daiichi

I hope the OP is still making that list -- almost nine years later, as yours may (or may not) qualify.................. You and I have the exact same problem. I called them about 2 weeks ago about my broken Rino 530 and they gave me the same response. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this. But feature-wise, what's the alternative?

Anything (test)

I own a Nuvi 670, a Tomtom and a Fujitsu Eclipse for in-car navigation... I personally think that the Nuvi is probably the one I like least--although the Nuvi is a fine car navigation system. Tomtom's interface is a lot easier to use and the voices (for calling out directions) are much better. The nuvi has pretty nice applications--but many of those cost extra money to use. you cannot download maps from the Nuvi into Mapsource (so planning trips and creating routes on a PC are more difficulat). This in itself isn't a big deal since tomtom doesn't have an equivalent to Mapsource. But it IS a big deal if you're trying to pre-plan a trip, say, for a vacation. Nuvi can do this (if you keep saying "where to?" and insert the new point into the route), but you've got to finagle it if you're trying to preplan (i.e., the starting point isn't the point where you currently are). I know this sounds like piddly stuff, but you can't imagine how inconvenient it is if you're planning a cross country trip, or worse, a cross country trip on another continent. The things I like about the Nuvi is the hardware. Garmin really got it right: it's small enough, and well-designed enough that it works very well as a hand held after you've arrived at your first stop. If this were the only GPS you were going to buy, this might be enough to overcome the interface advantages of Tomtom. In my case, I just use the Nuvi to drive me there, then use a Rhino or 60csx to get me to a cache. If I'm on travel, I use my phone GPS. But if I had to choose only one in-car navigation system, it'd be the Eclipse... even though it has the WORST interface of the three, and the least number of features. It's just plain sexy (for those who've never seen one, it has a retractible screen that disappears into the dash when you're not using it). It also plays DVD's, CD's and MP3's. However, it isn't something that can ever be used for geocaching. And it cost me over $2500 without installation. If I had to choose between Tomtom and Nuvi, I'd choose the Tomtom. Lucky for me I can have both.

Actually, I appreciated what that poster posted. And yes, it "undermined" your attempt to sell a GPS unit at an inflated price. If I had been the buyer (unlikely because I check prices too), I would have had almost immediate buyer's remorse--and would have thought very less of you; a feeling apparently that you wouldn't mind since you are hoping to pull one over uneducated buyers and people like that, I've found, are often callous about their impact on other people's lives. Good luck in selling your GPS. To others: caveat emptor.

I just bought the Rino 530. It's a nice piece of work... but only if the other guy also has a Rino. The mapping features are about on par with my 60 csx. But the lack of a memory chip is really annoying and quite limits the versatility of the Rino if you expect to change areas much. The reason I say that if your buddy has a Rino, it's really cool is that the Rino's 5 watts will transmit up to 14 miles without a repeater. You can set the Rino up so that your position is always plotted on your buddy's map and vice versa. For me, this is really cool when trying to keep track of multiple hiking parties. But if all you need is a GPS and Map, the 60 csx is a better bet. If you could use the position broadcast and radio communications feature (by sacrificing storage), then the Rino would be a good choice.

My daughter likes $ (she's a starving college student). For me, I like stuff useful for the outdoors (straps, first aid kits, compasses). I especially like climbing-quality biners (read the "toy" ones carefully: "not suitable for climbing). Not that I do a lot of climbing/rapelling--but if I'm over at the office and suddenly a mountain materializes through the floor beneath me it's nice to know that I'm prepared.

If it's a DNF after two hours of hunting... I've always pronounced it: that-sumofabaych-mutha-@#$%#$% But that's just me, I guess.

I went the other way. I started with a $2000 mountain bike (to become my aerobic exercise) THEN discovered caching. But since I started geocaching, I bought two GPS's (A foretrex for roughly $200 and a CSx for about $490), a paperless capable Treo 700w ($400). Not to mention the dozen or so ammo cans ($3 each + shipping), software packages for my laptop (backcountry navigator $30, CoPilot live $300, Google Earth subscription, etc.) Bad news is that I've got my 6 year old hooked on it--and he can't 2 wheel bike yet. So all my recent caches had to be kid-walking friendly...

