JDandDD

Because geocaching is a worldwide activity and all other cache types are available anywhere in the world. Benchmarks are only USA (other countries benchmarks are in Waymarking only) so this would be unfair to any other country. JD

I know that one, but I'm curious how this fits in to the criteria for questions in this thread as posted in the OP. I'm curious because you broke in earlier in this thread and interupted my question about where the first all aluminum bridge is because you said it was off track according to the criteria. My question was clearly about geography so should have been OK according to post 1. Now we get this one from you and I can't figure out where it fits into to your own criteria. And the answer is, they are green. JD

I talked today with a policeman friend of mine about exactly that. He says, that a GPS mounted in either spot he would consider properly mounted on the dash. He also said that trying to argue a difference in court would never fly so he can't see how police would split a hair quite that fine. JD

Welcome to a bug in Mapsource, or at least I think it is. It doesn't matter whether its from GSAK or hand entered, the name will not show in 6.14.1 regardless of what you do. One of those inadvertent features that get added when programmers don't test everything I think. JD

Ok, here's a link to a pdf on the Ministry of Transport site. That is what the interpretation and what the regulation will be. It clearly states the GPS will be mounted on the dashboard. You're right about saying its not specifically there. But the details in almost every law come down to the regulations that the Minister is allowed to make. That provision is there because its impossible to write down everything and then have the legislation last. Regulations allow the Minister to keep the law relevant and current. Many laws are simply legal enablers so that regulations can be written. So, to really know what the law is saying you then have to see the written regulations. The link above is showing you what the Ministry is say is the regulation for GPS's and it will be mounted on the dashboard. The other area one would have to look at is all the linking legislation. This is simply a re-write of one section of the Highway Traffic Act which itself will have sections referring to Ontario and Federal legislation which then have to be referred to. That's why lawyers make lots of money. You can't simply read one section of one law and have it figured out. I worked in various capacities for the Ontario Govt for 27 years and had many involvements with various pieces of legislation. It isn't as simple as people on this thread try to make it. The link above tells you what the Ministry's legal staff have indicated are the impacts of all those links of law and regulation and that's what you should go by, at least until the first trials for people charged under the section and trial lawyers start trying to modify the interpretations. JD

I think we are actually agreeing Dan and wasn't criticizing in any way. I was a psychologist at one point and did studies on people's ability to handle information. Yes, the studies indicate that a passenger is distracting, no dispute and I wasn't disputing that. What is substantially different, and demonstrably in studies, is that the psychological impact of the distraction is qualitatively different. A passenger can modify the intensity and quantity of their distractive conversation because they can see the situation. A person on the other end of the cell phone conversation cannot because they cannot see the environmental impacts the driver is experiencing. That makes for a very different set of demand characteristics on the communications. Communications by the way was the focus of my thesis.

Nope. As written, the law requires it to be mounted properly on the dash. Why, well sitting loose you still could be picking it up to look at when it beeps. JD

True Dan, but in a very different way. The vehicle in the car can see the road conditions and know they have to stop talking and distracting you. They can also see the reason you may have tuned them out. And, it doesn't take a hand off the wheel. The person you talk to on the cell phone cannot see the conditions you are in and does nor auromatically adjust to it, and you have your one hand off the wheel. The cell phone becomes a much more attention grabbing activity because the person on the other end is grabbing it in a way a passenger does not. JD

The law says that a GPS is OK if it is properly mounted on the dashboard. So, if it is in the mount on the dashboard it is OK. Don't have a dashmount then buy one and you'll be fine. What the law is concerned about is the person who has it in their hand. That's a much more distracting activity. I too favour the ban. I have had way too many close calls with people being on the phone and not seeing me when I cross a road. Then there is the person trying to make a 1 hand turn. Watch some time and virtually every single driver on a cell phone makes a mess of it (and don't know it), usually turning way too wide and ending up at least partially in the other lane, and worse, not seeing the pedestrian using the crosswalk. JD

The WAAS behavior isn't really a bug. Its working the way the Garmin's (different models including Nuvi's and Streetpilots) I've tried do. Garmin seems to have made the decision at some point that it will only use one channel for WAAS reception so you get one at a time. If it can connect to 48 (sometimes shows as 33 but that's just a number change not satellite), then it uses it. If it can't see that satellite or the info won't come in for some reason it will use 51. The sequence you mention seems to be an undocumented way of forcing a change from 48/33 to 51. So, its not unique to 2.8 chipset software and its not problem with the Colorado series either. The different data you mention is probably due to how WAAS works. It updates at least every three minutes and the is info slightly different. The WAAS systems broadcasts how to correct for the current satellite cluster. Satellites move in orbit, come into view over North America and disappear from North America view continuously so the WAAS system has to update the info. It may do that more frequently than 3 minutes but the PC system I use to follow the satellites and their operational status gets a push from the WAAS centre every 3 minutes so its that frequent at a minimum. JD edited due to spelling error and to make sentences easier to read

