davidwile

Hey folks, I started caching three or four years ago. I had an old Magellan 315 and quickly learned it did not work all that well for caching in covered areas. I bought a Garmin Etrex Venture and found it was much more sensitive than the old Magellan. The problem with the Garmin was its lack of user friendly documentation. I stumbled for quite some time until I was able to learn how to make it work. Now it has been some time since I have been caching and I have forgotten anything I previously learned about my Garmin. I did find it was no longer working, so I bought a new Garmin Etrex-10. Again, it does not have semblance of user friendly instructions. When I plugged it into my laptop and tried to download a cache, it said I had to download something, and I did just that. I went back to the cache again, and it recognized my Etrex-10. I was able to load several nearby caches into the Etrex-10, and maybe tomorrow I will try to stumble my way through learning how to use this new Garmin of mine. In reading a little bit on the forums here, I am getting the impression the Etrex-10 is not a very good GPS. Then again, it would seem a lot of folks thought the Garmin Etrex Venture was also not very good. Can some folks tell me a bit about the Etrex Venture and the Etrex-10 and the differences between them? If I remember correctly, the Venture had a color screen and the 10 does not. Other than that, this new 10 just seems to be another challenge to figure out how to use it. I do know I was happy using my old Venture for my caching needs once I figured it out. I am not a big time cacher, and really do not want a top end product. Best wishes, Dave Wile

Hey Lrbarrios, I am sorry if I used an "I" to begin your name instead of an "L." I just did not recognize it as an "L" until I read your post. Thank you for a great story, and I happen to agree that you did have two PFDs with you considering the chair cushions you had. Like I said in my previous post, I always wore a life vest when sailing or doing my canoe even though I have been a very good swimmer for as long as I can remember. I am not ashamed to admit, however, that I lived well into my 60s and never in all that time did I think it was necessary to wear one of those dinky bicycle hats. I banged and cut my head on a lot of varied occasions, but never did it get struck while riding a bike. I know there are those, however, who are absolutely certain they know what is best for me and want to legislate the maditory use of dinky bike hats for everyone. Keep up the great logs, and Best wishes, Dave Wile

Hey folks, I agree this was a great log entry. In fact, it was a great story. For those folks who get stuck on nanny state laws enacted by do-gooders to protect people from themselves because the do-gooders know what's best for everyone else, you really missed out on the great humor of the story. I suspect those same folks would be horrified at reading about Mark Twain's Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer. I am not interested in the whole FTF competition for myself, and when I used to take my canoe out, I always chose to wear a life vest. However, lrbarrios made a choice to go for the FTF in the manner he did, and he made the choice to assume any risk attached to his actions. He did make the FTF, and even better yet, he wrote a very interesting and witty log of his find, and a lot of other folks also seem to find it the same. As far as the risk he assumed in his endeavor goes, I would not rate it all that high. I would submit that snow skiing is far more dangerous and accounts for a great many injuries and deaths each year. In addition, he also seemed to take rather sensible care in his endeavor, and it is a shame the government had to feel a need to cite him with citations for same. Forget all the worry about the "dangerous" things he did, and just sit back and enjoy a good story. Best wishes, Dave Wile

