Jump to content

lrosell

+Premium Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    203

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by lrosell

    Magnetic Bearings?

    in How do I...?

    Posted

    First of all, go get a good old magnetic compass. Got it? Kewl, here goes;

     

    Look at the compass, see where the red needle points; that’s north. Now, turn the compass so the big N aligns up whit the direction of the red needle.

     

    You can now see where in what DIRECTION North, East, West and South is.

     

    Now, let’s imagine that the red needle (north) is pointing about 2 o’clock (meaning that the compass is imagined to be the face of a clock and the way you are looking at it you see the ‘top’ as 12 o’clock).

     

    Let’s also assume that the cache you want to walk towards is on your 10 o’clock. That should also mean that NW would be about 12 o’clock on your imagined clock, right?

     

    That means that the BEARING (while you are stationary) to the cache is, you guessed it, West, or 270 degrees. As you travel towards the cache your HEADING should be West (or 270 degrees).

     

    In short,

    BEARING = the direction of a given pint on a map

    HEADING = the direction you are traveling. Can also be called COURSE

    North = 0 degrees

    East = 90 degrees

    South = 180 degrees

    West = 270 degrees

     

    I hope this helped you some!

    New at this

    in Trackables

    Posted

    The White Ibis TB wasn't logged into the inventory of the cache you found it in. The other cacher had plenty of time to do so. You will need to 'grab' it from oforfungrandma1 and log it into the cache where you found it. Then retrieve it from there. That should put it in your inventory so you can drop it in another cache. That should keep its miles accurate. Hope this helps. :)

     

    Ok I changed my log to say grabbed from oforfungrandma1, but don't know how to get it into the inventory of the cache that i found it in. ????? Where are there instructions, I have been looking all over. :sad:

     

    If you left it in the cache where you found it you can Write Note and drop it in there. If you still have it it should be in your inventory after you Grabbed it.

    Not a good first time

    in How do I...?

    Posted · Edited by lrosell

    Well my first time out with my three grandsons did not go so well. The first place the clue was "first base". Someone actually dug out the first base and left an empty gaping hole! My 7 year old grandson Haydn was almost in tears because this is where he plays baseball. He tried to fill up the hole but it was a mess. The other diamonds also looked a bit messed up.

     

    Our second place we looked, we found nothing. I have the Garmin 680. We down loaded the coordinates which got us to a local park, but the area was so broad we did not even begin to know where to look. I think we may have found a cache. There was a white 5 gallon bucket by a fence filled with rocks. But aside from some rain water, that was all that was there.

     

    So on to another location. We found nothing, again my garmin just got us to a park but did not narrow down our search. By this time the boys were so disappointed. I told them I'd learn what we were doing wrong and we could try again soon.

     

    So, if anyone has any words of encouragement for my "team" or some tips to make this easier (at least to start), we'd really appreciate it.

     

    Grammaw

    Haydn

    Brandon

    Liam

     

    Well first of all do not get discouraged, the first finds can be hard before you get a hang of it. One problem you have is with the GPS. The 680 is GPS designed for in-car navigation and is not the best choice for Geocaching. Can it be done with a 680? You bet, only not as accurately as when using a handheld trail-GPS’.

     

    The one thing you want to do is to modify the way your 680 finds locations. By default it is set for a Car/Motorcycle. This setting works well when you are trying to find a place along roadway, not so much for Tupperware out in the woods. So, on the Menu page hit Navigation and under change it from Car/Motorcycle to walking or pedestrian (I can't remember exactly what it says). Just remember to change it again once you are back in the car or you may get interesting route suggestions when driving to the next cache!

     

    Try this approach and let us know how it works for you!

     

    Good luck!

    What would you do?

    in General geocaching topics

    Posted

    This question is purely hypothetical? Would you do if you were caching in a small group and out of the'clear blue sky', one of your fellow cachers deliberately destroyed and/or threw away a cache container? ;)

     

    If said hypothetical cacher was a registered active member and not a temporarily promoted muggle I would have to conclude that there are something seriously wrong with him/her. Thus I would keep a healthy distance to sa(i)d cacher, let's say... a state or two?

