StarDoc
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Posts posted by StarDoc
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I am sure there are some more exotic earthcathes I would like to visit but for right now I am try to plan a earthcache trip through Yellowstone NP / Grand Teton NP.
It doesn't have the highest concentration of earthcaches around but it does have quite a few.
My sister and her husband work in Yellowstone, so I spent 4 days last year running around the park logging caches. I got about 4/5 of them and had a blast doing it. I also think I drove over 300 miles in the park in that time. I ended up getting almost 50 Earthcaches on the road trip across South Dakota, Wyoming, and part of Montana.
Next time I hope to get down to Grand Teton NP.
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room104 in South Dakota has surpassed King Boreas in total hides.
Greater than 90% of Room104's caches are park and grabs. Greater than 90% of King Boreas hides are hidden in the woods.
The power trail concept for find count also applies to hide count. I have much more respect for KB's hide count than I do for Room104's microspew across eastern South Dakota.
As someone who has found several hundred of room104's caches and only two dozen of KB's caches, I'm not arguing with you. I have one KB cache on my "Really Want to Find" list (GC1CE4), but never get a chance when I'm driving by it.
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room104 in South Dakota has surpassed King Boreas in total hides.
It has been my experience that when cache owners have hundreds of caches out in the wild, they tend to rely on other cachers to maintain them if the cache needs help when found. On the other hand, I've seen a couple of power trails where the owner/owners specifically asked people not to replace them, as the owners wanted to keep the various types of hides consistent.
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Thank you.
I will check this as soon as I get home from work.Home now - yes that's what it was. Hope its okay now and if it happens again I will know how to fix it.
My 450 also spontaneously decides to lock on road. I've found that it only happens if I use automobile routing in my car to drive to the cache, and then I switch it to direct routing when I get out to walk the rest of the way to the cache.
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Until recently, I lived in the Red River Valley in North Dakota (specifically Fargo). The Red River floods every spring, and over the last few years, spent much of the summer flooding also. I had caches by the river that were safe from the flood waters or I picked them up before they got wet, and disabled them. I noted on the cache page that it was because of flooding. The same thing happened up in Grand Forks, and some caches were disabled for months at a time. The Dakotas and the Minnesota reviewers never had a problem with that as long as it was explained that the delay was due to flooding or reconstruction of the area.
Also, as someone who has fought record flooding, good luck to all those dealing with it up in Alberta.
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Quite a lot of descriptions are too long to fit on the GPS, meaning either the questions are cut-off or you are missing a part of the description.
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So my advice for EarthCaches: ALWAYS take a printed copy along (either on paper or on an tablet/ebook reader/...)
Cheers,
Mr. Terratin
Really? What GPSr units (brands)?
Really... 'cuz I'd like to know what brand, should I ever need/want to upgrade. Our Delorme has always held ALL of the info -- and it makes for a lot of scrolling down, sometimes
-- but it has always been there in totality. If there are units that have a cut-off point, I wanna know because I certainly wouldn't buy one.
I've had that issue a few rare times when my Oregon 450 cut off the questions on an especially long Earthcache description. Luckily, I remembered the questions enough from a previous reading of the cache on my computer that I was able to pull it off. Because of that, I always download the full cache writeup to my cell phone using c:geo or GDAK as backup.
Back to the original poster, not being able to get all the caches in the park because you are on a tour bus is the nature of the beast, and not a problem with the caches themselves. I was just in Yellowstone two weeks ago with my own car, and even after four days of driving around, I was only able to get about 3/4 of the caches. It's also not a secret that most of the park does not have cell service and it's mentioned in the official planning brochure.
Look on the bright side: it gives you a reason to go back and visit again!
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I enjoy finding evil hides. What are the best ones in your area?
In northeastern ND, any cache placed by trycacheus could easily be considered evil. They are mostly in the small town of Gilby and in Grand Forks.
Evil is relative though. They are mostly easy to find, but getting to the log to sign it is usually an entirely different story.
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I have the original Toshiba Thrive tablet, and with its full-sized USB port, it connects to my Oregon with no problems. I can easily download pocket queries and put them on the Oregon. The only thing it won't do is write individual caches directly from the "Send to GPS" button. I get around that by writing them to GPX, then copying then to the GPX folder on the Oregon.
The only problem is that the model is discontinued. I bet you can find one refurbished for cheaper somewhere.
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Does a GPS measure vertical speed? The GPS odometer only measures horizontal distance.
