Cardinal Red

I think the Red Wrench should be automatically removed by the system after 6 months. If the CO hasn't done anything about the Wrench in 6 months, they are NOT going to. If the cache still has a problem that should be noted, someone will put the Wrench back on the page again. As it is now, the Wrench is a meaningless joke. Of course, have no fear this will ever happen. Anything I think is a good idea is toxic to Groundspeak, and vice versa. Of course my favorite Wrench story is the Cache Owner who couldn't be bothered to maintain their cache after it got disabled by the Reviewer (with public input by me). But 5 months AFTER archival, the Wrench bothered them, and then it got removed. They didn't do anything at the old location (I checked), they just removed the Wrench.

You must not have noticed that they are looking for British Grid conversion. FizzyCalc is not going to be any help with BG. I wonder how many U.K. cachers would try/use FizzyCalc if that conversion was added by Fizzy? Interesting you should bring that up -- I just wrote an MGRS converter and was wondering about adding it to FizzyCalc. British Grid is not much more complicated than that. FizzyCalc was initially a very valuable Geocaching tool for me. I soon saw value well beyond Geocaching. With the addition of several new features over time, it has become more of an all purpose go to tool. I make as many fellow Geocachers as possible aware of it. I have taken a laptop to several event dinners to give personal demonstrations. Every new additional feature makes it more powerful for someone. Certainly the addition of BG would give it more international appeal. There is still one more feature I had suggested some time back that has not yet been realized. I would hope enough time has passed for a reminder to consider its worth again. It is a data entry point/box giving the ability to MANUALLY ENTER AN OPTIONAL MAGNETIC DECLINATION for a Projection. In all seriousness (not an "Office Space" joke), that would be great.

You must not have noticed that they are looking for British Grid conversion. FizzyCalc is not going to be any help with BG. I wonder how many U.K. cachers would try/use FizzyCalc if that conversion was added by Fizzy? There was a time when Groundspeak gave you the option to view cache coordinates in a few other Formats. They no longer do even that. They never did offer an actual coordinate converter, and I doubt they ever will.

You are most certainly looking for a very expensive Professional Grade work tool. Not the Consumer Grade "toys" we use for Geocaching. I think you have a better shot of reaching out to a Professional Surveyor that might use this type of tool at the Benchmarking Forum link below. Benchmarking Forum Also research an AutoCad product designed to use the data that will then be acquired (also going to be expensive, most likely comes with a steep learning curve as well). That product is not going to be Vanilla AutoCad. Since money is no object, hire a Civil Engineer type with the necessary software experience. There might me some information of interest to you at the AUGI Civil Engineering Forum link below. I would say you have not been given an easy task. Good Luck. AUGI Civil Engineering Forum

Notice the company name change - Brand 44 is now b4ADVENTURE I had a Geomate Jr once. I considered it next to worthless. Someone came to the Forum wanting to trade an old Garmin unit for one. I warned them it would be a bad deal for them. They wanted to trade anyway. GOOD RIDDANCE GEOMATE !!! Never again.

About those "differences". It would be a problem if you try to shoehorn DDMM.mmm cordinates MANUALLY into a device set for DD.ddddd or DDMMSS.s But later switching of a device (with already CORRECTLY entered coordinates) to a different Format is not a problem at all. Unless you try to verbally pass on that differently Formatted data in the field to a recipient that doesn't realize their device does not currently match yours. Then you would have a mismatch and a position error. All devices save the coordinates the same way. It it just the way that those devices DISPLAY the information to us that makes them change how they look as we change Formats on the device. After you find your next cache, walk away and change your device Format setting. Then have your device navigate you back to the different LOOKING coordinates. You will be taken RIGHT BACK TO THE CACHE. Always make sure that your data Format matches your device format when presenting coordinates to it. Does any of that help?

When you say "looked at", do you mean on the Groundspeak Cache Page, or a device you have loaded caches on to? You were correctly informed that all Cache Pages are published in the Degree, Minute, Decimal Minute Format. But your device can be set to a different Format if you desire. Just realizing there can be differences is a big step for many.

