CordedTires
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Posts posted by CordedTires
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I have an old Lowrance Airmap 100 - which did fine until it turned spring and the leaf cover came out....though from reading this thread, maybe that's just the way it is.
The thing has some kind of proprietary antenna connector I think. It sounds like the pc-mobile antenna ought to work if I'm reading this right: any thoughts?
I'm reporting back as threatened. I've been out a few times with my new pc-mobile antenna and am very happy with it, it nicely improves reception in difficult conditions as others have posted. Have to figure out some sort of carrying method though. I'd been blithely telling friends I can't wait to walk around with an antenna on my head, but when it comes to actually doing it, I am strangely reluctant.
I do have one additional sort of related story to tell. It happened that around the same time it turned spring and the leaf cover came out (see quote), the battery drained all the way down and the GPS reset itself back to default conditions. No problem, I went through it turning off all the air map alarms, resetting the screen updates to time & 1 second, etc. However, there was one default I missed....
Anybody ever hear of Position Pinning on a Lowrance GPS? It is an old SA-oriented "feature" that if your velocity fell very low, less than walking speed, like IF YOU WERE SEARCHING FOR A CACHE IN THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY, it doesn't do any screen updates. Just sits there with the last distance and bearing up. This was to keep the SA-induced jitter from making your trail map ugly, or something. And - I only figured this out yesterday - Position Pinning ON is the default.
Imagine the effect of this if you're trying to find a cache. Aaaaarrrggghhh...no wonder everything got so difficult recently. I thought it wasn't updating because it was losing accuracy from the leaf cover. Should have RTFM more carefully in the first place.
Turned the option to off, went out today, found a 4-part multicache unbelievably fast (for me). It would be funny if it weren't so sad. Anyway, I am STILL glad I got the antenna, because it really does help.
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I spend no more than an hour per trip, often a fresh start is all it takes to find. Some caches around here are grown over in the summer, increasing the DNF chance, I need to pick them more selectively
I've gone back to a number of caches twice, but it was because I ran out of time the first time. When I don't have time limitations (which is rare!) I tend to get stubborn and look and look and look and look...which is not at all productive after a while.....especially when you start looking in the same places again.
I really like your idea of limiting search time deliberately, and then going back for a fresh view. That sounds like a good strategy. Plus it probably prevents burnout.
There was one traditional cache whereI got so disgusted with it and myself after an hour of searching in a small area that I still don't want to go back to it. Though I'm sure I will eventually - they do bug you, don't they?
Do cachers in your area commonly note how long the find took them? It really adds insult to injury when something takes me 45 minutes that a couple other cachers found in under 3. Maybe the slow people like me don't talk about how long it took them. That must be it.....
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What's the longest time you ever spent searching in one location? NOT counting travel time, mistyped GPS numbers, time spent waiting for innocent bystanders to vanish, multis, etc.
I'm talking just about time spent in one location actively searching. Probably also be good to mention whether you found the cache or not.
I haven't done a lot of caches, and I'm already at 1 1/2 hours (found it).
That felt like forever. I've DNF'd a couple others that went about an hour.
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The goal of the OP is admirable: not to cause discomfort, even when there's no reason for it.
The only partial remedy I can think of has already been mentioned, and that is to be straightforward with people if the occasion calls for it.
I have lots of experience with causing people to be uncomfortable in public places. My 15-year-old autistic kid walks with a strange gait and has some mild odd behaviors. Although most people really are good-hearted and tolerant, also most people's first reaction is clearly uncomfortable. They would simply rather not have seen us. It's a natural reaction.
Should we stay home because of this? Of course not. Should you not go geocaching because you might make people uncomfortable? Of course not. Just look them in the eye if it's appropriate, and explain yourself. And if you don't feel good about searching for some kinds of caches, then don't.
But don't let your puritannical streak take over! This is about having fun, after all!!
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The PC-Mobile antenna should work on any GPS. It uses a loop antenna which you put onto the built-in antenna using a rubber band to hold it in place. There is no permanent connection, it just uses reradiated RF energy to send to the built-in antenna. If your GPSr has a connection for an external antenna, either BNC or MCX, you can connect to that, also. Most newer GPSrs use an MCX connection, and I think the 60cs does also. BNC is becoming obsolete because of its size, at least on smaller electronic devices.
