Barnie's Band of Gold

Not everyone knows who you are so YES you should have posted your opinion under your player account. Sure your opinion may be your opinion but some folks may give more credence to what the "moderator" has to say. I'm not one of them. Please allows others to have their say, we already have your opinion on this subject.

Please don't take this the wrong way Cache-tech but I'm not really interested in the opinions of the moderators. I'm looking for the opinions of those that "play" the game rather than "run" it (yes I know moderators can play too). These puzzle caches are great for those under house arrest with limited time to get outdoors - but for the rest of us??

Love to hear from AdventureRat on this subject. Recognized as a premium puzzle solver - would you rather be sitting at home working through the puzzle or out exploring new areas finding the cache?

Thanks for the clarification CacheDrone, can we get back to the original subject now?

Leave it to Tequila to hijack my thread and take this in a different direction. The issue here folks is heavy computer time to solve a puzzle leading to a micro vs. quality time out enjoying the walk in the woods, etc. Short of hitting "ignore" listing, what can be done about these caches that seem more about astounding us with more useless information then exercise and the pursuit in the field?

Seems the consensus is what I thought. So how do we get the word out?

Hey everyone just want to get the "pulse" of the geocaching community. Lately I have seen a large number of puzzle caches (mostly put out by newbies). These puzzles usually require a great deal of computer time to solve. Once solved the co-ordinates are provided for a micro in an area that would EASILY accommodate a regular size cache. My issues with this are: 1. I'm into caching to explore the great outdoors not to become an obscure subject researcher 2. I'm into quality time with the family in the afore mentioned great outdoors and these puzzles cut into that 3. These puzzles are often times rife with mistakes and miscalculations. Certainly everyone makes mistakes from time to time but with the increased complexity comes an increased responsibility to "get it right" 4. I'm denied an opportunity to trade, move a bug or share an experience other that my computer prowess. Am I the only one here craving for a field experience that ends with a peanut butter jar wrapped in camo tape? Happy caching, Barnie

Hey Sputnik_57, the Nokia N95 does not need cellular coverage to use the GPS receiver section. In fact you can choose to use the device in "offline" mode to save on power consumption (GSM radio). You do however need to find third party Symbian software to perform basic geocaching functions as none exist in the commercial package. This device has potential except it is not water resistant as mentioned by another poster.

I couldn't have said it better PsYkO.ns. Commercial solicitations are 100% against the rules of the game, unless GC.com is getting the revenue. The "agenda" here is quite clear!

Human nature is to not back down once a position has been taken. I believe the reviewer is being closed mined and taking a stubborn stance. I am not saying though that either one of you are right, but here is a suggestion. He makes a point that your tagline is "directing" people to take a certain action. Have you considered making a small change to your tagline such as: "Donating blood saves lives" then provide the number or URL (without urging anyone to call or visit). Readers of your tagline will have the information needed to obtain more information if desired. We have much larger issues to solve in this hobby/game. It is a shame that the "powers that be" are using it in this manner. Good luck with whatever approach you decide to take.

Wow it is clear that there are many opinions on this delicate subject. Let me say that when caching in a cemetery I often lose interest in the cache and instead take in the rich history that is in front of me. It would be a shame to say "no caches in cemeteries" and give up the opportunity to visit a place that one might not ordinarily. Of course any visit must be respectfully completed. My 2 cents..

Hi letofred, I have used a Nokia 5300 with GPS puck and found the same annoyance that you did when the s/w stops navigation when within 10m. This is the dumbest possible design and I told Nokia so. But they are smarter than their customers so we will need to rely on a third party developer to create an application worthy of geocaching. So far I have not found that 3rd party app.

Not aware of a "yellow" series 60 GPS, perhaps you meant the eTrex line. In any case the Garmin and Magellan camps are clearly defined. Your chore is to compare features such as battery type, battery life, screen, available memory for additional maps, map costs, etc. Basically all units will do the job - it's the extra features or capabilities that make the difference in ease of use and total cost of ownership. My bias is with Garmin and the eTrex line-up. Good luck in your search.

That's odd, Garmin has a suggested retail price is $160USD. Keep shopping around you should be able to get into a colour unit (eTrex Vista) for under $200 bucks retail. Same as the eTrex Legend Cx without the microSD card and USB cable.

