Bisanabi

Nearest I can find on a quick search. Solicitation and Commercial Content. It suggests or requires that the finder go inside a business, interact with employees and/or purchase a product or service. A couple of years ago I got off a cruise ship at an Alaskan port. Sunday morning, nothing open, no one around. The cache in this small town was inside a sidewalk newspaper stand. I had to pay $1.50 (because it had the Sunday paper in it -- all of a dozen pages maybe) to get the cache. As I was signing it, I let the lid slip. Another $1.50 to get back in and replace the cache. Must be a gold mine for the local newspaper guy/cache owner!

Sheesh, too expensive? Look at the coin specifics, and then go to a coin minting site. I have received coins that were disappointing , because they minted them too thin, too small (1.5"?? Please!!), no tracking, no colors or plain paint, printing 1000+ (making it way too common for trading/value), etc. I, for one, applaud RoboKnight for not skimping someplace just to keep the price down. You want a quality coin, you pay for it, or not. I doubt RoboKnight is making any money off this serious coin. There are plenty of "bogus"/simple coins out there for the whiners! I'll pass on those and take two of these beauties. Again, congrats on having the courage to check ALL the options on the minting form, and then some!!

Made my first bookmark list tonight, and spent some tedious time adding waypoints from individual pages. Then I noticed the little box in the upper right hand corner of the bookmark listing page and started entering the desired waypoint codes. After I finished, I could not get the entire listing to display. Changing the number of items per page produced bizarre results. Eventually got the message: "You can not bookmark an unapproved listing." Well, duh! I must have fat-fingered one of the waypoints. However, I cannot see the bad waypoint to delete it. If I select next page to jump to the end, I get a server error about negative index numbers. Cannot even dump the entries to a .loc file to see which one I am missing, as I still get the error message about not being able to bookmark an unapproved listing. The only thing available is to archive the entire bookmark listing and start anew. Jeremy, can you fix this? Display all waypoint slots so that bogus ones can be deleted. Or just don't allow bogus waypoints to be added to a listing in the first place? I can't believe I'm the only one to use this entry box and fat-finger an entry. Or was I just (un)lucky enough to accidentally choose a cache in limbo??

First off, I really like the My Finds PQ functionality. Today, I received my PQ email, but there was a CRC error in the zip file. The Child Waypoints extracted fine (whoop-dee-do), but the main GPX file failed its CRC check. This has only happened twice before on a PQ, and those also were on a My Find PQ. The frustrating part is that there is no way to request it again, until another seven days!! And if it screws up again next week, it'll be another 7 days before I can attempt it again... If you have 5 PQ's queued up, it can still be queued, as it doesn't count towards the 5 per day PQ limit. I had 5 queued up (3 ran, 2 still to go). The My Find queued up nicely as well, effectively becoming #6. I decided to change one of the 2 yet to be run for another PQ. I unchecked its box, but was unable to check another, because now the My Find counted as one of the daily five limit! As noted above, the My Find PQ ultimately failed, so I ended up with a limit of 4 today. Nothing major, as I don't really NEED that PQ file today, but it is frustrating. Thought I'd mention it so that it can be looked into and resolved. I still have the zip file if that would help the technicians track down the problem. For the size of the database and the number of daily users, the site is doing amazingly well! Keep up the good work!

Sorry to cause a stir. I knew I shouldn't have mentioned GSAK by name. My dad has a Garmin and loads a PQ into MapSource. Nice icons based on cache type and availability. Before going out for a weekend cache run, he loads another PQ of the area overtop of the old one. This adds new caches, leaves the ones on the fringes alone (that have been dropped from the PQ due to the new caches), and updates the status for each "temporarily disabled" cache. "Archived" caches are still shown as valid caches! My friend has a Magellan and does similar stuff with MapSend. Same result. Darn all these third party software packages for having the same problem!! [] In one breath, it sounds like we shouldn't be using third party software because they are screwing up GC's PQ files. In the next breath, it sounds like GC is delinquent in this capability, and we need to acquire third party software to make up for it. I'm not casting blame. I'd just like to see a checkbox when choosing cache type. Active, not active, REALLY not active, etc. I don't see any harm that this could possibly cause and would simplify things with non-computer savvy people. Myself, I would like to have the logs explaining why caches in my query were archived. I would not send others to my favorite caches if they didn't exist anymore. Since we aren't allowed to scrape the site for these non-updated caches, we have to search for each by name, select the GPX download icon, and grab them individually. Jeremy isn't preventing us from accessing the data, so why tie up the resources by having us do it online, one by one, over a long period of time? How often have you gotten server load errors? Give me a simple checkbox, send me my PQ during non-peak hours, and I'll read the logs offline the next day over lunch (when I don't even have a network connection available!) Anyways, my question was answered. It can't be done on this site, and the likelihood of it being implemented is nil. Oh, well... Bisanabi

