JimyLee

There sets of caches in some areas called "Cache To Eagle" I believe. They are sets of twelve caches, each located at a previous Eagle project, and each one relating to one point of the Scout Law (Boy Scouts). If you could find a nearby C2E cache set, this would be a GREAT way to encourage your Webelos Scouts to continue on into Boy Scouts.

No bike right now, so my topless jeep is my caching ride. Next time you want to get out of the heat and sticky of OC though, cruise up towards Lake Arrowhead. There are a fair number of caches going up Hwy 18 from San Bernardino and even along the highways that go around the lake. Still more for ya if you decide to continue on up to Running Springs. Happy riding. Might join you if I pick up a bike soon.

I wouldn't have entered a 'needs maintenance'. I would have entered a new set of coordinates. "Coordinates 20 feet from original".

Very true. I would assume they would only do that for a specific reason though, which I have no issue with at all. Just shows creativity on their part, which is all good.

I tried to post a reply in a thread yesterday and wanted to quote three previous posts. I clicked the Quote button on each of the previous posts, but then couldn't seem to find a reply button that inserted all three of the quote sets into my new post. I thought I knew how to do this, as another forum I read uses a very similar software. Maybe I am just doing something wrong though. Can someone enlighten me?

I totally understand those of you that like the idea of not specifying the size of the cache in order to make the hunt more challenging or mislead the hunters. Those are GREAT ideas. But I still think this could be accomplished just as easily by providing a cache size option of "I'm Not Telling" or "Unspecified". My point wasn't that COs should be forced to reveal the size of the cache container, but rather that the field on the screen of the web site should be required to be responded to. I'm totally cool with caches where the CO doesn't care to specify it. What I don't like is the thousands upon thousands of caches that don't have a size specified simply because the CO forgot to set that field or was too lazy to look up what constitutes certain cache sizes. As to EraSeeks post, I understand your desire as a purist hunter to not have to see the size, but you are already ignoring the sizes on the vast majority of caches. Would it be any different if new caches being created had sizes specified? I don't mean that question to sound abrasive, but I couldn't figure out how to word it in a way that would convey that I really do want your opinion. I'm not dismissing your concern.

Thanks for the opinions guys. Some great thoughts there. Here are some thoughts that came to mind as I read the replies... Leaving mystery is fine if that is an intentional choice. That doesn't mean the field can't be required though. It just means there would need to be an option for that. Very seldom is making a field required in the database itself the best solution. The requirement for a size to be specified would be better enforced by the web interface, not the database, just like your name is required when creating a user account. And yes, I have tailored most of my PQs to limit to caches of specific sizes, but as you said, with 1,522 caches in CA not having size specified, that leaves a fair number of caches out of my results. Not enough to leave me a lack of caches to search for yet, but I'll get there some day. Renegade, I agree completely that making "not telling" an option, and also that the CO should have to specify rather than relying on a default. And heck, if this ever were to be implemented, it wouldn't be all that hard to have COs reminded whenever they log on that they have a cache that needs to have the size specified. Just those friendly reminders would probably be enough to get most of the previously existing caches updated to include the size setting. Again, thanks for all the thoughts and opinions guys.

Nope, sorry. Welcome to the wonderful world of Explorists. Not bad units. I love my 500. The hint length limit just sucks though.

I was going to post this as a site feature request, but many of you guys cache a LOT more than I do and may have some very good reasons that requiring the cache size to be specified would not be a good idea. So, would making cache size a required field when creating a cache be a good thing, or not really? Your thoughts? I just know that as I am browsing the maps looking for which caches to hit, or where to place a travel bug, it is really helpful to know the size, but a LOT of caches in my area don't have it specified.

Are you using the Magellan conversion software, or one of the other tools, to convert the PQ results to a GS file? The Explorists use the UPT file format for waypoints, but this is not what you want to use for geocaching. The Explorist uses GS files for geocaches, and this IS what you want to use for geocaches. When you receive the results of a PQ in email, it is in the GPX format, but this has to be converted to the above for your GPS to read it. As for why your computer is not recognizing your GPS, not sure what to say. If you could offer some more details we can probably offer suggestions. What OS are you using? Have you opened My Computer after connecting the device to see if it shows up as a drive there? Is the computer a laptop or desktop, and how old? (older laptops sometimes have issues with newer USB devices due to low power output) Have you upgraded the firmware of your GPS? (lots of threads on this. Please read before attempting)

Not having any problems here. Been getting find notifications and emails from other users regularly. PQs seem to be coming in a timely manner now too. I receive through two email servers. One is a county government server, and the other is the server I rent space for web sites on, so both are pretty responsive. If a couple of you getting slow emails want to test to see if it is your email provider's server that is the issue, PM me. I can set up an email account for you to test with on my server and you can temporarily change your email address here on GC.com to that address.

