1mech

Nice charts, I have had some travel bugs which have gone missing after their first drop, others have been replaced to "keep them alive". The big question I have is, why do so many go missing? There is no monetary value to them, there should be no bragging rights, as to "I have the most stolen travel bugs" Some cachers who are the last listed to have grabbed a bug are still active, so, if you have them, drop them or at least log them as visits if you want to hang on to them! I realize some also go missing due to muggles being just plain mean! To all the bug stealers I say, may Signal the Frog constantly croak in your ears!!!

A couple days ago, I was at the starting point of an Adventure Lab, I looked down and I saw a USGS benchmark, so I was going to log it. Much to my surprise, the benchmark option had disappeared. Oh well. I don't usually search them out, but if I ran across one, I would usually log it as found and report on it's condition. Guess I won't anymore. Goodbye benchmarks, it has been fun.

I received one back in the summer I guess, took it on a road trip north to Lake Superior, then placed it in my backyard geocache. It stayed there until last week, when I took it out for another road trip, this time to Florida. It currently has 3455 miles on it, still needs to travel back to Oklahoma. For some reason, it seems cachers don't grab many bugs out of my caches. They will discover them, but not move them along.

I have a few caches I have placed over the years and I seldom, if ever go back to check the names on the cache page against the names on the log sheet itself, to make sure they actually have signed it. What about you other cache owners, do you ever verify that the user logging a find has actually signed the physical log sheet?

I have found caches in all 50 states, but I didn't do it in one or two road trips. I did it over a period of years, as we vacationed or had business in different areas of the country.

I hadn't really thought about them much, but I just got a couple of new ones from a caching trip back east last summer, kind of like an unexpected present. The artwork is good and the side notes interesting, so I say, if you don't like them, just ignore them. Maybe they could put in an option to delete them if you don't care for them, then you wouldn't need to complain, but then there will always be those who complain about the smallest things! I say, keep them coming! 1Mech

What do you think is the proper thing to do, if you are looking for a cache, and not being very successfull at it, then another unrelated cacher comes along and finds it, while you are still there. You see it, but really had not found it. Does this count as a find? I would probablly list it as a find with a notation that I found it with xxxxx. What would you do.

I still use the "arrow" until I get pretty close, then hopefully there will be obvious areas within 10 feet. If things don't seem right to me, I will take multiple approaches using the arrow to try to narrow it down, then use "geosense" I have over 600 finds.

What is the express model? I cannot find it on the Lowrance page.

My old i-Finder bit the dust a few weeks ago after a nasty fall, so now I need a new machine. You guys make the DeLorme pn-20 sound pretty darn good! The pn-40 would be nice, but at Tiger, I saw this and I think I will go ahead and get it! http://www.tigergps.com/delormepn20bundle.html They claim it is a new unit, not refurb, for 169.95 plus shipping, $6.95 in my case. That offer is good until Dec. 1 or while supply lasts.

Mine is a '79 Toyota Corolla wagon my parents bought new. Only 289,000 miles on it, goes just about everywhere!

If anybody is needing the larger ammo cans, the Western Market Trading Post out at Woody's Corner has a bunch for sale for $1.00 It is located just off the intersection of hwy. 412 and 209th w. ave. west of Sand Springs, Ok. Also known as the Prue exit. Last time I was out there, they had a pallet load of them, they are used and will need some cleaning, but what do you expect for $1.00

I don't know about all those acronyms, but I just enter my finds and DNFs manually. Log in and go to the cache that you have found, then in the upper right hand corner, click on "log your visit" simple as that.

Go to the Lowrance web page and contact their customer service about that, they would have the correct answer I am sure, but they seem slow to respond. Mike S.

Is it considered ok to drop a bug in a cache and then right away retrieve it back again? I have always thought a cacher should only drop the bug once and then let it move on with someone else. Seems kind of selfish to drop and retrieve! 1Mech

I recently released a "micro" bug. It is another dog type tag glued to the back of the official tb tag. It is called "Friends Across the Pond", and it had its first grab today! 1Mech

I've been using a Lowrance i-Finder for about 2 years now and it works quite well. I like the large memory capacity, the large screen and it fits my hand. I can enter coordinates on the go just using my thumb, and it uses AA batteries, rechargable of course! If I were to replace it, it would probably be with the i-Finder H2O, which is more waterproof than my current model. Mike S. (1Mech)

I have been caching for about 2 years now, and all I have used is my trusty i-Finder with the yellow cover. It has worked well and the one time it messed up, Lowrance fixed it quickly. I have a 128 Mb SD card in it, so I keep many states worth of street level maps in it all the time. It does seem like the Lowrance units are kind of rare in the geocaching community, most seem to use Garmins or Magellins. Maybe it is because they are easier to find for purchase. I had to do some searching for my unit. Overall, I am pleased with mine. It is easy to use and easy to load maps into. It also seems pretty accurate; of coarse that depends on how accurate the person hiding the cache was too! A color screen would be nice, but the main thing I would change on my unit, would be to make it more waterproof. If I replace it, it will be with a H2O i-Finder. Mike S. (1Mech)

I don't have any prolem with golf balls in the caches, geogolfers like me use them on water shots, when I don't have much chance of hitting the balls over the water. That water has the strange ability to pull my balls (golfballs that is) right on in! So, I take golf balls when I find them so you others don't have to complain about them!

I leave a wheresgeorge dollar in most caches I visit, along with other goodies, just to help spread them around; but a lot of the dollars go untouched for months. Maybe people are afraid I will track them down or something. When I leave things in a cache, I leave it without regard for what will happen to the stuff, as I no longer consider it mine once I leave it. I do wish that some cachers would be more accurate in their logging as to things they have taken or left, as I too will go after a specific cache if some interesting things are listed. I'm working on my first placed cache and thinking of stocking it with small, but handy tools a person can use, and of course a WG dollar. 1Mech

I place Georges in most of the caches I visit. If there is one already there, I will take it in trade, and usually just spend it, placing it back in general circulation. Of course if I do find one in a cache, I make sure to log it as found!!!! I am sure most georgers will tell you, they don't care a whole lot what you do with the bill as long as you LOG IT IN AS FOUND!!!! You are free to spend mine or place them in another cache, whatever you wish, but please do log it in!! 1Mech

I have an Ifinder, and I use it to geocache; it works pretty good, the last few caches I have found, it has gotten to within just a few feet. The altitude seems to be 100-150 ft off no matter where I use it. You should get the detail map software if it is not included, and then you will also need a SD card. I have found them both on Ebay quite resonable. I bought a 32 MB but you can get by with 8 MB. 1mech