Crid
-
Posts
293 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by Crid
-
-
Thanks for all the replies. I hadn't thought of Army Surplus, but now it's been mentioned it makes sense. I've only been to the local Surplus store once (looking for ammo cans - which they didn't have), but I'll take a wander down there.
I'm on holiday in Cornwall next month, so I may well pay Trago Mills a visit to look for Craghopper stuff.
-
I hope the appeals have some kind of result. I suspect the appeals process is there normally for people to try to get their ban or suspension lifted early. In this case I think the appeal should extend to the moderator(s) responsible for the suspension and ban. Moderation is a big responsibility, but mods should also be accountable for their actions. I don't know if the GS forums have a mechanism to suspend a user from a specific forum rather than all forums, but that would seem to have been a more reasonable kind of suspension for the supposed offence. (As would a warning, as has already been pointed out elsewhere).
I hope this post isn't considered "off topic" by Mandarin. I'm figuring it won't, since it's directly related to Lactodorum coming back.
-
This is similar to the "waterproofs" topic from a little while ago. I'm looking for some decent walking trousers. I currently wear jeans, which is good for protection against thorns and nettles, but not so good from a sweat perspective (and unfortunately I do sweat quite easily).
Something breathable and waterproof would probably be a good bet (no need for separate waterproof overtrousers), but I have a slight problem - I don't have a tumble drier (or room for one).
I currently have a Gore-Tex jacket and the care instructions say you should either tumble dry it after washing, or have it dry-cleaned. Dry cleaning isn't too much of a problem for a jacket because I don't need to clean it after every use. But trousers are a different story. Partly because my definition of a good walk is one where I come back with mud on my jeans
, and partly for the fairly obvious hygiene/smell reason.I'd welcome suggestions or comments about what people have found to be good or bad.
-
No, the 76CSx cannot do paperless on its own. With GSAK, a custom macro and some custom icons you can get some of the cache information into the 76CSx. Personally I used my iPod and a custom GSAK macro to do paperless before getting a Colorado. The only problem I had was a limitation on the amount of text per cache (4Kb I think). Occasionally the cache description would be longer than that and then I couldn't see the hint.
I love the 76CSx and still do. It doesn't suffer from big accuracy problems in woodland like the Colorado does. That's not to say the Colorado is useless (it's been fine in the car, and the paperless aspects are very nice). But right now I'd probably recommend a 76CSx or 60CSx for geocaching at the moment. If Garmin ever sort out the accuracy issues on the Colorado I may reconsider my recommendation.
-
www.secaching.co.uk just gives me a 404 page. secaching.ipbfree.com works for me though.
-
I've had position issues in woodland several times. A couple of days ago I had a positional error under different circumstances. I haven't yet tried to reproduce the circumstances, but it should theoretically be fairly easy to do so I am going to give it a try this week.
My normal routine when I finish work is to switch my Colorado on as I walk out the door of the office, put the GPS on my dashboard and drive home. Pretty much every time I start getting positional data as I reach the first roundabout, and by the time I drive onto the motorway the EPE is around 20-30ft. I mention this simply for timing purposes. The terrain is very slight gradients in the countryside, so nothing major to block the view of the sky once I'm out of the office.
On the day of the error I switched the Colorado on before I left the building and then got delayed. About 5 seconds after walking out of the door the Colorado beeped and said that it could not find acquire satellites. I selected the option to continue acquiring and then went on my way as usual.
When I reached the first roundabout, positional data started as usual. However, once on the motorway I noticed that the GPS was a fair way off to the north (I didn't have tracking switched on unfortunately) and the EPE was reading 70ft. Switching to the satellite page showed that it had acquired about 8 satellites (I was driving so I didn't look too closely) and it was in the process of acquiring 2 more. Signals were strong.
The EPE remained quite a way off until all satellites were acquired, at which point it was back down to the 20-30ft range.
In all cases the GPS has been off for several hours beforehand, so the ephemeris data will probably have expired. It seems that the only difference between the circumstances of the error and my "normal" results is the GPS having difficulty acquiring satellites beforehand. This seems to fit quite well with what happens in woodland, although it may just be coincidence.
I shall experiment further and see if I can get it to do it again under the same conditions. It's a bit easier to reproduce than "go walking in the woods for 45 minutes".
-
Sadly this isn't the first cache this has happened to. A similar thing happened to a cache near me last year. It makes me wonder what the hell is wrong with some people.
-
Make it for Premium Members only.
That only works if the vandal is getting the coordinates from GC.com. If the muggling is the result of somebody wondering "what are those people over there doing?", making the cache members-only won't stop it from being muggled.
-
It never ceases to amaze me how selfish and ignorant some people can be. Something similar happened to a cache near me, and when I read the log I just sat there thinking "why would somebody DO that?!". The geocache wasn't harming anybody, so why wreck it for others? You bet if something malicious was done to something THEY used, they'd be the first to be up in arms over it.
I guess we should be grateful that it's only a tiny minority of people that behave in such an obnoxious way.
-
Dohhhhhh!!!!!!!!!
Thanks Red90. I don't know how I missed that (well I do, I hardly ever use that page because I seldom use the backlight). I feel really stupid now.
-
When I'm writing a log entry out in the field, I often can't remember the exact date. On my 76CSx it was easy to find - just hit MENU twice and there's the date.
Is there an easy way to find today's date on the Colorado? About the best I've found so far is to go to Hunting & Fishing.
-
Can you specify the POI type? So for instance, adding restaurants to the ones in the existing map? Or are user-created ones all "custom" type?
-
If you don't need maps with automatic routing, you can grab OpenStreetMap map data in Garmin's IMG format from here.
