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  1. #1
    duju Guest

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    Hi guys we've just attempted our first Cache Yeterday it was unsucssful but totally enjoyable Basicly it was the undergrowth that defeated us (we was wearing summer cloths legs got stung to bits) we do a lot of walking and are used to using os explorer maps although our garmin vista c performed very well we did miss the map detail our question is which mapping sotware is the best/cheapest for offroad does roads and recreation have enough detail and also for the future is metroguide the only option for car satnav thanks in advance for your replies

  2. #2

    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    St Helens, Lancs, UK
    Posts
    90

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    Welcome to the mad mad world of Geocaching and enjoy it.
    Sorry you had a DNF (Did Not Find) at your first attempt - better luck next time!

    In answer to your questions, I can only write from my own experience and doubtless others will be able to add but to start with while Roads and Recreation is quite good for navigation on the road it is next to useless off road. For example any water features like rivers and canals and lakes are only very roughly drawn and often well out of place so you may well find yourself on the wrong side of a river or canal. In this respect Metroguide is not I think any better but will give you routing information for use in car. You should check though that it is the right one for the Vista C as it does not work as a router with the Garmin 60CS.

    If you want OS mapping in the field you will need a PDA and software like Memory Map. I use that combination with a Bluetooth GPS though a Vista can be wired to a PDA and work that way. This way you can see where you are and where you have been and also the waypoint of the cache you are seeking whick is great fun.
    But if you have not got a PDA this is quite an expensive way to do it and the mapping is quite expensive too. As you say you are experienced in the use of OS maps, why not use the OS position which is on every cache page and plot it onto your paper map. That way you can plan your route more effectively. You can also set your Vista to display the OSGB coordinates to see where you are although you will have to input them in WGS84 format. Most of us though use programs like GSAK to download the waypoints, sort what we want and load them into the GPS though of course you can do it with the EasyGPS program from Geocaching.com.

    Anyway best of luck and don't hesitate to ask. We may be mad but we are a friendly bunch and if you want help you could look on the Groundspeak forum to find someone in your part of the world to hold your hand. Or go to a Geocaching event which at this time of year seem to be cropping up in all parts of the country quite frequently.
    Enjoy your caching!

  3. #3
    duju Guest

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    Thanks for the reply the DNF (just getting head around the lingo) didn't put us off we had great fun just getting to the coordinates, just makes us more detrmined next time. I was under the impression that you could download sections of the map from mapsource/anquet and others to the vista c or am i mistaken

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    St Helens, Lancs, UK
    Posts
    90

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    No I am afraid that you are mistaken. In the USA topographic maps can be downloaded to Garmins but in the UK so far they are not available apparently because the Ordanance Survey require too much to make them available.
    As far as I know Anquet is similar to Memory Map and Fugawi in that it can only be run on a PC or a PDA.
    Enjoy your caching!

  5. #5
    crunchiespg Guest

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    Originally posted by John Stead@Jun 20 2005, 01:39 PM
    . You can also set your Vista to display the OSGB coordinates to see where you are although you will have to input them in WGS84 format.
    if im in osgb mode on my gps it cannot be in wsg84.
    it will only allow me to use britsh gird i think its called.
    but if i input in this mode all seems ok, and if i change back to lat lon the co ords are right.
    am i doing somthing wrong like this?

  6. #6

    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    St Helens, Lancs, UK
    Posts
    90

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    It is correct that the Vista sets the Datum to the Ord Survey GB as that is the right one to use with the British Grid and when you change back to Degrees and Minutes it resets to WGS84. Some other GPSr do not automatically match the datum to the grid and people get big errors but you are OK with the Vista. Enter in either mode and it will come out right in the other.
    Enjoy your caching!

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