Hey KnowsChad, Your "Doesn't sound like much variety going on there, aside from "and a host of others too numerous to mention." I'd love to hear them mentioned." statement seems a bit harsh. With only about 160 finds to my name, I don't begin to have the experience you have. Most of my finds have been of the urban variety, and even with my limited experience I have seen a fair number of urban caches that have had some variety. I did not check your personal experience with caches other than to see that you have a whole lot of them. I find it hard to believe that with your experience you have not seen some clever and fun urban caches. Since you said you would love to hear more of them mentioned, I will list a few more that I have seen. Remember though, you do have far more experience than I, and I am sure whatever I have seen you have also seen many more times than I. In all fairness to urban caches, I would also point out that I have found several non-urban caches that consisted of going to the coordinates listed, looking for some big tree or whatever, and finding some type of out of placee cover that is hiding a peanut butter jar or ammo can. While I have seen this variation on a theme several times, I still am happy to note every one of them as having been found. Now for some more urban hides I have thought to be fun: 1. A monofiliment line tied to a storm water drain near a lamp post. I first headed for the lamp post looking for the obvious. Did not see the monofiliment line at the drain until I finally went over and stood on the drain looking for something. The line had a container at the end of it. 2. A camo colored cigar tube hanging from a fir tree bough in a copse of trees at the entrance to a local college. Easy enough to find, but interesting to me. There was a similar cache in a town park a few miles away, but it was way up in a tree that I was not about to climb. Would these two similar caches count as two even though I did not "find" the one out of my reach? 3. Magnetic key case under a bench in a park. I have found several of this type, and I will be happy to find more. Of course, magnetic key cases can be placed in many different urban settings - surely you would not have me list all of these? 4. A very small tube hidden inside a sign post and held in place by a monofiliment line that was very hard to see. Again, the sign was about fifteen to twenty feet away from another object that at first glace seemed to be the likely hiding place. I did not see the monofiliment line until I heard something make a noise inside the sign when I moved it by leaning up against it. Seemed kind of clever to me. 5. I spent hours looking for my first or second find when I first started down in Florida. It was inside a chain link fence post about three inches below the top which was over my head and covered by a cap. The container was a 1.5 inch PVC pipe very cleverly made. Lots of DNFs on that one. 6. I have seen several micros hidden in a small hole at the base of some very large boulders in urban areas. Not genius, but fun and interesting. 7. At a local little league park, the score board is mounted on two telephone type poles, and a porta-john is located nearby. The listing states that the cache is not in or around the porta-john. If you go to the two support poles for the scoreboard, there are two electrical conduits that go up the one pole to the scoreboard. Between the two electrical conduits and behind a bracket holding them in place is a piece of old 2X2 inch stick about two and a half feet long. It is just sitting behind the bracket and can be taken out. If you do take it out, you have to look at the bottom to find a hole drilled into it with the cache inside. I don't know about others, but that seemed clever to me. 8. Another cache at a baseball field. Simply a micro hanging from a hook under one of the team benches. Not all that hard, but fun for me. 9. There is a sandwich shop in a shopping center not far from where I live. The coordinates take you right to a lamp post, and as you pull up to the lamp post, you expect to lift the skirt and sign the log. Wrong! It is near the lamp post, but not on it at all. Around the lamp post there is a ten foot border of ballast sized limestone rocks. I started moving some of them around a bit, but I was thinking needle in a haystack. Finally, just three feet from the lamp post concrete base, my grandson moved two or three rocks and said he found it. I was three feet from him and did not see it. When I looked closer, we found an ammo can painted in limestone colors and having limestone rocks glued to it. If that isn't clever to others, I give up. An ammo can well hidden in a shopping center parking lot - and not behind a building, but in front where people park to go to the sandwich shop. You said you would love to hear them mentioned. Now surely you have to have some appreciation for some of the hides I mentioned above. Again I admit my being a novice compared to you, but if you just blow off all urban caches as unworthy of anyone's interest, I think you are being a bit narrow in your view. I can think of a few places I have been throughout this wide country where excellent caches could be hidden, but the truth of the matter is that I am not likely to hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon again in my lifetime. Urban caches are getting to be more my speed every day. However, I may just make it back to Delicate Arch again, and if I could get the opportunity to leave a cache there... Best wishes, Dave Wile I wanted to edit my comments by adding the following: When I said I thought your comment was a bit harsh, I know it was not made in any mean spirited manner. When I said I thought you might be a bit narrow in your view of urban caches, I also did not intend to be mean spirited in any manner. I perceived no malice and did not intend to project any malice. Again Best wishes to you. Dave Wile