Hmmm. If you really want to do it this way, I see that a lot of correct answers were already posted. But, er, um, since it is an obvious geographical feature (the peak of a mountain), why not just use Google Earth, roll your cursor over the peak, and write down the coordinates?

hmm... Everything being equal and the OP's cache, and those like it, was approved how well would the above cache be accepted? Well, I am about as much "fundamentalist Christian" as one can get and not be dancing in funny robes. Would the proposed cache offend me? No. Would I visit it? Yes. Would I pray for and feel sorry for the cache owner? Yes--even though he may not care or even be aware. I don't feel the need, though, to tell the cache owner I'm praying for him; my God is not so petty as to need me to advertise my prayer for an individual in order for Him to do his Work. Salvation (or lack in the belief of salvation) is a PERSONAL thing--it's between you and God (or you and nothingness, if that's what you believe). Christians do have a scriptual obligation to "evangelize" (to be a light on a hill and all that)--but remember, a light on a hill doesn't criticize people, get in their faces, or admonish people that they're sitting in darkness. My God is also not so petty as to need ME in order for Him to do his Work. That said, I understand why this cache was denied: not everyone really has a panache for being tolerant (as evidenced in some of the postings on this thread). In a perfect world, the original posted cache should be approved and hunters will either visit it or not according to their desires. But because people lack open mindedness (for lots of things, not just Christianity) it's best not to rock the boat too much. I do like the idea, though, of just making a statement "This is a cache" and just putting a prayer log in there. One last thought for believers and unbelievers alike: we cannot hope to build a nation of tolerance by being intolerant of people's beliefs. Accepting or rejecting something just because it mentions Christ, or Buddha, or the great Nothingness is laying the foundations for division in this country. Can't we all just get along?

I originally got a PDA with a GPS so that I can view aerial maps when I'm mountain biking. I hate getting to a fork in the trail--and not knowing which one I ought to take. Aerial photos (and to a much lesser extent, topo maps) made my biking time much more efficient. Someone saw my GPS and pointed me to geocaching.com. I tried it out... and voila! Hooked. Though I hunt for caches whenever I can, I ALWAYS take my GPS with me biking--the original intent is still the primary one.

I bought the foretrex 201 so that my daughter could go caching with me. It's a great unit. It's fast, accurate, light and convenient. Half the time I'm still putzing with my iPaq and she's already located the cache. It doesn't have a map, but that's fine, I carry the map and get us close enough to the GZ--and that's all that really matters. I asked her if she wanted a new GPSr--and she told me that she was happy with the Foretrex. I think it was money well spent.

Oh for... So I suppose it's ok to put X-rated literature in a cache too? I mean, as long as there's no nudity on the cover. That has nothing to do with the OP, of course. Just couldn't resist pointing it out. And you equate pornography to religion? (1) It is illegal to sell/give pornography to minors in most states. It is not illegal to sell/give tracts to minors... So placing porn into a cache where minors may gain access to it without proper safeguards is bad form. (2) Most states allow porn shops on streets with nothing but an opaque window between a person walking by and the filth inside. It is assumed that if an adult walks into a shop, he chose to be exposed to the material inside. Likewise, I think if a tract says "Open This to Read About the Salvation of Your Immortal Soul" and you open it and read the stuff inside, that is YOUR choice. (3) I am starting to think that some atheists simply do not believe in "free will" and hence strive to remove choices from everyone else. Somehow, I suppose, that religious tract sitting inside a metal container will taint all the other stuff with "God cooties" or something--and hence must be destroyed.

Ah. You do hit upon a point... and that is the "value" of a Christian tract. I think we could all agree that someone taking a 21 piece bike toolkit out of a cache and putting a "Broken Cross" Chick tract is an unequal SWAG trade. In fact, I generally view tracts as having very little trade value. There are, of course, exceptions. Some caches in our local area have "Million Dollar Bills" which are really clever Christian material. I LOVE those. Whenever I give one away to a friend, I usually trade for another one. Especially nice since those bills usually come with a nice coin with the 10 commandments ("suggestions" to atheists, I suppose).

Actually, these tracts - and pretty much every tract I've ever seen, not that I'm a connoisseur of them - said exactly the thing you agree is a verbal assault. And what is a Markwell?? Sure the tracts may say that--but only if you open up the cover and decide to read it. I would, of course, think that any tracts whose COVER said "You're all going to hell" should be removed as offensive material. How is it that some people claim that the only way to gain tolerance is to be intolerant when it concerns religion?

