Driddy

I know from personal experience how frustrating it can be to have one's trackables go missing. Unfortunately, this is common and I didn't see anything in the most recent 50 or so logs (I did not read them all) to support the accusation that the CO is stealing them. If trackables were going missing from one of my caches I doubt that I would move or archive the cache, either. And I would be deeply offended if someone accused me of theft. If I agreed that my cache had an extraordinary problem with TBs going missing, I might post a warning on the cache page suggesting that people not leave them.

Try the following: Connect 450 to PC. Using Windows Explorer browse to the drive corresponding the the Garmin. Delete any GPX files. Disconnect 450 and power it back up. After reaching the main screen (after 450 has booted) shut it off. Download GPX(s) to GPSr. Turn GPSr on -- hopefully data will be there now.

I spent about an hour trying to figure out how to update my daughter's Geomate and here is what I found: 1) You must use Internet Explorer 2) Turn off the Geomate, plug it in, turn it on and then fire up IE. The key thing is that the software does not seem compatible with Firefox or Chrome.

Does anyone have experience using regular or LSD NiMH batteries in a Geomate Jr? Do they work ok? Thanks!

If it is a mom and pop store then you might start out by talking to mom or pop. For a shopping center you would need to talk to the management company (the name and phone number would likely be displayed on "for lease" signs on vacant stores). I suspect that getting permission for typical shopping center caches (think LPCs) would be a very tough sell.

There is no simple answer to this. A lot depends on where you intend to place the cache and local practices also come into play. You did not mention the concept of "adequate permission" in your question so I suspect you haven't recently read Groundspeak's discussion of permission and I would suggest doing so. Your local reviewer (find a recently published cache in your area to see who published it) would probably be happy to provide you with local information about placement rules for your area (who to contact, any forms, general guidelines, etc. for major places to hide caches in your area such as county, state and municipal parks). A state or regional geocaching society may also have relevant info.

+1 on Zagg (I waited until I had a pretty serious scratch and will never make that mistake again). There are often 50% off promotions through the Zagg website.

Also, you can easily and quickly handle the issue without a macro through the use of a filter as described in the GSAK FAQ http://gsak.net/board/index.php?showtopic=...entry8479

Nope. I live in Maryland and I suspect you are referring to a cache in Texas. I mean no disrespect to the hiders of this type of cache so you have nothing to defend. I am merely expressing my preference with respect to the types of hides I dislike. There are undoubtedly folks who like to search for a rock among rocks; I am just not one of them.

If you want this change made to the GC site, then you need to get OC to announce that they are adding the feature to their site.

Are you waiting long enough for the OS to recognize the GPSr? My 450 sometimes takes 1-2 minutes to be recognized by W7.

As much as I dislike LPCs, I will still seek them on occasion. In contrast, I have no patience for fake rocks hidden among a pile of real rocks and will walk away as soon as I realize that is the probable nature of the hide.

And to muddy the water further, geocaches can be loaded onto the 450 (and certain other Garmin GPSr's) using the Garmin POI Loader. See the section on POIs at http://garminoregon.wikispaces.com. It's not clear how many POIs one is allowed, but the number appears to be large (at least several 10s of thousands). GCs loaded as POIs (via GSAK + POI Loader) can be navigated to and all of the pertinent info is displayed (description, hint, logs, etc.) although some of the geocaching bells and whistles are unavailable when you do that (such as logging the find or finding the next nearest cache).

In Maryland and other related states there is the Star Spangled Geotrail to commemorate the War of 1812. http://friendsofchesapeakegateways.org/projects/ssb_geotrail

This is precisely why opencaching.com holds little interest for me. But does opencaching.com have any guidelines for placing caches - saturation, physical containers, permission, restrictions on certain areas? I can't imagine that our local national park areas - where the superintendent forbids traditional caching - would be thrilled if opencaches started to pop up. Darn! I somehow managed to miss that OC also has a .1 mile saturation guideline. I will seek clarification from them about whether that rule pertains to both GC and OC listings. As a practical matter, I wonder whether GC will respect .1 mile separation from caches listed exclusively on OC and whether GC reviewers will start checking for proximity to OC caches? (I bet they won't)

I plan to place a cache exclusively on OC that was denied for listing on GC.com due to cache saturation restrictions.

I have an Oregon 450 with a built in compass and I am not sure it makes much of a difference most of the time. Most of the time I walk to ground zero and when I get there put the unit away. About the only scenario where I find it can help is when I get fouled in brambles and want to be sure that when I resume moving I do so in the correct direction.

