pretty vague on using the data cable.

[J-Go]

Good Question! Thanks for asking! I am new to this, have a new Vista and am having the same problem. I found caches by looking at the map to get close and then moving so that the numbers moved closer to the desired coordinates. I knew there had to be a way to enter the coordinates but amazingly the directions with the Vista does not touch on this. I'll give the easy GPS a try. Has it worked for you?

[give-n-takes]

I've noticed several questions/replies regarding editing waypoints and entering coords. I know when I first started, I had a problem understanding the basics of how to actually edit- mostly due to the fear of "hurting" my GPS by doing something stupid. I have now found that I'm not going to hurt the little guy. As for editing, go to your waypoint or mark page. Then using your up and down or what ever type of system you have move to edit. (Some systems you have to push the enter button on waypoint first). Once you have gotten to edit push enter or arrow, whatever one for your unit, and the waypoint should be there and highlighted. You should be able to arrow or move on the numbers and letters at this point. If you need to change the numbers, etc. push enter and a small screen should come up that you can move up and down on to different numbers or letters. You select the one you want and move to the next one. It's kind of a slow process, but if you don't have a cable, or want to really get the hang of how these critters works, it's a great way to learn! I hope I took some of the fear out of at least one soul! Enjoy!

[CachinChamps]

For the downloading problem try checking the interface setting. Goto MAIN MENU - SETUP - INTERFACE, Make sure it says "Garmin". If not highlight whatever is there, push your control stick down and from the menu choose "Garmin". Hope this helps.

 

---

If a man says something in the woods, and

there are no women around, is he still wrong?

[+Dave_W6DPS]

I am a big fan of EasyGPS. I also think it is important to be able to enter a waypoint in the field.

 

On the Etrex Vista it is actually pretty simple, and after you do a couple it will be pretty easy.

 

Start by adding a new waypoint: just push straight in on the click stick for about 3 seconds, until you see the screen come up with a little man planting a flag.

 

Click down to get to the data fields you want to edit. You can change symbols, name, coordinates, etc., by simply highlighting the data you want to change and clicking.

 

If you do any multi's or caches with recommended parking coordinates, this is a very useful skill. Helps anyway, since you may want to set a waypoint when out searching, like maybe where you parked your car....

 

I use EasyGPS all the time, but frequently find myself manually adding waypoints fairly often.

 

Good luck!

 

Dave_W6DPS

 

My two cents worth, refunds available on request. (US funds only)

[+captnemo]

Don't overlook Garmin.com they respond in a very short order.

[shrekTBA]

Hold down the click stick for a few seconds, and then change the information as in coordinates and then goto it. I think that is how it works, I use roads and rec and my serial port.

 

It's not a sport unless there is something dead in the back of the truck when you get home.

[afant127]

I have a garmin etrex venture and here's how I do it. Simply go to the main menu page and go to "mark". Then scroll up to the "location" part and select it. then enter the coordinates.

Andrew