Thin Air Freak

One of my very first GPSr's was a Magellan Platinum, and way more than 10 years later I still use it. And not just for Geocaching. I still use it for road and biking navigation, and logging. About 5 years ago I "altered" the firmware to be able to receive the newer satellite signals and there are times now I think it's more accurate than either of my much newer Garmins. Many many years ago I learned how to use the card access to update the waypoints and map data. I like that I can load multiple maps onto the card and have access to them no matter where I am (as when I drive off one loaded map onto another). And although there is a limit of 500 waypoints, I use the filter tool in GSAK to break each file into distances from center point. That way as I get farther from home I can load new waypoint files that covers the area I'm in. I also went paperless a long time ago using Palms and Cachemate (and have recently gone to the Android based Cachemate app). But I still use the Magellan as my primary GPSr. I love my Maggie...

I've had for many many years 2 Magellans that I use almost constantly. My very first exposure to GPS was a Magellan Companion that connects directly to my Palm m515. This was a great inovation way back when. In conjuction with the Magellan Nav Comp, Cetus GPS, CacheMate and CacheNav, and Delorme XMap software installed on the Palm, I have pretty much all the features of a modern hand held GPSr, except a bit clunky. I had so much luck with the Magellan Companion I soon upgraded to the Meridian Platinum. At the time it was pretty much the only hand held that allowed the use of SD cards for map and waypoint storage. Something even today's new units can't seem to muster very well. I still use the Palm based Companion and the Platinum, mostly the Platinum. In my truck it's the primary GPSr. But then color screens started coming on the market (granted my Palm m515 had a color screen, but as previously mentioned, it was a bit clunky to operate and handle, and had no decent means of resting on my dash), and I wanted a color screen. I would have stayed with Magellan if they had any decent units. The Meridian Color had come out, but it was evident very soon that Magellan had no intentions of standing behind their product line. They started listing all of the Meridians (Marine, Color, and Platinum) as legacy units. I looked at the Magellan Explorist units, but they were too small, too pricy, and again it appeared as if Magellan wasn't really standing behind their product lines. By the times some of those units hit the market, they were already being taken off the Magellan line up. If it's one thing that most GPS consumers want, it's a degree of loyalty from the GPS manufacturer. So I was forced to look at Garmin. I'm not going to say that making the move to Garmin was a bad move. I bought a GPSMap60cs and I'm very pleased with it. The unit had been around a bit and although it didn't have any of the expanded memory options the Magellans had, it had color and seemed to be hanging in there as far as the manufacturer and the end users. I wanted another hand held, and once again looked at Magellan. Again they didn't seem to have any real clear devotion to any one line of hand helds. Back to Garmin. This time I bought the GPSMap60scx. I liked the 60cs so well, and with the expanded memory option, I thought it would replace my Platinum. Not till I brought it home and started using it did I find that the SD card is for maps, and maps only. No waypoint, track, or routing storage (although I have since found I can use the POI loader to load waypoints as POI's). I've purchsed several other GPS receivers since the 60csx, but they are more loggers and blue tooth transmitters for the Palms I use (I still use my m515 and have added a Palm T|X with Delorme maps to my collection). Magellan has definitely had a problem with customer service and unit loyalty. Garmin on the other hand has greatly exceled at unit loyalty and customer service. I still use my Platinum, whenever I go geocaching, hiking or bike riding. I love the unit, and I fear for the day it bites the dust. I get great lock in the woods, often times gets me closer to a cache than either of the Garmins, and I truly love the expanded storage capabilities. I'm a contradiction, I'm a devoted Magellan user, but I recommend Garmin to newbies.

There is no better printed manual out there for any GPS unit then the Groundspeak forum. I've wasted a lot of money buying various books on GPS and the such, and it seems I always end up back here in the forums. In fact, there are forums for any and every device, technique, hobby, sport, interest, etc; and they are far beyond any information you could get out of a book. I use Magellan (Platinum and Companion) and Garmin (60CS and 60CSx) units, in conjunction with DeLorme mapping (installed on my laptop and my Palm m515 and TX), with Palm based CacheMate for paperless, and I have gotten so much information and assistance from the various forums for each one of the devices.

