Jeep4two
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Posts posted by Jeep4two
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I'm holding a team building retreat for some staff where I work. The event will center around Geocaching and I have done this before but had access to a set of eTrex H units.
My question is for all you guru's out there that have experience with the Magellan Explorist 210.
How is reception on this unit? The location where the event will be held is stereotypical geocaching lands (woodland trails with some open area, deciduous trees with some hills and elevations that will create normal occlusions of the sky).
Should I expect normal or acceptable reception with the Explorist 210 in these conditions? If not I may have to try to make other arrangements. I haven't gotten the units on loan yet and don't think I'll have access to the eTrex H units again.
Any feedback greatly appreciated as I continue to plan for this fun event!
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You can store as many maps as you like (and turn them on or off using enable/disable in the Setup>Map menu).
I have bunches of add on maps loaded (routable streets, several topos, numerous custom maps, overlay trail maps, aerial imagery, topo 2008, select OSM sections).
As mentioned you should make sure you are running the lastest release of the software/firmware.
Another nice thing - your map selection is uniuqe for each profile. For instance on my unit I have my overlay trial map, Topo 2008 and the Aerial imagery turned on (all others disabled). But my Automotive profile uses Metroguide v6 (converted to routable with Metrowizzz) all others disabled. When I switch profiles the appropriate maps are available.
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x3 on that 450 there good buddy.
That's a very nice price for the 450 and will get you the 3 axis compass, better viewability on the screen, barometric altimeter and it will hold more Geocaches.
Or - you could buy my Oregon 400t for $300
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I'd feel free to play Frisbee in the local government land you're talking about, as well as in a Walmart parking lot, without getting explicit permission.
Careful a Frisbee that errantly goes sliding under someone's car could be viewed as a potential IED and trigger public panic in a China-Mart parking lot.
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I'm glad this got clarified. Now I don't have to worry about the black helicopters that watch me all day. It's just Groundspeak doing a follow up.
Whew!
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It would be cool if you added the public domain geocaching "G" to use up some of the white space on the sign. Just a suggestion.
Google "leatherman geocaching logo" for the template.
If it takes off, I'd go one step further and seek licensing from Groundspeak for the GC logo with the web address below to help promote - more colorful and recognizable.
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I reserve copyright for this original idea, btw. I just listed some on ebay.
Did you file for a copyright? Did you make the prize recipient sign a waiver to use the sign? Fun sign. I may steal your idea some day. Or not.
Can't copyright the sign, but you can trademark the design.
Very cool by the way - You should make some little parking tickets that you can stick to the ground after you move their car. The ticket should have a place for the coordinates of the vehicle and where to report to rent a GPSr so they can find it
EDIT: for lack of typing prowess
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There is a simple solution to all this and I'm sure there's a lobbyist group somewhere willing to take up the cause.
Simply take away everyone's cell phones - and replace them with <insert your favorite GPSr name here>.
A true national stimulus package. Fewer unwarranted calls to 911 relieving an overtaxed emergency response system. Reduced Obesity rates and cardiovascular problems (everyone will be out caching) helping to relieve the health care system of American allowing researchers to really focus on curing real diseases. Huge boost to monthly savings of the average American who won't need to spend that $50/month per cell phone user allowing people to actually buy a car or house and put some money down reduce their payments and maybe avoid foreclosure should times get a little tight. I can imagine lots of other benefits.
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I'm thinking of placing a cache (a micro, film container) in front of a high school near my house. The only problem I fear with this is how paranoid schools are about security and drugs after Columbine. They may not want strangers coming and going on their property and if they find a hidden container of anything, they'll probably assume it's drugs without even looking, or the numerous high school students around might make it a drughole.
Just to be clear, this cache location would be right off a well-traveled street, with a public sidewalk. I figure, if it's a public school, which the community's tax dollars pay for, then it's public property.
So what is the official rule here? What should I do if it does have drugs in it? Is there a policy against schools?
While the school may be publicly funded, and in some ways public property there are restrictions for the use of that property. In some localities trespassing can be very loosely defined in those kinds of instances for the very reasons you mention (security).
And the guidelines state:
Caches near, on or under public structures deemed potential or possible targets for terrorist attacks. These may include but are not limited to highway bridges, dams, government buildings, elementary and secondary schools, and airports.
Secondary schools include middle and high schools.
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The eTrex H doesn't have the dpad joystick like the Legend. I also had the issues with the Legend dpad, but resolved them by opening the uint and cleaning around the contacts.
With the H if you aren't getting any response from any of the buttons on the left it could be a similar issue, or something larger.
