Desert_Warrior

Good evening. I have not taken up this area of the hobby yet, so I may be speaking of something that doesn't matter. If so, please disregard this message. I have 20 years of experience with Brasso. It does work great. BUT.... it contains ammonia, and that will weaken brass. You need to decide for yourself if this matters. For instance, I am a competitive shooter. I DO NOT clean my rifle or pistol cartridges with brasso. Should I even need to polish my military medals, I could use brasso. Most likely, I would just dump them in the brass tumbler for my reloads. Just a friendly warning. Mike. KD9KC El Paso, TX.

Where you hike is a big factor. How far you are going in is another. A 6 mile round trip across the desert requires a different load than a 200 yard walk across the city park. Out here in the desert everything bites, stings, stabs, or cuts. Except for a few small springs, there is no water. I always carry at least 2 quarts of water per person, a good first aid kit, cell-phone, ham radio, GPS, map case with TOPO and mil-maps of the area, signal mirror and beacon flasher, and my trusty Ruger 9mm. The first aid kit also has an EPPI-injector, just in case of a bad scorpion sting etc. It is all arranged on a full military web belt/suspender set. If I go out by myself, I believe having the stuff with me is even more important than if I have company. You can always hike out to get help for an injured member, but if you are alone, you may not be able to get out. Do I take too much? Dunno... what would you leave behind when it will be 102 deg by 3pm, and you are just trying to get back to the jeep with a sprained ankle or worse? Mike. KD9KC El Paso, TX.

Where you hike is a big factor. How far you are going in is another. A 6 mile round trip across the desert requires a different load than a 200 yard walk across the city park. Out here in the desert everything bites, stings, stabs, or cuts. Except for a few small springs, there is no water. I always carry at least 2 quarts of water per person, a good first aid kit, cell-phone, ham radio, GPS, map case with TOPO and mil-maps of the area, signal mirror and beacon flasher, and my trusty Ruger 9mm. The first aid kit also has an EPPI-injector, just in case of a bad scorpion sting etc. It is all arranged on a full military web belt/suspender set. If I go out by myself, I believe having the stuff with me is even more important than if I have company. You can always hike out to get help for an injured member, but if you are alone, you may not be able to get out. Do I take too much? Dunno... what would you leave behind when it will be 102 deg by 3pm, and you are just trying to get back to the jeep with a sprained ankle or worse? Mike. KD9KC El Paso, TX.

I discovered that any TRACK uploaded to the yellow E-TREX from ExpertGPS has a maximum size of 125 legs. Anything larger will not upload. In ExpertGPS, you can use the -SIMPLIFY- command to make the number of legs 125 or less. So far, this is working. There may still be more I have not found yet. Hope this helps someone, as I did not get many answers here. Mike. KD9KC El Paso, TX.

I discovered that any TRACK uploaded to the yellow E-TREX from ExpertGPS has a maximum size of 125 legs. Anything larger will not upload. In ExpertGPS, you can use the -SIMPLIFY- command to make the number of legs 125 or less. So far, this is working. There may still be more I have not found yet. Hope this helps someone, as I did not get many answers here. Mike. KD9KC El Paso, TX.

I tried ExpertGPS. I liked it so much I bought a copy. Start with the EasyGPS, then try ExpertGPS when you get the chance. I can upload and download waypoints, tracks, and routes to GPS<--->Computer. It makes it nice. But more importantly, it lets me map my hike on topo or arial maps. Some of my treks get written up, and turned over to Texas Parks and Wildlife, so the mapping is real nice for that. (see photos of web page ) for ideas. Check out the trail map in the photos. Hope it gives you some ideas. Good luck. Mike. KD9KC El Paso, TX.

As a retired soldier, I have quite a bit of experience in the desert, hiking around power lines. As an electronics specialist now working for a power company, I have even more. The short answer is yes, and no, and maybe. First, power lines operate at a frequency of 60 cycles per second. The GPS signals are at about 1.4 Billion cycles per second. A well-designed GPSr will not be directly affected by the field of the power lines. BUT... the power lines -CAN- raise the local noise floor (the ambient noise level of the area) to a level where reception of GPSr signals could be disrupted. This would be most noticable if there were a burned or arcing connection on the lines. Another factor is the voltage on the line, and the field density. The two standards in out area are 115 thousand volts (kilovolts, or KV) and 345 KV. Guess which one will produce more field density. Now, field density falls as a square to the distance. If you double the distance, the field density falls to 25%. Bottom line, and in my experience... if you are close enough to the lines to worry about it messing with your GPSr, I think you have more to worry about first. Hope you got your grounded underware on. Hope you find this helpful. Mike. KD9KC El Paso, TX.

