GPSOkie

Mine was alomst instantanious.

I made my first signature itme this last weekend. It is very simple an uses the sheets of magnatized material that you can get at any office supply store. Basically, I took these sheets of magnetic material and printed on them using Word. I opened Word and selected the Avery template for business cards. I placed my designs on the template, printed it, and wala, instant refridgerator magnets Please excuse the jagged edges. That is an artifact caused by my camera. Here they are:

Well, after much discussion, I have made my first cache CD. I included various freeware downloaded from reputable sites and photos that I have taken over the years...just as a safety measure, I even scanned the CD to make sure it was virus free and placed my email address on the CD itself. I made 5 copies and will place them in caches next weekend. We'll see how it goes.

I'm always on the look out for swag. The dollar store is the old reliable. I also look at military surplus stores, Big Lots has some great stuff if you have them, clearance isles at any store like Kmart, Wal-mart, CompUSA, Bestbuy, and on and on. Oh, hardware and automotive stores carry some cool inexpensive items, as well.

We have a loosley formed group called "Team ARC". We are a group of co-worker that cache together and we run from two to five team members caching together. We don't have a offical website, but i document our caching at my blog in my signature !

We have a cacher in our area that takes something and leaves nothing....and then actually logs it that way People never cease to amaze me.

Well, my two geocaching partners ride Harleys (not when we cache) and they are trying to get me to get a bike so that we can cache on bikes this year. I'm a long time motorcycle owner, I just don't have one right now. I've kinda got my eyes on this one: It is a Triumph Rocket 3. I like the red color scheme best.

As with all games I've been involved in, I've found that people who cheat, quickly burn out and leave the game. Cheating takes away the fun for the cheater but has little impact on the other players. I'm honest with my numbers and the people that cache with me are honest with theirs and that's all that really matters to me. I don't think I would enjoy caching with someone who is dishonest but other than that, I don't see an impact on me personally. Edit: Now I guess if someone is cheating by placing caches that they never actually placed, that would be a different story !!

Maybe I'm just naive. I've been downloading from other people since the good ole' BBS days and once internet access was available I started downloading there, too. I've probably downloaded tens of thousands of files since the early 80's and never had a serious virus or trojan problem. I know right now I have CDs that I've burned that contain thousands of freeware and shareware files. Most come from reputable sites, but there are plenty from PTP networks and sites that I have no good reason to trust. I always keep my virus software up to date and run several trojan and adware programs regularly. Don't get me wrong, I have downloaded files that were infected but my protective programs have always caught them as far as I know. If they didn't, it hasn't caused me any problems. I guess my point is that I would trust a CD out of a geocache (especially if a reputable player placed it) far more than a lot of files I get by other means. If I start doing this, my CD will be prominently labeled with my geocaching name and the contents as well as my email address if someone has a problem or question. I still think this is a cool idea

That's a cool idea !! I've never thought about putting CD in a cache. I have lots of freeware and photos that I would be willing to share. I would pick one up if I found it. I have anti-virus sorftware, so I'm not terribly concerned about that aspect. Thanks for the idea !

My record is 10 in one day, but I always seem to have work related stuff interfering with my caching

The closest cache to my house I have DNF'd 4 times. If I knew anyone, I promise I would call them for a hint ! Actually, there are far more DNFs on this cache than finds. I think if you put out a reasonable effort to find the cache and are not able to find it, calling a friend is legitimate. It isn't that much different than using the included coded hints to find a cache.

I've been very impressed with the creativity of my fellow cachers !! I too, have found a birdhouse that had been converted to a cache. I've seen all kinds of containers used such as plastic spice containers, the dry Gatorade mix containers, surplus mortar round containers, a hollowed out stump with a tupperware container attached via magnets, and on and on. Just about anything that is waterproof and blends in with the habitat can be used.

Most likely, a Palm will be the cheapest way to go if you are only looking for something to cache with. I use a Palm TX and it is literally my brain at work. It makes me very nervous toting it around in the woods Palms can be found in many places for under $40. If you are just looking for a geocaching tool, it is the best option in my opinion. If you will be using it for other things, either will work.

