shunra

Yes. Politically possible? No. Like shutting down airports is technically possible to improve national security. Ouch. That's not reassuring at all. If it's technically possible, aren't they likely to do it after the first GPS-based terror attack, or are we enough of a critical mass by now? I somehow doubt it!

Currently, GPSrs show a detail of three digits after the decimal in the minutes number (I still use an old one that has only two). New GPSr improvements seem to be mostly in the realm of features, not in the realm of accuracy. Is that because a technical limit has been reached, or are future GPSrs going to be more accurate as well? Also: are there increased accuracy possibilities that were not included when GPSr was made available for civilian uses, but that might be added at a later point? And: is it technically possible for a future administration to restrict our use of GPS, or limit its accuracy, in a reversal of Clinton's policies, without restricting its military use? Is our investment in GPSrs something we can keep enjoying as long as they work and as long as the Satellites are up in the sky, or could it be rendered worthless by governmental intervention?

I haven't done an official night cache yet, but I think that about a quarter of my finds are after dark. The reason is simple: I enjoy caching too much to just call it a day, and especially in the winter, when darkness falls early, I am just not ready to stop yet. It's mostly unplanned, and my flashlight collection has expanded considerably, until I understood the pattern and started taking a flashlight with me even when I plan it to be a daytime hunt. I agree with all the comments about the fun of night-caching. The one thing I notice, though, is that whiile the fun is the hike and not the find, I have almost stopped hiking to places when there is no cache involved, which in practical terms means I will miss out on the beautiy of a place not just for the caching hike, but often for a long time. In this light (funpun intended), I am actually grateful for a couple of nocturnal DNFs, which allowed me to enjoy a place twice :-)

Is being an adult a condition for being a geocacher?

No disagreement at all, and my finds profile reflects my pickyness as to cashes worth taking a day off for - long hikes over find quantity. I certainly do geocaching for the hikes, not for the finds. The find itself is just the destination, just as Before Caching (BC) my destinations would be summits, passes, etc. But trading a working FRS radio *AND* a carabiner for two bits of trash? That's way beyond the average apparently inevitable cache degradation. I *do* hike with children, and I *am* often surprised at what makes their finds worthwhile. While I would often just take nothing and either one of signature CDs, my kids are the ones who find value in the deposited trash. I am very well aware of that. But that doesn't justify the attitude taken by these "cachers". You can't just leave trash and assume that it's going to be of value to someone. If that would be the case, we might as well dump a day's load of household garbage into a cache, on the assumption that *someone* might be happy with some tangerine peels. After all, if you put them on a wood stove, they produce a nice smell. And if this is done by a 'cacher' who uses the GC pages as a resource for caches, but doesn't join even as an unpaying member and never reports his findings on-line, and cannot be congratulated by e-mail on his find, with a polite request to restock the cache, that goes beyond every modicum of good taste.

Yes lovely, but you closed one too much... One too many :-)

Currently, there is no way to return from the forums to the main GC pages. Could such a link be added?

There ought to be a some sign of mutual recognition that we can give each other, without encountering these blank looks. Some sort of a neutral question (or statement) that only us cachers recognize as a form of identification. Yesterday I attempted a FTF involving a 5 mile walk, and at the trailhead I saw this car with a license plate similar to the handle of the owner of a (different) local cache. I thought he'd be there before me, and when I met as he was coming down the trail, I asked him if he was 'part of the treasure hunt'. Nope, he was just collecting mushrooms, and i got my FTF. This was better than asking him if he was a geocacher, and at least i didn't get the blank look, but there ought to be a better way!

Has any of you cachers ever encountered this? http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus.html Or something similarly endearing?

I don't think there's a way to do that without time-consuming graphic file manipulation - and time was what you wanted to save. In terms of saving paper - I try to use the back side of paper previously used for other purposes.

If you select the font size you want, and the number of logs you want to see (see previous post), you won't need to arbitrarily fix a number of pages. You'll print just what you're asking for.

Signature item or not, it has to be of some sort of value. I don't accept it when just assume that their trash might be a "collector's item" to someone else. C'mon! If you want to leave an otherwise useless I-was-here statement, that's fine, but that's never a trade-up, and hardly ever a trade-even. If that's what you're going to leave, and if you're going to take something, at least leave something of real value as well.

FWIW, you don't limit yourself to 5. You can look at the cache page, count how many logs are relevant, make a printer-friendly version, click on the 'with 5 logs', option, and then, in the URL itself, you substitute the number 5 at the end with the number you really want. Also, don't forget to set your browser to display text with smallest possible fonts. Will save you lots of paper! Noh Funpuns PDA-less cacher

Hi Cin, How can I know if this is standard behavior? Not often does one find an FRS radio in a cache. However, there are plenty of cases where people take good thigns and leave trinkets. This is just an extreme case. I have seen logs by this person in several caches I've been too, including another cache I found today. I wanted to send him/her a letter just now, asking them to restock the cach, which is really close to where they must love, but I find that the name they sign with is unknown to GC. What can I do?