Does that work for a Non-Premium Member? Didn't that go away?

I don't care. Not my problem. Its the owner's TB, not mine. That is exactly what I am saying. It's not my job as a cache owner to keep track of other peoples' property that was put into my cache without my consent. I really wish that it weren't that way; I wish that the geocaching community could work together to make trackables a fun part of the game, but unfortunately there are a lot of entitled TB owners that think everybody else should drop everything for their TB. Those people have pretty much ruined it for the rest of us. I don't understand the apparent hostility. Where's the harm or cost to you? "Without your consent"? TB's are an official part of the game, and if you place caches large enough to hold them - I think that pretty much constitutes 'consent'. You complain about entitled TBO's who think that everybody should drop everything for their TB, and I don't see where you've gotten that, either. The post of mine that you quoted pretty much says that I'd help out a TBO if I can, but when I get around to it, not on a 'drop everything' basis. So, don't play the TB game if you don't want to, but please don't refer to me with adjectives such as 'entitled' for wanting to. By the way, are you the 'fizzy' that wrote 'FizzyCalc'? Love it, thanks. I use it a lot, even for other pursuits. Fizzy and I are of a like mind on this issue, but I can only speak for myself. I am a Geocacher. I am a Geocache owner. What I am NOT is a trackable babysitter. I don't care anything about tracables, except to possibly on occasion help out a fellow Geocacher on my own terms on my schedule. As far as consent goes - I DO NOT HIDE MICRO'S. That does not imply anything other than I am not a fan of Micro's. Do not in any way associate the word consent with my belief that you should not need a microscope to find a Geocache. There are aspects of the game that I think many fellow Geocachers get wrong. I have had to come to the conclusion that there really isn't much I can do about it. A little bit of influence from time to time at best. I think on this issue you will have to come to the same conclusion. And the way I read it, Fizzy did not specifically address YOU as entitled. Unless you have demanded immediate action from a cache owner to fix your trackable problem, he was not pointing the finger directly at you. On the other hand, if the shoe fits ..... As for you final question. Yes, Fizzy is the author of FizzyCalc. A very handy tool for many different applications. One of the most recent features was added when I asked him about a better all purpose solution, even outside of FizzyCalc. In response, he incorporated it into FizzyCalc in practically no time. Thanks Fizzy. I recommend it to everyone.

In the nicest possible way, I disagree. My interpretation of the Official Guidelines says that my job as a CO is to maintain all aspects of my caches. That includes assuring the physical integrity of the container and the hide, cleaning out junk when I visit, making sure the contents are appropriate (I get to decide) and marking Travel Bugs as missing if they're supposed to be there, but aren't. File under "How I play". In the strongest possible way, I disagree. Trackables are not my game, not my responsibility, not my problem. And if Groundspeak ever makes them my responsibility, all my hides will be archived immediately. But, a friendly personal request for assistance (at my convenience) might get a warmer reception. How I Play.

As a Premium Member you could look into Pocket Queries. Here is a link to a Groundspeak tutorial. I can fairly quickly load 5000 caches to my Garmin that way. Newer units can hold even more. There is a bit of an extra learning curve beyond the first 1000 caches. Lots of cachers here can help you out if you get stuck. Creating Your First Pocket Query

This is NOT a bug. The map is working fine (Firefox). A bug is a problem for all, or at least many. A problem that ONLY you are experiencing is frustrating, but you are going to have to find your own solution. What device are you using to mark your cache hide? I have complete confidence in my GPS unit, and my ability to operate it properly. Lack of a map preview would not be an issue for me. Did you look at the list of valid coordinate format entries on that page? Do all of them make sense to you? Try using some of these coordinate examples. And also try using your own numbers in place of the example numbers. Coordinate Formats Coordinates can be entered in any of the formats below (degree, minute and second symbols are optional): N 39 03.857 W 145 12.263 N 26 42.773 E 174 32.406 N 39° 03' 51.420" W 145° 12' 15.780" 39.064280, -145.204380 S 48.8690° E 003.8225°

Suppose the Cell Phone is indicating Decimal Degrees. Then the OP tries to enter them as DDMM.mmm Without resolving that possible issue it can be checked on the spot 100 times. The OP could navigate to GZ dozens of times with that Cell Phone. Who knows what numbers are in play with the Google Earth check. Bottom line, it still won't work if it gets published with a mix of Formats in the process. It would appear that you are giving advice to a newbie. You can't take anything for granted.

