patned

The vertical antenna is one of the biggest issues with mine. I keep forgetting it, and hold it horizontal or angled, so I can read the screen, and the reception dies. If you hold it vertical, (unfortunately that means up in front of your face so you can read it) it works fine. I used mine for quite a few finds before getting the unit I have now. The new units are much better, but unless you have some good geosenses, accuracy isn't going to help. Work on those before spending more money. Ed

Looking at the logs for this one, it has been found fairly regularly and recently. I'd put it back. If it had only been found once or twice in the past few months it might be a candidate for archiving. This looks like a very active cache. If there were any bugs in it, I'd move them somewhere else, just in case the cops or someone else grabs the cache.

The thing that frustrated us the most when starting was not knowing 'proper' procedures. There is a lot of info out there about how to use the GPS, what to look for, how to search an area, etc. There is nearly nothing on what to do once you found the cache. If the log is missing or wet, do you email the owner, just mention it online, or use a Needs Maintenance flag? What, if anything, do you do with an obviously misrated cache with no response from the owner? Example, difficulty/terrain both 1.5, placed 20 feet up in a tree? What's your response when someone asks specific questions on how to find a cache you've found and you don't know what the owner wants? Just a few examples. I guess what I'm trying to say is there is a lot of info on how to be a successful cacher, little on how to be a good cacher.

Most used? The aluminum cane. Adjustable length. Holds blackberry bushes and other undesirables out of the way, pokes into wet undergrowth, removes spiderwebs and spiders, fends off snakes, the hooked end retrieves caches in the bushes, 'clanks' when it hits an ammo box under a moss blanket, absolutely required when getting up and down some of the hills here, double-sided tape on the hook retrieves film cans from sign posts, magnet on the foot retrieves caches inside pipes... Oh, and it helps you walk upright while you are trudging along with the other 30 pounds of stuff you never use.

I use Microsoft Streets and Trips for my maps, I'm sure there are other apps that have the same capabilities. Convert your GPX files to CSV format using GPSBABEL or something similar, and Streets can read that. Load both your file and your friend's and you'll have a map showing both sets. You can even make the different caches different symbols and colors. Ed

In Cachemate, under the OPTIONS menu, there is an IMPORT OPTIONS item that also specifies how many logs to get. This may be set to 1, check there.

I've seen a number of responses here where people don't want to submit a Needs Archived for various reasons, usually looking bad, getting swamped with nasty emails, etc. There is a relatively easy way to get the truly bad caches archived without any damage to yourself. Create a 'throwaway' email account you'll never check (Yahoo, Gmail, etc.). Then create a 'throwaway' account on the gc.com site. Enter the Needs Archived log using this account. Gets the message to the reviewer, nobody will punish you for doing something needed, because nobody knows who you are. I don't really recommend this and would not do it myelf, it is likely against the rules for GC, just pointing out that there ARE ways to get the job done. Be creative. If nothing else, carry tape, logs, bags, etc with you, and repair some of the caches as you go. If you had fun up to the point where you actually took the cache in hand, ignore the condition of it as best you can and help the next finder have more fun. Isn't that what this is all about?

I'm using Internet Explorer 6.0 - anyone know how to set anything so that cache pages I open automatically come up with the hints decrypted? Thanks

I have a 315 that I don't normally use for caching, but it will work fine. The biggest issue is that you will have to load the locations manually, since the geocaching.com site only supports Garmin. Use the compass screen and just follow the arrow. When it swings left or right, that is the direction of the cache. Do this from a couple directions to 'triangulate' the actual location. You'll probably end up within a few feet this way, then look a lot. It is an old unit, but still has plenty of accuracy, every bit as good as my Garmin, may have a little hard time getting a good lock in heavy tree cover, but that is true for anything except the newest high-sensitivity units. For the price, it is darn good. I think I paid $50 for mine aboout 7 years ago. If you are going to be loading a lot of cache locations, what I do is enter name, coords and a note into Excel, and use my mapping program - TOPO! - to read the file then upload to the GPS unit. This will work for almost any type of GPS unit. Ed

If you are going to hide film canisters, try to locate the translucent ones from Fuji, rather than the black ones from Kodak. The Fuji cans with the snap_IN lids are waterproof, the others with snap_ON are not. Check your nearest photo store for a possibly free supply.