eMagility » On the Trail

New at OpenCaching.com: Summer heats up with new series of caches

Garmin — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 19:41:52 +0000

If you've visited OpenCaching.com lately - or if you subscribe to "Opie's Logbook" - you know there have been many exciting developments in our geocaching community this spring and summer. If you haven't been to OpenCaching.com recently, we'll let Opie tell you what's new (and we have another new promotion coming up that we haven't even told Opie about, so you'll have to check back for details...):

Cache Series Pages – We know geocachers invest time & energy creating collections of themed caches. Our new Cache Series Pages allows you to create a landing page for related caches. Fellow geocachers can use this series page to discover your series and quickly download your entire series to a GPS device or GPX file. Create a series page from your profile page or check out a couple of great examples for the Kansas State Park Challenge and the North Country Trail Geotrail.

OpenCachers want your caches – We receive countless emails from happy OpenCachers. What's their most frequent request? They wish more people near them would list their geocaches on OpenCaching.com! Geocaches appear on OpenCaching.com because geocachers like you take the time to hide a cache and post the information to OpenCaching.com. Know a fun place to visit near your home? Hide a cache for others to find. Already have caches listed on another site? We provide a page to easily import those listings and let others discover your caches.

Finally, with so many new cachers joining OpenCaching.com in the last month - and so many people new to the activity as a whole - we’d like to remind you what we are all about.

Free: Download as much as you want. You’ll never have to pay.
One click: Center the map where you are going caching and download up to 5000 geocaches with one click.
Open: Third-party developers are encouraged to access OpenCaching.com’s data to make their own apps.
Community review: You get to see new caches as they are submitted and make sure they are following the rules.
Listening: The site is for you, so we listen to you when adding new features.

These changes are just the highlights of what’s new -- your feedback and support will shape OpenCaching.com into the future. We look forward to your guidance, your enthusiasm, and your caches to help build a better geocaching community.

Life-changing stories from Garmin customers

Garmin — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 20:57:30 +0000

Every day, we hear from customers around the world who are using Garmin products to explore more or just add a little fun to their everyday pursuits. We also receive stories about how our products have helped save or change lives. Recently, our in-house video team captured a few of these stories, straight from the customers. Hear how Forerunner helped Jason discovered a life-threatening heart condition. How Garmin marine electronics helped Capt. Frank and his crew navigate stormy seas at night. How nüvi got Jeff to the hospital as he was having a heart attack. How Garmin avionics with Synthetic Vision technology guide organ procurement missions at all times of day and night, in all kinds of weather. And how our Rino two-way radio/GPS units help Heart to Heart International provide medical relief and humanitarian aid in response to disasters like the Haiti earthquake. Thank you to these individuals and our customers around the world for your faith in our products and for sharing your stories. If you have a story to share, email us at stories@garmin.com.

New at OpenCaching.com: Take the 2011 Kansas State Park Challenge

Garmin — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 20:42:39 +0000

Having recently announced our new Series Caches, in which you can group similar caches to form a collection at OpenCaching.com, we're excited that the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism has used this new tool to create their 2011 State Park Challenge. This statewide contest, which has a total of 31 participating State Parks and Wildlife Areas, began in May and ends on Nov. 1. Only Official KDWPT Challenge caches are eligible for this statewide contest, and a complete list of rules, prizes, and entry forms can be found at KDWPT's website.

You can find the special KDWPT Series page at OpenCaching.com by clicking this link, which makes it simple to download the whole batch. And even if you don't complete all 31 caches, you can still submit a partially completed form to KDWPT and be entered to win some great Garmin accessories. If you have a similar idea for a Series or a promotion, contact us at http://bit.ly/OCmail and we'll work together to get things up

