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user13371

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Posts posted by user13371

  1. Sure, I can turn off that kind of tracking, because I don't want to have anyone be uncomfortable with it.  You're okay with the idea of being able to know if a cache has been moved?

    But - not trying to be arhgumentative here, just trying to understand WHY either might make you uncomfortable  Can you put a finer point on why it bothers you?  Let me explain my original thinking. If I hide a cache, I want people to log their finds, and also their DNFs if they feel like it. I'd also like to know if the area is getting more traffic than I expected or is reflected in the logs - it might help me add hints if necessary,, maybe add a "watch out for muggles" note to the description, or even ove it myself to a less trafficed spot.   An airtag seemed a pretty easy way to do that - and harmless as it doesn't identify WHO is near the cache.

  2. Hugh, as I said you could also configure it NOT to send a notification unless someone moved the cache - is that any better for this purpose?

    For all other purposes though, not just geocaching - if you're carrying any cellular connected Apple devices like an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch - your devices' locations are loigged every time you're within range of anyone's airtag. If you live, commute, and work in a metro area that's likely dozens or even hunreds of times a day.  And it's usually nothing to worry about because none of those logged events can be related directly back to your or your device.  Only "An iPhone was within range of this tag at this location at this time."
     

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  3. The privacy concern might be a stretch but I can see some people thinking of it that way, that's why I asked.

    An airtag is not a camera of any sort.  It does not record anything or report the identity of any compatibile devices (or people carrying them) nearby.  It simply pings the tag's owner with its location. You can also set it so it won't report anything at all unless it gets moved - and even then it won't identify who moved it, just where it is each time a compatible iDevice is within range.  That's pretty much how my bike trackers are set up - no messaging at all if they're at my house, in the parking garage at work, or with me.  Only if they move after I've locked them up somewhere.

    Would that kind of setup ease privacy conerns?

    • Surprised 1
  4. What would you think about an airtag or similar device built in and concealed in a cache container? Set up the right way you could  get a ping whenever someone with an iDevice came near your cache.  And you might be able to recover the container if it went missing.

    If I was going to do something like that, I wouldn't use a genuine AppleAir Tag though.  There are less expensive tags available that work with Apple's "Find My" network.  And at least a few of them are very easy to disable the beeper on them - I have one one hidden on each of my bicycles (and two on the most expensive one).

    • Funny 1
  5. Have any geocachers had a chance yet to field test an Apple watch series 8 (or 7, for that matter) against the Apple Watch Ultra?

     

    I’m likely upgrading my series 6 real soon. Want the Ultra but may opt for a series 8 if the Ultra is too big for my bony wrist.  Even though the GPS isn’t my main reason for getting the new watch, I’m curious if the dual-frequency receiver makes a noticeable difference.

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    • Funny 1
  6. Right, so how about from a 20 up to say, a 30x - a more likely upgrade for some people, perhaps? As I said, I'm interested main;y in comparison of screen visibility and re-draw speed, so either 20 or 30 model bumped to their 'x" version should make a fair comparison.

  7. It's been a while since I used this myself, but I just blew the ducts of my file hub and updated the firmware to 2.000.30.30. I may be able to put up a new step-by-step tutorial late on Sunday if nobody beats me to it.

     

    There are a few possible variations - Which version file browser are you using, and which mobile device (iPad, iPhone, Android)?

  8. AlanDB, I don't think that would work. They've generally proceeded in the other direction, giving more and more stuff away. There used to also be a Google Earth "Plus" version that landed somewhere between the free and pro versions. When Plus went away its features were trolled into the free version. Now I'm not sure there is ANY difference left bet6ween the free and Pro version.

  9. I’d agree with Splashy that the Dakota 10 is a bad idea for limited memory and no way to add more.

     

    Here’s Garmin’s comparison of etrex 20, etrex 30, and Dakota 20:

     

    https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/catalog/product/compareResult.ep?compareProduct=87771&compareProduct=87774&compareProduct=30926

     

    On battery life, eTrex line wins against all the other suggestions, and the eTrex 20 wins on lowest price for currently shipping models.

     

    As OP said price was a factor, I’d skip Oregons and Montanas unless you found a really good deal on a used one.

  10. ]I have a new computer, and my iPod cellular service allows for tethering data. Needed to be carrying the computer with me today, so I'm testing it out.

     

    Location services on the iPad shows my location exactly. Location services on the MacBook lags some way behind -- which tells me the iPad reporting what it's getting through its onboard GPS, but the MacBook is only getting an approximation from the cellular network.

     

    Anyone know if there's a way for a tethered device to share its more precise location info? Not that I need it on the train - but in some situations it might be useful.

  11. Just reviving this with a funny note on how I resolved the problem.

     

    A couple years ago, I "downsized" my computer collection and have been using JUST a tablet. But this past week I decided to buy a computer again, a new Macbook Pro. When I was setting it up, it helpfully offered to transfer settings, apps, and data from a backup on our TimeCapsule - the backup of my last computer, from November 2012.

     

    To my surprise, in my Documents folder I found a disk image I pulled from my eTrex 20 when I first bought it, and I can extract the basemap from that.

     

    Now if only I had a time machine that could help my find all the other things I've lost over the years. My keys, some of my hair, etc...

  12. I usually see topics about converting an NMEA file to a GPX file, but never the other way around. Is it possible to convert a GPX file to an NMEA file?

    Yes, using GPSBabel. But remember that GPX is a much "richer" format, so a GPX file may include many data tyoes which have no equivalents in NMEA.

     

    Do you have a device that needs a NMEA data stream that you wish to populate from a GPX file?

  13. Hmm, I didn't pick up that angle at all. The article did mentions several potentials some for outages - from solar storms to intentional jamming - that would affect GPS, GLONASS and other systems. I didn't see US system maintenance as an issue, at least not a key one.

  14. "Use your eyes" and orienteering are indeed good things for hikers and goecachers - but not always adequate for some scenarios. Particularly not those the original article mentioned, such as guiding a ship like this one:

     

    _78614226_galatea.jpg

     

    There's more to GPS than finding caches.

     

    ... "Most people think of GPS as the system that runs their car sat-nav and tells their smartphone where it is ... but there is probably no area of industry, of commerce, or telecoms, that isn't now dependent on GPS. And if we lose GPS we lose them all."
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