Pasha

I guess my main point is that you and I know this; you and I can tell the different between a fake box containing a cache and a real box due to various clues - missing locks (though the one I found yesterday was locked - it opened another way), missing conduit (though the one I found yesterday had conduit coming up out of the ground), location where there's obviously no power. But Iwould wager that there are plenty of people who do not recognize these clues... How many kids, caching with parents or brothers or uncles, are going to realize that there's certain reasons why we feel safe checking boxes like this, and that in most cases the last they need to be doing is trying to open them? Ah well. This is actually a pretty minor point in the grand scheme of things. I don't think we need a new guideline/rule/ban either. As stated, I just see a possible danger.

Congrats to SeabeckTribe, who hit #400 on 12/31 at Log It!!. That was also their 1-year anniversary.

Don't have any experience with this specific adapter, but keep in mind that once installed correctly, these adapters look to your PC like a Serial port, not a USB connection. When I installed mine, after the drivers were installed, I had to go into Device Manager and modify the COM port settings to get it to work. I haven't used EasyGPS so can't help with that, but presumably if it works with one package it'll work with all of them. Just make sure you know which COM port it's set to.

Which map set do you have installed in Mapsource? Some map products don't support automatic routing.

I do agree that the location is the key in most cases. I also believe there's an element of danger here that can be alleviated very simply. I make no comment as to where to draw the line; this particular thing has a potential for harm. Some of my favorite hides can fit in this category. I don't really even think they should be "banned." I just see a danger. I don't know how anyone can think that training people that they can find caches in electrical boxes, outlets, transformers, whatever, is a good thing. Cachers are a generally common-sensical bunch and I imagine that's why we've never heard of a specific problem. That's no guarantee.

End-of-year congrats to all concerned. WTG Cathy!

Coincidentally, I found one of these today. Extremely imaginative, a lot of work on the hider's part, but it was 5' from a no-fooling 100kW generator and junction box. If my kids were with me, there's no way I would've checked that innocuous looking outlet box. Took a lot of gumption for me to check it at all. I can see the point of these being few and far between. The risk is, as stated before, if people get used to seeing these sorts of hides, they're going to be more likely to check electrical boxes and like objects while looking for other caches. Someone's eventually going to get zapped. I mean, think about it. How many possibly-deadly objects should we really be making into cache containers?

How much time do you have? The fact is, there's so many possibilities that you'll probably have the best luck just finding some review/comparisons online and reading them. The most popular handhelds for caching seem to be the various Palm OS PDAs. That's about all it can be narrowed down to, though - as many people will swear by the $20 Palm III found on eBay as by the latest $400 Tungsten or Treo. Same way with the WinCE and PocketPC handhelds. Just about everything you can buy can run some form of specialized caching software, so your decision on a new one should probably be based on the non-caching features. I use a Treo650 right now - but I didn't buy it, my company did. Best of all worlds if you ask me.

Cachemate.

Completely OT, but that looks like Rainier in the background; where in Washington is that? Somewhere on the east side of the mountains? Yakima area?

With Cachemate and GSAK and your Palm, it is possible to set up nearly automatic logging. It's a pretty involved process, however; there's a couple ancillary programs you'll need, as well as a GSAK macro. I log my finds at the cache in Cachemate (this is easier with a Treo or some such Palm-powered device with a keyboard)... when I get home I sync the Palm with my laptop and run my GSAK macro, which pulls the finds from Cachemate, marks the finds and inserts the logs into the GSAK records, and pops open the GC.com logging page to each cache in turn, with the log entry already copied into the clipboard. I choose Found (or DNF as often as not), paste the entry, hit OK, and go on to the next one. It actually sounds more complicated than it is - the complication is setting it up in the first place. I can log 15 caches in a couple of minutes.

Unicef?

Since GSAK uses the GPS Babel engine, could this also be accomplished with GSAK? Well, it uses GPSBabel "under the hood". GSAK itself doesn't really do any conversions (though it'll write out data in several formats natively); Babel does them. GSAK is the database app, and Babel is the glue that lets GSAK (and Google Earth, and etc.) talk with everything else. So, no, not directly with GSAK.

Well, for that matter, check out %notgc. Not really a concern for the third party app to which you're referring; there's already support for waypoints that don't start with GC. Sorting/associating would still require development for these apps, I think, but the system Jeremy's described sounds workable to me.

It was too hard to find.

I believe this is one of those things that many have requested but probably isn't going to happen. See e.g. this thread. Batch downloading is limited to PMs, and since that search is available to all, it ain't gonna happen.

The change is lovely. The only thing left is to go back and change all those emails I already have in Gmail. Jeremy, you can do that, right? I have supreme confidence.

It's undeniable that ratings change based on experience. Among my first 50 finds was one of the "painted metal plate magnetically attached to power box" variety; it was rated 3/1. I searched for that thing 4 or 5 different times and spent at least 8-10 hours on it. I still wouldn't have found it without hints from a previous finder. Now that I've found it (and others like that) I just automatically know to look for that sort of thing. For myself I would rate that first one a 1/1 now, because it would be one of the first things I'd check. Same with lamp-post hides, the tops of fence posts, etc. You learn to look for Unnatural Piles of Rocks/Sticks/Leaves and bison tubes hung in branches. It just comes with experience.

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield. -Lord Tennyson

If you need further assistance, I have a Treo 650 and use it for caching. If you still can't get it going after following Sputnik's link, feel free to ask. Edit: And in another thread I see that Sputnik uses one as well, so I'll just fade back into the woodwork.

Yeah. Subjectively, my 60C averages about 5-10' lower EPE than my Legend Blue. It's most noticeable in the woods. I had always assumed that the difference was the fun-to-say quad helix antenna on the 60C, but if the color Legends have similar or better reception... what's the difference? Chipset, I assume? So can I backport the chipset from the Legend C into my 60C? for the sarcasm impaired.

Well, nice to be noticed. Amazing.

Congrats Funnynose! On being in Australia, I mean. Wish I could be there instead of here in the rain.

How weird. I had my 60C on and in front of me when I made that first post, so I checked the exact key sequence, and would swear it said "Text Fields" at the time. Now it definitely says "Data Fields." I have entered... the Twilight Zone.

Hey, no skin off my nose. It just seems logical. On an average day, there's probably 50 links to GSAK already. I can understand not wanting to promote anything commercial or appear biased towards one thing over another, but let's be realistic. Wouldn't a single "official" link or pinned topic (not just for GSAK but for whichever products/services/hardware get asked about) be less work for moderators and more informative and helpful? Alternately, I've been posting enough lately to probably provide that informative and helpful link all by myself.