The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks currently manages 24 state parks across the state and The Prairie Spirit Trail. Most have access to reservoirs and wildlife areas. Many also have trails for hiking, biking or horseback riding. Fifteen state parks (Cedar Bluff, Cheney, Crawford, Cross Timbers, El Dorado, Eisenhower, Glen Elder, Kanopolis, Lovewell, Milford, Perry, Prairie Dog, Tuttle Creek, Webster, Fall River, Pomona and Wilson) now provide cabins, both primitive and modern. A few parks are preserved natural areas, allowing visitors to enjoy unspoiled wild Kansas. Many parks host annual events such as concerts, festivals, and competitions. Whatever your outdoor interest - hiking, camping, wildlife observation, fishing, bike riding, horseback riding, hunting, or just plain relaxing, a Kansas state park has what you're looking for. If you've never been to a Kansas state park, visit the website at http://www.kdwp.state.ks.us/ to find brochures for each of the Kansas state parks. There's a world of outdoor adventures waiting for you!

Teva Mountain Games: Serious fun with a series of caches

Garmin — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 18:50:31 +0000

Day 1 of the Teva Mountain Games - just picture the most amazing adventure sports and activities surrounded by breathtaking mountain scenery - is officially under way, and the Garmin booth is already one of the hottest spots in Gear Town. We started out our day with Jake on live TV with the fun folks of Good Morning Vail, then we did a media breakfast with Bear Naked's great granola and cereal, then we shifted focus to all geocaching all the time. We've hidden nearly a dozen caches around Vail of varying degrees of difficulty and terrain, and each of them will introduce you to a unique aspect of the Teva Mountain Games. And to commemorate our involvement in the Games, we've created a new "Series" category for caches at OpenCaching.com. As you can see from the Teva Mountain Games Series - http://www.opencaching.com/#!series/10000 - it's an easy way to group caches around a common theme. Maybe it's your way of creating a unique tour of your town, or to mark visits to state and national parks, but just as with all aspects of geocaching, it's up to your creativity.

So if you're in Vail, stop by the Garmin booth in Gear Town, where we're showing off the new products announced this week - the eTrex, Rino, Astro and GPSMAP 62 upgrades - and we're loaning out Garmin handhelds so that people can explore and cache while they take in the various events going on all weekend at the Games.

Some of the caches even have cameras in them so that you can snap a pic when you sign in. Look for those pictures in the coming weeks here on the Garmin blog.

Have a great weekend, wherever your adventures take you!

Hike down geotagged memory lane with GPSMAP 62′s built-in camera

Garmin — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 11:00:00 +0000

We're wrapping up our exciting week of product announcements with an addition to the GPSMAP 62 series of rugged outdoor handheld devices – a built-in 5 megapixel camera with automatic geotagging to capture the highlights of any adventure and allow you to share the locations or navigate back to that site. We're showing off GPSMAP 62stc and GPSMAP 62sc here at the Teva Mountain Games in Vail, CO, capping four days of fun that included this and other big news in the popular eTrex, Rino and Astro families.

“Hikers, hunters, mountain bikers and other outdoors enthusiasts often don’t have the time or energy to dig through their pack every time they see something memorable or worth sharing later,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. “The built-in camera seamlessly integrates photography into your basic navigation, whether you’re out for a day of leisurely sightseeing or serious reconnaissance – or simply trying to get back safely to where you started.”

Picture perfect: Whenever a picture is taken in stunning clarity with the 5 megapixel, auto-focus camera on GPSMAP 62stc or GPSMAP 62sc, the photograph is geotagged – meaning the location is saved and encoded into the file – so that the geographical information can be used at any time as a point of reference or as a destination that can be reached through GPS guidance and directions. And because the GPSMAP family is waterproof to IPX7 standards, the built-in camera will still be snapping photos even in the worst conditions. Ample built-in memory (3.5 GB for both models) allows you to take plenty of pictures on the trail and save the downloading and deciding for later. Once your GPSMAP 62stc or GPSMAP 62sc is connected via USB, you can use Garmin’s free BaseCamp software (http://garmin.com/basecamp) to easily store and share your photos. BaseCamp also helps you view, plan and organize your maps (in 2D or 3D), waypoints, routes and tracks – including elevation profiles – and send them to your Garmin handheld.

