Matt7591

That's cool. Are these lists searchable?

In difficult finds, I like North up and use it to circumscribe the location. Then I know it's within a given area with a degree of confidence. I've been at a few where the site is very obvious, but finding it is not. So getting there can be only a small detail of the entire event. Default view is always compass screen, with my favorite fields set.

Thanks all, some good ideas on here.

Thanks all. Just tried 6137. Wow, what a diff! 6.14 is bad! 6.13.7 is fantastic. I was trying to hunt for an option to change the screen drawing but no love.

Newest version, seems to repaint the screen differently than before. It's tedious to use compared to the prior version I was at. Have a bunch of maps loaded (NA NT 8, Topo, CA Topo, AZ Topo), but that never made a diff before. Any suggestions on making it faster? All loaded on hd and no CD/DVD used for maps. Thanks, Matt

Do you have any references you can site on this or is this your own finding? Sounds like a good idea, but it is effectively giving the gps two data points to work with. If during those instantaneous moments the gps was correcting itself, getting a better (or worse) reading, I think 15 degrees would be an understatement. Scenario 1. Geocaching close to home. Process works and everyone's happy. Scenario 2. Lost in the woods. GPS battery low. Want to shoot a bearing to find a reliable landmark to get home. Off by up to 25 feet per hundred feet. Big error, could be a lot worse. Nobody with any sense would end up in this scenario unless they placed too much reliance on the gps.

All this talk about walking sticks has me thinking about making one. I've fashioned many along the way on hikes before (always fallen branches) but would like to make a more custom one. I have a Leki but a homebrew would be fun. I'm wondering about the tip. I see many people use rubber cane tips, but is there a way to get a carbide tip? Anyone have any suggestions? I have seen some online vendors which sell wood sticks which have a carbide tip which appears to be a hammer on type. Any "tips" would be appreciated. Thanks, Matt

Can you explain how that would work? I'm talking about ones that interest me based on description or location, but could be for a variety of reasons.

Hi, I'm planning on upgrading my account soon but wondering about cache management. One thing that I really have found a lack of is the ability to rank caches you want to visit. For instance, if I really find something interesting, I want to go to that first, rather than if I get around to it. I would liken it to using a star rating system for pictures like in Photoshop, etc. Is there a program that allows you to rate caches so that you can easily select the ones that most interest you? I'd especially like this to be visible in the paperless end (palm or blackberry). So if GSAK could add some tags for instance, that might be good. To summarize I'm not talking about a ratings system for publishing online, but for my own use before I go to the cache. Thanks, Matt

This is good to hear but probably too early to tell from anecdotal info. Would love to hear more findings!

SOLD. Thanks much.

All good choices. If you may want maps, rule out the H. If you may want to add a lot of maps or autorouting, rule out the HC. That would leave the HCX.

Hi, I have a Palm IIIxe for paperless. I don't need anymore as I have another unit. This unit is very clean. As you probably know, the batteries on these last a long time. Comes with the IIIxe PDA, the cradle, stylus and original CD (recommend download latest sw from palm.com). $17 + ship to you. Shipping will be $4-8, depending on location. I don't pad shipping. USPS or Fedex online calculator from 92618. Best method is paypal verified address but check or mo are fine. Matt

For 13, no kid friendly gps is needed. Even 11. Venture HC sounds good.

I want to find directions of some streets to the degree in GE. I am trying to find if there is a way to show in GE the exact direction of a bearing. Is there a way to do this? I was otherwise creating a single line path and exporting as kml and opening in a map tool. Not fun but works. Would like an easier way. Thanks, Matt