Are we convinced of a "faster processor"? With fewer pixels to write the "same" processor will appear faster.

1701eh (Tony) was the second geocacher (Olar being the first) that we had the good fortune of communicating with when we started this game more than 4 years ago. Right from the beginning it was clear Tony could be considered a friend. Later on we met Tony in person and received his humour first hand. A little later "the band" became the target of this wonderful humour with the release of "Bishops Belt of Green". It felt good to be a part of the extended family! Geocaching has always been more about the adventures and friends that you meet along the way. Certainly Tony was a very big part of this. He will be sadly missed. Our deepest condolences to all the Dawe family and prayers for Sue's speedy recovery. Barnie's Band of Gold (John, Liz, Barnie & Fraser) P.S. Thanks to another good friend (Chuck) for bringing the sad news to our attention.

Do a google search for "geotoad" - this s/w alternative will allow you to look for caches by a specific user amoung many other options. It does not however specifically meet your second requirement, unless you were willing to generate a list of caches for a chosen user then count to see if they meet your 20+ cache minimum. A single query can have multiple users defined. Output is in many formats..

I have used the Hp6515 and the yet to be released Hp6915 for geocaching purposes. Here are my observations: The key requirement is to get decent software to work with the unit. I am using Mapapolis and find that this s/w does not allow point to point navigation - it insists on following roads (not always the best method). In addition, any "goto" is turned off once the unit is "close" to the cache. A goto should never be cancelled unless done so by the user. I am able to use GPX files that are translated by GPXtoMaplet into an MLP file that is used by Mapopolis. The unit uses GPRS to download the latest satellite information that is valid for 2 days. With current files the FTTF is quite fast, satellite tracking very good even in poor environments. Battery life in the unit is the weak point in doing caches away from a power source. The Hp6515 returned about 4 hours of navigation - the Hp6915 has not been measured yet but is expected to be around the same. Using either of these devices has many benefits including logging caches while on site or doing lookups if you run into trouble. However these benefits are available to many other wireless devices. I have both these units and would not take them caching on a regular basis over my Garmin Legend C. This may not be an entirely fair comment however as their are other software tools that may greatly improve geocaching use. Firstly, you have to determine your overall requirement and if you are interested in carry multiple single use products (over an all-in-one such as the Hp6x15). BTW, I use geotoad to obtain information for my caching activities. I have this tool generate an HTML and GPX file. The GPX file is translated using GPXtoMaplet then both files uploaded to the Hp6x15. Happy caching

Is it possible to implement a new feature whereby the individual cacher could indicate no interest in visiting a particular site and then this cache would not show on his/her nearest unvisited sites. This would eliminate the need to visit undesirable caches (not well thought out, dangerous, school assignments or just plain not worth visiting) from showing up in the next nearest pages and pocket queries. I envision the cacher visiting the cache page and selecting "skip" cache. This "skipped" cache would show in the cachers log but not count as a find (allowing the cacher to find the cache later if he chooses to actually do it). The cache would no longer show in the next nearest pages (or pocket query) compelling the cacher to find it. Comments anyone?

Good question "Riddlers". The plastic can will be in specially marked cases of Coke. It wouldn't be much of a contest if the can was just sitting on your retailers shelf waiting for you to pick it up. So a plastic can, hidden in a multipack, without the liquid contents but a GPSr/phone module and battery pack instead. See all the details at www.unexpectedsummer.com

The technology is quite simple really, the contest organizers send an SMS message to the phone portion of the "Can" to request a position update. The "Can" then queries the GPSr portion of the "Can" for the current co-ordinates. Once provided, the phone portion then returns the co-ordinates via SMS to the contest organizers. The "Can" is made of plastic to prevent antenna interference and is equipped with a phone/GPS module made by Benefon.

Hey Spud! glad to see you are working on the "The 2nd Annual Great Potato Head Cache Hunt" - Like the other teams that participated, we had a fantastic time and made some new friends. Without Decodoppler participating it is not going to be as much fun for the "Band" so we'll take a pass this year (and give others a chance to pick-up a spud or two). Our "Yukon Jack" and "Scallop Savard" are still proudly displayed in my office. Allwalk and Tess - check the gas in the tractor if you really want to plow the competition under this year!! Good luck everyone BBOG