I'd dispute that. I've found with my Venture (a cousin of the Legend) that when using the compass rose to find the cache the unit needs to be moving. The distance to GZ might be accurate but the direction arrow may be pointing in the opposite direction if you are stopped. I wasn't referring to the bearing indicator (but I agree that your point is valid for units lacking an electronic compass). I was referring to the unit's location fix and I am not aware of any units that give a more accurate location fix when they are moving.

The problems you are describing are often due to terrain. I urban areas this can happen around tall buildings and in the woods this often happens along steep hillsides or in canyons. I believe the issue is that under these conditions you may have a pretty poor satellite configuration (access to some sats may be obscured). I am sure others (particulary in the Technology forum) could provide a much deeper explanation. What I can tell you is that you will learn techniques for dealing with this as you become more experienced. A few observations/suggestions: 1) If you can't get to 0-1 feet, then you may not be a the true ground zero. "Phantom" GZs sometimes show up and the real GZ may be some distance away (but usually within maybe 30 feet of the phantoms). This is my observation and I can't scientifically support this. 2) When you get close to the apparent GZ, slow down or stop or you might walk past GZ. I sometimes find that my GPSr is slow to update its position display when sat reception is sketchy. Also, standing still for a few moments sometimes seems to let the unit get a better fix on location. 3) Probably the most useful advice I have to offer is to learn to triangulate. Move a substantial distance away from the vicinity of GZ -- perhaps 100 feet (ideally to high ground or an open space) and note where your GPSr is pointing. Then do this a few more times from other angles relative to GZ. Where do the imaginary lines intersect? That spot is likely GZ. An abbreviated version would be to do this from a single spot where you have reason to believe you can get a decent reading and then search near the spot indicated from a distance. 4) Combine any of the above with your "geosense" (knowledge of where caches are typically hidden) and the difficulty rating and focus your searching on where the cache is likely to be. 5) Set up a search grid with margins extending beyond where you think GZ and then very systematically search the grid. Repeat if there seems to be more than one candidate for GZ. 6) Look for "geotrails" left by other cachers if the cache has been recently found. I have noticed that I have been slowly learning to track as I gain experience as a geocacher.

You have a point when it comes to caches hidden in wide open places such as parking lots; often times satellite maps, when combined with a bit of knowledge of where people usually hide caches, will pretty much show you where the cache is located. However, things become a lot different in areas that are well shielded from sat photos -- photos of wooded areas usually just don't provide enough landmarks to get a good sense of where the cache is and there are a multitude of places where a cache might be hidden. For that matter, even in an open field, unless that cache is near some landmark visible in the photo, such as a lone tree, it would be pretty hard to find the cache. Having said all this, it should be noted that there is an apparently very small subculture of geocachers who in fact use a compass and traditional navigation techniques. I suspect that this would take a great deal of dedication and would come with a substantial learning cure.

Thanks for the info. I was not aware that they are not LSDs. Actually, non-LSDs would be fine for my GPSr as I always switch in fresh batteries before a cache run. On the other hand, some devices, such as my flashlights, get fresh batteries on an infrequent basis. So maybe I will try the 2700s in my GPSr.

I usually pick one or more areas where there is a concentration of caches and then plan from there. I have found that far and away the most important things to consider are how to get there and where to park. Earlier in my (brief) caching career I spent way too much time driving around trying to figure out where to park and how to get there. Now I make a point of looking for that information in the cache description and/or looking for clues on sat maps. I have a paperless GPSr but usually carry a scrap of paper with the names of the caches I plan to do and a few notes about how to get there and where to park. My car navi system doesn't take coords so I usually jot down address or intersection info for the parking so that I can program the navi.

Does anyone have any experience with what appears to be a new product -- 2700 mAh NiMH AAs by MAHA? See listing at Thomas Distributing. They are more expensive than Eneloops but the additional capacity might be worth the price. Any thoughts on this?

Great work! Thanks for posting this -- and I look forward to more installments.

What really bugs me about LPCs is the seemingly lack of thought that goes into many of them. I usually invest several hours in choosing my locations and try to present a beautiful or interesting location and often hidden in some interesting way. When I encounter a typical LPC it usually seems that none of the above were considered. I guess it comes down at least partly to whether you are relatively more interested in supporting numbers cachers vs those looking for something a bit more stimulating. The issue with LPCs isn't just that they seemingly are usually placed without "adequate permission"; indeed, I recently encountered a very clever hide behind a K Mart. (Full disclosure -- I occasionally grab LPCs, but mainly if there is nothing else better around).