Mechanics Hands

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...ndpost&p=956500 Not true abut the Garmin 60 series or the 76cs. They BOTH use only 2 aa (I know because I own a 60cs and the 76cs according to gpsdiscount.com) A friend needed a new gps, and ordered the Sporttrack color and hated it. He was forced to have the backlight on all the time if he wanted to see anything and it was of poor quality. It drained batteries horribly. He sent it back and got the Sportrack pro instead. My 60cs has been sitting on my desk on fresh NHMH batteries now for over 6 hours with the backlight on all the time and I have only lost one power bar off the meter. Also others who have had the 60cs for longer report great battery life, and close if not reaching or exceeding Garmins "marketing" batt life claims. On topic though, if you can get a discount on the direct route software, then the Meri color seems to be the best way to go. Currently gpsdiscount.com has the meri color for $301.48 and getagps.com has the meri color for $306.99 and the traveler pack for 444.99 I dont see gpsdiscount.com having the direct route software though. I was tickled by gpsdiscount.com's service and will use them again if I can. I ordered my 60cs and had it the next day (oklahoma city to arlington TX 24 hours from the time I placed the order) for free shipping as they sent it 2-3 day fedex. If you have to get a completely new setup though, new color GPS and new software, it might be good to look at the 60cs and maybe wait a little longer and spend the extra $100 To me it was well worth it

Hi everyone, I just got my Garmin 60CS and my premium membership. I was wondering if there was a way to search for the caches hidden by one person, but then organize them or list them in a map of just their caches so I can find the ones closest to my home? I keep hearing great things about 9keys caches, but its been tough to search through his 180 hides to find the ones that are closest to my home. I am trying to make the first cache with the 60cs a good one as it will also be our sons first cache and the mrs wants a great scrapbook page. Thanks for the help. MH

WOOHOOO first I want to thank everyone for their feedback to my many questions. I ordered my 60CS from gpsdiscount.com yesterday and it arrived in Arlington TX today!!!!!!!!! They had the overall best price, slightly more for the gps (getagps.com had it for $396) for the auto nav kit was less so overall it saved me $20. They had great service and answered many questions quickly. I placed the order at 10am and they shipped it that day 2-3 day delivery but fedex got it to me today. So far I am very tickled about the gps and the service. Cant wait to start grabbing texas caches now. Thanks again MH

That might have been true for magellans, but I dont think it does for the Garmin 60 series as far as the color screens. A friend had the sportrack color and sent it back imediately because the screen was so horrible. The Meridian color is better for sure but it pales in comparison to the G 60's. But the G 60 is superb. I looked at one and took it outside and compared the Meri color to the 60cs and the 60cs was the hands down winner. (mine should be arriving friday) Yes I liked the idea of the SD cards for the Meri's, but I wouldnt be using that as much as I would the screen. I had decided to get the Meri color or platinum, but took one final look at the garmins, saw the 60's and looked closer and closer and finally broke away from the Meri's. If Garmin had a gps with the design of the 60's with sd cards I would have got it without thinking twice. The screen backlight is also fully adjustable to suit the lighting conditions which can be a big advantage. MH

I was on the verge of getting a Meri color. I started caching with a freinds Magellan 315 and then his sporttrack pro. I had always disliked the garmins I had seen because of the buttons being on the top. But before I shelled out the money, I had to be sure and I had to ask. Its a little more money, but the Garmin 60 series impressed me. The main thing is that the 60 series has a far better screen. I tested them side by side and the 60 screen was far better. The buttons were on the bottom and had a great feel. With the backlight in dim the screen still was readable and had decent resolution. Also you can fully adjust the brightness and it has an auto feature on the backlight to save battery power that turns the backlight off if idle for a set time. As soon as you hit a button it comes back on. The meri has an on low and off, and as stated before by others its almost black with the light off and hard to read in dim. My friend was shocked when I told him I was ordering a garmin, but it appears to be the best of the current color units (I know many will chime in in support of the magellans, which I still like LOL) The main thing with the meri is the SD cards, and lower price. The question is do you really need all the info of the cards? I could see if you travled frequently across the country, but for most cachers it seems the 56MB will be sufficient. If you decide you want autorouting, causing you to have to buy more software, it might be worthwhile to find a G 60 on display along with the meri color and compare the two. If you decide you can live without the routing capabilities and want to stick with your existing software, then it seems like the meri color would be the best choice overall, especially money wise. It will eat batteries as you have to have the backlight on to see it decently, whereas I am hearing great reports about the 60's and battery life. Its alot of money to spend and it would suck to spend all the money and see the other one and realize you made a mistake. Hope this helps some. Not tryin to push another brand. I could care less about that. Just sharing info about the units I've researched and compared. I'm very glad I got to see the 60cs next to the Meri color as it was a fairly easy choice after that, even though I had my heart set on a Meri. MH

