wildlifewriter

Absolute nonsense... 1) "Time of day" - I survey my caches at least three times on different days, before submitting them. Don't you? 2) "Seasonal changes" - what seasonal changes? Have you even the remotest idea what you're talking about? 3) "Errors due to time or frame of mind." - I don't make errors due to either of these causes. The claim stands - and you or anybody else is welcome to try and disprove it. Bloody cheek... -Wlw

Unacceptable? Just because you like children, doesn't mean everyone has to. Can't abide 'em myself - noisy, dirty, smelly things they are - but even I'm prepared to admit that they DO have occasional uses in geocaching... Kids will happily charge into a bramble thicket or nettle patch, after a cache. The little brutes don't seem to mind getting wet, or damaged, and - if the cache is difficult to access - can often be lowered over cliffs on surprisingly thin bits of string. I'm just glad I never have the job of getting all the grass, mud, blood and mucus off them, afterwards. -Wlw.

That depends on who the setter is, and how much work and time they put into establishing the correct co-ordinates. If you find one of my caches, the true discrepancy (if there is one) will be a lot less than sixteen feet. -Wlw.

Certainly. They could have put "This figure is a statistically-based estimate of the probability that the co-ordinates displayed will correspond to the true location within a stipulated percentage of given radius." However, thats a bit long for a screen only 1.1 inches wide... In the circumstances, "Accuracy" is a reasonable word to use. -Wlw.

That is incorrect. CNV8 should be compatible with all units that could previously use CSV7. There is another, different product which (with typical Garmin confustimacation) is called "City Navigator NT". This is not the animal being discussed here. City Navigator NT uses a type of data compression which is only recognised by some newer devices. Since almost all of those devices are sold with it included, this is not likely to be an immediate problem. -Wlw.

One reason that you could be having trouble getting hold of City Select 7 (Eur), is that those few suppliers who distributed it in the UK, have no stocks at the moment. This is because a new version is due out in a couple of weeks time. It'll be called City Navigator V8 (rather than City Select) and you WILL be able to purchase it in Europe. -Wlw.

They're only there at all, because of customers... When Garmin introduced the 60-series units, that was supposed to be their "standard" line of outdoor handhelds. But when they asked their customers, many of the customers said: "We don't really like those ugly, expensive, Type 60 units. We love our little eTrexes - and what we just want is an eTrex with a better screen - maybe color - and some extra features..." So the eTrex line still continues, to this day - and still sells. -Wlw.

No, it's not even that. In these days of online anagram sites, working out the alias is only a matter of being able to click on things. The finds that this creature has “logged” may look randomly selected, but in fact there's a kind of pattern to them. The pattern is concerned with the number of different cache owners targeted, which is statistically unlikely within the areas affected. The inescapable conclusion is that the “motivation” was -and is - merely to annoy as many people as possible. Attention seekers - who needs 'em? -Wlw

If that is true, it's A Bad Thing... ...But it may not be. Your 60C should ignore that station - but it won't "know" to do that until it has loaded - error free - the entire WAAS almanac. This, as we know, can take some time - but I'd expect to see the unit resume searching after an interval. -Wlw.

The second part is correct. ("Locks", solid or otherwise, have nothing to do with it.) If your Garmin GPSr showed number "36", this indicates PRN123. The identifer PRN123 is not allocated for any current or proposed GPS-related service, as far as I can tell. The fact that your GPSr did not find an almanac entry for such an SV, confirms that it is not an operational signal. The only explanation is that you saw EITHER a data error, OR test signals - from a satellite or a ground station. GPS units ignore anything that isn't in the almanac, and we can safely do so too. -Wlw

Yes I do (think it's a good idea). All my caches include an indication of overall distance and, where necessary, parking co-ordinates. There is a good reason for this. In a survey in the GI forum last year, we estimated that (dependent on location) between 40% and 60% of logs on caches in Ireland were made by visitors from overseas. It's not reasonable to expect that these people will know how to assess a cache from the visible terrain - as a local would do. I don't think that any of them would say that it "spoils the fun." -Wlw.

That's exactly what's worrying us... -Wlw

Indeed. It takes a very special kind of person to take on - volunteerly - such a time-comsuming and complicated job, with little thanks and constant whingeing from people like me. I second the motion: Well done to both of them. -Wlw.

(With apologies to John Betjeman) Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough! The place is stiff with micros, now. Behind each roadsign, and each fence, Swarm over, Death! -Wlw. [Edited for poetic licence]

Not from me... I don't believe that geocaching.com have "changed the rules" at all. The concept was always that TBs are a physical item which moves from cache to cache - ideally, one cache at a time. It wasn't hard to understand this system - and there were no "rules" because none were needed. The people who invented a different concept for using the TB facility are the ones that changed the rules. It worked for a while - and now it doesn't. Tough. -Wlw.

