Birdbath

It's good to hear that our borders are so secure. It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling that co-incides with my love of being taxed for what is being passed off as "homeland security".

There are many thoughtful and reasonable posts on this subject, but there is still a question that I haven't seen asked or answered. If a cache hider doesn't care and never checks the log after placing it in a cache, why bother to place one in the cache in the first place? If I go to the trouble to dig the log out with a pair of tweezers, find a dry place to write, and provide my own pen to sign with, the hider should at least give a rat's patoot that I responded to his placing of the log there.

It's kinda like studying hard for an exam, and then finding out the top scorer was a dude who stumbled onto a copy of the teacher's answer sheet.....who then had the moxie to claim to the world he got the best score....

In my mind it's a question of personal ethics. A few days ago I was circling a cache in a local park when a maintenance man drove up and pointed out the container out before I could stop him. I said "Well thanks for ruining this find for me!" He looked sort of funny and drove away. I can't bring myself to log the find since I was shown the actual location, and I would have the same feelings if I stumbled onto somebody hiding a cache. For me it's the hunt and the mystery of it all, and I very much appreciate someone taking the time and trouble to hide a cache for me to find. Take that away and I might as well stay home and watch Leave It To Beaver re-runs.

All the alternatives also look like bombs. So does your backpack. So does your car. Somethings look more like bombs to Joe Public than other things so it all comes down to perception and not reality. Perception becomes reality. Well that explains it! I don't have a backpack but my car looks like a bomb? No wonder I keep getting the "one finger salute" ......

We need to look at it from the perspective of someone who has no idea geocaching exists. The world is a nutty place today and people are on edge for good reason, so, better safe than sorry in most instances. Why use a container that could be easily mistaken for a pipe bomb when there are very good alternatives in the first place?

I ordered mine from ITUIT and they turned out fine. Took about 14 days altogether and they provided a proof before they finalized the order.

Offhand I don't see any real benefits to using this feature. It's just something else to go wrong and screw up my computer and/or the GPSr. Also, I won't download anything directly from ANY website into any of my devices without having the option to scan it first for viruses or worms. This was a lesson learned the hard way years ago. Nope. Everything is working fine so I won't fix it.

I haven't been geocaching all that long, but have already found a few micros with cards and stuff crammed in so tight it takes a pair of needle-nose pliers to get to the log book. I'd say cards are fine in small and larger caches but not in micros. I've left a few cards myself but only in the larger containers. Just use common sense about it.

Being fairly new to geocaching, I wonder how many cache owners actually check the written logs against what is logged on-line? It appears to me that one could log all the finds you want from your lazyboy, and unless the cache owners audit the logs nobody would be the wiser. Apparently for some people, a high "found" count is all that matters, regardless how they get the count.

I'm also thinking of ordering some sort of wooden nickel coin. Has anyone had any experience with this company? The prices seem very good. http://www.ituit.com/100-wooden-nickelsbrl...6d4482856cf424a

I would try a card reader, since its a dumb device that shouldn't lockup. Is there any way you could put the unit into USB mass storage mode and try to format the card that way? BINGO! I put it into USB Mass storage and re-downloaded. It is all back to normal now. Thank you very much! I owe you one.

I have a Legend Cx. I was loading a map into the unit from my laptop by USB cable, and decided to abort the loading. It appears this was a major goof. Now the unit won't boot up with the SD Memory card installed. I have probably corrupted the card. The unit boots up and works fine without the card. Is there some trick to re-formatting the card or is it fried? Any ideas anyone? Thanks.

You have it exactly right AStargirl. If the neighbors don't know about it, it is not their fault, and they have every reason to check it out or call the police. It's just they way things are in today's world. We can have fun but we also need to use some common sense, given there a lot of people who have no clue the geocaching hobby exists.

They had no right to do that. Dont be intimidated becasue some people are rude. They can ask, but they cant demand. Just because you had results that you didnt like- doesnt mean it should be ruined for everyone else. As I said, I'm not in this for the confrontations. I'm also not stupid enought to hang around and argue over a fifty cent piece of paper to sign. If I'm gonna squabble over my "rights" it will be for something that has some value. Everyone else can do as they please in these circumstances, I'm just talking for myself.

I was at a cache like this in Florida a few days ago. Although I was not yet on private property and still getting readings from the GPSR, some apparent neighors who didn't know about the cache came out and confronted me. Two guys and a woman who demanded to know who I was and what I was doing hanging around the area. I started to explain but they threatened to call the cops so I discreetly left. I'm fairly new at this and have learned a valuable lesson. NO FRONT YARD CACHES period!!!! I'm doing this for fun, not confrontations. My advice to anyone considering placing a cache in their's or somone else's front yard, would be to at least inform ALL the neighbors as to what is happening. If you are not comfortable talking to ALL the neighbors about it, then don't be stupid enough to expect anything but problems at some point. Just remember, there are crazies in this world who won't hesitate to shoot and ask questions later.

All of the topo map systems I've had an opportunity to look at are pretty poor in my estimation. This includes the Garmin topo stuff. One of the problems I've noticed is that almost all of them are out of date, some by years. On Google Earth, some of the areas I'm interested in have terrible resolution at close-in zoom settings, so they are useless. Maybe I'm just used to working with military map systems but until I see a truly good system, I won't waste any bucks on what is out there now.

In the last year or so I have had luck getting better prices for items like this at Amazon. Usually free shipping also. The one benefit to buying something at Wally World is the return policy----no questions asked. So it's a tossup in some ways.

I guess that's what I'm looking for...Some kind of permanent (well, let's say it oughta last a couple of years) film or coating. I was just getting ready to order a couple but I'll look somewhere else after reading this. Thanks for the headsup.

O.k. thanks for all the info. I'll wait and see if I can become aquainted with more local cachers in both areas before making a decision. If I can't do it the right way I won't do it at all.

Check with each of your local reviewers. In my areas of responsibility (NV and AZ) there are quite a few caches placed by snowbirds and are cared for by locals when they are out for the season. Also note that urban micros are scrutinized more since they are more susceptible to full/wet logs than ammo cans out in the desert. How do you locate or determine who the local reviewers are for a particular area?

I am a snowbird (retired). I spend approximately 6 months in Illinois, and 6 months in Florida. I am considering placing caches at either end, but wonder what the policy is for removing a cache while I am not there to maintain it. I would not want to place a cache, and then leave for 6 months and not be able to maintain it. Is it acceptable practice to maintain a cache for 6 months and then disable or withdraw it for 6 months until I'm back in the area? Thanks for any thoughts or input.

I hope the dude didn't quit his day job and head for Nashville.......

Has anyone found any vendors at Florida flea markets who handle GPS or Geocaching equipment?

Thanks to all for the info and advice. I ordered Invisible Shields for both units today.