Jeeters

Mirror site is still up, too. http://www.cachegear.com/gpxsonar/

Yup, I like being able to run GpsSonar which allows me to read the cache descriptions and logs, and at the same time, toggle over to Mapopolis which lets me see the caches on a map. And at the same time, being able to create 'notes' containing the next waypoints to go attempt next, or copy/pasted coords or hints from the cache description for quick reference, etc. Of course this is all in theory for me as I've only had my PPC for three weeks now (ipaq 4150) and haven't even taken it out caching yet. One thing I don't like about the PPC (and perhaps it's the same with color Palms, too?) is that the display can be hard to read in outside daylight.

Causes a new pondering of the phrase, "If a tree falls in the woods, can you hear it?"

I was about to email him suggesting the same thing. Ran into this thread when trying to hunt down clayjar's url.

I had been looking at the Topo! software and one of the things I noticed is that it comes on CDROM only and not DVD? There's no DVD version available? True?

Well, since PPC has been brought up, I'd suggest taking a look at GpxSonar. It's free and it's pretty darn nice, imho. http://www.cachegear.com/gpxsonar/

Well, I hope the gopher has already abandoned the hole. Otherwise, that would be quite a rude cache placement as far as the gopher concerned. Actually, I already encountered a cache very similar to this, except that the hole in question was man-made (not by the cache owner). Recently, while hiking in an area that (surprisingly) doesn't have any caches, I discovered a hole that seems good for this and I've been thinking about doing my first cache placement with it. The hole is unusual... It's about 7" wide and goes *straight* down a good 8-10 feet (judging with my flashlight). It seems to just be a natural formation, a result of the rocky soil in the area and some tree roots. - unusual for being in the middle of regular ole pennsylvania woods.

My Spor Trac Pro DOES have an electronic compass. Not according to http://www.offroute.com/gps-compare.html And as we all know, everything we read on the internet is true. Seriously, though, the Sportrak has a compass but it's the kind that determines what direction you're moving by watching your GPS movement. i.e, as long as you're moving, it can tell you what direction your going. (i forget what these kind of gpsr compasses are called). It does not have a compass that is able to detect magnetic north, though, like some GPSRs can.

I have the same problem as the original poster (and i'm logged in). To get around it, I always have to start a new browser window and then do a search on the new cache via it's waypoint name. I can then download the cache from that new browser window. This workaround doesn't sound all that bad but it's actually quite a hassle when there's lots of caches you want to download. I've also hit the problem some other times (although I don't know/remember the other circumstances); I think it all depends on how exactly you navigated to a cache's page.

>I connected the Mag using the serial cable but the whole Plug And Play thing didn't kick in ("Windows has detected new hardware... blahblahblah") I tried rebooting and that didn't work. The GPSr detected as a P&P device? I've never had that happen (winxp). I thought EasyGPS just starts sending/receiving bits and bytes through the serial interface and whatever is on the other end happily responds (or screams foul if nothing connected or not GPSr); Windows I thought couldn't care less about not knowing that it's a GPSr connected.

I saw a FTF logging for a cache that was recently placed where the finder actually went into the woods with the cache owner and 'found' the cache 10 minutes after it was hidden. Basically, it seemed they hiked in together but the FTF'r waited out of site for the cache to be placed then the owner pretty much said "it's hidden. go for it." Then the FTF'r searched the area, found the cache, and even claimed the FTF prize which he said he didn't think was a big deal since his friend had left so much other good stuff in the cache anyways.

For plastic containers, it seems that the clear plastic "pretzel jar" type container with the screw on tops always stay bone dry inside. Just need to go to someplace like Walmart and buy a $3 jar full of pretzels (or popcorn or cheap candy or whatever). The only problem is that the opening is usually only about 5" wide making it hard to get some trade items or even the log in and out. But they seem to usually hold more than the usual shallow tupperware containers that everybody else uses.

Santa Clara is northern California (it's in Silicon Valley and is about 35-40 miles S.E. of San Fransisco). The fires are in very southern parts of California (mostly in spots between L.A. and San Diego). San Fransisco and L.A. are about 350 miles apart. My guess is that Magellan may just be very busy as the moment due to the new firmwares that were released for just about every one of their GPS receivers last week.

