felix80

My feeling is, I didn't take them, so what do I care? Besides, if someone at KodakGallery.com sees some weird photos on my camera, I'll never meet him. There's also http://www.photoworks.com/ and http://www.shutterfly.com/ and probably a lot of others. Take your pick. I'm sure there will be some inapropriate photos eventually, but so far, there have been none. -Ed Kinda my thoughts too... Me too.

The Melvin Schedlapp camera cost me $3.95 to develop using http://KodakGallery.com. This was for developing only. The negatives were mailed back to me, and I could buy prints online. But I don't need prints. I just saved the low-res photos from their website, which was all I needed for the Bandycams website. http://bandycams.com/photos.php?camid=11 A cheap digital camera could work, but you have a few things working against you. First, like you mentioned, this sort of camera could be too tempting for the unscrupulous bugsnatchers out there. In some ways, the cheaper the camera, the less appealing it is for anything other than taking a photo and leaving in another cache. Also, with each photo taken, the value of a one-use camera goes down. If someone's going to steal it, they can only use the exposures left. And they'll have to pay to process all the exposures. With a digital, they can erase what is taken, and start over. The last consideration is, you only have to pay developing charges if the camera is returned to you. As with any TB, there is no guarantee of that. Also consider that, with the Bandycams.com website, you don't absolutely have to use a TB tag. But I think it helps. -Ed

Hi All, It has taken a while, but one of my bandycams with a travel bug has been returned and the photos are uploaded to Bandycams.com. See them here: http://bandycams.com/photos.php?camid=11 Feel free to add captions on the photos. I'd like to know what you think. I think some of the photos are pretty good. You'll need to sign up to comment, but it's free. I also want to invite the geocaching community to participate in Bandycams.com. I've had 2 geocaching-related cameras returned, one with a TB and one without. I believe that once we have a certain number of cameras out there, Bandycams will really take off. Thanks, -Ed Patience is a virtue. I've released 4 Bandycams/TB combos, and they still moving. 27 exposures per camera means that a lot of passing around has to be done before they are complete. Here are my bandycams/TBs: Grand Canyon - Bandycams TB 1 http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=86871 Melvin Schmedlapp - Bandycams TB2 http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=87670 Val-deri,Val-dera! - Bandycams TB3 http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=88245 Another Roadside Attraction - Bandycams TB4 http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=95317 -felix80

CoyoteRed, Thanks for mentioning Bandycams here. While this project is still an infant, there are more cameras being released all the time, both with and without TBs attached. You asked about cameras. Just about any disposable camera will work. I just buy the cheapest I can find. There's a fairly complete explanation on how to setup a camera on this page. Cheers, Ed

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm going to give them a try next time this happens. I'm especially interested in seeing if the date and time are wrong, as katguy suggested. Also, I found that the satellite screen going blank is not necessarily a sign of failure. I waited a while longer and locked in a position. So I think Geofamof4 is onto something, too. Maybe setting the correct time and date will eliminate the long waits? I'll know better the next time this comes up. Thanks again!

I'm wondering if any other SporTrak GPS users out there are having this problem. Ever since I upgraded my SporTrak Pro software, it sometimes cannot lock onto satellites. On the satellite screen, signal bars come and go for a while, maybe one will get a lock. Then after a few minutes, all the satellite numbers disappear and the GPS quits hunting for signals. Anyone else encountered this? If so, is there a fix? Thanks, Ed

I have the US Topo CD. The detail you get from uploading either the Streets or Topo CD is essential for getting the most from your GPSr, but the topo lines themselves are the weakest feature. The contour lines are spaced every 100 ft of elevation. By comparison, the USGS paper topo maps at 1:24,000 ft show countour lines every 10 ft. That is a huge difference. For example, a ravine near my house is finely detailed on my paper topo map. On my GPS you wouldn't know it was there. It looks like an evenly sloping hillside, with no detail at all, because it is less than 100 ft deep. So buy the CD, by all means. But don't expect a real topo map.

Patience is a virtue. I've released 4 Bandycams/TB combos, and they still moving. 27 exposures per camera means that a lot of passing around has to be done before they are complete. Here are my bandycams/TBs: Grand Canyon - Bandycams TB 1 http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=86871 Melvin Schmedlapp - Bandycams TB2 http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=87670 Val-deri,Val-dera! - Bandycams TB3 http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=88245 Another Roadside Attraction - Bandycams TB4 http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=95317 -felix80

OK, I missed a very obvious function in EasyGPS that brings up the Geocache page. You can file this topic under "DOH!" Thanks.

When I started Geocaching, I thought this would be a cool cooperative thing where people traded stuff of small but real value, all in the spirit of the game. I soon learned that, human nature being what it is, people are better receivers than givers. There's always a downward spiral of items in a container. At first I was disappointed, but then came to realize that mostly kids did the trading, and you can make a child happy without spending a lot. My children are grown, so I never take anything from caches. But to give something back to the sport, and to put a smile on a kid's face somewhere down the line, I always leave a new item I buy cheap at Walmart or the dollar store. For a buck or two, you can put something worthwhile in a cache for a child. Will you miss the money? Like the stuff in the caches, I guess I everybody puts what they want into geocaching, and takes what they want out of it.

