Malpas Wanderer

I've no idea on the park and ride. If I am uderstanding you right are you to arrive by car then take to the bike? If so would an option to be to use the free parking at either Shotover Country Park N51 45.107 W1 11.140 Cutteslowe Park N51 47.498 W1 15.928 Both take a little finding being up back streets and you may have to arrive earlyish to get a space. These accommodate about 50 cars each but perhaps would not offer the security associated with the P&R. It might be worth contacting The Phillimore Clan as they have set many caches in Oxford. Colin

Although I use a lot of gadgetry I also like to have a print out which I do from GSAK rather than Geocaching.com. I use the print out for several reasons a) because of failing eyesight often the gadgetry dosent show all images without tweaking c) you often need to record information evaluate formula and solve puzzles, d) I lacked enough hands to use GPS and PPC/Stylus simultaneously e) often had to write down co-ordinates from one program on the PPC to input to another program so may as well have the printout anyway. Software I use for PC and/or PPC and which I'm happy with. GSAK (a deffinate must) TomTom navigator Memory Map GPX Sonar OSGB Converter I had some of these programs before taking up geocaching and have spent oddles of cash over time, I also mostly have with me a rugged laptop which holds my complete GSAK database and I compose my logs as I go ready for uploading on return home. It's all a matter of you pays your money and takes your choice. Report back what you decide. But certainly get GSAK if you haven't already and give Clyde some cash to develop it further. Colin

Well done Wombles. Glad your hard work and perseverance has come to fruition. Looks a very neat semi automated process. Keep up the good work of responsible caching we need more teams with your attitude towards permissions. Colin

CONGRATULATIONS On finding your 200th I reached the same milestone at the turn of the month but unlike you I am yet to get involved in the setting of caches or in the organising of events into which you have put tremendous effort. Good luck with the next 100 and thanks for the other work you provide to the geocaching community. Colin

I think with about 10000 caches already in existence in the UK not all will have explicit permissions or are ever likely to. We have however seen an unwisely placed cache on the "other side of the pond" that instigated a full scale bomb alert. I would just advise the principle Think! Think! & Think again before placing any cache. We all love a nicely hidden cache but just consider the surroundings and how they might cange in the course of time. I have recently visited caches that are within a few feet of Pheasant feeders simply placed but which was there first? Many of us will be bringing dogs into such an area are all well controlled? Will the Landowner just laugh off his loss of income if birds or shooting days are lost? Is a recent micro placement on a Highway Roundabout an Ideal cache site? Will an unaccompanied child be safe with this cache? Consider also any implications from wrongly solved puzzles or input co-ordinates. THINK THINK THINK wider than the immediate cache site but please do PLACE AS MANY CACHES AS YOU CAN permission remaining a matter of conscience. Colin

All land is owned by someone and in an ideal world permission of the landowner should be sought for any intrusion on the land. But do we live in an ideal world? I think you need to consider what would be the consequences be should a cache cause damage, offence or other disturbance and if you could suitably defend your actions. In Law flytipping and dropping litter is an offence. Obtaining permission would alleviate any accusation of a cache pertaining to litter. Question your conscience on any placement but also place as many caches as you are able as we all enjoy finding them. Regards Colin

I enjoy finding and moving on both coins and travel bugs. I tend to use them to plan out my caching trips. Bugs have taken me to a micro brewery and to Eastor Castle to fulfil their quest. The Eastor Castle run alothough only 60ish miles ATCF was a road trip of 100 miles but Eastnor and Malvern made a very enjoyable Christmas eve caching experience. I currently have two bugs out and one coin. The bugs are just small tape measures (which my poor eyesight couldn't cope with) they are identical and were released 3mi apart on the same day. The object was to compare their rate of travel. One bug has moved quickly going immediately to New Zealand the other hardly moved far. Both bugs have not moved for a month or so. The coin has been picked up from the first cache but is yet to be moved on. I have two more coins to release and two more on order. I just hope my decision not to deface or devalue the coins dosent make them short lived. I also use the movements of the trackables both my own and those I move on to access caches I may consider visiting. Trackables are great they provide the impetus to set out on a caching tripI just deplore the people who steal them or fail to log them correctly. Regards Colin

I picked up about 60 in Reading today, think it was Station Cameras. This was about a third of the quantity he extracted from his cupboard. No problems no cost, did ask why I wanted them though. So for anyone near Reading you may be able to get some also. Regards Colin

