mrcpu

quote:Originally posted by mn12:10 years of fighting the Phantasians in the QOR..Still there, wouldn't be if I didn't like it. This hobby has fine tuned my Gps skills for use in the field. mn12 ps. anyone had the nerve to cache one on a base yet? I remember when the wall fell and the Soviet Block Threat went away. We started searching out and destroying the Halton Hills Freedom Fighters. Rob Mobile Cache Command

I bought a sportrak map... I played with it for a while at a radioshack before buying it (at a Best Buy!). I knew going in that the base map would suck eggs. In Southern Ontario (not Sarnia!) there is just the 401 and 400 and a lake Ontario that shows my office in the water! HOWEVER... now that I picked up Mapsource Canada... it is FREAKING UNBELIEVABLE!!!! I also FEEL that my Garmin Venture doesn't do as good a job at holding sat lock or picking it up with a lot of cover. On the other hand, my Venture came with an awsome database of Towns and Cities for Canada. I was blown away by some of the little towns it has in it. My Sportrak sucks in comparison were the town database is concerned unless you live in the US of A Cheers, Rob Mobile Cache Command

My buddy, Servman and I have made a couple of caches "extreme" by doing them at night with NO planning! On one occasion we were walking through the deep dark woods (no flashlights on of course!) and having been infantry reserve and done many a night patrol I was cruising along. I stopped a few minutes into our hike and checked to find Servman lagging. It turned out I was wearing all black and he couldn't see me at all! I took my Tritium compass and hung it on my back to give him a reference point. Another night cache he and I did resulted in me up to my knees in a VERY COLD swamp (under the water the ground was still frozen) sloshing around for 1/2 hour. We didn't find that cache but with all the mosquitos it was pretty extreme! Another time we drove to North Bay from Toronto just for a day caching! Like I said, if you want to MAKE a cache extreme you can do it by not planning ahead or going at night or both! Cheers, Rob Mobile Cache Command

I'm all for permits and a SMALL fee associated with them for a couple of reasons: 1. It provides a legitimate way for you to "get permission" in a (hopefully) consistant manner. 2. It helps to promote and protect the activity in a positive way because caches will be allowed and placed with proper consideration for wildlife and sensitive areas, thereby reducing and hopefully eliminating false accusations against cachers for damage. 3. A SMALL fee makes sense. After all, it costs money to print the permits and to record and manage them. Not to mention time spent IF a problem occurs. The one problem I do have with the previous example of a cache permit policy is the length of time the permit is valid for... UNLESS there was some way to email in and get a free extension by making a statement that you've checked the cache and it's fine. As for some of my esteamed fellow cachers who don't like a permit system... in a world were every sensitive area is signed and no cachers do anything stupid, we could do without permits. In the real world, this sport will go one of two ways once it is discovered by each local authority... banned, or permit based. A few local regions will probably not care, but I doubt that will last past the first bad apple... and as they say, one bad apple spoils the bunch. Rob Mobile Cache Command

12 degrees dif does sound close when talking true vs magnetic. Hey, why don't you switch your GPS to True and see what it says... let us know! Rob Mobile Cache Command

quote:I am certainly open to suggestion - if I was being mean, I would have asked our security forces to just remove the caches, and that be the end of it. But, I really am bending over backwards to be accommodating. How about having your security troops put mine field markers all around it and post a sign that unexploded ordinance has been found in the area.. that'll scare the cachers away! kidding> In all seriousness, since the unit IS on private property and you HAVE contacted the owner, I'd say it's fair for you to discuss it with your commander or base security. Once an official decision has been made by them, you can just go out and pull the cache (did you already "find" it? Did you log your find?!?! Lol) and then leave it at your local MP shack and email the cache owner to come pick it up. Additionally you could / should email the GC admin on this one to advise them to archive the cache. Cheers, Rob Mobile Cache Command

quote:To keep track of batteries in my backpack, I put them in pairs into film canisters. + up for charged batteries and - up when they are in need of a recharge. Kind of like the clean/dirty magnets for dishwashers. OH MAN!!!! YOU ROCK!!!! Every so often someone posts a message in here that makes me stop and go "WOW!" I realize that seems kind of funny for something as simple as how you store your batts but I've tried a couple of different ways of handling this. My method was to wrap charged or new batteries in a pairs with electrical tape.... I like your suggestion much better. Awsome! Rob Mobile Cache Command

