ImpalaBob

By "motherboard sockets", I was refering to those sockets that come attached to the computer versus those that you added on. Sounds like you tried them all. Are you using any kind of hotsync manager that may be causing a conflict? Also ... try a different USB cable ... as I've seen similar problems occur with cheap USB cables. 2.0 is a much higher transfer rate and some cheap older cables will not handle it. ImpalaBob

Many devices have problems with hubs and add on ports. Plug them into the motherboard socket and they work just fine. Have you updated the drivers for the unit with the latest free offering from Garmin? ImpalaBob

It seems you are capable of finding caches !!!! Tyr reading all the past logs for some hints when you get stuck. +/- 30 feet is normal. ImpalaBob

Okay, but I have to wonder if you'd feel the same way if you had fallen, broken your neck, lost your job because you could no longer work, lost your income because Workers Comp doesn't pay for fools falling off cliffs while playing games, lost your home because you couldn't pay for it, lost your wife because she doesn't want to be married to an unemployed homeless cripple, ended up living on your cousin's couch in NoTell, Texas (population 12)... would you then say "Dang, wish I hadn't been so prideful and had done it the safe and sane way!"? I might say "Probably shouldn't have done that cache"... But not "I should have cheated on that one". There is a world of difference. For the record I'll not be doing Wonderland even though it will always be on my first page of caches nearby that I have not done. The dangerous nature of this cache was well documented. The impotant thing to me was what EdScott said ... I did not cheat. I did do it the safe and sane way .... with the right equipment and a safety person. I learned to repell in the ARMY. If I had thought otherwise I would not have done it .... and would not have logged it as a find. Dangerous??? Heck, almost everything I do for fun is dangerous! ImpalaBob

Posting a "Didn't Find It" is the thing to do if you made a thorough search. A good cache owner should either get back to you, or possibly check the cache to make sure everything is OK. Several DNFs in a row help alert others that their may be problems. If you would rather post a NOTE, that would also be quite acceptable. FYI .... Usually I find stuff the 2nd trip back .... and wonder just why I missed it the first time. The cache is always exactly where I did not look the first time. E-mailing the owner for a hint is another good option. A little nudge in the right direction is all most of us need. Reading all the past logs is another good thing to try when stumped. When you return, you just post a "Found It". Good luck!!!! ImpalaBob

I use a 3 inch key ring placed in the stock Garmin belt clip to provide a lanyard attach point .... or a carabiner. Almost any hardware store carries 3 inch key rings. I would never use the antenna hole!!!! ImpalaBob

Koikeeper and I set out to complete Wonderland which is our first 5 / 5 cache. I had some assistance (safety person) on the sixth stage of the multi .... which requires one to hang out over a cliff and retrieve an item with the final coordinates in it. This is a seriously dangerous position to be in. My safety person gave me the option to take the coordinates from him and not go over the cliff to the container if I was too afraid. I said "If I am going to sign the final log .... I am going to do EVERY stage including this one." I hooked up the 2000 lb test rope and went out over the edge to retrieve the coordinates. Moral .... It's your cache and I have to complete it as you want it completed. Delete the log! I feel proud to have completed a 5 / 5 cache, and giving it away to someone who has not completed it properly would not be fair to those who have. ImpalaBob

If your Palm takes a SD card, and you have a SD card writer slot or adapter ..... you can create a "Cachemate" directory and place the pdb file in it. Cachemate will find it when it starts up. ImpalaBob

FYI May 2nd …. From Jeremy Lately there has been an increase in logging activity for Travel Bugs and Geocoins. Unfortunately many people were picking up and dropping these items into the same geocache so they could increase their find count or receive a new trackable icon in their profile. As a result we have created a new log type which also goes towards your profile count without causing unnecessary extra movements for the trackable item. The new log type is called "Discovered it" and can be used if you have the tracking number for the icon. Please use this if you have no plans to move the Travel Bug or geocoin to a new location. See ....... Jeremy is thinking of you. ImpalaBob

The advice on the inexpensive PDAs is sound. I however sprung for the Palm T/X which is considerably more expensive (around $300). I use it for a lot more than just geocaching. I like it's built in WIFI as free hot spots are all over. On vacation I can easily find restaurants, cofee shops, almost every Library, where free wireless internet access is available. It is also a MP3 player, photo viewer, contact organizer, game player, and a lot more. Cachemate on a $20 PDA or a $300 PDA works the same .... and is GREAT! My point is to consider just what you will use a PDA for before purchasing. Having a PDA that fits in your pocket and lets you get on the internet to check and reply to your E-mail or go to geocaching.com for updates is really kind of cool. My camera SD card just plugs into the Palm for picture viewing .... which saves the camera batteries. I put my cachemate pdb file on my SD card (into a "cachemate" directory) with the Laptop SD slot, instead of doing a USB hotsync. I use a Rhino case for my Palm T/X. ImpalaBob