It is wise to read the listing guidelines BEFORE you develop a hide of any type. It seems you read some of them AFTERWARD. While it is understandable that you would not focus on Earthcache guidelines when planning a Traditional Cache, you were planning to hide an Earthcache - and acknowledged that you were familiar with the guidelines. Now you are suggesting Groundspeak should change the guidelines that you only became aware of after the fact. The problem is, that is not actually a guideline enforced by Groundspeak. You and Groundspeak enter into an Earthcache partnership with the Geological Society of America. Do you see now why the only focus of Earthcaches is Geology? So no matter what Wikipedia has to say about Earth Science, I don't think they have any interest in expanding that focus. And Groundspeak can't help you. EarthCaches™ - Groundspeak partners with the Geological Society of America to administer this educational cache type in which cachers visit a unique and specific geoscience feature. Additional guidelines and rules are listed at EarthCache.org. For additional guidance about EarthCache development, see our Knowledge Book articles.

It is quite possible you are looking at a boundary line description, and trying to figure out where some corner markers are. I have seen many examples where someone has a GPS and a fundamental understanding of coordinates, and are convinced these are a type of coordinate they do not understand. These ARE NOT COORDINATES ! ! ! They are direction and magnitude data. You have to know the existing location of at least one corner marker (preferably two), and the remainder can be determined reasonably well with complete and accurate data. You want some terminology to help you research and understand the data - here is one. Quadrant bearing: In this method the compass dial is divided into four quadrants, namely NE, SE, SW, and NW. North and south are at 0 degrees, and depending on the quadrant, angles (up to 90 degrees) are measured away from north or south (whichever is nearer) towards East and West directions. For example since Northeast (NE) is 45 degrees towards east of North, using quadrant notation it would be N45°E (read North-45 degrees-East). Similarly NNW is equal to N22.5°W. ESE is S67.5°E.

You definitely MUST check a day of the week if you want to generate downloadable results. But where did you get the idea that would require you to wait till tomorrow? Every day of the week is selectable. Pick whatever day it is at the moment in Seattle. The page even tells you the current server day of the week in Seattle. Use that day. When you get zero results, that is an indication that you have selected conflicting criteria. Like selecting IS ENABLED and IS DISABLED. A cache will be one or the other, but NEVER both. So it would indicate zero results. Those are the times NOT SELECTING A DAY OF THE WEEK MAKES SENSE. For testing purposes while you figure out what you did wrong, or just to view data. You can't download these no day checked tests, but they don't count against your 10 per day PQ daily limit. When you have a PQ test working the way you want, check the day of the week and generate a downloadable PQ. And unless there is a server issue (it happens), it will be available within minutes at most. Practically immediately.

I often wonder if users asking for a new feature have any clue about the actual success rate of seeing that type of request implemented. My perception is that is about equal to a snowballs chances in a hot climate, but nothing ventured nothing gained. What we usually get are workaround "solutions" that usually fall short of impressing the requester, but most of the time that is all you are ever going to get. End of commentary. What really struck me was the assertion that you are limited to one PQ per day. Just to satisfy my curiosity, could you expand on that statement. I have access to ten PQ's per day and most of the time don't even use one.

As I suspected and as depicted in the Release Note, notification after 30 minutes of inactivity is the default setting. As a user that will NEVER embrace / use the Message Center (unless Groundspeak actually removes email support), I am not sure if there is any difference between either of those choices for me. But I did change it just in case.

