grimpil
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Posts posted by grimpil
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48 minutes ago, colleda said:
If you use the method I mentioned above for etrex 10 Menu>Geocaches>Enter next Stage, you still have all the cache info available.
Thank you & I have made a note to self of that if I need to update in the field. In the puzzles I solved to date I will have no need to go to the original co-ordinates as the puzzles can be solved from the comfort of home & I will be heading straight to the cache location from a different direction rather than parking up at the given spot.
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To Boulder Go?
Troglodytes R Us?
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What would we do without forums like this? Always reassuring to have advice from more experienced members but also good to know us newbies can work stuff out & share it around. Now if only I could work out how to solve some of the puzzles on the site. Some are so easy, some might as well be in Chinese!!
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I recently solved a similar query. If you just input the co-ordinates on the etrex10 as a waypoint you do not get the cache information that you might want to refer to in the field. However I discovered that once I had solved a puzzle I could edit the co-ordinates on the cache page then send this revised cache GPX file to my etrex10. Apparently the edited co-ords you see on screen are only visible to you. At least I think this is all correct - have done a couple this way, although have not actually gone out & found the caches yet.
A learning curve & it always helps to find someone using exactly the same gps model.
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Very well put riscott. My sentiments exactly - also started this just over a month ago & also finding it great value for money.
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Must admit first time I saw a stamped log it crossed my mind as a sort of good idea, then after finding several examples of the same stamp often on very tiny logs it started to irritate me. Like someone taking up two seats on the bus when others are standing. A small stamp, used respectfully only on suitable size logs, would seem to be OK, but even so it is probably no easier than just signing.
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As a newbie to this game I had been wondering about the etiquette of stamps as in quite a few logs I found recently someone who has been there ahead of me is using a stamp & on the very small logs it takes up the space where 8 to 10 cachers could date & sign/initial. Maybe COs don't mind, but if it was me who had hidden a very small cache with just the capacity for one of the narrow log strips I would be hacked off to find this large motif had used up a couple of inches of paper. Grrr! But at least they stamp the log rather than leave a trail of confetti.
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I signed up to Premium as soon as I discovered the fun of finding my first cache. Felt I wanted to join & support an obviously committed community. Paying a modest subscription should in theory ensure a more "member of a club" mentality rather than a free for all for those who pay nothing but take the benefit of all the hard work put in by COs & those who run & maintain this website.
IMHO the subscription is low enough to make it affordable to the majority & high enough to encourge a sense of responsibility to the caching community. To date I found almost 50 caches, many of them PO so in just over a month that is 50p per cache if I never search for another. At this rate after one year I might have found a 500 - what else in life can I "buy" for maybe 5p that is so satisfying? Each cache is different & each presents a new challenge.
How many other hobbies & pursuits provide so much interest & enjoyment for such modest outlay for unlimited access? I see that there are backdoors to Premium access & trial membership generously offered by site moderators. So hardly "unfriendly".
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Yesterday I encountered a series of caches where the logs varied from bone dry to one with a solid wodge of wet paper at the bottom of a waterlogged tube. Someone had kindly put a small sheet of dry paper in a baggie so there were a few legible names now being added. But I also came across three or four that had used waterproof paper, & so even the one that was rolled up in a damp bag was fine to use. Seems to be the answer.
But the main issue does seem to be non-watertight caches - the majority of the 48 I have found to date had let in excess moisture & many bags were wet on the inside. I decided to carry a piece of j-cloth with me to mop up some of the water or blot the log before signing. Works a treat as a stop gap remedy. Not my responsibility to care for the COs babies but perhaps a bit of community spirit should be extended & appreciated.
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13 minutes ago, K13 said:
I'm embarrassed when someone else maintains one of my geocaches.
So would I be! As a newbie here I am still learning my way around etiquette & whilst yes it is nice to think someone may kindly sort out what is essentially the COs responsibility as a gesture I don't get the overall impression it is best practice. Like leaving your kids in the playground & hoping someone else will push the swing!