Your local camping store may carry paper maps of your local area. I love using a paper map. Just remember to switch your GPS to UTM before heading out. You may want to read some of the other forums about UTM. Rob Mobile Cache Command

Firstly, I use MS Streets and Trips 2002 (I heard 2003 is pretty bad). It has the ability to import a comma seperated value file (CSV) and a program called Geobuddy (www.geobuddy.com) will take the .loc files you download (or get from a pocket query) and turn them into CSV for S+T. Once you've imported the waypoints in your general area into S+T you can plot a driving route from your home to your destination and then do a search for waypoints (S+T calls them pushpins) x miles on either side of your trip route. As for you little boys, I'm not sure how old they are, but what I would do (and did with my oldest son, 9 at the time) is buy them each a compass. Don't go too cheap though. The compass can be something they will charish as they grow up and hopefull keep for a long time. Once you are out remember to show them how to use it and then feed them bearings. When you get to the cache location, if it Rob Mobile Cache Command

I got a Sportrak Map a few weeks ago. I keep the manual in the washroom and thumb through it from time to time, occasionally rediscovering a feature or learning something new. As for screens, I leave on: -Sat display -Location Screen (use left and right to show your secondary datum) -Map -Compass Screen I use the Sat display to confirm what sats I am getting signal from. I use the location screen specifically to convert LAT/LON to UTM for looking at a map. I realize I could just use UTM but a lot of multicaches use hints that require you to enter coordinates into your GPS. Of course the Map screen won't go away and besides, it is pretty useful. I would have to say that Magellan sucks when it comes to the way they handle the display of waypoints on the map, compared to Garmin. On a Garmin Etrex you can choose your map detail and that has a bearing on how many waypoints show up on the map. As you zoom out the map doesn't clutter up. On the Sportrak Map the detail settings only control how much of the roads / topo information is displayed, not waypoints. Oh, the last screen, the compass screen, is a bit silly. It uses a representation of a compass that shows you North (true or magnetic depending on your setup) when you aren't going to a waypoint BUT then it points at a waypoint as soon as you start going to one. I'd like to see a second black arrow that points to the waypoint while the compass needle keeps pointing North! Cheers, Rob Mobile Cache Command

quote:Originally posted by Yanke:I took nothing and left my signature piece: a $2.00 Canadian coin. The Great story! Would you like to buy a roll of Toonies? I'll sell them to you for $2 USD each = $50 USD !!! LOL! Curiously, why do you use the Toonie anyways? Where do you get them? Cheers, Rob Mobile Cache Command

Were you messing with the Map Datum? If you set the Datum in your GPS to NAD27 that could cause a difference that you see. The EasyGPS software and the GPS use WGS84 as their transfer datum. Rob Rob Mobile Cache Command

quote:Originally posted by FamilyUnit:with a AK47 or other assault rifle. LOL! Are you sure you were in the US? There IS a possibility that the soldier had an AK... IF he was playing OPFOR.. BUT they way you described it was weired. Rob Mobile Cache Command

