JDandDD

27C or about 80F or lower can lead to hypothermia. Anything greater than 27C and survival is indefinite. JD

Here in Ontario, we have winter a lot like the OP. Caches range from still easy to impossible. Some get frozen in place, others are buried beneath a couple of feet of snow. In terms of finding caches, do your research by reading the logs and look at the attributes. I try to rule out ones that in any way read that they are low on the ground or likely to be covered in snow. The search itself often requires looking at slight bumps in the snow cover and deducing a stump or a log or someother likely hiding spot and then checking them all out. So its harder and requires work. Lots of good ideas in CYbret's article. In preparing for the search, warmth in layers is essential. Put a second pair of socks in your vehicle so you can change in to a dry pair when you get back. Kicking around in the snow gets in your boots regardless of how much you try to avoid and you want to warm up the extremities quickly. And when walking on the trails, watch every step you take (a hiking pole can really help with balance on icy slope, even gentle ones) and avoid water. You don't want to get wet at all cost, a sure way to get hypothermia. JD

Not really unusual either, depending on your reception (number of satellites, constellation which means orientation, whether you are under trees etc). If you watch you satellite screen you will see the number of satellites being received. There are times, especially under trees and other difficult reception areas, when you will see the number of satellites fluctuating rapidly. The number and orientation can greatly affect the accuracy of your GPS position calculations which can change every second (the typical refresh rate). To me its part of the fun of learning about the equipment. After a while you learn how to analyze the accuracy you are receiving and you develop techniques to double check and improve the accuracy. The sport wouldn't be any challenge at all if all you had to do was walk up to the cache. Eventually you'll get better understanding of how to adjust to the reception conditions and that feels like an accomplishment once you've done it. JD

At 25 ft you were doing not too badly. The spec for GPS (without WAAS or differential correction) is 9 meters or about 30ft. though typically we all do better than that. With WAAS correction you will get about 3 meters (10ft) or better. Without going into the lengthy explanations, there are lots of threads you can find that have those, there is error in the GPS system (as stated above). When a cache is placed there is a certain amount of error and when you go out to find it there is also a certain amount of error. The amount on any given day depends on lots of factors including the number and orientation of the satellites above you. So, long story short, being off a bit is not a bad thing and 10m (or 33ft) is quite acceptable. You did well. JD

To me that's the biggest issue of the lot. And, that varies from region to region on top of that. We do travel, and its interesting to see from logs what people in each area consider good. Some areas are puzzle mad, some like longer hikes, others like dash and grab and so on. So what makes a good cache. I haven't read anywhere a consistent definition of that and any rating system to be useful would require agreement on that. We won't get it. So, at least from the logs I can get information about what kind of hide it is, (long walk, under lamp post, dash and grab, muddy, rail trail, etc.). From any rating system I'm just going to get a number. To figure out what that number means I'm going to have to read the logs. So, its no time saver and of very limited usefulness. Lets stop beating this horse. JD

Maybe so, but it does have to be something close to the buddy list idea. Privacy concerns make it imperative that people have the right to choose to not be tracked and the right to know who is tracking them and prevent it if they choose. JD

I'll echo the comments about Waymarking. Separate activity, lets leave it that way. Although I've done some Waymarking, I wouldn't want it to intrude on geocaching information so I'd turn it off if given the chance. You'd be better off developing a separate mailing from Waymarking.com for those who are interested in that activity. JD

And all men are created equally too I guess. If you want my bottom line, I think all benchmarks should be on geocaching. The split is artificial to say the least. JDandDD

Actually, US Benchmarks should be over in Waymarking like every other country's are required to be. There is nothing unique about US Benchmarks as compared to Canadian, or British , or Japanese or anybody else's. They are all permanent markers. So instead of more features for US benchmarkers I think fairness says move them to Waymarking. Either that or move all other countries here with the same level of features as US benchmarks. Fair is fair! JD

I agree with Briansnat. Find some other method than burying in the sand. Although the guideline says using pointy objects, I think that the guideline is also about distrubing the environment. Plants, insects, reptiles, turtles etc. all use sand for different purposes and us digging in it disturbs their habitat. We as geocachers want to disturb nature as little as possible. JD