Hey folks, I like a lot of urban caches, but I have looked for some caches that had me wondering if they were hidden inside electrical boxes or other utility features that I did not think were wise to tempt people folks to open. In each of these cases, the listing could have made a statement telling folks to not look for the cache in the "whatever" that might be a bad idea. Then again, there are those folks who do not look at the listings. I don't know how they do that. As far as good urban cache examples: there is always the standard LPC skirt cache, the LPC variation where a short piece of PVC with a cap is stuck in the ground a few inches alongside the LPC concrete base and contains the log, various magnetic containers which can be hid many safe places, and a host of others too numerous to mention. I still think the key is to have owners use the listing to describe what is off base or off limits and encourage finders to read the listings. Best wishes, Dave Wile

Hey folks, I am an old man who seems to have little in common with his closest frineds - his family. I have had the same wife (my only one) since 1964, two daughters, and four grandchildren. I have always been interested in shooting sports such as breaking clay birds and reloading many different calibers of ammunition and fishing. Not one of my family members noted above have any interest in shooting or fishing. They really only come alive if they see an object that rolls, bounces, or gets hit or whatever. I used to coach my daughters in soccer and softball, but now I have four grandchildren, and there is no end to game after game after game. As soon as football is done, there is basketball, then its baseball and on and on. How much ball watching can a person take? This past February I was introduced to Geocaching while my wife and I were wintering in Florida (I know, I know, I got a break from the ball bouncing stuff while in Florida). I was immediately captivated by Geocaching and thought I had found something the grandchildren might like. Wrong! The GPS unit just does not bouce or fly off a baseball bat well. The kids went out with me twice so far, but they are quits in very short order. My wife's idea of Geocaching with me is to sit in the car telling me to look here or there. So, after that long tale of woe, I guess I would say I am mostly a solo cacher. Would I like to actively cache with someone else? Absolutely. There is no doubt in my mind that four eyes looking for a cache would be a lot better than my two, and I think I would enjoy caching with another couple if my wife would go along with it. Not much chance of that, however. My wife may not like to go caching with me, but she is a good cook. I, on the other hand, do not cook nor do I want to cook. So... I guess I will continue to cache solo and consider myself lucky that I have that dear sweet girl to feed me and keep me company otherwise. Sorry, but I have to go now. My wife informed me that one of the grandchildren has a ball game somewhere, and we have to pick another one up to take along to the game. Maybe there will be a cache nearby? Best wishes, Dave Wile

Hey folks, A few days ago I mentioned that the photo shop in Wal-Mart sells packs of screen protectors for just a few dollars and that I have been using them on my Nikon digital SLR camera. Prime Suspect commented with the following: "The reason those cheapies come in multi-packs is because they don't last. Zaggs are practically puncture-proof, and minor scratches will "heal" themselves over time." I sure wouldn't call these screen protectors cheapies. I have been using the same protector for over three months, and I do not use a camera case of any kind. I can also assure you that my Nikon camera is a lot more costly than any of the high end GPS units used, and I care very much about protecting it. While I have never seen nor heard of a Zagg screen protector, I have trouble understanding how it can be any more "puncture proof" than the screen protector I use on my Nikon camera. Compared to the price of the Zaggs, yes, the screen protectors sold at Wal-Mart are quite cheaper, but one should not make the assumption that the increased price of the Zaggs equates to increased quality of the product. I cannot tell you how long the screen protectors last that I buy at Wal-Mart because I have yet to wear one out in nearly four months. In fact, the screen protector I put on in the beginning of March looks the same as it did when I put it on. It is not scratched or marred in any way. How do you get better than that? At the price, it is at least worth trying rather than blowing off as a cheapie with no merit. Best wishes, Dave Wile

Hey folks, I deleted this duplicate post. I hate it when that happens. Best wishes, Dave Wile

Hey folks, Maybe I'm missing something here about the protective screens, but I use a protective screen on my Nikon digital camera, and you can buy a pack of about half a dozen screens for less than $5 at the photoshop at Wal-Mart. One screen sheet will make two screens for my Nikon. You just stick it on, and it stays in place until it is removed on purpose. The one I am using now has been on for more than three months. I would think they would work the same for a GPS unit. Best wishes, Dave Wile

