ImpalaBob

FYI Actual placed caches (containers) are NOT ALLOWED in our National Parks. You will find many virtual caches and occasionally a spot of private land within the park may have a cache placed (such a cache exists within Shenandoah National Park). ImpalaBob

Events usually draw a lot of TBs and geocoins. Check out their "mission" statements and take them if you can help move them toward their goals. Some TBs are so large that they only show up at events for people to get the number and log. Would you want to carry "Cindy" the cinder block TB into the woods? I've seen TBs attached to Harleys (Carleys' Harley), cache mobiles, airplane propellers, and even babies. Oh do not forget pocket TBs that reside in people's pockets .... a great icebreaker at events. ImpalaBob

Plus or minus 30 feet is about as good as it gets. Your accuracy means nothing if it is not in sync with the cache owner. Your Garmin Legend is as capable as any other GPS unit for finding caches. Over time you develop better finding skills!!!! Sure you can pay for a newer unit that locks on Sats quicker and does not bounce as much .... but in the long run it has no better accuracy. ImpalaBob

Koikeeper and I use 2400 mahr PowerEx rechargeables and a Maha charger. I keep a set of Duracells in my pack for back-up. I date the batteries when I charge them and if it is a geo marathon I make sure they are freshly charged. The higher the mahr rating the better. When driving we use the 12 volt aux plug. Works for us! ImpalaBob

Both .loc and .gpx files are text files that can be opened with Wordpad or Notepad. A .loc file is a "location" file that containes the name and location of the cache. A .gpx file contains a lot more information than just the location .... pretty much all the info on the cache page without the graphics. "Graphics Purged eXchange" is what I like to call it. You can not really "convert" one to another and if you could it would only be a .gpx converted to a .loc. That is as simple as I can make it! ImpalaBob

I recently went over 2 city blocks underground to find a multi-stage. Waist high to ankle high water. Hard hat, lights, and walkie-talkie to an outside support person. You bet I'm going in! ImpalaBob

Google Carabiner Pen and you will find lots of interesting options. ImpalaBob

I would say that you log a find for each logbook entry you make. ImpalaBob

Koikeeper and I are very active cachers who often E-mail individuals to remind them to move on coins and bugs they have taken. We have issues with cachers who just drop the coin in it's protective sleeve into a cache and expect it to keep moving. Newbies do not know that it is not a trade item!!!!!! Blame yourself when it goes missing and you have not attached a tag with a drilled hole and chain. We picked up a geocoin yesterday with a really nice tag that said it was not a trade item and was meant to move around. Here is what Sissy-N-CR sell The one we found was thick chrome and did not have tracking .... but the wording to identify the item as a traveler was very similar. We move them when we find them..... and purchase what we like for our private collection. How about geocoin LoJack! or maybe Radio frequency imbedded chips. Sorry for your loses! ImpalaBob

Setup your TRACKS! The color is clear (no tracks) by default. I like bright green. You can then zoom in to your map page and follow your tracks back out .... or look for a shorter path. You should NEVER be lost with a mapping GPS in your hands and good fresh batteries ... and a regular compass. ImpalaBob

Just think .... If I hid it how would I re-find it? There is almost always some special feature that is distinctive. I recently had to search a rock field and immeadiatly noticed an old wooden beam in the rock field. That is the area I looked at first and ... there it was found! + / - 30 feet on average, and I have found many 60 feet or more. Once you establish ground zero, put the darn GPS away and start looking instead of walking around like a drunk duck expecting the GPS to lead you to the exact cache location! ImpalaBob

By choosing the View > Source option in your browser of another cahe page you can see the HTML code that others have used to do certain things and use that as a reference for your cache page HTML code. Here is a link to quick and dirty HTML codes for cache pages.

It was through their efforts that you learned a stage was missing and were able to do maintenance. Its a GAME!!!!! Let them log it. ImpalaBob

You must first run the cmconvert.exe program ( I draged the cmconvert.exe from the file manager to the desktop to create an icon for use) on the pocket query .gpx file. Put the .pdb file it creates into the Paln Desktop and hotsync .... or put the .pdb file onto the SD card into a directory called "cachemate". When cachemate is started on the Palm it will find the new file. Put it in the not found directory. Note: I always delete my not found directory entries before loading new not found entries so my database is up to date. My laptop has an SD slot so using the SD card is the most convienient for me. ImpalaBob

Any PDA with 8MB of memory is fine for geocaching. You can spend from $30 to $500 or more. I use a Palm T/X with Cachemate. I like the T/X because my "other things" include having WIFI and being able to stop into a hot spot to get on the internet. It displays my photos from the camera SD card, and can be used as a sudo-I-pod for audio. Zire 22s have had good reviews on the forums. Koikeeper uses a Palm Tungsten E2 and after a years plus use and over 1100 caches it is not so shiny and new .... but still works great for caching. Get a hard case like a Rhino! ImpalaBob

Cache coordinates are only as accurate as the unit and person initially taking them. Plus or minus 30 feet on average. The GPS gets you to the area ..... your "finding skills" take over from there. WAAS is really all about flying and pilots. WAAS will help .... but the newer SRIF III chip set units are really a bigger advantage than WAAS because of their ability to lock on Sats in heavy cover. Buy what you can afford .... it's your "finding skills" that really count!!! ImpalaBob

The GM Sungate has the metalized film to keep the inside of the car cooler! I use a Gilson external antenna, or just hold the unit next to the side window. The new SRIF III chip units will work fine! ImpalaBob

Look over the winshield for the identification info. GM uses 'Sungate' that have metalized film in them. RADAR will not work with them. ImpalaBob

Why "suggest where to park" ..... when we have these nice new features where you can add parking coordinates to the cache page. These get downloaded with the gpx file and come in as parking waypoints. I REALLY appreciate parking coordinates!!!!! ImpalaBob

Hint: In the base of a tree with a fallen branch. We looked at every base of every tree ..... DNF. Reality: About 6 feet up in a tree 35 feet off of posted coordinates. I swear I would have found it if I had not read the hint. ImpalaBob

There is no "easy" way to get the notes to show up on your GPS. These fields only hold a very limited amount of data. Most use a PDA Palm or PocketPC type device to hold all this additional information which is included in the .gpx files (pocket queries .... premium membership required). ImpalaBob

You can only submit a picture for the current Month/theme contest. When it is finished and a winner and runner-ups are picked, they take them all down and a new area is started for the next contest. Those that are really into it try and time it so there pictures get in on the first few pages and have a better chance of being seen and voted for. ImpalaBob Runner-up last year .... I like my Rubicon Shirt!!!!

I have done many caches that were below grade. Some were easily gotten to by moving leaves or other debris off the cache with a hand swipe. I've definitly seen the fake sprinkler heads and the fake termite traps. The most elaborate was an ammo box below grade surrounded by concrete blocks to form a nice little bunker with a cammo cover on the spot ..... and this was obviously dug by someone who may or may not have been the actual cache owner. The important thing is that I have never needed a shovel to find a cache! ImpalaBob

Yes, it matters. Metroguide is not set up for autorouting on the GPS. Note, if you have your City Navigator maps installed on only one unit, then you can get a second unlock code at no charge so you can use it on the 60C in addition to your 60CSx From another thread .... hope they are wrong or what you bought will not work. ImpalaBob

You can also DISCOVER IT if you do not want to move it along. This option is getting the most use for TBs and gerocoins at events. ImpalaBob