I've had a couple of second hand units and have had great luck with them. They were all off eBay and I just made sure that the seller had a good feedback rating. No problems ! I ended up with excellent units for about hald the price.

To me, the perfect cache involves an interesting location, cool swag, and good friends to accompany me on the hunt. I am amazed at the number of locations I have discovered geocaching in a town that I have resided for 13 years. I enjoyed a very nice cache last weekend that was in a park that I never even knew existed. There was nothing difficult about the cache, but I had a good friend with me, it was some place that I did not know existed, and the cache contained some neat trade items. Then again, I am easy to please

Goodness, I didn't mean to stir up a hornets nest here I was saying that the free service is worth a lot compared to what you get on other sites that have free service, but I, by no means, want them to start charging for what is free now GC.com should be proud to offer what they do free of charge. It is a wonderful hobby and I think it is wonderful that they allow people to participate free of charge. They let me participate for 5 years free of charge and as a result, I became a paying member. In MY situation, the premium membership is the way to go. Being that I have a PDA and a GPS that is PC connectable, it is the right level of service for me in that goecaching is MUCH easier than it was before. If you are in my situation, I highly recommend upgrading. I went 5 years on the basic membership and it was great. Sorry if I ruffled any feathers !! I do think that if you are a long time user of the free service that you should at least considersupporting the community financially. Whether it be paying for a good piece of geocaching software, through a local club, or here at GC.com, it is your choice. I've just seen too many hobbies fail because people didn't want to support them financially and I would hate to see that happen here. Obviously, there are more ways to support the hobby than a membership at GC.com, but it seems like a good starting point.

I use the 2500 mAh Energizer rechargeable batteries and have excellent luck with them. I highly recommend these batteries for and GPSr using AA batteries !

I'm using a generic fanny pack that I picked up at a army surplus store plus a military issue butt butt pack that fits on the belt of my fanny pack. The combo works great for me.

I was in no means implying that they should charge for the basic membership. Had that been the case, it is likely that I would have never got involved and upgrade my membership later. By all means, I feel that you should be able to participate at the basic level for free. I think GC.com has things set up perfectly as-is. You can come in and play for free, then it is a personal choice whether or not to upgrade. Since I have a palm device and a GPS that is PC connectable, it is worth the money for me to upgrade. Many other participants do not have that, so it is a tougher choice as whether to upgrade or not. I upgraded because it made geocaching easier for me and I wanted to support the site and community. Plus, I intend on remaining an avid cacher. It only makes sense for me to have a premium member. Those who do not cache frequently or do not have a Palm or Pocket PC, will get along fine on the basic membership.

I went to a cool virtual cache this weekend in a cemetary. It was the gravesite of Sam Kinison. I did not know he was buried in Tulsa. Interesting experience.

I first joined GC.com in 2001. I didn't start caching until the end of November last year. I had no idea what I was missing! In the last couple of days, I finally signed up for a Premium Membership. If you are new here, please stop by my blog and read my review and opinion of the Premium memberships here at GC.com. If you love caching as much as I do, don't hesitate to get a premium membership. It supports the community and the site that just cannot be beat by any other. As I say in my editorial on my blog, the free membership is worth the $30 a year. Add the membershipp benefit to that and you just have a heck of a deal. GPSOkie's Geocaching Blog

Many thanks, PDOP !! I am getting ready for a trip in the near future and was wondering how to do this.

I use the averaging function and seem to have really good luck with it. I usually set the GPS down and let it gather about 1000 datapoint. It takes a couple of minutes, but each spot I've marked that way I am able to return to +/- 20 feet.

Here is one one airpot grounds at KRVS. GC6EBC I think it is a great idea to have caches near airports if you can get it approved...er..reviewed. Most FBOs have a courtesy car. They might look at you stange if you ask to use it to go geocaching, though.