I get this problem a lot and haven't figured it out yet. It's annoying as all heck. It seems to be dependent on how I navigat to the cache's page. For example, one way I always see this problem is when I get the weekly cache Cache Notification email... If I click on any of the hyperlinks in the email, taking me to a cache page, then try and download the .loc file, I always get the problem you describe. What I always have to do, is 're-find' the cache page by going to the cache search page and entering in the waypoint name. Oh, and that only works if I open up a new browser window (i.e., can't use same browser window that I got when I clicked on the email's hyperlink).

> However NC Gamelands and State Forests are much more amenable to geocaching Same here in PA. While our state parks are under the rule of our 'Dept of Conservation & Natural Resources' and we require permission from them in order to place a cache, it's pretty much 'anything goes' on PA State Game Lands (SGLs) which are administered by the PA Game Commission.

From the readme.doc: Please reference www.magellangps.com/en/support/products for a complete description of enhancements and fixes in SporTrak Pro Standard V5.00 receiver software. Nope, nada. No additional info is on the site, as far as I could tell.

Pennsylvania's is here: DCNR I've noticed that some of the PA State Park caches also have a "posted with permission" image on the cache page. Don't know where that's coming from or if it's required (don't think it is). See GC5F3E for an example.

I am considering leaving either steel pennies or half-dollars as signature items. I'm more concerned with the steel pennies since they could rust, but they're cheaper than half-dollars. What's everyone's take on it? I'd think that would be a really nice find. As for rust, how about just putting them into a ziplock? (I'd think a lot of cached items would fair better if they were ziplocked instead of tossed lose into the containers). You could probably get small 2" or 3" zipbags at a hobby shop if you don't want to put a single little penny in a big regular sized bag.

My two cent rambling... I have a nice pair of Merrell boots that I bought about three four ago for just hiking and fishing (I'm a geonewb.) They were a $130 pair of boots that I ended up getting for just $60 off of the 'net. Great deal, since at the time, they were way more than I even needed. I absolutely love them. Like somebody said earlier, though, every brand fits different. In fact, even though the Merrell boots fit me perfectly, I can't seem to wear any of their trail shoes - all their shoes seem to have no toe room for me - my big toe jams up against the front of the shoe Previous to the Merrells, I owned a pair of HiTechs. They turned out to be very uncomfortable on me giving me too little arch support and causing me lots of blisters. I used to put bandaids on my feet on known hotspots *before* I put on the boots. Luckily, they didn't hold up all that well. I also have a pair of Columbia trail shoes that I bought last year orignally just for wearing about. They're very comfortable on me (a previous poster said Columbias were uncomfortable on them - further proof that not every brand is for every wearer and vica versa). I tend to wear them caching even more than the Merrells. These shoes have taken quite a beating; they're holding up pretty well, too, which I didn't expect. Tread is getting a little low, though. One thing I don't like is that neither my Merrells nor the Columbia shoes are waterproof. The Merrell's can 'hold their own' for at least a while, but the the Columbias are horrible with water. Besides getting caught in the rain, it seems like I often encounter some sort of mud that I end up putting my foot into. Next time, I think I'll get footwear that has has a traditional smooth leather exterior (no nubuck, no suede) for easier cleanup, and also gortex lining. Some other things that come to mind: My boots have a nice hard sole and nice 'lugged' tread. That along with the boot's ankel support is great for getting traction for climbing a hill, and great for not slipping coming down a hill. But, the sole is a very hard rubber making the boot fairly inflexible: they're not the greatest for scrambling over boulders & rocks as they don't flex enough, and the hard sole rubber doesn't 'grip' too well to the hard rock surface. The shoes, though, are more soft soled, yet also have good tread pattern. The rubber is much softer, too, making them nice for climing over rocks as they grip the rock surface really well. But I lose the ankle support of the boots making me more prone to twisted ankles (I've come close, but not yet.) Both the boots and the shoes have a rubber "toe bumper" which I wouldn't do without for the areas I hike in... besides protecting the boot from getting scuffed up, they also give a tiny bit of waterproofing when walking through wet grass or splashing into the occassional puddle. Finally, as somebody else said: socks really matter. If I wear regular cotton socks, I'll get blisters no matter what the footwear on just a half day hike. Some sort of synthetic sock is the best as synthetics are 'slippery' so cause less friction. I prefer WigWam's "Ultimax" socks. "Thorlo" seems to be another brand all the stores have but I think they're way overpriced.