Likewise happy to wait if it helps your arrangements. Regards Colin

One has to wonder what anyone gets out of taking coins. As it is already registered they can not register it as their own. They cannot show it at events because its whereabouts will then be traced. The only thing they are able to do with it is keep it on their mantlepiece. They must be really sad not to enjoy moving coins on to another cache and enjoying all that new cache has to offer. The only other explanation is that the trackable logging procedure is somehow too dificult for them. I think we have all fallen foul of not taking the tracking number before moving to another cache. I'm sure I'm not the only one to have to make contact with the owner to get the tracking number, but how many others in this situation just would not bother. If it is a trackables logging difficulty perhaps some form of reinforcement of how to log should be sent to all new cache teams by e-mail or other means. Then again perhaps there are just so many morons in this world that just do not respect other persons property or the joy of sharing. I have bought my first few coins to release shortly and have attatched a details sheet which sets the Current Goal as " To give pleasure to fellow geocachers who are willing to move on to another cache and to my owner by alerting him to the caches I visit" To start with I have avoided drilling or defacing the coins as I think this defeats the object. I just hope by spelling it out in the goal I don't totally get ripped off. My enjoyment will be seeing where and by whom the coin travels for which I don't mind the expenditure of the coins. I just hope we can stop this despicable theft in its early stages such that we can promote Geocaching as the honest enjoyable pastime it should be to the landowner who's permissions we seek in continuance of our sport. Colin

Well the mere mortal did get a prompt reply. I think you may need to register to search the database as my brief experimentation without registering didn't work too well. Not sure I want to expend the cash either but nice to get the info and so promptly. Regards Colin

Some very interesting replies with good sense of humour. I was like wise peeved as I had had a clearup and the rubbish is still visible I read on another forum; Seems most areas I looked at shows a 2006 copyright date on the screen but this obviously does not relate to the image. So I have e-mailed the appropriate company for my particular area so will wait and see if a mere mortal like me even gets a reply. Thank you to all those that have replied so far Regards Colin

lordelph Thank you for the reply. To further my opions it would be nice to see more recent images as many of my items have long since been disposed of. But I think real time would be much too OTT (we might even be seen planting retreiving caches). Regards Colin

Fellow Geocachers, I've just been experimenting deeper into google earth. Great I can see cars at my workplace and in my garden even horses in my field. However from these images I estimate them to be about 18 months or more ago. Does anyone know how often the images are updated? Will we ever see real time? Would we want the Big Brother effect? All theories gratfully recieved. Regards Colin

Technowizards, I have a Panasonic Toughbook which has an integral GSM/GPRS modem which I would like to use to check or make updates to logs whilst mobile. Does anyone know the best option available to procure a SIM to remain constantly in the Toughbook predominantly for GPRS usage. I also need to replace a traditional mobile as my "brick" is past its best. Is it possible to get two SIMS on one account? My voice call useage is very low and I only expect to use Internet via GPRS in moderation. All advice on sourcing SIMS and GPRS costings likely to be incured updating Geocaching.com data welcomed. Regards Colin

Currently I'm midst negotiations for cache placement on a largish Estate in Berkshire. So far two good reasons for seeking permisson have come to notice. A major concern of the land owner was that Geocaching was not linked to anything sinister. Having given permission to another group with seemingly innocent intent the land owner found out the sites they had given permission were being used for paedophile related activities. Having been given the land owner's permission to investigate the areas for suitability before formal documents issued, the Warden for the woodlands was soon enquiring what exactly I was doing trawling every crevice I could find. Both of these events I was able to defend in the interests of geocaching by a) stating that we are self policing via the logs and forums and any illicit activity would be immediately terminated in the unlikely event if it arose. I had verbal permission to be doing what I was doing. Whilst I enjoy those caches which I realise do not have explicit permission is it not better for the future of Geocaching to seek permission in the majority not the minority of cases. I must admit I particularly want to set a good example with this Estate both because I have other connections here and that the land owning family are past and present Members of Parliament. Please all Geocachers promote the best image of Geocaching that you can in the hope that our sport never falls into disrepute. Good Luck with all cache seeking and placements. Colin

It was nowhere near AWE Aldermaston but I encountered a similar effect today. I was actually near to "skew bridge" on the A329 at Pangbourne. The result was that the signal was totally disapearing i.e. "greyed out" then briefly returning. On the occasions a position was shown I was either on the railway line or mid river!. The problem had not cleared after 2 or more miles and I had to remove the power from the GPSr to recover. There is a "Mobile Telephone" or similar transmitter near this bridge so unsure if this was the cause. The return journey of the same route caused no such problem. We all love our gadgets but how many of them conflict? Regards Colin

I worked at AWE until two years ago and certainly at that time TomTom worked ok. The work of AWE however is very diverse and constantly changing. Since the restriction has been lifted on the Ordnance Survey Mapping of the site and that the site is visible via Google Earth I would doubt that GPS signals are being intentionally blocked. Might be worth correlating problems to see if it's only at certain times of day when specific operations may be in progress on the site.

I've only recently started to move travel bugs and geocoins but it gives me inspiration in choosing caches to visit. When I've collected a bug or a coin with a goal I research a suitable cache then do a days caching in that area. Such themes have taken me to a brewery or more recently the Eastnor Castle area, it gives the impetus to travel the extra mile (or 100). I actually picked up my first geocoin on the Eastnor Castle run on Christmas Eve. Now I'm using caches containing coins as a centre point for excursions. Do any other cachers choose their expeditions likewise or am I alone. Looking forward to a proliferation of coins.