team5150

Its really not a Vista problem, its a palm problem...they STILL don't have a patch for .pdb files (which is what you need for transferring cache files to your palm) and its been over 2 months now. Here is a link Click Here Everyone wants to blame it on Vista, when in reality it is the vendors that are failing to keep up in most instances.

I just thought that I would add this little note.... My brother took a very hard fall in November of last year, suffered severe brain trauma, had to go by Flight for Life to Rapid City, SD. Things were very, very bad for him for several weeks, he had surgeries to remove clots, he was in a coma for nearly a month. We all feared the worst would happen and he would die, and if he didn't, he would be in a bad way for the rest of his life. Long story short, today he is doing wonderfully...he is walking, talking, getting around by himself...something that few of us thought would ever happen. Miracles do happen, tell your friend that he has many people here in Wyoming saying prayers for his little one. I have asked my churches prayer chain to make a special plea on her behalf. Good luck to them and to you.... Gary and the kids of team5150

If you are the only user on your computer you can do this, which is the fix that worked for me finally... Go to the control panel > User Accounts and Family Safety > User Accounts > Turn user account control on or off > Then uncheck the box that says use user account control to help protect your computer. Since I did this, I have had no problems with hot syncing. The user account control simply disallows anyone else from logging in on your computer with administrator privileges.

Double post.

You are running Vista aren't you? Try right clicking the palm desktop icon then clicking 'run as administrator'.

Are you talking about the 'caches along a route' feature? If so, that is a premium members only feature. What I would recommend is downloading Google Earth AND the .kml extension (available on the lower right hand side of your 'My Account' page) enter a zip code you will be visiting or zoom on an area and you will see the approximate locations of all the caches in that area. Very handy tool. Good luck and happy caching!!

Try right clicking on the Palm Desktop icon then click the "Run as Administrator" option. This seems to work for a lot of people. If this doesn't work and if you are the only one using the computer, then you can go to the control panel>User accounts and Family safety>User Accounts>Turn user account control on or off>Uncheck the box for user account control. Thiat is what worked for me. I wish that Palm would get the patch for the .pdb files.....

There's a search function? When did we get that?

Pocket Query GPX is afaik only available for Premium Members. Yes it is... but Premium membership is only $30 a year, or $3 a month. Thats less than than 10 cents a day!!! In a world that charges $4 for a cup of 'coffee' and $2.75 for a single gallon of gas, that is one of the best values around in my book... Quit thinking that the world (and Geocaching/GoogleEarth) owe you something just for logging on to their site, and be happy for the incredible resources available at your fingertips. If you are not willing (aka too cheap) to throw in a dime a day to support a pastime that you want to pursue, then I guess you will have to live with the consequences of that. All of the things that you are complaining about have cost someone millions of dollars to engineer, implement and make available for us, the consumers. They are not in business to give their services away, but they do, on a basic level. If you want to use their goods/services on a more detailed level, most of them ask that you support them by tossing a couple of bucks their way. Its not rocket science, its just basic business 101. Thats my 2 cents...like it or not....

Try right clicking on the icon and then click 'Run as Administrator'.

Found our first one of these last week. It had been painted to match its surroundings and was very hard to find.

I agree that the Garmin 60CSx is the best out there right now, but in my earlier post I was trying to stay around the price the OP had talked about. The price difference between a Venture Cx and a 60CSx is a considerable one.

That is a very impressive looking unit! Be interested to see it when actually comes out.

You might try Sportsmans Warehouse... In this area they carry a huge selection of GPSr's in stock. You have one in Pittsburgh....heres the link Sportsmans Warehouse - Pittsburgh

I was just checking the wally world site and the only explorist 200 I saw was only $104.88 (Here) .... perhaps the OP was including the maps as well. As a Garmin guy, I would recommend that you look at the Garmin Venture Cx, it is a current generation GPSr, has a color screen, expandability via micro SD cards (up to 2 GB at this time), and is currently listed at only $186.44 on the wally world site(Here). The base maps are not great, but they will suffice for most applications and you can always upgrade if you feel the need. If you search the posts on these forums, you will see that the Venture Cx is recommended as the 'most bang for the buck' GPSr over and over again. The Venture does NOT include a USB cable (neither does the 200 if my memory serves me right), but most people have a cable laying around for their digital camera or other digital device that will work just fine, nor does it include a micro SD card, but these are cheap, and getting cheaper all the time. Most people won't be satisfied with the paltry 64 MB card that comes in other units and will upgrade anyway. ( The explorist has only 8 MB of memory built in, with no expandability...) And probably one of the biggest selling points is the customer service offered by both companies, you can again search the forums and find thread after thread praising Garmins customer service, while in thread after thread you will find that Magellan's customer service just kind of...sucks...for lack of a better word. Thats my 2 cents, hope it helps.....