Fair enough. But what is Waymarking and what is not Waymarking? What is a waymark and what is not a waymark? The argument can be made that if its everything, like is being suggested, then in actually that's nothing. Every meaningful activity has a good definition. Without those questions being answered then the sport/activity becomes meaningless. So, keep what FREE is my question or are you suggesting we just put coordinates on everything. Except here's the next problem. Why do we even bother voting and why are some turned down if there is no definition of what Waymarking and a waymark is. It isn't rational to exclude something (those categories that are turned down) if you can't say what a waymark is and therefor what should be included. So, what is it. Let's see what people can come up with as a definition. It will never become widely accepted if you can't what it is, and by association what it isn't. JD

Public money funds all kinds of hobbies, many of which couldn't happen if there wasn't public money. How about boaters using the Rideau and Trent canals. As a former canalman, I can tell you that the daily fees don't even approach covering the daily operating costs. The canals are primarily for recreational boaters, a hobby. Public funds support building arenas, hiking trails, rowing clubs, ski clubs, and any other club/activity that applies and meets the criterion. Without public funds all kinds of things wouldn't happen. JD

Absolutely. Lots of hiders forget to average and/or to take several readings. It then leads to what the OP was talking about, not always but too much really. Heavy trees, tall buildings, rock walls, anything that can give a reflection of the signal can cause that so, I agree, try to minimize as much as possible. Finders also need to be aware of the problems that might be throwing their accuracy off and adjust their search accordingly. JD

I don't want to hijack this thread so this will be short. I would love to have these kinds of discussion but they are secondary to a more important discussion, just exactly what is a waymark. When ISS sightings are approved I no longer have a clue. With geocaching you can say a spot on earth where something is hidden requiring a gps to find, on both sites you used to be able to say coords for a specific spot on earth. This category is none of those. So what is a waymark now?? Without defining that how can you advertise it and make it interesting??? The game is ill-defined and now even moreso. JD

The TB part of the OP has been answered so on to the second question. Its more a question of what's not a good idea. In that case, don't leave any food item, or anything with a scent, they will attract animals. In general don't leave sharp items, don't want anything that people can get cut on. Sometimes you have to just jam your hand into a container to get the stuff out and won't always see the sharp. Anything potentially dangerous or explosive should be omitted. Of course, broken items, garbage etc. are frowned upon. Finally, remember that this is a family sport and lots of kids will be the first one's to look through the contents. After that, almost anything is OK. Someone will like it and someone won't. JD

Not different, just different format. The maps use decimal degree format that are easier for the mapping engines to use. To convert from decimal format to degree minute.second format take the decimal portion and multiply by 60, the integer part is now the minutes. Now take the decimal portion and multimply by 60 again and you'll have .seconds portion of the cache page coords. JD

Easy big guy!!. First line of response: if you read their web page its much broader than the US NPS and is about geophysics.\ Second, nothing makes them better, but, the goal of Earthcaching is to show off geological features and that does mean visits. The simple facts are: on geocaching they got visits on Waymarking they didn't. Three, my point about responsibility is in the ethical sense and in the ethical sense Groundspeak DOES have a responsbility. Not legal but ethical. Since the activity requires visits to the sites AND Groundspeak has clear evidence that the visits goal can be met on geocaching and not Waymarking (at least at present) Groundspeak does have an ethical responsibility to have this on the site that will lead to the visits. Because they originially agreed to make Earthcaching part of the geocaching and it was Groundspeak who chose to create Waymarking and move it, yes they have a responsibility that they accepted (ethically speaking of course). Four, something does make them different: Earthcaching is endorsed by National Geographic Education Foundation, the NPS, and the Geological Society of America among others. This is not your typical waymark category. Five, still BETA. How long is this going to be Beta? Its been more than a year. But beta also says when you test in beta mode and find something isn't working right you fix it. In this case they did. So, actually being Beta is not an argument to keep it on this site but a better argument to move it. You have clear evidence the concept works better elsewhere thanks to Beta testing so you fix it. That's the case her. Six, popularity means nothing right now. Just not enough people doing Waymarking to really be meaningful. Seven, you say it yourself, none of our waymarks are getting visits. That is not a good argument for Waymarking, quite the opposite really after more than 1 year since this activity was created. I can't put my finger on it, but after placing 160+ waymarks I can sense that there is something just not right about this activity. No I can't tell you what that something is but clearly something is missing when people simply don't visit waymarks and when it feels that waymarks are so onerous to create that you don't look forward to it, not to mention the battles with some of the category owners who are far more difficult to work with than the geocaching volunteer reviewers. That something is also evidenced by how sometimes I love it and then things occur that make me hate it. The approach/avoidance syndrome of this activity never happened with geocaching but it does here. I don't know yet what it is but this sport is going to continue to have trouble developing until that something is found. JD

