drew82

Another idea would be the 12 gauge flare gun pistols like they sell at wally world... I imagine if you need to signal for help one would be usefull, and if you are being attacked by anything i imagine it would get its full attention at the very least... and i imagine they are more legal to carry than guns in many areas.. that is as long as its not to dry out...

Nothing wrong with a good walking stick... I see many people find security in a good walking stick... In that realization I've found that my remington 870 12 gauge makes an excellent walking stick ...

Hey everyone, I recently purchased a 93 mercury tracer from a struggling friend of the family for a pretty reasonable price... My intent was to clean it up and drive this car for caching and other things that i havent had the luxury of doing with gas the way it is, and my 5.9 liter dodge ram the way it is on that gas:) The car has a 1.9 liter engine and seems to get very good milage, thus saving alot of money for me at the pump.. So my question is ,, WHAT DO YOU DRIVE WHILE CACHING AND WHY???

Thanks everybody:) Great ideas and links so far... I figure theres one extreme or the other... A 50 pound pack with too much in it;) or rambo with a tank top and a knife, with a compass matches sewing kit and fishing line in it ...... Don't know if i could do the rain all the time but i very much get the sentiment of loving where you are. I enjoy the hikes i occasionaly take in middle tennessee, where i went to school as a boy, with its rolling hills, winding clear streams and stone fences it always seems ive walked back in time into the civil war times from which alot of the scenery is still bruised.. And as far as gear goes one thing i've found that still amazes me in the many things i have found to do with it is aluminum foil... wont leave without a good bit of it, from keeping the bottoms of my pots scorch free . or as i did a couple weeks ago on a painfully cold trip, making a small fireplace with fire starter in it to warm my hands on a freezing day without scarring the ground or getting too involved,, to making a cup or bowl or plate if needed.. and folds and stores very compact..

I have thought on this very question in the past for my handheld ham radios as well as my cameras... Seems what i came up with was to buy radios and a camera that could be used with rechargables as well as store bought batts.... Cant beat the feeling of security that i have when a go out with a few extra sets of lithium aa's to put in my ht or camera when the lithium ion runs down... might also consider building a charger that you could put aa's in as a power source, could easily do so with one trip to radio shack and a few questions... good luck

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=65 Nice, thanks>>

Hello... I have been camping all my life and backpacking alone and with friends for the past ten years... I like so many for a time was caught up in gear and gadgets, always lusted over new and expensive gear that i saw reviewed in backpacker magizine and new this or that, that i saw in the stores i frequient... Although in the last couple of years i have become increasingly more and more drawn to taking less instead of more, simple and hand or home made instead of fancy and storebought, self relient and independant instead of dependant on my fancy gear or new northface jacket.. dont get me wrong.. i love all the new gear and tools as much as the next guy.. and own more than i can afford of it all... I just have a better feeling coming back from trips where i have taken less and used my skills and lack of them to learn lessons that i otherwise would have missed.. So my question is this.. what are your tricks and tips for super ultralite backpacking... Whats the least you could take and how could you make the most of those few items... any tip, idea or experience would be appreciated... Thanks:)

Thinking more on this post it seems to me that most times I have prolly come off as the weirdo to various people that have seen me lurking around... having had long hair and a scruffy look in the past,, it seems that no one in todays world likes to see anyone stepping out of the norm... seems to make them nervous... i know a couple of people that have carry permits here in Tn where i live, they unlike me choose to open carry, but have purchased badges that say handgun carry permit that they wear on their belt next to their gun... seems to ease people at a glance to see the badge next to the gun... cant see what it says unless your close, but would be nice to have a forestry dep, ranger, or city works hat, sometimes while geocaching :blink: might ease some harsh or suspicious looks .....

