jkibbe

I understand and agree with both of you that have posted. I have an eTrex yellow, 2 eTrex H, and an eXplorist 200, and all of them are way more responsive than the Venture HC. Assuming I walk in a straight line with the GPSr level in my hands, I cannot rely on the pointer arrow for 20-30 seconds, if I'm lucky. I just make sure the distance to waypoint number is descending (which is often in the opposite direction) and I eventually get there. Just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience...

Got a new Venture HC from Walmart and it works great, except the pointer arrow on the navigation page sometimes lags by 20-30 seconds. It points in the wrong direction though the distance to waypoint decreases. There's no firmware update for this unit. Anyone else have similar experiences with this unit?

Thanks so much! That's exactly what I was looking for! I was pleasantly surprised that there are some virtuals inside the park (since they require admission $$$)! I'll get to log a few caches in FL after all!

Hi, After Thanksgiving I'm going to Disney World with my family. Since we're arriving by plane, I was wondering if there are any caches within walking distance of the park. I'd like to log at least one find in Florida! Thanks! -Jason

Thanks for all the crazy fast replies! Looks like I have a (first) cache to put together! dkwolf, maybe you can come to PA and find it, instead of me shipping it to you!

I just picked up a Jeep TB this past Sunday. I thought about making a cache of my own and tossing it in there, but it might take me a week or two. Can I hold on to it this long, or do I really need to move the thing? I have no intention of keeping it more than a few weeks... Thanks!

I went to the Premium subscription page to check out the details, and I couldn't download the sample ebook at the following link at the end of the PQ section: http://www.geocaching.com/subscribe/ebook.prc I assume that a Premium subscription and access to GPX files is the only way I can get the entire cache page downloaded to my PDA with relative ease. (I suppose an AvantGo custom channel could be used, but that would be a pain...). I'd like to see what the cache description page looks like on my old PDA (Visor). My understanding is that the entire cache page, including encoded clues and logs, can be downloaded. It seems that going paperless is definitely the way to go -- at least for me! -Jason

The kids were very appreciative (surprisingly!), and said it was better than many of the games we did in the past. It took about 2 hours for the first group to finish the 'race,' and about 2.5 hours for the last group. The caches ranged from about .2 to .5 miles apart. I think the number of waypoints was just about right, and the puzzles game them time to catch their breath. The course setup worked well, as there are some trails through the woods that kept the groups isolated and out of each other's sight, even though they may not have been that far apart. We had a very large area to work with, fortunately. I only heard of one group that caught up with another as they were leaving the waypoint. About the sodas... The prize was the only thing that wasn't my responsibility. We planned on having CD's for the winning team, but that didn't work out. We should have put more effort into the cooler & ice idea (though I don't know how readily available they were once we were there). I ended up just placing the sodas at the 8th waypoint at the beginning of the race, which means they warmed up somewhat over the 2 hours. Kind of a bummer, but no one complained since the sodas were wet! Now I just need to figure out how to modify it so I can do it again in a year or two. I used up most of the 'cool' locations already! -Jason

I posted more info here: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...=ST&f=6&t=81930 8 caches proved to be just the right amount. It took most groups about 2 hours to finish (after 30 minutes of instruction and GPS training), and we all finished within a 30 minute window. We had a great time! I hope to setup something similar again soon. Maybe with church youth group, or maybe with the 7th graders I teach...

I just got back from my church youth group's annual fall retreat. Each year, we have big game on Saturday afternoon, and since I recently got interested in geocaching, I figured I'd give it a try. I went to the site in advance with my two kids and scoped out the place. We drove and ran around, marking 8 different waypoints with a borrowed yellow eTrex. Yesterday, at the retreat, the youth were divided into 6 different teams, with 4 or 5 each (I was planning on 7, but the numbers worked out better with 6 teams...). I modified a PowerPoint presentation I found in the "GPS in Education" forum to share the instructions and rules with the kids. I gave the event an "Amazing Race" theme. Then we broke into teams, entered a practice waypoint, and walked to where we thought it was. I managed to borrow 19 classic Magellan GPS315 units from a local college, though we only used 12 of them, 2 per group. Surprisingly, all of the teams arrived at the same place, about 100 yards away. Each team was then given an encoded message (standard ROT13, like on GC.com) and there first set of coordinates. Each group was sent to a different waypoint to start. At each wapoint, groups had to decode a clue to get the next set of coordinates. Here are the different locations and challenges the teams encountered: 1. Playground - Ziploc bag with a laminated puzzle of the next coordinates hidden under slide. 2. Hillside - Money box with combination lock. Encoded clue provided combination and coordinates inside. 3. Village (of cabins) - Box of various small items / office supplies. Coordinates were written on a rubber band that needed to be stretched. 4. Lodge - Box of plastic Easter eggs. Clue revealed the color of egg that contained correct coordinates. 5. Cave - Coordinates in cave. Flashlight provided. 6. Bridge - Clue led teams to Bible verse which had coordinates written on page. 7. Wetland - Groups canoe to small island (about 100 yards away) to find film canister with coordinates. 8. Finish - Semi-cold sodas waiting! Since the groups were staggered for the start, each waypoint had an alternate clue that led the respective team to the 8th and final waypoint. I thought that one group would grab the wrong clue or sabotage something, but everything went great. I asked the kids for their honest opinion, and they all has positive things to say--nothing negative. Teams naturally developed different roles, like leader, decoder, GPS operators, and 'finders'. I wanted to share how things went for two reasons: 1. I'm excited that things went so well! I actually had a dream last week that I forgot all the supplies at home, and only figured it out after the teams started the race.! 2. I want to encourage other youth group leaders (Boy Scouts, and others, too!) to try having a similar event. We've already started discussing how we can do something similar in the future! Thanks for listening (reading...!)! -Jason

