Pod-Cache

What are "Piles" ??? Piles of what?

I discovered a technique a couple of weeks ago: CITO!!! Put on an orange vest, bring a garbage bag, and pick up some trash! You'll look like you belong. Although, hopefully you don't run into clients, parents-in-law, ex-girlfriends, etc. or else it may look like your doing your community service sentence...on the other hand, people will keep their distance and give you space to look for the cache! Another one I've done is wear my hard hat, nobody questions what anyone's doing when they're wearing a hard hat...

That's what I'm talkin' about. If there is a system out there like that sign me up! I am using the same setup that you are considering: I use a QStarz Bluetooth receiver that I like alot, and use a Magellan Explorist 210 as my main GPS on the trail. I only go to the Palm/Cachemate when I need to confirm that "yes, the cache is really here somewhere" or if I need to peek at the hint. I usually don't even bother syncing my Maggie, unless I'm planning a specific cache trip. Usually I do a nearest search in Cachemate, then do a "goto" on the GPS and manually enter the coordinates. I start out with them side by side just to make sure they are both heading in the same direction, then tuck the Palm safely away in my pack. I have an MP3 player holder that straps to my arm and holds the GPSr and has only lost signal in the densest of tree cover while tucked away.

I am surprised Google Earth hasn't been mentioned yet. You need to upgrade to "Plus" but it's only a $20/year subscription.

I have just recently placed my first cache, a multi. The second I am currently planning is going to be a puzzle cache. Both are on seldom used scenic walking trails in our city. In my opinion, a cache should be placed somewhere somebody would want to go regardless of whether there is a cache there or not. I don't think you need to "work up" to something when it comes to hiding. You "work up" to finding caches, ie start with a couple 1/1.5 star caches, then try some 3/4 start caches and see what works best. I think there should almost be a minimum number of finds before hiding a cache.

Our Family cahces routinely with a 2 year old (who will be 3 in June) and a little guy who just turned one. Definitely get a decent carrier. I carry our 2 year old in an Ergo, and my wife carries the little guy in a Baby Hawk. Our two year old is usually eager to start out walking, then once we find the "treasure" or "geo-tash" and trades her trinkets, she is usually keen to get in the carrier and have a rest. We also have a dual sroller with rubber tries for the trails. The best tip is to not burn them out. whether or not to keep going has to be on their terms. We've ended hunts 60' from ground zero before because we could sense a bit of crankiness setting in. Sometimes we've turned back 100' onto the trail if they're just no into it. And sometimes we'll find a neat bridge or brook along a trail, and sit there for a while, and forget about the hunt for a bit. -No park n' grabs. No micros! TB hotels are favourites since they are almost always secluded, out of the way, terrain not too difficult, and usually have some neat stuff to swap. Anyways, we have had great success introducing our little ones at a young age, and hope it only gets better as long as we keep it positive!

for the first time ever today, my explorist 210 started showing "WAAS" in the nav screen that shows current position and epe. I haven't done anything to the unit I can think of such as a firmware upgrade, and I have been using the unit regularly over the last couple of days. The epe was down to 3m, the lowest I've ever seen it, but it didn't appear to be any more or less accurate than it ever has. Anybody else notice this? I just went into the 03 secret menu, and the unit was still on it's endless search for good ol' satellites 120 and 122.

for the first time ever today, my explorist 210 started showing "WAAS" in the nav screen that shows current position and epe. I haven't done anything to the unit I can think of such as a firmware upgrade, and I have been using the unit regularly over the last couple of days. The eoe was down to 3m, the lowest I've ever seen it, but it didn't appear to be any more or less accurate than it ever has. Anybody else notice this?

While the link posted above makes it sound like a name change is possible (and simple) you still need to manually log all of your finds under your new name. All that gets transferred is your premium membership status. (I went through the process a few months ago after coming to the same conclusion, my old handle was a mouthful and wouldn't fit on a single line of micro log sheets). you lose all of your moved/discovered trackables too, unless you recorded the tracking number of each one, then you can input those manually, as well.

with cachemate you can search the whole list alphabetically and sort by either waypoint or name, so having 3000+ caches isn't too overwhelming. I like having them all handy in case I'm travelling around the city or province and have a spare minute (or hour ) to look for a cache. I can just do a "search nearest", and see what's around me at any time.

I know, isn't that strange? the screen should be rotated 180 degrees, or the lanyard mounted on the bottom...

muggles are the people that don't "get it"

personally, I always have my whole data base on my Palm, and only a select few wherever I am caching on my GPS. With the amount of storage available on the Palm, why not? The file is only about 7-8MB on a 4GB card for over 3000 caches (That I'll never find ) Anyways, back to your question, you can slect a few by checking the "User Flag" box of the ones you want to export, then hit the filter drop down menu and there is a default filter for "user flag". Presto!

