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basher_boy

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Posts posted by basher_boy

    GE KML Redesign

    in Website

    Posted

    Thank you for bringing back this feature. AS many of said I found it useful for recon, and then would go to the site to take care of any actual searching.

     

    Can a suggest a link to the cache page.

     

    As others have said I rarely used more than 5 refreashes, and never used more than 50 of my 200.

     

    Thanks again

    Using a GPSr at work

    in GPS technology and devices

    Posted

    It has been a while since I have been on this forum.

     

    I have run into a small problem using my GPSr at work. At my company we have all our field staff have been using etrex legends and laptops for all our GPS and navigation needs. We need to take GPS coords by hand in the field, and we also need to navigate to a day's stops using turn by turn directions throughout the state.

     

    Laptops and the etrex legend have been working great.

     

    Here is the problem--we have been outfiting the staff with new laptops--lo and behold the new laptops don't have COM ports to hook up the old Etrexs, they only have USB and Firewire.

     

    I am looking at getting stand alone in-car navigation stuff like the the NUVI, but they have no real abilty to take GPSr coords in the field.

     

    What are your expert suggestions?

     

    Thanks

    Mappoint

    in GPS technology and devices

    Posted

    Ok guys,

     

    I am a little bit confused about something that you guys might be able to help out with.

     

    What is the difference between mappoint and mappoint web service, what are the benefits/disadvantages of one over the other.?

     

    Thanks

    Gis And Epidemiology And Suggestions

    in GPS technology and devices

    Posted · Edited by basher_boy

    Since there are some really sharp people around here, I thought that I would ask a question regaurding an upcoming project that I have.

     

    I need to be able to record disease epidimiology data in a GIS

     

    It would be nice if it would be able to work with an Oracle database, and even nicer still if it could work in real time. i.e. If I would pull up a map of the state and look for the occurance of a certian event, it would automatically be updated with the latest info.

     

    It would be even better if it could be set to animate trends over time.

     

    And it would be even better if it could available over the web--not the software but the reports.

     

    We are in the process of changing our DB system so it is possible that the DB may end up becoming a microsoft DB, but currently it is oracle.

     

    Current suggestion is to use arc view which I have played with a little bit and have been unhappy with.

     

    I currently use mappoint personally, and like it alot.

     

    So what are the opinions out there?

     

    Thanks

    basher_boy

    Meri Gold Memory Question

    in GPS technology and devices

    Posted

    I work on the road, and input all my client's GPS locations into my GPS. I input the clients name into the message field. I have some 200 clients inputed right now, and when I try to enter a new name in the message field, it returns an error something like "This field is full." I am using the internal memory, and the information says that my waypoints are only 60% full. I use topo to upload, download the waypoints. I assume that this is some kind of a database error, but I am unable to sort it out.

     

    Any Bright Ideas?

    Binocular... source for good binoculars... low prices....??

    in General geocaching topics

    Posted

    I am not sure that $350 binocs are high quality. I would classify these as mid range. But then I am a snob who recently bought a pair of Leica 8x30. They are the most fantastic binocs I have ever ever used (they should be for the price). In my extensive research as to what binocs I would buy, the two best rated binocs in the 8x30 range was a $350 pair of nikons, and the Leicas. They were both rated equally in optical quality, but the leicas were shock, and water proof. The nikons were neither, and did not do well under regular use. As for ideal power, most think that 8x is about ideal for general purpose hand-held aplications. 8x30 has the about the same exit pupil as the maximum size a human eye can dialte. Therefore under perfect conditions a 8x30 will deliver as much light to your eye as it can handle. For a 10x binoc you need a 10x52, which is a big binoc, to hold and carry. The bigger the glass the harder it is to build quality lenses, therefore the more expensive it becomes for the same optical quality. A 10x30 binoc is really only good for the highest light conditions, even in very high quality binocs.

     

    Do some research on birding sites, as these people take their binocs very very seriously. Sixe, weight, quality and handling are all very important to folks in this hobby.

     

    As for best prices. I found it at the grey market stores in NYC. Remember I bought bbinocs that are more than 4x the price that you mention when purchased through normal retail channels. I think I paid about twice what you want to pay.

     

    Hope this is helpful

    Gluing magnets to 35mm cannisters

    in General geocaching topics

    Posted

    Two things:

     

    Be careful with the epoxy you buy. Most of the 5 minute variety are water soluble.

     

    My choice of glue for this project would be contact cement. Not rubber cement. It is flexible, non-messy, water-proof, and quick.

     

    Another choice might be to forego the glue, and buy sone Blind poprivits, and some of the magnets with little holes in the middle.

