[bumblingbs - RIP Karen]

I learned about it yesterday too. I was chaperoning on a school hike with her husband and their son (now 12y old) to Sol Duc. We slept in tents, and got snowed in. Mrs. B. Would have loved it, I think.

 

We will be looking out for her son. For most of his conscious years, his mother has been very sick and extremely withdrawn, and I want to help him know what a wonderful, creative and compassionate person she was, and how much she was appreciated by a large community. If anyone can contribute to that, please e-mail me, daniel at shunra dot net.

 

And Belleterre, that was very well put. I hope she's made it Mt. Jupiter now. Safely.

[Longest-Standing Site Bug]

Of course you won't see the fix until we push the code out next week.

 

-Raine

 

If 7 days be a week... the problem is still exactly the same:

 

(1) Open a Bookmark list

(2) Set page view to 50 items

(3) Check a few items, bulk delete, and confirm

(4) The page view is 20 again.

 

So far the bug, as defined as a functionality that is not functioning the way it should.

 

But beyond fixing the bug, there are some possible improvements, while you're at it:

 

- Change the default from 20 to 50

- Add an option 'All'

- Add a button "Delete Archived Caches from Bookmark"

[Hike of the Month 2008]

Among all the getting-there options I see, nobody seems to mention the Edmonds-Kingston ferry, which is definitely the fastest way to go from anywhere north of the I-90. After crossing the Hood Canal bridge, do NOT continue all the way to highway 101, but take the exit to Center Road directly to Quilcene, and follow 101 to Brinnon from there. That way, it's just over 1 hour from the ferry to the TH.

 

If you're coming from farther south, driving around via Olympia may be a good option.

 

Forget about the Bainbridge and Bremerton ferries altogether. It will add driving time, plus you get stuck in downtown Seattle.

[Whidbey Island Cache Machine]

You say you're starting at 7 am with a big group... but from where?

 

Considering the fact that Whidbey can be approached from the Mukilteo-Clinton Ferry, from the PT-Keystone ferry, and from Deception pass, wouldn't it be optimal to have three parallel cache machine groups, all converging on Ebey Bluff and/or on the dinner event?

[Are there really only three rules.]

It seems that we can all agree now that false or bogus logs are against the rules. If you don't write about your find in the cache logbook you are not following the rules.

 

Bogus logs are not a socially accepted behavior for most of the outspoken minority, but I've seen no written rule...yet.

 

What's a bogus log anyway? When you sign the log of a cache you haven't found?

There really ought to be a rule against that.

No, wait... Let's call it a guideline.

[5 Years later]

It happens!

 

I just looked at some of the oldest TBs, starting with TB1. Most old TBs were either never activated, or have stopped moving, or are held by someone who logs them in and out of caches or shows them off at events.

 

The oldest TB that is still actually circulating is TB36, but it too had disappeared at one point for several years before continuing its journey.

 

The oldest TB that has continued to move continuously appears to be TB55.

[Garmin Topo U.S. 24K]

I didn't know Garmin had 24K Topos for entire states. I thought they just had national parks. Is their US Topo 24K?

 

I just found out about them over the weekend.

Garmin 24k

 

So - Garmin comes at $99 for WA and OR combined on a micro SD card, whereas Above The Timber sells WA alone for download for $79?

 

Is there a quality difference?

[Guardrail caches in Washington]

I'm kinda sorry I ever got in on this one. I'm not saying never ask permission, however, what I say is true;

Knowledge of and permission transfers legal responsiblity to the granter which they may not be subject to otherwise. Thus I have seen a couple of cases where the agency could have cared less about a cache until they were presented with a request for formal permission.

Take it for what it is worth, which is just what I seen. Others take on this may and will be different.

 

My take is the same, though :-)

 

Many officials who would legally not be allowed to give permission and thereby assume responsibility would prefer never to be asked and forced to make a decision.

 

Indeed, on private land, asking for permission is imperative. On public land, common sense should suffice.

 

Common sense includes:

- don't endanger anyone

- don't violate laws

- don't knowingly violate regulations

- don't create situations in which other people will endanger others or violate laws.

[Cougar Mountain Hike Saturday 6/14]

I did Rattlesnake two weeks ago, and have never been up on Cougar yet. I'll try to make it too!

 

Arrgh. Sorry - it won't work.

[Cougar Mountain Hike Saturday 6/14]

I did Rattlesnake two weeks ago, and have never been up on Cougar yet. I'll try to make it too!

[What navigation system?]