Have you set-up EasyGPS for your particular GPSr? In the "File" pulldown menu choose "preferences" and add your Legend to the list. Then click on "settings" and choose the correct 'com-port' and baud rate. You may have 2 - 4 ports to choose from so start with number 1 and a baud rate of 4800. Go to the 'GPS' pulldown menu and 'test serial connection'. Try a different port if it is still not communicating. Sorry .... Garmin does not list drivers .... I guess you do not need them for this type of transfer (non-USB). You might want to try the Garmin Web-updater to make sure everything is current. Make sure communication is "Garmin" and not NMEA! ImpalaBob

The new National Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center is right next to the airport ..... and is definitly worth seeing if the geocaching does not work out for you. ImpalaBob

Did you load the device drivers. ImpalaBob

GPSs work by mathmatical calculations that are dependent on movement, signal strength, and reception accuracy. Your maps and waypoints are only as accurate as the unit that made the initial position calculation. Solar activity and a lot of other naturally occuring stuff can affect accuracy. This is a game of plus or minus 30 feet at best! If you want more accuracy than that you had better be prepared to spend a whole lot more money for a GPS, and it will probably be a lot larger than you want to carry around. Koikeeper and I have identical GPS units and sometimes they are exactly the same .... and some times we differ by 30 feet. As for the highway drift .... thats normal. Use Lock on Road option if you really want to see your cursor over the roads. ImpalaBob

As to your original comment about people logging geocoins and TBs at events: If the event has a GC number than it is a cache! New feature May 2nd, 2006 per Jeremy!!!!! "Lately there has been an increase in logging activity for Travel Bugs and Geocoins. Unfortunately many people were picking up and dropping these items into the same geocache so they could increase their find count or receive a new trackable icon in their profile. As a result we have created a new log type which also goes towards your profile count without causing unnecessary extra movements for the trackable item. The new log type is called "Discovered it" and can be used if you have the tracking number for the icon. Please use this if you have no plans to move the Travel Bug or geocoin to a new location." Therefore ..... DISCOVERED IT is a legitimate legal numbers log that should be used at any cache where you find a TB or geocoin and do not want to move it. ImpalaBob

Assuming the batteries fit nice and snug, are inserted the correct orientation, and the microSD card is inserted properly ..... take it back to where you bought it and get a replacement. ImpalaBob

If you are not renaming the default file name to something different .... the new default file name is just over-writing the old one. ImpalaBob

A Route takes you from waypoint A to waypoint B, where as a track is something you can follow as it zigs and zags. We use tracks as a tool to get us out of the woods and back to the car following the same trail we got in on. I guess you could say a track is a route but with a series of much tighter and more frequent waypoints so you can follow a more precise path. ImpalaBob

Drifting is normal when stationary. Truest accuracy is achieved through movement, when the unit is able to cycle through lots of calculations. ImpalaBob

The way I read it .... it was a record for the most caches FOUND in a 24 hour period. That seems different from most caches LOGGED in a 24 hour period. I think I need more clarification??? ImpalaBob

I am not sure that nRoute can show tracks (maybe the zoom level has something to do with it) .... but uploading your tracks from the GPS to MapSource will work. From there you can also get them to google earth. ImpalaBob

I read a post yesterday that said there is something different about the x series units and they will not work with the old software. Check to see if a new software version is available. ImpalaBob

Your unit has been set to Follow Road as the default. You can change it to prompt you Follow Road / Off Road when you hit GoTo .... or on the Map Page hit ENTER > Recalculate > choose Off Road .... or you can change the default to Off Road. You are correct in that Off Road gives you the correct compass rose with the directional arrow. ImpalaBob

Ours broke off (snagged it while on the belt clip) within the warranty period and they replaced the unit with a refurbished (like new!) unit. Garmin service is the BEST!!!! ImpalaBob

I believe that you can not change it .... but the links to the other maps are also on the page. You could always do a screen capture of the map you prefer (ALT + Printscreen), paste it in a photo-program and save as a .jpg, post a note and upload the photo so anyone viewing your page can look at it. ImpalaBob