HedgeMage

So you only go to playgrounds where you know everyone? Strangers with kids, or who are kids, are still strangers. People need to *parent* instead of banning whatever demographic they like to picture the bad guys being in. You have *no* idea how many kids are sociopaths and sex offenders, and it's not legal to track or register them no matter how heinous their crimes. I used to work with at-risk kids, some of whom had already committed sex crimes by age 7 or 8. They play at parks, go to school, etc. with all the other kids, and no one knows. If they knew, they likely couldn't legally warn anyone. Unless someone behaves aggressively or inappropriately, there is no reason for me to fear them being at a park or playground my son is at. He asks before he goes anywhere out of line of sight, or out of where he's been told I expect him to be. I keep my eyes on him. I'm prepared to defend him should anyone make a move to harm him. Freak circumstances aside, the only kids who get victimized by a sex offender while at a playground with their parents are kids whose parents are falling down on the job. Kids who weren't taught not to wander off, who don't respond to instructions from their parents, and/or whose parents aren't watching closely enough. Pedophiles are pedophiles because kids are easy targets, and less threatening than adults. It's a strange occurrence when they engage in open confrontation of any kind (even a mild verbal confrontation), let alone physical violence. Some have it in them, but not that many. If you are watching your kid, and have taught them not to act stupidly, they should be fine at a playground. This is why most children who are sexually abused are abused by a family member, neighbor, teacher, priest, babysitter, or other adult to whom the parents have given access *on purpose*, because they see the offender as not being a threat. --Susan

Absolutely not! Drug paraphernalia is specifically prohibited by the GC rules. This is not something I would want my 6yo son to find in a cache. If someone used it, and someone like me with a chemical sensitivity found it in a cache, it could cause a serious attack. My son knows how to use my cell phone and/or radio to call for help in an emergency, but I hope he's never put in that position.

I'm not sure what you mean by "mark all the waypoints on the page". What I do is create pocket queries (premium member feature) for the caches I want to find, then extract both files from the .zip emailed to me into the GPX directory on my Colorado. This gives me all the caches in my query, including all associated waypoints (such as parking), descriptions, hints, and the most recent logs on each. Hope that helps, Susan

I'm a newbie, and I love my Colorado (though I went with the 400t for the extra topographical maps, I paid $340 for it). What's more -- we'd owned it only a couple of days when my 6yo got the hang of using the basic operations himself, talk about easy! kablooie is spot on about needing city navigator for street navigation by address. --Susan

Add a warning to the note, visible from the outside of the bag, so people with latex allergies don't have an attack in the middle of quiet woods somewhere. If I saw such a kit, I'd expect the trash bag, but probably not the gloves. --Susan

The Colorados with preloaded maps have a little more internal memory. I chose the 400t and love it -- it came with preloaded topo maps for most of North America. Since the Colorado was released, there were some improvements made to the on-unit software that makes it work. It is important to download the latest version of that software from the internet and put it onto your Colorado so you can take advantage of the improvements. This is pretty common. The latest version is no longer in beta (a late testing phase). It is now a stable release. You'll also want to download cache info and add it to your Colorado periodically so you have the latest data. Colorado's pros: Extremely easy and kid/friendly UI, paperless geocaching, Wherigo player, multiple profiles, barometric altimeter, compass, and many other nifty features, big bright color screen, accurate. Cons: Waterproofing is questionable (though I've not had any issues with mine, and have only heard bad reports from owners of older Colorados), and battery life is shorter than some other units. I'm very glad I picked my Colorado. (BTW, if it's still on, there was a great sale at offroute.com, I got mine for ~$340) --Susan

I picked up a new CO about a week and a half ago. I love it. There is no hole in the back as I've heard others describe, and it has the new, bigger O-ring around the SD card slot. There is a gap between the cover and unit, however, as that isn't the waterproofing point, I am not certain if it matters. I did take the step of coating the o-rings in silicone grease* to improve the seal. We haven't submerged it yet, but it was used in a light rain with no ill effects. I plan to bag it if we go anywhere it's likely to be submerged in more than a puddle. I am upset with Garmin for falsely advertising the Colorado's IPx7 rating, but in the end, I needed something my 6yo could easily use, and the Colorado's interface won hands down. Waterproofing is not a mystery; I sincerely hope that Garmin fixes the cover issues and continues the Colorado platform. --Susan *The silicone grease I have seems to be much thicker than what others I've met are using, and this may make a difference. I think some use the thin stuff meant as a lubricant, while the grease I have was designed as a sealant (I had it in my fountain pen repair and retrofitting toolbox).