Yes, my Garmin has the option to show vertical speed in feet/second.
Really, your GPS measures three dimensional distance and speed by finding the distance between two points and the time it took to cover that distance. Those two points don't have to be horizontal to each other. In my ballooning, the I've seen the eTrex odometer record a distance of 20+ miles, even though the horizontal ground track was smaller.
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I ordered my platinum pin earlier this year and was told I got one of the last three in stock. According to the GSA, there will be no more made.
Now trying Google Translator:
Objednal jsem si svůj platinový kolík na začátku tohoto roku a bylo mi řečeno, jsem jeden z posledních tří na skladě. Podle GSA, bude více provedeny.
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As someone who has flown small unmanned balloons to 100,000+ feet, I can tell you that many early Garmin models, namely the original eTrex models, were restricted only if BOTH the altitude (60k feet) and the speed (999 knots) were over the limits. I found out the hard way that the eTrex H models are not the same. Luckily, I was only using it for my secondary tracker.
I currently use a BigRedBee GPS and transmitter, and the Trimble Lassen IQ chip that it uses has the same restrictions, that is both conditions must be met. It works fine above 100k. Baumgartner never exceeded both limits at the same time either.
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My Saturday PQs normaally run in the 3:00 hour Pacific time (2+ hours ago) but have not run this morning. Is the PQ generator running OK?
I haven't received mine yet either, including the one I ran about an hour to ago to see what was happening.
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Here's mine:
Cache: Lookout Hill
Last found: 10/22/2010 (and that was more than a year after the previous find).
Reason: It's a 3.5 mile hike one way on the North Country Trail that winds through the Sheyenne National Grasslands in North Dakota. It's a great hike on the recently refurbished trail and the view at the cache site is one of the best ones in SE ND, but I suppose the distance scares people away. My dad and I hiked out to it in February and it's still there, patiently waiting to be found.
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No. They aren't in the main database. Many of them have been made into waymarks though.
That's what I figured, but with Disney you just never know. Thanks.
There's a virtual cache based on hunting the ones in California Adventures. There is also another one in Disneyland that is not exactly a benchmark, but close.
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I heard that a private company is taking moon rock samples from the moon to make a thing called "conversion gel".
Fantastic! This should make some of those pesky Terrain 5 caches easier to get to.
Just don't try crushing and snorting the moon rock. I hear it's pure poison...
The cake is a lie.
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I got some advice this afternoon on how to download from mapsource. I managed to get the mapsource map into the BaseCamp map but when I went to put it on the GPS the MapInstall said that it couldn't download the 494KB of information (the map for my local area) to my GPS, even though the GPS manual said that there is supposed to be 8MB of space on the unit. I was told on another site just now that due to it's unique interface cord, the eTrex Legend can only handle the purchased basecamp maps.
Are you sure you had the exact same unit of GPS and that you put the free maps on it?
cameracowgirl
Yes, I loaded it with free topo maps of parts of ND, MT, and MN from GPSfiledepot using Mapsource.
It's not a "unique" interface cord, it's just an old serial style interface. That may be your problem. You can not use the more recent standard USB cable to interface with the Legend unless you also have a USB-to-serial converter. Also, check to make sure the Legend is in Garmin Communications mode (Setup -> Interface -> Serial Data Format -> Garmin). Finally, double check that Basecamp is looking on the serial ports and not the USB ports for the Legend (I honestly don't know if BC can do that, since I still use Mapsource to transfer maps and keep track of my waypoints even with my Oregon 450).
It looks like tr_s figured it out, so maybe some more advice will come from him. Like I said, I don't use Basecamp yet...
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I have a 2005 Garmin eTrex Legend (the blue one with the weird RS-232 interface cable so it can't take GPX files). I already have the basic Garmin basecamp map on the GPS, but it only shows highways. I don't like printing off paper maps since it's bad for the environment, but I also don't like getting lost without a map.
I would really like to add maps to my GPS but I don't believe that the overall cost of the GPS plus maps is worth what they are charging for them compared to a device that has maps already on it (Legend + maps= $225 vs Explorist GC with built-in maps and paperless caching = $150). At any rate, until I can afford to upgrade I was told that I can download open source maps or open street maps. Unfortunately, I can't figure out how to get those maps from my computer onto my GPSr.