Options abound: Boasting a 2.6” sunlight-readable color display, intuitive push-button interface, up to 16 hours of battery life and a high-sensitivity GPS receiver and quad helix antenna for unparalleled reception, the GPSMAP 62 series features various models and custom dashboards to suit various activities and interests. And thanks to enhanced navigation and the 3D digital elevation model (DEM) data, users navigating to a destination on an active track will see changes in elevation ahead as well as where they’ve been. Also, waypoints and other key locations along the active route – such as start, end and high and low elevation points – appear on the map and active route pages. When choosing the best model for your lifestyle, it’s easy to remember that the “s” stands for integrated sensors (electronic compass and barometric altimeter), “t” denotes preloaded topographic maps, and “c” indicates the built-in camera described above. Learn more about the GPSMAP 62 models and features at the interactive minisite at http://www.garmin.com/gpsmap62.

What’s inside: GPSMAP 62 models with an “s” include a 3-axis tilt-compensated electronic compass and wireless connectivity for sharing routes, tracks, waypoints and geocaches between other compatible Garmin handhelds. These models feature a barometric altimeter that tracks changes in pressure to pinpoint your precise altitude. Users can also plot barometric pressure over time, which can help keep an eye on changing weather conditions. These devices also use ANT+ for wireless sharing between compatible devices, monitoring heart rate and cadence with those optional accessories, and interacting with chirp geocaching beacons (www.garmin.com/chirp).

Taming the terrain: GPSMAP 62 models with a “t” in the name feature preloaded 100K topographic maps for the entire United States (or preloaded 50K topographic mapping of Canada for the Canadian version). Detailed coverage includes major trails, urban and rural roads, interstates, highways, coastlines, rivers and lakes as well as national, state and local parks, forests and wilderness areas. In addition, you can search for points of interest by name or proximity to your location and view descriptive details for terrain contours, topo elevations, summits and geographical points.

Garmin Rolls Out Astro 320 — Our New Updated Dog Tracking Device

Garmin — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 20:20:09 +0000

Back in 2007, Garmin made waves when it introduced the original Astro Dog Tracking System. The latest version, announced today, has updated features that hunters have been asking for -- like increased range, a simplified user interface, and must-have mapping capability.

The new release solidifies Garmin's leadership and innovation as the world's leader in dog tracking.

For a full rundown of the new Astro 320's features, read the press release or visit the mini-site. The big dog just got better!

Chicago Store: Go-Garmin-Ground free shipping

Garmin — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 14:25:43 +0000

Starting today through June 30, the Garmin Chicago Store will ship any phone order of $100 or more to the lower 48 states for free! This dads and grads season, Garmin has something for everyone and every hobby. Whether you or the special person in your life drives, runs, bikes, hikes, golfs, boats or even flies, we’re here to help you find that perfect gift. Ask about the new touchscreen Forerunner 610, the voice-activated nuvi 3790 with free lifetime maps and traffic, or the new echo fishfinders. If dad's a golfer, he will love an Approach to help him measure yards and keep score. Ask about the $50 mail-in Approach rebate and other promotions, some exclusive to the Chicago Store.

Father’s Day is June 19, so place your order by June 10 for guaranteed delivery by June 17. Just call (312) 787-3221 and be sure to mention “Go-Garmin-Ground” to get free ground shipping on your order of $100 or more.

Garmin® Rolls Out New Rino® to Communicate, Locate and Explore

Garmin — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Rugged communication at its best - the redesigned and upgraded Rino^®610, 650 and 655t handheld two-way radios integrated with GPS. Boasting up to a 20-mile communication range the Rino 650 and 655t 5-watt FRS/GMRS radios have evolved to include a 2.6” glove-friendly touchscreen and are packed full of powerful features like a barometric altimeter, 3-axis tilt compensated compass and NOAA weather radio. The Rino was announced in preparation for the Teva Mountain Games in Vail, CO, where it will be prominently displayed at the Garmin booth June 3-5.