I have moved a TB (under my old alias) that almost fits this description exactly, except its a cheapo digital camera. Check out: Jam Cam Travel Bug

I'm located in Nova Scotia, and I've heard from some GPS enthusiasts here that it does not make a big difference in this location or a lot of places in the northeast US since the two WAAS satellites appear on the "horizon", therefore do not improve accuracy dramatically.

I found my 100th cache the day before my one year anniversary.

I am happy with my 210. It does the trick for me! I found it pretty intuitive to learn how to use too. I don't think I cracked open the manual, nothing beats actually using it in the field vs. sitting in your living room with a manual. Do you have any specific questions? I'd be pleased to help out if you want, but my knowldege may be limited. Maybe I'm not using it to its full potential either, but I can find tupperware in the woods, and thats all that matters to me!

I haven't read through all the replies, so I'm not sure if it's already been said, but here's my $0.02: Unlike many other hobbies already mentioned (golf, fishing, hockey, etc.), One reason I think geocaching is great because the guy/gal who is using the most expensive toys like Garmin Colorado's and Palm PDA's has no real advantage over than the guy/gal with the bottom of the line GPS and pencil & paper. They're still using the same satellites to find the same ammo can in the woods, and they still get the job done!

I use both Pathaway & Cachemate/Cachenav with a Palm TX. I usually use Pathaway with it's mapping capability when driving to get me within striking distance of the cache, and then Cachenav once I have reached Ground Zero. I find Cachenav is great, but I wouldn't depend heavily on that system in rough terrain or inclement/cold weather. I have a Magellan Explorist 210 as a backup since it's a lot more robust and the batteries are replaceable in the field. The Palm or similar isn't designed for the rigours of serious geocaching.

Hi, You need to either use the Geocache Manager software that came with the GPS, or download a program called Geocaching Swiss Army Knife to convert the GPX file. (or loc files if you wish, but I highly recommend the gpx) Enjoy, PC

Allright, this topic was made for me; geocaching and music are my number 1 and 2 hobbies (hence the name ) OK, so the first song that came into my head: Into the Great Wide Open - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Then taking a quick scan through my iTunes: Its a Long Way to the Top - ACDC Man In the Box - Alice in Chains Roam - B-52's Shoebox - Barenaked Ladies (as long as it's water proof) Round the Bend - The Beta Band Long Lost - Better Than Ezra Lost Together - Blue Rodeo The Truck Got Stuck - Corb Lund OK, so some of those are a stretch. But pretty darn good IMHO for only getting up to "c" To be continued....

Ohhhh...so not 45 minutes at 350F??? That joke NEVER gets old...

Just as a follow up, I went into the UNIT_ID.dat file and tried changing the ID=132 to 112 and the first three digits of the Serial No. to 112 and still wouldn't take the upgrade Well, at least I didn't brick the unit.

I have been trying to this upgrade as well. I am running version 3.1.88, and the first three serial #'s are 132. In Menu 03 I am still showing satellites 120 and 122. I tried the 2.57 upgrade a couple of times and it did not appear to take. Then I tried the EU upgrade, but I intentionally didn't save my base map, and when I restarted the GPS, it still said 3.1.88 in the startup screen, however I had the EU basemap...so somehting must have taken, right? Although when I went into menu 03 it still showed good ol' defunct satellites 120 and 122. I got a somewhat different reply when I contacted Magellan. Here is an excerpt: "I would like to inform you that, this issue might be fix in the next firmware update. We are unable to promise the date for new Update. I request that you wait for the next firmware update." So a whole lotta writing for not much more information, but that is as far as I have gotten. As far as not having WAAS, the unit is great for traditional caches in the woods, but awful for finding urban micros. Puts me on the wrong side of the street most times.

I was wondering when (if) the WAAS issue and Magellans would come up. I recently got an explorist 210, and have been successful at finding a few traditional "large" caches out in the woods with it without help from WAAS but I am not yet ready to go to the Maggie completely, especially for urban micros. It occaisionally puts me on the wrong side of the street for those! My main "squeeze" is still a Holux 236 Blutooth receiver paired with a Palm TX using Pathaway & Cachemate. They are neat gadgets, but not robust enough for me to go hiking through the woods with. I have a Garmin Legend on the way, and plan to do a bit of comparison to see if the WAAS really makes that much difference out in the woods. I can get down to 5-6 m EPE with the 210, even in light tree cover. I have heard the Garmin Etrex's can lose signal in tree cover which is pretty much anywhere worth geocaching in up here in Nova Scotia. So time will tell, but it really is an interesting debate! It only takes one bad experience to turn someone off one or the other completely!