Updated my original post. Sorry for not noticing the amount of posts you've made here coyote, it just sounded like it came from a letterboxers point of view, not a cachers. However I still stand by the other points, things like clueless newbies shouldnt be clueless for so long etc does appear attacking, harsh etc. You were once a clueless newbie, just like the rest of us. Just like with kids, cachers grow and learn at different speeds. Its also hard if you dont have someone to show you the ropes first, or take the time to read and ask and listen and study other caches. Even reading the forums and the topics only helps so much, alot of OJT is also needed. Thats why when I went to a newbies cache that was horrible, way off in Cor's etc I pm them and we dialoged back and forth as I was able to pass on the knowledge I had obtained. (the area was very light in caches had to drive over 50 miles to get one or two) Why did I take the time to do that? Because I cared about Caching, and if someone didnt help the newbie, then they would have continued on in their newbie mistakes. To often people will slam, attack, bash etc, someone rather than sending them a PM in a pleasant constructive way, with tips to try to help them. If they dont listen, then its their loss but you tried what you could. Its about giving back to the sport in a constructive way. Most peoples rants, attacks etc will only serve to close off the other person and have them get defensive than really listen and it often destroys the chance to accomplish what you really wanted to with expressing your concerns. MH

"Remember, these are not hybrids, but pure letterboxes. Non-boxing cachers shouldn't be in there to begin with. Asking enthusiasts of a different sport to change because of us is not right. While one solution is to take a proactive approach and mark the box and contents in case a clueless cacher stumbles across it, I don't think it even a good solution. Funhog did say the box was clearly labeled "letterbox." What's next, neon? ...maybe a recorded message that is triggered when the box is opened? Clueless newbies shouldn't be clueless nearly as long as they are. " Why does each of your posts sound very angry and attacking towards Geocaching, the GC site, and the people that enjoy this sport? I can understand being upset when a letterbox is mistaken for a cache. But to come in here in the forums and bash the site, make accusations and attack geocachers seems VERY UNCALLED for. If everyone had to pay for the use of the site (which I hope never to see in my lifetime) then there might be more control. But its simply unrealistic to think that GC has any control over the many thousands of geocachers. Not to mention other geocaching type sites, navicache for example. Brian stated it pretty well, many people that geocache never come to the forums, or glance over the vast amounts of information thats out there. There is no way to control if a person truly read something if they stated they did. What you want GC to quiz people on policies before accepting caches or logs etc? That would be absurd. IMHO GC has done a very good job in having the proper information available to those who want to read it and be responsible quality geocachers. However, they cannot control or rule over all of them and you certainly cant blame GC for those poor quality newbie Geocachers out there. I had a newbie in my area take a ziploc bag full of trade items in a cache, thinking it was one item because it was in a bag, never thinking it was so the items would be protected. I PM'd them and took some time sharing tips and explaining to them more about caching. They listened and even made a trip back to replace the items. They had said they had read through the site, but when it came to actually do the cache they made mistakes, just like we all do everyday with something new. I myself learned from another Cacher and read through the forums etc to gain tips etc. But when you are looking for a cache with the error factor that so many gps's have, not to mention the possibility of improper coordinates, you should expect some mistakes to happen. Others have stated it pretty well. If there is a cache or letterbox nearby (sometimes its hard to know) Then the respective owners should take steps to ensure that its harder to have thier chaches or boxes mistaken for something else. These steps should NEVER NEVER include removing the other persons cache or letterbox. To do so would only start a war between the two that would be totally uncalled for. Yes sharing concerns because you care, etc is one thing, to attack people, GC and the sport is quite another. MH [edit - changed wording about forums as a correction]