Thanks for the help everybody! I just bought one. I'll post with performance if I find anything worth noting.
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British Columbia Saturday, March 27, 2004 travisl found Hey Ladies! (Traditional Cache)
You are on a maze of twisty freeways, all alike. It is light out.
> GO SOUTH ON HIGHWAY 99
You are on a maze of twisty freeways, all alike. It is light out. There is a cache 0.15 miles away.
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I am old enough to really, really appreciate this (laughed so hard my husband came in to check on me).
So old that when I first played this game, it was over a 300 baud modem. With acoustic couplers. Now THAT's funny. No, maybe it's not.
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I heard part of a news report. Evidently in Carbon County or somewhere there were some wild boars loose....they thought they might have been imported by hunters.
We saw wild pigs down in the Smoky Mountains a long time ago, scary things. I would really hate to run into their nastier cousins.
Anybody else hear about this, or am I imagining things again?
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Step 7a: You DNF a cache on Sunday, then have to go try again at 6:30 Monday morning on the way to work [although of course it's not at all on the way to work].
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I have an old Lowrance Airmap 100 - which did fine until it turned spring and the leaf cover came out....though from reading this thread, maybe that's just the way it is.
The thing has some kind of proprietary antenna connector I think. It sounds like the pc-mobile antenna ought to work if I'm reading this right: any thoughts?
Also, what kind of antenna connector does the Garmin 60CS have (just in case I ever drop the old GSP?) - BNC or the other one?
thanks,
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I wince when I read the word "muggle" (or did, before reading this thread, which has pretty well desensitized me). Can't imagine actually saying it. But it is descriptive and well understood.
One alternative nobody has mentioned yet is "civilian". People doing road rallies have been known to use this for non-participants. It has the advantage of being perfectly non-derogatory. OTOH, it doesn't have the useful overtone of "unaware"; civilians, during rallies or otherwise, usually know that something is going on.
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Hair? It's almost waist length and flaming fuchsia.
Hmmmm....Mine is short and grey. It used to have the occasional red strand. Now, I daydream once in a while about dying it cone orange for a big autocrossing event (parking lot...cones....solo racing....my other hobby), but my husband would hate it.
Heard about geocaching a few months ago from a Scientific American article - how geeky is THAT? Sounded like fun, and I was looking for a more family-friendly thing to do that could include our 15-year old autistic kid. It's worked out really well so far, gets him outside walking and he seems to like it. My husband comes along sometimes, he's much better at actually finding things than me.
One thing geocaching has in common with motorsports (that I like very much about both of them) is that getting involved gives you a totally different perspective on ordinary things.
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I have a multi cache in which the final stage is in my front yard. I took an empty gallon
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some kind of water pipe. One guy even took it to his car and was still unsure as to wheather or not it was the cache. It's a great cache and we have fun wathcing people find it in our front yard.
Hi Team Lyons!
Yes that is a very cool cache! And it's true that I wasn't 100% sure what it was even after I got it into the car, and said so in the log. But you can't have been watching TOO carefully.
-- Carolyn (not a guy....)
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48, so is Mr. CordedTires, our kid is 15, and we took my 83-year old parents geocaching a few weeks ago (a good time for everybody!). I admit to careful cache selection...
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testing, testing, testing
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Since y'all have jumped all over the original poster, let me try hard to muddy the water some:
The difference is you or your team found the cache and signed the log.
Thanks for the explanation. But as usual I am not being clear.
The point I was trying to make, too indirectly, is that all rules are arbitrary. It's only when you've been doing something for a while they seem like the only possible way things could be.
So when a newbie asks for a rule clarification, it's always good to give a straightforward explanation (as many responders in this thread have done). Like, "No, you have to have signed the logbook for it to count."
Now that the "entity" rule has been explained to me, I think I'll go off and form a mailing list of a couple hundred cachers, we could call ourselves
Virtuoso_Cacher, and everytime one of us finds a cache, we'll all log it.
Just kidding! Just kidding! Anyway, somebody's probably done it.
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Since y'all have jumped all over the original poster, let me try hard to muddy the water some:
On several of my caches, the whole family has gone, on others, it's been just me, or me and the kid. Zat ok? If not, all the families who cache together under one username would have to get multiple names, which seems just ridiculous.