You don't need to spend nearly $600. I got my Colorado 400t at offroute.com for about $340. Telling us what kind of GPS user you are would help us make better suggestions. For example, I chose my Colorado because it is the easiest-to-use GPSr I could find (my 6yo uses it), and it is very feature-rich (Wherigo player, paperless caching, large color screen, WAAS, barometric altimeter, electronic compass, SD card slot). However, every unit has its downsides -- the Colorado's waterproofing is questionable, the battery life (10-15 hours) is mediocre at best, and text entry is clumsy. For me, my highest priorities - WAAS, kid-friendliness, paperless caching -- far outweighed the Colorado's issues. However, every user has different priorities. There is no "best", objectively speaking... just figure out what *you* want in a unit, and look for the one that best matches your criteria without any downsides you can't live with. --Susan

Is it the Colorado 400t or the Oregon 400t? On my Colorado, it seems one can only delete waypoints from the unit's interface - for caches one must operate on .gpx files with one's computer. I'm still new at this, though, so there's always the possibility that I missed it. --Susan

Yes! I do exactly that (you need a premium membership for this)... First, go to your bookmarks page, and create a bookmark list for this bunch of caches. Next, do a search on the area in question, either by doing a standard search, or going all out and creating a pocket query (which lets you search by more specific criteria) then viewing it as a list or Google map. Then, viewing the results of your search or pocket query, look at each cache as quickly or as closely as you want. Bookmark the ones you wish to add to your custom map. Finally, go back to your bookmarks page and click "Create Pocket Query" next to the bookmark list you created. This will create a pocket query of just the caches in your list, which can be viewed on Google maps, or emailed to you in GPX format for upload to your GPS unit. Hope that helps, --Susan

So don't go find them. If we start banning every cache some group dislikes, we will have no caches left. There are plenty of caches I won't visit because I would be viewed with suspicion there (or worse). I'm all for better cache descriptions so folks can better zoom in on the caches they want to hunt, but banning caches is not a solution. As a mother of a small child, I am cautious of everyone in any public place we are. I am always vigilant in watching my child, as well as watching the behavior of others, and assessing possible threats and points of ingress and egress. Yes, the sheeple will judge who is a threat based on demographics instead of behavior -- their little brains can more easily tell what sex, race, or age one is than whether one is behaving in a way that should raise red flags. That's true anywhere -- which is why, as I said, there are places I won't cache. --Susan

I've been using "HedgeMage" online since I ditched a high school nickname I'd chosen as a prank on someone and then got stuck with. In legend and lore, a "hedge mage" is a magic user who learned through experimentation, trial and error, by digging in and just doing things, as opposed to the formal education and ivory towers of "proper" wizards. I don't have much formal education -- I left university due to illness less than halfway through my degree -- so most of what I know, including what I do for a living, was not learned in the usual way. I just kind of jump in and learn things rather than waiting to be taught. --Susan

Our Colorado 400t arrived today. I've been both excited and apprehensive due to the Colorado's mixed reviews, but so far I am glad I chose it. So far, here are the things I've done with the unit (in no particular order): Backed it up in case the software or maps are ever accidentally deleted. Applied the InvisibleSheild screen protector. Played around with making, removing, and changing waypoints. Uploaded a geocaching PQ via USB. Registered the unit with my.garmin.com Went after one nearby geocache. Played around with various settings. Calibrated the electronic compass. Let my 6yo son (LF) try it out. My initial impressions are that for the most part the interface is extremely simple and straightforward. LF is already learning to use it, and he doesn't seem frustrated with it at all. The only thing I found hard to find was the backlight adjustment -- until I looked it up, it hadn't occurred to me that the power button would be used for anything other than turning the unit on and off. Linux compatibility is good so far -- I backed up the device and added the PQ without issue. I did have to register by phone because the garmin site wouldn't allow me to finish without their site connecting to my unit via the USB driver and browser plugin that aren't Linux compatible. The maps respond more quickly than I thought they would, and the Topo map contains more roads and POIs than I expected. The compass responds more slowly and jerkily than I'd expected, but it's not too bad and I could always carry a "real" compass if the need arose. I'd not thought I would be able to make any changes to or delete waypoints, POIs, or caches from the Colorado interface (based on what I'd read in one of the countless reviews I've gone over lately), but I found that operations not available when I select the point on the map are available in the "manage waypoints" screen. The screen protector is great since mom helped me get some stubborn bubbles out (I get her help putting stickers on LF's Legos, too!). Our Colorado does have the oft-lamented gap between the main unit and the battery/sdcard cover. I've applied some silicone grease around the battery and memcard o-rings (the good stuff I use in fountain pen repair and retrofitting, NOT the thin stuff I have seen others use), and it seems to fit more securely than it did. I'm not quite brave enough to toss this expensive toy in a bucket of water to see how it fares, but I will surely post if we have any encounters of the liquid kind. We have not experienced any software bugs so far *knocks wood*. Here's hoping we find much fun with it. --Susan

bugs == Travel Bugs coins == Geocoins Read about Benchmarks FTF == First To Find All of these and more can be found in the glossary --Susan