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Brutalfly - hello from another newbie. If you can go with the app on your phone then that is the way to start. I also have an old phone (join the dinosaur club) but decided after research to purchase a dedicated gps unit for use when I am walking as battery life is brilliant & I just carry spare AAs in my pocket. I only woke up to geocaching aspect of a gps when I read a few articles online whilst trying to figure out my new toy.
I got the eTrex10 (which at £75 is pretty much bottom of the range) & am perfectly happy with it for my purposes. But if I was involving children I would wait until I could afford something less basic & a bit more user friendly for youngsters - colour screen, mapping etc. I got hooked after my first find & it will be an occasional hobby alongside my love of walking. Try the kids out first with the phone app in case they don't get enthused.
The people here seem really helpful & if you start trawling through the forums you pick up loads of interesting & informative material. Have fun!
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OK - so I went onto Garmin Express, installed Greek Language & now have it as an alternative on my gps when I go into Set Up. BUT as predicted it still does not allow display of a cache name that has both Roman & Greek alphabets. I can have the entire contents of my eTrex in Greek, but as said this is not practical..
If I visit/find the 2 caches that were the cause of this hiccup I will leave a note when I log my find/NF or whatever. Perhaps drop an email to the cache owner. Definitely have learnt something here (not least of which is where to get extra languages!) & hope it may prove useful to someone else who encounters a similar issue. Thanks for input. Onwards & upwards!!
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Perfectly happy with the eTrex10. Researched before buying & it does everything I wanted from a gps. Combined with my paper map collection (which I will never abandon) it has stopped me getting lost & now leads me unfailingly to caches I am seeking. I don't have birthday or Christmas lists, only what I buy for myself! Battery life is awesome, it doesn't mind rain & mud, cheap & cheerful. Just having fun getting my head round it all & the Greek font is just a puzzle but not an issue. But do value your comments.
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Well done! But as I suspected it displays all the cache info into Greek, although it has retained the English part of the cache name. Maybe my options are English info/blank title or Greek info plus title but not title displayed with English info.
Away from PC now until tomorrow but will follow up the Garmin Express route & see if I can install Greek.
I do appreciate your help. As a newbie to both gps & geocaching I am on a steep learning curve so have been trawling these forums & finding all sorts of interesting tips. Very knowledgeable community here! Already solved a few other things that puzzled me so it is all good.
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Cheers HHL
This is one of them
GC4BWH1
Not found anything on Garmin website (although considering the abysmal standard of their user manuals no surprise there), nor by googling. The gps itself in the set up menu has no option other than default English, so suspect it is calibrated for distribution only in English language areas.
Quite a puzzle! Every bit as challenging as some caches!
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Thanks for that suggestion - I will check. But as eTrex10 is very basic I have my doubts - might have to change languages than run side by side.
It is not a huge problem - only happened with 2 out of over 50 caches I downloaded & they happen to be in locations I might not even get to visit. Appreciate your reply & was curious if anyone else had same hiccup.
Don't want to end up with everything in Greek as my language skill is very basic. If I do find an answer on Garmin site I will report back.
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Not sure if this is right place to ask so please move topic if need be.
I have been downloading some Greek caches to my gps (eTrex10) & find that if the name of the cache is in the format of place name given in English/Greek alphabet when I go to the geocache list on the gps there is a blank where the name should be. Places that are only in English are fine. Luckily only a couple so far have this feature so I can work out which they are by scrolling through the description, but if more appear this way it could get confusing. Cannot find any editing option on the gps itself or even with it connected to PC to do anything about this & can only assume it is the unrecognised Greek characters that are the fly in the ointment. Maybe a quirk of the Garmin units? Or general? Does this occur with other non-Roman alphabets?
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Apart from basic state pension I have no other income. I just prioritise. Generally in life the people I encounter who complain the loudest about not being able to afford small pleasures drive smart cars, have massive TV screens, foreign holidays, latest iPhone, load their shopping trollies with food that ends up in the bin etc etc.
