FloridaFour

I'd have given my right eyeball for some of the $1 bug spray a previous poster leaves, the other day. Instead I signed the log, "WOW, mosquitoes! Need transfusion!" There was swag in that ammo can, but we RAN from there as fast as we could, didn't even look! So, I'm off to look for some bug spray today! I also make jewelry, so I might make a batch of dangling earrings up and put them in little plastic packets with "made by FloridaFour" tags on them. They cost me a few dollars to make. Time is the issue! I've considered leaving small bags of local Florida shells that I collect, does that sound like a good item?

Is there such a thing as a car gps that does decent geocaching and can do paperless? For a person who does not want to buy two gps devices, but really does need a readable gps for the car, with turn by turn routing and a larger screen than the hand helds (poor eye sight) Is there a Nuvi that can do both? (under $300)? Preferably $200? I don't care if it's a little harder to upload the caches, just that it can be done. I have a Nuvi 350 now, it's NOT accurate enough. Are the newer ones more accurate for Geocaching? Thanks so much!

I use the PN-40 for paperless geocaching and it does everything which I require. Detail maps, down to residential street leve, for the entire USA are included on DVDs in the box, nothing more to buy. With factory installed, in-dash GPS/NAV in my Jeep, I do not use it for driving nor do I recommend it for such on an every day basis.

I know these have been compared before, but I just had another question... I am new here and am using a car GPS Nuvi 350 or something...not working so great for me, not accurate at all for geocaching... looking for a simple, but decent handheld that gets a good signal. I like the 3 axis compass idea and paperless geocaching the best. I don't want to break the bank here, either. $300 is my TOP price. The main difference that jumps out at me (other than buttons vs touch screen) is the price. I can get PN 40 for $70 less than Dakota 20. So is something missing from the PN 40 that I am not seeing? The maps? would I need to buy some if I got it? I want to use free maps only. I've read the detailed discussions comparing the two, but sometimes they get WAY to technical for me, and so I need simple explanations. I'm not doing major hiking or planning on going deep in the woods, so I don't need anything fancy. I just want to geocache. Thanks in advance! P.S. I am still looking into upgrading my phone choice to use as a gps, (love the idea of entering my finds right away) but seems SLOoooW to None connectivity when not by WiFi might sway me towards handhelds.

I have 11 DNFs and 14 "founds". I have/will log them if I spend a reasonable time looking (not scared off by a muggler right away or something). So far, I have only not logged one once, when there was just too many people around and I couldn't get close enough (several feet away from GZ). A reasonable amount of time to ME is 15-20 minutes on a 1 or 2 star difficulty. But I just started. Obviously it would be different for a more difficult cache.

11 so far. I DNF one for the second time yesterday, after getting a clue from the owner, should I count it twice? I only have 14 smilies....hopefully my ratio will get better soon!

My mom and I and my kids are all doing it now. Love it, and it's great to have a common interest that gets us all outdoors. As soon as my mom gets her own GPS, we will be competing to get different caches, etc.

Trader Rick and Rosie- I told your quote to my husband, who is a Medical Examiner....he's been forwarned. We went out to Honeymoon Island today for Halloween Spooktacular and found one of your caches, Latitude 28- Pretty in Pink. My son spotted the cache and traded for a bug silly band that he just LOVES. [] My mom is now hooked on geocaching, too. Quilter 11. Hi Mom!

I think used toys or items are fine, if they are still in good shape. Garbagy old stuff that will get damp and rot in there...not a good idea. Better to just sign log. I live near a beach. What I think is cool may not be to others, so I was curious: Would a nice packet of local seashells (nice ones) be a good swag item? It's free, but would take me some time collecting good ones and I do think they're pretty and can be used as decor, craft items, shell collection, etc. Haven't put any in yet, but I have some ready to go. Is there a list of good adult swag items somewhere? I'm not too creative! So far my best find was a measuring tape! (which I will use!)

I vote for Semper Questio. Yikes, man! I hope your feet get better and you don't have to make that decision. But boy, some interesting stories. Note to self about batteries in purse... I do that all the time! I've already learned to carry a walking stick in woods, lotsa snakes here. No major injuries for me yet.

Garmin Nuvi 350, I think. It's 3 yrs old, a car gps.

Thanks! I think it's a combo of myself and the GPS. Mine stops counting distance at 40 feet, but the arrow is still apart from the flag, so I keep walking in a straight line. I'll try your suggestion of walking quickly towards it and see if that helps. I do need more practice triangulating the spot. I use my kids to mark 2 angles and then walk in from a third. That's how I found one that was buried under some palmetto leaves. The arrow was pointing at it, but I just didn't believe there would be anything actually BURIED! So far, that's my proudest find. Very exciting. I like the sense of "I'm one of few people out here in the woods that knows this is here". It's like a secret society! So the public ones I get too paranoid and don't try very long. The ones along the bike trail I tried yesterday are semi public, also hard to get that third angle. Might have to try from across the street! I might be needing a more accurate GPS for a Christmas present this year.

Went a-caching this weekend. Found 4 more. So far, we are at about 50/50 with finding and not finding... I am getting better with the GPS, but still missed 3 in a row today. Hmm. I decided I don't like looking for caches that are in high-traffic places. I feel goofy poking around bushes and under benches when someone comes around the corner on a bike or is sitting on a bench nearby. I like the ones in pretty parks, away from people. I know where 2 are (pretty much), but there are a ton of people around, in shopping centers. I logged my DNF's and I think people don't bother logging those....there don't seem to be many!

same question i had, thanks!

WOW! Scary!

We're newbies and this is nice info. I'd be very happy if the person who had my TB's just logged that they were keeping them for a while (for whatever reason). Just so I know they will eventually move on! I just ordered some cute TB's for my kids and hope I get courteous Cachers who will send a note if they get delayed. But I am setting my expectations low, that's why I am sending out multiple TB's from different caches...

Hello Florida Cachers! My kids and I just started geocaching this week. We found one, didn't find 2. (yet) I was a dork who left my Garmin GPS in Car mode, and didn't know it had a Pedestrian Mode. Just learning it! LOL. Might work better if it doesn't tell me to do a u-turn in 1/3 mile or stop when it hits the parking lot... Finding the first one in a park in Palm Harbor was exciting! Hi to Trader Rick and Rosie, maybe we will bump into you someday...we live in Palm Harbor, too. I laughed at the "we don't hunt nanos". My kids ONLY want to look for the bigger ones with lotsa goodies inside! And I had a hard enough time finding an ammo box... But I will try and find some on my own just to see how it goes. I will try to post a nice scenic trail pic when I get them uploaded. Great weather now, can't wait to head out to Sand Key this weekend and try our luck! Andrea

Good information, from both sides of the coin! I can see the pros and cons of each. Use the android phone to get you started, but use the GPS for it's durability, etc. I'm using my CAR GPS right now. I just started geocaching, it works for me. FOR NOW. But I don't want to break it, it's not too accurate, and will probably get a handheld GPS. It would be nice to have a big screen, a handy camera, and internet access, too, though! My next phone might end up being one with a big screen, and waterproof, shatterproof. That would be awesome. I'll have to look up the TOA. This thread was very helpful to me, thanks all.