Have heard of similar things happening in one of our local parks that is the home of four caches... Shouldnt have to have a body guard to walk in the park... Thats one reason i got my carry permit.. Shouldnt have to fear the things i enjoy... hate to hear

I honestly thought I wouldn't get much use out of mine as well. But a few months worth of hikes made me decide it was time to add a mobile unit on the jeep so it can act as a local repeater. As noted above, even 5 watts won't push much through a forest unless you have good line of sight, but it sure gets better distance than a 2 watt radio. With the 50 watt mobile acting as a repeater my only obstacle will be a mountain or ridge between us for most situations. The call sign is an itty bitty pain when you consider the multitude of channels available to you and the willingness of other users to help out in a pinch including letting you get a word in edgewise. You won't get that from abusive teens putzing around on an FRS/GMRS for giggles. Between vehicles, you'll get better distance locally as well as remotely, again, largely due to the higher mobile power and repeater availability. You can start off small with a handheld, and attach the antenna to an adapter hooked to the window for better distance than you can get with a FRS/GMRS. Granted, it isn't the best of the HAM world, but it is a far better capability than those toys. I did that for almost a year before I got my mobile. I've already chatted by repeater through the Internet to folks in Colorado and Hawaii. It's an amazing capability that goes beyond just chatting it up in the woods. The thing about HAM is that the folks like to talk. I freaking hate to talk. I rarely answer the telephone. My dad calls me constantly and I only answer once per weekend. I don't feel the need to gab with folks all the time. On the other hand, I'm fairly prolific when it comes to posting. I can do that on my own time and either do it or not depending on my mood. I don't have to be nagged and hassled by a freaking ringing phone and someone demanding my time and attention. I'm a total phone curmudgeon. If I was a character on "The Waltons" I'd be some crabby old man who, "won't have that infernal contraption in my house!" Phone lines are for Internet access and an occasional call to Papa Murphy's for pizza. Given that state of mind, I don't think I'm cut out for the HAM community. I also am not a big talker... Check this out http://www.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/aprs.html ... Aprs is a very neat part of ham radio where messages are in text format... and many units, like this hand held, http://www.kenwoodusa.com/Communications/A...ables/TH-D7A(G) can be hooked to your gps while out and you can becon out and show up on everyone arounds screen... send free messages, and see other users that are around and how far and which way... very neat, and the data can travel very far directly to other units on simplex or to digi peaters and rebroadcast farther out... ..........

Alright!!! Good luck

Please see the forum guidelines. Private, off-topic conversations between two forum community members ought to take place via PM or e-mail. This thread is about whether a ham frequency should be listed by the website. Thanks. Well, I'll answer it anyway since I guess my level of experience is important to the debate. Yes Drew, I am I licensed ham who has been involved in amateur radio for over 30 years. Now, answer a question for me. Drew, are you an active geocacher? Thanks... Yes.. under my older username(team name), don't like to use it in the forums, for this reason... not trying to offend... respect your answer now... just didnt know, I'm sure you can understand...And I'm sure everyone is glad to know the mod of the ham forum is a ham... And a good point would also be that i am not only active, but someone who pays for three premium memberships between myself my team and my spouse... figure that should allow me to speak my mind... Tend to be blunt, don't mean to be disrespectful... 73

Amateur already has a designated frequency for these types of activities as stated above. You use these frequencies to make contact, and move to an open frequency to continue your conversation. Since these frequencies are in a spectrum that is local in nature (line of sight), most hams have frequencies they know they can go to that will not cause interruption locally to other activities. Because these frequencies are universally accepted as a "gentlemans agreement", hams tend to avoid these frequencies when they are doing activities such as foxhunts, roundtables, nets, ragchewing, etc. The consensus thus far in other threads is that trying to find a frequency that would not somehow interfere with other local and regional activities would not be workable, and that is only here in the states. Factor in international concerns and it becomes a much more troublesome issue. Since 146.52 is already designated for this, we would simply be fixing something that isn't broke. If a small group of local hams decides to use another frequency, even if it catches on, they are free to however any type of endorsement of the frequency by Groundspeak would have to much potential to cause strife between geocaching and the established ham community which already has a tendency to close ranks when things like this come up. This is a duplicated thread from one over in the hams forum. I understand what you are saying.. not trying to disrespect anyone in the ham community, i'll leave that to the fcc:)... Maybe choosing frequencys to use would be better if done locally and listed in individual cache pages... Seems that if its ever to be a national thing... which is what the original post suggested,, (although i keep getting replys reguarding international probs??) it will be something accomplished in the future... I was not trying to start some war between hams, this would not be the first nationally agreed on freq for use by a group ( i.e. skywarn listing 146.550 simplex on site)... just an idea...