There's one gateway site - almost unique in its capabilities - which will provide all the conversions, mapping links and extensions you could ever asked for. And many that you didn't know were possible. It'll even find a general location from a UK telephone dialling code. It's Barry Hunter's excellent Nearby.org.uk One of the most impressive things about nearby.org, is that you can put in almost any co-ordinate format - with or without degree symbols or other placeholders - and the site is "smart" enough to try and make sense of it. Invaluable. -Wlw.

The iQue 3600 is an excellent unit - I've had one for 18 months and wouldn't be without it. As far as geocaching is concerned... * The weaknes of the 3600 is that it's a PDA. It has to be handled with care when outdoors, and can't be dropped or thrown in the water as if it were an eTrex. * The best thing about the 3600 is the excellent range of third-party software which enthusiasts have developed for it. Apps like "Cachemate", "Fastfinger" and "Birdwatch" together make the 3600 a killer nav and caching system. As long as you don't drop it... -Wlw.

Not small enough, for some geocaching circumstances... This morning, Wuthered and I will be making an attempt to find this new cache in Co. Down. It seems to be an offset letterbox hybrid (??) but the description does not specify True or Mag for the bearing. At an offset of 695 metres, this is going to give a choice of two locations for the cache - more than 60 metres apart. Not trivial, by any means. Will we get the FTF? Will it stop raining long enough for us to try? Watch this space... -Wlw.

There's no need to shout. Here is a list of some typical variances over the British Isles... Site Position Err(Mtrs) Bearing ºT Wick N58 26.923 W3 05.191 95 253 (to OSGB) Fort William N56 49.430 W5 06.418 78 260 (to OSGB) Bonnyrigg N55 52.506 W3 05.918 90 269 (to OSGB) Dumfries N55 04.484 W3 36.859 88 275 (to OSGB) Isle of Man N54 15.861 W4 27.658 84 281 (to OSGB) York N53 57.484 W1 03.707 107 283 (to OSGB) Derby N52 55.206 W1 28.400 107 288 (to OSGB) Pwllheli N52 53.098 W4 24.556 87 290 (to OSGB) Norwich N52 37.660 E1 18.163 126 289 (to OSGB) Reading N51 27.332 W0 57.537 116 296 (to OSGB) Plymouth N50 21.824 W4 08.138 102 305 (to OSGB) Ballycastle N55 12.353 W6 14.797 67 269 (to Ir Grid) Armagh N54 21.356 W6 39.020 63 279 (to Ir Grid) Sligo N54 16.409 W8 28.582 47 283 (to Ir Grid) Dublin N53 21.575 W6 19.693 71 291 (to Ir Grid) Killarney N52 03.317 W9 29.933 57 319 (to Ir Grid) This table is for interest and guidance only. Distances and bearings have been rounded for convenience. -Wlw.

Well done Stevo! Only the third Irish-resident cacher to reach this total - and the caravanning season still months away, yet. 400 must be do-able... -Wlw.

That's easy... ... all the OP needs is one of THESE - and some of THESE (And lots of money, naturally.) -Wlw.

"One to twenty-five thousand" No, I don't understand the first bit, either. -Wlw.

I've just been looking over my list of all finds (the way you do) and I noticed some things. They may be significant things, or they may just be a statistical fluke, but this (for what little it's worth) is what I noticed... Of the first 20 caches I found: 19 are still active to this day. One is suspended by its owner, pending a maintenance visit. Only one of those caches had grossly inaccurate co-ordinates. (More than 30 metres out.) Only one had a leaking container, when it was found. None have had to be archived, since. Of the LAST 20 caches I found: Two were so far astray of the guidelines that the reviewers never approved them in the first place. (But I found them anyway. ) Four had grossly inaccurate co-ordinates. > 30m Two were saturated - even though they were brand new caches. Two had to be archived almost immediately, because they were placed without permission. Are standards slipping - or is this just the way the cookie crumbles? -Wlw.

You'll be welcome... Since you mention Mapsource, I'll assume you have a Garmin receiver. There is no equivalent to Garmin's US Topo for Europe (yet). The various road mapping packages (Metroguide, City Select, City Navigator) are available, if you can get them over there. Local enthusiasts have produced free Garmin-compatible contour mapping for UK & Ire which complements the packages above, and is compatible with them. You can find out more about it HERE I have written a tutorial on the installation and use, HERE The contour mapping is currently being updated, and a new version should be available within the month. Hope this helps, and enjoy your trip. -Wlw.