CompassCollector

Your compass is your friend. As KA says, most GPS receivers have a 'compass arrow' that shows your direction of travel, but it is not a *real* compass, and it seems to really confuse people at first. It calculates your direction based on the last few positions, and attempts to show you direction and bearing to the waypoint. It works a lot better when you are in motion. You should teach yourself how to triangulate. Stop a ways away (about 100 feet is good), read the bearing (not heading) on the GPS, and shoot that bearing with a compass. Then move to the side a ways, and repeat. Note where the two bearings cross, and begin your search there. This is good practice for the harder caches, and you'll get a good feel for how your GPS behaves.

I used the Groundspeak CITO logo and created a page of CITO Bag Labels to slap on the outside of bags of collected trash. It is meant for Avery 2x4 shipping labels (8163, 8253, etc). The labels can be downloaded in PDF format here. Here's what a single label looks like:

I leave these, and sometimes other items as well.

In case nobody's pointed it out to you yet, veteran cacher CYBret has an excellent 'paperless tutorial' at http://www.geocacher-u.com/resources/paperless.html The rest of his site is excellent as well. Don't forget to download your copy of the tri-fold "Lets Go Geocaching" Brochure The essential information is as others have stated: you need a program on the palm to read the cache data, and the cache data has to be in whatever format that program needs. There are at least three major ways of doing it, and probably others as well. I use: GSAK -> CacheMate PDB Export -> PDB File -> Palm Sync -> CacheMate Others include: GSAK -> HTML Export -> HTML Files -> Plucker Desktop -> PDB File -> Palm Sync -> Plucker Reader GSAK -> GPX Export -> Spinner -> HTML Files ->Plucker (gives the files on the palm a different format, and this is the method [starting with the GPX file] that CYBret documents in the link above) GSAK -> GPX Export -> GPX2HTML -> HTML Files -> Plucker (essentially the same as above with an alternative to Spinner) GSAK -> GPX Export -> CMConvert -> PDB File -> Palm Sync -> CacheMate (gives you some slightly different options than the CacheMate export feature of GSAK)

One way to tell if the PDA Sync software is running is to look for it's icon in the system tray. I have mine set so that the Palm HotSync software only runs when I have the Palm Desktop software running. That way I can share the serial port between the Palm and the GPS. Another thing to look for is that NMEA is turned OFF on the GPS before attempting to upload/download.

How do you make that charm? That is really cool! I bought the charms (which are a lead-free pewter) in bulk off of eBay. Then I paint it with acrylic craft paint. It takes about an hour to paint 10-15 charms.

Getting back on topic: I leave two things: my Card and my 'compass charm'

On your Garmin: Check that NMEA is turned off. NMEA is a protocol that allows the GPS to exchange position information with applications or devices over the serial cable in realtime, but it gets in the way of exchanging waypoints. Also check the baud rate of the GPS. I think most of them default to 4800 baud. Make sure your computer is talking to the GPS at the expected baud rate, and that you are trying to use the correct COM port, and that no other applications are using that port. As a previous poster mentioned, Palm based host side applications frequently leave a Hotsync manager running on the host computer side which ties up the COM port.

The original poster has received a lot of good advice so far. I will add my 2 cents here. Look for the following features when considering a compass: Dampened needle: either liquid dampened (most baseplate style compasses, many lensatic compasses) or induction dampened (high end lensatic like Cammenga). Rugged design: Consider how you will be using it, and how much abuse you will be giving it. You may decide to go with a lensatic with a metal body over a plastic baseplate. Size: One of the best compasses on the market is the Silva Ranger, but it may be too big for many people. It's little brother, the Silva Landmark is about 1/4 the size. Graduation: The high-end Cammenga lensatic and the Silva Landmark are graduated only to every 5 degrees. The Silva Ranger and my cheap Brunton baseplate is graduated every two degrees. Basically the more graduation marks you have, the more accurate your bearing will be. The only compass I have that is graduated to each degree is my Brunton Pocket Transit. Usually I would also list declination adjustment, but that's really only a factor if you are trying to coordinate compass and GPS to a map. In that case, look for a compass with adjustable declination. If you are not using a printed map, set your GPS for magnetic and ignore the declination. My personal recommendation for a starter compass is the basic Brunton baseplate. I got mine for < $10. It is liquid damped, graduated to 2 degrees, and has adjustable declination. If you want a sighting compass in a smaller size, go get a Silva Landmark from WalMart. If you want a compass that will serve you well for both caching and land navigation with a map, go with a higher-end compass like the Silva Ranger. If you want more detailed advice, email me through the website.