    Outdoor Etiquette

    in General geocaching topics

    Posted

    Actually if you were to use efficiency as a measure of pollution, a horse, ox, camel, lama, dog, whatever would be a far more polluting means of getting work done than the combustion engine. If I remember my college thermo-dynamics correctly combustion engines are from 50% to 80% efficient. So if I put 100 joules of chemical energy into a combustion engine I will get between 50 and 80 joules converted into mechanical energy. Mammalian type animals generally are 20% efficient at rest. So a horse at rest is using 80 joules of the 100 joules I put in (horse feed) just to stay alive. Remember that this has no on off switch either. Whether I work my horse or not I am using up a lot more energy then I am putting in. One doesn’t have to look much past the Chesapeake water shed or Washington State west of the Cascades to see how inefficient and polluting animals can be as workers. Remember that the largest majority of the pollution in these areas in the manure from the cows on the dairy farms in those watersheds, with additions of fertilizer used to grow the feed to fuel those animals.

     

    Ozone you say. The production of greenhouse gasses is secondary to poor efficiency of energy conversion. Studies have been done (I can only just remember reading them) that have shown that one cow produces more green house gasses then several small sedans. The gasses given off by the cows is mostly methane.

     

    If you want to talk about the renewablility of fuel resources your animals might win out, and If you want to talk about the biodegradation of the waste product you might also have a case. But with the advent of flax seed oil and methanol powered combustion engines your arguments might loose ground quickly. In some parts of Europe 30-50% of all diesel engines are now using Rapps diesel (rape seed oil) as a fuel source.

     

    Imagine a world where everyone you saw was using horses or oxen for power. The pollution and mess would be unimaginable.

     

    I hope that I am not bursting any bubbles

     

    bAsH

    BaSh

    Outdoor Etiquette

    in General geocaching topics

    Posted

    Actually if you were to use efficiency as a measure of pollution, a horse, ox, camel, lama, dog, whatever would be a far more polluting means of getting work done than the combustion engine. If I remember my college thermo-dynamics correctly combustion engines are from 50% to 80% efficient. So if I put 100 joules of chemical energy into a combustion engine I will get between 50 and 80 joules converted into mechanical energy. Mammalian type animals generally are 20% efficient at rest. So a horse at rest is using 80 joules of the 100 joules I put in (horse feed) just to stay alive. Remember that this has no on off switch either. Whether I work my horse or not I am using up a lot more energy then I am putting in. One doesn’t have to look much past the Chesapeake water shed or Washington State west of the Cascades to see how inefficient and polluting animals can be as workers. Remember that the largest majority of the pollution in these areas in the manure from the cows on the dairy farms in those watersheds, with additions of fertilizer used to grow the feed to fuel those animals.

     

    Ozone you say. The production of greenhouse gasses is secondary to poor efficiency of energy conversion. Studies have been done (I can only just remember reading them) that have shown that one cow produces more green house gasses then several small sedans. The gasses given off by the cows is mostly methane.

     

    If you want to talk about the renewablility of fuel resources your animals might win out, and If you want to talk about the biodegradation of the waste product you might also have a case. But with the advent of flax seed oil and methanol powered combustion engines your arguments might loose ground quickly. In some parts of Europe 30-50% of all diesel engines are now using Rapps diesel (rape seed oil) as a fuel source.

     

    Imagine a world where everyone you saw was using horses or oxen for power. The pollution and mess would be unimaginable.

     

    I hope that I am not bursting any bubbles

     

    bAsH

    BaSh

    Outdoor Etiquette

    in General geocaching topics

    Posted

    The salt content in "normal" human urine is less then most animal urines. As a rule of thumb a carnivore has a more concentrated urine (read more salt) than an omnivore, than a herbivore. Domestic cats often can easily reach a urine specific gravity (concentration) of 1.035, while Dogs will get to 1.030. I can't find the value for humans, or deer at this point, but I remember seeing the chart somewhere, and was amazed how inefficient human and bovine(cow)kidneys are. Some desert animals have kidneys that can concentrate into the 1.050 range. Also urine concentration is a constently changing thing, the more hydrated you are the less concentrated the urine is (keep in mind that coffee is a powerful diuretic, so coffee drinkers will have very dilute urine).

     

    bAsH

    BaSh

    Outdoor Etiquette

    in General geocaching topics

    Posted

    The salt content in "normal" human urine is less then most animal urines. As a rule of thumb a carnivore has a more concentrated urine (read more salt) than an omnivore, than a herbivore. Domestic cats often can easily reach a urine specific gravity (concentration) of 1.035, while Dogs will get to 1.030. I can't find the value for humans, or deer at this point, but I remember seeing the chart somewhere, and was amazed how inefficient human and bovine(cow)kidneys are. Some desert animals have kidneys that can concentrate into the 1.050 range. Also urine concentration is a constently changing thing, the more hydrated you are the less concentrated the urine is (keep in mind that coffee is a powerful diuretic, so coffee drinkers will have very dilute urine).

     

    bAsH

    BaSh

    Caching without a GPS

    in How do I...?

    Posted

    I have been doing it without a GPSr for 28 caches now. I really only go caching once a week, so I am pretty proud of it. I had no more experience with a map and compass than that received by 1st Class in the Boy Scouts (7th grade) and some refreshing on the Internet. I also have yet to find the cash for a GPSr (or the right GPSr for me).