It has been speculated that this could be tied to Duplicate Logs, to Event Logs, to Lab Cache Logs. My Favorite Count is off by 5. I personally would not care if it was off by 50 or even by 500. All I can say is, I DO NOT have any Duplicate Logs. I DO NOT log Events. I DO NOT log Lab Caches. The code to track this is just not very well written. Accept that it is only hobby code and not your Bank Statement.

I bet you could find one or two of my logs where I forgot to date the log. You might even find one or two with the wrong date. You can find quite a few more where the date was purposely omitted because the log was TINY. And all bets are off if one person other than me signed for a group. Other than that, including the correct date is my logging standard. Not because I care what anybody else thinks about it today. That is how it was done many years ago (more than ten) when I started caching. I guess that is why we still do it that way. And I have revisited many old hides with geo-friends. If the log is still original it is always fun for the friend to look for that date.

Your English is perfect, so I expect there will be many readers confused by the letter "O" component of your coordinate example. An English speaker will expect to see (N)orth and (E)ast instead of (N)ord and (O)st. As had been mentioned, I would expect you to be able to select the desired Coordinate Format on your GPS enabled device. I have noticed some Groundspeak web page would allowed you to select a different Coordinate Format for entering your coordinates, and then do the Geocaching Format conversion for you. It has been a while since I have hidden a new cache, so just look for it and see if it is there. Otherwise, what you are asking for is a coordinate conversion. There are many conversion tools available, either online or downloadable to a computer. But the math is very easy to do on a calculator, and there is a close association with the math associated with time conversion as well. If your example number had been 5 Degrees 20 Minutes 15 Seconds (5° 20' 15") or 5 Hours 20 Minutes 15 Seconds (5 Hours 20' 15"), the conversion would be 5° 20.25' or 5 Hours 20.25'. That is just dividing the 15 seconds by 60 to convert them to .25 minutes, and then adding it on to the 20 Minutes. There is another coordinate format you might see at some point named Decimal Degrees. Our new calculated result of 5° 20.25' would convert to 5.33750° in Decimal Degrees. Again, that is dividing 20.25 by 60 to convert the 20.25 Minutes to .33750 Degrees, and then adding it to the 5 Degrees. Multiplying by 60 can do the conversions in the opposite direction. I hope I explained this clearly enough to be helpful. Online coordinate converters are great, but I think it is a good idea to understand what is happening. That way if for some reason you get a bad result, you should recognize there is a problem and try it again. Good Luck with your new cache hide.

Interesting story about someone I had never heard of. The original post mentions Ohio and Canada, it turns out he was originally one of ours. A Pennsylvanian. I found the same information as everyone else, and nowhere are coordinates mentioned. But I think I did find the actual site much of that information seems to have been "borrowed" from without any attribution. United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada

Helps? Its the only way I cache. GPS units have been worth every penny, but many newer cachers go the cell phone only route. Each device type has its strengths, and some cachers do make use of both. The eTrex 20 is a fine choice if you decide you want to try it the GPS way. Just be aware it doesn't come out of the box with the good maps pictured on the ads.

I saw this post two days ago, and watched the suggestions you were getting. Nothing has helped so far, and you seem about ready to give up on them. I had immediately thought back quite a few years when I experienced a Garmin shut down problem. They might not be in any way related. But who knows? What software version are you running? Is it 4.20 (the last one there will ever be) ?? Is the GPS starting up and everything seems OK till you get an actual WAAS enhanced (3D) coordinate lock? But soon after that it just shuts down? When that happened to me it was a WAAS problem. As I recall, initially there was only one WAAS bird in the sky. That was all the GPS software could handle. When another WAAS bird was launched into space, after the GPS got a lock on the first WAAS bird, the presence of another WAAS bird would crash (and shut down) the GPS. This was a long time ago, but as I recall, turning off WAAS sort of "solved" the problem. Actually what really solved it was a software upgrade to a version that was now programmed to deal with more than one WAAS bird with WAAS turned back on. This might not have anything to do with your problem. But what do you have to lose? And I am curious.

Not the only way: you can edit the attributes and remove the "needs maintenance" cross. You might want to confirm your advice. Not possible any more?