3. Shut Off That Pesky Electronic Compass!

Call me old fashioned, but I really can’t stand electronic compasses. Maybe it’s the fact that rather than rely on the natural magnetism of the earth you’re relying on yet one more electronic device to keep you from getting lost. Maybe it’s the fact that they cause you to drain your batteries faster. Maybe it’s that they really don’t work very well unless you’re walking fast enough to keep them on target (about 3 mph).

Actually, it probably has more to do with looking silly when you do that “spin around and calibrate” thing.

I had very little luck with the electronic compass on my GPS. It kept the needle on my navigation screen constantly pointing in the wrong direction. I was constantly stopping to recalibrate and getting more and more frustrated with it.

Then one day a cacher said, “Why don’t you just shut it off?” Well, I didn’t know how. So he showed me. All you’ve got to do is push the “Page” button and hold it for about two seconds. A little note will pop up that says, “Compass Turned Off.” Conversely, pushing it again will turn it back on.

Now, as always, your mileage may vary. If you’re having trouble with the navigation screen seeming to point you in the wrong direction, click the “Page” button and see what happens. If it doesn’t help, you can always turn it back on.

4. Set the Map to Track Up I know, I know, this is one of those great dividing lines between geocachers and all map users. Those old Boy Scouts who were taught how to read a map want to go with “North Up” on their map orientation. The rest of us who get lost walking through grocery stores seem to prefer “Track Up.” Isn’t it great that your GPS manufacturer had the wisdom to give you both options? Honestly, I tried “North Up” for the first several months of geocaching. Then one day I got turned around inside a state park and couldn’t figure out which road would get me back out! I noticed the adjustment on my map to “Track Up” and changed it. Instantly a whole new world opened up for me! Suddenly, I WAS the little triangle on my screen! Chalk it up to way too much Nintendo, but it just makes more sense to me to set the map to “Track Up.” If you’re having trouble navigating, if you find yourself turning your GPS sideways and upside down until it makes sense, you probably need to make this adjustment. How to do it: There are a couple options here. This is the easiest. Go to your map screen and hit “Menu.” Arrow down to “Setup Map” and press “Enter.” Your very first option should be “Orientation.” Arrow down to highlight it, press “Enter” to activate it, and arrow down again to adjust to “Track Up.” Hit “Enter” to activate. And then “Quit” to escape out. Of course, if you find that this just doesn’t work for you then do the whole process again and choose “North Up.” It’s just that easy.

Like the Tricked Out GPS? What would your dream GPS do? What functions would you include? And if you went totally nuts, what would it look like? Well, chances are it wouldn't look too much like the one above, but I had a lot of fun putting the image together. Click Here for a full-sized image of this GPS!

5. Customize the Order of Your Screens

Your Garmin GPSMap 60CSx comes with several screens that—depending on your own needs—you will either use or not use at all. It probably won’t take any time at all for you to get sick and tired of pressing “Page” or “Quit” to get past the screens you never use and get to the screen you need. So why not just remove the screens you never use?

Straight out of the box, the GPSmap 60CSx has these screens set as default:

Satellite – This is your view of the sky above. It tells you how many satellites you can currently see, what your current coordinates are and what your current accuracy is (provided you can see enough satellites to give you the latter two pieces of information).

Trip Computer – A source of a lot of information all located on one page. This one is also amazingly customizable. You’ll want to play around with this page until you get all the information you want just right.

Map – A very important screen as you navigate your way towards the cache. It’s especially important if you have maps that will route you on the roads.

Active Route – This screen only functions if you’re using the “Follow Road” function and routing yourself to your next destination. It’s a page of turn by turn directions.

Compass – The standard “Navigation” screen. In Geocaching Mode this will also allow you to claim your “Find” and move on to the next closest cache.

Altimeter – It tells you how high or low you are in relation to sea level. You may or may not find this information useful. If you’re in the great state of Kansas, get ready for a lot of very flat lines.

Main Menu – Where you’ll make many of the adjustments to modify your GPS.

In addition to these, there are several screens that you have the option of turning on and using or turning off and ignoring. Here in Illinois the altimeter doesn’t do me a bit of good.

The Highway screen is fun to look at but doesn’t provide a lot of useful information. I’ve turned it on a few times just to play with it (yet another product of the video game generation, I think).

If you were doing a day of power caching, the Recent Finds screen might be helpful to keep track of your count for the day. Again, these options are available to you. Don’t be afraid to play around with them.