Blaidd-Drwg

I'd spring for the extra bucks and get the T5. That way, when your batteries go dead, you won't loose the contents of your PDA. I've have one of each and like the T5 a lot better. Also, should you want to use maps on the PDA, the T5 has a lot more powerful processor. And finally, the T5 has a BlueTooth, should you ever want to make use of that feature.

Before anyone reads this and tells me what I was doing wrong, I thought I'd close this topic. I logged on this evening and was able to successfully create the PQs for the North Island. I still have no idea, why they didn't work earlier. I did everything the same as I usually do. So, I'm closing the topic. Can't wait to come down and grab a few.

I've been trying to generate a PQ for the north island. I started off using a lat long of -36.8445, 174.7671, which should be in Auckland. I got back that no results matched the criteria. I then tried to do a PQ around a cache, GCNA2B, again with no results. I have selected the entries for all caches, all types, all containers, that I haven't found. I was able to get results for the South Island. Does anyone have any idea, if I'm really doing something wrong. I do a lot of PQs, and have never had this kind of trouble.

Never been caught in action while caching, but I did have one memorable time while serving in the Infantry. I had gone outside of the platoon perimeter to dig my cat hole and do my thing. First off, in the army, you're always wearing a lot of gear. Load Bearing Equipment, cold weather gear, rifle, entrenching tool, etc. So, after taking all of this off, I settle down against a fallen log to do my do. After standing up and bending over to pull up my pants, I saw crawling towards me the agressor platoon about to attack our platoon. Running through the woods with your pants around your ankles is a bad idea, but it is better than playing dead by falling down where you were just doing your thing.

Let me start by saying that I don't own a Legend. I do own a 12, a couple of yellows, a Vista and a 60cs. In these days of falling prices, I suspect you can get a vista for just a few dollars more than the legend. The added memory is nice, and I really like the compass feature. So my vote is to go for the vista.

Whipper-snapper, 27 years ago

It takes me three caches to list my extremes. Most East - Royal Observatory Greenwich Cache (GCK7HH) W000 00.090 Most South - Harry Hill Cache (GC325E) N19 41.197 Most West - Hairy Hill Cache (GC325E) W155 27.978 Most North - Fairbanks Travel Bug Drop Box (GCHPMV) N64 49.313 Looking at distance, the furthest east to west is 7295.4 miles.

I personnally would not recommend going with the Delorme SAH. I have a copy and find it to be abysmal at managing waypoints. Once you load your PQ into SAH, you can only delete them one at a time. If you load a waypoint a second time, then you have two separate labels for the same point, and this requires two delete processes to remove from the map. Additionally, I find it much more user friendly to use maps on the GPSr, so that tracking is a constant.

I guess I'm similar in a lot of ways to most of the other responses. I get my weekly PQ on Thursday (I'm cache a lot on Fridays). I then use GSAK to export the Pq into TOPO USA, my GPSr, and PDA (Cachemate). I look at the TOPO USA map and look for areas that I might go to. Often times, there may be a puzzle cache that I want to work towards. Lately, using my 60CS, I've just started at a handpicked cache and then do the next closest, ending up where-ever. Once I'm out at the first cache, before driving to the next cache, I check the PDA (Tungsten T5) and read about the next cache. I normally go to the past logs page and insure that the cache hasn't gone missing. Then off to the next cache. Since my GPSr will display maps, I use the map screen to view the routes to the next cache. I haven't gone so far as to use the auto-routing feature yet.. Bottom line, Find what works for you.

I have one of the GARMIN suction cup mounts attached to my windshield in the lower right corner of my Explorer. Despite bouncing down some rough roads it has held and not came off. It is fairly easy to mount and dismount my 60cs from the holder. By putting it in the lower right corner, it is easily viewable, but doesn't obstruct my view. I chose the suction cup version since it doesn't require any permanent attachment to the car or risk of leaving velcro goo behind.

Perhaps it's me, but or perhaps it's just Garmin product (which I really like and use), but when I'm moving slowly it appears that the electronic compasses do not point in the correct direction if the GPSr is held in an upright position. If I am stopped and the cache is to my front, when viewing the compass screen and have my GPSr held vertically, the direction arrow will most often point down or behind me. I experience the same behavior for both the Vista and the 60CS. So the feature I would like is a electronic compass, that no matter the GPSr orientation, points in the correct direction.

On another track of beaming waypoints between a PDA and the GPSr, how about a wireless connection that automatically syncs the display between the two devices. For example, I view the next nearest location (cache) on my GPSr. I desire to read about this location on my PDA which has pages of information stored on it. Currently, I must go through an index and manually locate the location in the PDA or if I'm looking at it in the PDA, I must manually look for it on the GPSr.. Some users might not want the syncing of the two devices to be automatic, so a manual 'push' would be required and should be selectable. I realize that this requirement would not only involve the GPSr, but also the PDA software. Communications between the two devices could be handled by some media like Bluetooth or IR.

The new update for the 60cs is now available.

