Newbie Questions

I live in Spain and have walked, and led walks, in the local mountains for ten years. There are no good maps available and like most local walkers I follow tracks from memory. Recently I bought a Garmin Etrex 10 to record these walks. I record waymarks during the walk and when I get home create routes and tracks using BaseCamp and MapSource. So far I have recorded about ten.

I have experienced some difficulty using the Etrex 10. I am not sure whether it is my fault, or whether the satnav is faulty. So advice would be appreciated.

I find when I use the toggle it is not very responsive. It often "freezes" and nothing happens. Perhaps I am using it too fast?

This happens quite a lot when I am trying to create a waymark. In fact I now always check on the waypoint manager page and find that I have either not created a waypoint at all, or I have created two in the same location.

I find the GPS and Battery indicator particularly difficult.

On one walk the GPS indicator did not show anything at all. Despite this I was able to record waymarks. But does this mean that they will be incorrect?

The battery indicator is even worse. I does not show any indication that there is any life in the battery. This happened even when I replaced them with new batteries. Obviously they were working, because I could record waymarks.

So far I have recorded routes and tracks, but have not put it to the test by trying to follow one. I intend to do so next week for the first time. Because I do not have any detailed maps loaded I will have to follow the route using the compass. Could someone please list the steps I need to follow to do so.

 

Thanks for your reply.

I have selected the correct battery type and is works ok now.

I will check out the Open Street Maps