kbootb

If I understand it correctly, and piecing together from another thread, Cushag has got the GPX file into the PDA so that GXPsonar can read it, but wants to get them displayed in memory map. I'm interested too as Iam thinking of getting MM and want to know if it is simple to get waypoints in.

I like your attitude, quite refreshing

Got mine in 2 mins when the mail software next scanned the inbox. I had plans to create a similar site, but never seem to get the time. Looks like the start of a good site. My idea was to include downloadable waypoints for all the significant points on the route so that they could have the entire route in the GPSr or pumped into Memory map or similar. No idea how to do that, just one of the many stumbling blocks that got between my idea and reality.

The whole thing was bizzare last night, I was getting someone elses map and profile. When I looked for a cache it was giving me a list that started 50 miles from the one I wanted.

But Fugawi should work Fugawi - about a quarter of UK on a CD Or Same product but with half the UK in each package Larger Fugawi coverage Never used it, and you will need to check which versions of the Palm it works on, but it does both Pocket PC and Palm OS

Just had notice that 11th and 12th September is Heritage Open Weekend E-mail says Discover the intriguing history of Rye House Gatehouse for free on Heritage Open Weekend, the 11th and 12th September, click http://www.leevalleypark.com/fe_news/news_....asp?newsid=109 for more details. There is a cache nearby GCgj93 I've not got to this one yet, can't work out if this is a good opportuinity to combine the two, or a warning not to go caching there on that date as it will be full of 'muggles'. Any other cache/heritage open day pairs that people are aware of?

Yes, make that small payment, worth every penny IMHO. You get pocket queries. I.e. the ability to set up a number of searches that you can define and save on line, run at anytime and view the results on screen or have e-mailed to you on a regular basis. As you say, you can then refine the filter and use cachemate to carry around the cache pages. Also upload the waypoints to GPSr.

I had the same with the one I found. O and 0 confused. I seem to remember it was all letters except for the pne digit which was a 0.

Really good question, I tried matching up the logs for cleat hill with the piccies. They appear to be in order with oldest at bottom of page. i.e. yours is second on the roll. Logs------------------------------------Photo MarcB----------------------------------Yours The Bennet Family-------------------23 (mystery person) Westonwanderers---------------------- 22 ChrisandMaryb--------------------------21 Bess's Friends---------------------------20 The Wingmaster Crew------------------19 Cachemonkeez--------------------------18 Lathama----------------------------------17 --------------------------------------------16 Lathama As you can see, there are more photos than logs. So I'm not saying that 22=westonwanderers etc, but someone has clicked but not logged. Don't know why I did that, don't even know where the cache is, but I really like looking at the results of a cache cam. What a varied bunch we are.

That's an average of 1.7 caches a day according to their GCUK profile! Well done indeed

It's worse in the evening UK time.

Just a straw poll, I know it's not a representative sample of all cachers, but; Did you buy your GPSr to start geocaching? If so, do you use it for other purposes. How many of you used a GPSr for other purposes before getting into caching, and do you still use it for both purposes. Just to reassure you all, I was musing on writing an article for 'The Magazine' about what motivated me to get a GPS and get into caching and wondered about other people's starting points.

If it's the cache details you want to carry around on the PDA... This is my method. I subscribe to be a premium member as this gives me pocket queries. The search then gets sent to me in GPX format. Upload this to GSAK (free software). Refine the search in GSAK and export the results again a GPX format. Copy this to the memory card of my Pocket PC PDA (you might be using palm PDA so the next bit might vary) I use GPXsonar on the PDA (I gather many people use cachemate on the Palm) to read the details. Sounds fussy when written out, but really simple once you have done it a few times. I actually carry around a number of different searches from GSAK on the memory card for the various areas I am likely to be in. Choosing to load a small database covering the area I want is a lot faster than loading one large one.

Or could it be that it has been raining so hard that just opening the box and leaving it open while signing the log has let the rain in?

I frequently read of the results of people getting permission to place caches on council, wildlife trust or whatever. Has anyone kept a list of these agreements. It would be a great help when approaching a new body to be able to produce a list and say, 'these guys have already agreed'. Also a list of contact details of the person at the council etc that agreed so our more nervous officers can contact a similar person and discuss the points he is concerned about. I get the feeling that our council cannot have an original thought. Every thing you ask for they have to find another council that has done it first. (I speak as an insider)

I've not been disappointed by any real cache I've found. Each time they have either led me to a place that I really should have known about locally but didn't told me more about a place I had been to before amazed me that they could hide something in such a well used area. I'm not over keen on the virtual caches, but if I have to spend a day in London on a conference I usually try and tick one off, just to try and keep the 'ring of confidence' as far from the door as possible. Having said all that, most of the caches around here have been the ammo box under a fallen tree type, so you get fairly good at spotting the probable location. Perhaps when I have found a greater variety I will change my mind. But I'm just grateful to the people that have gone out of their way to create one.