Hey Scuba, I think your comments may be helping Fizzy to make the point he seems to be trying to make. You readily claim to be a competitive FTF cacher, and you do it in a rather agressive manner. That is what Fizzy seems to be complaining about the whole FTF mentality. Hey, I don't have a problem with folks like you enjoying the hunt for the FTF. It takes all kinds of folks to make the whole GeoCache thing as well as to make up the world. In my opinion, your comments about Fizzy are not very civil. You could simply say you don't care one bit about my opinion; I concede that you have a right to do so. On the other hand, you might read over the posts in this thread again and see if you might agree that you might have made your points about the subject without making such personal remarks against another cacher. Best wishes, Dave Wile

Double Post.

Bon jour Aquanalie, Pardonnez moi s'il vous plait. Je ne parle pas Francais. You asked about PAT, and I am wondering if PAT is "Premier A Trouver" as asked previously? If so, perhaps PAT means FTF or First To Find? Bon wishes, Dave Wile

Hey folks, I just finished watching the YouTube thing that Edscott cited, and I can't believe what I saw. Was that video for real? If it was actually for real, what, if anything, might have been done to expose the fellow for the low life he would seem to be? That is just so hard to believe and frustrating to think it is real. Best wishes, Dave Wile

Hey WingNut, It was a real pleasure to read what you wrote: "When did I know that I was a serious cacher? After my second day of geocaching with my family, my daughters asked "Can we go find some more tomorrow daddy?" That is when I knew I had not only found something we enjoyed, but I also had made a difference. Where the caches were hidden didn't matter so much." You sound like a great father. Best wishes, Dave Wile

Hey folks, While residents of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, my wife and I are usually Snow Birds in the winter months. This past winter, we spent four months in Zephyrhills, Florida, and near the end of this past February, a young couple we met told us about GeoCaching while we were watching the sky divers at the airport. I registered on the web site and started looking for caches. In March we had to come home for ten days while our daughter was in the hospital, and I spent some of the time looking for caches at our Pennsylvania home. Maybe I missed something while starting my GeoCaching in Florida, but the whole First To Find thing seemed to be extremely competitive in Pennsylvania. I did not remember seeing any of the "spiking the ball" type log comments for the FTFs in Florida, but up here in Pennsylvania, it seemed like some of these folks get really serious about getting FTFs, and some of the folks can log their FTFs in a manner that reminds me of the professional football players who spike the ball, dance the dance, and jump it the air to bump chests after a touchdown. That sort of thing does not suit my personal tastes, and I haven't watched football for many years because of the exhibitionist players and similar fans. There is one fellow back here who makes FTF posts that I thought were too "in your face" for me. When I looked at his profile and his picture, I found that did not actually have horns or anything, and then I started reading his other logs and information I could find on his activity. After an hour or so of reading, I thought he seemed like a pretty interesting guy. I also think if I would forget about his FTF logs that bothered me, I would probably get along quite well with him if I ever met him. He has a bunch of hides he has placed, and I have found a few of them. Actually, I hope I get to meet him some day - in spite of his ball spiking FTF logs. I don't know why the folks in Florida seem less competitive about FTFs, but that it the way it seemed to me. I notice that Isonzo Karst commented on the FTF thing in Post 9. I don't know where he lives in Florida, but I sure remember his name on a number of caches around the Zephyrhills area I was searching. Thanks Mr. Karst for all your caches - even if some of them required more effort to get to them than I was willing to expend. I have enjoyed my time GeoCaching, and in my case, I do not think of it as competitive at all. Yes, it seems some folks can be quite competitive about it, but it has seemed to me that most of the folks I have met along the way do not seem to look at it as a competition. I know the folks I have met GeoCaching have made my days more interesting, and that is a good thing to me. Best wishes, Dave Wile

