Sehmket

I used to play Heroclix (a collectible miniatures game based around comic book superheros), so I leave old figures from that. It's great when I go check the log later and see something like, "My son was so excited about the tiny Wolverine!"

I print out cache descriptions, but I modify them to take up MUCH less paper. I copy them into Word, change the format to three columns, and only copy the info I need (usually the title, difficulty/terrain, cache info that actually refers to the cache, and the undecoded hint (I can decode it on site if I want it)). I then clear the formatting, and then fiddle with my font size, column width and margins to get me down to the fewest number of pages in a still-legible format. It's a little extra work, but if you're familiar with formatting in Word (or whatever your fav program is), it's much easier to carry around and saves a whole lot of paper.

I'm not a fire fighter, but I am most of the way through our local CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) class, which uses a lot of Fire Fighters for teaching assistants, so I want to speak up in defense of fire fighters. Many people think of fire fighters as that alone - they are people who fight fires. And while it's true that they do that, they do many other activities that are related - medical work and search and rescue being at the top of the list. Almost all professional fire fighters are also trained paramedics, so let's say there's a car wreck with injuries - 911 will dispatch a fire crew, since they can help with the injuries, have the equipment to pry open the car if it's deformed and someone's trapped, and have the equipment to deal with a potential fire. Let's say you're working on a large home appliance like a water heater, and drop it on yourself - 911 will dispatch a fire crew, because they can assist with injuries, have the equipment to dismantle or remove the appliance, and the equpment and training to deal with the hazardous chemical situation you may have just created when you knocked over the lawn care shelf. They are also trained in moving people in difficult situations (such as someone who is obese, elderly, frail with illness or injury, or some combination thereof), trained in phychological first aid (evaluating those who have been through a traumatic event, such as a violent car accident for reccomendation to further treatment), and have resources available to help people who are displaced (discount hotel rooms or car rentals in case your car is totaled in a strange city). So, to answer your question, any time there's an event, fire crews usually get called, because they're trained to handle lots and lots of stuff.

Whoops! That's what I get for not paying close enough attention! Thanks for all the answers, guys! I'll just hang onto my answers until I get an e-mail from him.

I went out and hit a couple of ECs today. I came back, logged my find with a pic, answered my trivia questions, and went to send them... and then saw that the EC owner was banned, so I can't send him a message. Can someone please explain a little bit more about banning to me? Is that something that is likely to be temporary? Should I just not worry about this? Should I hang on to my answers until they get reinstated and send me a message?

EddieB606, I actually recieved mine for Christmas from my in-laws, who live in Dayton, OH. I'm 98% sure they ordered it off Amazon, sorry. I'm pretty sure they looked around and decided Amazon had the best price by a fair margin.

My husband and I were just doing some experiments on this very question yesterday, so I feel in a good place to answer. I have a Garmin eTrex Venture HC, and my husband uses a Droid Eris loaded with GeoBeagle. Yesterday was a perfect example of the differences, since we crossed a large, open field on a clear sunny day, into a lightly wooded area. Out in the field, we were both picking up about seven satelites. The Droid was much more sensative to turns (the Garmin lags terribly if you're just turning in place). Once we started geting under some tree cover, I lost one or two of my satelites, and he went down to bouncing between three and four - and this was on a clear day. After some more experiments in the car and house, we decided that the Garmin must have a much more sensative GPS reciever - it's noticibly more able to pick up the signal. That doesn't mean the Droid doesn't have its benefits. For one, it allows us to do paperless caching, and on-the-fly caching (for example, yesterday after we had done the ones we had planned on, we used the Droid to find a few more to do. I couldn't have done this on my own). The Droid is also fine when you're in an area with minimal overhad interference, which is true for many urban caches. But, when you're in an area with overhead interference, be aware that you're going to be picking up fewer satelites, and thus be less accurate. As far as the arrow bouncing around once you get in close - that's just the nature of GPSrs. Remember, the satelites are hurtling through space at thousands of miles per hour, and you're not using a device that's optimized for detecting and processing those signals. So, if you're down to two or three satelites, your Droid is going to be getting some mixed signals, and have some lag. You may need to try to slow down, give it some time to recalibrate, and try again (Also, walking ~20 PAST where it says GZ is, then walking back can help). All that being said... nothing beats what simpjkee said - your GPSr has margin of error, and the owner's GPSr had a margin of error, so there's a point where you just need to work on developing your geosense. I've only got ~25 finds, so I can't say I'm a master, but after my first DNFs, I spent some time stepping back slowly looking around (without searching - just looking and enjoying the view), and thinking about what good spots would be. Are there tree roots sticking out? Does that fence over there have a gap in the inderside? Do the caps easily come off those posts? Has someone piled some rocks up against a tree? Take stock of the size of container you're looking for (as simpjekee said, larger size ones are going to be much easier), or try doing a few Earthcaches (That's what I started with - much easier, and gets you the feel of using your GPSr, with an easy way to use your brain and eyes as a backup). Also, it's ok to read hints and other logs. The biggest piece of advice I'd give though? Try again! Almost everyone had several DNFs their first few times out! It gets exponentially easier as you go.

