GPSOkie

I bpught a Go2 and althought I liked the unit, I was disappointed with the capabilities. I ended up taking it back to the Bass Pro Shop and upgrading to an iFinder H2O which has much better capabilities.

I just hid my first cache yesterday and it's first find was today. Just make sure the coordinates are good and that you have a good supply of swag Good luck ! It is truly a thrill to place your first cache nad have it found !

If you look at the log of any honest goecacher, you will find some DNFs ! Out of the last 5 caches I've hunted, I've only found 3. Cachers are pretty tricky sometimes and they can be hard to find. Trust me, they are there, just hard to locate. Keep up hunting for them and you will eventually get good at seeing the hard to find caches !

I've only found 30 caches so far but I've yet to have an encounter with law enforcement. Although, I'm careful about where and when I hunt

Thank you for what you did. As I sit here typing, I have two Dachshunds sleeping near my feet. I can only hope that if one of them is ever lost, they will find someone like you to guide them home or care for them.

That is a wonderful gesture on your part, El Diablo !! Merry Christmas to you, too !! email sent

I know Lowrance and several other mapping companies use infoUSA for their POIs. Their address is http://www.infousa.com/ You might drop them a line and see if they will add your POIs.

Define sucessful I'm sucessful at having a lot of fun ! I've never owned a detector that didn't pay for itself. My Ace 250 paid for itself plus a lot on it's second hunt. I found an engagement ring that was appraised it $1800. I usually find around 4000 coins a year. 40-50 rings about 10 of which are gold. My true treasures are things that are unique, though. I found a 1863 3 cent piece last year that is my most prized find. Old coins mean a lot to me even if they are not worth much. I have a blast just finding old wheatie cents!

I've been metal detecting since the late 70's. Today, I use a Garrett Ace 250. Neat little detector ! I've often used a GPS while detecting, but never used a detector while geocaching. I'm in agreement with the statement ictester made. We are now plagued by people leaving holes uncovered. It is causing a negative perception of the metal detecting community. It didn't used to be that way. I can detect a local park and recover 80-90 coins and you would never know I'd been there.

I use these as well as some radio shack NIMH AAs that I have.

If you want a great GPS unit and the mapping software for under $250, I'd recommend the Lowrance H2O. Since the color version came out, the price of the greyscale model has dropped greatly. Personally, I have the greyscale version and i'm very happy with it. You can get the Lowrance H2O Plus package (Includes the GPS unit, software, 64mb SD memory card, and card reader) at GPSCity for the below price: Model: Lowrance iFinder H2O Plus GPS System with Software Kit (112-38) List Price: US$279.00 Todays Price: US$219.95 (Save $59.05!!) Here is the link: Lowrance Plus The majority of geocachers use Garmin and Magellan units. They are great units, but Lowrance makes excellent GPS units as well. Lowrance has become quite competitive pricewise as of late. I just started caching in November but have already found 24 caches with my H2O. I've been using GPS since about 1997 and have owned Lowrance Garmin, and Magellan units. The all work very well and it basically comes down to features and price. EDIT: Oh, the H2O also comes with a cigarette lighter power adapter so you aren't out that extra expense.

Based on your comment about hiking in heavily wooded areas, I would recommend the H2O. I own a H2O and I have had much better luck with reception under the trees than I had with my Magellan. Of course, my Magellan was a SportsTrak Map and not a 400. Also, the H2O has a connection for an external antenna. I'm not sure if the 400 has the same feature?

I always log the same day. I take a lot of photos while I'm out caching so if I don't log the same day, I forget which photos are associated with which caches My memory ain't so good.

My Lowrance GM100 was accurate right up to it's demise and I had it 5+ years.

Depends on the camera, but usually there is a setting to alter this. On my camera, I can have it restart the naming sequence each time or remember the last file name and continue from there. I have mine set to continue fron the file created so I'm up to about 1600 shots. At 9999, it will start over though.

Might try the local surplus stores. I picked up a medium ammo can for $6.99 and they had the small ones for $4.99.

I have two Dachshunds that think they are our children. The oldest is a red female named Delia and the youngest is a black and tan male named Winston.

My GPSr report faster slower speeds than my vehicle speedometer. The faster I go the larger the gap is between the GPS and my speedometer. At 65 on my vehicle, my GPS reports 61mph. I did a time test using mile markers and the GPS is correct. I have non-standard size tires so that may be causing the difference.

Hmmm....looks familiar....very familiar Ace 150 or 250? I LOVE my 250. I never thought about combining my metal detecting with geocaching. Strange as I've used my GPS along with my metal detecting hobbie for about 4 years. Thanks for the idea !!

Good point. I guess I'm actually more deterred by the negative 5 degree windchill than the snow I just do not have the proper clothing for that. Being in Oklahoma, I would only use it about every third year.

No, it is VERY addictive I just start the end of November and I'm already up to 20 caches and have converted two coworkers. I'm seriously depressed that it is snowing and I love snow.

Wow Suprised to see so many Law Enforcement, EMS, and Fire types in one spot !!! Me, I was a Paramedic 8 years. 6 on the ground and 2 in the air (helicopter). Decided I wanted to drive instead of riding and quit to go to school to be a pilot. Ended up in the blood banking industry (long story). My wife of 16 years is still a medic, though.

I like micros. I like regular caches more. I'm new but I haven't met a cache that I didn't like yet. Well, accept for maybe the caches I couldn't find My first cache find was a micro. I figure if you don't like them, you don't have to go to them. I will admit that I have been to a couple of micros that made me uncomfortable due to the placement.

If you didn't change anything out of the box, you should be okay. I'm finding that some of the caches aren't as easy as they say I'm pretty new to the sport as well and I know I had some diffuculty today, but I think that was due to the cold weather. I was not as patience as I normaly would have been. If you need any help, give me a shout. I'm in the Jenks area.

I just started geocaching on 11/23/2005 and I have one definite recruit and probably 3 more. I haven't been actively recruiting, just talking about it around work. I did take 3 coworkers on a cache hunt when I discovered a cache was less than .1 of a mile from our front door at wook. They talked to other coworkers and I now have about 8 people at work asking me about the sport !