JAMATECH

Insurgents in Iraq right now are using targets of opportunity. Taliban leftovers are lucky to have a wind up radio, much less a GPS. They do not need coordinates to locations of American forces. They are in the bazaars right outside the gate at Kandahar. They are along the road from the Green Zone to BIAP. Sorry, but geocaching sites aren't really necessary to them. They use IED's and RPG's, not precision guided bombs. That's just not the reality. Not that I don't appreciate the concern, but realism, not hysteria, is important. That being said, I do agree about some of the other locations, like the ROK. BTW, if you want INTEL, it's all over the Internet. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/wor...dad-usa-map.htm

I have a gold and LOVE it.... but not intimately :-P I just couldn't justify the jump in price for the Plat. Barometer? Look up, you can tell if it's going to rain. Compass? hey, get a non 'lectric one you can use with topo maps ;-)

Ya know, my first find was one of your caches. And, well, I know you've cached 'near' a military installation already, since I was standing across from the gate up in Spring Lake looking for one ;-) These days, I felt a little parnoid about snooping around so close, but hey, nothing there but a commissary, right? LOL. Anyway, what about Lake Rim Park, Maserick Park, Buckhead Creek, Branson Creek, Stewart Creek, Arnette Park? Plenty of places :-) BUT, Smith Lake would be excellent too! I look forward to this one Sergeant, I hope you follow through!

I can certainly agree... things are pretty standard these days, just a matter of which country of import you choose... China or Taiwan... ehh, wait, both ARE China. ;-) Nah, just kidding. Really, though, after you determine your specific needs, whatever brand fits in your hand better (physically or mentally).... well, that's probably the best one to have.

I have the Magellan Gold. I really like it b/c of the SD card expansion capabilities, the ease of use, ruggedness; it also has shown great capabilities under semi-dense cover, cold and warm boots, etc. However, I've not really extensively used a different model to compare it with, so my recommendation is limited too. I did a lot of user opinion/review reading at epinions.com and amazon.com.

also... to reiterate what I believe was said, try to be discreet. Don't be too obvious when placing or checking your caches. A good example: I found one placed in the Special Operations Museum, but it was in no way off the beaten path. It was actually exciting, because I had to find it, sign it (microcache), and replace it, all in a very public setting, and without attracting attention. It was like being in a spy movie ;-)

I've used a friend's eTrex Vista, and like it for the outdoors (he uses it for horseback riding, camping, and I think flying too(?!)) I think the Vista or Legend would be excellent for beginners. I'm a geocaching beginner, but being ex-infantry, knew what I needed, and wanted something for longer trips too, so I bought the Meridian Gold. It's SD card expandable, very good under the canopy, the basemaps are great, it's light, and it floats, but at $220, maybe not ideal for the beginner. jus' mi $0.02