Pegasi

I needed an auto GPS so I headed over to Best Buy. I found the Nuvi 500 on closeout for $157.99 at the West Windsor NJ store. They were out of stock but they had a few in Howell NJ. There seems to be a lot of price difference even within the chain but the price was honored at the BB in Howell. If anyone is interested any store can check availability. I had never considered the unit, but as the price point was lower than most of the basic units I had to pick one up. I will post my thoughts later. I seems that the Marketing people at BB were displaying this unit next to the handhelds, not with the Auto units and they were moving slowly.

I just picked up a Nuvi 500 at Best Buy for $157.99. Seems that they had no idea where to place the unit on the display so they were clearing them out. The Driving functions are just fine, I loaded a GPX file with 100 caches and they pop up on screen where they should be. I loaded in a few Blue chart maps (extra cost , boating option will not appear unless the maps are loaded) and the detail on the rivers in my area is very impressive, more so than on an older GPS40 marine. I have yet to actually go out and run around the woods with the unit but did take it on an off road trip over the weekend. The jeep trails in Southern new jersey show up as trails and the compass seems to work. At $299.99 i would have never considered the unit but I needed an Auto GPS for work (my eyes are old and tired and there is no way I could see the screen on a handheld while driving). At $158 it was a major bargain that I could not pass up. One of the "cons" in many reviews was the lack of Text to Speach for detailed named turn by turn directions, when I unpacked the unit and hooked it up I loaded the latest firmware from Garmin - TTS is now enabled on the unit and some other minor bugs were worked out. I cannot give a definitigve thumbs up or down yet, but as soon as I can get out in the field I will let you know.

GSAK = Geocaching Swiss Army Knife - The software allows you to sort and organize returns from pocket queries and has a function that will export directly to Cachemate. If you do not register the software, you will get a screen asking you to register, ie. Nagging you about why you have not bought the software. I use a Tungsten E2 with a Bluetooth GPS receiver, cachemate includes a simple NAV program that will allow me to open the Cache Page information, look at hints, read past logs, and navigate to the cache. I can also search for caches based on the current location. I started paperless caching with a PalmVX and upgraded to the E2 because I could connect to a bluetooth GPS. I still carry a second handheld GPS for redundancy and the occasional whoops I forgot to charge the palm. I have a premium membership, GSAK, and cachemate and find that the combination works very well. Make sure to update the Cachemate Database often to avoid searching for caches that have been archived or made unavailable.

We have always only logged once for each cache listing, regardless of whether any stage but the final included a logbook. I will log multiple DNF's for stages though.

If you find the cache it's a find. If you accidently stumble upon a cache you've also found it, no reason not to log it. The log lets the owner know the cache was found, they may want to alter the hide. I have found a few without the GPS, still found.

The check sum is the result of adding all of the digits in the lat, lon or both. It is a way to verify that you have the right coordinates, it is not required to find the cache, only to verify the coordinates.

For some, look for nuts without bolts or bolts without nuts, look for wire or string where there should not be any, look at metal objects and find things that are not symetrical. Micros near trees are often in holes or hung just out of sight. Have found many but also have a lot of early DNF's. Almost all of the DNF's that later became founds were in a spot I know I checked at least 3 times.

Actually, I had something a little cheaper in mind. I like that one, I am waiting fo the idiots to start the whole siphoning thing again like they did back in the 1970's. If and when it happens I hope the fools siphon off the diesel in my pickup to fuel their lowered honda accords. OT but how many people are considering locking gas caps again?

I have had the Magnetic version on the truck for about a week, no discoveries yet but it has been fairly sedentary with Diesal at $4.31 a gallon.

I have had the Magnetic version on the truck for about a week, no discoveries yet but it has been fairly sedentary with Diesal at $4.31 a gallon.

Where we cache we see it on about 1/4th of the TBs we find.

Found the top of a set of dentures named "What's Left of Grandpa". Kinda gross, the mission was to tarvel the world since grandpa never had a chance.

Great, i understand, just not sure why another cacher would not log the find ? I have found several TBs and Coins that were still listed in the hands of a cacher, sometimes they misread the tracking numbers, other times they are travelling and are away from a computer for sometime, other times they forget where they placed it, lots of reasons. I usually post a discovered and that it is in my possession, send a note to the person that appears to be holding it, abd if nothing happens before I place it I just grab it. I like to know where my trackables are and appreciate the logs. A couple weeks ago I found a coin that had been missing for a year, it had been replaced with a path tag and was about 200 miles from my find. I emailed the owner and mailed him his coin back. It never appeared within 100 miles of my find and it was hard to tell from the logs when it actually went missing.

Discovering Travel Bugs does not add them to your count. They will not show up in your inventory. On the other hand, discovering Geocoins does add the Icon to your list and does add them to your inventory. I am slightly obsessed and log all of my found, grabbed, discovered TBs and coins in a separate GSAK database. I noticed this one evening when I discovered a few bugs and posted notes to let their owners know they were okay.

When do you actually post a "Needs Maintenance" log. I was abused by a CO because I posted a needs maintenance log on one of their caches (a micro with a full log, and I did not have a replacement). She responded back to me that I should look back 3 months ago oto see that someone had already brought it to her attention that the log needed replaced. I could have responded "If you've known for three months why haven't you replaced it?" Being the bigger person that I am I decided to just take it like a man. I went out and threw her stupid micro in the river instead. Just kidding. I now usually only post needs maintenace if the cache is wet or damaged, I just post in my found log if the Log book is getting full.

I usually log a DNF on the first search, if I go back and have no luck I will log another DNF then send the cache owner an email with short, concise details of my hunt to see if I am way off base. Usually I get a nice little nudge in the right direction, sometimes I get a "you looked right where it should be, I'll check it out and let you know". I had one that I DNF'd 4 times, the CO was kind enough to spell out exactly where it was after 3 DNF's, still logged a 4th, Found it on the 5th try in a matter of seconds in a place I had looked each time before.