You should already have the instructions for the task you are seeking printed out. Not sure about your unit, but when I got my units (I own 5 GPSr's) they all came with an instruction booklet. It's a marvelous aid.. Basically what you want to do is put in the coordinates you are intending to hike/boat to, and have the unit show you the directions. Most units give distance to destination. Almost all hand held units have a backtrack feature. That can be used to get out tyhe same way you went in, and get you back to the same final destination numerous times (as long as you dont delete the backtrack, and start from the same point every time) This is all valid if you have a hand held or portable unit..

POSTED BY ME JULY 1, 2005 TOPIC: "Your vision of the future of geocaching"

My prefrence is that FTF and/or FTL means nothing. Not sure about other areas, but far too many times here I've seen FTF go to family members or close friends (even though they swear they haven't been tipped off as to the exact location of a cache). And there are those that wait by the computer or cell phone, waiting for a cache to open up, and they dash there breaking whatever laws necessary, just to say I found it first. I for one think FTF and FTL means absolutely nothing. My trivial number of FTF's were accidents, and are of no significance to me, nor should they be to anyone else.

Many years ago I did often times place small pocket knives / key fobs in caches. The blade was no more than 1 to 1½ inches long, much shorter than some of the letter openers I've found in caches. I have always carried a small pocket knife, and each one of my vehicles has at least 2. They are a very useful item to have (especially now days with the problems we all suffer with nano logs). I believe many people do carry, or at least have access to a knife of some sort when caching. Yes, we all know that small box cutters have been used to take planes hostage, and yes, women are urged to use their keys as defensive weapons, and pens and pencils have been the cause of many serious injuries. (from what I've seen on the news, prisoners have a better selection of weapons in their cells than I could ever come up with to place in a cache) Cell phones have been attributed to a lot of home made bombs, but millions of people carry one. Thousands of children die each year due to choking on the small items I regularly find in caches. And I'm sure most serious Geocachers have suffered more injuries trying to locate a cache then from any of the items in a cache (I've drawn blood on several caches due to broken bottles, fences, thorns, tree limbs, or even an irrate mother robin protecting her brood). I've always tried to leave quality items that are useful to someone. I agree there has to be a certain level of protective standards in our sport. But I've also seen how untethered paranoia can damage our sport. We've all read articles where cache containers have caused the local bomb squads to be summoned, or people hiding or looking for caches near or on bridges or buildings have been stopped and questioned by LEO's. And the fact that many cities/towns/districts will not allow caches to be placed in their domain only stiffens the arguement that paranoia has effected Geocaching. I do not trade knives anymore, but most of the time I do not trade items at all (the missus still goes goo-goo gaa-gaa over some trinkets). It's too much of a hassle. As much as I dislike micros and nanos, I enjoy their simplicity and lack of swag. I'm in it for the search and find, not the trinkets If people think the caches are full of "junk," then it is partially their responsibility to upgrade that level of swag in the cache. Trade up if items are seen as "junk." Or don't trade at all. I've spent a fortune on equipment (GPSr's, palms, software, etc), bags, proper clothing, and medicine (I should own stock in DEET and Ivy Block), So the $100 a year I spend for decent swag is nothing Never be afraid to add a pen or pencil. If the baggie is torn or in bad shape, replace it. If the container is broken or defective, fix or let owner know. If one feels that something in the cache is offensive/dangerous, then take it and replace it with something that is appropriate to the cache and the sport. But all of this is just my opinion, and since I'm extremely insignificant in the grand scheme of things, it really doesn't matter what I think.