Since I'm a disgruntled driver in PA, I feel compelled to include this: From: http://www.pahighways.com I'd much rather cruise down a highway in Maryland or Connecticut -- though I'm sure they pay for it in taxes... I was just suggesting the forum be called "Mid-Atlantic" to be more accurate to the states that are represented here. -Jason

Each time I visit this specific forum, it always crosses my mind that it could/should be called Mid-Atlantic. Whenever I think of the Northeast, I think of New England (where I'm originally from), NY, DE, PA, and NJ. MD, DC, and VA seem to be getting somewhat to the south. (...must be that Mason-Dixon line mentality!) Also, it seems odd that the Northeast forum would exclude New England, which is as NE as you can get in this country. I know it is nit-picky, but I figured I'd mention it anyway. Maybe someone else out there has thought the same thing. Or maybe I'm alone in my madness! -Jason

Why not???

At http://palmsource.palmgear.com, HintDecoder (free) and Cachemate ($8, but does much more) will decode hints on the Palm OS. Right now, I'm using ROT13 (freeware program) so I can encode my own hints in Word.

Thanks for the advice & info! Maybe that's what I'm seeing, or maybe it similar stuff either way...

I have my first GPSr coming in the mail in a few days. I was wondering if people tend to peel off the protective sheet that will likely be on the screen for that nice, shiny look, or leave it on to prevent scratches. I'm borrowing a yellow eTrex that still has it on; that's why I'm asking. It seems to offer some level of protection, though it might look nice without it. I hope this wasn't too dumb of a question...

Yeah, I've been reflecting all afternoon about having 15 caches along the way... I think you all are right, it's probably too many. Even at an aggressinve 10 minutes per cache, that 2.5 hours. I think I'll go with 8 and hope they don't "lap" each other. I'd rather have the groups take their time and give them more of a challenge when they stop. Especially if I throw a small canoeing element in there! Thanks to everyone who encouraged me to reconsider!

Yeah, I agonized over the number of caches, but decided to go twice the number of teams, so one team doesn't catch and pass another. The caches are going to be close enough to each other, instead of zig-zagging all over the place, and they will be in plain view. I'll try to keep the coded messages brief, too. I wanted teams to have a break now and then. I'm not to worried, though; we've had games lasting over 3 hours in the past. I hope it works out alright!

For our annual fall retreat we typically have some sort of "big game," like capture the flag or a major scavenger hunt. Well, I'm a 7th grade teacher and one of my students told me about geocaching a few weeks ago, so I decided I'd try to find a way to turn it into a game for our retreat. I have 15 different waypoints that each team needs to find in order. I plan on having 7 groups of 4 or 5 all start at the same time, each going to a different waypoint (#1,3,5,7,9,11,13). Each waypoint will have the coordinates that leads them to the next waypoint. When a group gets to their 14th, or next to last, waypoint, there will be an envelope just for them that will lead them to the final 15th point. Each group will have a leader to ensure that the kids don't disturb the caches/clues or try to take a final envelope that doesn't belong to them. Half of the waypoints will have a multiple choice question that is coded using ROT-13, the answer of which is paired with the correct coordinates for the next waypoint. Other clues will have a different challenge involved, like putting together a puzzle, finding a mini-cache, crawling into a cave (assuming its uninhabited!), canoeing to a small island, or finding the Ten Commandments in a Bible that has the coordinates on the same page. I hope all this makes sense! At least now I have a word processor that can translate to ROT-13. I was afraid I'd have to encode everything by hand! Let me know if you have any questions or if you want to know how it works out next weekend.

Hey, that works! I'm all about a simple, no frills interface!

I'm putting together a multi-cache event for my youth group, and I want to encode clues with the simple method that GC uses. I was going to ask here to see if there is a program or some way I can quickly & easily do this. After digging around for a few minutes, I found that the simple encoding is called ROT-13, meaning "ROTate 13 letters of the alphabet." Once I learned this I was able to search for software that does the encoding so I can quickly type up my hints and print them off. Here's some links, if anyone is interested in the same kind of thing. Online JavaSCript Encoders/Decoders: http://tools.geht.net/rot13.html http://members.tripod.com/~BraunzGuy/rot13.htm Windows Downloads: http://kimst.future.easyspace.com/ http://polyedit.com/ Enjoy!

As it turns out, after being turned down by the YMCA, Boy Scouts, State Forester, local stores, and equipment manufacturers, a friend of mine who works at a local college managed to pull some strings to get me about 6 units for my event. Thanks to all who gave me advice! If anyone has suggestions for setting up a multi-cache for a total newbie, please let me know! I'd like to have 6-8 caches with puzzles to solve to learn the next coordinate... -Jason

That doesn't sound so bad, then. On the edge of a city park is a whole lot different from snooping around a power plant! The initial post in this this thread said it may even be on the premises of the power plant...

Consider contacting the person who placed this cache and politely tell them it's probably not a good idea. Either they didn't think of it or don't care -- hopefuly the former!

I'd call 2400+ posts in 2 years pretty active!!!