sataraid1
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Posts posted by sataraid1
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As a temporarily-horseless equestrian, all I can say is that I would likely drive a very long way to attend an equestrian caching event or activity, as long as there was a horse I could ride when I got there.
Jeez I miss my horse.
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I love hiking in the snow, and I love being in the woods even more when it was actually snowing. The harder the better. I'd spent countless hours hiking in the snow long before I ever heard of geocaching. So now I have even more reason to be out there in it.
I don't worry too much about muggles following my tracks. When the weather is like that, most muggles are home watching TV anyway.
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Well, as long as there's only one "hiking" attribute to choose from, it's going to have to be rather flexible. If there was also a "moderate hike" attribute, we could get into specifics a lot more.
I have a hide that's about a 3-mile round trip on a modestly level forest path. I consider that a significant hike.
I have a hide that's about a .6-mile round trip, but it's on such a steep hill that with even a slight dusting of snow on the ground I could barely walk up or down it without turning into a human toboggan. Much shorter but much more strenuous. I consider that a significant hike.
I look at it this way: if the hike itself is the dominant factor in getting to the hide, it's significant. Adding the attribute is my way of saying, "you WILL be doing some walking, bear that in mind when you consider your footwear, attire, the weather, bringing the kids, etc".
Better to add it and have a few cachers think "what was that for" than to have someone else get a mile or so from the car and think "why didn't he tell me this was going to be so far".
FWIW.
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I'll echo what others have said. As long as the critical information is at the top, write all you want, but brevity is a virtue.
I've run into too many situations where I've been in the field, needed to review a listing on my iPod, and after scrolling through page after page after page of stories and HTML ... discovering that the listing is truncated and I don't even know the container type or have a hint.
Honestly, anything more than a couple of pages or a couple of photos is overkill. Show me, don't tell me.
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FWIW, I liked them from the first moment. Makes loading and scrolling the map much faster, eliminates clutter, and conveys much more information than a pile of a zillion icons all on top of each other. And when I want to investigate those high concentration areas, I have to zoom in anyway.
An on/off switch is always a nice option, but the concept itself is useful and functional.
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I love caching in the snow!!
Yes, please.
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Depends on who hides them. In this area there are some cachers who are very consistent at providing excellent coordinates, and good at maintaining their hides. There are some who are consistently off with their coordinates, and have a history of ignoring their hides.
If the MITW is by one of the former, I'll go after it. I don't mind the challenge. If it's by the latter, I skip it entirely.
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Why have the PTB not polled their membership to ask their opinions and preferences on this?
I think they have... in this thread
By the way, hardly anyone has mentioned the substantial sized ad on the left, which appears for everyone, and takes up 20 times more bandwidth for dial-up users than the little Yahoo! text advert. This makes me think that the issue here could be as much about a (natural) reticence towards change, than any specific issue with the ads.
I've never minded the ads on the left because:
1. They're 100% geocaching relevant, and placed there by GC.com on behalf of businesses who have a vested interest in the hobby and GC.com's continued growth.
2. They are often "house ads" for things like premium memberships and swag sold by GC.com.
3. The ad exists in what is basically wasted space below the navigation menu. Since that area is on every page, yet is not part of the main content where I'm trying to do my work, it's not intrusive at all.
4. The ads are generally rather nice looking. (Being a designer, I can't help but notice stuff like that, not that it has any real bearing.)
As always, FWIW.
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And I realize that not everyone can afford that. So, maybe it's time for a three-tiered membership. Or a simple, open ended "pay what you think it's worth" subscription option.
The honor system of "Pay what you think it's worth" won't work any better than "please trade fairly". Look at any cache that's been out for a while as an example. We (cachers) see this as a hobby, but they (Groundspeak) have to look at it like a business or it will go away.
I wasn't suggesting anything as hazy as an "honor system". I was suggesting that there can be regular withdrawals of more than the bare minimum necessary for a premium account. Simply add a checkbox for $5, $8, $10 or whatever. Then that's what your subscription is. QED.
I can't be the only person on GS that thinks a premium membership is rather underpriced for the value. And I can't be the only one who'd gladly pony up more, especially if it meant GS could continue to develop and grow without any further advertising.