I would definately log as a DNF and include details about why it was a DNF. When my daughter was younger I relied on the DNF logs to know which hides she may be bored by. I can llok around for 2 hours in the rain, she used to lose interest after about 5 minutes - now I don't need to worry, she usually has cache-in-hand before I get within 100'. It is a game that you can play by your own rules but I think of DNF logs as a courtesy to other cachers and the owners, as well as a source of amusement for the ones who ohave been there, done that. I will log multiple DNF's for the same cache if I try to locate it multiple times, think my record is 4 DNF's on one cache. (did finally find it though).

Just recieved the Magnetic version today, was very impressed, Rather than being printed on magnetig backing the TB symbol and numbers are actually cut through the white surface just into the magnet. Looks like it will stand up to some abuse - not sure I like the Tracking ID, but you'll have to find it to see what I mean. Look for the latest mobile bug if you happen to be in Central NJ area - bonus points for finding the flying horse.

Thanks for the tips. WSR - I think that would have worked but I made the mistake of deleting the old log and adding a new found one. GSAK is confused but Groundspeak seems to be working.

I was able to do a google search of the item in question and find multiple retailers. The big internet auction site had them as well. Ordered the Magnetic version (since I don't always want to be trackable ).

Note to self: When finally placing Cache #1 include virtual anti aircraft weapons. I agree with a previuos poster - I paperless cache and get annoyed when a useless note is posted and drops actual logs off my list. I always wish you could drop a coin or TB through editing a previous log rather than having to post a note as well.

Hoping to see if anyone can answer: I was out on a hunt a month or so back. Within 10 ft of GZ I found #1 Square Tupperware container with the lid about 10 feet away. I figured this had to be a muggled container so I dropped a new log book in and rehid it in what I thought would be an appropriate spot. I logged the cache as a "provisional" find until the CO got back to me. I discovered that yes indeed, some idiot threw out their perfectly good container right on top of GZ for a cache. I subsequently went back, found the actual cache, removed the offending tupperware and posted a find for the real container. I deleted the old log. geocaching.com maintains a correct found count on the site. When I run my personal finds PQ my count jumps by 1. I have been able to correct the error through help found on the GSAK forum and can correct the error so both systems match. Is there anyway to remove the extra found log on the geocaching.com site - everytime I run My Finds the count jumps back up by 1? I realized my error after the fact and was hoping I could clean it up. Not life threatening but a minor annoyance none the less. Thanks in advance for your help.

Lots of good stuff at the dollar store - favorites of ours a carabiners, first aid kits, bug repellent and toys for the kids. Lottery tickets are okay but make sure you put them in zip lock bags or the $1,000,000 winner may be a pile of damp mush. I bought a box of 500 small craft ziplocks at Michaels crafts for trade items that may be damaged if wet. Best rule of thumb for us is place something you would like to find.

Hi Tjer I use a Palm Bluetooth enabled PDA with hollux 236 Bluetooth GPS ( about $50 on Ebay last year). The GPS is a SIRF III WAAS Enabled receiver, it takes some fiddling with to get the WAAS enabled and the Static Mode turned off (software was included). I could not justify spending $300-$600 on a high end GPS. I also use an old Garmin 12XL (lent to brother in law) and a Legend. When I cache alone I will usually keep the Palm in my pack and refer to it for Descriptions, Hints, or past logs (I use GSAK and Cachemate). The ruggedness factor of the palm does concern me but I have a fully waterproof underwater housing from Pelican. The Hollux unit is the size of a pack of gum and uses a Nokia Cell Phone battery - last about 48 hours and recharges through a USB connector. Battery life is an issue, only about 6 hours when using Bluetooth and the Display (car charger recharges the unit in 30 min) The plus side of the combo includes: Palm holds as many caches as memory allows - I have 2600 active caches stored with full page descriptions from GSAK, these include 5 previous logs for each. Same goes for additional waypoints. I can Synch full TOPO and Street Maps from my Delorme software with custom icons - right now the entire states of NJ and PA are stored. - These are fully routable interactive maps that use the same GPS unit for location. I can write logs in the Palm in the field, synch them with GSAK and send them to www.geocaching.com. Cachemate allows for multiple databses so I have my unfound caches as well as unfounds for my daughter. There is a ton of freeware for the palm that allows me to use the GPS as a Tide Tool, Sun, Moon Phase calculator, and even as a portable (although small) Star Chart. The small GPS antenna in the Hollox is not as sensitive as the ones in some larger units but even using a 10 year old non WAAS Garmin unit I have never blamed a DNF on the GPS. Good luck if you decide to go this way. Total cost for the Palm/Bluetooth /Software option was way under $300 (including a premium membership to Groundspeak) and I use it for work and other hobbies as well.

The suggestion to look for "Regular" size traditional caches makes some sense. The caches are usually easier to spot and are often placed away from prying eyes. Getting used to the hunt and GPS ussage while not wandering around the local Wal-Mrt parking lot makes sense. Look for the numbers on the GPS to count down to about 30 feet then start looking for anything out of the ordinary or spots that look like they might hide something (Tree stumps, Piles of sticks, Strange rock formations, etc.). Micros and nanos can be fun as well but the search is sometimes different. I found when my daughter started caching with me it was alot easier to get her to wander around the woods if there was a playground nearby for the after the hunt festivities. Getting out and having a few succesful hunts with kids will keep them more interested than trekking all over a park chasing multicaches (at least at first.) Also, the thought of finding "cool" stuff in a Regular sized cache is more appealing to them than just signing their name on a piece of paper.