Mike+Mary

Thanks for all the advice. I have confidence in XP & don't need or particularly want Vista, but the major retailers have now mostly gone over to it. 2 or 3 years from now, XP users could be feeling the cold so it looks like when, not if. It might be an idea to wait for a service pack, though.

I have Memory Map 2004 on a Windows XP PC and am considering a new laptop which will have to run Windows Vista. Is MM 2004 fully compatible with Vista? Several FAQs testify to the compatibility of Memory Map V5 but not MM 2004. As my investment in MM 2004 map files is substantial, I don't want to purchase a computer and then find I have to get MM V5 and buy a whole new set of data! Any answers, please?!

I spent 3 days persuading my Mio p350 to work properly with Memory Map Pocket Navigator. The route to success was From Today screen, go Start > Settings > System > GPS > Programs & select COM4 Start > Settings > System > GPS > Hardware & select COM2 Start > Settings > System > GPS > Access & check box 'Manage GPS automatically'. From Pocket Navigator, go Menu > GPS > Setup & select Manufacturer - NMEA Port - COM2: Baud - 4800 Straightforward when you know, but the total lack of relevant documentation was astonishing. Even the MM help pages were contradictory. Glad it's done!

I've downloaded & reinstalled Greasemonkey and restarted Firefox dozens of times in the last few weeks, but only get the notorious 'Pilmuir' map. Any thoughts on what else to try?

I've now got the Mio p350 working perfectly with Memory Map AND eliminated GPS drag so that everything happens in real time. It may be helpful to others who've installed Pocket Navigator to know what settings work for me. From the Today screen, go Start > Settings > System > GPS > Programs and select COM4 Start > Settings > System > GPS > Hardware and select COM2 Start > Settings > System > GPS > Access and check the box 'Manage GPS automatically'. From Pocket Navigator, go Menu > GPS > Setup and select Manufacturer - NMEA Port - COM2: Baud - 4800 When Port COM4 was selected it connected OK but there was a time lag of 30-50 seconds in showing position on map. With Port COM2 it's instant. Hope this may help someone in similar difficulties!

Thank you for your suggestions. I think it's resolved. I went through the menus Start > Settings > System > GPS > Access and checked the box 'Manage GPS automatically' (as supplied it was unchecked). It seems to be working OK. It's a shame there's no info in the Mio CD manual about this.

I've installed Memory Map V5 on a Mio p350 but can't get it to receive GPS input. When I select NMEA, Com Port 4 and 4800 baud (as stated on Memory Map site) I get the error message "GPS: Can't open COM port". Can anyone help?

Sorry to hear about your problem. 18 days have elapsed so there may be a good reason (eg still on holiday) for delay in logging cache find & geocoin. Hope it's cleared up soon.

Congratulations! We looked at your profile the other day and were most impressed with the geographical spread of your caches. So... on to 2000...

Both. We first plot cache locations on Memory Map and use that as the basis for route planning. Then we print a 1:250k A4 map to drive by and enough 1:50k A4 maps to cover navigation in the vicinity of the caches. Sometimes we print 1:25k maps of complex areas, too. OS grid refs are a bit easier for plotting cache locations on Memory Map but it doesn't make a lot of difference. After all, when you're close to the cache it's the GPS you rely on. We use Memory Map on PDA, too, but the screen size can be unhelpful. Then again, perhaps we don't want a debate on age & eyesight...!

For those who enjoy crime fiction, geocaching features in the Stephen Booth novel "The Dead Place", a rather gruesome murder mystery set in the Peak District. It's a good read, but not for the nervous! The portrayal of geocaching is pretty accurate apart from the absence of 'Geocache - contents harmless' and the www.geocaching.com URL on the cache box. Maybe that would have relieved the tension too readily. Mr Booth doesn't like to leave his readers' fingernails intact. Enjoy it! (but not just before bedtime...)

We hope you are soon on the mend. All the best!

We lost one of ours in the first few weeks. It had (presumably) been found by accident and just disappeared with no clue to its fate. We replaced it and moved it to a less obvious location less than 50m away. No problem since then. It's easy to become disheartened but there's usually another, maybe better way of hiding a cache. We've learned to be more careful. Hopefully, it's improved our cache-setting - it certainly didn't put us off!

Many thanks for info - 161m gives plenty of scope to resite a cache!

One of our caches is hard to locate because GPS reception is badly affected by tree cover. We've therefore given quite precise hints to help cachers to find it. Many have done just that, so it's a problem rather than a crisis. Another option would be to resite it in or near a clearing where signals are stronger. How far can a cache can be moved & still stay within the rules of the game?

Nice to see you got the priorities right at the start of your married life! Congratulations & very best wishes for your future.

Mercator

Congratulations from Mike+Mary (and Maisie).

Congratulations to all four of you. We recall the thrill of your early caches & are pleased the magic is still there! But watch out - one day we'll retire & maybe orienteer a bit less. Then we'll be on your tail!

I had a couple of DNFs yesterday afternoon, partly because I couldn't get reasonable GPS fix. The first was probably tree cover, but the second was on open moorland where there was variation of up to 10m. Claimed accuracy was 6-12m. A few hours later it was behaving perfectly again, taking me within 2-3m of the cache site. It could just be my yellow Etrex showing its age, but are there other factors which might cause this range of error in the open?

Congratulations - global ambitions?!

Congratulations from us. We've enjoyed your Devon caches & look forward to finding many more - so keep going!

We found Nawtcher's Laughter Tor cache (now archived) by accident while letterboxing on Dartmoor. We knew quite a bit about letterboxes; geocaching meant nothing. Several months later, we casually probed some more into this odd new pastime. The mind-trap had been sprung... the rest is history.

Sorry to hear your news. We lost Ben two months ago & empathise with you.