http://www.geocaching.com/waypoints/ includes a list of GPS-related apps for Windows and Mac, as well as applications for handheld devices, but Linux is conspicuously absent. Here is suggested content: Linux/Unix/etc. Applications: Google Earth (GPX/KML) - In addition to viewing caches via Network KML, Google Earth can overlay the travels of trackable items on geocaching.com. Google Earth also uses GPS Babel to allow Premium Members the ability to drag a Pocket Query GPX file on to the application to overlay geocaches. GPSBabel (GPX/LOC/KML) - A free console-based application for converting LOC and GPX to various other formats. Source code available. GPS Manager (GPSMan) (GPX) - A graphical manager of GPS data that makes possible the preparation, inspection and edition of GPS data in a friendly environment. GPSMan supports communication and real-time logging with both Garmin, Lowrance and Magellan receivers and accepts real-time logging information in NMEA 0183 from any GPS receiver. GPSMan can also be used in command mode (with no graphical interface) Viking (GPX) - A free/open source program to manage GPS data. You can import and plot tracks and waypoints, show Terraserver maps under it, add coordinate lines, make new tracks and waypoints, hide different things, etc.

Why not talk about it at GW7? See who's interested and get a group together. There's going to be a Wherigo workshop, so interested people from the forum will probably be hanging around. *Points to Newbie hat* What is GW7? --Susan

Well, IIRC it is possible to have them emailed to you. Since most mobile service providers offer an email -> SMS gateway for devices that don't support email, you should be able to just set your email address to the gateway for your phone. --Susan

Cocoa is even less portable than .net! (Many .net apps can be moved to mono, an open-source friendly third cousin twice removed of .net, which can run on Mac OSX, Linux, and BSD, with little effort.) I'd love to get together with interested individuals and put together a portable builder/player so that those of us who don't do M$ products can participate in building Werigo cartridges... I'm just not sure I have the time to spearhead it. I would happily have my company provide hosting for such an effort, and contribute to testing/documenting/bugfixing/issue triage as my schedule allows. --Susan

Hmm... no category for LF (he's 6)... --Susan

It might help if you tell us more about *your* needs. For example, do you want mapping, or don't you care? Do you want road routing as well as topographic maps, or just offroad use, or will you use your GPSr only in areas near streets? Do you wish to download cache data directly to the unit, or are you happy entering coordinates from a paper list? Who will be using the GPSr? Will it be used for anything other than geocaching? What qualities are most important to you: screen size, durability, in-built FRS radio, battery life, ease of use, map affordability, touch screen, lack of touch screen, amount of maps stored, etc? Different GPSrs may be good for different people. For example, I had it narrowed down to four different GPSrs that each appealed to me for different reasons. The Delorme PN-40 seemed to have the most, least expensive maps. The Garmin 60csx seemed to do the best tracking for things like marking the horse and dirtbike trails here that aren't on any maps. The Oregon seemed to be built for Geocaching, but the touch screen was a deal killer for me. In the end, I chose the Colorado because my primary concern is child-friendliness, as my caching partner is my 6yo son, and it seemed like it would be the easiest for him to use, and most fun for him with things like paperless geocaching and the werigo player. If I didn't have a kid, I'd probably have gotten either the 60csx or the Delorme. So, individual needs can make a huge difference. Also, "what is the best GPSr" will probably just get people all heated defending their favorites, while, "what GPSr under <budget> dollars has <features>?" will get you less emotional, more reasoned responses. --Susan

I finally ordered a gpsr for my 6yo and I; it should arrive soon. As I get ready to start geocaching with LF, I'm trying to decide whether to make him an account and log our finds for both of us, or to just log on my account and consider it a family log. Points in favor of one log: Much less work for me. I'm not sure if LF will be able to log any member-only finds, because I intend to make only mine a paid account. Possibly less frustrating for LF -- he doesn't yet have the attention span to log many caches if we have a big weekend or something. Points in favor of dual logs: Good writing practice for LF If we're still caching as LF gets older, I'm sure he'll want his own account, and hate to look like a newbie when he's been caching for years. Thoughts? --Susan

I got lots of advice from people about their favorite GPSrs, but in the end it came down not to which one was better overall (as there are many good units out there) but what fit our particular needs best. I went back and forth for weeks on which GPSr to buy, and just ordered a Garmin Colorado tonight. There were 3 or 4 units in a tight running, but in the end the deciding factor was kid-friendliness. The combination of the simple interface, paperless caching, and Wherigo player made it seem like the best choice for geocaching with my kindergartener. Here's hoping it works out for us as well as expected! --Susan

It's the owner's cache, so I don't complain. I also won't be logging any caches that require a photo of our faces. I will happily take a pic of my GPS at the location. I have also thought of making a sort of proxy item to be in photos if it ever comes up -- a little stuffed creature or somesuch that goes where we go. --Susan

I don't know that much about marine GPSr's, but having spent an incredibly small amount of time on a friend's sailboat, I'd like to point out how useful it would be for the GPSr to float. Nothing's worse than losing a pricey toy to the sea because it sinks before you can figure out where it fell, let alone go after it. --Susan

Three of them have been to our home today -- apparently they weren't very well-trained on the GPSrs and got a bit lost. I didn't get a close enough look to see what kind they were using. --Susan