I love my 500. Button markings wear off way to quick, but with the lousy customer service by Magellan, I don't think I want to send it in for replacement buttons. There are several threads on updating your 500 to the upgraded firmware available for the Europe models. I just did this upgrade last week and am very happy with the results. Be SURE to copy your basemap off to your computer BEFORE doing the upgrade though. I had to copy it back to my device after the upgrade to get my local basemap back. The additional screens are great though.

Wow! Caching with a PSP in hand. Very interesting idea. If anyone comes up with a sample of the data file format needed on the PSP, I'd love to get a generic sample of the file. I have an on-line tool that exports data to different file types and would like to try to build this one in, which would also allow users to get the data file from the internet rather than using a piece of software installed on a PC to convert to it first. IMcachingHomer, PM me if you choose to pursue this. Maybe we can figure out a what for you to do this completely wirelessly.

I've been using my 500 for street routing for a couple years now. I experience all the stuff you mentioned, but it just never bothered me all that much. The beeping when it needs to tell you NOT to turn (like at a freeway intersection) gets a little old, but in the greater scheme of life, it just doesn't seem like that big of a deal. My only real gripe with this and similar models is the distance to next turn, which is measured in line of site, NOT pavement distance. On a mountain highway (like my commute home) the distance can read as little as 7 miles, when I really have 15-20 to go. But heck, as long as I get there in one piece, I guess I should be happy.

I don't think altitude would affect it, but keep in mind while you are in the mountains that tree cover can cause difficulties. Looking for caches under tree cover can lead to inaccurate readings, so don't expect your GPS to put you right on top of all caches. Sometimes it takes some hunting.

When you log the caches as found on Geocaching.com they will then show up in the results if you do a query for all caches that you have found.

Depending on the age of your GPS, you may need to update the firmware to get this feature. As I recall, the mark-as-found feature was not in the firmware that shipped with the 500 when it was first released.

Isn't there an option in the normal PQ config screen to send caches "That I Have Found"? I'm pretty sure there is, in which case you can just use that instead of the spiffy "My Finds" thing to get your finds sent to another email address.

Love the whole Alien post! Seriously though, as far as giving a presentation on the sport, it might be good to add a little 'chapter' on some of the offshoots/deviations of the sport, like benchmark hunting and travelbugs. An overview of some of the tools used in conjunction with the sport could eat up some time as well if you are having trouble finding content. Stuff like Google Maps, Google Earth, GSAK, etc. Good luck with the presentation. Would be really cool if you could record it and make it available for us to hear afterwards!

I did the same thing for a group of kids that come to a big friends & family camp out that I host every year. I hid six boxes in a loop through the forest, and preprogrammed three GPSs with the coordinates. We hiked as a group, but three people at a time could carry a GPS and guide the rest. They would trade at each cache. I bought the plastic containers, cheapy little trinkets, log books, and pencils at Big Lots. The kids logged each visit and took a trinket at each cache. When we got back to camp I took all those that enjoyed it and we sat down at one picnic table and I told them how they could do this anywhere they went. I had preprinted packets for anyone that wanted that included a high-level description of geocaching including the web site url, a printout of a cache web page, and photos of a few caches I have found. All of the kids enjoy caching now. Some do it with their parents, some just beg me to do it when we visit them, and ALL of them do it every year since when we get together to camp. Last year we placed an official cache. Gives the kids something to check in on year round to see who had been there. This year each of the kids will be releasing a travel bug of their own, and we're watching a group TB to see if it can make it back to our cache from the east coast before our camp out this year. Hope some of the ideas help. If I were closer I would offer to come help you set up the route.

Normaly there is no problem downloading a gpx from an archived cache. But wouldn't it better to get a message about it instead of a Server Error ... ? I need the gpx to finalise my GSAK database before I move this cache in another db. I ran into a problem downloading GPX files from a POI web site a while back. My browser kept changing them to HTM extensions or something like that. I found that if I renamed them during the download/save process to something with a different extension, like TXT, and then changed the extension once I had the file downloaded, it worked fine. No idea if this will work for you or not, but thought I would offer the suggestion.

This doesn't give him his internet IP address if he is going through any sort of NAT, router, etc, as most broadband users do now. Better off going with the previous suggestions.

Just keeping multiple GC files stored on the card rather than trying to do it all in one large file. I haven't seen any solid work-arounds for actually exceeding that cap in one file though, sorry.

I totally understand the authorities responding to the report of the possible pipe bomb, I just want to know who the yahoo citizen is that though "Oh NO!!! Someone wants to blow up a pipe bomb here and kill a bunch of dead people!"

I'm going to have to try that. I helped a group of kids place a nice cache last season, but got several reports of the coords being off by 50 feet or so. Sure enough, when I went up this month (area closed over winter) even the GPS I took the initial readings with was moving me in the wrong direction. Letting the device "settle" sounds like a good idea. I have also tried approaching the target from several different directions to minimize the effects of trees. I have to tell ya though, I was amazed that NONE of the people that reported my coords being off bothered to send off a quick PM letting me know what their GPS read the correct coordinates as. They were certainly not obligated to, but it would be courteous.