That's great. Ask them to check for my sattelite remote.

If there *were* a 75 mile rule, I would argue against it. In this area (San Francisco Bay Area) there are people who commute into the metro area from well outside of it. I know people who commute to San Francisco from Stockton or Los Banos.

Just a reminder; this thread is about a specific issue regarding coverage of geocaching in the national press, not about left/right politics.

First of all, I have to say that overall I like the changes. Here's my suggestions: 1) On other sites (ebay for example) you have the ability to select which tab is your default 'active' tab when you enter the member section. I would like to see something like that. 2) I would also like to see the 'quick view' page show links to logs, instead of listing the logs themselves, or perhaps an abbreviated 1-line log with a link to the full log as has been suggested elsewhere in this thread. 3) If #1 above happens, I would like to be able to select a page that has no logs at all, just the tabs instead of the other content. I am frequently on low-bandwidth connections. 4) I would like the PQ generator to be on it's own tab. I get the impression that most premium members use this page very frequently. 5) A tab for 'My' caches is also a good idea. 6) With all these custom 'tabs' a configurable tab bar becomes a must. Thanks Jeremy.

I'm not sure. Ranger Lopez's quotes are marked, but the author appears to extend them somewhat. Regardless, I think it was irresponsible for the author to relay Ranger Lopez's (potentially legitimate) concerns as if they were a serious existing problem. Geocaching is one thing, and fossil poaching with a GPS is something else entirely.

I just submitted this letter to Ranger Lopez via the Badlands NP contact form.

This doesn't appear to be a legitimate problem, in my opinion. I searched for caches in Badlands NP, and I came up with a grand total of one, which I listed in my original post. As others have pointed out, it is on a marked trail. There are other caches nearby, but not actually *in* Badlands NP. Ranger Lopez appears to be jumping the gun.

In the latest issue of National Geographic (April 2004) on page 91, the chief ranger and law enforcement officer of Badlands National Park, Scott Lopez takes a shot at geocaching. On page 90 he talks about professional 'fossil hunters' who illegally gather fossils from the park and sell them. Then on the bottom of page 90 the article says: I assume that since traditional caches are already banned in national parks, he's talking about virtual caches inside the park boundary, such as GCE8A8 "Monty Man". I don't want to start a flame fest against Scott Lopez, or the author of the article, John L. Eliot, but at the same time I think we need to explain the true nature of geocaching, and geocachers, to these gentlemen. In my opinion, conflating geocaching with fossil poaching is inexcusably bad journalism. The Badlands National Park page has a contact form and National Geographic can be contacted at ngsforum@nationalgeographic.com. Edit: Added contact information Edit: Fixed typo

I make CITO cannisters and place them in caches, but not as a trade item.

95020 - Gilroy CA 5 Miles = 8 10 Miles = 38 25 Miles = 304 100 Miles = 2945

It's always best to twist someone's negative attitude into a positive comeback, which is what I think you've done. Good work, and keep us informed! :-)

Give her a T-Shirt and suggest she wear it to her next meeting with what's-his-name.

congrats Team360! Yeah, having a LOC (Life Outside Caching) is why my rate hovers around 0.2 caches/day.

I do believe that people who have done this sucessfully with the Vx have been required to upgrade their palm desktop software to the latest and greatest.

I recently received email from another user, who asked me if I knew the whereabouts of their TB. It seems that the online logs show the bug being dropped off in a local cache, then my visit, then a visit where the bug was not found. Since the cache was close by I decided to check it out, and found that the written cache log held an entry by a user who can't be found online, and who didn't log thier visit online. The owner was very thankful that I had made the effort, but I still feel bad that his bug walked away. Has this happened to others? How have your bugs vanished? edit; fixed grammar.

Kiltedcacher and 4x4van...thanks for your posts, but yes, I have tried those things. Near as I can tell, "Map Utilities" isn't an option on the SporTrak Map GPSr. I e-mailed Magellan asking them to clarify the FAQ section of their website, but they haven't replied yet. On my ST Map with 5.00 installed, the 'Map Utilities' is not on the first screen, you have to scroll up in order to see it. You might want to see if the Magellan website has the 5.00 firmware upgrade downloadable.