First... what did Bananna Republic do to turn traitor? I have several of their vests. When hiking alone, I use one of the Wal-Mart day-packs. It has a 70oz water bladder, and enough area for myself, if I carry my pistol and ham radio separately. It was $30.00, a good deal for me. When out with more than myself, and after 20+ years of doing so, I fall back on my military web gear. Start with the standard belt and suspenders. On the belt, right side, is a 2 qt canteen cover, with a holster stiched into it for my pistol. Centered on the belt back is a first aid kit, including one eppi-injector, just in case someone (or some dog) gets stung by a scorpion and has a reaction. Next, depending on the distance, I can set 2 each 1 qt canteens or 2 qt canteens either side of the first aid kit. Ham radio and cell phone hang from the suspenders. On the belt left side is another empty 2qt canteen cover for carrying extra socks, treasures, lensatic compass, and anything else including extra batteries. I almost always carry a military map bag with topo-maps, military maps, pencils, small ruler, small calculator, small mag light, (for the caves), and small binoculars. Of course, all of the above gear is optional, and any part of it may or may not be on any given mission. Oh, did I forget my GPS? Used military web gear is available. If you don't have a surplus store in your town, try the U.S. Cav Store on the internet. Mike. KD9KC El Paso, TX.

I quit doing Seti@home when I learned that they have so many volunteers that they are sending the same peice of data to about 10 people, all doing the same one. I am not selfish, but I can use those CPU cycles too. No sense repeating the work someone else did, just so they make me feel like I am doing something. JMHO. YMMV. Mike. KD9KC

I quit doing Seti@home when I learned that they have so many volunteers that they are sending the same peice of data to about 10 people, all doing the same one. I am not selfish, but I can use those CPU cycles too. No sense repeating the work someone else did, just so they make me feel like I am doing something. JMHO. YMMV. Mike. KD9KC

If you can get the water-activated heater, do this. Carefully cut away the holder. Cut the silver heater material into 6 strips lengthwise. Drop the strips and any crumbs into a -DRY- 20oz -PLASTIC- pop bottle. Then quickly, add 1/2 a bottle of water, screw on the cap, shake well, and throw. You got about 30 seconds to haul-*** before it blows. I recommend you try this in a wide-open area first. I take no responsibility if you are too stupid to get away, or throw it at anyone else, or use it in any unsafe manner. It is quite spectacular!!! Mine. KD9KC

I am having a problem with ExpertGPS and my yellow E-TREX. If I save a long track to the program, clear the GPS, then try to reload the tracks back to the GPS, the longer tracks get shortened. I get an error message on the GPS that says TRACK TRUNCATED. Opinions... comments... help, all welcome. Snickering I have enough of already. Mike. KD9KC

I am having a problem with ExpertGPS and my yellow E-TREX. If I save a long track to the program, clear the GPS, then try to reload the tracks back to the GPS, the longer tracks get shortened. I get an error message on the GPS that says TRACK TRUNCATED. Opinions... comments... help, all welcome. Snickering I have enough of already. Mike. KD9KC

After 20 years of MREs, I never want to see another. There is a reason they were called "Meals Rejected by Ethiopians". And in case you all didn't know it, the standard MRE is a combat ration. Each one contains between 2500 and 5000 calories. Just what do you think it will do for your girlish figure? Mike. KD9KC

After 20 years of MREs, I never want to see another. There is a reason they were called "Meals Rejected by Ethiopians". And in case you all didn't know it, the standard MRE is a combat ration. Each one contains between 2500 and 5000 calories. Just what do you think it will do for your girlish figure? Mike. KD9KC

Good evening. I have a question. (Yeah, don't we all). I have been reading posts off and on here for about two months now. Until tonight, I have not seen anything about membership. One of the posts I looked at tonight made reference to some "membership" in conjunction with Geocaching. Now, I hate to be a freeloader. OTOH, I am already a member of one army association, one union, two national pro-gun groups, 3 shooting clubs, one dog club, one zoological society, the humane society, 2 amateur radio clubs, my dog volunteers (with me) in hospitals and nursing homes... dunno if I can afford another membership without severe illness (me, when the wife finds out). In any case, would someone let me know if I missed something? Thanks. Mike. KD9KC

Good evening. I have a question. (Yeah, don't we all). I have been reading posts off and on here for about two months now. Until tonight, I have not seen anything about membership. One of the posts I looked at tonight made reference to some "membership" in conjunction with Geocaching. Now, I hate to be a freeloader. OTOH, I am already a member of one army association, one union, two national pro-gun groups, 3 shooting clubs, one dog club, one zoological society, the humane society, 2 amateur radio clubs, my dog volunteers (with me) in hospitals and nursing homes... dunno if I can afford another membership without severe illness (me, when the wife finds out). In any case, would someone let me know if I missed something? Thanks. Mike. KD9KC

I am a relative newbee to Geocaching... but not to hiking or land-nav. Lived that life for 20 years, now training ROTC cadets. But of the two caches I have found, the first my daughter took a small bauble, and left a handmade necklace. Some might think it is just string and beads. Yes, it is, but it is also a few hours of work tying the string, stringing the beads, and following the pattern. I took a small bauble (perhaps a McToy, dunno, I boycott McDs for their anti-gun ways and support for jesse j), and I left a document on the sights and history of the local mountains. On the second cache, my daughter took a small flag pin, and left two handmade bracelets. I took a small penlight, and left a document about the local (only ones in the U.S.) tin mines. I spent time researching the history of the mines, not to mention the 8 hour hike for the photos. Was that value? Dunno. The penlight may have been as much as $4 or $5, my paper was only 4 or 5 sheets. Both times, I think we left value for value. But others would not. In the end, will you try to please everybody? I am just about to place my first cache. I have no experience at this. For a list of what it contains, go to the getting started forum. Since I don't know what to expect, I guess I will expect anything. What I do know is, I believe that the hike, the sceneary, and the historic area is the real treasure. This is what my cache will be about. I guess if I find it full of McDs wrappers, I will be dissappointed. But if I find the logbook full of comments about the area, the mines, the mountains, birds, lizzards, etc... it will do for me. So... just what IS value? Mike. KD9KC

