StarDoc

Thanks to the both of you for your suggestions. I was planning on doing both a picture and something else. I will probably use both of my first ideas, plus TerryDad2's idea of determining which horizon they are currently standing on. The bank is on the opposite side of the river from the waypoint, so while I like Rev Mike's idea of finders examining it and sending me their descriptions, there is no easy way to get close to it. I also thought about having people do some homework on the web and figure it out for themselves, there is almost no information on the web available, and everything I know about it I learned from the local professional geologists I know. I was going to explain the layers in my cache description anyway. Thanks for the ideas!

I'm working on placing an Earthcache along a river cutbank, but I'm having difficultly come up with logging activities. The cutbank is across the river from the waypoint, and shows a beautiful cross-section of the last 8,000 or so years there, from the topsoil at the top down to the glacial till at the current river bed. My first thought was to have finders post a picture of the cutbank so that local geologists and naturalists could watch long-term changes in the bank. But it sounds like that is not enough to get it listed. There are no information signs in the area. My second thought was to have people estimate the amount of time it took the river to cut through the various layers based on the age of the whole cross-section (it's about 30 feet high) and the relative thickness of each layer, emailed to me. Unfortunately, this would be a problem if I was also having them post pictures as anyone could then do it at home and not even visit the area. Should I have them do both of the above? Any ideas from the collected wisdom here? I'm planning several in the area showing glacial features of the land there, so maybe I could tie it in that way?

Most of the answer will depend on what model eTrex you have. The original black and white line all use serial ports. If you have one of these, try checking on the data type in the setup menu. I know Garmin's own Mapsource uses the proprietary Garmin "language" but I wonder if GSAK is looking for NMEA? I don't use GSAK, so I'm not sure. All the rest of the newer eTrex line uses USB. In which case, you may have to install the USB drivers from Garmin. Again, I don't use GSAK, but is that program looking in the right place (serial or USB)?

The Garmin North Dakota 400: --Has a built in heater to keep it from freezing solid in winter. --Also includes an anemometer to measure the speed and direction of the constant wind. --Has an extra large display so you can show people where it is when they ask "North Dakota? Isn't that part of Canada?" --Doesn't come in a 400t topo model, because there is no topography to plot.

I've been up there half a dozen times, but only once with a GPS. I found that the marine maps you can buy at any of the ranger stations at the park entrances (at least at Crane Lake and Ash River where I've gone in) are invaluable for navigating the water hazards and main navigation routes. Actually, I've found them at the local Gander Mountain and Cabelas stores also. I had the Mapsource Topo installed, and used the GPS is conjunction with the paper maps to navigate the many islands, watching the islands go by on the GPS and keeping an eye on the map for buoys and signs. The pdf posted earlier looks really cool. It would be great in electronic form. You'll still want to get an updated campsite map from the rangers when you get there since they are constantly opening and closing sites for various reasons. I haven't been there for a couple of years, but my dad and I used to go up there once a year, jetting around in his 16 foot Lund. Might have to get back there next year. Glacier NP is on this year's list. I know of lots of cool places to visit in the park, and I might even have several waypoints in a gpx file somewhere from my last visit. Email me in my profile for advice. Enjoy your trip. In other news, I'm coming up to your neck of the woods on Friday (7/25) to knock off some more of the GF caches...

As a resident of North Dakota, I have to point out that the Rugby one you point out is actually in Rugby, ND, and is the geographic center of North America (not just the US). Edit: Oops, a double post, sorry...

As a resident of North Dakota, I have to point out that the Rugby one you point out is actually in Rugby, ND, and is the geographic center of North America (not just the US).

The eTrex series has only ever had a built-in basemap, that shows local highways and major traffic routes (and fairly inaccurately, I might add). To get the detail that you want, you will need to purchase either the Mapsource Topo or City Navigator disks (or the pre-programmed cards, but the disks offer more flexibility). Garmin does this because the eTrex series is made for off road/wilderness use, even though the newer models do autoroute now with the appropriate map loaded. You may also need the USB cable, since I'm not sure what you Vista came with. You can also save some money if you can find the GPSr, cable, and software bundled together. The Nuvi series is primarily for car navigation, and as such has the entire street level map of the US and Canada. Unfortunately, they are not made to tromp through the woods looking for caches, and many of the models do not allow you to enter in your own coordinates for caching. Nuvis tend to be more expensive due to the detailed maps. Each has a specific set of uses, and Garmin markets them that way.

To clarify the serial interface is part of the NMEA standard as I undertandit. That would mean that if you hooked up a USB to serial cable to your GPS it would combine with the NMEA mode on the GPS to be the real dea. But I could be wrong. Now that I think about, NMEA is designed to be serial (uses the same voltage levels). So I think that you are correct. I know that my radio and various other equipment that I connect my GPSr to are default serial. I do know that most of the new USB-based Garmins have dropped NMEA as an option.

NMEA stands for National Marine Electronics Association. NMEA mode was developed so that various electronic devices could be integrated to seamlessly communicate with each other. It's basically a standard "language" for your GPSr to talk to another piece of equipment. It's like USB, serial, and Firewire on various computers. USB communications and NMEA are not compatible with each other. I use NMEA all the time as a ham radio hobbyist running APRS (Automatic Position Reporting System). I have a GPS running NMEA connected to a radio which beacons out my position (as read from the GPS), and other receive the beacon and know exactly where I'm at. With that said, 90% of the people I know with a GPS that has the NMEA option don't use it (the other 10% being my local APRS ham buddies).

OK, two of my pics I just took in Hawaii: TU0960 The vog and mist kind of destroy the view, but the steaming bluffs are the edge of Kilaeua caldera. Second: TU2340 Looking northward toward the coastal pali and an older pahoehoe flow.

