Old Bill

I think I get it,and it seems pretty cool. Kinda like a "Points of interest" by the masses. Say you got an afternoon to kill, you and the S.O. do a quick look up for a catagory that appeals to both of you, and go visit some those waymarks in your town. Seems like a great way to get out and go see something different! I like it!

In Phoenix, Az, we have a store named "Bizarre Noir". It has all kinds of gothic-type stuff inside. From gas masks to angels, pickled pigs feet to Olivia posters, this store has all the weird stuff. Further North of Phoenix, there's a store in Congress named "Brand new dead things". Not as gothic as Bizarre Noir, but the old guy there takes old branches and makes stuff out of them, tacks large bugs into collages, etc. In short, natural things into artsy/usable things. These examples lead me to think that there are other stores that specialize in odd items. Doesn't have to be any specific genre, but just very different. Something you'd see from the road and say, "That looks interesting, I probably won't buy anything, but let's take a look anyway!"

I just got mine back about 2 weeks ago, bought the unit in mid June.

We had a fun weekend. Wife and I headed about 50 miles out of town for a change of scenery and some geocaching. The place we went is a bit more rural than nearby Phoenix, and the geocaching differences are somewhat obvious and refreshing. We ended up doing 7 caches in this area, and of those 7, only 1 was too small for regular sized McToys type swag. After doing so many smalls and micros near our home it was a welcome change to be able to actually TRADE stuff! And it was GOOD stuff too! Another notable difference, with the exception of 2, is that these caches actually took us to some wonderful views and vistas. We could see why these caches were placed where they were! It was beautiful! Quite the juxtaposition from a cache stuck underneath a drinking fountain. Don't get me wrong, there are "full sized' caches near/in Phoenix that take you to "nice" places/views, and micros have their place if the owner was thoughtful in it's placement, but actually being able to open a CONTAINER, pick from 8~10 GOOD items, place a good full-sized item of our own back, and spend time to look around for a while at the scenery, made for a very pleasant day of Geocaching! Nice thing is, I downloaded about 85 or so in that area, and we only got 7! We'll be headed back for sure! PLEASE NOTE....This post was not intended to start yet another "(your hated cache here) suck" thread, but rather to point out the differences from one area to another, and how pleasant it was to mix it up a bit.

Have you tried using PayPal's virtual debit card? Go to PayPal, sign in, and go to the "withdraw" page. In the US, there is an option to "Shop online with a PayPal virtual credit card".

You might also pick up National Geographic's Topo! and put the waypoints for the caches into it. This will give you some idea as to the terrain you are likely to encounter. If all else fails, move out to the Southwest. Plenty of Jeep trail caches!

There is a slightly quicker way for individual caches. Just use GSAK to get to the actual cache page (double click the waypoint line to go to the html generated page, and click on the "online page" to go to the honest to goodness GC.com page) and download the GPX file for just that cache. It will ask you what program to open the file with the first time, and go to GSAK there after. GSAk will do it's thing and the individual file will be updated. I can "manually" update a waypoint in under 30 seconds that way if needed. Otherwise, I just wait for my weekly PQ and it'll automatically"refresh" the records for each waypoint. The weekly thing is my normal method, after all, you DO want the latest logs for all caches, don't you?

x2. Got THREE ftf in one day that way. I had the email notice about them before they were even pulling up on the "newest caches" page.

I don't have GSAK in front of me, but I know there is a way to do it in the program. I "think" that when you go to send waypoints to the GPS there is a section on that screen that asks you what icons to use. (ie. Traditional=treasure chest closed, my caches=residence, archived=cemetery, etc.) I thought that they were set automatically, but I could be wrong. Also, a quick post to the GSAK 6.0 thread may get an answer from Clyde himself, but many others will probably know how to do it and reply as well. At any rate, don't get frustrated yet. There is a way to have it sent to the GSP with the treasure chest icon, even if I haven't gotten the above statements right.

I dunno. Limiting the # of topics to one per week may hamper the group. If the limit was 5 per week, that would allow members to get all, or nearly all, their questions posted without allowing them to run rampant. That being said, I don't read EVERY post or topic. I self-filter based on time available and interest in topic. Best part is, nobody is complaining about this particular rule imposed on..... myself! Oh wait, did I just play both sides?!?!?

Bump... Just a follow up. One of the local reviewers responded to a gentle email by temporarily disabling 2 of the caches, and the owner (at the reviewer's prompting...) archived the 3rd. He even sent me a quick reply telling me that it had been taken care of. While I won't make a habit out of shooting off emails to reviewers everytime I find a neglected cache, for the ones that are more obvious, it wouldn't hurt to do so. (Just be friendly and easy going about it....) At least it'll save some cachers time and effort, goal achieved.

Thanks Clyde, just DL'd it. Appreciate all the effort you put into making such a useful tool! Is there a way to view the "supported waypoint symbols" by symbol rather than by their name? Mapsource 6.0 only shows the symbols on the GPSr. (Earlier Mapsource versions showed all the symbols you now show on the "setup GPS" screen with their names, go figger.) This makes it kind of tough to sort out which one is which, but I'm hoping that I'm not missing some super easy step. Regardless, it is a huge plus and I appreciate the addition of this feature. And I just know that version 6.1 will have all kinds of non-goecache waypoint symbols available on the "Edit Waypoint" screen, right? Many, many thanks for all that you do!

Sounds to me like rear view mirrors are illegal in CA. It also sounds like ANY item that blocks the view out the windshield is fair game for a ticket. Bean bag mounts on the dash included. Funny, I put my suction mount right under my rear view mirror just so I can KEEP my eyes on the road, not look away at it. No wonder you Kalifornians are moving in droves to Arizona.....

