Miragee

Keep in mind that the Cx does not have the High Sensitivity receiver. Depending on where you cache, you might really want a GPS unit with the 'H' in the model name.

Since you are Premium Members, you can create and download Pocket Queries, either of a particular area, or "Caches Along a Route" you are traveling. Once you get those files, you can use either EasyGPS or GSAK (Geocaching Swiss Army Knife) to load all 500 caches from the PQ file at one time.

I love my Vista HCx and much prefer it to the size and shape of the 60CSx. The new High Sensitivity GPS units designated with the 'H' are very accurate.

Mine was GCMZCX. It was on a remote, rural road, but still it got muggled twice , so I Archived it. Later, I placed another cache in the same location since it marks a trailhead. "Another Lyons Valley Roadside Distraction is still doing okay in its new incarnation.

Welcome to the Forums! I would recommend the Legend HCx. It connects to your computer with USB, will auto-route if you purchase the optional City Navigator maps, and has the data card for Custom Points of Interest and lots of map memory. To get the hints on the GPSr, you will want to become a Premium Member to have access to the .gpx files from the individual cache pages and from Pocket Queries.

Just a "DITTO" on some of the comments in this post. Opera 9.51 The Avatar is very ugly, and on a dialup connection, having the page reload to decrypt the hint is annoying. Thanks for listening to all the complaints comments.

<snip> I'd like to see someone's list of why Locationless caches were better. <snip> To add to Isonzo Karst's items, I'll add the main one for me. The old "Locationless" and "Virtual" caches were on this site. Also, the old "Locationless" and "Virtual" caches were included in your PQs. Additionally, to find one of those, you didn't have to have an idea ahead of time of what you were interested in, which is what you have to do on Waymarking. When Waymarking first started, I got excited about it, but having to create Categories for things I was interested in was a hassle. Adding Waymarks was okay, until I found out I was talking to a wall. No one was visiting them . . . The last time I tried to post a new Waymark, I had problems with the site functioning correctly. I posted in the Waymarking Forums about that, but couldn't see that anything was being done. Now, I don't care about Whybothermarking anymore . . .

I'm with mommio, except I'm not creative. I love hiding caches and like to do that by myself. I really don't like looking for caches anymore . . . unless I am caching with friends. I found a trail the other day that doesn't have but one cache on it. Even though I already have a lot of caches out there , I've made up about ten containers to put out at the next opportunity.

As long as you are going to be there, you should just look for the cache. You never know what you might find. And then again, you might find the container in perfect condition. Wildfires behave in interesting ways . . .

Should be but we all know that isn't the case. I've had a few caches where I needed to adjust the terrain and/or difficulty ratings. How did I know to do this? Because people logged DNFs. So an effort to define DNFs in a way that eliminates some of the ambiguity would be helpful, no? And if the information came to you via a direct email or a Note it would still be helpful, no? The failure to properly define DNF at the outset has allowed cachers to adopt their own standards, which mostly err on using this type of log as sparingly as possible. Many posters to this thread say that's not good and claim to abide by more stringent standards. But nobody except the OP has tried to get at any kind of solution. <snip> Several months ago, I suggested a change to the "Log Your Visit" page where definitions of the Log Types could fill all the blank space on the right hand side of the page. I think some "definitions" of the log types on that page would be helpful. For my own caches, I don't want to receive notice of a DNF unless the cacher actually got to GZ, but if they got there and didn't find the cache, I want them to log their DNF. As long as their log lets me know whether they looked for one minute, or twenty, I can make a decision about whether to check on the cache, or not. Since my caches are very lonely, I would appreciate receiving an email for a "Note" if someone almost went on a search for the cache, like this recent "Note," but didn't really search.

Interesting . . . There is a cache owner in Yuma, Arizona who places some very devious, tricky, evil caches. He won't give out a hint until the cacher has posted a DNF.

I have trekking poles and don't go for long hikes without them. I used a 20% off offer at R.E.I. to get the Leki poles and I recommend that brand. They are worth the price I paid. Some people recommend the inexpensive walking sticks sold at Wal-Mart. I did not have good luck with an inexpensive walking stick . . . it would collapse when I put weight on it . . .

You need both the City Navigator maps, which you can also use on your computer/s, as well as the Topo maps, if you want Topo on the Vista HCx. I have both on my Vista HCx. I bought the older Topo maps on eBay and got the auto-routing maps in a combo package. I saved money getting them along with the beanbag auto-mount and cigarette-lighter adapter, two things I was going to need anyway.

