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Thread: Nuvi Experiences

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  1. #1

    Smile Nuvi Experiences

    I finally broke down and bought a Nuvi. I have found some pretty cool stuff on the internet about it, but I'm still curious what can be done with these little gems. I picked up the 255W. Also, I found a very helpful page about getting caches loaded on it. Here's the link.

    So tell me, what model do you have and what can your Nuvi do?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Brewer,ME
    Posts
    2,611

    Default I went the other way..

    I got a Tomtom XL330. I can load caches in a heartbeat right from a GSAK export. The maps are fantastic, and so far the routing is spot on. I have been caching in Lewiston this morning and it is doing an awesome job of getting me around.
    Happy Trails!



  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    So. China Maine
    Posts
    1,597

    Default Nuvi

    I have a 200 series older version. Load POI from the Garmin website then the Nuvi Macro on gsak and you'll get the whole cache page with the exception of maps which you won't need because the Nuvi will take you to the cache. It occassionally will take what I call "dead end shortcuts" but that doesn't happen too often.

    Not sure how many caches these things can hold. I have over 10,000 on mine!

    This will make you paperless. Enjoy!
    Sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Biddeford, Maine
    Posts
    313

    Default

    Sigh. Another thing for the wish list.
    Oscilating between remarkable brillance and sheer stupidity with amazing regularity.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    America
    Posts
    2,578

    Default

    Wow, what a great gadget.

    Years ago I had the need for some kind of portable mapping soft wear. Laptps had even been installed in the fire engines. The GPSr soft wear was just not up to the task. But the other things we were using them for worked great.

    I even bought software to add to my Palm Pilot. It worked, but was very slow and fussy. It helped somewhat but just did not do the trick. You see, I get lost as soon as I get behind the wheel of any vehicle. I can walk around in the woods all day and come back out within several feet of where I went in, however the roads never seem to cooperate. I can print out maps and directions and even look at things from satellites in space, but I will take the wrong turn almost at every time, for some reason.

    Finally a Friend bought me a Nuvi 200 on Black Friday as they were only $100. OMG! OMG! OMG! Where the hell have these things been hiding! I never looked into getting one of these because I had the misconception that there was a monthly fee attached to them. I was wrong and I have been kicking myself in the butt ever since. With the acreage associated with my butt it will take a while to complete the job. Needless to say I love it. I love it!

    I love the fact that I don't need to focus on the screen, it tells you where to go and how to get there. In a nice way. However the lady does get a little annoyed when I keep taking the wrong road on purpose, because I don't like taking that particular road, but she recalculates and gets me back on track. Another feature that is great is when I am out on the road and finally get to a destination. All I have to do is put in the next place I want to go from the already entered favorites or just enter the address I have on hand. No need to try and figure out from the maps I have how to navigate from my location and not from my home location. What a frigging pain that was. I also liked the fact that I can put the coordinates in on a cache and it will take me right there. Wow!

    Then Lexmano and Hollora informed me I can go paperless with this God send. I have tried it a couple of times, but I have screwed something up and the download fails every time. Stupid me, I never think to research these things online. Thanks for the tip Cache Maine. I love you. As soon as I'm done here I will be using the links.

    Now that I have raved about these gems, I'll tell you what they can do. It has cut my travel time in half. I always had to add extra time every time I went to do an investigation, because I would drive around for hours looking for street signs. Now I go right there. When I worked for the State I had about ten pounds of maps that I had to carry with me everywhere I went. I would spend almost as much time figuring out where I was supposed to be going as I would doing the investigation. Now all is well and all the frustration and pressure is off. I am a much happier person now.

    Have I said I love this thing? I love it! I love it!
    I have no enemies, but I'm intensely disliked by my friends.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Oakland, Maine
    Posts
    532

    Question Technologically ignorant

    Ok, let me tell you my poor beliefs so you can all laugh at me. #1 I thought that my nuvi was only good for turn by turn directions and could not be used for caching. #2 I thought my PN-20 was only good for caching and terrible for turn by turn directions. I read about gsak and garmins before, but I guess that I did not understand the conversations. Now, because I'm not all that smart sometimes I'm going to ask the following (yes I read the link posted above). I own a 200 series. What is the reality of downloading geodata to it? Is this a project that requires time, beer and patience? Because i'm missing two of those right now. Can I put the whole cache page on, or just the coords. Can anyone explain this in terms that a 16 year old can understand. (I work in a high school and defer all tech questions to kids. They have a better handle on it than I do) Did I mention that I'm really excited about this. I really like the thought of loading 100 caches or so onto my nuvi just to have when I'm driving around.
    Geocaching Parrotheads

    Why can't we get a government sponsered tick eradication program?

  7. #7

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by fins2right View Post
    I own a 200 series. What is the reality of downloading geodata to it? Is this a project that requires time, beer and patience? Because i'm missing two of those right now. Can I put the whole cache page on, or just the coords. Can anyone explain this in terms that a 16 year old can understand. (I work in a high school and defer all tech questions to kids. They have a better handle on it than I do)
    I too was low on patience and wanted immediate gratification when I opened ours up about a week ago. If it weren't for everything going haywire the second I started the process, I feel the tutorial that gobbler mentioned really would have only taken 20 minutes and was fairly easy to follow (as it was, I had three kiddos and a neighbor who all wanted something and couldn't wait while I was working with the gps and it still only took me about an hour and that includes finding the nuvi and sorting through all the accessories to find the cord).

    The tutorial is very well done.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Hampden, ME
    Posts
    911

    Default The NUVI

    Cache Maine, that's a great link.
    How I use mine fits well into my caching style. I use it, essentially, for driving directions to get near to the cache, having entered the cords. I then prefer to use the hand-held to pinpoint. Going paperless is not a concern for me, as I do not rely on the hints or description so I never felt the need to print out the caches. If I need to re-visit the cache posting, I use my Blackberry to access it on geocaching.com. But, I have to admit, after the 4th or 5th visit to a cache that I haven't been able to locate, I am ready for any kind of assistance. Enjoy your new NUVI!

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Boothbay, Maine
    Posts
    166

    Default

    wow--do I feel like a dummy! I, too, have had a Nuvi for some time now but have never used it for geocaching. For some reason, I thought I could only use the hand-held version. Duh. I have just purchased a Colorado so I should never, ever log a DNF again. Right?? lol I will have to read that link and start using the Nuvi right away.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    ME
    Posts
    3,529

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by pm28570 View Post
    Cache Maine, that's a great link.
    How I use mine fits well into my caching style. I use it, essentially, for driving directions to get near to the cache, having entered the cords. I then prefer to use the hand-held to pinpoint. Going paperless is not a concern for me, as I do not rely on the hints or description so I never felt the need to print out the caches. If I need to re-visit the cache posting, I use my Blackberry to access it on geocaching.com. But, I have to admit, after the 4th or 5th visit to a cache that I haven't been able to locate, I am ready for any kind of assistance. Enjoy your new NUVI!
    And wait until you are caching in an area of Maine where cell phone service = a BIG 0! Cache Maine and I have been there = done that doing the DeLorme Challenge. Paperless via whatever method is important until Maine cell service comes into the century.........after we have probably passed into the next.

    Cache On - Cache Happy - go paperless with some device other than a phone if you are going to cache in Maine and especially upwards and eastwards of Bangor.

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