This past weekend I was (by myself) working on part 2 of a 3 part multi when 2 other cachers I'd never met came along. We agreed to join up, and all 3 of us logged the find. Strictly speaking, I found the 1st, one of the others actually found the other 2. Zat ok? I mean, I could have left, but it was really fun to meet some new people this way, and I was certainly involved in the hunt.
And how about organized teams? How does that work?
If the original poster had had his honey along, and had left her there saying "I'll be back in four or five hours to pick you up, keep looking!", and she had found it, and they shared a username, assuming she were still speaking to him, would they log it? Suppose they each had their own username, could they each log it?
Probably all you lawful good types would say no to the 2nd part. Well tell me, what's so different between that and my family caches where my husband is always the one who finds it?
Ok, I'm done now
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test2
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test
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Ouch. MUCH more inane than I had planned! How extravagant.
You're right, THREE things. Thanks for the "how-to" and etc.
Gosh darn sidekick hiptop. Kept giving me a web browser timeout, blah, blah, blah, kept hitting the button, excuses, excuses. Serves me right for not using a Microsoft product.
OK, I'll go hide myself now.
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On only our second time out looking, I learned two very valuable things. Am only posting them for the amusement of other newbies, and to show I am not intimidated by forums with the occasional snotty sarcastic you-know-what.
1. Compasses don't necessarily point in the right direction when you're in a car. Hubby had the GPS and laughed hysterically when I pulled out the compass and told him which way was north.
2. You really have to look at a topo map first even if you're in a city park (which we were). We didn't find the cache (didn't want to take our kid down a steep snowy slope), and it turned out after we got home that even if we had gone down there, although it was the right direction, the cache was actually on the other side of a canal.
I love learning new things, even if it is sort of humiliating.
-- Carolyn
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On only our second time out looking, I learned two very valuable things. Am only posting them for the amusement of other newbies, and to show I am not intimidated by forums with the occasional snotty sarcastic you-know-what.
1. Compasses don't necessarily point in the right direction when you're in a car. Hubby had the GPS and laughed hysterically when I pulled out the compass and told him which way was north.
2. You really have to look at a topo map first even if you're in a city park (which we were). We didn't find the cache (didn't want to take our kid down a steep snowy slope), and it turned out after we got home that even if we had gone down there, although it was the right direction, the cache was actually on the other side of a canal.
I love learning new things, even if it is sort of humiliating.
-- Carolyn
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On only our second time out looking, I learned two very valuable things. Am only posting them for the amusement of other newbies, and to show I am not intimidated by forums with the occasional snotty sarcastic you-know-what.
1. Compasses don't necessarily point in the right direction when you're in a car. Hubby had the GPS and laughed hysterically when I pulled out the compass and told him which way was north.
2. You really have to look at a topo map first even if you're in a city park (which we were). We didn't find the cache (didn't want to take our kid down a steep snowy slope), and it turned out after we got home that even if we had gone down there, although it was the right direction, the cache was actually on the other side of a canal.
I love learning new things, even if it is sort of humiliating.
-- Carolyn
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I autocross (Solo II racing) - think parking lot, cones, twisty course, driving at the limit but at less than highway speeds. Actually a very rule-oriented and law-abiding activity, but hard on tires. Corded tires are when the rubber is so worn the cords or belts of the tire are showing through. You're not supposed to be driving on tires like that.
But I once did a whole day of driving school on corded tires. Actually, they were only slightly corded when I started - my husband had done the school the day before, gone through them, and we didn't have any other competiton tires.
Driving on steel was a whole new experience, which I wanted to commemorate. Plus, I'm a bit worn out myself.
-- Carolyn
British Columbia Saturday, March 27, 2004 
Does Geocaching Need Micro Guidelines?
in General geocaching topics
Posted
So weird....
This is completely off topic, but just today I pulled a magnetic key holder with a log in it off a tank lin a small town in Pennsylvania - some would say rural. I had slapped it on there a few weeks ago, because the thing kept haunting me as such a perfect place to hide a micro. I guess it seems like that to other people too.
But I never set up the cache page or went for approval. I called the VFW it was located at. While they were not totally negative about it, and I probably could have gotten them to say "ok", they told me they had surveillance cameras pointed at the tank to deter vandalism. That made me think better of the whole idea. Didn't want to set up a situation where people were getting their pictures taken.