Does anyone know how to get the maps onto my GPSr, or even if it's possible to do that with this particular model of GPS?
cameracowgirl
That's the same GPS I used for my first several hundred caches, and yes it takes maps. Like all Garmin units, you have to use either the older Garmin Mapsource program, or the newer Garmin Basecamp (available as a free download from Garmin). The free maps you download from places like www.gpsfiledepot.com can be loaded into either of those programs, and then transferred to the Legend.
There are tons of free, great maps on that website that will work just fine on the Legend. Just keep in mind that the unit's internal memory is limited, so you will have to pick and choose which map tiles you want to upload. Good luck!
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Anyway to do this with a regular membership?
No, a premium membership won't help you with this except to get pocket queries. This is an Android operating system limitation.
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I'm not sure which model you have, but if it has a microSD card slot you are in business. There are third-party free apps that you may need though.
If you want to just click on the Send to My GPS button and have it write to your GPS, you are out of luck because there is no Garmin Communicator plugin written for Android. Instead, you will have to use the GPX File button. This will write a gpx file to your tablet, and then you will have to cut and paste that file (which is basically a one-cache pocket query) to the microSD card from the Oregon, by putting the card in the slot of the tablet. If your tablet doesn't have a decent file manager on it that allows you to do that, try ASTRO File Manager. It's free. This process takes a while, but it works.
For full pocket queries, it depends on what email system you are using. You need to be able to save email attachments. There are several free apps out there for that, but I don't remember what my tablet has installed for this (search the app store for "email attachments"). Since the gpx file comes zipped, you can get the AndroZip app to unzip the pocket query that Groundspeak sends to you. Then you copy and paste the gpx file to your microSD card like above.
It's a round-a-bout way of doing it, but it works. Good luck.
Or you can get an adapter like Styk mentioned above, although I've heard that many tablets that have mini or micro USB ports aren't able to act as the USB host, so that may not work. My Thrive tablet has a full size USB port that works great with my Oregon.
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I'd thought about that too. Not sure if they would have it, but I can check. I was hoping to find out if it had the information I was looking for before I tried tracking down a copy.
Email sent. I own the book, and it's a great one to have if you ever go there.
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That's a cool thing. I'm seriously considering replacing my laptop with a tablet and that one capability has been missing from several that I had been considering.I have a Thrive, and it has a full-sized USB port ... also supports just about any other USB device you might want to attach to it. USB memory sticks, portable hard drives, keyboards, mice, etc...I have a friend who had the Thrive before me, and once I found that it worked with my Oregon, I was sold. It also has the only user-replaceable battery in the tablet market (that I'm aware of). It's not the latest and greatest, bleeding edge tablet out there, but it has all the features I want.
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On my Android tablet, a gpx file can be stored away in memory, but I haven't found a way to get that file into a Garmin Dakota or Montana. Anybody know how to do that?
Name one....There are a couple of tablets that have full usb ports. They can be used to load the gpx fine onto a device.Yep. I have a Thrive, and it has a full-sized USB port. I can hook up to my Oregon, download PQ's to it and also upload my field notes to the website. The only thing it can't do that a laptop can is the Send to My GPS button.
Not really related to caching, the USB port also supports just about any other USB device you might want to attach to it. USB memory sticks, portable hard drives, keyboards, mice, etc...
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It is not an app issue. Apple never has nor ever will allow a file transfer process not involving itunes or app store. Their is jailbreak procedure involving the camera output that I have seen recommended if you want to void the warranty.
There are a couple of android tablets with full usb that will let you do it.I think Toshiba does
I have a Toshiba Thrive, and it does have a full size USB port. I can hook up my Oregon 450 exactly like I do on my computer and can accomplish most of the same things (transferring PQ's or uploading my field notes) except for the "Send to My GPS" on each cache page. That action requires the Garmin Communicator plugin for your browser, and there isn't an Android version of that.
On the other hand, I can hit the "GPX file" button, and the cache gets saved as a GPX file in the Downloads folder of the tablet, and I can then cut and paste that onto the Oregon from the file manager. It's the same effect as the Send to My GPS button, it just takes a little more time and effort. It's still far superior to entering all the coords in manually though, and gets you all the info for paperless caching.
Being able to interface with my Oregon was one of the major deciding factors of my purchase of the Thrive.
I will check this as soon as I get home from work.
-- but it has always been there in totality.
Problem Sending to GPS
in Website
Posted
It's happening to me with Win7 and Firefox 29.0.1. It says the plugin wasn't unlocked, and reinstalling the plugin didn't help.