[Exciting cache contents]

The most exciting things we've found, according to the small person who's 3.5, is a pooh bear book and a lego circus man. Actually we've found two pooh bear books in different caches now as he always asks if there is a pooh bear book in there when we find a cache (even micros) so when Grandad found a cache with a pooh bear book in it and he wasn't with him we had to make a quick visit! The most exciting thing I've found was probably the wrist strap from New Zealand which I found in one of the first caches I found with my then new GPSr so it was very useful and has probably travelled far further than I have.

[Is your favourite a virtual ?]

I have some virtuals as favorites, and some Earthcaches. Yes, finding a virtual or earth cache is a slightly different caching experiance from finding a box with swaps but one of the things I like about geocaching is finding new / different / hidden places that I wouldn't otherwise have visited. I am 100% positive that these caches would not be improved by having a micro hidden somewhere nearby which is probably all you could manage to hide (if that) at some of the locations. I hope this makes sense.

[Geocaching on BBC Breakfast - Sat 29th Jan]

If you want to try it out without a GPS, try using google Earth and enter the coords there and zoom in. I found my first cache or two like this but it only really works well in an area you really know, and is a pain for multis as you have to go home to work out where the final is which usually is not far from the last cache/clue you found then I got a cheap bluetooth GPSr which connected to an old palm pilot and found caches quite well with the help of a couple of fairly cheap palm apps so there are several low cost options for trying it out. Have fun and I'm sure if you found a local event you would find someone willing to go caching with you and then you can also see a range of different GPSr units to see what you fancy when you do spend the pennies - it doesn't normally take much to persuade a cacher to go find a cache.

[(Another) GPS question]

The latest software for the Colorado includes the ability to receive 'chirps'.

 

Does it? I didn't think they were providing any more updates for the colorado. I love my colorado although navigating multis is a bit of a nuscience. Wonder if they will release the update for multis too.

[Best name for a cache.]

I liked 'Micros are not for trees' http://coord.info/GC11CJN - it gave me a giggle once I'd found it. I'm sure there are others with great names I've found, I just can't think of them at the moment.

[FAVOURITES & ADOPTION]

I strive for Quality in my caches (created or adopted). I have a notional correspondence between Quality and Favouriteness (in my own mind, Quality is at least a component of Favouriteness). I certainly may not achieve Quality in the eyes of other cachers (I have to rely on Finders to give me that feedback); but if owners don't at least strive for Quality themselves, where is Quality going to come from? Or is it really just about the Numbers for hiding as well as finding?

 

Personally I would want every cache to have a reason for it to be hidden, but that reason could be 'this is a useful place to have a cache large enough to swap trackables'. Its a useful cache, but not a clever hide or a great walk or any of the other things that make a cache stick in my mind as a favorite, is this still a quality cache? certainly if I felt an area needed this sort of cache and there was an appropriate spot I wouldn't hesitate to hide one there, even tho if I found it I probably wouldn't give it a favorite point. Hope that makes sense.

[GPS speedo]

I've been out caching this morning - Its quicker than tobogganing so I got less cold. It was before the snow started falling again tho.

 

Edited to say, quicker in less time outside, not travelling quicker!!!!

[Bug in a pub.]

Of the 5 trackables I've released two are in the hands of people who seemed to have stopped caching, 2 ended up in caches that got archived and one found its way to the check republic where it has pottered about for the last year or more but hasn't got out again. I wouldn't mind so much except I can't read check and some people have written fairly long logs and I have no idea what they say, but then they probably can't read the TB page either...

Wouldn't necessarily put me off releasing more TBs, but I keep hold of my geocoins now.

[Founds]

sorry, i've just started another thread asking the same thing, pq page says right number of finds but when I upload it to generate stats its still the version i did on saturday. sorry for the duplicate thread

[My find PQ]

I generated a new my finds PQ last night and tried to update my my geocaching profile stats, but its stuck at he previous stats even after forcing a refresh. Is anyone else having problems? not sure if its the pq or my geocaching profile site and I haven't got gsak installed to look inside the pq and check it

[Souvenirs]

Thanks MrsB - have had a browse through the forum and used a few votes It would be nice if there were more souvenirs available here, especially some of the challange type ones you could work towards rather than 'just' finding a cache in a particular area, although gathering a set of souvenirs for all countries of the UK or areas or something would be cool.

[Souvenirs]

I got 2 random US state souvenirs a couple of weeks or so ago, which I couldn't work out why I had got them, and they have now gone, which is fine by me as, as I said, I never worked out how I got them in the first place. I'm afraid I can't remember exactly what they were or which cache I logged when I got them. I've just got the mega and the 10/10/10 ones now.

 

Is there anywhere to see what souvenirs are available and what you have to do to earn them? If you are supposed to earn them, rather than get them as a nice surprize when you log a cache, it would be useful to know what you have to do. If I knew that I might try and get a few more.

[ignore list]

That sounds like a simpler way of doing it, at the moment I just add caches to my watch list but a separate bookmark list of local caches I don't want to go looking for at the moment which are watched and ignored.

 

Knowing they will be downloaded from a second list is useful too, thanks.

 

Trying to keep track of caches to try and find and with the weather as it is and it getting dark early, its a bit risky to go for one that might be a DNF as I'm still managing a cache a day at the moment, I don't think I would if I DNFed one.

