Major Catastrophe

Wow. I suppose I could make that many logs, but I expect most would be DNF...

IINM, there is 8MB: 2 is for waypoints, 6 for maps. Still, it's kinda misleading and not a welcome surprise.

My first attempt was a find, after waiting for the snow to melt (it was a multi that requires the searcher to read info from an item on the ground, and I didn't feel like shoveling the entire plaza!)

I don't think it's so much that the maps are wrong (though I'll admit I don't think they're perfect either) as it is the scale of things. Try this: set your map to the 100' scale, now look at an Interstate Hwy at that scale. According to the map scale (1/2" = 100'), I-5 is roughly 8 feet wide! In fact, I-5 is more like 150 feet from edge to edge, perhaps more. If the roads were displayed at their actual width, you'd probably find that most of your tracks were dead on, or nearly so. At the smaller scales, the displayed width of the roads becomes correct for the scale or even wider, so the track stays on the road.

Nothing new there. I remember that when I first learned about maps and compasses, the magnetic declination in NW Oregon was 4 or 5 degrees more than it is now.

Ah! The voice of reason. (I considered adding my own rant here, but decided against it...)

As a relative newby in GPS, I'm always seeking to learn more about this new toy and hobby. Today I googled onto a web page that has fascinating (to me) information about just how incredible this stuff really is. Quoting from the page: RELATIVITY The precision of GPS measurements is so great that it requires the application of Albert Einstein’s special and general theories of relativity for the reduction of its measurements. ... GPS satellites revolve around the earth with a velocity of 3.874 km/s at an altitude of 20,184 km. Thus on account of the its velocity, a satellite clock appears to run slow by 7 microseconds per day when compared to a clock on the earth’s surface. But on account of the difference in gravitational potential, the satellite clock appears to run fast by 45 microseconds per day. The net effect is that the clock appears to run fast by 38 microseconds per day. There's lots more. Here's the link to the entire page. Just something from the "for what it's worth" department...

We found a multi last weekend that had three points within about 200 feet. I don't see that as a problem. Since (assuming the rule is followed) there won't be another cache or parts of another multi within .1 mile, it should be safe to assume that what you find is part of the one you seek. If you get my drift...

I've often thought about getting a magnetic sign for my pickup's door. It would say (in teeny tiny letters,) "Amateur radio operations from this vehicle are licensed by the," and (in big fat letters,) "Federal Communications Commission"

I suppose there are only two people who have any right to care--the cache owner and yourself. But as long as you're asking for opinions, here's mine: Your SAR activity entitles you to the admiration and appreciation of everyone who spends time in the outdoors or even knows someone who does. You are providing a service to us all and deserve our thanks. You have mine. As for logging the cache? Nope. All the public service work in the world still doesn't change the fact that you didn't find the cache. Chalk it up to one more missed playtime opportunity while you did a good deed.

Of course you're right! Why else would I have gotten an iPAQ when I already had a perfectly good Palm? But....when you look at what is really needed for paperless geocaching, the iPAQ is severe overkill, and (IMHO) any Palm ever made will do the job. But, hey, this is about "high tech treasure hunting," isn't it? Now, I gotta have me a keyboard for the iPAQ, and a wi-fi card, and a 5 GB hard drive, and.... (My wife thinks I define "Boys and their toys.")

The Magellan SporTrak Map will also display in mils if told to. I was driving generally northward toward a cache once, and I noticed that the bearing to the cache kept going above 359 -- somewhat disconcerting since I think in degrees. Once I got over my initial dismay at the thought that my GPSr might be sick, I checked the settings and found that I had somehow set the display to mils.

Second the motion for USAPhotoMaps. Incredible piece of software.

In the FWIW Department: I'm using an iPAQ 3765 to keep cache sheets and the occasional map on. I use EasyGPS and USAPhotoMaps to keep everything organized on my PC. I copy the text out of cache pages that I want into TextPad, delete the non-relevant bits, and save each into the sync folder for the iPAQ. I create my own waypoint names and name the text files using the same name as the waypoint will have on my GPSr. I download the waypoints, then rename them in EasyGPS before uploading them to the GPSr. Probably more work, but I get only the info I want, plus additional if desired. With all of the cache pages on the iPAQ, if I have to reset the GPSr in the field (thus losing everything in it) I can always manually enter a waypoint and keep caching... I expect I'll want to acquire a cable to connect the iPAQ and GPSr so I can reload all the waypoints from the iPAQ. Also FWIW, I was using a Palm Pilot Pro until a couple of weeks ago, and except for the maps, it did everything I wanted. Plus, the Palm runs for weeks on one pair of AAA batteries, while the iPAQ is incredibly hungry for power...

Not while caching, but hey, I'm still a newbie here! Once when I was hunting, I was in a hide late one afternoon, ready for the evening hunt, when a couple came along, stopped directly in front of where I was and did what came naturally. They were totally oblivious of my presence, and I didn't want to spoil their fun. Funny thing though, I had absolutely no luck in getting my mind back on hunting that day...

do that!

Posting For The Sake Of Upping Your Post Count I would never

No doubt he planned it that way, just to increase the activity...

Quite apart from the already-stated problem of keeping the media scratchfree and writable, I would worry about what's on the media. Most people have their PCs set to autorun CDs, so it would be a trivial matter to include a virus or trojan that would load any time someone mounted the disk. (And that doesn't apply only to PCs; my first experience with a computer virus was on a Macintosh which DID become infected simply through the act of mounting the disk. ) I'm sure it would be squeaky clean when you released it, but once the disk goes wild there's no telling where it's been. Go ahead with the idea if you like, but I'll have to count myself among the nonparticipants, should I ever come across one...

Too cool! Do you have the lat/long for it?

I think micros probably belong more in the urban areas, where they are both less visible and less expensive when plundered (and that's gotta be more likely to happen in town.) A clever hide is still clever, no matter the size of the prize.

My Bacon number is 3 via two different paths. Does that count for anything? (Do Bacon numbers really count for anything.) Actually, the theory is that any two people on the earth can be connected within six degrees of separation; I think Kevin Bacon was chosen because he's pretty easy to find paths to.

I generally consider myself to be one of the straightest arrows in the quiver, and I'm still not sure that item wouldn't go UA if I found it!

Here in Oregon, a lot of the forest we play in was/is planted by prison inmates on work details, and much of the trail maintenance in many of the state parks is done by (you guessed it) the same folks. Point being, the chance of an inmate stumbling upon a cache isn't all that remote. Keeping weapons and hazardous tools out of caches is just doing a favor for the kids who get there 5 minutes ahead of their parents, for the parents of the kids, for the supervisors of the inmates and, yes, for the inmates themselves. Besides, it's against the rules. What's so hard to understand? If someone really feels they need to include something like a knife, maybe as a signature item, then consider printing a certificate that the finder can mail to you to claim the item.

I've always found a sheet of aluminum foil over the top, held on with a few strips of masking tape, works perfectly. After all, it only has to last until you shoot it, and the outgoing shells have no problem getting through the foil. Uh, you were talking about mortars, weren't you?