I just purchased a new pack about 4 weeks ago. Previously, I had an old Eastpak that I had been using for several years for carrying manuals and whatnot back & forth to work. It's held up quite well, but is too simplistic, imho, for geocaching (just one big compartment plus the usual single smaller storage compartmant - stuff just ends up all over the place in the compartment.) Plus, it ended up not being very comfortable to wear for long periods. I would recommend maybe looking at some packs in a store to see what features you like and what ones you feel would irk you. Things in a new pack that I knew I wanted: - At least three compartments: the usual large one, then two smaller ones with at least one of those having an 'organizer' for pens, cell phone, misc small items, etc. - Mesh external pocket(s) for water bottles, or GPSr, etc. - Descently padded straps and none of that 'anti-slip' rubber on the straps you sometimes see on packs. imho, that antislip stuff just makes the pack harder to take on and off quickly as it tends to want to 'cling' to your shirt and wants rip the shirt off your back when you take the pack off. - No waste belt, or at least a waist belt that was non-obtrusive or even removable. - No useless "media" compartmants meant for putting a CD player in - Waterproof for if (when) I got caught in the rain. (didn't care about zippers so much as at least the material.) Looking around at packs at local stores, I had a hard time finding anything I was interested in. Unfortunately most daypacks seem to be geared more towards school or college than towards day hikes: they have special compartments for CD players, or an extra compartment and/or padding for carrying a laptop, or a big thick heavy handle on top for carrying at the airport, etc. It seemed that if I encountered a pack that I actually liked, there was something about it, though, that made me pass on it... some big waist belt system that would do nothing but get in my way, etc. I remember seeing a couple packs online that interested me, but I was hesitant to buy them without being able to seem them first. Therefore I tried to stick to local stores, only. In the end, I settled on a Northface "Yavapai" pack. It does have waste straps that I don't really care about nor use. But they're small enough that they don't get in the way and at least they're there if I ever *do* want to use them. It also has three compartments, compression straps on either side that can be used when the pack isn't full, and one of the compartments also has a nice organizer inside where I can stick a pen, small maglight, compass, keys, etc. It's *very* comfortable - I can where it all day long on my shoulders and I forget about it. The padding that goes against my back has 'channels' in it to let some air in. It did cost a little more than I originally wanted to pay ($59), but in the end I'm very happy with it.

When I looked at the pic, I immediately thought of smoke or steam, too. imho, it's likely the flash reflecting through evening mist rising up from the ground.

Magellan Sportrak Pro = 228 Magellan Mapsend Software = 80 Magellan Rebate = -50 (still waiting for check) Carrying Case = 13 Winshield mounting bracket = 40 Cigarette Lighter cable = 20 ---- Total = 331

It's probably worth noting that even though most units have a 'backtracking' feature, some are able to offer a longer backtrack trail than others. i.e., one shouldn't trust all units to be able to keep a full track of a full's day worth 4x4'n on logging trails.

I also bought a Sportrak Pro from Amazon about a month ago and it, too, came with 4.06. So did the MapSend software that also came from Amazon. As for lock times... try going into Setup and setting it from 3D to 2D (unless you absolutely require elevation info). With 3D, it will require a successful lock on at least 4 satellites, and one of those it will want to be satellite on the horizon. With 2D, it will only require 3 satellites for successful triangulations. At least that's the theory, as I've read on some sites and I think the manual describes it that way, too. In practice, though, even though I have mine set to 2D, I swear it still wants at least 4 satellite locks (if not more) before it will tell me where I am. Only owning/using it for a month, though, the 'jury is still out'. Also, my understanding is that during initialization, the GPSr needs to receive a stream of packets containing initial info from each satellite, and it must receive that info with zero errors. If any errors occur, it has to restart the stream all over. Moving around can cause the stream to be interrupted due to reflections from trees, etc.) So it's best to just not move it at all while waiting for it to lock.

Go to the cache's page. At the top-right of the page, you should see two links: 'log your visit' in blue, and 'watch this cache' in green. Click on 'log your visit' and it will take you to a page where you can specify what happened: you found it, you couldn't find it, etc. You can specify the date that you were there. And you can enter in a log entry about how your search went, what the cache's condition was, etc.