My husband and I used to play Heroclix, so we've got tons of little plastic comic book figurines sitting around. We've been leaving those, and taking mostly other figurine type things.

We have an HTC Droid Eris (available from Verizon), and we've had great luck with it! It'll probably be even better in a few months when the official app comes out.

I have an eTrex Venture HC, but my husband has a HTC Droid Eris - they pair up great together, since my GPS and compas seems to be a bit more accurate, but with his, we can access the webpage and check for any hints while still going paperless. His GPS and compas is certainly accurate enough that we could cache with JUST it, too, but I like having my own toy. We've tried several different programs - everything from a basic compas, to the more developed things like geobeagle (which we liked). None of them are perfect, and you'll have to play around to figure out which one you like, but there's about a dozen caching programs in the droid apps store, so you should be able to find something you like. Plus - I believe an official Groundspeak app for android is comming out in the next couple months.

Thanks guys, I think I've got it figured out now!

Hey, all, I've maxed out my caches on my GPSr - is there a way to remove them by batch on Garmin MapSource? Or do I need to remove them individually on the unit? I'd even be willing to clear out all of them and start over - I've got a bunch of routes and tracks that go nowhere from when I first got my unit. Thanks!

I used to play heroclix, so I've got tons of small comic book action figures in my box o' duplicates; I've been using those.

I did my first dozen caches when I was GPSr-less - I did geocaches in a part of a nearby national forest I wanted to spend some more time exploring, anyway. Gave me a nice excuse to spend a couple days hiking. I also tried (and failed) to do a few traditional caches when I was GPSr-less. I found it quite difficult, but not impossible.

I don't have a GPSr (hopefully Christmas will change things!), and I do Earthcaches. I'm lucky to live in an area that's got a great set of Earthcaches nearby, and I love hiking, so it works out great for me.

Thanks for the encouragment, all!

Thanks, guys, I'm glad to be aboard!

CavScout - I find you saying you don't read through the description hilarious, since I just spent yesterday reading through all your descriptions for the caches I did in RRG. And to answer the nice EarchCaching experiences question, yesterday I did my first set of ECs, all in RRG, so I figued here was a good place to post! My album for this trip is here: http://s62.photobucket.com/albums/h91/Sehm...ing%2010-20-09/ and I'll be working on answering questions and doing logs today. I'm just bouncing off the wall with enjoyment from this new activity.

Thanks! Here's my photo album for my caches: http://s62.photobucket.com/albums/h91/Sehm...ing%2010-20-09/ Going to work on my logs now...

I've done several solo dayhikes/ earchcaches in a nearby national forest. If I don't see any other cars at the trailhead, I call the ranger's station (the number is posted at all the trailheads), and tell them that I'm doing a solo hike on X trail, I expect to be gone Y long, and my red sedan is parked at the trailhead. This particular national forest has had more than its fair share of deaths (lots of cliffs, lots of backwoods camping, and easy driving distance from several colleges), so they're usually happy to have me call. It depends on the ranger on duty and the time of day - sometimes they want me to call back, sometimes they just make a note to sweep that lot on their sunset sweep to check for my car.

Working on uploading my pictures from my first set of completed caches! I can't tell you how thrilled I am, since my first try was a total bust (0/3), and I wanted to share! I'm working without at GPSr at the moment (Unemployment... good side, lots of free time... bad side, no money), so I decided to take a new tack and do some EarchCaches - MUCH easier to find! I was 6.5/8 today - really that should be two .5s, but that math doesn't add up quite right - I had one I threw out due to terrible, terrible self-portraits, and one where I saw another nearby trail and figured there might be a cache for the landmark on that trail (there is! But I took the picture at the wrong spot. Now I know where to go, though). The last two I missed becauce I was having trouble finding the trail and was losing light, so I put those off for another day. I'm just thrilled to be a "real" cacher, now! Once I get these logged, no more sad-face when I'm signed in to the site!

... Anyways good luck on your search and welcome to the game!!!! Thanks for the suggestion, Michigan Cacheman! I'll look into it!

Hi, all. I've got a simmilar question, so I decided to add on to this thread instead of start a new one. As you can see by my post count, I'm a newbie, I don't have a GPSr, and I'm pretty low on funds (I'm unemployed and my husband is underemployed). I DO have lots of time on my hands, though, and need an activity that gets me out of the house! I've tried doing a few caches with just maps, but had a pretty difficult go of it. So, if you were someone in my position... what unit would you suggest? I've read over a lot of the articles and reviews on the site, and I'm pretty overwhelmed by the shear volume (not to mention the poor sorting option on the review pages). I still count as young and naive, so I don't need anything with bells and whistles - heck, I could manage with the one atmospherium described! I just need someone to point me in a dirrection. TIA!