Hey folks, Am I the only one who gets tired of reading "LOL" at the end of nearly every sentence someone writes? I know my children and grandchildren call me old fashioned, but it one is going to communicate with others whether it is on a forum or in newsprint, it seems to me that one should try to do so in such a way that facilitates the effective communication of ideas rather than muddles the message. I see folks who only use lowercase letters, and those who only use uppecase letters, others who use no punctuation and seemingly have no clue that a sentence should make a complete thought. In this thread, we had one fellow who seems to think the letters "lol" are a substitute for a period at the end of a sentence. Then again, he may just be the kind of guy that has to tell everyone how happy he is. I don't get it. For Clan Riffster, I would like to say that I am not posting this under any sock puppy thing. David Wile is my real name, and I live in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. I don't have that many cache finds or forum posts, but that is because I just started GeoCaching in February while spending the winter in Florida with my wife. She is not one bit interested in the game, and I have only been able to get my grandchildren out with me one time. There was a time when I would go for a walk for many miles to see beautiful sights across this nation. In the past two years, however, my feet and legs protest too much when I try to get them to climb up to Delicate Arch again or make another walk down the Grand Canyon. I guess that would keep me from being considered a serious GeoCacher in some folks eyes, but I do enjoy it even if most of my finds are urban and easy on the joints. Best wishes, Dave Wile

Hey folks, You may have trouble believing this, but I ordered a refurbished Garmin eTrex Venture HC from Adorama Camera after 8:00 PM, and it arrived today via UPS. Seems to be very nice, but this old dog has trouble with new tricks. As soon as I started it up, I did something that made it start beeping and giving me a message about dragging an anchor or something. I don't know what I did to make it go away, but it finally did go away. Now it will be a long uphill battle to learn how to use the thing. Vitayav is way ahead of me. I am not sure what he is even talking about. Best wishes, Dave Wile

Hey folks, I found another thread where the Adorama Camera site was the subject, and several folks indicated they had purchased there. Well, I also just ordered one tonight - $69.95 with free shipping and no sales tax to Pennsylvania. The web site indicated it is supposed to come with a Garmin 1 year warranty. I sure hope so. Thanks, Coggins, for getting me to this site. Unless it is faulty and a pain in the backside, it sure is better than the one from Wal-Mart for $128 plus PA sales tax and $3 shipping. Best wishes, Dave Wile

Hey folks, I also just ordered one tonight - $69.95 with free shipping and no sales tax to Pennsylvania. The web site indicated it is supposed to come with a Garmin 1 year warranty. I sure hope so. Best wishes, Dave Wile

Hey folks, Coggins provided a connection to Adorama Camera who is selling refurbished Garmin eTrex Venture HC units for $69.95, and he is correct that I have not seen a better price. The idea of a refurbished unit bothers me somewhat, and I would like to know if anyone has any experience with a refurbished unit. Does anyone have any other thoughts on buying one of these refurbished units? That is a really good price, but it is wasted money if the product is likely to be faulty. I was all set to order one of these from Wal-Mart for $128 plus tax and $3 shipping until I saw this thread. Best wishes, Dave Wile

Hey folks, After reading what you told me about carefully holding the Magellan 315 in a vertical position, I thought I would try using it again, along with my laptop & DeLorme mapping GPS unit. What a sight I must have made - laptop in the crook of my left arm & DeLorme unit in my left hand, Magellan 315 in my right hand at or eye level, and me watching the readings I was getting on both. I found that when I had open sky above me, both units were right on the mark with each other. The third decimal digits on both units held pretty steady while standing still. I really was quite surprised that the Magellan was performing as well as the DeLorme Earthmate unit and laptop. When I went under tree cover, however, the Magellan immediately started averaging its reported cordinates, and it was clear to me that it would be virtually useless if I had to go more than 25 feet under cover. The laptop and DeLorme performed much better under tree cover. There was some deterioration in reception, but I found the DeLorme unit would settle down and get the signal if I stopped walking for a few seconds. In any case, I think I can use my Magellan for most of the caches I am inclined to seek. In fact, the last several ones I found were accomplished by using the laptop to take me to where I would park, and then I used the Magellan to take me to the hide area. One of the caches was perhaps 30 feet inside a corner of a wooded area. I used the Magellan outside the woods to determine where the North line appeared to be, and then I walked over to the other clear side to find where the West line should be. At that point I looked to where the two lines should meet under the trees, and I walked to the area. While under the trees, my Magellan was averaging the coordinates and useless, but I found my estimated ground zero was less than ten feet from where the cache was hidden. This Geo stuff is getting very interesting. Best wishes, Dave Wile

