firefighterjake

You mean anyone outside of Canada has heard of Tragically Hip? I remember my favorite, saw the guys name in a paper log years ago: Profile He hasn't logged a cache in 5 years. He should give that name up; I'd take it. Not only have I heard of the Tragically Hip . . . I went to one of their concerts when I was in college way back in the early 1990s when they swung through New Hampshire. In fact I have quite the story to tell about another fan at the show and a little bit of a communication mistake due to the volume of the band . . . I can't say too much about this incident due to the PG nature of this site, but let's just say, "Does the band make sense to you" sounded to me a lot like "I want to . . ." . . . well as I said a story to tell another time and place.

I rarely make any trades, but I do often drop in my signature item and will occasionally drop in a ball, carabiner, etc. to fill out a cache that I particularly liked. I guess my own rule of thumb has been to take something and leave something of equal value . . . sadly it often seems caches get filled up with junk . . . if I see another rock in a cache. . . . So in answer to your question . . . if it were me I'd let all the kids make a trade if they wish . . . but a tit-for-tat deal where if one thing is taken out, another item goes in. Just my opinion.

As mentioned it depends on the reviewer and where you are . . . our reviewer here in Maine is wicked good as he usually posts the cache within a few hours and it seems as though there are two times that he tends to do this -- once in the mid-morning and once in mid-evening.

I'm a little late replying here . . . but yes . . . I use Direct Route all the time to get me in the general area or posted parking coords and then I switch over to point-to-point with the compass using the same software.

First off I'm an unabashed Magellan lover . . . but yeah, what gpsblake said is true -- I love my 210. No color screen, but it's very accurate, the batteries hold a charge for a long time and it's small and light-weight for hiking and geocaching. In fact, I bought my 210 originally as a back-up unit and now I use it more than my color Meridian unit which often doesn't seem to be quite as accurate when I'm geocaching. When I'm out snowmobiling or using the GPS on the ATV or using the GPS for turn-by-turn directions I use the Meridian unit as the color maps tend to stand out better for me and the screen is larger.

Here I've seen unactivated TB tags and geocoins most often used as FTF prizes along with "official" certificates. In a few rare cases I've seen money and lottery scratch tickets . . . however the best FTF prize I ever found personally was a $5 coupon at a local ice cream shop! That said . . . I never put out FTF prizes mainly because I noticed that the same one or two geocachers tend to always be the FTF. I do however have two caches that are stocked with items all worth $5 or more and cachers are asked to do equal trades . . . these caches are not restricted to premium members and so far believe it or not most folks have honored the equal trade stipulation.

I can't speak to the Mapsend topo software, but I was able to load the entire State of Maine (and some surrounding parts of New Brunswick and New Hampshire) into my 210 with the Mapsend Direct Route software program.

I will admit right up front that I am more familiar with Magellan GPSreceivers. Recently I wanted to purchase a "back-up GPSr" that I could let friends use while taking them geocaching. I pretty much concentrated my "research" to Magellan GPSrs since 1) I am familiar with them and 2) I didn't want to buy additional mapping software. After considering several units I opted for the Magellan Explorist 210 and I have to confess that this "starter" GPSr packs a pretty powerful punch. In fact, I am now using it more often than my ol' Magellan Meridian color GPSr. While you may opt for a cheaper GPSr that can be used for geocaching, the 210 offers some really nice features for just a few dollars more (I ended up purchasing mine at the local Circuit City for $149.99.) The mapping ability is very useful . . . if you opt to buy the Mapsend Direct Route software now or later you can use your GPSr for driving both to and from caches . . . as well as driving in unfamiliar locations. The 210 also has 22 MB of memory which was more than enough for me to load the entire State of Maine into the GPSr. As mentioned . . . being able to download the cache coords is also pretty handy. It was these two features that led me to purchase this unit instead of a cheaper model. The learning curve to use this GPSr wasn't that difficult for me since it is very similar to using the Meridian . . . but I will be the first to admit that the "manual" that came with the GPSr was a bit skimpy and could be confusing for folks not used to Magellan GPSrs. There are a few drawbacks to this model . . . the lack of color, the difficulty of accessing the battery compartment without a screwdriver or a dime and the small buttons. However, the price difference for color vs. black-and-white for my "second unit" was pretty steep so I didn't expect to find any color GPSr for less than $200. Accessing the battery compartment can be a pain . . . maybe it's my fat fingers! The small buttons are a nuisance at times, but the trade off is a unit that is more than half the size and weight of my Meridian -- in fact my Meridian now feels like a brick when I take it geocaching. Personally, and this is only my opinion, I believe this GPSr will suit your needs right now and for many years to come . . . and at a great price. Incidentally, in some side-by-side comparisons between my older Meridian and the 210 I have found the 210 to be more accurate . . . in some cases much, much more accurate. In any case, regardless of what model you purchase, welcome to the world of geocaching.