Friends, I'm at a loss how to handle this ethically. I found a cache today, that according to the online logs had not been found since June. It's a well-hidden cache on a beautiful trail. After having found it, I read on the log sheet a log written by a local fellow cacher in August: "Took the FRS radio (it actually works!!!) and the Carabiner, left sun glasses and car". The sun glasses were children's toy sunglasses, the car was an equally worthless dinky toy car. Except for a pack of colored chalks, nothing of value remained in the cache. I assume that having arrived home, this person felt too embarassed to log this find online. I am the first person to find the cache since then. I will write a note in the cache log, with a picture of what remained of the cache as I found it. But can I out the name of that person? Can I out him on this forum? Should I inform the approvers, the cache owner? I will certainly write to that person. Too many caches end up being filled with trash, but usually it takes some time. This case is clearly different.

So does my Magellan Blazer 12. I'll sell it after Christmas :-))

I don't know that to be true but that is one of the most important things when it comes to buying a GPS IMHO. Out of the three GPSs I own (GM100 V, Plat) I've used the Plat all of 5 minutes even though we've had it for 8 months so I can't really comment on that. The Lowrance Global Map 100 gets a lock and holds it better than any other GPS I've evver seen, and a heck of a lot better than the V. I've lost lock under thick canopy with my V and frustrated because I couldn't get to the cache I would break out the gm100. Not only would it get lock in the same place the V lost it but it would hold lock until I turned it off again. This unit is now 5 years old and was my first GPS but it still kicks butt. If lowrances iFinder is anything like the Global Map 100 then I would suggest you take a look at it. Its in your price range and has a lot of great features. I've often told myself that I was going to buy one just because but haven't yet. Again, a big part of GPS is getting lock and keeping it then the features should come after. As far as good reception goes, I might as well stick with my antique Magellan Blazer 12. I want to improve on features without loosing signal quality. Lowrance may have excellent technology, bit a look at their site does not give me much of the information I want. There is little information of interest to back-country cachers like us, and no information at all about Topo maps. It is probably no coincidence that most of us choose for Garmin and Magellan. Do you have any experience-based relevant user information about them that their own site doesn't provide?

The Map76 has tide information too as do all of the 76 series and the 72. Sorry, I misquoted my source. I should have said that the Map76 has it, whereas the Vista has not. Here's a correction: - they're all in the same mid-range price category, feature comparable amounts of memory, and allow the uploading of waypoints and mapping software; - the Sportrak has a large screen, the Vista has a high resolution, and the Map76 has both. they all have gray-scale screens; - the Map76 has tide information, the others don't; - the Sportrak does not have an electronic compass, whereas the two Garmins do; - the Sportrak is more rugged; - the Sportrak gets better and faster signals; - Garmins are more user-friendly; - Garmin's customer support is generally more fortcoming and responsive than Magellan's;

My Spor Trac Pro DOES have an electronic compass. Not according to http://www.offroute.com/gps-compare.html

I am deliberating between a Magellan Sportrak Pro on the one hand and a Garmin Vista or a MAP76 on the other hand. From listening on these forums, and from private conversations and impressionistic web research, I understand (and correct me if I'm wrong) that: - they're all in the same mid-range price category, feature comparable amounts of memory, and allow the uploading of waypoints and mapping software; - the Sportrak has a large screen, the Vista has a high resolution, and the Map76 has both. they all have gray-scale screens; - the Vista has tide information, the others don't; - the Sportrak does not have an electronic compass, whereas the two Garmins do; - the Sportrak is more rugged; - the Sportrak gets better and faster signals; - Garmins are more user-friendly; - Garmin's customer support is generally more fortcoming and responsive than Magellan's; Is there anything else important I should consider when comparing these three, and is there another unit in the same price category (I can't afford to go higher this year) that I should consider as well? Is the Geocaching Offroute online store the best place to buy, or are there better places? Is buying a used one a good idea, if this is going to be this cachoholic's main, though not only, unit (I'll keep my Magellan Blazer 12 as a backup)? TIA to all ye helpful cachers!

Does that work the same way for Delorme Topo 3.0? And is there a good reason to upgrade?

I'd be happy to read more positive and negative responses about Magellan's customer service (and about Garmin's). I am trying to decide what to upgrade to, and this will certaily be a factor!

Reading the forums here, I see that more people seem to be discussing the merits of the various Garmins than the various Magellans. For each of the manufacturers, I have pretty much figured out what I want, but... is there a general reason to prefer one manufacturer over the other, in terms of hardware quality, quality of MapSource vs. MapSend, customer service and warranty policies, etc.?

FWIW, I am using a Magellan Blazer 12, which works very, except that it lacks all kinds of nifty features, such as waypoint download and mapping, not to mention that it shows only two, rather than three digits after the decimal. I have a Magellan Sportrak Map on my wish list, and my main concern is whether I shouldn't go for a Sportrak Pro right away. Is the difference in storage space significant, in terms of practical use? Not having been able to use mapping software in my Blazer 12, I have no idea what is needed.

I'm deliberating going after the DonkeyPond Falls and A Bridge to Far caches near Brinnon, or to the Tubal Caine, Tullis Canyon and Dungeness River caches, near Sequim. Wouldn't mind visiting Marmott Pass again. Is anyone interested in teaming up? http://www.shunra.net ______________ e ____________ H I D E___&___G O___G E E K !