I have no doubt my subscription is helping people even lower down the financial pecking order than myself & in genuine need, but I also am pretty certain it is supporting freeloaders. My own geocaching activity will be limited to my home area & places I may be visting for other reasons, to see friends, on holiday etc. I cannot afford the petrol to chase all over the country per se. The cost of PM gives me more cache options in the areas I can easily visit - I won't get far on 50p worth of fuel!!
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I started geocaching earlier this month & was so excited with my first success I immediately signed up for PM. Why? Well I really had minimal appreciation of the benefits to me but it all seemed such a lot of work on someone's part to keep this website up & running that the very modest annual fee is a good way to show support & hopefully maintain standards for all users. What else has so much potential & ongoing interest & variety for around 50 pence per week?
Too many people these days seem to want something for free, even when the cost of PM in relation to what you can spend on a gps unit/phone/travel costs & other incidentals for this fascinating pursuit is so affordable.
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Interesting discussion. I chickened out of attempting to reach a couple of caches today as they were apparently just below the main path on a cliff edge. Taking into consideration the frozen ground, patches of icy mud & rock & very slippery frozen grass combined with a high freezing wind that made my eyes water I decided it was unwise to start scrambling around seeking the caches & risk getting blown off the cliff. As a newbie I was unsure if these qualified as DNFs - I was not exactly at GZ in either case - & on my gps logged them as Not Attempted. Realised when logging my finds on the website that DNF could be misleading so I simply wrote a note for each one explaining my cowardice & promising the COs I would have another go in better conditions. As the 2 that I missed were along a route it would look strange not to explain the gaps in my series of finds.
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Just started at age 65, at which age I have also qualified as an orphan. Been a walker all my life so geocaching is adding a new dimension to my regular routes. But I don't look a day over 50 or act a day over 21. Age is just a number, but every 12 months it gets bigger.
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An underwater cache! LOL! That would be fun to search for as long as I don't have to swim! Hmm! Waterproof paper is feasible so there is another idea to squirrel away for the future.
I took up geocaching partly to learn to use my gps so am not particularly interested in the contents of a cache beyond the log. Finding so many soggy ones is frustrating & surely they cannot be very satisfying for the CO.
Have already seen a couple of bags punctured by pencils.
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I am very new to geocaching with less than 50 finds to date but what fun! However I am curious as to whether I have just been unlucky in the caches I found so far in that so many appear to be in non-watertight containers & with soggy logs in inadequate plastic bags. Of course the container is the choice of the CO so apart from instances where finders have not replaced the lid properly it must be down to the CO to ensure a fit for purpose container that keep out the damp. But when it comes to the paper logs it is often nigh on impossible to sign when the paper is sodden, especially when it is tightly rolled up & unrolling threatens to destroy the record. No doubt all is fine & dandy when the cache is first hidden - nice dry log &, no matter how small, capable of being signed with pen or pencil.
My impression is that people are not properly sealing a log back in a press seal bag, or perhaps damaging the bag when opening it & rendering it non waterproof. Once the bag is wet inside there is no hope! Even the additional dry piece of paper I left in one impossible to sign cache is going to quickly turn to mush.
I found a great little cache today. It was a small plastic tub (maybe a tablet container with screw lid) & instead of a plastic bag inside containing the log, the log was rolled up in a further smaller tub with a snap on lid. Russian Doll effect & the log was bone dry! So simple & so effective. Certainly if the day comes when I want to hide a cache myself I will take this idea on board.
Of course here in UK it is very difficult to avoid anything getting damp thanks to our climate. So it will be interesting to see what I find in a couple of months time when I hope to be geocaching in Greece where hopefully it is generally drier!
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Creative geocache names for a big rock/cave hide?
in General geocaching topics
Posted
Cavern Club
Round the Rugged Rocks
Rock of Ages