FWIW
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It would be nice if, instead of turning this into YA analogy-filled snarkfest, we could simply state our thoughts on the ads, what we'd rather see if we dislike them, and hope for some cogent responses from TPTB.
Let's stay focused, and maybe this thread can provide exactly the kind of feedback they want, instead of just being another train wreck.
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How much more would you be willing to pay in order to have no tiny Yahoo ad in the right hand column?
$10 a month without even flinching. I get $10 worth of entertainment out of a single cache sometimes, not to mention an entire day's worth. It'd be the best $10 I spend on any given month, that's for sure.
And I realize that not everyone can afford that. So, maybe it's time for a three-tiered membership. Or a simple, open ended "pay what you think it's worth" subscription option.
Anything to keep more ads off of the cache pages. I never minded the "house ads" on the left, because they're out of the way, and 100% geocaching related, but can we please draw the line somewhere? Sticking random Yahoo or Google ads right between the attributes and inventory is pretty intrusive. My eye noticed it within seconds of going to my first cache page this evening.
FWIW.
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I'd just rather give Groundspeak more money if they need it, and have cache pages continue to be about content.
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I'd rather just pay a few bucks more per month and avoid the ads.
Since Groundspeak goes to such great lengths to make sure that caches themselves have no commercial value, advertising on the cache pages seems a little ... I don't know ... just wrong somehow.
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-- and they literally become he9ll on earth
I rest my case.
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It's not that I harbour any ill will to Cobra GPS units; it's that I have scores of user bases tugging at my pants for attention. A discontinued product line with undocumented protocols and a small user base isn't at the front of the line.
Sorry, but that's the kind of honesty that large companies pay marketing/support groups to shield the customer base from.
You have nothing to apologize for. In fact, I'd like to thank you for making an authoritative statement regarding the process of getting Cobra support into GPSBabel. I recall reading something in the GPSBabel discussion boards some time ago regarding Cobra support, which as you described, ends abruptly to say the least.
I won't pretend to understand all the intricacies of reverse engineering the Cobra protocols ... it simply seemed prudent to make mojoski aware of your efforts, and another possible avenue for his efforts thus far.
One thing I DO understand the pitfalls of using marginalized equipment. After all, I've been a Mac user for over 20 years!
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Lame duplicate post.
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Would it not be simpler just to buy a new Geocaching capable GPSer?
Simpler, but not cheaper. The Cobra was a gift, and and I probably would never have tried caching otherwise. So far, it's been a great performer, so I intend to wring every last cache out of it that I can. Plus, there's something to be said for an accurate receiver that only costs about $40 to replace if I drop it in a sinkhole or something.
I'd have to spend a lot of money to buy a new receiver with the same accuracy and screen size as I'm used to with the Cobra. And believe me, when you're as blind as I am, that large screen is a delight. I'm firmly convinced that the Cobra is more accurate than the entry-level Garmins, and easier to operate as well.
The only real drawback to the Cobra is having to manually enter waypoints. That in itself is only a problem when I plan a major outing where I might need to enter 50+ waypoints along a planned route. But hey, that's not so bad when you weigh spending an hour entering waypoints in the evening while watching TV against the hours of enjoyment spent hunting caches for an entire weekend. For now, that amount of work isn't worth spending over $300 to remedy. A person who only hunts a few caches every once in a while could use a Cobra forever and never have a problem.
With all that said, however, I am obviously in favor of any efforts that would enhance the Cobra's computer interface. It would be nice, but I'm not holding my breath nor harboring any unrealistic expectations. If it happens, great, if not, no big deal. I'm going to keep finding caches either way, until the Cobra receiver meets some grisly fate.
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I would contribute within reason to any efforts to create modern software that can talk to the Cobra GPS units.
Unfortunately GSAK does not have a Mac version ... but if you have done work on the protocol, I'd encourage you to inquire with the folks at GPSBabel (http://www.gpsbabel.org/). They build an open-source communication and conversion engine that interfaces with lots of GPS units, and is multi-platform.
MacCaching, the software I use to do paperless caching with my iPod, uses GPSBabel to communicate with receiver. So if your work would let GPSBabel talk to a Cobra, then MacCaching would be able to as well.
