TwoSox Trekkers
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Posts
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Posts posted by TwoSox Trekkers
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I agree- the Vista HCx is a great unit. I'd start with it. It's accurate, easy to use, and compatible with Mac & PC.
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And trust jholly about this- because I just made this EXACT newbie mistake. Thankfully, another kind cacher pointed it out and the log was corrected.
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What I originally wrote was something to the effect of:
-I cached yesterday and had two instances where my GPS must have been bouncing like crazy due to trees or structures, because the sky (in Seattle!) was perfect. It was signaling arrival at GZ waaaaay before the actual GZ.
-My brand-new eTrex Vista HCx kept doing something odd when I would select a waypoint/geocache. When clicking "go to" it gave me the compass and not the map. When I would back out and select the map function, it wouldn't give me any directionals- no "South towards Caution Hammer Throwing" or what have you. Rebooting seemed to help.
I was using rechargables for the first time and selected the NiMH setting and not alkaline. I haven't a clue if these batteries would affect the GPS performance.
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Dang it! All my typing The forums are timing out on me, too.
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Awesome, HeadHardHat!
Question: what device are you using to capture your video?
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It's easy-
Go to your profile and click "Set Up Notifications". This will let you get emails for new caches within a certain range of your home coordinates. Mine's set up for 25mi, for instance.
Happy caching!
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Krawler- love your profile and picture. Absolutely fantastic!
I agree re: the coins. I have yet to find one, but I know I will one of these days.
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It can vary wildly how long it takes to get a FTF. I have 20 finds, and got my 1st FTF on the 14th find, because the cache happened to be posted 2.2mi from my house and I had nothing going on.
Sign up for the notifications and be ready- an opportunity will come up and you'll have the pleasure of FTF before you know it!
Good luck.
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Hi GeoJaneys, I'm new- started March 1- but I have the Vista HCx and really like it. It is pretty intuitive and is priced in your budget range. Shop around, you can find good deals on it at REI, Amazon, eBay, Best Buy, etc. I've had very good battery life with it and no problems.
Good luck!
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Yup, I emailed and all is well. He's going to fix it and no harm done. Well, except to anyone else who may have wanted to see it, lol. No harm, no foul, but as a newb it was a weird turn of events to see for sure!
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Well, I'm glad to hear that. Because needless to say, it was a bit of a shock to see it offline and since reading written correspondence lacks inflection, tone, etc it wasn't obviously sarcasm to me.
A bummer for the cache-owner. Hopefully it's a simple fix.
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DirecTV did show, and we have excellent HD now. WOOT!
I don't want to be an FTF hound, but it is nice to get there first. Except now it feels tainted since someone after me felt compelled to sabotage the cache.
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Ok... now I'm wondering WTH.
The cache that was my FTF is now offline- GC1P6X8. Check out the log.
Why would someone do this? I don't understand.
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So, I reverse-jinxed myself. I was saying I didn't know when I'd have an FTF, given how cache-rich my area is and how dedicated the caching community here is... well, guess what.
FTF, baby! Thanks to Only The Hose Knows for the cache. This one made 14. I started caching around the 6th of this month.
Is that normal? Is it luck or is it watching the new notifications like a hawk?
Congrats on your FTF! All of the local hounds were probably at the GPS Maze event at the Pacific Science Center so they could collect a new icon.
So in other words, enjoy it because it won't happen again.
But yeah, I imagine everyone was at the event... I was at home waiting on the DirecTV people to show up and fix my HD!
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So, I reverse-jinxed myself. I was saying I didn't know when I'd have an FTF, given how cache-rich my area is and how dedicated the caching community here is... well, guess what.
FTF, baby! Thanks to Only The Hose Knows for the cache. This one made 14. I started caching around the 6th of this month.
Is that normal? Is it luck or is it watching the new notifications like a hawk?
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So glad you asked about this, Keiger. I was wondering the same thing. I passed on taking a TB yesterday because I was afraid to accidentally interfere with its mission.
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Yikes, that had to be frustrating. Glad you got some good advice.
And one other point- you might want to try again but for a larger cache. It will give you a better chance of success. Finding the small ones is hard enough!
Keep at it.
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Welcome! I'm new too, just started actively hunting at the start of this month. Sounds like you're getting the hang of things. Good luck and have fun!
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I'm as far from a programmer as you can get, but I think a previous poster was correct- there are no GPS's a child could use without some instruction.
There isn't an easy way around this except to do the research and ask the questions. My best suggestion would be to talk to staff at a local electronics or sports outfitter stores.
If you have kids and intend to do this with them, you'll want to get the best information you can before you start. Otherwise, it'll be a disappointment for them.
Good luck!
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Thanks, Head Hard Hat. I really enjoy your Geosnippits series. Keep 'em coming!
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Just another comment-
My iphone has been extremely accurate, but I don't know whether to attribute that to the model or the exceptionally good coverage in this area.
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What StarBrand said.
I've found 9, DNF (did not find) 3. All three DNF's were small caches. I use a GPS and the Groundspeak app on my iPhone.
Don't give up yet- it definitely isn't something you can do easy, or everyone would be doing it! Having a GPS helps a lot, if you're not using one.
Good luck!
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I'm new, too. Started researching in January, really started getting interested in February, and got going for real in March. I have an eTrex Vista HCx and I like it a lot- I also use my iPhone to read the notes, logs, etc and not use paper when I can.
This is so addicting. Ridiculously so! My partner is struggling, she hasn't found any caches yet. But I think she over-thinks it. I'm hoping the next one, she finds, to help her confidence.
No real problems to speak of, except a few wet caches and I keep forgetting to bring a pen/pencil.
I need to get a cache bag I like and stick with it. 
Perhaps you can "help" your partner find her first cache. When you locate one, don't claim it right away. Instead, move away from it and very discreetly suggest that she "check out that tree over there", or whatever the case may be. The important thing is to NOT let her see you near the find before you push her in that direction. Let me know if this works.
As for your caching bag, check out your local Goodwill or St. Vincent de Paul store for gently used book backpacks, the kind that high school and college kids often use. As long as the zippers are in good shape and it has plenty of pockets (and trust me, you'll NEED them) you should be good to go.
Welcome to the fray!! Good Luck and Happy Caching!!
Good idea, and I had thought of that. But I sure hope I can carry it off- she is very perceptive and will know if I faked it.
Still, it's worth a try!I'm thinking I will hit up Goodwill for a bag. I will be doing mostly urban caching to start with, and I have a great distance pack already.
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How is permission obtained? I assume there's no permitting, but contacting the parks at their main line is enough?
I need to get a cache bag I like and stick with it. 
Home Grown Gizmos for Geocaching
in General geocaching topics
Posted
I have a small, old monocular that was my grandpa's. It's light and portable and it's awesome for looking in trees for high up caches. It's also nice for the views some caches gift us with, too, bird watching while caching, etc.