Welcome to the fun!!! Enjoy yourself and happy caching! - Gary

All units have a margin of error, its not uncommon for my 60CSx to be several feet off the mark. Remember that the person hiding the cache may have been 10-30 feet off when they placed the cache, then the seekers GPS may be 10-30 feet off, this gives you a pretty broad area to look around. One thing you will see the old timers say is that when your GPSr says that you are about 30 feet away, put it in your pocket and start using your eyes and 'geo-sense'. Look for the obvious places to hide a cache, if its an ammo can, look for logs, bushes, piles of sticks. If its a micro, look for small out of the way spots, under benches, in holes in trees, hanging in a tree. It can be frustrating at first, just keep at it, it gets easier. Try to look for ones with a low terrain/difficulty level at first, then as you get more used to it, maybe you can move the t/d level up.

Do you mean when you have the door off? If so, I can see something green in there. However, my CSx has gotten drenched a couple of times, and taken a short 'bath' one other time and everything was fine with the unit, no seepage at all.

I have faced the same sort of cynics that you talk about, Jedi. They don't understand, or they choose not to understand, they smirk, they outright ridicule.... But when I see the joy on my kids faces out on the trail, finding pine cones, rocks and other world class treasures (to them) and when they finally find that elusive cache we have been looking for and are deciding EXACTLY which treasure to trade for... those are the times when I know why we do it. I wouldn't trade what we do for anything. You have a great area to cache in over there in SD, its our favorite weekend getaway, and you are lucky to have a great geo-group to associate with. Don't let the nay-sayers get to you, have fun, enjoy the journey more than the destination.

We have found 5-7 caches so far using basic orienteering, I thought it was important to teach my kids how to use a compass and maps and not rely solely on the gps, which can be dangerous. It was fun and the kids had a ball using the compass.

Is there a note in the cache log page that might lead you to who dropped it? If so, you could email them and ask them to activate it.

The problem isn't with Vista it is with Quick Install, check out this link. Click here. The way I finally overcame this was by going to the Control Panel then click on User Accounts and Family Safety, then click User Accounts, then Turn user account control on or off, then unclick the box that says "Use User account control to help protect your computer, then 'OK'. After that I have had no trouble with my .pdb files syncing with my PDA.

The only problem I see with the PDA/GPS setup is that PDA's are not built to take the pounding that GPSr's have to endure on the trail. They are not waterproof (quite the opposite has been my experience), & they don't react well to being dropped, bouncing off a rock, and landing in the mud. I could see their benefit if you did only urban caches, but I wouldn't want to haul it around the back country with me. I own a 60 CSx and I love it! The kids and I have put it through its paces (and continue to do so regularly, but thats another story) and it has performed wonderfully. It has literally been dropped, stepped on, sat on, and has never missed a beat. We have a pda that we pack with us to keep all of the cache pages in, but it is usually safely stowed away in our cachepack. One other thing to consider is how the unit is powered, does it take AA or AAA batteries, so that you can easily carry a spare set and/or stop at any convenience store between cache locations and pick up? Or does it have a built in rechargeable battery that will require hours to recharge? I would hate to be 3-4 miles up a trail and have my GPS die on me with no way to get more charge to it. That would be a bad thing, IMO. Thats my 2 cents....hope it helps.

Yes you can go back to a cache. Log it as a find the first visit, then just log it as a note after that. You will find the option to "Write a Note" on the Found it? Log it page just down from the option to log it as a find or DNF. If you are trading items, be sure to trade even or trade up.

First off, let me say... Welcome to the FUN!!! Heres a link that might interest you... Nevada Geocaching Association. Have fun and happy caching!