Not necessarily. The processsor has to interact with the chipset and chipset software and dedicate a number of processor cycles to getting the sat info from it, constantly. If the chipset software has speeded up then the unit won't have to wait for it as much and everything will be a bit faster. JD

For me puzzles are a challenge and I know I won't solve all of them. But before I ask anyone for help I make an honest effort at trying to solve it. Out of the dozens I've solved (most I haven't looked for yet) I've only asked for help on a handful. I think I owe it to the owner to give it my best shot. Often I give a puzzle a decent effort, then put it away for a while (sometimes weeks) and then come back to it with some fresh thoughts. Puzzles are frustrating, sure, but what a rush when you solve it! But what will really gets to me is to solve a difficult, interesting puzzling only to go out and find a lame cache that has just been plopped down somewhere for no real reason. IMHO the cache owner should put as much effort and creativity into the placement as the puzzle. JD

Mine works fine as well. Edit to add: I'd be looking at your SD frankly. These things can go bad suddenly and cause problems in all kind of equipment. Not that common but does happen, I'd say where I worked as the IT manager about 1-3% of SD cards would develop flaws. You'd expect them to just stop but a bad bit here or there can cause software to attempt to compensate for the flaw, i.e. assuming a map isn't available or possibly bad so it tries to compensate by picking the others, actually what it should od. Note that this would be an SD card problem not the Colorado. JD

You're right about not having to be in the Kincardine area. Today we had a close encounter with a bear running out from the Copeland Forest (near Hillsdale north of Barrie) and crossing Highway 93. It barely before crossing the road because it saw our car. Would have hit us and we couldn't have avoided it. Second time we've had such a close encounter, the first in Penetanguishene the bear missed the car by about a foot. JD

Garmin manuals always are lacking in detail and leave out information on some features altogether. Not a good job on their part at all. Don't know who they get to write them but they need a better department for this. JD

Yes, Cachemate works very well on my Palm t/x. The WifFi is exactly like a laptop. Anywhere you can connect to a hotspot or wireless access point (router, access point) you can connect the Palm. If its a free hotspot then its free if its a pay one you pay the access cost, just like a laptop. JD

Another reason that the satellite may not have a D is due to the WAAS system providing info or not providing info. The WAAS satellites code each of the GPS satellite as PA, NPA, NM or DNU status. Only a PA status GPS satellite has useable WAAS info. PA stands for Precision Approach, NPA for non-precision appriachm NM for Not monitored and DNU for do not use. DNU means that the GPS satellite is sending unreliable info (right now number 5 is DNU and has been for more than a week). Remember that the WAAS system is by the FAA for aircraft and only sends WAAS correction for those satellites that can be used for a precision landing. So if the GPS is in one of the non-PA modes it will not show a D. Not that the other reasons mentioned are wrong just that this is another one. JD

One just outside of the town of Banff (basically across the road) that is really worth doing for the history of the area is GC7C58 Don't Eat the Rhubarb Within Banff there is: GCCFCF Jacoba's Banff cache with a nice walk along side the Bow River near the Banff Springs and there are two on the Heart Creek trail SE of Canmore that are definitely worth doing. The Heart Creek trail is a great walk in the mountains. JD

Accuracy on a civilian GPS can be less than 3m (about 10ft) with WAAS turned on but it can never be said to be accurate to less than 1m (about 3ft). Its just the nature of the civilian signal of the GPS system. The military system is purported to be more accurate than that but civilians cannot access it. Even when accuracy is reported to be less than 3m by your GPS that is just an estimate and those estimates can be wrong. So, any good modern GPS receiver will give you the estimate less than 3m with WAAS. Yes you can get GPSs to go directly from car to caching. Garmin just announced a new Nuvi 550 which is their first specifically designed for this and Magellan has had its CrossOver GPS for a couple of years. Maps will come included with either of these units. Using GSAK and being a premium member you can do very good searches for caches along a route. JD

I think it was already back on track. My question wsa geography and that is one of the categories in the OP so it was legitimate. JD

Thanks. I was hoping it was less involved but oh well. JD

That's it. Over to you. JD

Apparently no one! Garmin's software releases seem consistently buggy in significant ways now. Minor bugs are one thing but these make software close to unusable. Someone in quality control and software development isn't doing their job. Come on Garmin, fix your software and your processes. Also, can anybody tell me what I'm doing wrong trying to go backwards to 6.13.7 Everytime I try it I lose the Mapsource.exe file and a new (old 6.13.7) one is not installed. I just get that the mapsource.exe is missing. Rerun 6.14.1 and that version does install the mapsource.exe. Wish I'd backed that up before the upgrade. JD

Hope this one hasn't been asked before, but with 2500 posts hard to know. Anyway, what is the most northern point of land in Canada? JD

tittle JD