Just curious .. NJ Admin, are you a licensed amateur radio op? Thanks...

No one is saying that we should stop scanning the national calling freq respecting wilderness protocol... And most caches i have seen are not in the wilderness... If you are using that as your argument why has the frequency for frs use while caching not the agreed upon emergency channel 1... I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel.. just trying to increase interest in both communitys.. didnt see any negitives to my request.. or any arguments to it that had any merit... my radios as well as everyones i know are continually scanning.. the national calling freq as well as the secondary one and all the local repeaters around are in the memory channels and i will catch anything that comes up on any of them... didnt see the harm in adding another frequency to the bank...

noticed quite a few posts before mine that were missing that word... love the quick wit as always though... Geocaching....

R.E.M. humor...

It amazes me to see how many people put down and want to talk like gun owners and those who choose to carry them are a bunch of nuts and crazys... Shame on anyone who forgets the lessons of this countrys past, and what rights our forefathers thought it prudent for us to have... I am responsible for myself and my family. When it comes to my finances, my home, all my choices, they are mine to make for the future of my 18 month old girl. No matter what may arise.. its up to me.. not the government.. or anyone else.. do you really think the government or anyone else has the best intrests of you and yours in mind more than, or as much as you do... thats a thought that i take very seriously.. thats why i have my carry permit.. thats why i carry my gun.. thats why theres a shotgun locked in my room.. Nothing will prevent me from protecting me and mine.. its not something that rules my thoughts or my life ... its something that lets me rule my life.. not any fear of some low life trash.. funny how your first run in with one will change your mind.. i've been shot, on an unfortunate day when i let my apathy and mindset of letting others be in charge of my final circumstances overcome my natural right to be able to protect myself.. if more responsible people opted to take advantage of their rights things in this world might be a little different..thugs shouldnt be the only ones with guns..and i don't carry my gun without my pepper spray... same holster, because my gun is my last resort.. we've become a soft people.. living in our glass jars.. and people are always afraid of things they dont understand... if you dont like guns or just dont know anything about them, take the ccw class if theres one given around you.. most of them will let you for free if your doing it for educational purposes.. you'll be surprised at what you will hear and learn... they are just tools... any tool can be dangerous if handled poorly... be educated.. be prepared.. then your ready to be...

Greetings.. I am a general class license holding amateur radio op, and started a thread in the gps and ham radio forums last july... the thread is still going ( http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=169616 ) and suggests adding the 2 meter ham freq 147.555 as the generally agreed upon freq for use while hams are caching... I see that frs has a listed channel in the geocaching faq for use, and would like to request that our frequency be added to the faq also.. thank you for your consideration.. drew82

HEY ... Just picked up a eXplorist 100 on sale for 35 bucks.. thought about using it for caching only.. was wondering if there is any way to load waypoints other than by hand?

Just got a garmin streetpilot c330, figured out how to put caches in it, and wow! Works great in getting me to the caches where i use a legend to get me the rest of the way in... could use the c330 if i had to since it has a rechargable battery in it.. Anyone else using combinations of different gps together for caching?

Anyone here drive a jeep wrangler for caching? Got a friend and fellow cacher considering buying one, tell me why he should!!!

Thanks everybody!

Looking for internet sites with free point of interest waypoint downloads... for example coords for all shell stations in an area or parks...