Oh please. Give the atheist-bashing a break. Religions are always co-opting governments and using the power of government to shove their beliefs on everyone else. Don't believe that? Pull out your wallet and look on every dollar bill and coin. However if you are going to stuff caches with 'religious tracts' of this particular type, please send me the GC# so I can go make some trades. Atheism is a belief--a belief that there is no God. The worst thing is that some atheists believe this so vehemently that they cannot tolerate anyone who DOES believe that there is a God. I certainly believe in free speech as long as it does not attack another group or individual. Placing a tract into a cache is fine since, to some, it can be perceived as being of value. For those who don't think it has value, well, don't trade for it. STUFFING a cache full of tracts is bad form... but stuffing a cache full of anything is generally bad form. How would you like to open a cache and find nothing but playing cards in it? I had presented to a friend of mine a position to handle social, political, and religious groups who wanted to attend city functions: be tolerant and let them as long was what they are displaying does not directly attack other individuals or groups. Anti-abortion groups? Let them--but don't let them show posters of aborted fetuses since that could be harmful to minors (just as showing live autopsy pictures would be inappropriate). Christian groups? Sure let them--but don't let them post a sign saying "You unbelievers are going to hell" because such as sign is a verbal assault on others. I think the same thought can be applied to SWAGs. A tract that promotes a belief does not attack another individual--unless that individual is an intolerant SOB. And the reason this thread has gone on so long is that apparently there are a bunch of intolerant cachers out there.

I pack a camelback with SWAG items, a pen, a notebook (for remembering what I took and what I put in), a compass, and a tiny flashlight. Of course I have my Apple iPOD too--but I don't think that counts. On my bike, I have a BT GPS receiver and my iPAQ. Things I'm looking for abd will likely carry when a suitable one is found: an extensible "stick" to poke around grungy bug piles with.

I'm about to hide my first cache.... hehe. So here are some reasons: It's another dimension to the game. Hide and seek isn't as fun to play if you always only get to seek and you never hide, right? I started geocaching to give me a REASON to bike ride out to the middle of the boonies and back again (after all, if you look at it objectively mountain biking sounds like a huge waste of time, doesn't it?). Hiding a cache gives me a reason to ride out into the middle of the boonies where a cache doesn't already exist. Hey, it's a stretch of the imagination--but one grasps at any psychological straws when their doctor says "get exercise, or start writing your will." To get rid of the junk that has been cluttering my home that I never use. My first cache will contain: A 128mb USB thumb drive/ballpoint pen A 5 pack of dual layer DVD blanks A radio A calculator You know, junk... but as I keep hearing posted on this site: One's man's trash is another man's treasure.

My two cents: One school of thought is that TB's are not traded for SWAG (which was the original post). Again, this is fine as long as everyone adopts this consistently (which I think was the OP's intent). The other school of thought is that from an amount-of-SWAG-in-my-cache perspective, trading a TB for SWAG shouldn't be a problem--as long as everyone treats TB's as if it were SWAG (i.e., when you pick a TB up, you place something in a cache. When you drop it off, you take something from a cache). Think about it. In the OP's followup post--he said that the culprit "took dominoes left XXXX" then "took pedicure kit, left dominoes." This is a normal practice right? The dominoes in this case may as well have been a travel bug. So trading TB's for SWAG isn't a problem if everyone does it consistently. By the way, since the official guidelines is silent about this whole mess, this is a valid perspective--and in fact, may the "official rule." A post trying to force TB's not to be treated as SWAG may as well be "You shouldn't trade an item you got from another cache." OK, that said, I do believe that the OP is right--travel bugs should not be traded for SWAG--and I would like to see an official guideline to that effect. But not for the reason given by the OP. If everyone handled TB's as SWAG, the desireability for TAKING a TB from a cache goes down... and taken to the extreme, TB's won't move (or will move more slowly) thus negating the intent of TB's. So whose cage do you rattle to change the guidelines posted on this website?

You know, generally I don't act any differently if muggles are walking by--unless you're acting suspicious, people generally don't pay much attention. However, in the spirit of this thread I thought up a great way to get rid of muggles who won't go away so you can snatch the cache: "Hiya Brother! Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal lord and savior?"