[The Mega Wales, Welsh Slate Geocoin]

I'd love a celtic one, especially as I'm not sure I will make the mega next year so probably wont get an attenders coin, and with a geology habit I couldn't refuse. Will you e-mail anyone who's expressed an interest in here when they are ready? I just don't normally check the coin forums. Thanks

[ignore list]

If I add a cache to my ignore list, but also watch it, will I still get e-mails with logs and other updates?

 

I have several local caches that I am waiting for an owner to check they are still there as there have been a lot of DNF logs or problems recorded with them, but are still active. I was wondering if the ignore list would be a way to exclude these from PQs. The 'only caches updated in the last 7 days' option would also filter out a lot of caches that I would be happy to go and look for but just haven't been found for a while because its rather cold for caching at the moment!

 

I've never used the ignore list before so just wondering how and whether other people use it.

 

Thanks

[Nano's Who like them?]

Nanos have their place.

 

If caching with children I try to avoid them as they would rather find McD's toys and other tat from real caches.

 

Yes, very true, although I have found cleverly diguised nanos, particularly animal shapes (trying not to give too much away here!) have proved fun for the 3 year old, but the risk is he wants the container as a swap...

[Premium newbie]

I use my geocaching profile if you want to see what that looks like, although it does have other options I have switched off, and there is a linky at the bottom of the page. I like it because its free and I still haven't got my head round gsak

[That sinking feeling . . .]

Taken from the Colorado Wiki page

 

Yes, starting in Beta Software 2.92. Connect your Colorado to a computer in USB mass storage mode and edit file [CO drive]:\Garmin\startup.txt in a text editor like notepad. You can add several lines of text (at least 5) at the end of this file which will be displayed just before the first screen is displayed at power on. This feature is useful for adding contact information in case the unit is lost.

 

Modifying the line <display=0> in the same file will change the the number of seconds that custom startup message is displayed (i.e. <display=5> will display the messge for 5 seconds). Note your boot time will increase by the same number of seconds, so a value between 5-10 seconds is a reasonable setting.

 

Thank-you - will do that

[The season of lost geocaches]

Went out but it was too deep and i just could not find it, and it was too cold to attempt the 6 mile'r

 

Nano's have their uses sometimes - this one today wasn't as clever as some I've found tho

[Pet hates when caching?]

I saw a car driving along with a bag tied to the rear windscreen wiper the other day

I've done that at puppy training class, where they make you go and hang it on your car to make sure you take it with you. I also nearly left one hanging on a tree while signing a cache log

 

Thats a good idea, as I guess most places puppy classes are at don't have the right bin to put it in. I've nearly left my GPS hanging in a tree while signing a cache log I try to use the carabina to hang it on me now, rather than near-by vegetation.

[The season of lost geocaches]

I found one today, day 126 which was a 2.5/2.5 which might have been fair in the snow but I don't think the terrain is usually a 2.5, not that I'm complaining. Tomorrow might be another matter...

[That sinking feeling . . .]

Noooo what a pain! I hope you manage to get it back

 

I did that with my first ever mobile phone, one of the original Nokia bricks, it fell off the car roof, I then realised what I had done but managed to reverse over it, doh, and somehow it survived!

 

I saw them doing all sorts of evil things to a Garmin Oregon on the Gadget Show, blowing it up etc, and it still worked, so even if someone has done the unthinkable and run your baby over, it just might still be alive. Definitely worth contacting the O2, there are SOME honest people out there, someone may well have turned it in.

 

Thanks for the idea of putting contact details on the startup screen, at the moment ours just says “Welcome CHAOS CREW!”, which wouldn’t be an awful lot of help if it got lost (unless found by a fellow local cacher or user of these forums who recognised our team name I guess)

 

Does anyone know if you can put your contact details on the startup screen for a colorado? I haven't seen any instrustions anywhere. Thanks

[Nano and Micro Amnesty]

 

I would put them in the placcy bottles bag - but they don't collect that until next week - which is a black bin week (I think) - unless they go out with glass and cans (but that was this week), or is that food waste? No, that's every week. Perhaps. When do they collect paper waste? And why can't we put cardboard in the green bin anymore???

 

But do they keep all the different bits seperate? We have 2 boxes and a bag, collected fortnightly, one for glass, one for paper and one for a mix of tins and plastic - but all three are thrown into the back of the same rubbish truck together, fine it saves them reissuing new bins if they've changed the system, but why then do the bin men refuse to empty the containers if you haven't seperated them properly....

 

All this talk of recycling bins made me think of this cache... http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...ce-cbd56d736736 (trying to get back on topic slightly after that)

[Pet hates when caching?]

There was a women who very often went around leaving the bags tied to the trees. He saw her one day get back into her car and drove off. Next time she visited shereturned to her car to find the bags tied to her wing mirror. She has never left any since!

 

I like that SO much

 

I saw a car driving along with a bag tied to the rear windscreen wiper the other day, I did wonder if they had put it there and forgotten or if it was someone else had attached it. At least it hadn't been tied to a tree, or worse in one case I found when looking for a cache near here, stuffed into the top of a tree protection tube worse trouble is, its my nearest unfound cache and I fear the cache is also inside a tree protection tube, which is why its still unfound. Shame as otherwise it would be a reasonable cache to find with the 3 year old

[Weird finds in caches]

but a few weeks back found an open bag of Maltesers I would not touch sealed food although normally dispose of it but why leave an open bag.

 

I expect there is a cacher who was very disappointed on their walk after finding that cache. I bet they left them by mistake I sounds like something I might do by accident, except it can't have been me as I haven't had any maltesers for ages....