I have used various GPS units for caching. Right now I use a Vista HCx and a Pocket PC.

 

I would, however, like to buy a car navigation system with voice prompts. Ideally, it should be usable for geocaching too. I have no experience with such units, except for built-in ones in rental cars.

 

With the Vista, I have the problem that my maps (metroguide) are gradually getting outdated, and buying a new set is expensive. I heard that for some navigation systems, it is possible to just download uptodate maps. I'd like my system to work in Europe as well.

 

I have heard about systems that include real-time traffic jam information, etc., but I am not sure whether that would be a subscription-based system, which would be more than I want.

 

What navigation systems do you use? and/or recommend?

 

Is there any other consideration I should take into account?

 

Thanks!

[Newer Vista Hcx with new chipset (?)]

I'd be very curious to know from those who have the Vista HCX with the newer chipset, whether the trip computer (speedometer and odometer) function correctly on those units.

 

I got mine a few weeks ago. Not sure what my firmware version is - where do I see that?

 

To answer your question: I am not aware of any odometer problem. However, I did notice on the trip computer screen that when I am move below a certain threshold speed (2 miles/hour?), the software doesn't acknowledge this as movement. The result is that my average speed is still correct, and the distance is still correct, but my average moving speed ends up being too high, because the full distance covered is not divided by the time I moved, but by the time I moved at an above-threshold speed.

 

I imagine that if the threshold would be much lower than that, I would be considered to be running around ground zero when I am actually standing still, when reception is spotty and coordinates are jumping.

 

If they come up with a solution, it must be something more complex than a mere lowering or elimination of that threshold. Rather, the algorithm should include the direction factor, and deduce that if I appear to be running very short distances around the same point, even at high speed, I am probably standing still, whereas, if I appear to be making tiny movements in a consistent direction, I am probably actually moving into that direction. But when reception is spotty, my consistent movement might look like zigzagging and going back and forth along a certain vector.

[XML parse error, mismatched tag]

Thanks, Hertzog.

I tried that, and I find nothing special. I tried removing the cache in which the error occurred from the selection and reexported it again, but the error just appears in another line, always somewhere in one of the first caches.

[XML parse error, mismatched tag]

I tried one other thing: I deleted the first three lines from the GSAK database, and exported a new GPX file, and tried the same thing again.

 

This time there XML parse error is supposed to be at line 125.

 

How can I load my GPX file into cachemate?

[XML parse error, mismatched tag]

I exported a GPX file (414 caches) from GSAK, and uploaded it to my PDA. I tried to import the file into Cachemate. Every time I get to the 2nd cache, I get the following error message:

 

XML parse error at line 289:

mismatched tag

 

 

I tried and it with zipped as well as unzipped GPX files, and I tried loading it into my eisting database, and in a new one, but nothing helps: The error is consistently the same. Does anyone have an idea?

 

Thanks!

[Twenty-something year old cachers?]

I'm twenty-something.

I ain't telling how much "something" is.

I'm at least that twice!

Hindsight is twenty-twenty.

[Twenty-something year old cachers?]

I'm twenty-something.

I ain't telling how much "something" is.

[Vista Hcx vs Legend Hcx & altimeter]

I haven't calibrated my Vista HCx altimeter since I got it last week, but the default settings are fairly good. I climbed up to a mountain peak today, and at the top the altimeter read 5336'. According to the map, I was at 5345. 9 feet of elevation is good enough for me, especially since this is according to factory settings, pre-calibration.

 

Someone who hiked with me was carrying a barometer, and he had us at 5482, so the HCx was waaay closer.

[Hands on Test. Vista HCx vs 60CSx, and the winner is...]

 

I don't put any data fields on my map. I use the compass page and the trip computer page to display all the data fields I need.

 

Additionally, you can change the sequence in the page rotation. You can also add pages to the sequence.

 

That gives me an idea, I'll have to check:

 

I wonder if it is possible to put the same page more than once into the sequence. Then I'd do:

 

Map

Compass with data fields

Elevation

Map

Compass with data fields

Satellites

Map

Compass with data fields

XXX

Map

Compass with data fields

XXX

Map

Compass with data fields

XXX

 

That way, I'd never be more than 2 clicks away from the two most important fields...

 

(But the ability to move back would be so much easier...)

[Hands on Test. Vista HCx vs 60CSx, and the winner is...]

Add to that that an additional row with huge characters is added to the screen to tell me where I am going (as if I don't know), there isn't much screen left for the map.

 

...

 

Disclaimer: I am new to the HCx. I am probably missing something, and am open to suggestions...