I just got back from a depressing time in Ft Lauderdale. I did a recent PQ before leaving and loaded it into GSAK. I filtered all found (none) and disabled caches, and loaded my GPSr. Spent lots of time searching for four caches that had been archived long ago. Why? I had loaded the area last year. The caches were archived since. The recent PQ did not include ALL caches. The archived caches were still listed as active caches. Temporarily disabled caches show up, but once they are actually archived, I can not find a way to access them. This leaves "hanging caches" in my GSAK listing that I cannot easily get rid of. I can always sort by GPX date and delete ones that don't update recently, but I'd like to save them and update the status, as well as store the log explaining why it was disabled and archived. Is there a way to download archived caches? If not, can this easily be added as an option? Bisanabi

You are exporting everything you see in your "filter set". Sort by distance, clear user tags, use "Set nn tags" to set however many waypoints you wish to export. Then use the last builtin filter from the filter pull-down list -- only showing user flagged entries. As I said above, temporarily sort by distance, do your filter, then re-sort by whatever you were sorting by...

Perhaps the title should be "Have you ever SEEN anything valuable in a cache?" Then, I'd wonder how many people would answer "Yes, the _____ which I left." Rather than "What did you GET?", how about "What did you LEAVE?". If you don't leave anything valuable, nobody else is going to find anything either. I've left $10 embossed "coins"/medallions at caches that I found truly enjoyable, for one reason or another. I have read future logs where they had been exchanged out for McToys. Whatever. Not the reason why I left them. Won't keep me from leaving them in future caches that are "above the norm"... I found a cache that was stocked so well with expensive things that I had to sign a TNLN as I had nothing on me that could compare to the least expensive item! Wish I had known beforehand, and I suggested people bring some good stuff in my log entry. So, they are out there. Try a difficult puzzle cache. The people who do these tend to be of a higher-calibre, non-McToy type of cacher. Enjoy!!

Yes, the help file does say that the waypoint in the destination database will be replaced - not merged. However, If what you really want is to merge waypoint logs just export those waypoints to a GPX file (GSAK can export all logs and is not limited to 5) then load that GPX file into the other database. When you do this all logs are merged. The comments on the transfer page and in the help file are quite explicit. I just missed the subtlety purely my fault. Just wanted to let others know in case they missed it too. I came up with the GPX export and import idea also, and will probably do that tomorrow. My 5 PQ's cover 9 states, redundantly. Since I name my DBs by the state abbrevs used in the state column, can I use a macro to somehow dump records automagically to each database based on the value in the state field? Sorry, it's late, so I'm asking. I'll RTFM tomorrow when I wake up and try to figure it out myself. However, if anyone already does this easily, please pipe up. Happy caching!!

Background: I have separate GSAK databases, one per state. My PQ's limit waypoint extractions to a specific state. I load these periodically, and keep all old logs per cache. (i.e. I don't delete the logs and keep them for historical reasons) Today, I am preparing for a trip, so did not limit my PQ's to within a state, and performed several PQ's spaced out along my route. I created a new GSAK database, 'temp', and loaded all of them into that. I sorted by state, and interatively set flags on a single state, moved those waypoints to the respective State DB, and repeated. A few observations while performing the Move/Copy Waypoints function under the Database tab:: After setting the user flags, I used the builtin filter to only show these waypoints. After the move, the filter result is 0 (empty), so the filter is deactivated, and all remaining waypoints are shown. The filter pulldown window still shows my old filter selection, even though it is no longer active. When the filter is considered invalid by producing an empty set, shouldn't this be reset to 'NONE' as well? After a set of waypoints is transferred, the window refreshes and my sort column is reset. I have to reselect sort-by-state after every single move/copy. Can this be remembered? Similarly, the differences between Center Point and Locations window selection appears to be a little confusing and inconsistent. I think a 'Not selected' line should show when the item visible in the Location box is not being used. The Locations selection seems to make a temporary Center Point. After a transfer, or a number of other functions, the window refreshes based on the Center Point or Alphabetically, rather than the previously/currently selected Location. If the Location box is selected, can we use that and remember that we are using that? When 'Not selected' is chosen, begin using the stored Center Point again? My main reason for writing is that I made an incorrect assumption that the move/copy waypoints to a database was like importing them from the GPX file. I separated VA, DC, and MD waypoints from the Temp DB, and ended up losing my log history on the transferred waypoints. Is there a way that we can save the old logs during a waypoint transfer -- i.e. a waypoint 'Merge' perhaps. Or can we filter a GPX file load to just load entries meeting a criteria -- State?, cache type?, difficulty?, terrain?. I know, PQ has these filters, but you only get 5 per day. I used my 5 for large dumps around VA, DC, Baltimore, Trenton, & New York City, for my trip to Connecticut. Oh, well. Just thought I'd share that in case others are moving/copying waypoints. You will lose your old log histories. -Bisanabi