Garmin ETREX - Never used. Get the H if you go this route. Kinda spartan and would fun in its own right. VENTURE HC - Stellar deal. No memory card slot for more maps! SUMMIT HC - I started with a Vista with compass and barom but now have a Legend HCX with neither compass nor barom. Don't miss at all. I now use a Brunton compass. Extremely accurate, not finicky and very cool. $10 rather than the additional what, $60 for the built in compass? VISTA HCX - See my comments on hcx. VISTA CX - My first. Loved it. Too slow to start and hard to use in trees or in steep terrain. Get an H series. You'll thank me for this. VENTURE CX - See CX above. VISTA C - Why bother... RHINO 110 - Rhino what? DELORME PN20 - What's a Delorme? Bottom line, get the Venture HC if you don't want to expand very much in the future or the Legend HCX if you do plan to add maps or want the possibility. BTW, part of the sport of it is that GPS' are not inherently incredibly accurate. While I get a smaller circle of accuracy consistently with the H vs the non-H, the GPS will usually be off by 10 feet and not unusually 20-30 feet, unless you can hold for a minute to get a better read. This is where the compass is handy. When about 500 feet away, shoot the compass the direction the gps says the target is. Visualize that location. Go to 200 feet. Shoot it again. Go to 100 feet, shoot again. As you point these directions, you'll be able to accurately estimate the general area. Bear in mind the gps will have the same margins of error, but with more iterations, the readings will point more conclusively. If nothing else, it's fun to do :-)

Interestingly I find the street maps highlight parks more than the topo maps (just a green blob, however), but the topo maps will be true to the terrain, generally, parks or not. Try this. Take 3 or 4 caches that you would be interested to find in the area. Use the mapping search engine that is on this site. This is basically google maps. Then click on the MyTopo button to show the topo. Zoom in to full detail near each cache. Do you see features that would important to know, such as streams, steep inclines, etc? BTW, if Long Island is essentially flat ( I have never been there but suspect it is somewhat flat), then the Ibycus maps may be good. I think they do have water features on them (check to verify). I'm one who doesn't "need" topo most of the time but I sure like having it and it does enhance the fun for me!

TomTom would be good for a few runs to see if you like it. My (newbie) recommendation is simple. Quit reading and start doing. That will answer infinitely more questions. My prescription: 1. Get Google Earth installed if not already. 2. Find some caches in your area that look interesting (using the zip code search). Try 1/1 terrain/difficulty ratings to start. Pick like one or two just to get a taste. 3. Take the coordinates and copy/paste directly into Google Earth for a good visual of where the item is. If you're familiar with the area, the GPS may not be much more accurate than this! 4. Print the cache page with hints. Or, if you have a phone that supports email, send an email to yourself with the complete contents of the page. 5. Go. No need to bring anything. Do not give up until you find. Expect 30+ minutes for the first few, unless lucky. It's a good sign if there is recent find activity on the cache. Then just sign and take nothing/leave nothing. Be sure to report back, whatever happens.

Is that the blue legend or the hcx? Did you buy new?

I have both City Navigator and Topo on mine. CN is pretty pointless on an etrex but would be useful in a pinch. With a 24mb unit, I'd definitely go for topo. I've found myself using it more and more. Topo will help you find where to walk, what side of the stream the destination is on, etc. But I think the real answer to your question is that you should use for a bit and figure out what you feel is missing. Then try to solve for that. Also, there are now some REALLY good online maps that are free to download, depending on your locality. Matt

I love specs too but I much prefer getting real world feedback from users on equipment. I've used countless products that were beautiful on paper and feeble in practice. If Garmin says something is high sensitivity, they probably mean it; if it's a no-name closeout at Big-5, then be skeptical.

Unfortunately I don't have a lot of direct experience with a phone gps to comment but I do know of a few people who have both demonstrated to me and described their mediocre opinion of their gps phone performance. But others may have more direct experience. Matt

If the phones don't have high sensitivity gps capability, I wouldn't bother. I plodded about with a Vista CX for a time but now that the H series are such a bargain, you can't lose. The Venture HC is a phenomenal deal compared to what one would have paid for an equivalent unit just last year. I almost got the Venture, but I recently got the Legend HCX due to the memory slot. BTW, since I did go from a Vista with built in compass to the Legend, I do miss the compass, but not that much given the incredible reception and improved accuracy.

Sorry if this has been posted before. I love GE and I am very encouraged by the ability to use it for finding caches. However, I have a few requests. It currently shows shows the name, difficulty and terrain ratings when clicking on the icon. I'm requesting that you add: 1. Cache size 2. GC code 3. Bonus points - a tooltip for the description (to save bandwidth but still make accessible - don't even know if this is an option in GE). 4. I'd ask for ability to filter on size of cache but I realize that's a member feature using PQ. Anyway, thanks for a great site and for considering these features. Matt

Looks outstanding. I just dl'd. Thank you very much for this. I dabbled in this stuff and it's just way too much for me in my spare time so my sincere thanks to you and others that make these maps! Matt