Discovered it on www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk while I was looking for a satnav for PDA for the car. This geocaching section kept coming up and I just had to read it. I tried my first find using a PDA and a shareware program called GPSdash. At that time it did not have distance to go on the compass rose page so it was jsut about impossible. So back to the website for an Etrex.

Excellent. Now, how do we get it into the Olympics?

My guess for the EGGNOG sweepstake is 25/12/04. Don't know why, but the wife insists on buying the stuff, having one drink on the day and then leaving it in the cupboard to be thrown away in July.

Yes, this is 2 mins up the road from us outside our church. Will pop out tomorrow and take the picture as it is dark now Public thanks to the aRRKS. True to their word, photos arrived and have been logged. This gets us to the minor milestone of 25. Was feeling quite chuffed until I looked at their stats!

Anybody up around N53 06.82x?

I found a Canadian Geocoin. It also had a conventional TB tag. Logged TB as normal and Geocoin on Candian site and no icon appeared but did get credit for the TB as you would expect. It does appear that only American Geocoins are linked to GC.com database. I found Jeep Travel Bug and logged this in the usual way and a jeep icon appeared in my stats page. If you look at the icon on the full cache page (while the jeep is still there)GC6455 it comes up as a standard TB icon However, go to main GC home page, use advanced search and search by keyword 'Barrel Maker' and you will get a list of caches. This will have a jeep icon. (Of course this will only work until soemone finds the Jeep TB, so hurry while stocks last )

Just to be clear.... in case it looks like I'm taking issue or getting the 'ump... I'm not, but just in case anyone is interested, this link is to garmin's eTrex comparison charts and makes it clear which of these has compass, mapping etc etc Garmin comparison chart. I remember it took me a while to track it down when I was trying to work out which model I wanted. Not an obvious route from the front page.

I thought I had met a fellow cacher yesterday. I had some travel bugs to drop off, but no time due to pressing DIY duties. So I just visited a local cache. So I had not evidence on me... no GPSr... no PDA...No maps. Just a TB in my pocket. When I arrived there was a group of people clearly meeting up to start a bit of maintenance in the nature reserve, they had saws, shovels etc. As I approached one of them said 'Are you looking for us?' 'No, just coincidence' 'Are you a geocacher??' How he had quickly come to that conclusion I have no idea... must be a fellow cacher... and there are two caches hidden in this patch... but the suspision in his voice didn't sound like he was too keen to see me. 'err yes... is that a problem'. 'No, not at all' he said, showing me his badge, he was the warden of the reserve. 'I met one a few months back and he showed me the cache.' He then proceded to give a good explanation of caching to the rest of the group. Most of them had read about it in Trail magazine or some other similar publication. They couldn't see the point as they were under the illusion that GPS units were so accurate that it would lead you right to the box. So I explaned that even in the best conditions a circle with a 30 foot radius can be quite a challenge. In this woodland at this time of year more like a 100 foot radius. They all seemed quite positive and reasurred that we were generally outdoorsy, nature loving, anti-litter types, hated the damage done to the woodlands by paintballers etc. In fact a couple were going to track down the website and look into it further. The warden was quite happy and makes sure that the cache is always stocked with 'join the wildlife trust' leaflets. But, he has still met more cachers than I have!

My unit is 4 months old. Batteries fit well. The problem is worst with rechargables. Rechargables always give less than the 'expected' 1.5 volts, this is normal. They also get hot when used for about an hour continuously and I am seeing the voltage drop even further then. So I guess it just gets too low and dies. Let it rest for a few minutes and it is fine again for about 30 mins. The problem was even worse when I was in south of France in about 40 deg heat! But each time it went off I was grateful for the rest. Not all Etrex have a compass. They all have a pointer that acts like a compass display. But only a few models have a flux gate compass that actually uses the magnetic field. This is useful if you have to navigate without gps reception, or stand still and get a bearing on a waypoint. You can tell if you have a model with a compass. If you change batteries it will tell you the compass needs to be re-calibrated. Simple job, switch to calibrate page and turn the unit through 720 degs holding it flat. Not an essential for GC but could be useful. It does eat into the battery life of the unit though.