Have you tried taking the batteries out, and giving the buttons on the unit a good work out. Press the buttons numerous times (dozens and dozens) firmly with the batteries out. This might help make the contacts work on the buttons.
You should feel a very soft (and quiet) click giving feedback on the button presses.
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Consider that the zoom levels for a car GPS like Nuvi don't allow for zooming in close enough to see distances to destinations less than the 70m that you refer to. This is one of the primary reasons that in car units that don't have 'geocaching support' (via a compass screen) aren't all that great for caching.
If you could zoom in more you would see that you are in fact some distance from the cache according to the map.
Watch eBay for a nice entry level eTrex H. I just missed one that went for $29.00 - the photo showed it was an eTrex H, but the seller had the subject and description as just eTrex, causing the bidding to stay low. I had to leave the house and missed the ending. . . bummer.
EDIT: to add that the eTrex H usually sells for around $50-80 (sometimes more) and could be had new for between $70 and $80 at many reputable retailers.
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"I don´t have enough money to buy a waterproof container" should not be a legitimate complaint. I just found these small waterproof containers for less than 2$ a pop.
I have 4 of these right now and I wnat to place them, but haven't yet because of a concern.
Recently I held a special closed event (leadership/teambuilding) for some college students. I used one of these containers as a hide. Unfortunately during the event it became a casualty. The latch on the side broke off. Upon inspection the latching mechanisim doesn't have much durability to it. The plastic on these is also fairly brittle.
I suspect that with a nice camo paint (read: Krylon Fusion) that they may not get more brittle or fall apart, but I don't think the latch will hold up long term. I may still deploy mine (since I still have 2 that are camoed, and one bright yellow) but do worry about durability.
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Dollar-store containers:
This is my own cache, in a location which tends to be underwater several months of the year. I placed it on impulse and I only had a cheapie $1 container with me - a lapse of judgment I'll never repeat.
I've since re-engineered the hide to be much more submersible.
I'll qualify this post. The referenced container here is the 'reusable' yet 'disposable' food container (such as Gladware).
Many dollar stores sell $1.00 Lock n Locks, that with a coat camo paint can serve well in many conditions. I've got two that are approaching the 1 year mark that still stay dry and are in great condition (in Kentucky, wooded area that gets plenty of rain, some sun (shaded in the summer), snow/freezing conditions in winter). I've been pleased so far.
But I'll also qualify that once these containers fail (most likely at the lock snaps) they'll be replaced with ammo cans since the cache locations are proving to be muggle resistant
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Is this alarm just another case of not getting permission and letting the store management know there are caches there? Would this have happened anyway even if they did?
Exactly what I was thinking. It doesn't matter. Jeremy Irish could have owned this Wal-Mart and personally given permission and held a ceremony, 3 day festival, parade and had a national holiday declared honoring this cache.
But in the end, the person on the phone calling in what they perceived as a threat would have still called 911 leading to the same events (since all the fanfare of my farcical Geocache dedication would have faded from the memory of the local population).
Personally I figure like may of you - it was good practice. Probably not a waste of money since I would imagine that to most first responders the desire to serve and the action of a call is what they really enjoy.
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One of the lowest cost units is the eTrex H (the basic yellow), currently sold for about $77 new at Walmart.com (it was about $70 the other day, price is back up a little).
If you can get that deal on the Venture HC from Fry's that would be a sweet price.
I just did a search and the best I found was $112 for a Venture HC refurbished unit at GPS4US.com - not a bad price for that unit.
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Getting with other cachers is a great way to 'learn the ropes' and learn new stuff about the hobby, not to mention make new friends.
Check for close by event caches and go to a few of those. Look for some that have events that center around hunts, or are meet and greets that are located close to some caches you haven't found yet.
You'll find that the events are usually filled with seasoned cachers that like to eat, but more than that like to teach new cachers all about their take on hunting a cache or two.
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My guess is the shutdown from Mass Storage mode is necessary because of different software being loaded depending on mode. The full user interface (and GPS receiver) aren't loaded in mass storage mode.
I think on the Oregon to avoid the shutdown the mass storage features would have to be included as part of the main GPSr operating system. Unlikely to see that added as a feature.
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Me and the Delicate Arch in Arches National Park. I live in the Midwest but I would rather be in the Southwest.
Deermark
Had you already eaten all your PopTarts that day?
I guess I should play along too - Here's Jeep4Two at a recent outing caching, hiking and wildflower hunting. Luckily FixitFinditDave wasn't around to stomp out any blooms that day:
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On the waterproof note: Have you ever seen a fireproof safe after a fire? Most of them require a welding torch to open.
