mattopia

I just set one up a little over a month ago and people seem to be enjoying it. My cache: What's the Frequency, Kenneth? I use one of the "Talking House" transmitters mentioned above. They are pretty cheap on eBay I paid about $80 total for two of them new in the box, but I've seen used ones go for even less. Mine has not had any problems so far running non-stop for over a month, but I have a spare if it craps out. The FCC rules for unlicensed AM broadcasts are less strict than with FM - the "Talking House' transmitter has pretty decent range as a result - I've been able to hear the broadcast from several blocks away on a good day. [Edit - didn't realize the talking house was already mentioned]

Hello all, There are dozens of "which GPS" threads out there, and I hate to start a new one, but... I'm a long-time Magellan user. I have a MeriPlat and a SporTrak Map, although I use the lesser SporTrak more often while out caching for its size. Well I'm getting the itch to upgrade GPS's, and I'm considering the Garmin 60c. Two caching friends of mine own one, so I've had a chance to see Garmin's "geocaching mode" and auto-routing, and was impressed. However, said friends say that it's needed to be repaired twice, both times because of a small drop. My SporTrak has taken -substantial- abuse. It's gone toppling down at least 3 steep rocky hills (once with me!), and it has more recently fell off of a bike onto concrete at a fairly brisk speed. It still works AND looks like brand new. Knowing how I abuse GPSr's, I'm concerned about carrying a $400 GPS around and subjecting it to my usual abuse without a hint of comfort that it might be able to take it. So, Garmin users, here is your chance to tell tales of your GPSr's taking abuse and living to tell the story.

Grosse Ile? Many virtuals there! I drove while jslagle hung out the window with a camera. Usually don't cache like that, but we both wanted to build some numbers that day, and targeted the area as one of the more cache dense areas close enough for us Northwest Ohio cachers to drive to. Iit seems like the island is pretty much nothing but historical markers every 50 feet!

Beer before liquor: Never sicker. (And geocaching early in the AM while hung over on a Sunday is an interesting experience)

I've collected a few NEW DVD's for this purpose -- either to start something similar or for any encounters of similar caches. I've been saving them as "nice" trade items, but still after 130+ finds haven't found anything worth doing more than TNLN on. A lot of people around here hide items with kids in mind. Some of the stuff is pretty good, but I have no kids! There is a nearby CD exchange cache, but it's a long hike and I haven't gotten around to it yet. From what I've heard, it seems to stick. I think if you ask people to stick to a theme, they generally will. It's the unthemed caches that seem to collect anything people happen to have in their pockets.

I was thinking 120 range, I'm not sure what it is worth. I haven't touched it since getting my Plat, but I did let a caching newbie borrow it on a cache hunt we did, so that was kind of cool to have one for him.

Now, I'm REALLY bummed, I would have taken this over my MeriPlat with your deal sweetener.

I have a used Streets & Destinations 4.0 for Magellan Meridian and SporTrak models (except the SporTrak basic). It works great, but I've already decided to upgrade to Direct Route. The disk is in great shape. I paid $45 used just a few days ago for it, and will either trade (plus cash) for DirectRoute or will let it go for $40 plus shipping. Also open to any trades people might consider -- I could use some accessories, such as SD cards, car mounts, etc for my MeriPlat.

No takers at all?!?! I realize the cracks may be something people are afraid of. I will have the unit reconditioned by Magellan and will re-offer it.

I had the very same experience -- great price, fast shipment, and some helpful tips. He was very professional and made sure that both the buyer and seller were protected. I appreciate that. But, I would have held out for the Meridian Color if I would have known it would be avail for $10 more than I paid for my Plat.

So I could have gotten the color model for $10 more than I just paid for my platinum? That's a bummer.

I have a handspring visor that I dropped into a puddle of water in the rain, a good 3-4 foot drop, and it still works like a champ. If it dies, they're like $40-$50 on eBay.

I'm looking forward to more info here. I just bought a MeriPlat from RockyRiver, it was shipped same day and arrived new in package, as described, for a great price. It's going on it's first geocaching adventure tomorrow with me! It's too bad he had to get ripped off.

Just gotmyself a nice new MeriPlat and will probably pass on my Magellan Map. It's less than 3 months old and in good shape. I will be honest and say that it does have some very faint lines around the screws, which anyone who reads the forums knows that this is common with SporTrak's. It is not cracking yet, and may not? If it does, you can still return it to Magellan for warranty repair, and they usually give you some nice freebies. This guy has led me through all but two of my 86 finds, and it works very well. Great beginner GPS, and has mapping capability too. I have the cable for it and will provide the documentation on CD-ROM (I'm not sure where I put the original printed docs, but will include if I find them). I will also load up maps of your region using Streets & Destinations 4.0 if you want me to. I'm not going to list a price at this point, but please make offers. I have to determine if the offers I receive are worth giving it up. It may just stick around as a backup. Thanks!

