PeakFault

There are far too many people on here who's first reaction to new cachers is far too confrontational. It's almost as if they are upset that other people have found "their" secret game and they don't like it. Some of my very first posts were met with responses I found to be unhelpful and almost left me questioning whether I should be caching at all. Thankfully I'm not one to get offended by people on message boards. There is a difference between offering constructive criticism/advice and being just plain rude. Most people who cache seem to be good people but I don't think the Geocaching community is as cosy as it likes to think it is. The fact is any newbie has as much right to geocache as someone who has been there since day one and no one should be made to feel bad in a public forum simply for being hasty.

Just to back up what Graculus and Munkeh are saying. I've an iPhone that I've used for 6 months without too many issues but decided I needed a 'proper' GPS unit - mainly so I could do multis and puzzles etc as it's virtually impossible to do on the iPhone. Anyway I bought the eTrex H about 3-4 weeks ago and have to say it is excellent, cheap to buy, pretty easy to use and it's not an issue using both the iPhone and GPS. Basically just get the coords 'in the field' tap them into the gps and away you go. Then I still log my finds on location as well. A brand new one cost me just under £60. It's worth considering.

I've had no issues with it except for it occasionally crashing on startup. But my phone is doing that on quite a few apps so I don't think it's a geocaching issue. One of my twitter apps however wouldnt load up and i uninstalled it and then reinstalled it and it's worked perfectly ever since. (note: if you uninstall an app you have purchased you don't have to buy it again, it will let you install it for free again)

Really short logs. Surely people can come up with more than; "Easy find TNLN SL TFTC"

Yes that's the one! Thank you so much. Made my life a lot easier!

As I'll always have my phone with me it'll be a great safety net if I'm struggling. Maybe im being hasty but I think doing some old style Caching with paper may help me become a better cacher? Certainly felt that way tonight. Who knows though, maybe you're right and the novelty will wear off after a couple of weeks and I'll be relying on maps on my phone again!!!!

Hello. A colleague at work is leaving soon and I want to get a leaving present for them. They bought a northern Ireland geocoin about 6 months ago but it was picked up once and has gone missing. So I really want to buy a NI geocoin as a leaving gift but after a search on some geocaching merchandise sites I've drawn a blank. Does anyone know where I can buy one of these northern Ireland coins?

Went and found our 1st cache with the gps unit this evening. Put the iPhone away and just let it do it's job. What a totally different experience Caching is when you don't have a map on screen!! It definitely feels like more of a challenge in my opinion and reckon I'll be Caching with my iPhone tucked away in my pocket from now on. The cache was soon located - the gps got us within 6 feet of it.

Thanks for the tip re: rubber edging. I'm amazed to say that my gps arrived already! I ordered Saturday evening and was delivered before 2pm today! How great is that? Will be testing it out tonight for sure

I have just this minute bought a brand new Garmin eTrex H GPS. My first proper GPS unit!! The iPhone is still great but it has it's limitations though obviously I can keep paperless caching with it. However reading the reviews on the eTrex I'm confident it's a great budget unit for my first ever one as I didnt really have loads to spend on it I got it for under £60 with P&P.

Of course! That's so obvious! I think it's too late!!! Thanks very much though

I've just realised the mods will probably move this won't they?!!

Is it possible to create a pocket query with just the caches from a particular series? There is a set of 15 caches near me that are mainly puzzles and multis. Many of them are apparently quite time consuming and obviously require gathering clues/info etc. So it would be really handy to have all of them at hand in one query so it would be easy to keep track of my progress on them.

The first cach I placed I actually put an "easy" hint and a "hard" hint which was more cryptic. Click Here To See I planned to do it with all my caches (and may amend them to do so) as I figured some people like easy hints and others hard. However if you're like me sometimes, depending on how you're caching, you like both types. If I'm doing a cache and dash then an obvious giveaway hint is fab. However if i'm on a leaisurely walk, part of the fun is making sense of a strange hint!

Ah stiles! It irritates me when we embark on a series in which the CO states that it's one of their favourite dog walks only to find oodles of dog proof stiles! Some dog-proof stiles are great fun though. There's a couple on WayDownWest which involved lifting the reluctant Labradors well above head height! You just can't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation Mark I guess that's why Groundpeak put the disclaimer that 'caching can be dangerous'!!

I've been caching for about 3 months now and am looking to buy a GPS unit. I'm not after anything 'top of the range' but am after something decent for a relatively low price. I have seen a Magellan Triton 300 for about $100 including shipping to the UK. Is this a good first unit? Any advice/experiences of using it greatly appreciated.

Based on my experience yesterday: Caches placed in prickly bushes but not any mention of that in the cache description.

Also I'd argue DNF's must count for something in terms of gaining experience. The old saying that you learn from your mistakes is as true to caching as any other part of life in my opinion.

Seems bang out of order to me. If you can't find it you can't find it. If you are really against logging DNF's then don't log it at all, no one needs to know! But don't 'find' your own box. Kind of spoils the game if you take your own box along to a general area where a cache is listed and claim it as some kind of achievement.

Yo! Bruv (or Sis), nuf respect dude. Nah what I mean, Innit. (If you've ever seen Armstrong & Miller's RAF sketch, that's kind of how it sounds when I try it) I think we've all learnt a new word there tahnks to Lovejoy!!

Better make the coin in two parts so it can be separated at a later date. Just in case ..... When I heard DC announce yesterday that it was a "great day for the country" I thought he'd solved the financial crisis without us all having to resort to living in cardboard boxes. But no, just another wedding for us all to pay for. Haha! I don't know why he looked so smug when he announced it. And he said something along the lines of "everyone was banging on the cabinet table" - sounds an excessive reaction to an engagement in my opinion. Animals. No need to apologise at all

Sorry!

We all know there will be tons of memorabilia for Prince Williams wedding, like mugs, plates and probably a £5 coin! So why not get some coins that are actually useful (cos no-one ever uses those £5coins!!) Anyone for a William and Kate Geocoin?

Well years ago I found a large electrical cabinet key in a cache, not unlike this: which my youngest daughter decided to take as a swap, and she kept it for ages!! kids can be strange beasts sometimes. Yes I know they can, my nephew took a 3amp fuse!!! Still doesnt make it a good thing to leave in my view!

I bet if you weren't on the way to buy small cable ties you wouldn't have taken them or thought it was a good swap item! The coincidence of it is a great story, I'll give you that! Personally, I see swaps in caches as for children. I never take anything (except TBs) if i'm alone. So anything like bolts, cable ties, 3A fuses is a rubbish thing to leave in a cache.