fishgeek

Magellan stopped supporting the Triton once the new eXplorist line was released. Part of why this happened is due to the fact that "NEW" Magellan, which is now owned by Mitac inherited the Triton line and there were several problems with the units which Mitac didn't want to address. The best thing to do is to download an older version of the Vantage Point to use with your Triton. The older version can be found at http://www.jungleghost.com. David Magellan Insider Thanks for the link to the old version of VP. The new one loses the function to delete all of the caches and waypoints in the unit. You have to exit out, turn on the unit, and delete them from the unit menu. Then reconnect to synch with VP. It took quite a while, and there was much frustration, but now, I actually like my Triton 500. I use it to backup and supplement my GC. The GC is very poor under tree cover, and it stops updating when close to the cache. (I'm using the 2.15 firmware.) That's when I pull out the Triton. The major drawbacks are the 1000-point limit and that it requires the use of VP.

I use Mygeocachingprofile for statistics. There is a line for Lab Caches in "Cache Types I've Found", but no way that I know of to get them in there since Lab Caches do not show up in the MyFinds PQ. Is there a workaround? I know there is one for GSAK, but Mygeocachingprofile does not appear to have any flexibility.

I don't think anyone's trying to stop them. We're just judging them because that's the way we enjoy playing. +2 [i did 55 on the C&D Canal in Delaware by myself in about two hours. That was enough to convince me that a Power Trail is not for me. I have no problem if somebody else wants to.]

99.99% of geocachers STILL do not know that name ever existed. Only us weirdos read the forums :-)

What exactly is it doing to the numbers? Many GPS units will alter the last digit of the minutes because of a rounding glitch. Is it consistent, or just on one waypoint?

If your event stats exceeds the actual number of event caches you've been to, you're lying. Eye-roll that Different stats. Hosted and Attended. What if you could not attend one of the events you hosted? Would you delete that event from your hosted stats? If you don't, then by your reasoning you are lying. Do you add your hides to your finds and use that number as your caches? Sounds the same as adding hosted events to attended events to get your number of events... Not to mention that if souvenirs are important to you not logging that you've attended means you don't get a souvenir for a special event that you've hosted. I wonder how many souvenirs have been awarded to people that created events solely so that people (and of course the host of the event) could get an August souvenir. I know of two groups nearby that are hosting at least one event a day for the entire month. Another group has an event every day during the M-F work week. Most are very short.

BWITO = BushWhacked In, Trail Out

My favorite of many good ones from a "Do Not Find This Cache" cache in Cumberland, MD: Your boss takes you aside and asks you about the smell of DEET when you come back from a long lunch; you lie and claim it's cheap gin.

I don't hold doors open for people because I want to hear them say "Thank You", but because it's the right thing to do. I don't hide caches because I want to hear finders praise my efforts, but because it's the right thing, and because I like hiding them. The key to maximizing your enjoyment of this hobby is to be content with the things you do, and not worry about what others are doing. Everyone plays this game differently, and I can only control what I do.

My extensive experience indicates that "bushwhacking" means that the bushes are whacking you. If you need more than a hiking stick, you're coming from the wrong direction, or you need to reconsider the terrain rating of the cache. My new favorite geocaching acronym: BWITO - BushWhacked In, Trail Out

All GPSr units (I believe) are capable of setting a waypoint. They were doing that before geocaching came along.... GC: from the Menu > highlight "New Waypoint" > [Enter] > [save] -- this maneuver "marks" your position as a waypoint. You may alter those coordinates to any that you so desire (don't forget to [save] again, if you doo). You should also be able to name that particular waypoint upon creation, otherwise the GPSr will assign a name (usually numbers). One of the quirks of the GC is that you get different menus depending on what screen you are viewing. From the "Waypoints" list, MENU -> "Add Waypoint" will get you four options: Current Location, Point on Map, Coordinates, and Projection. Gitchee-Gummee's directions are for adding a new waypoint from the "Map" screen. (I am using the 2.15 firmware.)

Do you know the password? I definitely would have reused the same account. There's a certain degree of prestige from being around a long time. And I'm not talking just about an ego thing, also showing that you were with Geocaching early on, when it was totally under the radar and unknown. I know I've been sending them money for 10 years. If you still have access to the email address you signed up with, Groundspeak can send you your login and password. I logged on to the forum November 2001 to find some GPS info, but didn't find a cache. When I started caching in December 2009, I couldn't even remember my screen name. (I'm still not sure why I picked "fishgeek" way back then.)

If it really bothers you, and you know which cache the individual is trying to complete, you could send a message to the CO of that cache. That CO is ultimately the one who is being manipulated, and is the one who determines who has actually completed the requirements for the challenge.

Now that we've answered the OP's question, how about a slightly different angle on the topic - what about logging your own Challenge Cache? Finding the container and signing the log are only a small part of claiming the cache. I've seen a couple of different CO's do it.