I don't know if it works with the Nuvi, but I use OSM maps in Garmin format on my 76CSx and my Colorado. I just build the map file (rather than downloading a pre-built one), put my GPS into USB Mass Storage Mode and upload the file.
OSM map data isn't 100% complete (it's a collaborative open-source project), but it does have footpaths, bridleways, etc which regular road maps won't have.
-
I know nothing about this unit and you may have already tried these, but I'd probably try:
Checking the coordinate format is set correctly in settings
Negative number (if there's no E/W option)
Padding with leading zeroes
Subtracting from 360 (if there's no E/W option)
-
-
Garmin Alaska. Keeps freezing on you.
Sorry, got nothing.
-
Yes, that wasn't particularly taxing. I worked out the coords in seconds, fed them in to GC.com and found the cache ID (since it's going to be in the same vicinity). It was only published 3 days ago.
-
Because the problem only STARTED when GPS Firmware 2.60 was released. If you revert back to 2.50, the problem goes away. It is pretty much a 100% certainty that it is a bug in the GPS firmware.
This isn't an option for Colorado users unfortunately. Only HCX owners.
-
I occasionally will open a puzzle cache page and 9 times out of 10, it just looks like gibberish.
I know what you mean. I like puzzle caches where you at least know what you're supposed to be doing. One good example is 'X' Marks The Spot, which has been the inspiration for a whole series of caches. They're still tough caches to crack, but you do at least start out knowing what you're supposed to do - even if you don't initially know how to do it. Since most of the research can be done using Google, Wikipedia, etc, they're good for those times when you can't go out caching (eg. winter). I get the same kind of buzz when it becomes apparent that I'm on the right track. Then when I get out and find the cache I get a second buzz because it's confirmed that I have solved the puzzle.
I've also found that the puzzle caches I've done have been pretty easy to find once I've got the coordinates. A good clue really helps too, so long as it's something that doesn't help work out the coordinates, but helps to find the cache when you DO have the coordinates. "South of path, beneath fallen tree" is really helpful when you're in the right area, but doesn't help you narrow down the area if you haven't solved the puzzle.
Somebody mentioned that they don't like to only be rewarded with a micro at the end of a puzzle cache. I'm of the same opinion (and I'm hopeless at finding micros). I've recently put out a puzzle cache myself with a nicely stocked ammo can at the end. As a cache owner I found it slightly frustrating that all of the finds so far (nine) were of the TNLN variety. It did make me wonder why I bothered painting up the box and stocking it with nice swag. But that doesn't mean my next puzzle cache will be a micro.
-
Okay caches which are clearly designed to last more then a year are exempted. Ammo cans and things like that. But these tiny caches which require a rubber O ring that friggin dry rots within a year and clearly the owner does not care even after multiple attempts to contact him / her should be archived.
grrr
I agree with you there. There's a cache I visited last October that I logged a "needs maintenance" for because the logbook was nearly full. It's still marked as needing maintenance and a more recent log also noted that the logbook needs replacing. It's hardly a big job for a cache owner to replace a logbook.
I agree with the earlier poster about puzzle caches needing less maintenance visits (because they receive less traffic). I'd also add that they probably stand less chance of being muggled or targeted by cache vandals/thieves. The extra work involved in getting the coordinates (and it's probably true for multis too) is both a blessing and a curse at the same time.
-
I solve the puzzles during the winter months then find them in the spring.
I came here to say the same thing. There aren't many puzzle caches near me, so I've been tackling the 'X' Marks The Spot caches in Surrey, which is over an hour's drive away from me. But those caches require a fair amount of internet research beforehand to figure out what places you will have to visit (and where they are). In the case of XMTS2, 3, 4 and 5 the cache owner has provided links to the other caches (and the original XMTS) because they are quite similar in structure, but with a different subject for each one. Having solved one, that encouraged me to try the other ones.
I've recently placed my own puzzle cache, loosely based on the XMTS formula. That one had nine logged visits in the first week and a half (mostly locals) and no more since July 8th. I fully realise that it will only occasionally get visited, but hopefully those cachers who find it will get a suitable buzz from solving the puzzle. I know I've got a buzz out of finding the XMTS caches (not that I've found them all yet).
-
the thing is, it that the error is (when it exposes itself) in the latitude. Longitude seems to be quite correct. Both Googleearth pictures in Crids' post seem to confirm this.
Actually, no. It's just that he was walking e/w at the time, so the e/w displacement isn't so evident.
When he reset, he said he didn't move. So not only does the Colorado jump north, it also jumps west.
-
I forgot to mention in my previous post that the blue track is from a 76CSx and the red track is from a Colorado 300. Both tracks were made at the same time (ie. I was carrying both units together and they were both tracking).
-
Oh well, it was a nice theory for the few minutes it lasted.
, and partly for the fairly obvious hygiene/smell reason.
Colorado location errors
in GPS technology and devices
Posted
Recently while walking in the woods I encountered the suddenly-increasing EPE part of this problem. I discovered that the Colorado appears to operate better when held vertically rather than horizontally (which seems a bit counter-intuitive, since the compass works when the unit is held horizontally). It's not exactly a solution to the problem, but when the EPE started climbing towards 40ft, it seemed (in this particular instance at least) that holding the Colorado up vertically for 20 seconds or so would cause the EPE to drop back to a more reasonable amount.
I don't know if it only affected the EPE or whether the improvement extended to the track itself (I was in a wood I haven't previously mapped, so I didn't have a reference track to compare to).
Just thought I'd mention it. I'm wondering how an external antenna would affect my results in woodland.