Doesn't the welding torch incinerate the contents the moment in breaks through?
These types of consumer safes have hinges that are on the outside of the box. Cutting it open only requires cutting the hinges leaving the contents unharmed (unless the torch is wielded by a maniac). The bolts securing the contents are only on one side (opposite the hinges).
EDIT to Add: This is an excellent cache idea but as others have said even with a key based lock the likelihood of it lasting any lenght of time before it was inoperable is very low unless you can somehow shield it from rain and high humidity. Sounds like a good candidate for a park lodge, rangers office or other similar location in a nice park.
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As the topic says. I'm looking for something basic and relatively cheap. I've seen the garmin etrex h for around 80 bucks + shipping. I've been using my iPhone but the coords are too off for my liking.
As much as I hate to recommend it, Walmart.com has recently dropped their price on the eTrex H to $77.54 - best deal I've see around - site to store = free shipping.
Plan on spending a few bucks on a data cable so you can transfer caches (as waypoints) to your unit. It will accept GPX files and convert them to individual waypoints with the GCXXXX number as their names.
best of luck - the H is a great starter unit if you don't need maping. It also holds its value so if/when you decide to upgrade you should be able to get your money back out of it.
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I wanted to post back for the benefit of anyone that may have taken a chance like I did on this Bushnell Onix 200cr at Meijer.
I got it today, and all the reviews I found (after I ordered) were right on target. This thing is nothing more than a paper weight.
It is terribly unfriendly to use, difficult to enter waypoints to manually, difficult to transfer waypoints to (using GPSBabel) and so far impossible to edit or create custom waypoints on while in the field.
The real killer however...... Get this - - - when navigating to a set of coords (saved waypoint, or manually entered temporary coords) it stops navigation when you get within 50 feet.
Of course the unit performance is horrible (slow screen updates - taking minutes to sometimes update location, eats batteries like I eat granola, has buttons that are difficult at best to press, lacks any real features that I found useful).
In addition, the unit I received appeared to be a used unit, not factory refurbished. It arrived in original retail packaging with the factory seal broken, USB cable had some wear on it, unit has light scratches on the screen, unit had smudges on the sides and back and box was torn, then taped to hold part of the side together.
If you bought one of these - I'm sorry. I apologize for ever posting this link and information in the first place. I know if it sounds too good be true. . . well you know, and I've been freshly reminded.
Take advantage of the Meijer return policy. No return shipping costs to return the unit to Meijer.com, or if you have a store near by you can return it there. Get rid of it. I'll be getting my RMA and putting in the FedEx drivers hands tomorrow.
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I use the Nuvi Macro to load my caches to our Nuvi 255 WT. Great knowing when a cache is nearby on a long drive
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#1 schemed one Christmas to get a gadget for me. It was going to be a PDA or something else (a PDA was high on the list). Advice from a coworker who was secretly helping advise her on what ot buy led to the GPS.
She went with an eTrex Legend (ole Blue, back in 2004 or 2005) and colluded with my folks to get the car kit with street maps (Metroguide NA 6.0, 12v car adapter, windshield mount and data cable).
We started caching and while we don't get to do it as much as we would like still love it and are trying to find more time.
Got back into it last year after some years of absence and #1 told me to get a better unit for myself for the birthday, so I welcomed the Oregon 400t to the house, the Legend is still a backup, and she won a Nuvi 255WT a few months later.
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Hi folks, got my new oregon 450 yesterday. My first handheld and i love it more than the mrs already
Problem i have is in geocaching i cannot get get the hints, descriptions etc... as it says i need premier membership...which i am.
Any ideas guys and girls...pilling my hair out.
You'll need to transfer the caches (either individually, or as a group from a pocket query) using the GPX file. If you are transferring them using the LOC file, you won't get the full set of information.
As a premium member you have access to Pocket Queries which is the best way to get a large lot of caches to your device. Just take the GPX file that you get e-mailed, and drop it in your X:\Garmin\GPX directory (where x: is the drive letter on your computer for your GPS when connected in Mass Storage Mode).
More info here on Pocket Queries: http://www.markwell.us/pq.htm
Explorist 210
in GPS technology and devices
Posted
Thanks - I'm hoping they perform better than my old eTrex Legend (aka, ole Blue). The Legend gets pretty difficult to use in heavy tree cover.
I think I'll have them to play with on Monday if things work out. Supposed to be a bunch of cables to streamline loading the caches. I'll only be adding 12 or15 hides ot the uint for this special event.
Thanks for the tips!