2.15 fixes some things, but it causes a few new problems. The new base map is better, and it allows you to upload custom maps. The circular main menu is gone, but a lot of the old menu issues are still there. There is a bit of a learning curve with the new layout, especially since I haven't seen a manual for the new firmware. The main drawback is performance. With 2.15, the map display doesn't spin in place, it freezes, especially in tree cover. IMHO, 2.15 makes the GC a better PDA, but a worse GPS. I recommend that you get a few more opinions before you change something that is working. And if you decide to upgrade, make sure that you can restore your existing firmware, just in case.

I agree. I have seen events get disabled after the event and it works really well. Those late loggers can still find the event and everyone else can ignore it. There should be an automatic mechanism to disable every event the day after they occur. When to archive an event is a much more complicated subject, but an automatic archival after a stated period of time would not be a bad idea.

I have had almost the exact same experience with my GC, except that instead of the joy stick, the power button popped out on mine. It is now held in place with duct tape. And we could start a whole new topic just on the Menus. The really big problem that I have is with the Suspend mode. It looks just like the Powering Off mode. I have killed many a pair of AA's when I didn't power it off after I was done caching. Also, it goes into Suspend after a few minutes, even when hooked to an external power supply. (I plug the USB cable into a 12V-USB adapter when I'm driving between caches.) Lastly, is there any chance that they will come out with a replacement for the little flap that covers the USB port?

The easiest way is to delete the GPX files in the "Geocaches" and "Waypoints" directories. There is also a "Sort and Search" option in the GC itself. From the main menu, click "Geocaches", then press the "Menu" button. Click on "Sort & Search", then "Status". There you can uncheck "Found" (or any of the other status checks) to exclude them. This way, the caches are still in the GPS. If you upload caches one at a time using the "Send to GPS" function on the cache page, remember that the GC will hold 10,000 caches, but you are limited to 1,000 GPX files. A good system of Pocket Queries is the way to go.

I think it's really interesting how different people enjoy different things. I have only found one Wherigo, but it was the best caching adventure I have experienced. Just wondering why Wherigos irk you? How many have you done and what were your experiences of them? Maybe I was just really lucky with the one I tried. I've done two Wherigo's where I tagged along with a group in which another cacher had a GPS that did them. One was on a trail and one was mostly driving. The trail one wasn't bad, though I didn't get to see the screen very much. The road one could have been a straight-up multi without losing very much. I'm irked because none of my GPS's will do them. and I don't see myself being able to afford one that will anytime soon. I haven't done any chirps for the same reason. While I'm ranting about chirps, they should not be listed as traditionals, as the log is not at the posted coordinates. Now I need to revise all of my PQ's to exclude them. With all of the hoops that geocaching goes through to be inclusive, how can they exclude a large portion of the caching population based on GPS ownership? They would not allow placing a challenge cache that could only be logged as found by owners of certain Garmins.

Things that irk me about geocaching: 1. The fact that earth caches just aren't fun to me any more. They have become geology caches. There is much more to Earth Science than just geology. 2. CO's who have not logged on to the site in years. Some of their caches are epic, most are not. There should be a system to archive their caches after a year or two. 3. A film can hidden in a forest where you could hide a five-gallon bucket. 4. A Multi that is actually a field puzzle that requires an resource not available in the field, especially when I am a long way from home. The cache page should let me know ahead of time. 5. Wherigos and Chirps. (Isn't the company that does those the one that owns an alternative geocaching site.) 6. People who sit at a computer to complain that they don't like to sit at a computer to solve a puzzle.

Thanks for the process. I had tried (and failed) twice to update the firmware in my Triton 500 using the "installer" that is with the download. I deleted everything and updated through VP. It appears to be working. [Knock on wood!]

Some more unasked-for advice - Come up with a system for keeping track of your solved puzzles. I would lose the coords or not have them with me when I needed them. Now, I edit the coordinates on the cache page and put the cache in a bookmark list. (You need to be a Premium Member to use bookmarks.) With the 500, you can start a Solved Puzzles file in VantagePoint and add the caches as you solve them. A good friend uses a little black notebook and writes them all down.

The firmware is free. In the past, you had to have an account for downloads.

The "Menu" button is the key to finding a lot of the functions on the GC. To add a waypoint, go to the list of waypoints and hit menu, "Add a New Waypoint" will be a few entries down from the top. It's a real pain when you're doing a Multi. When looking at the Manual, make sure that your GPS has the same firmware. Watch the screen when the unit is turning on and it should tell you what version you have. I up-graded to the newest firmware (2.15) and the GC became a completely different unit.

"Send to GPS" works with the new eXplorists (and some of the old ones, I think). My GC shows up in Windows as an external drive. To communicate with a Triton, you've got to go through VantagePoint.