Doing Multis with Oregon 550

noikmeister · Post by **noikmeister** » 13 May 11 7:48 pm

I've just done a multi with my Oregon 550 and found it most unsatisfactory.

The cache was one with 5 waypoints and all were question to answer types. So I go to WP1 read the question get the answer then I want to navigate to with the compass to WP2. There doesn't seem to be any way to go to child waypoints of a multi cache. So instead I went to Find Another and chose WP2 and wander over to that, but now I want the description again so I have to select to navigate to the parent cache and repeat the process another 3 times for the other waypoints.

Am I missing something or is that what everyone else does? BTW I transferred the caches to the GPS using GSAK.

Post by **caughtatwork** » 13 May 11 7:55 pm

You should have a button for "next stage". That updates the co-ordinates for the next stage and leaves the description intact.
If you don't have that you may need a firmware upgrade.

Big Matt and Shell · Post by **Big Matt and Shell** » 13 May 11 7:56 pm

You got it! This has been a flaw since the outset.

They now have the next stage functionality but I'm not a big fan. We basically have Shell's iPhone to get the info from these days while we use the GPS for the navigation.

gmj3191 · Post by **gmj3191** » 13 May 11 8:15 pm

Big Matt and Shell wrote:You got it! This has been a flaw since the outset.

They now have the next stage functionality but I'm not a big fan. We basically have Shell's iPhone to get the info from these days while we use the GPS for the navigation.

The beauty of the Next Stage function is it gives you the coords to go to while leaving all the other cache details(description, hint, logs) available at the push of a button, if you're using the Geocaching -Active dashboard.
None of this is really explained in the manual.
What we need in the manual is a step by step method to follow to find a cache using the various facilities available as it takes a while to figure it out.

noikmeister · Post by **noikmeister** » 13 May 11 8:21 pm

Well I do have the Next Stage feature, but I have only used that when you have to calculate the next stage and input it manually. This was one where the 5 waypoints were all children. I've just had a fiddle with another multi and the Next Stage does only allow you to enter the coordinates. So I guess I have to memorise the next digits and put them it. How tiresome.

mtrax · Post by **mtrax** » 13 May 11 8:47 pm

I would suggest you feedback this directly to Garmin..
I have previously on other issues.

gmj3191 · Post by **gmj3191** » 13 May 11 9:57 pm

norkmeister wrote:Well I do have the Next Stage feature, but I have only used that when you have to calculate the next stage and input it manually. This was one where the 5 waypoints were all children. I've just had a fiddle with another multi and the Next Stage does only allow you to enter the coordinates. So I guess I have to memorise the next digits and put them it. How tiresome.

How do you want it to work?

noikmeister · Post by **noikmeister** » 13 May 11 10:08 pm

gmj3191 wrote:
norkmeister wrote:Well I do have the Next Stage feature, but I have only used that when you have to calculate the next stage and input it manually. This was one where the 5 waypoints were all children. I've just had a fiddle with another multi and the Next Stage does only allow you to enter the coordinates. So I guess I have to memorise the next digits and put them it. How tiresome.
How do you want it to work?

Well I think that there should be a link between the children and the parent. That on the main cache page there should be a button that lists all the children and allows you to navigate to one and stil maintain the parent cache description and hint etc.

Geohunter on Android has this funciton and it works well. A shame I can't say the same for the GPS in my phone.

gmj3191 · Post by **gmj3191** » 14 May 11 1:35 am

The children can be POIs or waypoints and you can just flip between them.
The GSAK macro gives you options there.

Bewilderbeest · Post by **Bewilderbeest** » 16 May 11 8:37 am

Big Matt and Shell wrote:You got it! This has been a flaw since the outset.

They now have the next stage functionality but I'm not a big fan. We basically have Shell's iPhone to get the info from these days while we use the GPS for the navigation.

Yep, I do the same thing (well, I use my iphone, not Shell's). Still, its improved since the old days of using the yellow etrex with manually entered WPs and the cache descriptions in Cachemate on the Z22!

noikmeister · Post by **noikmeister** » 16 May 11 9:04 am

Bewilderbeest wrote:
Big Matt and Shell wrote:You got it! This has been a flaw since the outset.

They now have the next stage functionality but I'm not a big fan. We basically have Shell's iPhone to get the info from these days while we use the GPS for the navigation.
Yep, I do the same thing (well, I use my iphone, not Shell's). Still, its improved since the old days of using the yellow etrex with manually entered WPs and the cache descriptions in Cachemate on the Z22!

Has it? You are still using multiple devices. I thought that is the reason I got the Oregon (that and the maps

)

gmj3191 · Post by **gmj3191** » 16 May 11 11:15 am

The ideal would be a windows like interface on the Oregon where you could just swap backwards and forwards between them without having to back up the menu and then back down again. I agree it is pretty awkward, depending upon upon the multi.
I find a notebook is the best accessory.

Rogue · Post by **Rogue** » 16 May 11 12:13 pm

A problem I had with the Next Stage function was that I went to WP1 and got the coords for the final location and entered them in the Next Stage section, but when I got home to log my caches, only the original listed coords were in my GPS, I couldn't find any way to access the final location coords I had entered under the Next Stage, so I didn't have a record of where the final location was.

Post by **caughtatwork** » 16 May 11 12:15 pm

Next Stage is transient.
If you update next stage for cache A, then update next stage for cache B, cache A no longer has a next stage.
There should be a GPX file in the Garmin / GPX directly containing the information for the next stage waypoint.

gmj3191 · Post by **gmj3191** » 16 May 11 12:27 pm

Rogue wrote:A problem I had with the Next Stage function was that I went to WP1 and got the coords for the final location and entered them in the Next Stage section, but when I got home to log my caches, only the original listed coords were in my GPS, I couldn't find any way to access the final location coords I had entered under the Next Stage, so I didn't have a record of where the final location was.

If I know that I'm not going to finish the multi there and then I just create a new waypoint for the Final Locn, which is retained permanently.
Only issue with that is it is a freestanding waypoint not associated with the cache description, hint, logs etc.

Geocaching Australia

Doing Multis with Oregon 550

Doing Multis with Oregon 550

Re: Doing Multis with Oregon 550

Re: Doing Multis with Oregon 550

Re: Doing Multis with Oregon 550

Re: Doing Multis with Oregon 550

Re: Doing Multis with Oregon 550

Re: Doing Multis with Oregon 550

Re: Doing Multis with Oregon 550

Re: Doing Multis with Oregon 550

Re: Doing Multis with Oregon 550

Re: Doing Multis with Oregon 550

Re: Doing Multis with Oregon 550

Re: Doing Multis with Oregon 550

Re: Doing Multis with Oregon 550

Re: Doing Multis with Oregon 550