I would like to define a Pocket Query that would return an email containing only links to the pages on GC. Or perhaps both links and a .loc file. As it is, I often get a .loc file, then have to query for the caches one-by-one on the website. Maybe I'm missing some easy way to get from the .loc entries to the cache page.

Rainwater, I saw that on the website. Thanks for giving it a try. I have released one camera into a cache without a travel bug, and 4 with. Of course, I've released quite a few outside of geocaching altogether. My thoughts are that even without a TB, geocachers are just more into doing the right thing when they find one. But I also like the idea of tying in with the formal TB system. It's worth a try either way, though. Good Luck!

That is such a cool idea. I'm going to give that a shot on my next Bandycam. Turns out the cheapest cameras I've found (Jazz from WalMart) have an easily removed outer carton.

Interesting idea. I'm not sure how to make it perpetual. Is this going to be a Travel Bug? I included a second envelope (stamped, self-addressed to me) with the Photoworks/Ofoto envelope so that the travel bug could be sent back to me. I could release another camera with the same TB and mission, sort of doing the perpetual thing that way. Or I could give it another mission. Without a TB, you could just release another camera. Or do you want it to start with the last finder? You could say, email me and I'll send you another camera. So long as people don't use that as a way to obtain free cameras. On second thought, Bandycams.com prompts you to do things in sequence: create, free, travel, return, upload. If you sent out another camera, the sequence would have to cycle through again, and the website doesn't support that at this point. You could just keep uploading new photos, but you wouldn't have the logging to track it. Maybe it would be better to do a Crazy Clevelanders 1, Crazy Clevelanders 2, etc. Thanks for giving this a try. You're a member of the Bandycams Founding Members Club. (For what that's worth.)

You might also consider using a disposable camera. A lot less invested, in case something goes wrong. A disposable camera in a ziplock bag will go into most regular-sized caches. If you go this route, consider also registering your camera TB at http://bandycams.com. It will let you share the photos online, and allow members to discuss them. -Ed

Michael, You're right. I haven't gotten the complete scoop on Snapfish.com, but there are several other companies out there that do something similar. Attaching an envelope is the easiest way for the last finder to return the camera. In fact, I attached a folded envelope from either Photoworks.com or Ofoto.com to the bottom of every bandycam I've released so far. You can read more about how to set up your own bandycam, and read about how Photoworks and Ofoto can be used, at: http://bandycams.com/about.php?req=own. I'm not affiliated with these companies or any others, by the way. There are some photos on this article, showing the labels and envelopes I attached.

Hi Everyone, There are five TB's with Bandycam hitchhikers now. Here are the links for those interested. It can give you an idea of what's possible, but really, your imagination is the only limits. Silly Walks http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.as...34-f29e1ae580e5 Grand Canyon - Bandycams TB1 http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=86871 Melvin Schmedlapp - Bandycams TB2 http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=87670 Val-deri,Val-dera! - Bandycams TB3 http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=88245 Another Roadside Attraction - Bandycams TB4 http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=95317 Cheers, Ed

Thanks, MarcB. That's very encouraging. I've put a lot of time into this project, just to see if people might like it as much as I think they will. And I have a long to-do list of new features, like a bandycam watchlist. Thanks again, Ed http://bandycams.com

FYI: I just released this bandycam TB into a geocache: http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.as...85-01588af6088d If you interested in how this will work out, you can put this on your watchlist. This baby wants to take a photo of the Grand Canyon. I figured, why mess around? -Ed

Yeah, there is no sure-fire way of matching photos to people. I think a lot of photo-takers will not log their find, based on my experience with bookcrossing. But as the owner of the camera, you have control of which photos you upload, so if someone takes one you find offensive, just don't upload it. -Ed http://bandycams.com

You're right, you never know what you might get when a camera has been passed around. But the cheapest way to get a Bandycam returned is to attach a postage-paid envelope to an outfit like photoworks.com or ofoto.com. That would also prove to be the least embarassing, if someone decides it would be fun to moon the camera. I just posted an article on how to set up a Bandycam. It describes the best method I've come up with. There are probably better minds that can devise other schemes. Here's the article: http://bandycams.com/about.php?req=own Cheers, Ed Neely

Hey, bandycams.com is my website! It's brand new. The basic functionality is there, but I'll be adding more features in the future. I'd say this is a combination between bookcrossing.com and phototag.org. From the beginning, I considered the potential of using bandycams with geocaching.com. Travel bugs would be a way to track it in both, and leverage what geocaching.com has to offer. I've also released a bandycam in a cache without a travel bug, just to see how that goes. There are only a few bandycams registered on it right now. Feel free to check it out, join, and release your own bandycams!