Hmmm Starting to drool at the Leatherman TI's very nice looking. I have broken my supertool a few times while it got me out of a jam. Nice thing is buy a replacement take the old one back to walmart and get the money back. Since its a lifetime garantee I think its cool. Flashlight try some real power. This is my Favorite http://www.streamlight.com/sting_hp_info.htm 40,000 candle power and still short enough to get into tight spots on the aircraft. Screwdrivers nothign but the best. Love the new snapon handles and thier old ones were always great. This is my fav that I use all the time: http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/pro_det.asp...ore&dir=catalog yes spendy but if its something you're going to use alot why not spend a little more and get something of great value and excellent quality. Hmm Reminds me now tht payday is here time to get the Garmin 60CS on order too to start Cachin in texas now :-) MH

Hmm 8-10 times a day while at work (if the planes arent breaking) and 3-4 when I'm home onmy weekend. I tend to bounce back and forth while surfing and enjoy being up to the minute on a few threads. Not to mention all the input/advice I got when I posted questions. MH

Well for my family and I Cachng is the perfect compromise. My wife likes to go for walks. I hate going when there is no purpose. With caching, she gets to have her walks, and I have an objective to complete. Keeps us both happy. And our 3 year old daughter absolutely loves finding treasures and she enjoys the hikes (even though she often ends up asleep on my shoulders) Its the perfect hobby with something for everyone. MH

Well my leatherman and a snapon screwdriver allows me to fix about 80-90% of the problems we have on aircraft doing line maintenance. Many times I have took off running across the ramp with only a flashlight, screwdriver and my leatherman. Jump in fix the problem and the passengers stay happy. I tried the gerbers, hated them, hated the generic imitations. 99% of the people in my shop carry leathermans. If used correctly it can fix most anything. The saw will even rip right through aluminum and composites like its butter. Gotta have my leatherman. Without it the planes take delays. MH

some people just like to grumble and argue for the sake of arguing. Apparently sax seems like one of those types as they argue and debate and switch views for the sake of aruing more. (yes I knwo you'll balst me sax but oh well it is clear much fo the intent especially the way you switched views about virts)

I went to the store and held both. I couldnt stand the buttons on the top as they often obscured the screen when pressing them or navigating through screens. This was a large reason why I avoided considering garmin products before until the 60 series came out. Now I have a 60CS on order after comparing the 76cd and meri color. mh

Us Navy 1993 to 1996 USS George Washington CVN 73 Norfolk VA homeport Aviation Ordanance and Aircraft structures ships company Was in the Med in nov 1994 when we had to go in and pay saddam a visit when he moved his tanks towards Kuwait again. Was anchored of Trieste itally to make a port call but Saddam had a different Idea. Beat feet across the med, went straight through the ditch (Suez Canal) Launched our aircraft, especailly the EA6B's and then did an end around the Sinai peninsula. Was a scary eyt exciting time. Ended up doing 68 days at sea straight and was releived by the Eisenhower as we were at the end of our Med cruise. Veteran of a foreign conflict (VFW member) and darn proud of it. And to echo what Zach posted. Thanks to all those who went before us and came after us. Enjoy your Freedom?? Thank a Vet. To many times we forget to do this and take our freedoms for granted. Sadly it takes 60th anniversaries of D Day or other days for so many to remember how big a price the freedom we enjoy today really cost. MH

Well said nappy. One thing that I enjoy about geocaching is being able to get out and find things in our area (not just the cache itself) I have discovered parks, beautiful sites or just some interesting things while out Geocaching. It seems to me that virtuals can have the same effect. Now I have only found one virt, but II try to screen them or I will find one if its on the way to another cache. Now I just moved to dallas, and I'm about to get my own GPS (I borrowed a friends before) Now I love airplanes and airports. One Virt I am planning to do (if its not done already) is to do one at the DFW airport observation area. This is a wonderful area to go watch the planes at the airport and is fully open to the public for free. My daughter loves it. Now I cant do a traditional cache or even a micro for obvious reasons. But this is a perfect example of where Virts have their place and should be counted along with traditionals. This is a way of seeing something new and wonderful, and most people wouldnt know about it. Why is it there is always someone trying to stir up garbage with slamming argumentative posts etc? Guess some just like controversy and being rude and argumentative than letting others enjoy the hobby peacefully. oh well.............