Here's how to get rid of that extra row you don't want:

 

On the Map page, press the menu button.

Select "Guidance Text..."

Select "Never Show"

 

Ah, Thanks!!!!!

[Hands on Test. Vista HCx vs 60CSx, and the winner is...]

you cant on the vista HCX.......its forward only ......but maybe that will teach people to not hit buttons compulsively

 

and I mean how hard is it really, in the overall scheme of things, to cycle through the menu's again, sure its a pain.....but for the PRICE ill take it

 

DAG nabit....SUCK it up people, yall are getting like the princess and the pea. Imagine not knowing where you are at all, in virgin forest.....atleast your +/- 15 feet of your exact position

 

Not at all like princess or pea.

 

I was assuming that when I replace a 4 year old model with a new one, I get a great deal of improvement, and I indeed did.

 

I read lots of threads before making my decision, in particular your hands-on test.

 

I assume you didn't comment on the lost feature to reduce the data field size, because that feature is lost to all current units.

 

So when I asked for workarounds, and people tell me to put the fields on another page, and then I find I cannot toggle between map and units but have to go through the whole sequence of pages, I find that the inability to go back and forth is a feature missing in the HCx that should have been included in the hands-on review.

 

And hey, I never complained about anything, I just asked for your workarounds.

 

typical American drama, always have to complain about something

 

I am neither American, not complaining. Nor do I think I should have bought something else.

 

I am asking for workarounds.

 

What's the best way to divide up the real estate on the little HCx screen when hunting for a cache, in order to help you find it?

 

I *think* that the best thing to do is to switch to the compass page with the data fields when you're close, and forget about the map, rather than cluttering up the map with data fields and making it practically unusable, but maybe there are better ways?

[What camera do you use?]

I had never heard of kenrockwell.com, and I took a look.

Yes, there is plenty on that site that is amusing or even outright silly, but I wouldn't call it disinformation. On the other hand, if someone took ANYONE's opinion as gospel-truth, he would obviously be ill-informed.

 

I generally prefer the opinions of people who have a bias and can explain why they have it over the opinions of people who claim to be objective.

[Downloading CityNav and Topo maps]

Bumping this for Shunra.

 

Thanks, DDiva!

 

I really hope I will be able to get my World maps loaded for an upcoming trip to Italy in March...

[Hands on Test. Vista HCx vs 60CSx, and the winner is...]

SCREEN: The image on the 60CSx is slightly bigger, but you see less map.

I'm a bit confused by this, shouldn't it be that you see more map?

I'm looking at both, at level 500m and I can see more area with the 60. Perhaps you mean something else.

 

Here is the explanation

 

In pixels the screen area of the vista is larger than the 60: 38,720 pixels versus 38,400 pixels

 

In inches, the screen area of the vista is smaller: 2.2 sq" versus 3.3 sq"

 

So while the vista screen is smaller in physical size, the image will contain more data. But each point on the vista screen will be smaller than a point on the 60 screen

 

Think of your computer screen. A 17" screen at 1280x1024 pixels will show more Mapsource (or anything else) than a 19" computer at 1024x768 pixels. And the ponts on the 17" screen will be much smaller.

 

Now take my 60" LCD TV. When I load Mapsource on that.............oh never mind

 

I got an HCx, relying among others on that screen real estate rationale.

I like the unit, but in this respect, I have to warn other people who might consider buying it:

I cannot compare it to the 60CSx, but at least compared to my old MAP76S, there is a considerable loss of screen usability, due to the fact that the data fields are huge: On the 76S I could make them smaller and see three data fields would show in one narrow row. In the HCx, I cannot do that, so I can see only 2 data fields in a wide row, or alternatively, see 4 fields in TWO wide rows. Add to that that an additional row with huge characters is added to the screen to tell me where I am going (as if I don't know), there isn't much screen left for the map.

I don't know how that is on the 60CSx, but I certainly preferred the 76 in that respect.

 

One other issue I have with my new HCx is that I can rotate through the page sequence only in one direction. On the 76S I could go either forward or backward. On the 76S, however, I could have the small data fields and the map on the same page, and I didn't NEED to rotate pages, whereas on the HCx, I need to see my data fields on a different page, but then I can't go back to the map without going through the entire page sequence first - which I have therefore reduced to a minimum 4.

 

Disclaimer: I am new to the HCx. I am probably missing something, and am open to suggestions...

[Mt. St. Helens Should Become a National Park?]

Such a shame. And the taxpayers probably don't think the center is worth subsidizing.