Basically I do not see too many problems with this type of cache. I for one do not, nor most likely will I ever, own a cell phone. I see them as an expensive electronic leash. My reason for Geocaching is to relax, and basically disregard the rat race we all live in. I only accept the use of an electronic device (GPSr) now because I don't care to use a compass and a map to find things like I did in Colorado when looking for old ghost towns. But that is my preference. Most people own and use cell phones when Geocaching, for various reasons. Some use the GPS technology most phones have now. Many, I've noticed lately, have used cell phones to call their buddies or friends to get the exact location to a cache they might be having a hard time finding. (doesn't seem anyone wants to search for them anymore). And most apparently cannot be out of touch from civilization for more than a few minutes. It basically comes down to the choice a specific Geocacher decides to make. Anyone can refuse to do any cache they chose, for whatever reason. I personally refuse to do some that involve extensive bushwacking due to my highly allergic reaction to poison ivy, and my wife's physical limitations. I also have refused to do some that are in my own opinion risky (I'm not sticking my hand that far into a tree hollow, or not climbing that far up the side of that wet slope, etc). If someone wants to call a number with their cell phone, and risk the consequences, then let them. We all take the same risk when we order something online and use a credit card to pay for it (since I'm assuming that all of us here do own and use a computer and the internet). If it turns out to be a bad idea, then slowly the general Geocaching populace will turn it's collective nose at it. Or, as so many other things in Geocaching has done over the years, it will evolve and develop into an acceptable means to hide and find. (when I started Geocaching the idea of a nano was considered obsurd, and tupperware was just starting to be accepted over the old 50 caliber ammo cans). We humans hate change, but if it wasn't for our extreme ability to change, we would have gone the way of the dinosaurs.

Because of this very attitude among so many cachers, the FTF means absolutely nothing to me. The person hiding the cache might as well just have their buddies sign the log sheet before even placing the cache. It does amaze me how so many people are so intent on the number of "finds", and the FTF's. I've even seen several cachers that relog the same cache as a "find" multiple times. All they seem to do is wait a year or so and then "re-find" it all over again, and relog it. It's almost the same thing as so many cachers that refuse to log a DNF, as if they are ashamed that they did not find a cache. I recently had a fellow cacher tell me that logging a DNF is a way to honor the owners ability to hide a cache. I truly love this sport/hobby, and get great pleasure in each of the finds I make. But the numbers mean nothing to me, as do who finds it first. As much as I respect the Geocaching community as a whole, I tend to avoid much contact with the group because I don't want to be a part of the current attitude. Call me old fashioned, I guess..

I went paperless a few years ago using a Palm 515m with CacheMate. I also have Delorme Street Atlas Handheld installed so I have access to a street level map of whichever area I'm heading into. Since I also have a Magellan Companion that attaches to the 515m, I can see exactly where I am on the Delorme map. If I plan on trying 5 or more caches in a single trip, I do print out a color aerial map from USAPhotMaps to give me a rough idea where I am (based upon my GPSr map), and where I need to go. There are also times where I'll simply plan a route looking at the aerial map on the computer, writing down the sequence of caches along a specific route. This way I can design not only my route, but also the level of difficulty I want to get into with the caches before I even leave the house.. (bushwacking, I make sure I wear Ivy proof clothes and boots; urban caches , I can wear shorts and sandals) My fall back is I always carry a Delorme Gazetteer state book and a compass in each of my vehicles.

I started with a Magellan Companion for my Palm m515 Got a Radio Shack DigiTraveler unit for my laptop Bought a Magellan Platinum Got a Garmin Map60CS Eventually got Garmin Map60CSX (thought the SiRF chip would be better, but I have been proven wrong) Recently got a Wintec WBT-201 for bluetooth enabled Palm TX and Laptop (UBlox ATR beats the SiRF chip by a long shot) It's also a great GPS data logger I still use the Companion and the Platinum for Geocaching I use the Garmins for local driving, and for Geocaching and use the Wintec for longer trips (with TX and/or laptop)

