540TM WTE: Can I revert back to 9.061?

[TT193]

I'm considering upgrading my 540TM WTE (RZ series) to 9.4, but have a few questions before I do:

1. Most importantly, can I easily revert back to 9.061 from 9.4 if I don't like the update? I made a Windows Explorer backup.

Other questions:
2. I use my TT for geocaching. When I'm in walking mode, do the GPS coordinates still update in real time on the satellite screen?

3. I'm in the USA and have a combination autocharger/traffic receiver (I believe it's called RDS or something). Will traffic updates still work?

4. Will I still get warned about Safety Cameras?

5. Will I continue to get free lifetime map updates?

Thanks in advance!

 

[dhn]

1. If you have the backup, then you can revert to it.
2. No consumer brand gps is 100% accurate. If you go for a walk with it, you'll find the car icon does not refresh with every step you take. Supermod canderson has used his units for geocaching I think and can give more information.
3. With the unit attached to the cigarette outlet in the car, traffic info is refreshed every 15 minutes
4. Yes.
5. If you activated the 'M' code of your unit online or by calling customer service, you get lifetime maps.

 

[canderson]

@TT193
While you can use your 540 for caching, specifically, to locate a cache, I really cannot recommend it. That said, if you find yourself doing so, then yes, on the satellite info page of 9.400 (Status and information / GPS Status), the coordinate data will continue to be 'real' and not 'road-snapped' as it was on some earlier firmware versions.

The problems with using a TomTom for caching are battery life and form factor. As you've probably discovered, you're not going to spend much time in the field with your TomTom before the battery poops out. It's also not very practical when it comes to water resistance (it's not), and doesn't take well to being dropped. It's GREAT if you want to load up your PQ for getting to the general site, though. If you'd like, I can explain how to take your entire list of caches from a Pocket Query and load them all into your TomTom.

Here's a screen shot off mine. The smileys are my finds, and the ones with the / are the ones I've found that have been archived. That gc.com icon for that one called Rockpile Revenge indicates that I haven't found it. It's GC1734A, it's a "M"icro, difficulty is "D" which is 4.5 (1=1, A=1.5, 2=2, B=2.5, etc.), the terrain is 3, and the last 4 logs are 3 not-founds and 1 find.

 

[TT193]

Thank you both.

@canderson
Yes, please tell me how you loaded your Pocket Query to help you get to the general site. That screenshot you posted looks pretty cool.

Thus far I've actually been pretty impressed with the 540's GPS coordinate accuracy on the satellite screen when in walking mode. I do have to use a compass in conjunction with it though, which is a bit of a pain, but does work well.

 

[canderson]

@TT193
Are you familiar with a program called GSAK? That's where the discussion will start, and then I'll point you to another thread here where (if I can find it) all of the gory details reside. It's REALLY nice to have separate icons for all of my found, archived found, owned, and yet-to-be-found caches right on screen.

 

[TT193]

@TT193
Are you familiar with a program called GSAK? That's where the discussion will start, and then I'll point you to another thread here where (if I can find it) all of the gory details reside. It's REALLY nice to have separate icons for all of my found, archived found, owned, and yet-to-be-found caches right on screen.

I'm not familiar with GSAK, beyond what I was able to find out after a quick Google search.

Yes, the separate icons are awesome!

 

[canderson]

See posts #10 and #11 in this thread (click here => https://www.tomtomforums.com/t24407-geocaching-my-tomtom-unit.html ) for how I do the creation of the POI categories and use my TomTom for caching.

GSAK is quite the tool. It will be 1000% more than you will probably ever find a reason to use, but if you can think of something that needs to be done, including creating TomTom *.ov2 files from Groundspeak's *.gpx files, it's going to do it for you.

While the process I outline looks complicated, once I had it set up, it takes me less than 5 minutes to generate all 4 of the TomTom POI categories each week (including the big one with 4700+ found caches) from my Pocket Queries at gc.com. The use of Pocket Queries does presume that you have a Premium membership at gc.com, but once you get the hang of using them, if you are serious or become serious about the game, it will be the best $30 a year you can spend on the hobby.

After reading those posts, feel free to bounce back with any questions.

 

[TT193]

Thank you for redirecting me to the other thread. The posts are detailed and seem like they will be pretty straightforward to follow.

Also, I just realized that it was your post #11 on that thread that I read awhile back that made it possible for me to go geocaching with my 540 in the first place! Without having known about your compass recommendation or how many feet latitude and longitude represent, it would have been utterly hopeless. So thank you for that too!