Despite what the misinformed consensus seems to believe, the GPS 1000 is a good receiver. It's accurate, reliable, and has a screen that's even larger than the top of the line Garmins. It's easy on the batteries, and has virtually unlimited memory for maps when you consider that you can load all the maps you want onto standard SD cards. It's walked me right to nearly every cache I've found. Give me good coordinates, and it will put me right on top of it.
It's just the device communications that's the real achilles heel.
(Edited to prevent the world from exploding.)
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I gots me a slap on the wrist once already, for a minor profanity that was automatically "edited" by the forum software.
Fair enough, no debate from me.
What I find annoying though, is that later in the same day I saw two other instances of equally or more profane words "munged" by using non-alphabet characters. No warnings or mod edits that I'm aware of with in at least 48 hours. And I don't really care enough to go back and look. Just not that big a deal, and I'm certainly not one to start whining "wahhh, I got a warning, why didn't so-and-so?"
Moderation is fine, but inconsistent moderation really bugs me. Problem is, every discussion board I've ever spent any time on at all has the same problem.
No biggie. The solution is simple: I'll just keep my nose clean.
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I have spent a lot of time searching for options on loading waypoints into the GPS1000, and haven't found any yet. Being a Mac user adds Extra Bonus Frustration!
The problem in a nutshell is that the GPS1000 uses a proprietary communications protocol, and though it COULD be deciphered and used by an application like GSAK or GPSBabel, there are so few people out there using them for geocaching that it's not worth the effort to develop.
If I had a PC to run the Cobra mapping software, I might have made a serious effort at finding a solution, but it won't run on my Mac, and I have yet to find a cheap PC to work with.
Do you have the mapping software? Do you have an SD card for you receiver? If so, where are you located and have you built any maps? Once you have them transferred to the SD card in the receiver, they can be pulled from the card and backed up on CD or duplicated to a second SD card for backup use.
The Cobra mapping software is horribly clunky, but I have found the maps to be extremely accurate as of the date they were released, at least for the Illinois/Indiana area.
If you have any other questions about the units or their use, let me know. I'd be happy to lend a hand if I can.
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someone decided that they were the cache police and sent Team Desert Eagle this threat.
That is truly pathetic.
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I would prefer that these officers get out and track down the murderers, rapists, and child molestors. Worrying about a $15 tupperware box of goodies, or a $15 yard ornament seems petty to me.
Excellent. Please tell me where you live, and if you have any of the following in your yard:
Bird feeders.
Shepherd's hooks.
Those cool solar-powered LED walkway lamps.
Dog food bowl sets.
Because I could certainly use any of those items.
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Unless your local law enforcement officers are WAY more bored than ours, a situation like this isn't even likely to hit their radar.
Okay, so where do they draw the line? When is something taken without permission too insignificant to trifle with?
Just because a LEO or the general public has no concept of what a geocache is, it's all right for people to swipe them? Once you start rationalizing and marginalizing what is a theft and what isn't you start down a pretty slippery slope.
The value of a geocache with some decent swag and a couple of travel bugs might be ... what ... $15? Do you think the police would blow it off if a geocacher walked into this person's front yard and took a $15 yard ornament? Especially if they know who took it, and have already asked for it back and been denied?
No one expects a county-wide manhunt for a tupperware box. But an officer knocking on a door and saying "You have something that doesn't belong to you. Return it." takes 5 minutes and sends a pretty clear message that swiping other people's stuff and refusing to return it when asked isn't acceptable behavior.
The police blowing it off sends the message that it is.
Which would you prefer to become a precedent?
Maintaining OTHER cacher's caches
in General geocaching topics
Posted
I always do my best to repair/replace wrecked caches. New logs, container repair or replacement, throwing a new notebook in if a log is full but not damaged. I've never had anyone get bent out of shape over it yet.
I've actually hauled one cache out that was completely destroyed. It was no longer a cache, it was just garbage in the woods. If a forest ranger had found it, they would have gone ballistic. I logged it as a find and flagged it for archiving when I got home. I probably could have replaced it, but the hider has a history of never maintaining their caches, and I've already repaired too many of theirs. The first few times, a hider gets the benefit of my doubt. After that, they're on their own.