I bought my first Maggie back in 2002. It was a Magellan Companion for use with my Palm m515. I got immediate response from the company when I ordered it, and very fast rebate. My son bought a Gamin Legend a few months later. At that time there weren't very many good GPSr's on the market (unless you were filthy rich or owned some sort of surveying, mapping, or government aided company). I loved my Companion (still do), and my son loved his Legend (he still does). About a year later I bought a Maggie Platinum. The reason I made the choice had nothing to do with customer service, it had to do with it being one of the few with a larger screen (I have to admit, I'm older and need a larger screen), memory card capability (very few receivers at the time that had that), and buttons on the front instead of the side. WAAS was just beginning to be a requirement, as was uploading of waypoints. I had played with my sons Legend, and although a great unit, I was not comfortable with the buttons on the side. Hence a lot of other units with buttons on the front at the time were ruled out. Since then every one had larger screens (although Magellan seems to be sliding backward on that item with their Explorists units), buttons on the front, memory card capabilites, color screens, uploadable waypoints, and all of the other things that Magellan put into their Meridian series. 5 years later and the market is overflowing with choices and options. I do still consider getting a Meridian Color since they are still out there to be purchased. I have though, bought myself a Garmin Map60CS, a Map60SCX, and most recently a Wintec WBT-201 for use with my Bluetooth enabled Palm TX and laptop. I'm still a true Magellan believer, even though I do own other units than Maggie. But I'm also a true Ford fan, even though I drive a Jeep and Dodge 4x4 PU. It comes down to personal preference, availability, price, and ease of use. 5 or 10 years from now, who knows, Garmin might be suffering the same fate that Magellan is suffering now.

I started in Geocaching many years ago, and my first GPSr was a Palm m515 connected to a Magellan Companion receiver. The Companion physically attached to the Palm, and was quite accurate. I had Delorme Xmap software installed, so I had maps of whatever area I was adventuring into, as well as road maps showing me exactly where I was, and how to get to those areasI wanted. I also had Cachemate and Cachenav installed, so I had fingertip access to the latest Geocaches. The Cachnav also allowed me to use the Magellan Companion in conjunction with the Cachmate database to take me to any cache I was interested in. And with the Geocache.com membership I could get all the queries I wanted, exporting them to Cachemate via GSAK. (If your truly serious about paperless, become a premium member of Geocache.com, purchase and install licensed GSAK and Cachemate. Money well spent) I couldn’t tell you the last time I printed a map or a Cache page. I recently purchased a new Palm TX and have ordered a GPSr Datalogger that has USB and Bluetooth technology (when on the road I use my laptop for driving directions). Delorme Street Atlas 2007, (handheld built in) When my wife and I go for a trip, we bring at least 2 Palms (I also own a Palm Z22, Zire 31), a laptop, 2 of 4 handheld GPSr’s (I own and use the Companion, Magellan Platinum, Garmin Map60CS and Map60CSX) , and all software that goes along with each unit. I chuckle when I think I have more computing power with me on my short trips than the Mercury and Gemini space crafts had on their “extended” trips.

I have a Palm 515 with cachemate (V 4.1.2) in which I use geocaching waypoints converted and synched to the palm via GSAK. I also have a Magellan Companion GPS unit that attaches to the palm to become a single unit (connects through the RS-232 socket). I also have the Magellan NAV Comp software, Cetus GPS, and Delorme XMap software installed. when I use the NAV Comp, or Cetus GPS, or XMap programs on the palm, GPS connectivity is excellent. (although redrawing of maps takes a while in the XMap). But when I try to use the Cachemate CacheNav program (whether from within the Cachemate program, or by itself) I get very poor (and I do mean poor) connectivity. Most of the time it gives me a lock, and then goes away almost as soon as I move. I've played with the GPS settings and have found that the only way to even get a signal from the GPS is to have a baud of 4800, RS-232 connection. The handshaking feature does not seem to make any difference, either way (on or off). If it wasn't for the fact that all of the other mentioned programs get along great with the Magellan Companion, I would think there was a problem with the GPSr, or the Palm. The problem I'm having is the cachemate CacheNav's ability to read the data from the GPSr. Anyone have an idea???