This problem usually refers to being 'off' the UTM grid. This can happen with older GPS OS versions that were very North American or European specific. Since your is an older GPS (now shown as legacy by Magellan) I suspecty that is the problem. The answer was to upgrade to the latest OS version. The upgrade can be found on the Magellan site under Support and then the link for the 'Legacy' products. Select the correct model of SporTrack and then download the most recent OS and install it. Warning: follow the installation instructions precisely, especially about clearing memory before and after the upload. JD

That amount of money by the Feds doesn't concern me at all. $17,350 is chump change in a multi-billion dollar budget. Besides, it probably will do a lot of good. It will promote PEI and tourists being a lot of dollars with them. That $17350 will be made back in GST alone from tourists. Second, somebody will get the money to set up the site and that will go in their pockets and they will spend it and there will be GST on the expenditures that flow back to the Feds etc. etc. Think of it this way. Money flows around. So, the person receiving the $17000 spends it in six spots and pay 6% GST on it. Then the 6 places that get it spend it again in another 6 places and each of them pays GST. Now its is an additional 36 places and each of them buys something and pays GST on it and so on. That $17000 will easily return to the Feds before 6 months are done, its a no brainer really. Whenever people complain about tax money being spent they always forget that money flows around, its not a static single expenditure and the government knows it will flow back to them. Finally, anything that supports the sport and advances its is a good thing for all of us. There are a lot more serious things in the world to worry about than that small amount. JD

Since Thales started to lose interest in the GPS business they put little money into it and support was one of the things that suffered. Now that it has been sold (as of August) the new Magellan company has to redevelop this and it GPS line. This takes time and since its been only 1 month its a bit early to expect a big turn around. So, my bottomline is, yes customer support had become awful but that was due to Thales' interest in the product line and lets see what happens over the next few months. By the way, the new website already shows a much more professional attitude so I think there is a lot of reasons to expect positive changes throughout their business. JD

One thing to remember is that your own body can block the signal. If the satellite postions are mostly behind you and the GPS is hanging down and facing your front, there is more than half the sky it cannot see and it may not see enough satellites to keep a signal. JD

After a while, more seasoned geocachers learn not to follow what their GPS is saying. It will get you to an area but rarely will take you to the precise spot. There is enough variation in reception and many other factors that you learn that you will likely be off somewhat. That's half the fun, what would be the point if you could just walk up. A couple of more specific things. First, The estimated error is just that, an estimation. The error can actually be a lot higher or lower. Second, the error is a circle around a point. The actuall positon could be anywhere within that circle including right at the edge. Now, if you've got 20 ft and the day the cache placer was out they had 40ft error then you could be as much as 60ft off and not know it. Third, its not all that common but I've had days when my GPS calculated that I was 800 miles away. Why, well the altitude reading was way of, 2000ft off and thus the best calculation put me on the only point on earth the GPS could calculate me being at that height. So, what we all do with the error, is start to think like the cacher and try to figure out where you would hide it. That works a lot. JD

kewfriend has stated exactly what the problem is. It doesn't take much perusal of ANY waymark category to get an idea of how visiting waymarks has not developed and it is a potential fatal flaw of Waymarking. Its hard to keep justifying placing waymarks (and the amount of work that takes and the struggles with some category owners pickiness about waymarks) when there is so little payoff in terms of visits. By comparison, a cache page is far less of a hassle and will have several visits within a week. It also needs to be remembered that Earthcaching is the creation of an organization outside of either waymark or geocaching and was developed as a method of teaching geology and geophysics. The concept does not work if there are no or very few visits and as erthcache owners are saying consistently in this and other threads, they are not getting the visits. Groundspeak has a responsibility to this outside organization, earthcaching, to support and promote their activity and despite trying (first on geocachiong and then on Waymarking) it has become abundantly clear that Waymarking isn't the spot for this activity precisely because Waymarking has not developed as a sport of visiting the waymarks. JDandDD

The idea of a date stamp for the coordinates changing would be good. Sometimes only the last couple of digits change and you can miss it. Its easy to miss ehen four or five cachers have found the cache since the coords change and the 'change coords' note disappears from the first page logs. JD

That is a very complicated question. It depends on both the concentration in a cacher's area and motivation, at least. Where we live everything is a 40minute drive one way and the biggest concentrations are and hour or more. That slows you down. But its even more problematic if you live in northern Canada or some of the more isolated spot of the US. High could range from 100 to 2000 depending on where you live. JD