zedd10

I fully agree with Kai Team. I use GSAK on my PC and Cachemate on my palm. Once you learn how to use GSAK it will be indispensible. It's not hard, just different You can also export all of the information (based on the filter that you define) from GSAK into Cachemate to be sync'd to your palm. Export it and sync. That's all you need to do. Cachemate then shows you all of the same information that is on the web site. Note: this assumes that you are a premium member and can download in the gpx format. I doubt, but am not sure, that you get all of this with the loc files. One note on palm pilots: consider what you will be using the palm for. I use mine for work and in general to keep track of my day to day BS. For this I use a Palm Tungsten T3 which has a color screen. It works great indoors and deep shade but is very hard to read in sunlight. Since you typically GX in sunlight it isn't the greatest situation but still is workable. Some of the non color units have a screen that shows up great in the sunlight. I had a Handspring Deluxe with a screen like this. Something like this would be great. So it depends on what you plan to use it for.

I agree 100% with Marci / Eric - GSAK and Cachemate is an exceptional combo. Sure there are minimal shareware fees (I paid for both GSAK and Cachemate) but the versatility and reliability deserves that small reward.

I use protectors for my Palm Tungsten T3. They work great. Just trim to fit. I wish I'd thought to do it before the scratches. Oh well...

Actually you just need to use the average lat and longitude. Keep in mind that lat and long are spherical coordinates - degrees north of the equator and degrees west of the prime meridian. You don't need to do anything special. It's confusing because we normally see (and think) about this on a mercator projected map. Straight lines are straight on the "globe" of the earth. They are curved on a mercator projection. If you look at a great circle route on the globe it is a straight line (sight down it to see) even though on a flat map it is curved.

Thanks for the credit, ventovr6. I am interested in this answer too.

I don't really know the answer to your question about forcing the unit to download the almanac again. I believe that the almanac will download automatically. In this way changes to satellite position are updated. Unfortunately I am assuming this to be the case. As I understand it the almanac should have information on all WAAS satellites. If 44 is available you should see it. WAAS 35 is the only one I have seen from my location in the southeastern US. This satellite is being moved from of the east coast of the US to somewhere off the west coast. A new sattelite will be positioned later this year. So I get to test my theory about WAAS almanac downloads then I suppose.

My kids are sold on GX'ing. I didn't really know how they would respond but it has been very positive. They range in age from 5 to 17. I practically need to wrestle the GPSr out of my 15 year old son's hands to find a cache myself! A few days back we were driving to Tampa for a doctor appointment, which is about a 30 minute drive, and he asked if I brought the GPSr. At first I was surprised that he would ask such a question (gee, were going to the doctor...) until I realized we probably could get a few in. The wisdom of youth should not be underestimated...

Yikes! I never thought about that. A friend and I just did a cache under a bridge for a divided highway. I thought it was a great location. The difficulty of getting a good fix under the bridge added that extra thing to make it interesting. What a shame that worry about something like this.

I've had pretty good luck with WAAS on my Garmin map60. Since the WAAS sat's are geostationary you only need to download the almanac once. A good discussion on how to do this is toward the bottom at: WAAS Almanac This can happen automatically too but since the sat's are typically low(er) on the horizon it can be difficult to maintain a lock for the 30+ minutes required to get the almanac. If you don't get a full almanac your GPSr won't use WAAS because it can't lock on the sat(s). You can tell if a satellite is WAAS with a Garmin because the sat number is greater than 32. I used the instructions at the link above and set my GPSr out on the kids swingset where it had a good unobstructed view of the south sky and after about 30 minutes sat 35 was strongly locked and the quoted accuracy on the sat screen was less than 5 feet. Now when I am out with a good south sky exposure 35 will lock in very quickly and then I know that WAAS is active. Now that 35 is being moved I'm not sure what to expect. Garmin GPSr's also show a "D" on the bar when Differential GPS signals are being received. I think that this is separate (but also related) to WAAS. I get D's even when the WAAS sat isn't showing up. Anyone have any info on this?

