Team MJDJ

...hearing from Cachers who always seem to have complaints about your caches? One local fellow must be getting tired of hearing from me, but I am finding some mistakes with his caches, either the co-ordinates or the methods. If it was MY cache, I would like to know if it ISN'T where I claim it to be...how do others feel about this? Do you WANT to be notified of Cache "mistakes"? Constantly? By the same dude? Again and again?

Yes...well said. There is nothing more frustrating than to spend hours LOOKING for a cache, then having to report it as "unfound" only to have the owner come back with a "corrected" version of the co-ordinates! We are all human, but that doesn't mean we have to ACT that way!

Just a thought to save everybody (cache owners and hunters alike) a lot of grief... PLEASE CHECK and CONFIRM your co-ordinates when logging a new cache. When planting a cache, I will leave my GPS "on" and then download the "TRACKS" when I get home. I can plot this on my Garmin MapSource and verify the final co-ordinates. If you don't have any sort of mapping software, then use MapQuest! This should also apply for mutli-part caches as well...VERIFY all your waypoints AND bearings. Just a thought!

...most of the stuff was "common sense" (ie: Active railroad tracks) but I wouldn't have guessed about the environmental concerns of a buried cache...and I didn't know that (State) Parks didn't allow this sort of activity. Thanks to all for the quick replies!

...I read the guidelines for hiding a cache on the GeoCaching.com site: "Caches will be quickly archived if we see the following (which is not inclusive): Caches on National Park Service maintained lands." Does this include Parks in the City? Provincial Parks? What is the logic behind this rule? "Caches that are buried - If a shovel/trowel/pointy object is used to dig - in order to hide or find a cache - it's not appropriate." What's the deal with this rule? Isn't "buried treasure" kinda cool to find? "Caches hidden by active railroad tracks." Can the trail TO my cache pass by/through/under/over/around Railroad tracks? "Caches near or in military installations." Fair enough... "Caches under public structures deemed targets for terrorist attacks." Fair enough...

I keep reading about GCM and UTM...what exactly are they and HOW do I set my GPS to interpret?

How does one browse the caches that have been "archived"? I have been looking at Buxley's site http://www.brillig.com/geocaching/canada.shtml and there are a few caches listed there that aren't on the Geocache.com list.

I hate to be a "pain" but.... I noticed one cache contained "1st to Find Certificates" inside. Is there a template (MS Word or whatever) available to print these up or do we have to buy these as well? Thanks in advance...

...is it possible to view MAPS on a Garmin eTrex Venture? I can find nothing in the manual regarding this. How does one acquire the "maps"? WHat software is used to load these maps into the GPS? I trust that these questions will be answered as quickly and accurately as my last few... Thanks in advance...

...for expedient and accurate answers! Judging from what I've read, I would say that my little eTrex Venture will work best on a slightly-off-horizontal plane. It would seem as though the "antenna" being "up" (as they refer to it) would mean the largest surface area of the integrated antenna should face UPwards...makes sense! Thank you All!

quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Originally posted by Team MJDJ: I own a Garmin eTrex Venture. The manual says to hold it upright when in use. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It does? Where? I've looked through both my Vista manual, and the on-line Venture pdf manual, and can't find anything remotely like that. The patch antenna is behind the globe emblem on the face of the unit. While it will certainly work in the upright position, holding it horizontally will give the best reception. I have a Garmin eTrex Venture (personal navigator). Page 3 of the Owner's manual and reference guide states: "Hold the unit at a comfortable height with the antenna pointing up...." I was searching for one Geocache over the weekend and I was basically going around in circles - holding the unit out FLAT...this is why I was curious whether it made a difference, I think I just answered my own question!

...are there any Canadian maps available somewhere/how do I find them?

I own a Garmin eTrex Venture. The manual says to hold it upright when in use. Drum roll..........."Does it really matter WHICH WAY you hold it"?

...for the timely and respectful answers to a Newbie's questions....

Before you flame me...I HAVE read the FAQ's!!! Now that we have established THAT...How does one "acquire" a travel bug? Is it purchased through this site? Is it home-made? How do you number/bar-code it? I am about to start my FIRST cache and I would like to put a NEW bug in it...what do I do? Ditto for Geo-coins...are they purchased through this site, or do we make them at home? Thanks!

Thanks all! I've got it working now..."Open file from its location" then "Save to..." and it works! As for the IE 6, I had it at one time and found it to be a typical MicroSoft "upgrade"; bloated, cumbersome and resource-hungry. I use IE 5.5 because it has the 128 bit encryption needed for on-line banking and such, otherwise I would use 5.0! I stay current with all of the Security Updates and such... Thanks again!

Thanks for the answers, I am STILL having trouble downloading the EasyGPS co-ordinates. I am using IE 5.5 Whenever I click the "Download to EasyGPS for Groundspeak" all I get is a file called "Cache Details.aspx.html"... WHY...i ask....WHY!?

As a neophyte "Cacher" I have a few questions that could not be answered through the FAQ's. First of all...Is it possible to enjoy this "sport" without a GPS? It seems that many of the caches I have looked at are quite specific regarding their locations...at least the ones near to me, anyway! Secondly...this "EasyGPS Software"....*^$%@#&! Why can't I download the proper waypoint co-ordinates from the GeoCaching site? All I ever get is some stupid "index.htm" file instead of a USEFUL *.loc file!!!! I AM a Geocaching.com member, complete with validated address and all that but whenever I click on the "download EasyGPS co-ordinates" I get nothing but crap... Any help would be appreciated! Tx!