cindy&randy

This is an old thread, but a newly discovered geo-puzzle for me. I would like to ask a direct question about Teco#19 Riddle 4. If anyone cares to comment on the answers I tried, please contact me. Thanks.

Ahhh, the Seattlites are far more open and direct than those mysterious Los Angelenos!

The publication of the "Love Love" events, to be held in various cities world-wide on Feb 16th, is good at generating curiosity. But frankly my dear, I have no interest in traveling 75 miles if I haven't got a good idea of what to expect, especially if it's just a Meet&Greet. I hope there is more informative news soon.

A single cache view (via the Google Maps link) is not so bad. By the time you zoom in close enough to see the hi resolution aerial photo detail then any other cache is off the map (more than 528 feet away). If you want to see a cluster of caches on the same map then the resolution of an aerial view at that scale is not good. Another advantage of this new way is that you now can save Google's aerial view of the cache as a .jpg to your phone or GPSr. The Groundspeak aerial view did not allow photo images to be saved. Groundspeak saved a bundle. Instead of bringing Google Maps to gc.com, they bring your cache to Google Maps. Google scores a website hit which benefits them at no cost to us. Sounds like a win-win-win for all parties involved.

Q: "Would you like to like to update to a newer version of Magellan Communicator?" A: YES! I really would like a "newer" version, one that works right!

I experienced the same thing. Solution: Go to http://www.magellangps.com/products/map.as...amp;PRODID=2301 Click on the Download icon. Choose "Run" and answer all the other Install Wizard prompts to get you toward the goal. If you already have Communicator installed, it will ask you if you want to delete the application. You must answer yes. But here comes the typical Magellan programming stupidity: It does NOT then proceed to install the new version! You have to Download again, this time it installs.

Even the most accurate, sensitive GPS receivers will "bounce" your position around quite a bit, making it frustrating to home in on the cache. I like units that show aerial photo view maps with the cache icon superimposed. That way you can see the relative surrounding features. Many cell phones that have internet access can let you pull up the geocaching.com web page for this map view. The GPS receiver in most cellphones are way inferior to a dedicated handheld unit, but the aerial photo map makes that a moot point.

To make the "Send to GPS" button work, you need to install on your PC the "Magellan Communicator" application, available at www.magellan.gps As Erickson said above, the PocketQuery can simplify life a lot. But you will need to use the Magellan app, VantagePoint, to transfer a group of caches to your Triton. See www.tritonforum.com for lots of resources and peer help with your new toy.

I think there should be a way to download your PQ's .gpx file directly from the geocaching.com website instead of having it sent to your email as an attachment.

Yes, the text does seem to be slightly larger on some screens. Though, it is hard to tell without a side by side comparison. To see how bad it was, take a look at Tools, Settings, Product Info, EndUserLicenseAgreement. Now that's some mighty fine print!

The Explorist GC "compass" displays the position of the sun and/or moon on the outer ring (based on the date and time of day). Just turn the screen until it lines up with the heavenly bodies and you are oriented to true north.

Requiring a purchase (paying for the phone call) would be against the rules. Another issue is permanence. Caches are expected to have a lifetime of at least a year or so. Public pay phones are disappearing quickly! How about if you have various phone numbers hidden in different locations. Each number will have a message for the caller that tells them part of the story and where to find the next cache/number. Most people have access to phone service that does not charge per call (unless they have gone over their monthly calling minute allowance, but then what's up with their priorities if geocaching business does not come first?)

The Triton is not too bad now. I have had one since initial release, and it has come a long way. Some bugs still exist: can't easily mark cache as Found, alarm beeper is barely audible, and a feature called Trips (intended to organize together related tracks, photos, waypoints, caches, etc) is not implemented but is still on the menu. Cache descriptions must be stripped of html junk before loading. Reasons to buy: very attractive purchase price, maps that are basically cost free, including aerial photo maps at suprisingly close resolution (as good as you can see on Google map view zoomed in) but you need to create these yourself using some simple 3rd party apps. See www.tritonforum.com for details and peer tech support. There are also vector style maps availble for next to nothing from 3rd party.

by having never let a Garmin product touch your hands! Alright, I've been called out and busted on this one. I must admit that I had a fling with an old eTrex. But I swear it was just a physical thing, no emotional attachment, and I always wore gloves.

by having never let a Garmin product touch your hands!

Many sporting goods stores and Wal**** type retailers have been burned by the Triton debacle of abnormally high return rates. I would be suprised to see them take on another new Magellan outdoor GPSr. Maybe Magellan should sell direct via internet.

The new format is clean and easy for me to see, but however, it takes a painfully long time to scroll down or up the page. Using either the scroll bar, page up/down keys, or up/down arrow keys does not help. the fastest it will scroll is like 5 - 10 seconds per line , and is jerky so I need to wait until it settles. Are there any settings in my Groundspeak preferences or email browser to improve this? (Other than going back to the plaintext version.) I use Windows Mail, with html viewing enabled. Vista on a 2 year old Gateway computer. Thanks for any advice.

I'm sorry that you had to be the lab rat that was sacrificed, but thanks for the warning. I am shopping for a phone with GPS and was attracted to the sexiness of the large touch screen of the Samsung Eternity. It is hard to tell if the GPS claims are true satellite based GPS or just cell tower signal strength locators. Readers, any other recommendations? (prefer to stay with AT&T)

I too am shopping for a phone with GPS/caching features. I am with AT&T already, and they offer good discounts on upgrade equipment. From just looking at the ATT website, the LG Xenon looks interesting. It runs GC Navigator, has big touch screen, and is very reasonably priced ($49 after rebate). Has anybody used one?

It's a multicache if they must find point(s) along the way to collect clues to guide them to the final. If they can figure out the final coordinates without having to go to some preliminary coords, then its a Puzzle cache.

Thanks for the answers! I suppose I could have figured it out by just plunging in and releasing my first cache, but I was hesitant about looking like a doofus in front of my community by having a half-written cache published.

This has been an extremely informative thread! Another sentence should be added to the new cache submittal form, near the "activate" checkbox, that explains the cache page can be reviewed and edited by the author before publication. It took me about 3 hours of searching/reading thru the forum to figure out how to get a decent looking photo placed in the cache description. Thanks to all for the answers, but I still have some more questions: 1. Does the GC##### get assigned before publication, so that I can include the GC##### on the cover of the log book? 2. Is a pre-publication edit the place where I select attributes (snakes, strollers, restrooms, etc)? I don't see attributes mentioned on the submittal form. 3. Can I get a pre-publication review from GC reviewer before I check the box to make it active? I would like to know if my cache is going to be rejected if I plan to hide it too close to a puzzle or multicache solution.

Does Garmin publish descriptions of what was fixed/changed with each software update? Where can I find these? I have an old plain-vanilla eTrex purchased in year 2000. It has ver 2.10 loaded. I see on the Garmin website that the latest version 2.14 is available for download and installation, but I want to know what it is going to do for me, first. It might add desirable features or fix bugs, but then it might just be useless garbage that consumes memory that would be better used for storing waypoints and tracks.