     

    If it was just someone 'brought along for the ride and event' I would simply leave his/hers sad @#$ behind right there.

    making my first cache help plz

    in How do I...?

    Posted

    :) altho i am very very new to geocaching. i am making a puzzle cache and would like to make it a

    mulit-puzzle-multi-cache. what i need to know is, is there a min , max, or optimum distance between stages?

    thank you for any and all help ;)

     

    I don't know that there are a formally established max distance between multi stages. I would say that common sense would apply. Most multi stages are usually within walking distance between them although there are exceptions.

     

    I would say that as long as you indicate in your cache description that there may be some considerable distance between stages you won't risk putting someone off. I think I would get a tad testy myself if I went for a multi just to find out that the next stage was three counties away.

     

    I would also recommend that you go find a couple of multi caches yourself, to get a feel for it. Having some more caches under your belt will also help you in planning and hiding your cache and avoid making rookie mistakes.

     

    Good luck with you cache!

    Spoiler picture. Need Advice.

    in General geocaching topics

    Posted · Edited by lrosell

    We need to ask advice for this cache a second time. “Tripple Swing” GC18WNT

     

    After a number of DNF’s it was suggested in the forums that we raise the difficulty level up. We did.

     

    The difficulty level is directly related to the fact that the container blends in so well with its surroundings. A finder who is fairly new to geocaching recently posted a spoiler to the gallery. A good picture but definitely a spoiler. We have no doubt that their intentions were good. They just like taking pictures of cache containers. So do we if it does not give anything away.

     

    We see a few options:

     

    1. Email politely to the finder and ask them to please remove the picture and explain why.

    Problem. We don’t want to discourage this new geocacher from taking future pictures.

     

    2. Drop the difficulty rating back down.

    Problem. For those who have found it at the higher difficulty rating it messes with their stats. We are not big on stats but we know some are. Kind of a fairness issue for past and future seekers.

     

    3. There is the option to let it ride and do nothing.

     

    We could use a little advice. Yes. This does allow anybody who looks at the gallery because of this post in the forums to see the spoiler picture. Thats okay. If you are willing to spend the money on gas to visit our neck of the woods, email us and we will meet you there to swap some tales.

     

    It's a no brainer to me; if you don't want the picture to be there ask them to take it down. I'd ask nice, but still. It's your cache, you call the shots.

     

    BTW: I love the container!

    FTF? Logged?

    in How do I...?

    Posted

    Are First to Finds (FTF) just for bragging rights or are they "logged" somewhere? I just had a FTF today bu am unsure how/if I should "claim" it. Couldn't find the answer anywhere!

     

    Nothing but bragging rights unless the CO left you a $100 bill as FTF prize. ;) It actually HAVE happened. Must be nice.

     

    God help us all if Groundspeak ever decide to make a FTF logging feature.... :)

    PQ coords

    in Website

    Posted

    I have tried to duplicate your problem here at the office with both the 60cs and the 60csx using GSAK and both times GC1DG0M registered the correct coords. I also used the Send to GPS function with both GPS units and the Garmin Colorado as well. I know that doesn't help you but I tried!

     

    Maybe you'll find some other data point that will lead to the problem and solution. If so please post it here and I'll look into it further.

     

    Hi Nate,

     

    would it help if I forwarded my PQ to you? You must have just loaded the gpx file off of the cache web page. Perhaps it has something to do with the PQ itself. BTW I was using the most up to date version of GSAK (on a different computer now so don't know what that is) in case you are using an older version.

     

    Send me an e-mail from my profile with your e-mail address and I can forward my PQ to you.

     

    thanks for the help.

     

    This have happend to me too and not only that, I know what happened.....

     

    OK OK, I'll tell ya..!

     

    The coords actually down load ok to the 60CSx I have but... by accident I pushed Map and moved the cache a tad, enough to screw me up. I remeber especially this one time in my early caching days when I almost took a gas station apart in search of a cache that was actually 120 feet away hiding behind a transformer...

