Curioddity

GeoBeagle gets my seal of approval too. I should qualify that, though: I don't intend to do any serious caching with my Sprint Hero. I have an Oregon 400t and a nuvi 500 for that and I don't plan on replacing either one with my phone. But I wanted to be able to react to new cache notifications a lot quicker and GeoBeagle lets me do that in spades. I have my geocaching.com notifications set up to go to the Gmail account I have linked to my phone. That mail gets pushed so I receive the notifications just seconds after they're sent. When my phone makes that "new cache" noise I can be viewing the cache page in two clicks and have a GPS lock on GZ in just two more. Then I can simply follow the compass arrow to the cache. Now if you want to download PQs and load them into your phone then CacheMate might be a better option because it has more powerful tools for dealing with large numbers of caches, but I don't think it will let you retrieve cache info in real time like GeoBeagle does. GeoBeagle also lets you load PQs into your phone but you have to jump through a couple more hoops and you don't have all the sort and filter capabilities that CacheMate offers. I guess the bottom line is if you plan on using your Droid as your primary caching device then you may want to go with CacheMate. But if you will be using your phone as a tool to suppliment a dedicated GPSr then GeoBeagle is the way to go. One more thing: GeoBeagle is freeware but CacheMate is going to cost you around 10 bux. Pete

Yeah, that's the problem with living in a cache-saturated area. I found #1000 only 4 months and 5 days after I found #1 and I didn't really feel like I accomplished anything special. I sure had a lot of fun doing it, though, and I guess that's really what it's all about, isn't it? Pete

More time. Pete

Well I'm at 1126 now and here's how I did it: I started out with more DNFs than finds. At that time I didn't even know enough to log them. At about 20 caches I went to one of the local geocacher gatherings listed in the weekly geocaching.com newsletter and made arrangements to go caching with some of the experienced cachers. I was still so new that I didn't know I could log an event either. Anyway, the first lesson I learned from the first experienced cacher I went out with was to put the GPSr away once I was reasonably confident that I was near GZ and use my eyes, hands, and imagination (senses) to search for the cache and from that point on, my find to DNF ratio began to improve dramatically. And then it was just a matter of learning about the devious minds of geocachers. Different styles of hides became a lot easier to find as I found the first one and became familiar with the style. I even began to see patterns in the habits of individual cachers like what kind of cache container they favored and how accurate their coordinates are. Before long I was finding most of the caches I searched for and was able to go back and easily find most of the DNFs from before. And somewhere along the way I began thinking like a geocacher. I do the bulk of my caching on a bicycle and these days it's not at all uncommon for me to know where I'll find the cache before the wheels stop turning. In fact, it's too easy as often as not. But like all new activities, this took some time. I didn't really start to get it until I hit the 100+ mark and I didn't start really thinking like a cacher until I'd found several hundred. Time-wise I've actually been on a fast-track, but that's mostly because I live in a cache-saturated area. The bottom line is you can't expect to be good at caching right away, but what kind of activity can you be good at right away? Geocaching is a hobby which benefits from a certain amount of familiarity and familiarity takes time to acquire. The biggest trick is don't get discouraged. Stick with it and the familiarity will come and before long you'll be one of the experienced cachers too. Of all the things I covered in my post, I think the two most important are: Sign up for the Geocaching.com newsletter and attend some local caching events if you can. They're a great place to meet other cachers and find a mentor or two who can help you learn how to search. Put the GPSr away when you get to GZ. It can't find the cache for you. It can only lead you to where you need to start searching and it becomes a distraction after that. Good luck and may you find your geosense quickly. Pete

Yup, some people consider a DNF as some kind of personal demerit on their record or something. In many other cases it's just plain ol' sloth. Either way it's an unfortunate practice, but there's not much that can be done about it. Pete

geocaching.com was down for awhile yesterday while they updated the server software. Perhaps this problem you guys are having is a result of that. When I experience problems with any Groundspeak services I usually check here: http://twitter.com/GoGeocaching. It's the official twitter page for Groundspeak and the boyos behind the scenes keep it up to date. Pete

Call up your My Pocket Queries list and check the Last Generated field. If they've run you can probably blame your own ISP. Pete

Good grief. The very first phone with an Android OS debuted only 13 months ago and Android phones are just beginning to grab significant market share. But be patient my friends. Android's principal backer is Google and Google Maps plays a big role in the geocaching.com infrastructure, so I can't imagine that Android will be left out in the cold for long. Pete

I beg your pardon? We have 4 seasons here in Southern California too! They might be known as Riot, Drought, Fire, and Mud Slide in this neck of the asphalt jungle, but that's beside the point. Pete