The Garmin Topo disk installs Mapsource automatically, so you do not need to install it separately. The Topo disk is all you need (besides the cable). You can download Waypoint and Trip Manager for free from Garmin, but there is no point if you are installing Mapsource Topo already.

While I'm not actively involved anymore, here's two items I came across: Troop 88 Patches Around the World TB GCVM9F I even got to take the TB out to the 60th anniversary of Camp Wilderness, the camp I used to work at (and the oldest in the Northern Lights Council).

Here's two of the strangest marks I've found: The first, RP0048, is the corner of a plaque on a rock. The pictures are not mine. I didn't bother taking my own since seventhings' were much better. The second is an iron ring in rubber ashpalt: RP0041

Just finished it yesterday, and I think the correct line for that part should be TFTZ (Thanks For The Zombies)! I guess I didn't take it as a geocaching reference either, since it was using radar, or at least radio direction-finding gear. Although, come to think of it, I have seen that line in many cache logs...

GPSs will always be inaccurate on slopes because I believe that they only record the horizontal distance traveled and don't include the z-axis. However, that doesn't explain why the Vista HCX is "possibly" less accurate than the 60CSX. Nope, GPSs record in three dimensions. I think my Legend Cx will start doing it when it has a lock on four or more satellites. On the other hand, the z-axis tends to have the lowest accuracy, sometimes +/- 60 feet or more regardless of what the GPS is telling you for its accuracy.

Just curious here, but what are ammo cans going for in the rest of the country? Here in Fargo, ND, we can easily get them for less than $10. I was at Ganger Mountain yesterday and they had them for $6. Mac's (discount hardware store) regularly has them for $6-8. But I suppose if I had 20 caches using them, it would add up...

Oops, I just replied to the same thread in the Great Plains forum. To onionpond's list add: GC15CF0 East Trailhead GCVM9F Iron Creek GC15CF8 West Trailhead These are all in ND. The Lookout Hill cache mentioned in onionpond's post is mine, Saesew just created the Trailhead caches above, and the Iron Creek cache was put out by a Boy Scout troop. I'm willing to bet that at least one of the caches on Lake Ashtabula north of Valley City, ND is near the trail segment there...

I have one on the trail myself, GC1371Q. It's in the Sheyenne National Grasslands that the ND portion of the trail passes through. Within a few miles, there are two more on the trail: GCVM9F, and GC15CF0 If you search for caches near these, you'll find half a dozen more within 10 miles. I've also heard that there are a couple of caches near the trail segment by Lake Ashtabula north of Valley City, ND.

I originally had the Legend (black and white version) bike mount, which has the special battery cover with the built-in clip, and a bracket that mounts on the handlebar. When I purchased my Legend Cx, it came with a removable, screw-on clip that fits in the original handlebar bracket, so I didn't have to buy any new pieces. I'm not sure if the clip comes with the new HCx line. You may be able to purchase just the handlebar bracket... It is correct that the battery cover from the original black and white Legend will not fit on the C, Cx, or HCx models. And yes, they can all show current speed, average speed, and several other options. I bike with mine all the time.

Tell us more about this scientific balloon that exceeds 500 mph? Actually, the balloons never go that fast. Some GPSr's are blocked above 30k or 60k regardless of speed, but the Garmin eTrex line is as I stated above, so they never stop reporting because I never exceed both limits at the same time. The ballooning community has tested lots of units for the block, since the GPSr going out tends to get your expensive payloads lost in a hurry. I've had balloons reach 120 mph when they hit the jetstream, an 100+ mph is easy during the initial drop after the balloon bursts at altitude. There isn't enough air for the parachute to work up there (or have air resistance slow it down), so it drops like a rock until it gets back to around 30k.

I'm fairly sure this is incorrect. I fly Garmins in high-altitude balloons for tracking, and the GPSr always returns three-dimensional speed. After the balloon bursts at altitude (90,000+ feet), the payload drops like a rock and approaches 90-100 mph, while not moving horizontally at all. Also, the recorded track is always much longer that the ground track. For example, our last flight reached 94,000', and the total distance from the launch to landing was 20 miles. The track length as recorded by the GPSr was 53 miles, accounting for the distance up and down. So at least my Legend and Yellow record a 3-D track.

Some time ago (less than a year?), someone posted a link to a webpage that documented all of this in picutres. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find it right now. StarDoc

Garmin has a few on their webpages for the various models of the eTrex line. I think all of the C, Cx, and HCx models have the same basic screens. Also search the forum here. I've seen lots of screen shots people have posted. It's been my experience that the models with the little joystick (ClikStik) are much easier to navigate around the many pages they have. Rather than having to scroll up and down on a character space like the yellow eTrex, you get a grid of letters and numbers that you navigate around using the joystick. With a little practice, it get's fairly easy to enter in custom waypoints. Of course, entering them in on the computer then uploading them is even easier. I think all the color screen eTrex models have the geocaching mode. The little treasure chest icon (with lid closed) is reserved for geocaches, and when you find one, you have the option of a "Found" button, it makes a calendar entry, and then locks in on the next nearest geocache. It also changes the closed chest to the open chest icon. StarDoc

I used a Legend for my first year of geocaching, and it worked well. It does get flaky under tree cover (losing satellite lock and jumping around), but other than that, it's a solid unit. I switched to a Legend Cx for the expandable memory. I'm traveling more now, and with the micro SD card, I have a lot more room for maps. I also got a great deal on it at a pre-Christmas sale. I think you'll be happy with it. And congrats on your first post. StarDoc