I've run into geocachers twice, both great experiences. My first was while vacationing in California (I'm from Ohio). A cacher was out with his kids when I arrived. He noticed me staring intently at my hand and guessed what I was doing. I added to the search, yet we both came up empty handed. Since I was just a day or two away from returning home, and I had two unplaced travel bugs, he took them off my hands and placed them into local caches for me. I really appreciated that. Second time, I ran into two ladies looking for their first find. They weren't familiar with their brand new GPS, so I showed them how to enter waypoints. Haven't run into them since, but I e-mail back and forth with them. All and all, everyone seems great, but someone who recently found a cache in my area told me that he was letting his kids try and find the cache after he spotted it, but another geocacher who saw where he was looking at first grabbed it, not letting the kids find it. That could be misunderstanding. Also, the cacher apparently took a mint steel penny and swapped it for a regular ole' recent penny. Did not log the "trade" either. Again, could be misunderstanding, but it's the only story I have personal experience with that would suggest any type of bad runin. Everyone else has been fantastic.

I'm glad this thread resurfaced. I've been geocaching for about 3 months now (86 finds and climbing). I see that an Ohioan last year mentioned that tupperware under fallen trees is very common. Many months later, that seems to still be the case. Equally common is tupperware sitting by a tree with sticks on top. Those two types probably count for well over half my finds! But, then someone will do something very creative and throw you off. I was so used to looking around the base of trees at one cache that I didn't notice it IN the tree.

I want in on this if the other deal falls through... Accept PayPal?

YES! I was wondering if I was going crazy. This has happened to me quite a few times on my SporTrak MAP. Most people suggest going back to 4.06, but I haven't gotten around to it. It is worth noting that I did a complete "clear memory, which reset everything back to factory defaults. I haven't had the problem since then, but that could just be a coincidence.

I haven't done much research, but this is the setup I use currently. I use GSAK 3.00 beta to take my pocket queries (GPX). I export to my Magellan SporTrak MAP and to cachemate. It's worth noting that since my GPX files do not include caches I have found/hidden, I always wipe the GSAK database on import, and I always clear everything out of GPSr and CacheMate before export. I'm looking at either getting/making a cable to go from my Handspring to my SporTrak, or getting a used Magellan GPS module for my Handspring, as a way of doing basic navigation and nearby caches lookup...

Let me know if he wants to sell his MeriPlat. I'm interesting in upgrading from my SporTrak Map.

Ahh yes. I've never used that for moogles, but when we do night caching, that is our preset excuse if someone of authority shows up. Don't want the cell phone out when the dew sets in, you know. Haven't had to use it yet, but had a close call last night. It was about 11:30pm, and the park closed at dusk. As far as moogles, as others have said, most people tend to mind their own business. I love to observe my surroundings, but it seems like most people (in these parts at least) don't pay an ounce of attention, even when I'm digging around for an urban micro or something. I've only once had someone ask anything. It was the first stage of a multi, and was one of those secluded places that people go to think, read, and get out of the way. There was a guy reading there. After 20 minutes or so, the guy asked if I lost something. I told him that some friends hid a tag for me to find (close enough). He helped for a few minutes and then wished me luck, and took off. Turns out the tag was not 5 feet from where he was sitting. I would have never searched there with him that close.

I'm curious on this too -- I don't see an option to have GSAK spit out a pdb file automatically, I have to export to GPX, and then use cmconvert. Not a big deal, but it would be cool to do everything from one interface.

Handspring Neo (8meg) + CacheMate = everything I need, and more. Bought it cheap on eBay almost 2 years ago, so I already had it laying around. Actually, I never used it much, and I use it for geocaching pretty much exclusively now. I like that it's tiny, very small form factor, and durable as hell. It holds thousands of caches without a problem. And there is TONS of palm software out there. Also, CacheMate is a top notch program for $7. You can find used Handspring's or Palm's for well under $50. Now, it would be really cool to do mapping with my PDA, and for that I would suggest something with a color screen and a lot more memory. I imagine there is going to be better mapping software available for PocketPC devices, but I don't know. Used palm + cachemate is a very inexpensive, durable, and reliable way to get into paperless. CacheMate has everyting you need (except maybe mapping) for paperless.

Did my first library cache just this past weekend. Basically the coords take you to the front door of the library, you then find a specific call number (which took quite a long time). The book was on a floor that is rarely visited since the whole floor seems to be books in japanese. Anyway, there was a heating register near the book with a micro behind it. Very near was a window with a great view of downtown, since this was one of the top floors in the building. It was a very, very enjoyable cache. I'm thinking about placing one in our local library, but it's a fairly small place, I can't think of any reasonably hidden areas to place one in. Also thinking about placing one in the local courthouse, since I have connections down there.

While not a movie, the book Cryptonomicon has a part where someone gives one of the main characters GPS coordinates that take him to a massive pile of gold in the middle of the woods. It's a very, VERY good book. There are a number of other uses of GPS throughout the book. Shawshank was an amazing movie. I'm in Ohio, the prison they used is less than 2 hours south of me, and I imagine the field has to be in that general area. It would be great if Coaster-COG could hide an actual cache there!! mattopia