That's how it's supposed to be but not how it is. I only have one hide so far and it only has a few finds and one DNF. Last weekend I went to two events which were also attended by many of the local active cachers and it became apparent why so few of them had log entrys for my cache: Almost all of them did look for it but didn't find it, and none of them posted DNFs. I know this now because they all asked me for additional hints. I had no idea that my cache was so hard to find. I thought I had all but spoiled it in my hint, but apparently their minds don't work the same way mine does (which probably isn't such a bad thing). Anyway, now my plan is to adjust the difficulty rating and maybe tweak the hint a little, but I could and would have done that long ago if people had been logging their DNFs. 'Nuff outta me. Pete

Discovery! I've lived right here in Costa Mesa for the last 8 years and I learned more about it and the surrounding county in the 5 months I've been geocaching than I did in the entire 7-1/2 years leading up to it. That's not why I started, but it's one of the main reasons I remain as enthusiastic about geocaching as I've ever been. Pete

My Oregon does that once in awhile. I'm convinced that the software in the device gets stuck in some kind of loop and everything listed below seems to clear the problem equally well: Stopping and re-starting navigation to the cache. Switching to another cache and back again. Calibrating the compass. Cycling the unit off and on. Changing batteries. Pete

You need to understand that NO GPSr has ever found a cache, and that applies to the most accurate ones too. Your GPSr can only lead you to where you need to start searching (called GZ or Ground Zero) and once you arrive at GZ, your GPSr will only distract you from the search. Pete

I'd like to point out something from the other side of the coin: When I was fairly new to caching I'd usually not even bother to look for a cache if the last log entry (or several) were DNFs. I just assumed that they were either gone or too tough for me. But then I started occasionally caching with a fellow who took extra pleasure in finding caches with lots of DNFs and even disabled and archived caches and some of his enthusiasm for finding them rubbed off on me. Since then I've never ignored a cache simply because it has recent DNFs in the log, and I find quite a few of them. Not all, but quite a few, and I have to confess to getting a little more pleasure out of finding them versus the caches everyone can find. Pete

I'm not sure it's something which can be 'splained. But if you keep caching, you'll understand soon enough. Pete

I typically just make sure there's a current PQ for the area I'll be caching in loaded into my Oregon and hit the road. If I'm going on a multi-cache run with more than just a few caches involved, I'll usually print an overview map which shows the big picture. Pete

I have the 400t and I cache with a friend who has a 300 and a 550, so I've actually had hands-on experience with all three. My impression of the 550 is it's a little more sluggish and it's a much bigger PITA to calibrate the compass. My friend apparently agrees because he typically uses the 300 and the 550 is his backup. Pete

Try Yahoo! Groups (http://groups.yahoo.com/). Type "geocaching" in the search box and click "Search" and you'll end up with a huge list of forums. Pete

This isn't exactly geocaching related, but it's very cool nonetheless: http://gizmodo.com/5384893/gps-puzzle-box-...ecific-location Pete

Yeah, that's just what we need. NOT! Pete

GOOP. Marine GOOP is best for exterior use because it has UV inhibitors in it but All Purpose GOOP works fine too. Try it before you dismiss it. The stuff is genuinely amazing. Pete

Hell, I figure it will be a cacher who finally finds Jimmy Hoffa, and I don't mean in some dumb TV show. Pete

After reading this thread and other threads like it, I'm convinced that the newer someone is to geocaching, the more likely they are to think the iPhone is a good primary geocaching tool. And that's OK! What matters is you're geocaching and apparently enjoying it, and as far as I'm concerned, that's a lot more important than what you're caching with. But you iPhone users need to understand something: You're going to play hell convincing most seasoned cachers that an iPhone is even in the same league with a decent dedicated GPS unit. The iPhone may have a dedicated unit beat when it comes to convenience, but convenience typically begins to take a back seat to performance once a cacher becomes serious about the game. Pete

For all practical purposes, there is no real difference between using NiMH and NiCd cells in electronic devices. They're both 1.2V cells with similar discharge curves. The only real difference 'tween the two is in the charging algorithm when they're charged with a delta-peak (automatic) charger. That, and NiMH cells tend to have a higher energy density. Volts are volts, and the device doesn't know or care whether they're coming from alkaline, lithium, or rechargable NiMH cells. A pair of new alkaline or lithium cells puts out 3V and a pair of fully-charged NiMH cells puts out 2.4V. NiMH cells are considered discharged at 1V so I'd guess that the shutdown voltage for the device is going to be right around 2V, regardless of what cell-type has been selected. I can't back this up with documentation, but I'll bet that the battery type setting only affects the calibration of the battery gauge and the battery low warning, but the actual shutdown voltage is probably the same for all three cell types. That's how most battery-powered consumer electronics devices are designed. But regardless, the device is going to shut itself off before the supply voltage drops below a point which can do any harm, and it won't matter what cell type you're using. Pete

I didn't do anything special for my 50th, but I found my first Multi cache for my 100th. I also did a Mystery cache which required collecting clues from a series of other caches for my 1000th. If you haven't found any Multi or Mystery caches yet, you could try one of them. That, or pick a particularly challenging or historical cache and go find it. Pete