I love topo maps and I have; -Fugawi Bruce Trail in BSB format -Softmap S/Ontario -A number of Toporam maps -A collection of Paper maps for wherever I go The one thing that I've discovered from all these maps is that 1:50000 is almost useless. I have tried caching without a GPS and in fact I've been as close or closer both times I tried it. The thing is that I rarely go caching anywhere where a Topo is necessary. Let's face it. In S/Ontario the roads are no more then 2 miles part in most areas. IF you ever got "lost" you could just walk North/East/South/West towards the road your car is on! I like to take maps out with me for fun and I like to look at the maps before heading out to get an idea where to park, but I just couldn't see spending the money on Topo data for my GPS. Of course, if I did try it, I might change my mind! :-) Rob Mobile Cache Command

quote:I say we cause there are two of us. Geez. I knew our military was getting depleated but only TWO left?!?! Oh well, you could become 81mm mortarmen instead, you can run a tube with a 2 man crew (heck you can do it with a one man crew!). Cheers, Rob Mobile Cache Command

a) I wish this bb had a killfile This thread seems to have stirred up all the lurkers!!! Rob Mobile Cache Command

??? quote: Yes I am a confirmed CFL. Cpl For Life? LOL I was a "Career Corporal" myself due to school and (thankfully, now ex) wife getting in the way of my taking summmer courses. Cheers, Rob Mobile Cache Command

I'm glad. I was afraid that some of the cards had gone astray and that was the cause of the sudden slowdown in activity. Good Luck! Rob Mobile Cache Command

Great job! Did you cross post this to the General forum? I'm sure our American Cousins would find it interesting. The thought actually occured to me that someone could start a locationless cache for shuttle debris...NOT as a scavenger hunt, but as a way to track the debris and where it landed with Lat/long. I'm sure NASA has their own database anyways. Cheers, Rob Mobile Cache Command

quote:Originally posted by res2100:And I just found the 5th and last clue this past weekend...oh well no matter, as I still would have gone to these caches anyways. Now, just gotta find an appropriate day to visit the Prison Camp. Sorry res! I wish there was some way for cachers to flag a cache for the owner to know if they are planning on visiting it. If so, I would have known how many people were still trying it and perhaps not changed it right away. Oh well... As for Jomarac5's remarks... I hear ya! I debated whether or not to post a message. The last thing we need is EVERY cache owner announcing their caches! In my case the other option would have been to archive the old cache and create a new one (same location of course). If there were an Ontario/Canada forum I'd have posted there for sure! Cheers, Rob Mobile Cache Command

quote:I for one like to hear how other Canadians are doing but I don't think a separate Canadian site is the answer. The folks at Geocaching.com seem to be doing a great job. I was thinking something like http://canada.geocaching.com or http://www.geocaching.com/canada/ At the sub-site there could be some unique features such as bi-lingual cache pages and information. I'd also like to see Canadian cachers doing cache approval/archival of Canadian caches, moreso because we would have a better handle on local issues and laws. Cheers, Rob Mobile Cache Command

quote:Originally posted by boreal jeff & sons:Ah, to shop in Toronto. You can buy anything there. Up here in the Sault a shopping adventure is when the new Walmart store openned up. I had to go to Sudbury to find a decent packsack. Every hour spent geocaching is added to the end of your life LOL. My favorite is finding a new Walmart here in Toronto! They all seem to be different in someway too! Rob Mobile Cache Command

RE: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.asp?ID=31461 Rob Mobile Cache Command

I did 5 years in the Lorne Scots C Coy Georgetown, Ontario. Primary trade was infantry and my secondary trade was 81 mm mortar. It was lots of fun! Got to blow stuff up and shoot automatic rifles and get paid for it! I would still be in today but unfortunatly school/first marriage conflicted :-( Rob Mobile Cache Command

quote:Originally posted by welch: quote:Originally posted by mrcpu:If it required purchasing the numbers then I would rather just make my own and track them through my own website like cache monkeys do. So you have no need for TBs if they are tagless or not ? http://brillig.com/geocaching/http://img.Groundspeak.com/user/22008_1700.gif http://www.gpgeocaching.com/ No. I don't see how anyone NEEDs TB's. I need food, clothes, etc., not TB's :-) I'm just saying that I don't see the value in PAYING for tagless bugs. When you pay for a TB now you GET something. IF the TlTB's were 10 cents each then MAYBE it would make sense. Cheers, Rob Mobile Cache Command