Bhanacharaid

Furious doesn't begin to describe how I feel today! I've just discovered that geocoins of mine that disappeared years ago have been 'discovered' because they - or their tracking numbers - were posted on Facebook!!! Cheats! Thieves! How very dare they!!! The penny just dropped today: I was curious about a Help for Heroes geocoin that went missing in 2010. Suddenly, I've had a couple of 'discovers'. One was a few months ago, but there's been 2 or 3 in recent weeks. I contacted one logger out of curiosity and asked him where he saw it and got a one word reply: FACEBOOK. I've spent hours checking forums etc and found this one most helpful. I'm an old school cacher - been doing it since 2009, don't do a huge amount now (arthritis and a bad fall while caching on my own have limited me at different times and robbed me of some courage). In that time I've released a LOT of trackables - and I think they've all gone now. I need to check them all - but after the revelation about the H4H coin, I checked another that had just resurfaced and realised that it too had just been 'discovered'... AND IN ALL THAT TIME - I'VE NEVER STOLEN A TRACKABLE. Get a grip out there - they don't cost much. buy your own. So I've followed the advice on these pages, locked those trackables and deleted the discoverers. I've also added a rant to the trackables' pages. I knew nothing of this swapping and trading that goes on, so this morning has been an eye-opener. I'm sure that all of you trade ethically - but if you come across a stolen trackable - please tell the original owner and encourage the current holder to either return it to them or send it back on it's way.

I bought my first Garmin etrex Venture HC in August 2009. That failed and was changed on 1st October 2009. That failed and was exchanged in January 2010. That one - my 3rd!!! has just failed. aaaaargh. They have all failed in exactly the same way: I switch it on, the opening and welcome screen come on - then fade out and the unit switches off. I tried back in January to get someone - my local dealer in Eastbourne, Sussex, or Garmin's 'help' line to explain to me why this was happening. They had no explanation. One of those things. Very odd. Never happened to anyone else. Each unit has been in shop-perfect condition, not a scratch, not a fall, not a mark on any of them. I use it for caching in woodlands, towns and parks: the tamest of GPS users. I'm about to insist they let me exchange it for a etrex Vista as this seems as uncomplicated as the Venure. Since February I have also used an iphone so it's the Garmin's cache marking properties for new caches that I really want. Can anyone explain why this has happened? Has it happened to anyone else? Could it be because I used rechargeable batteries? Put it close to the radio in my car when out caching? Have a border collie? Am a Scot? Drive a Citroen? Like banana milkshake??? As you can see, I'm open to suggestions?