“Whether you’re a hunter looking for peace of mind in the woods, a ski patroller monitoring conditions in the Rockies or simply want to enjoy the outdoors with the benefit of radio communication and GPS, the new Rino has what you need,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. “Having the ability to know where someone is in your hunting group at all times and to communicate freely with them provides a new level of safety only found from Rino.”

Find Your Friends: Rino’s unique position reporting capability lets you send your exact location to other Rino users so they can see it on their map page. And after pairing for the first time you will be able to see your friends even in situations where they cannot call for help or tell you their position. You can also send unit-to-unit text messages to other Rino users in your area – it’s ideal for loud or windy conditions, or just when you don’t want to disturb the wildlife. Gone are the days of missing a note as Rino timestamps and records the notes you receive from contacts for later review or forwarding. Plus, improved audio performance means it’s easy to communicate with any other conventional FRS/GMRS radio in the area. The device can be useful in an emergency, or just a handy way to keep tabs on your hunting party, hiking partner, family or friends.

Weather Alerts, Wherever you Go: For added safety, Rino 650 and 655t feature a built-in NOAA weather radio that can help you avoid hazardous weather. The radio supports Specific Area Message Encoding, which allows you to see National Weather Service warnings and watches displayed county-by-county on the map screen so you can stay informed at a glance when you need to be in the know. The 650 and 655t are powered by a removable and rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack lasting up to 14 hours or up to 18 hours with the optional AA battery pack.

Turn On and Go: Each device in the Rino series has a high-sensitivity GPS receiver with HotFix^®, which automatically calculates and stores critical satellite information and can use that information to quickly calculate a position so you can spend more time active and less time waiting. And with multiple profiles like Marine, Recreational and Automotive to name a few, Rino can be customized to match whatever activity you might be performing. To see Rino in action visit, www.garmin.com/rino

Value Minded: Garmin’s Rino 610 is an entry level 1-watt FRS/GMRS radio handheld GPS radio is powered by four AA batteries, lasts up to 18 hours and comes pre-loaded with a worldwide basemap. With its spacious 1.7GB of internal memory Rino makes it easy to add maps with its wide array of detailed topographic, marine and road maps. Rino 610 lets you load TOPO U.S. 24K maps and hit the trail or Custom Maps, free software that transforms paper and electronic maps into downloadable maps for your device.

Share Wirelessly: With Rino 650 and 655t, you can share your waypoints, tracks, routes and geocaches wirelessly with other compatible Garmin GPS devices. Once your Rino is connected via USB, download BaseCamp™ software (www.garmin.com/basecamp) to easily store and share your photos. BaseCamp also helps you view, plan and organize your maps (in 2D or 3D), waypoints, routes and tracks – including elevation profiles – and send them to your Garmin handheld.

Document Your Journey: Never miss a memory with Rino 655t’s built-in 5-megapixel autofocus camera; you'll be able to capture the highlights of your outings. Each photo is automatically geotagged with the location of where it was taken, allowing you – or those you share your photos with – to easily navigate back to that spot in the future. Along with its camera, Rino 655t comes pre-loaded with TOPO 100k maps.

The new Rino devices are expected to be available in the third quarter of 2011. The Rino 610 and 650 have a suggested retail price of $349 and $499.99, respectively. The Rino 655t has a suggested retail price of $599.99. Additional information about the Rino series is available at www.garmin.com or www.garmin.blogs.com. Garmin has spent more than 20 years developing technologies and innovations to enhance users’ lives, making it a household name in the automotive, aviation, marine, wireless, outdoor and fitness industries.

The New eTrex: Garmin’s Best Selling GPS Handheld Just Got Better

Garmin — Tue, 31 May 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Today we announced the redesigned and upgraded eTrex handheld GPS device – evolving from one of the world’s most reliable and popular handhelds, with millions sold. This entry level option has been given enhanced ergonomics, an improved interface, paperless geocaching and in certain models, a 65k color screen with expanded mapping capabilities. These new additions - along with up to 25 hours of battery life - make the new eTrex more versatile and user-friendly, while maintaining its storied toughness and durability. The eTrex was announced in preparation for the Teva Mountain Games in Vail, CO, where it will be prominently displayed at the Garmin booth June 3-5.