I've had the same problem with an older Delorme Earthmate. I bought a serial to USB adapter and it works fine. If you're unsure buy one where you can return it if you don't like the results.

To be honest I really don't know what sort of accuracy to expect out of Google Earth, especially when you are trying to benchmark your GPSr. For WAAS you need to download the WAAS satelite almanac since it is not included in the GPS unit. This can be difficult but you only need to do it once (usually). Here is an explanation on how to do this: WAAS. The almanac will download automatically if you are fortunate enough to have good WAAS satelite reception. I'm at 28 degrees N and it can be difficult to get a lock but then the only WAAS satellite visible here is being relocated . Unless the almanac downloaded the GPSr wasn't getting any WAAS benefit and DGPS wasn't being received (no "D"'s) so most likely the improved accuracy was a better lock on the regular GPS satellites. While the WAAS satellites are geostationary the GPS satellites move and it takes some amount of time to fully update the GPS satellite almanac to get the best accuracy.

You need to consider where you are caching too. I've been in places where there are buildings close by to the south and block the WAAS satellites and accuracy suffers. Trees and buildings can also degrade the signal. If you're not sure check the sat reception page and move the GPSr around or walk to a place where there is better reception. Once your reception is good (or as good as it'll get) then start walking back toward the cache. Watch the arrow and distance to get an idea of where the cache should be.

Hmmmm.... What a bummer. Look's like I'll have to get used to poor WAAS reception until this fall (I'm on the east coast). At least there is a new bird scheduled to be launched. Of course when I really need the accuracy I you can't see 35 anyways! Thanks for the good info all.

I've had a couple of Palm powered devices (Handspring Deluxe, Palm IIIc and Tungsten T3). The color screens are nice, especially the newer units with OS v5. The greyscale screens, in my experience, are much better in sunlight. The color screens wash out and are difficult to see unless you are in a shady area. Shadows help but can still be too bright.

I've bought quite a bit of stuff off of ebay with no issues. Look for a seller with a good history and rating and you should be fine. Make sure that what you will receive is well documented. Research before you buy so that you understand what should be included. Ebay also has a feature where you can ask questions to the buyer without committing to a purchase. That said... there isn't much recourse if you are dissatisfied after the purchase unless the seller is willing to compensate you. I've been caching with a GPSMap60. I haven't used the mapping and routing features for caching yet. Maybe that would be a benefit when you're caching in an area that you aren't at all familiar with. So a non-mapping gps like the GPS60 or similar should be great for 99% of all caches you would look for. Good quality sattelite reception, including the ability to use an external antenna, is the biggest thing I've found to be important.

When I try to access this wap site I get an error message. Any ideas? I'm using an Altell V710 with MobileWeb4u.

Icefall5, what big list?

Actually I am still amazed at the quality of most things you find in a cache. At first I thought that they would be really trivial things but most aren't. Mostly, I look at the things in the cache and try to figure out what the significance is. Many seem to have some history to them. For example I just found GCRYTR (Cachin' in the Rain) today and it was filled with Boy Scout items for the most part. That's really cool. It tells you something about the cache owner or the people who found it recently. So the quality doesn't really matter.

Yeah, that makes sense. If you had a super accurate picture then you might be able to run right to the finish. Thanks Wildearth2001.

I like the JanSport Equinox 33. It has a hip belt and several comparments. Cost was about $50.

Have you noticed that the location of the caches move around on the screen in Google Earth? You would think that it would calculate a position and then display it. How do you know if it is showing the right position?

I have a GPSMAP 60 and noticed an option under Setup->Routing->Guidance Method. Mine is set to "Off Road". The other options are "Prompted" and "Follow Road". Geocaching works fine and it never tries to route on a road which is what yours appears to be doing.

I don't mind the micro's. They are tough and my success rate on them isn't anything to brag about either... We were just out looking for GCHMMN which is about a mile walk into the forest. Never saw it but did see some fantastic scenery in an area I didn't even know existed. Sure would have been nice to find the micro but we had a great time with a few friends anyway. To me that is a big part of GX'ing.