vwaldoguy

On my 60csx, the Zagg screen protector pretty much covers the whole screen. There is about 1/16" inch around each edge that is not covered, but good enough coverage for me. If a scratch would nick that edge around the screen protector, it wouldn't bother me since it's not in the field of view of the screen.

Don't sweat the small stuff, which this is. It's a game, remember? On your cache visits, remove the markings and don't "have a cow, man," as some other little cartoon dude would say. Another also mentioned, geotrails do form, and perhaps someone else or a ranger placed that stick over your geotrail to discourage more people from using it.

One more thread from frustrated newbies that echoes a lot of sentiments shared in this thread... Link

As an example of how different the GPS units can be, I was trying to introduce my brother to geocaching a couple of months ago. He has a TomTom XL (which I think is the widescreen version of yours). My handheld Garmin 60CSx took us directly to the cache, but his unit wanted to take us 300 feet out into the ditch near the road. I don't know much about TomToms, but automotive units in general really throw fits when you get off the roads. There occasionally is a setting buried deep in the config somewhere to allow for off-road navigation, or to turn the road-lock off, etc. Some units don't allow for off-road navigation at all.

I've read other posts on this that the Topo 2008 maps are not the most accurate maps out there for roads. And, I've observed that myself to some degree. The distance from the road can be pretty deceiving too, based on the zoom level that you've set, that if you are zoomed far out, a distance of 500/800 feet might only be a pixel or two, but if zoomed in close, could be the difference of a whole screen.

But, you have to be able to take the good with the bad. It's fun finding caches, but you still have to find the fun when you can't find the cache because it's hard. They all can't be park-n-grabs and take 30 seconds to find. Can't have cake and eat it too. But, the nice thing about geocaching is that you can make whatever you want of it. If you don't like looking for caches that might involve encounters with snakes or in a patch of thorns (the hard ones), skip those particular caches. You don't have to find every cache, just stick to hunting for those that you would enjoy. As a corrolary, I collect coins, but I don't collect every coin out there, I only collect those that I enjoy. As far as equipment, I would suggest buying a decent mid range handheld GPS like a Garmin Legend or Vista HCx. But, thath would involve a little bit of investment of a couple hundred dollars. It would help IMO to enhance your experience of finding caches. You also probably just need to work on your cache finding skills. Put your yourself in the hider's shoes, and think of every nook and cranny where the cache could be hidden. Also realize that you could be 20 to 50 feet away from the cache too, and at that point you just have to stop relying on the technology. Also browse through the forums to read a lot of past topics, and you'll get a lot of hints too. I can't help but wonder though if your TomTom is not giving you accurate enough coordinates, taking you to a grove of 100 trees, and it could be under any one of them. Your GPS should take you to withing 3 to 15 meters (10 to 45 feet) of the exact location. Also, look at the difficulty and terrain rating of the cache. If the difficulty rating is a 1, and your GPS is directing you to go into the middle of a thicket of thorns, I'd have serious doubts about the GPS and where it was sending you.

If you don't find it fun and exciting when you are geocaching, then don't do it. It's not for everyone. If it's not fun to be standing in a patch of trees while trying to find the cache, then don't bother. I do have to say though, the right equipment makes a huge difference. You don't play a football game with a tennis racket. The automotive GPS units really aren't ideal for hunting geocaches. Sorry I'm such a wet noodle, but if you're trying to force it or fake it, it will never be fun.

The Google Earth fudge factor is intentially put there so someone couldn't download large chunks of the geocaching.com database.

down girl. thank you very much. LOL Sorry, my bad.

The notes section only will hold 30 characters. I use the software package GSAK, which will send whatever you choose to the hint field. I use 1-character fields for type of cache and container size, include the terrain and difficulty, and add who placed the cache. You can also use a macro in GSAK to send all of the cache info to the GSX as custom points of Interest, which will create as many screens as needed for the data, e.g. one cache might use 4 or 5 POI screens to display the entire description, hint, past logs, etc.

Down boy. Take it easy. LOL. Glad you like the 60CSx. I love mine too, and think it's a great GPS. Have fun.

Spot2, not sure you understand, but what you are trying to do is 1) impossible, and 2) illegal.

By the way, you can buy the City Navigator maps in NT format or non NT format. The NT format is just a compressed format allowing more maps to be stored. The 60CSx can only hold 2025 map segments. The NT maps compress more map space into each segment. But, that also does come at a price, as the GPS has to uncompress the maps to display them. So, the NT maps will be a little slower when the map needs to refresh, when the map is panning or zooming, etc. If you're not worried about the number of map segments on your unit, get the non NT maps.

I thought it was about throwing off the skivvies and hitting a local watering hole.

First of all, I think you're expecting too much. You shouldn't expect your GPS to take you 'exactly' to the cache location. It depends on the accuracy of the hider's GPS too. 15 to 20 feet is pretty good. Then, stop relying on the equipment and use your eyes. Any consumer-grade GPS is going to bounce around like you've observed when very close to the cache. Also, did you calibrate the compass on the 60CSx? It really helps. I calibrate quite frequently and don't have any trouble. With only 5 attempts, I'd say you have even scratched the surface on the best methods of how to hunt for a cache. Give it some time. Rome wasn't built in a day.

The City Navigator maps have street-level detail maps, so yes, it's 100 times better than the basemap, which is, well, quite basic. The basemap only has Interstate and US Highways it seems.

I've replaced a log once since it was nothing but a pile of pulp, and then let the owner know that the log was replaced. I offered to mail the soggy pile of paper to them, but they said just throw it away. Kind of like paying it forward, and often will save the cache owner from making a special trip.

It's a great GPS. That's what I chose to buy when I got into this hobby 5 months ago. I've not regretted it once. It's rock solid and always seems to get me right on the cache. If it had true paperless geocaching, it would be perfect.

Click the Hide and Seek link in the left hand menu of every page. Then, on that page, on the right had side, you'll find links to the cache note.

I ordered it Tuesday about 1130 am for $159.99 through Amazon.com, fulfilled by target.com. It was on my doorstep Friday morning. Can't complain about that.

Are there any guidelines for posting pictures to your logs? Obviously, I don't think you should post pictures that would give away the hard finds, etc, but do people post pictures of the scenery, themselves, something unique about their experience? I've just started attaching a pictures to some of my caches, but am confused on what to post. Since there isn't a lot of pretty scenery right now (everything is dead, brown or grey), I've just been taking pictures of myself (a couple of caches have required personal pics). Kind of vain to do that, but I also want to document some of my expressions out there too (like this morning when it was a very cold 9 degrees when hunting for a local cache). Also hard sometimes to snap a picture of yourself, not unless you can find something steady to put the camera on. Anyhow, just looking for feedback on what to post in the pics.

Gorilla glues holds just about anything. But epoxy would work too.

FTSNL. First to sign new log, but not first to find.

I really like the idea of adding a small prize for a later finder. Gives them a nice surprise in addition to finding the cache.

Even though the 60CSx is the older technology, it's still the tried and true unit used by Geocachers. While the Oregon is probably catching up, and has all the new bells and whistles including touch screen, and true paperless caching, the 60CSx is still an awesome unit. I had to make the same choice 4 months ago and went with the 60CSx. I haven't had any regrets. I use it for driving directions when not caching, and it works great (am using City Navigator 2009 maps for that). Plus, you can occasionally get a great price on the 60CSx. Just picked up a spare last week for $160 on Amazon. Maybe I should have saved my pennies for an Oregon, and probably still will.