This past weekend I was riding on the ATV and of course I had my Magellan with me. I purchased this GPSr originally because I was tired of getting lost on the ATV . . . but of course I soon discovered geocaching and now use my GPSr more for geocaching than anything else (which is ironic since I got into geocaching to "justify" the expense of buying the GPSr. For the past year I've really liked the software that came with the bundle -- Mapsend Direct Route -- and found few faults . . . until Saturday. On Saturday our ATV Club stopped beside Deer Lake (Maine) which is a pretty significant body of water and my software did not show the lake . . . whereas another member of the ATV Club (with Mapsend Topo) showed this lake and several other lakes that my software failed to show. While I love the DirectRoute software as it allows me to auto-route (turn by turn directions to waypoints which is really nice while geocaching) I'm thinking that since I also purchased this unit for use in the woods maybe I should get some new software for use while ATVing, hiking, etc. So here's my questions . . . 1. Does anyone have experience with Mapsend Topo (3D or the older versions)? 2. Does anyone have experience with Delorme's Topo USA-East? I'm curious what folks think of these programs -- good or bad. I'm toying around with the idea of buying one of these programs and would like to see what everyone has for opinions. Delorme is quite a bit cheaper and here in Maine nearly anyone who does anything outdoors has a Delorme map . . . but on the otherhand I saw the Mapsend Topo screen and it seemed pretty detailed. Any input? Finally, a question for Magellan users, can we switch back and forth between software systems? For example, can I use my Direct Route software for caching and then use topo software for ATVing and switch back and forth depending on what I'm doing?

If anyone lives in Maine or points northeast you may or may not know about the movement of one of the WAAS capable satellites . . . in any case for the past few months WAAS was sporadic in this part of the country at best. Recently some Garmin users began reporting that they were starting to get WAAS signal from Satellite 51 after downloading new firmware updates on their GPSrs. My question . . . since I have a Magellan Meridian Color GPSr and apparently it is now considered "obsolete" my Magellan-Thales . . . do I need to also do a firmware update to get the signal from this new satellite or should the GPSr pick up the signal from the new satellite automatically? Thank you in advance for any replies.

Just to chime in here . . . chaulk me up to one of those folks who doesn't particuarly like the google maps. Where I am located the maps do not give me a very good idea of the location of the cache in terms of the town or towns it is near. If I zoom out the area is too big and only larger cities are included on the map . . . zooming in gives good detail, but too much to be able to tell at a glance in which town the cache is located. Bodies of water tended to be well marked, but the towns containing the bodies of water (i.e. large lakes) were not marked. I liked the old maps better, but realize that there may be some positives to this change so as long as I can rely on the good ol' Mapquest maps when I go to the "printer friendly" format I'll survive the change.

I only have owned one GPSr . . . Magellan Meridian Color bought in June 2006.

In the past few days I've noticed a problem with my Magellan Meridian Color GPSr and I don't know if it's just me or due to something I've done so I would appreciate any honest answers to this question. I've been trying to get a WAAS lock and my GPSr won't establish a lock . . . the best I can get is EPE 16 feet. This makes it darn near impossible for me to do a cache hide as I want to have as good coords as I can get. What I'm wondering is if anyone else has any similar problems . . . which could possibly point to a problem with the satellite. Alternatively, has anyone else had this happen to them? I was up on a hill the other day with a whole lot of high-powered TV and radio transmitter antennas and was wondering if this could have done something to the GPSr unit. For your information I live in Maine and have tried using the unit at various times of day, different locations and leaving it on for an extended time. On a recent trip to the north of Maine I didn't get a WAAS lock until I was 2 hours + into my trip.

I'm afraid I may have gone over-board . . . I went to K-mart and bought $120 or so in swag ranging from Matchbox cars, compasses, flashlights, emergency rain ponchos, modeling clay, etc. Some of this swag I've put into my very first cache with the idea being that maybe, just maybe geo-cachers would be willing to do equal trades of $5 or more items. I did this because I was tired of going to some caches and finding junk -- literally junk such as spent shotgun shells and empty bug spray cans or stuff that was dirty, broken or looked as though it came straight out of someone's yard sale. Time will tell how well this cache will go over . .. if people will honor my request to trade equal or if it will get filled up with 99 cent trinkets. Normally I attempt to leave trinkets of equal or more value. Pencils, eraser tops, carabiners, flashlights, compasses, etc. in an attempt to appeal to a wide range of folks. Sometimes I simply note TNLN. The Dollar Store (or similar store) can outfit you with some decent stuff . . . one of my favorite cache items that I took was of all things corn cob holders which sell of 99 cents or so -- it may sound stupid because I know I could easily have bought the darn things, but the corn cob holders were new, in a package and they just had a certain amount of appeal. As mentioned sometimes it's not always about the true dollar value of the item, but the appeal it has to the cacher.

I bought a GPSr mainly so I could keep from getting lost while out ATVing or snowmobiling (and also do to trail maps for my local clubs) . . . and figured that I should at least attempt to justify the purchase of this "high tech toy" by using it as a hobby and motivation for me to get outside more often. I knew about geo-caching from reading some info about it in a local newspaper column.

Hmmm . . . still no replies. Would this program do what I am looking to do? http://www.gpsinformation.org/ronh/

OK, so I'm very new to this whole GPS thing so please go easy on me if this is one of those ridiculously stupid questions. I recently bought a Magellan Meridian Color GPSr to a) mark out trail maps for the ATV and snowmobile club, to see where I am while out hiking, ATVing, snowmobiling (this was my final motivating factor after I went on an ATV trip and ended up at a very nice place . . . but not the place I wanted to go to), c) mark my trip's route on map and d) to go geo-caching (I went out for the first time the other day but due to previous commitments go out in the woods fairly late so I didn't find the cache before the sun went down). My question . . . After I've gone out on a trip (doesn't really matter if it's in the car, ATV, sled, etc.) and I've got a track showing where I've been . . . how do I load it up on to an image-based website such as this site . . . http://www.imagetex.com/ I would like to be able to post maps showing where I went, maps showing local trails, etc. but I have absolutely no idea about how to do this. I'm pretty sure it's possible though since I once saw a similar map at this site from a Magellan Meridian using MapSend DirectRoute (which I have) . . . you could even click on the image and zoom in (just like on the GPSr and the MapSend DirectRoute program.) Thanks for any help.