     

    You need a topo map that has an accurately placed cache, a decent compass, a pencil, the magnetic declination at the area that you will be caching in, and a little bit of knowledge. The hardest part is the map. You must make sure that the cache position is plotted using the correct w-84 co-ord system. Some topos are printed with that system some are printed to the older NAD-24 system, so you have to find that out what it is on the map that you will be using. In my area the difference is about 80 yards, but this can be up to 200 yards in some areas. The conversion tools to convert one co-ord system to another are mathematical models, and depending on that model you will introduce some error when you convert the co-ords from one system to another. There are inaccuracies in the topo maps themselves, which are exasperated by output errors from your printer.

     

    At any rate I routinely manage getting within a few feet of a cache. Eight out of ten times I end up within thirty yards of a cache, and seven times out of ten within ten yards. This is well within what I would expect if I were using a GPSr. When I do eventually find cahes that are giving me trouble I realize that the map and compass didn’t fail me, but my ability to use them failed me. Surprisingly you will find that some of the easiest caches for a person with a GPSr are the hardest for the map and compass, and the easiest for a map and compass are the hardest for the GPSr equipped cacher. This is because easy caches are placed in the open on flat ground with open sky. Although the GPSr has an easy lock on the satellites, the person with a map and compass has few landmarks to navigate off.

     

    Those who are expert GPSr users, are also expert with a map and compass. I have been teaching my caching partner how to use a map and compass. She has never had experience with it before, but in one or two days is easily navigating to within feet of an average cache.

     

    I can tell you that I will get a GPSr soon. It would sure make finding caches easier. The hardest part about navigating with a map and compass is knowing where you are on the map. While a GPSr’s biggest weakness is telling you which way to go to get to the cache. It is easy to know where the cache is on the map. GPSrs are purpose built to supply you with information about where you are, and therefore when used in conjunction with a map and compass you have all the info.

     

    Basher_boy

     

    bAsH

    BaSh

    Caching without a GPS

    in How do I...?

    Posted

    I have been doing it without a GPSr for 28 caches now. I really only go caching once a week, so I am pretty proud of it. I had no more experience with a map and compass than that received by 1st Class in the Boy Scouts (7th grade) and some refreshing on the Internet. I also have yet to find the cash for a GPSr (or the right GPSr for me).

     

    You need a topo map that has an accurately placed cache, a decent compass, a pencil, the magnetic declination at the area that you will be caching in, and a little bit of knowledge. The hardest part is the map. You must make sure that the cache position is plotted using the correct w-84 co-ord system. Some topos are printed with that system some are printed to the older NAD-24 system, so you have to find that out what it is on the map that you will be using. In my area the difference is about 80 yards, but this can be up to 200 yards in some areas. The conversion tools to convert one co-ord system to another are mathematical models, and depending on that model you will introduce some error when you convert the co-ords from one system to another. There are inaccuracies in the topo maps themselves, which are exasperated by output errors from your printer.

     

    At any rate I routinely manage getting within a few feet of a cache. Eight out of ten times I end up within thirty yards of a cache, and seven times out of ten within ten yards. This is well within what I would expect if I were using a GPSr. When I do eventually find cahes that are giving me trouble I realize that the map and compass didn’t fail me, but my ability to use them failed me. Surprisingly you will find that some of the easiest caches for a person with a GPSr are the hardest for the map and compass, and the easiest for a map and compass are the hardest for the GPSr equipped cacher. This is because easy caches are placed in the open on flat ground with open sky. Although the GPSr has an easy lock on the satellites, the person with a map and compass has few landmarks to navigate off.

     

    Those who are expert GPSr users, are also expert with a map and compass. I have been teaching my caching partner how to use a map and compass. She has never had experience with it before, but in one or two days is easily navigating to within feet of an average cache.

     

    I can tell you that I will get a GPSr soon. It would sure make finding caches easier. The hardest part about navigating with a map and compass is knowing where you are on the map. While a GPSr’s biggest weakness is telling you which way to go to get to the cache. It is easy to know where the cache is on the map. GPSrs are purpose built to supply you with information about where you are, and therefore when used in conjunction with a map and compass you have all the info.

     

    Basher_boy

     

    bAsH

    BaSh

    Antennas

    in GPS technology and devices

    Posted

    I guess I was interested in the radiation patterns off of a patch and a quadrifilar antenna. I have found documents on the internet that show the pattern for a patch antenna, but have yet to find it for the quadrifilar. I also wonder what type of antenna the domed types are--you know the type on tractor trailers, and at some of the cell tower instilations.

     

    I realize in practice these patterns make little or no difference when using a GPS in the field, but I wonder if the theoretical patterns bear out the field experiences of users here. Quadrifilar antennas seem to outperform patch in the field.

     

    Patch antenna radiation pattern

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