<snip> It's like the remake of a song. Some like the orginal better, some like the new version better. Some like both. Yeah same song but clearly different. The Boss vs. Manfredd Man on blinded by the light for example. Not quite. You can listen to the original song and the remake on the same radio or stereo. You don't have to listen to one on your car radio and the other one in your family room . . .

Interesting . . . That must be a new "feature" because several weeks ago, I changed the coordinates for all my "Date Placed" PQs to make the radius smaller, and did not have that problem.

I disagree with your last statement, at least for the Puzzle Cachers in this area, and there are many brilliant ones who create Puzzles I don't have a prayer of figuring out. These Puzzle Cache owners don't care if you tag along with someone who has figured out the Puzzle, or have to ask for hints. Our Puzzle Cachers are very generous that way.

Welcome to the Forums! If you are planning on doing most of your caching close to your vehicle, perhaps a PDA with GPS like the Garmin iQue would be a good choice. However, those are not durable or waterproof, nor do the batteries last as long as those of a hand-held GPSr like the Garmin Legend HCx, which you can use for auto-routing with the optional City Navigator maps installed. The Palm TX has WiFi, but that is hard to see in bright sunlight. I have a $30.00 Palm m500 that works great for caching because it is easy to see outside. I use it in conjunction with my handheld GPS. The Palm stays safe inside my pack until I actually need it while I use the GPSr to find the cache location. Maybe someone else will come along with another suggestion for you.

Ahah . . . I now see that one of my trackables was placed into an Event cache . . . and I did not get that notification. The last notification I received for one of my Trackables was July 18th. It looks like this is also being discussed in the TB Forum.

Welcome to the Forums! I have been using a Palm m500 for caching and it works very well. I chose to get Cachemate for it. I downloaded it and registered it for the minimal fee of $8.00. I Export the data in the correct .pdb format from GSAK. Because I have had the Palm for quite a while, it has several programs on it. To hold more data, I got a 256 MB card for it and I put the caches on that card. I have thousands of caches in different databases in Cachemate.

There is a discussion in the Web Site Forum about this issue. I have a Gmail account and received a watchlisted Geocoin message today, along with new cache notifications.

As a cache owner, I appreciate either DNFs or Notes that tell me someone either looked for and couldn't find, or started out to look for my cache, but didn't quite make it. I can tell from the comments in the log whether I have to worry about a missing cache, or not, so I encourage new cachers to log their DNFs. My own rule is to log a DNF if I actually get to GZ and look for the cache, whether I only looked for a couple of minutes, or looked for half an hour. If I didn't get to GZ for some reason, I'll log a "Note" on the cache. I look at all my logs as an "online journal" of my caching adventures. Whether it is a "Found it" or a "Didn't Find it" or a "Note," the log helps me remember what I did. Someday, these online logs might be the only way I'll know what I did during my Geocaching years . . .

Welcome to the Forums! Since you are familiar with the Garmin eTrex, I would recommend the Legend HCx or Vista HCx. With either of those, you will want to get the Mapsource Topo maps and possibly the City Navigator maps if you want auto-routing. I have the Vista HCx and like it.

This option has been requested many times over the past few years. It would be great to be able to eliminate a particular hider, or hiders, caches from the PQs. Maybe someday the PQ form will allow that . . . In the meantime, I have saved a filter in GSAK for one person's caches. After I refresh the database with my "Date Placed" PQs, I filter out the "Last 2 DNFs," then that person's caches. Then I can reload my Palm and GPSr with new data.

Yes, that is what happened when I contacted my Reviewer about a cache listed as a Multi that is really a Puzzle. However, it has been around for a long time, so he didn't think it should be changed. I also ran into several "Offset" caches that are listed as Traditionals when I took a trip to Death Valley. Those really should be changed to Multis. In the meantime, since they have been like that for a long time, cachers just need to remember to read the entire cache description . . .

I have a Vista HCx loaded with the City Navigator maps and Topo maps. If I did a lot of traveling, I might want to get a Nuvi since the screen is much larger and there are voice prompts, compared to the "beeps" the Vista HCx gives. If you get a Nuvi and a handheld, you can get the older Topo maps for the handheld on eBay for less money than the newest Topo maps. Having the Topo maps is better than no maps at all . . .