I'm using an HP iPaq 2795... but I bought an Otterbox 1900 (www.otterbox.com) to hold it. Yes it's expensive, but the peace of mind it brings me is worth every dime. I've never dropped mine though (knock on wood)... when I'm out caching, it's usually attached to my bike using a RAM bike mount specifically made for the Otterbox case. Very convenient because the HP/Otterbox just snaps in and snaps off. I'm very interested in this thread--so if anyone has broken their PDA while it was IN a hardcase, I'd like to know about it.

Franson GPSGate I tried it. It didn't work... the IPaq 2795 is a Windows Mobile 5 platform--if that makes any difference. GPSGate added new serial ports, and although the running apps _think_ it connected to the GPS using the virtual ports, the applications never get data. I'll ponder this a little more. Thank God for google.

I have precisely an IPAQ 2795 that I'm using for geocaching. I got the unit to research remote diagnostics of server status--but decided to hook up a GPS to it and take it biking. A passerby noticed, and turned me on to geocaching. First, my rig: an iPAQ 2795 with a Pharos iGPS-BT (bluetooth) GPS. The software I use is "Backcountry Navigator" (www.crittermap.com). It's not free... but the price is reasonable: $30.00. I like it because it provides a way to download TOPO and Aerial maps for free from Terraserver. I then bought a premium membership to Groundspeak, and generate a pocket query for the areas I'm interested in. This website sends you "GPX" files which you can simply copy to the 2795 using Activesync. Then Crittermap imports them and voila! As you view Topos and Aerial maps, the caches are displayed on the map... and optionally you can have crittermap draw and arrow from your GPS-reported location to the cache. Got stumped at ground zero? The hints are all there loaded too (http://www.backcountrynavigator.com/content/view/19/41/ is their walking tour of how to geocache with their software). Their software could use a few more features, but thus far I'm very pleased with it. I'm a newbie at geocaching... but have found 8 of 8 so far with no problems. The pointing arrow is a Godsend--just point your IPaq north and look at where the arrow is pointing. Oh, by the way, I use Pocket Streets for the street map use--but the two applications don't like each other when accessing the GPS. You have to exit one in order to use the other--it's a pain in the butt... so if there is a better solution, I'd love to hear about it.

I have Pocket Streets 2006 on my IPAQ. And it is not very good. It'll show you street maps (downloaded from a computer)... but the size is limited even if your storage is not (I have a 1 GB SD card and a 4 GB Compact Flash hard drive). So I had to break the maps into "cities"... not very convenient. It also doesn't do routing (e.g. directions). Can't make a track plot of your position. Cannot work nicely with other GPS software (i.e. Aerial and Topo maps) that is running at the same time (EVEN THOUGH MICROSOFT SUPPOSEDLY SUPPLIES A GPS STACK TO ALLOW IT!). It's one of the most useless pieces of junk I've ever put on a handheld and WILL be replaced with Garmin's or Delorme's the next time I'm in a CompuUSA. That said, the PC version of Streets is darn good. I have it running on a Compaq TC1100 tablet and it's saved my butt several times. It's unfortunately too risky to carry it on my mountain bike... and it's inconvenient to carry on a hike.

Since you didn't mention how much money you had to spend, I wanted to share what I did--which is really expensive way of doing it, but I am very pleased with it. I have an HP IPAQ 2795 ($499) with a Pharos Bluetooth GPS ($75) and I'm running "Backyard Navigator" by Crittermap (google for it). The software lets you download the GPX files you get from Groundspeak... and you can display topo (terrain maps) or--what I find most useful--aerial photos which actually can show you the trails you would miss otherwise. It also draws this arrow between where you are and where the cache is--and it is extremely accurate. I don't know if it's simply that I'm lucky, but I've found 7 of 7 with this lashup and only rarely needed to consult the hints. I mounted the rig in a ruggedized otterbox ($99) with a bike RAM mount ($99) on my mountain bike ($2500). So far I've went hunting twice... and was able to visit 3 caches on the first outing, and four caches on the second. The limiting factor was sunlight. If I had a limited budget, I'd probably go another route... but so far I'm very pleased at the performance of this rig.