I am a relative newbee to Geocaching... but not to hiking or land-nav. Lived that life for 20 years, now training ROTC cadets. But of the two caches I have found, the first my daughter took a small bauble, and left a handmade necklace. Some might think it is just string and beads. Yes, it is, but it is also a few hours of work tying the string, stringing the beads, and following the pattern. I took a small bauble (perhaps a McToy, dunno, I boycott McDs for their anti-gun ways and support for jesse j), and I left a document on the sights and history of the local mountains. On the second cache, my daughter took a small flag pin, and left two handmade bracelets. I took a small penlight, and left a document about the local (only ones in the U.S.) tin mines. I spent time researching the history of the mines, not to mention the 8 hour hike for the photos. Was that value? Dunno. The penlight may have been as much as $4 or $5, my paper was only 4 or 5 sheets. Both times, I think we left value for value. But others would not. In the end, will you try to please everybody? I am just about to place my first cache. I have no experience at this. For a list of what it contains, go to the getting started forum. Since I don't know what to expect, I guess I will expect anything. What I do know is, I believe that the hike, the sceneary, and the historic area is the real treasure. This is what my cache will be about. I guess if I find it full of McDs wrappers, I will be dissappointed. But if I find the logbook full of comments about the area, the mines, the mountains, birds, lizzards, etc... it will do for me. So... just what IS value? Mike. KD9KC

Just don't log your finds on the site here, and nobody will have an accurate idea of what you do. It works. Log it in the cache log book, and E-mail the owner directly. This will give you the option of adding to the brag or quietly enjoying the hobby without entering into the frey. Mike. KD9KC.

Bad luck man. Post the ham gear too, you never know. Good luck. Mike. KD9KC. El Paso TX.

Lots of great suggestions. It will be in an ammo can, a bigger 50 cal can. I am a big-time competitive shooter, I do have ammo cans. In fact, I was at the gun show yesterday and bought 5 more. Also, everything is in zip-lock bags, except for the two bottles of water and the cache note. What is in it? First, 4 documents. They are called: "B-36 Crash", "Mount Cristo Rey", "The El Paso Tin Mines", and "Secrets of the Franklin Mountains". These are all about different sights in the local mountains. Since I hope to place this cash at the Tin Mines, there is an extra Tin Mine document marked DO NOT REMOVE in the box. I have also noted that cache-finders can E-mail me for electronic copies if they do not want to carry the paper out. Lots of research and history there. Next, I have included 3 copies of a small book, "The declaration of Independance and The Constitution of the United States". 3 copies of "The 10 commandments of Desert Survival". Beer Coasters from the Fort Bliss Air Defence Center. A small stuffed Armadillo, screwdriver, survival whistle, globe paper weight, union stickers, communications patch, matchbox atv, pocket calculator, 4 AA batteries, tire air press gage, small pocker knife, handmade keychain, zoo keychains, one w/ a flashlight on it, a mouse pad, sunglasses, and a baseball cap. Also included is 3 extra zip-lock bags, 2 mechanical pencils, 2 pens, and the log book. Fishing lures are a waste out here, nearest lake is 100 miles away. I don't know about the "George" dollars, and don't have the time to learn about something new right now. I think it is a good first attempt. Thank you all for helping, I have learned a lot. I hope this cache is worth the trip, but I think the real treasure is seeing the only Tin Mines in the United States. If you come looking for this cache, bring water, and a flashlight. Now I am just waiting for the OK from the park administrator to place it. Y-all have a great day, and thanks sgsin. Mike. KD9KC.

Howdy Y-all, I am working on creating my first cache. I have found a great place for it. It is a 3 mile hike one way in the Franklin Mountains, but in the foothills... not a lot of climbing. I am looking for suggestions for items to put in it. What to use for a logbook... any other info to include? Suggested paper to tell what it is should a non-geocacher find it... etc. Since we are in the desert, I will include a bottle of water in it. Looking for any-all help. Thanks. Mike - KD9KC

http://www.borderlandnews.com/stories/borderland/20020427-192922.shtml Watch the wrap, the link is long. Mike and Heidi, El Paso.

EVERY RECEIVER, from the early REGEN design to the current super-het and IF-conversion designs all have one ACTIVE component. An Oscillator. This oscillator IS a type of low-power transmitter. I could tell you stories of military security copying data by listening to the oscillators, but many of you know this already. The point is, these oscillators CAN and DO cause interferance to aircraft systems. You have to ask yourselves, was that KAL flight shot down by the russians off course because someone with a GPSr was playing around in the passanger cabin? Mike.