as77

Bad HTML can be fixed with a tool like HTML Tidy, if you can find a way to get the cache page thru it.

Letterboxing is done using clues and detailed descriptions of how to get to the place. It's a different story.

You can do all this with the software UsaPhotoMaps for Windows.

I don't think a compass would be enough. Before geocaching, there was no such thing as "compass-caching". There are people who don't use a gpsr for geocaching, just a map with an X on it. So that is certainly possible. Of course, success strongly depends on the scale of the map.

I don't understand the compass question. You cannot determine the lat/lon with a compass. In my view, the real challenge in geocaching is that you are given a pair of coordinates and a gpsr that tells you where you are, and that is all info you've got. If you have a detailed map and the cache is indicated on the map then what's the point? You don't even need a gpsr.

Reading the forums, it seems that many people love to have topo/aerial maps of the areas they are caching in. I somehow feel the opposite. Exploring an unknown area without any maps, just with a non-mapping GPSr is much more fun than having a detailed map and walking straight to the cache on the optimum route. (I'm talking about the hiking part, not the driving part.) So I think people who use topo maps miss much of the fun and the adventure. Without a map, you could bushwhack a lot, cross creeks, climb up and down steep hillsides, maybe you will have to turn around several times. With a topo or aerial map, you will probably just take an easy trail and rush to the cache in five minutes. But what's the point?

Ah, I see, so people just include images on their pages generated by a form at lostoutdoors.com, right? In that case, people could replace their images by static images on their servers, or if you could make your image-generating code available, they could use that code on their servers directly, thereby removing the load from lostoutdoors.com. I would say keep the adventure database at least. If it expands, it can be a really useful resource in the future.

I would guess the background image is the culprit.

I have never used that site. Now I have looked at it and the white-on-black color scheme hurts my eyes. The adventure database is a great idea but it is practically empty, it only contains two entries. The site can generate USGS maps, but so can the software Usaphotomaps locally. The waypoint exchange thing... I'm not sure what it is but apparently it can be done locally as well, using usaphotomaps or something. So what's the big deal here, guys? How is this site so tremendously useful?

I would choose the Gekos over the eXplorists. Although the eXplorists have longer battery life and the 200 and 300 include some rudimentary basemap, the Gekos are smaller, lighter and the 201 and 301 have data ports.

The 200 is already shipping, it is available in stores. However, virtually nobody buys it because it has no PC connectivity, i.e. it is next to useless for geocaching.

The original waypoint names all start with GC in the gpx file. Spinner changes this according to the cache type and it outputs a modified gpx file named spinner.gpx. If you use this file with EasyGPS to get the waypoints to the PDA, they will have the same names.

Additional features: Makes your coffee Trains your dog Does your laundry Cleans your apartment Shops for your groceries Seriously guys, what you described here is such a beast, I would never buy a unit like that. It's not a GPS, its a PDA on steroids.

If you don't mind it being it in Dutch, here's a program: http://145.53.24.230/GC.html

I think you pretty much have done your own research. I am actually in a similar situation as you. In the car I'm using a Dell Axim with a CF GPS and Pocketmap Navigator as mapping/navigation solution. I'm also using this hardware setup out in the field for geocaching. It works, I've been using it for about a year, but I'm not very happy with it. The PDA+CF GPS combo is just not rugged enough, even in a hard plastic PDA case. The CF part sticks out and I'm afraid of breaking it off (I wear the PDA on a belt clip and sometimes when I step up somewhere there is a bending force on the CF part). It's not waterproof at all. I bought an Otterbox 3000 which fits the PDA with the CF GPS but I realized that the whole setup is so heavy and bulky that it would be quite inconvenient to use. Besides, the box prevents me from using the PDA touchscreen. So I'm seriously considering buying a handheld GPSr, which is smaller, lighter, waterproof and rugged. I want something with an electronic compass, and that narrows down the choices a lot. The new Magellan eXplorist 300 looked promising until I learned that it has no PC connectivity. That rules it out. Currently I think the Magellan Meridian Platinum will be my choice. If you don't insist on an electronic compass, you have many more choices. Any unit with a quad antenna and NMEA output will work fine for you. Since you don't need mapping, the GPS76 or 72 seem excellent choices to me. Certainly they are better under heavy tree canopy than the Etrexes or Gekos (which are known to lose lock easily under those conditions).

What you have is decimal degrees format. Your GPS expects degrees + decimal minutes format. You should convert your data. This is very easy to do. Keep the degrees part, i.e. 43 and -79. Then multiply the part after the decimal point by 60, i.e. 0.574260*60=34.4556 0.77399*60=46.4394 i.e. the coordinates to enter into your gps are: N 43° 34.4556' W 79° 46.4394'

The eXplorist would have been perfect for me. I don't need detailed mapping because in the car I'm using a Pocket PC with navigation software. I only need a handheld GPSr for hiking, and for that, no map is necessary (I don't care for topo maps either). I can even live without a base map. So I don't need an SD slot. But of course I need PC connectivity to upload the cache locations to the GPSr. I am even willing to pay $20 more for a unit with PC connectivity. Magellan really shot themselves in the foot by omitting the PC connectivity.

The OQO ultra-portable computer has a keyboard, accessible by sliding the screen up. Soon to be released.

The specifications of the eXplorists are now available on Magellan's website at http://www.magellangps.com/en/products/explorist.asp They don't tell whether these units have a quad antenna. Also, they don't tell whether the eXplorist 300 has the 3-axis electronic compass. But the biggest disappointment is that none of the three units has PC connectivity. I think that's a deal breaker for me.

Also, PMN has a snap-to-road feature which means that if you are close to a road then it will snap your position to the road, i.e. it won't show your actual position. So you'd have serious problems with caches that are close to a road.

Glad it works now. PMN is probably not enough for when you are in the vicinity of the cache. I'm not saying it's impossible to find caches with it but it's certainly far from being ideal for that purpose. There is no free software that would do this but there are a few shareware programs: Vito Navigator ($16), Vito Navigator II ($19.95, this is what I'm currently using) and GPS Tuner ($35). I am also writing some software for this and it will be free but it could be a few months before I release it.

The new eXplorists from Magellan are coming in one week according to some websites. Lowest prices are found with Froogle: eXplorist 100 for $94.90, eXplorist 200 for $139 with free shipping, eXplorist 300 for $169 with free shipping. They look good although we don't have the complete specifications yet.

OK, it's done! Version 1.2 is up. Please report back if it works now correctly.

Good News, guys! I flashed back my Axim's ROM to PPC2002 and reproduced the "Access Denied" error. What's more, I found the solution! I'm going to upload a fixed version soon. I will post here again when it's up. BTW the bug is a Microsoft bug, but luckily it can be worked around by just changing one line in my code.

Thanks for the report. I will try something that might fix this error but I'm not sure I can do it. I don't have a PPC2002 device so testing is a bit difficult. I could create an experimental version that may or may not have the same problem. Would you be willing to test it?