Yes its me again with yet another question. I'm wondering how much that others really use the compass feature (if you have that in your GPS) or use a compass at all while geocaching? I'm wondering that because I'm wondering if the extra $50 that having the barometer (which I really dont care about or need) and the electronic compass in the 60CS, is worth it. Seems like you could just as easily spend $10 for a seperate compass and still have the option, but yes you dont have it all built into one. What are others thoughts? MH

Hi everyone, I am close to making my final decision between a Garmin 60 series and the Meridian Color. I am leaning towards the Garmin after seeing one in the sotre. However, how does the software for each compare. Is one vastly more accurate or detailed then the other? I really want the best overall package that I can get. If it means going with a slightly less superior GPS for vastly superior software I will go that way. Just looking for your personal experiences. Thanks MH

I'm an aircraft mechanic by profession and passion. A couple months before our daughter was Born (she is the one I was speaking to in the story as if she was about 5 or 6 in that sweet innocent age) I wrote a story expressing my passion for aircraft maintenance and what bI feel the true heart of an aircraft mechanic should be. The story was submitted to a national aircraft maintenance magazine and it got published with the hope that it would help other mechanics share their passion for aircraft maintenance. Using the name seemed to be a perfect fit. I plan on making an avatar with two open hands together with an aircraft held in it. I have started leaving a copy of the mechanics hands story as kind of a signature to all the caches I visit. The story is included below. MH The Mechanics Hands I was holding my little girl in my arms one day when she looked at my rough scarred hands. She ran her silky smooth hands over them. Lookin up at me, she asked in her sweet innocent voice, "Daddy, why are your hands so rough? Why do they look like that?" I smiled back at her and said, "Jordan, each of these scars tell a story of a passion and committment your daddy has. They tell a story of a love and fascination. A story of heartache and disapointment. A story of triumph and joy. A story of pride and comittment to excellence. A story of fear of making a mistake. A story of needing absolute perfection every time these hands are used. You see Jordan, your daddy is an airplane mechanic. Every day I use these hands, people are trusting me with their lives. They are trusting the skill and judgement that comes with these hands. They are trusting that with each scar has come more skill and perfection." Then she took a long look at my hands, then looked at an airplane nearby. She asked, "did you work on that airplane daddy?" I replied, "yes I did baby." "then I feel safe and I trust you daddy," she said. I held her closer, not able to hold back the tears. Then as I watched her walk onto the airplane, tears still in my eyes, I could not help but look at my scarred rough hands. I could not help but look back through the years and remember all the joy and pain, the cold and rain, the heat and sweat, the blood and tears, the fond memories and the bittersweet ones. I could not help but realize that at that very moment, it was all worth it.

We have used photoisland www.photoisland.com with great success. It allows you to password it if you want and its all free. We have enjoyed it and wanted to keep our pics private except to freinds and family.

have you tried contacting magellan about this? I have asked them a few questions in the past and they have gotten back to me rather quickly.

thanks I really appreciate all the feedback with your experiences with each. With just moving to dallas and having over 700 caches within 25 miles of me I really want to get going but also want to make the right choice when spending so much money. now all I need is to find a place in the Ft Worth area (preferably but will drive into dalals if needed) to see both side by side. Thanks again :-)

still looking for more feedback to be able to make a more informed decision when I look at them soon Thanks

I am about to get my first GPS (I borrowed my friends Magellan 315 and sporttrack pro for all my caches so far) and want to get a good high quality unit. I am considering a color unit, unless the screens are of poor quality then I will get a Meridian platinum. My friend got a sporttrack color and after using it once returned it due to the poor resolution. I have never used Garmin products, only the Magellan 315 and the Sporttrack pro. I have larger hands so size doesnt matter, I actually prefer the meridian over the sporttrack series. I prefer the buttons on the bottom of the GPS unit that way the screen is always visible when anvigating through menus etc. Thats another reason why I didn't consider Garmin units until I ran across the 60cs. I know I prefer units with the built in compass as I have already used the compass feature on many geocaches, and am about to do several that require you to head on a bearing from a set of coordinates. I do like the idea of being able to use sd cards in the meridians, and if needed having a few cards loaded with different maps. But I also have to wonder how much would that really needed to be used by the average geocacher? Anyone with any experience with any of these? What are your thoughts? How does the quality of the color displays compare? How does the streets software from Magellan compare to Garmins? I know I can get a complete merdian color traveler kit for the same price as just the 60c and a couple accessories without garmins map software. Thanks for the inputs.