Ditto that. Very similar to what is happening on mine. (edited to avoid any more flames) I think everyone needs a chill pill, too. This is a hobby. There are no financial rewards/prizes. The competition is in your head. If it is all about the stats, you're as bad as the so-called fakers. Just go grab another 1/1 magnetic micro in the local parking lot. And, yes, I understand that another cacher cannot log a faked find -- so get a checkmark someplace else. If LC's are really to let others know of this cool Butterfly House, or Carousel, or <insert non-lame LC favorite>, then it has already been done -- faked or not -- from a book, internet search, old vacation picture, or valid find with bad photography. Back on point, the pictures that JoeFrog posted here (and then pulled) look fine. The numbers on the displays vary, and the pointer finger is up & out in one while it is under the unit for support in another. Oops. I'm right-handed and hold my camera to my face with my left hand stretched out holding the GPSr. It is 2 to 2 1/2 feet from the flash/camera while the object is much further away. It will always appear on the left side, or bottom-left corner -- always! Will the pictures look similar? I suppose they will -- look at the other detail, or the screen. Unfortunately, my GPS V never did photograph well, and I'm disappointed with my 60CS I got for Xmas -- so it must be me or my camera settings. All my pictures now are with my GPSr mounted on my dashboard and the LC object through the windshield. The unit is steadier this way and I can focus in on the unit better. Look at all mine together and all of them will be framed by a car's dashboard and roof, with the GPSr centered to the right (where the dashboard is flat and there isn't an airbag)! All of them will have this "signature"!! What I am saying is to be VERY careful when you accuse someone of cheating, being scum, or whatever other name-calling "we" are currently into. If you cache alone, pictures are going to be similar with an outstretched hand. If it has an obvious white ring around it like the President's LC Photo, that's different. Don't falsely accuse someone and lose a fellow hobbyist over some pent-up feelings you have. Yes, some people might be cheating. Assume they are innocent unless you know for sure, and I mean DARNED sure. Smile. Have fun. Your stats are your stats. Play. Bring a child along. Bring your significant other along. Go by yourself and RELAX. Enjoy playing with your cool tech toy. Lots of people can't afford them. Think of the Tsunami victims. Put it all in perspective. For heaven's sake, log off this forum and go find another cache!!! -Bisanabi

Yes!! Thank you. I wholeheartedly agree!! We had a bad hurricane here in VA last month. A local cache that I had done showed a bug. The logs said the park was restricted while they continued to clear all the trees (and there were and still are a lot!) I bushwhacked a shortcut I knew to get it back into circulation, but it wasn't there. I checked and found out it had been MIA since early spring. The slap was that I had sent the TB owner an email months earlier when I first found the cache to please put it to rest, and I got suckered into looking for it again (senility creeping in). Another email came back last week agreeing to remove a TB missing for over a year, but I just looked and it is still there. I think cache owners should be able to put a TB to rest... At least, TB owners should be able to recall one without the number, should they lose their copy of the tag. Maybe an "Archive It" or "Not found" options on the TB's page, like the caches have. After so many of these, the TB owner is emailed, and then after so many more, the TB is automatically put to rest.

The watch list/email/filter works, but it is a massive waste of bandwidth. Why add 100 caches in your area and auto-delete all email (lots of email) after they arrive. Multiply this by dozens/hundreds/thousands of users, and... A simple addition to the sites scripting would be much cleaner and less resource intensive. I would suggest allowing such notifications to be received based on range from home or by state. I also think the site should auto-archive a cache that has not been found within the last 3/6/12 months. One site in Connecticut obviously does not exist, having had several people reporting non-finds over the past year. If only the "owner" can archive the cache, what happens when the "owner" ceases to exist, like his/her cache?? Does it remain "on the books" forever, luring the occasional cacher in who doesn't always read the logs first? -Bisanabi