Actually, the guy in the photo's is Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. He was (and still is I understand) and big promoter of transcendental meditation in the 60's. His specialty was the use of mind altering drugs in conjunction with intense and deep meditation to discover the inner universe within us all. He, and many of his followers, stated they could travel through the universe in a spiritual state, absent of any physical anchors. He was one of the primary cult fixtures in the 60's, along with Dr. Timothy Leary, and the ever popuar Reverend Sun Myung Moon. Ahhhhhhh, the good ole days.... [ ]

I use my laptop in my vehicle while driving around Chicagoland to get as close as possible to specific caches. I use DeLorme Street Atlas hooked up to a Radio Shack DigiTraveler GPS receiver. I also use GSAK with downloaded Geocaching.com queries. Because of the awesome abilities of GSAK I can export any of the queried caches into the Street Atlas using the filters in GSAK to pick and choose whichever caches I want to use. With them marked on the mapping program I know where they all are in relationship to where I am. When I get close I then change over to my Magellan Meridian to get me right next to the cache (Using GSAK again, I can upload the caches into the GPSr) I also carry a Palm 515m with Cachemate, again with queried caches uploaded into the palm via GSAK (Detecting a common application here yet?). And if need be, I can use my Magellan Companion connected to my palm. And if there comes a time when the missus and I go in different directions looking for a cache, we stay in touch with Midland X-tra Talk walkie talkies. And our pictures are taken with multiple digital cameras. And to think my son calls me technologically impaired

And here I thought all of the rumors that somehow get started on the internet had to have some mention of Nostradamus and/or one of his quatrains

I suppose when Samsonite and International Traveller starts making their luggage in see through material, I will be more likely to consider making the permanent change to see-through tupperware in this sport. But wait, how can people be upset about not being able to see through containers? Aren't most people having a fit because of the new technology that will allow airport security to see just below the surface of our clothes searching out firearms, bombs (I'm sure they're only carrying on a couple of geocaches strapped to their chests), the ever dreaded letter opener and knitting needles, and of course, the already proven lethal utility knives. Our society is sooo full of contradictions.

I am sure that in short time there will be a small percentage of individuals who will abuse this sport just like they do so many others. They will tear down the landscape to get to the hide, take what they want without replacing, and finish off their 6 pack on the way out to celebrate their ultimate victory. (of course they won’t carry the empties out) Although there have been no cases yet, I am sure in time there will be some nut-case that will place a real bomb in a container in order to maim and cripple some unsuspecting cacher. After all, I’m sure most of us remember how fun Halloween used to be before razor blades and poison showed up in the candy. And to be honest, with all the CSI stuff on TV, I’m waiting for the first case of a dead body being hidden to be found as a cache. Will all this cynicism keep me from enjoying this sport? NO WAY!! I still hunt and target shoot, I still ride my ATV and 4x4 when I get the chance, I still smoke, and if I had a cell phone I would probably use it while driving. If I’m not stopping all the other hobbies/sports I enjoy in spite of public opinion, I’ll be damned if I’m going to give up my GPS. Being one who has had many once enjoyable pleasures limited by social perceptions and knee jerk reactions, it is silly for all of us to say that social or political pressure cannot possibly curtail geocaching. As Pogo says: “We have seen the enemy, and he is us.”

I am a lurker, and proud of it. My basic desire is to use the vast knowledge base of the members who have encountered and conquered similar situations I have run across. For that I simply read. My 50 plus years of life have taught me there will always be those compelled to criticize the actions, thoughts, and/or ideas of others. They are not bad people. Several years of psych classes have also taught me that no one is wrong in their unique perceptions. We are individuals because of the differences of actions, thoughts, and/or ideas. If we all thought and acted exactly the same, we would still be in caves painting stick figure animals on the walls. Our society's progression is basically reliant on our unique individuality. I am not one to openly state my opinion of others, hence, I lurk.. And what have I learned in the short trip through this thread: pater47 is right, if there are 50 or more posts in a thread, the subject has been exhausted, and other agendas are being pursued.

If you truly want a techno-geeks 4x4, check out the Maximog http://www.maximog.com/ And I believe I remember reading somewhere that they can be outfitted to float.. Boys and their toys.......

I use a Palm M515 with a Magellan Companion, with the Magellan Nav Com software installed on the palm. I've had a lot of luck with it, and it appears to be almost as dependable as my Magellan Meridian Platinum. I also have Delorme Xmap installed on the PDA and it works pretty well for street level accuracy, though it sux for any kind of geocaching. Thin air