Ok, purpose of thread has been served. Cache was approved earlier today, and someone was able to get their very first FTF from it. By coincidence, I got my first FTF today as well. Along with FTF #2 and #3 Thanks for the replies.

I bought the RAM suction cup mount for my 76c. I've used it in my Dodge Ram, the wife's Toyota Tacoma, and my '57 Jeep with bikini top. Worked just fine in all 3 vehicles, and easily adjusted from one to another. The RAM mount is $50 or so, but I think it is well worth it. That being said....I did have to modify the cradle slightly with a Dremel tool to make it a bit easier to get in and out, and to make room for the antenna cord. Nothing major, but it does help a lot....Still think it's worth it.

I'm not worried about time, as the reviewer is obviously very quick. I just wanted to make sure that I hadn't screwed up and created more headaches for everyone. Thanks for the replies.

I set up a cache last nite, and submitted it. I received a note from the reviewer this morning that I needed to change it a bit to take out the "commercial" feel to it. (It's located near some favorite shops) No biggie, I removed the text with something more generic. I posted another reviewer note when I edited it saying that I had done what they requested, and I then hit the "save changes" button (or whatever button is at the bottomof the edit page...) and sent an email to the reviewer confirming that I had changed it and to please re-review it when they had time. Does it sound like I did it right, or am I missing a step? Not too worried, just like crossing my "i"'s and dotting my "t"'s. TIA

If you are trying to send a set of waypoints FROM GSAK TO NGTopo, then export from GSAK then go to NG's Topo screen, then "File">"Merge .tpo" or "Merge .tpg". Is this what you mean? Edited for clarity

I agree with the above comment. You have to decide how much info you want. The info that Easy GPS provides to the GPSr is really basic, but you can get by with that. Next step up is Easy GPS and printing out the cache pages to go along with you. I suspect that this is what a lot of the cachers do. After that, you can use GSAK, and each line is a link to the cache page. A bit faster to get the info you want, and you can filter the caches any way you need to if you don't mind learning how it works. The ultimate is GSAK, a premium membership, Cachemate, and a PDA. You can have nearly all the data for every cache in your area in the palm of your hand, and no more running to the office supply for printer ink. Money-wise---- GSAK=$20 (CHEAP for what it does...) Premium membership=$30 (CHEAP for what you get...) Cachmate=$8 (CHEAP for having all that data in one place...) The only extra expense is for a PDA, many of which you can easily pick up for under $100. Even under $50 if you look around. The only deciding factor is the time involved, but I think that the time spent learning GSAk and how to sort the data and put it on your GPS and PDA is offset by all the time you don't spend printing pages out one at a time. Also consider that with the PDA approach, you can go caching on a whim! You can literally drive around, and when a cache shows up on your GPS, GO GET IT!

Hello Shirley, No, it's not that it's bothering me, rather, I don't believe that these caches are being looked after even with multiple DNF's. They are not out of town, so it's not a big deal to get to them. I do appreciate the "live and let live" philosophy, but it seems silly to let these caches go like this and keep having cachers looking for them. Sorry if this is sounding like a rant. Just think that it needs attention, that's all. I don't lay awake at night mulling this over, so I won't be all that concerned if nothing gets done. After all, I know to not go looking for them.... FWIW, I did send a reviewer a quick private note about the 3 in question. Didn't demand anything other than he may want to look at them, and thanked him for his time. Thanks for all the advice though!

The ones I was keyed in on have multiple DNFs since earlier this year. The one is this one, and another is this. A third is here. Maybe I'll post an inquisitive note and/or email the owner to check these. I don't want to be overly "police-y" about this, but with the logs, it seems to be a waste of time to visit them just so I can add a SBA to them.... Thanks for the advice....

Hey everyone, OK, so I'm paperless, and now that I've done a few PQ's and such, I've found a few around my area that have gotten no attention at all. One hasn't been touched by the owner since early March, another hasn't been found since February. And the owners haven't been on since much longer before that. I've deleted them out, and told GSAK to not bring them back in, but I feel it would be a public service if they were to be archived. Can anyone bring me up to speed about how to do this? Namely, what is the protocol for doing so? Who do I contact, and how do I approach it? Seems a waste to have the PQ's pull them up when they obviously aren't being found..... TIA!

http://www.smittyware.com/palm/cachemate/tools.php Bottom of page, CM2GPX. I *think* you drag the PDB file over the CM2GPX icon, and out comes a GPX file to open with GSAK....Haven't tried it myself. Yet. HTH

This is partly correct. You DO need Cachemate, but GSAK makes it possible by allowing you to export as the proper file format. If you've already mastered sending the waypoints to the GPSr, then this should be easy. Once you've got the caches lined up in GSAK, go to the export function and select "Cachemate" It will automatically format the GSAK info into the proper format, and place it in the HotSync spot. Just sync up your Palm, and your good to go! Hope this helps!

Zire 21, GSAK, Cachemate, and a GC Premium membership. Just went paperless this past week, and am sold! No more flipping through the "candidates", printing up pages and pages, and filing them in a notebook for that special caching trip. Just get yer PQ once a week (or more often), send to the handheld, delete the old cache waypoints from the GPSr, and load in the new ones. I set up my first PQ's which generated about 189 caches, and it only took about 30 minutes the first time I did it. I could easily see it only taking me about 10~15 minutes each time now that it's all set up. It would take me that long to print up a dozen pages..... Is it worth the initial investment in time and effort? Oh Yeah baby!