You can do a search from the 'Hide and Seek a Cache' page, but it doesn't appear that you can limit it to a set radius. Maybe I'm missing something though. Edited to say that TEAM K9 beat me to my answer.

As for determining which island a cache is on, if I were doing it, I would perform my search based on a central location in the island, then import it into my copy of Garmin Worldmap. This would provide a pictorial view of the locations and allow for the selection of caches of interest. For instance the lat/long for Nassau is 25 03.317 -77 20.694

Let me speak with a army career's worth of authority on your find. The top portion is as identified a flare. It comes packaged in the tube at the bottom. To launch the flare, you remove the cap from the tube and place it on the bottom. You then either ram the tube onto the ground causing the cap to stike the primer in the bottom of the tube. Alternatively, after placing the cap on the bottom of the tube, you can hit it with the palm of your hand. This has been know to result in a bruised palm. Bottom line, the items you have found are most likely no longer hazardous, but unless you know exactly what your dealing with, you should just avoid it.

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My thoughts are: 1. Always mark your car (I don't and I get turned around every once in a while) 2. If going out into the wilds (further than a mile from the nearest convienence store) take a bottle of water. 3. Put your GPSr down in the target area. (I usually manage to put mine down within 20 foot of the cache and still spend 15 minutes looking) 4. Nature abhors geometry (Look for the unnatural pile of sticks) 5. Finally, Cache Hiders are normally lazy( or to avoid being flamed, Cache Hiders are an ingeneous group). They know the easy way into a cache site and will take it, as opposed to walking through hundreds of feet of briars. So, LOOK FOR THE PATH. It will usually get you to within a few feet.

My $0.02. First off, you can purchase a cable and download locations via a computer into your etrex, no matter which model. As for downloading descriptions, hints and past logs, your best bet is to go one of the paperless routes discussed in these forums, using a PDA. Although there is a limited area for downloading info in the Garmin GPS 60C or 60CS, it is very small (about 30 characters) I have not read, nor heard about any magellan or other manuafacturers models being able to do all that you wish. I guess the one combination GPSr is the Garmin IQUE. I believe that it may do all you desire in a single package, but as with all combo devices, it has less than stellar performance in all areas. There are other combo packages, but again based on my readings, here in the forums, the performance is not optimal. As for WAAS, it is not needed for geocaching. It is interesting to play with, but, again IMO, it is not a deciding factor in the purchase of a GPSr. As for maps, both Magellan and Garmin sell proprietary maps for their GPSrs. These start at about $100 and go up from there, and are needed for anything other than interstate hiway driving. Now for still more bable on my part. I've used several Garmin models. GSP12, Etrex yellow, Vista and currently the 60CS. I am really enjoying the 60CS, and find the screen the easiest of the listed models to read. I use a Palm PDA (Tungsten T5) for paperless caching. I use GSAK to download the locations to the GPSr and prepare the PDA file for transfer to Cachemate on the PDA. So a very long answer to your very broad questions. I'm sure you will receive many other responses, extrolling the virtues of other systems. Good luck on your search for the perfect system.

Resolution. Where did you get your poker chips?

As a frequent flyer, I can state with great certainty that the xray machine does not affect my GPSrs

First let me do my chest thumping. I've paid for, and use, both GSAK and Cachemate. I'm on my third annual installment of GC.Com. WHY. As for GC.com, I had been involved n the sport for about 6 months when the idea of the paid service was started. I had already seen how much enjoyment I got from the website and the service that it offered. So the decision to support the website to me was a no brainer. Even if there were no PQs, I believe I'd still support the site, just because I can see how much effort is involved to keep it up and running. As for cachemate and GSAK, my support is just a small way to say that their product is worth every penny. I used each for one weekend of caching and made the decision that they were right for me. Now, I don't know how I'd get along without this trio of products. (yes, for those of you out there already starting to type, I do know about the other paperless alternatives and have used them in the past)

Without complete detail, the method I use is as follows. Assumptions: 1)You are using a Delorme product (I use TOPO USA V5.0). 2)You have a registered copy of GSAK. 3) You have a PQ(s) loaded in GSAK that covers the route your interested in. Steps. 1. Define the route in the Delorme product, and save the route. 2. Identify the route file location (these files are saved in a single folder) C:\DeLorme Docs\Navigation is where the files are stored in my computer and I used default settings for the file structure. Route files have a .anr extension 3. Open GSAK and insure that the PQs are loaded which cover the route 4. In GSAK <search><Filter> [Arc Poly] [Load From File] When the pop up window is displayed use the normal windows method to identify the file. Upon selecting the file, the route coordinates will be applied to the search window in GSAK. 5. Fill in how far from route you want to search. 6. <Go> The result will be a filter of only those caches, which are less than your specified distance from the route.

Colorblindis my most recent favorite. It took me several weeks of stareing at the puzzle to figure it out. Now for the shameless plugs for my own caches. Dancing Men which is a Sherlock Holmes theme, and Birtschi II which is a cryptology theme.

Trying again to show my 18 states, and I also have finds in Great Britain and Canada