“The eTrex has been a staple within our handheld GPS lineup for over 10 years and has been a favorite among hikers, hunters and geocachers who want the basics; simple, compact, lightweight and accurate,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. “Using our industry leading experience and innovative technology, we designed the new eTrex to stand up against whatever Mother Nature throws at it.”

Go Green, Go Paperless: Take this powerful pocket-size GPS device with you on your next geocaching adventure and leave the paper print-outs at home. The new eTrex series supports geocaching GPX files for downloading geocache locations and details straight to the unit using its high-speed USB connection. The eTrex stores and displays key information, including location, terrain, difficulty, hints and descriptions, which means no more manually entering coordinates and those paper print outs! To start paperless geocaching, simply upload the GPX file to your unit and start hunting for caches. Caches can be downloaded from OpenCaching.com, a completely free online community for creating, sharing and finding geocaches around the world.

Save Green: For the budget savvy consumer looking for a basic GPS device, Garmin offers eTrex 10. This basic handheld GPS is armed with a sunlight-readable monochrome display and a worldwide basemap making it easier than ever to know where you are and where you are headed next. eTrex 10 is the perfect device for families looking to get into the growing community of geocaching, yet is robust enough for an avid hunter to mark his or her favorite spots with. To see eTrex in action visit, www.garmin.com/etrex

See The Way: View a wide array of detailed topographic, marine, and road maps on eTrex 20 and 30, thanks to the enhanced 2.2 inch 65k color, sunlight readable display. Sold separately, those maps include TOPO U.S. 24K to hit the trail, BlueChart® g2 preloaded cards for a great day on the water or City Navigator® maps for turn-by-turn routing on roads. Download BaseCamp™ (www.garmin.com/basecamp), a free utility that allows users to plan and manage trips, routes, tracks, and waypoints and transfer them between the computer and eTrex. BaseCamp lets users view both 24K and 100K topo maps in 2D or 3D renderings. Another convenient window depicts the elevation profile currently displayed. And with Track Draw, users can trace a fluid track and get an immediate elevation profile to determine the difficulty of their hike or geocaching adventure.

Stay on Course: eTrex 30 takes all the features mentioned and adds a built-in 3-axis tilt-compensated electronic compass, which shows your heading even when you’re standing still, without holding it level. Also added is a barometric altimeter which tracks changes in pressure to pinpoint your precise altitude and wireless unit-to-unit data transfer with compatible devices. This top of the line offering within the new eTrex series was designed for the outdoor enthusiasts who want easy access to the most amount of information in small compact product.

The new eTrex devices are expected to be available in the third quarter of 2011. The eTrex 10 and 20 have a suggested retail price of $119.99 and $199.99, respectively. The eTrex 30 has a suggested retail price of $299.99. Additional information about the eTrex series is available at www.garmin.com or www.garmin.blogs.com. Garmin has spent more than 20 years developing technologies and innovations to enhance users’ lives, making it a household name in the automotive, aviation, marine, wireless, outdoor and fitness industries.

Adopt A Cache From OpenCaching.com and Garmin

Garmin — Fri, 27 May 2011 21:07:02 +0000

A few weeks ago we announced our partnership with the Teva Mountain Games in Vail, Colorado, June 3-5 as the official GPS sponsor. At the conclusion of our geocaching event we had planned on bringing home all of our hidden caches. That was until we thought it would be an awesome idea to leave some of the caches behind for you to adopt. We are also going to give the new cache owners a limited edition GPSMAP 62 Geocoin and a Teva Mountain Games pathtag.

For those of you thinking about jumping at this oportunity, please remember this will become your cache, so take pride in it. You will need to come back often to clear trash, view the logbook and make sure everything is where it should be. Cache owners should also check the logs online regularly to check for any issues people have and make adjustments accordingly.

If you would like to adopt one of our caches in Vail, please send a note to garminblogs@garmin.com and tell us why you should be selected. To see other geocaches in your area visit www.opencaching.com.

We'll let the winners know next week!!