     

    See if this may not be what is happening to your coords.

    getting caches reviewed and approved

    in General geocaching topics

    Posted

    I just submitted my first cache hiding. How long does it take to get it reviewed and then approved typically? I am just wondering. Thanks.

     

    Anything from a couple of hours to a couple of days, depending on cache and how much info you gave the reviewer. Check in on the cache from time to time to see if the reviewer posted any notes or concerns about it.

    downloading coordinates

    in How do I...?

    Posted

    First, install the Mapsource program that came with your 400t. This will also load generic Garmin drivers on your computer.

     

    Next, us the website to find a cache you want to go after.

     

    Click 'Send to GPS', a dialog comes up. BEFORE you click Write you will haveto download the Garmin communicator plugin. There is a link for this in the bottom of the dilaog that just showed up. Click thi link and follow the on-screen instructions to get the plugin on your PC.

     

    NOTE: You only have to do this once! From here after when you 'send to GPS' you don't haveto load the plugin.

     

    After you click write the cache info should down load to your 400t, check under the geocaching icon to confirm that you see the cache.

     

    Now, since you have a 400t I would strongly recommend that you become a Premium Member. When you do you can create Pocket Queries. These will allow you to down load 500 x 4 = 2000(!) caches onto your 400t, complete with cache name, descriptions, logs, hints - the whole chibang. Pretty kewl, huh?

     

    Good luck!

    GPX File help

    in How do I...?

    Posted

    Here is a tutorial on Pocket Queries.

    http://www.markwell.us/pq.htm

     

    Take the PQ GPX file and use a program like GSAK to upload the waypoints to your GPS unit. Then use a PDA and the file for paperless caching.

     

    So you mean to say that there is a way to upload GPX files containing multiple caches with GSAK to a Garmin 60CSx?

    Yes!!

     

    But you can only get limited details from the GPX file. Maybe the hint and then sort of "code" in some other information. You are limited to (I think) 18 characters in the name field and something like 30 in the description. GSAK allows you to add info in the form of codes that look like %hint - check out the GSAk forums for complete info.

     

    Oh ok, I see what you mean. It will require some tailoring of the GSAK setup though, and 30 characters don't really go that far. Having the hint onboard could be usefull though. Might have to mess with it a bit to see how it works.

    GPX File help

    in How do I...?

    Posted

    Here is a tutorial on Pocket Queries.

    http://www.markwell.us/pq.htm

     

    Take the PQ GPX file and use a program like GSAK to upload the waypoints to your GPS unit. Then use a PDA and the file for paperless caching.

     

    So you mean to say that there is a way to upload GPX files containing multiple caches with GSAK to a Garmin 60CSx?

    GPX File help

    in How do I...?

    Posted

    me too! I have also upgraded and am now trying to get cache info onto my GPS which is a Garmin map60CSx. I can get the cache coordinates on there but not the extra info about the cache.

     

    You will not be able to load a GPX file directly on a 60CSx. If you want to 'bulk load' caches on that unit you must use Garmins POI loader (free download) . Using this tool you can load caches from a GPX file to the 60CSx. They will however NOT show up under the Geocaching icon, but as 'Custom POI's'

    Not sure what to do

    in How do I...?

    Posted

    I'd say got with the Mapsource Topo maps, at least initially. Lot less expensive as previous posted stated.

     

    The waypoint manager you got with your GPSr is essentially the same software as you get with Topo, just without the maps, so if you already installed that one you're half way there.

    So many micro's.

    in General geocaching topics

    Posted

    I don't know... I have several caches out, all which was stocked with good swag like tools, umbrellas, rain coats, new CD's and DVD's, etc. None which was the cheap 'dollar store' swag either. And guess what? Very few people trade items. It almost seems like the trading part of Geocaching is on the way out.

     

    I guess it could be because no one expects to find good swag anymore and thus never bring any trading items along. We always do, but to an extent I agree with you; it's more often you find junk swag than anything nice. We always trade up; a tape Stanley measure for a carbine hook, a CD for an old unplayable 8-track cassette. And so on.

     

    Maybe that's the solution; everybody trade up. At least two notches! Yes! Let's start a movement!

×
×
  • Create New...