Hey folks, I had no idea about the whole antenna position thing - will try holding it vertical next time I go out. I never heard of any firmware update as menioned by PDOP. What is that all about? He also mentions folks doing "the 'Maggie dance' of waving their 315 at arms length to break out of 'position averaging'. Quite comical and entertaining for your companions." I doubt if the Maggie Dance is much worse than seeing me walking through the brush and brambles with my laptop in my left arm while holding my DeLorme unit up in air with my right hand. Best wishes, Dave Wile

Hey Tim, I, too, am a new one. I just sent you a PM concerning same. I am glad you have not thrown it all in. Best wishes, Dave Wile

Hey folks, Thanks for the responses. Charles: I checked out the DeLorme sales site, and kind of got sticker shock. The PN20 listed at about $200, and the PN40 was about double that. Is that what one has to spend for a new handheld unit? Jeff: Unless I am the problem with my Magellan 315, I am not happy with it as it now works. As I noted earlier, my DeLorme Earthmate and mapping software do a real good job getting me very close to coordinates. It's just the trouble of hauling a laptop around while hiking to a cache that is a pain in the neck. Yes, my 315 does have a compass and a map screen, but they seem useless when trying to get closer than 200 feet. Using the coordinates, it is a bit better (maybe 100 fee), but the unit does not seem to work at all if there is any sort of canopy over your head. I have walked in the woods with my laptop with DeLorme Earthmate attached, and it obviously works much better than the 315. If I am doing something wrong with the 315, please do not hesitate to tell me. Perhaps some setting should be changed or whatever. I still have the original user manual for my 315, but I have not found anything in it that tells me what to do. It may be there, but I am not seeing it. As I said, any suggestions would be appreciated. Wal-Mart is now selling a Garmin eTrex Venture HC Handheld GPS for $132, and this is a lot less than the DeLorme PN series noted by Charles. Is this Garmin a good choice? Best wishes, Dave Wile

Hey Folks, I have used a Magellan 315 for the past ten years or so quite successfully with my DeLorme mapping software on my laptop while traveling across the nation. When I upgraded to my latest laptop, I also had to upgrade my DeLorme software and also bought the DeLorme Earthmate GPS unit to go along with it. Last month some folks we met in Florida got us interested in Geocaching, and I started looking with my Magellan 315. First I had to learn how to enter the coordinates to three decimal places. When I did that, I found what appeared to be serious shortcomings with the Magellan 315 - or perhaps with me. First, I found that walking in the wide open spaces with the 315 showed great variations with the coordinates. It seemed the three place decimal coordinates would constantly change, and I would estimate the smallest area I could pinpoint was probably a square with 100 foot sides. The second problem I found was that the 315 lost the signal as soon as you entered any trees whatever. This was very frustrating trying to find my first caches. Then I thought I might try using my laptop and the DeLorme mapping software and GPS unit. Wow! What a difference the DeLorme made. The mapping software allowed me to enter the coordinates and set a street course directly to the site. The software showed where I wanted to go as well as exactly where I was to four decimal places for the coordinates. For park & grab caches, this is great. I can drive right up to a lot of these and know where to look right away. For those that are off the road, however, it is a bit difficult taking the laptop on a little hike holding it in one arm and the GPS unit in my other hand. Other than my first two finds (with the Magellan 315), I have been using my laptop with DeLorme software and GPS unit. Yes, the whole laptop and DeLorme thing works well at finding caches, but I really have to do something about getting a handheld to work as well. My first question is whether my Magellan 315 is simply too old in the GPS technology of today? If not, what am I doing wrong with it? If my Magellan is too far back on the technology scheme of things, what should I consider for a new handheld? Best wishes, Dave Wile