Cache Canucks

quote:Originally posted by Firetrkdriver:"...I didn't start this to create an argument. I was just interested in knowing other people's opinions! When clps came back with such a sarcastic response, I took offense. If he doesn't like polls or thinks people are stupid for asking others opinions, why did he look at the poll in the first place?..." I hear y'Chum, it just seemed to me that: "...get a life and stop judging others intelligence. I think you need a little more experience before you're qualified for that..." ...was a tad 'severe' of a response to anything that appeared in any of the earlier posts (and yes, I had read them). Online forums being what they are, a few careless keystrokes can quickly inflame a discussion when all you really *meant* to say was "...Oh ya, says you!...", know what I mean? Cooler heads, especially in the face of those that aren't, go a long way towards making these forums a much more pleasant (and constructive) experience. Cheers.

quote:Originally posted by Firetrkdriver:_clps,_ You really seem to know what you're talking about. I can see from your profile, (posted below) that you have a lot of experience in the GPS field! _Profile for clps Member since June, 2002 Email this user Last visit: 10/13/2002 Caches Found/Hidden: 0/0 Travel Bugs Owned/Found: 0/0 Benchmarks Found: 0_ As far as your statement, "As for the argument that a 'poll' would help in your decision ...we all know that polls are not an accurate measure of anything other than popular opinion, as peoples responses can be based on something as fragile as peer pressure, or on the unwillingness to admit that they are/were mistaken." I hope _you_ are not so foolish to believe everything else you read on message boards as gospel. You have to use enough intelligence to take everything with a grain of salt. Just because it was posted in a "poll" doesn't make it any more or less reliable than if it was posted anywhere else. clps, get a life and stop judging others intelligence. I think you need a little more experience before you're qualified for that. Firetrkdriver ...Ouch! Sounds an awful lot like "You don't know enough to voice an opinion, so shaddup" if you ask me. Not that 'clps' seems to need anyone to rise to his/her defense, but hey, 'Firetrkdriver', ...lighten up Bud' (sheesh).

quote:Originally posted by carivercpl:ok for starters that FRS radio has a big .5 watt of power...and the cb only had 4 watts...unless you do Magic to them...so trying to hear somebody in the woods area going to be really tuff at best...you may want to make a post in the forum for area and see if there are going to be anyone out in your area...we use 5 watt GMRS with ch 6-14 tone 1 programmed...i can get 3 to 7 miles at best Physics dictate that the relationship between RF power and working range is based on an inverse square ratio ...in other words, to double your range under identical operating conditions (given the same terrain, equipment, frequency and antenna), you need to quadruple your RF power output. Put another way, although a 2 watt radio has 4 times the RF output of a 0.5 watt radio, it would only have double the range under identical operating conditions. Far more of an influence on performance (especially in the UHF spectrum) is antenna height and location. 'Over water' use or when transmitting from a high feature - be it natural or man made - can dramatically increase the working range of even a modestly powered 0.5 watt FRS radio (although hardly typical, 30 mile FRS contacts have been recorded between mountain tops where there was a clear 'line of sight'). As for a comparison between FRS (UHF) and handheld CB (HF) equipment, the difference in frequency and wavelength between those two bands 'clouds the water' beyond a simple comparison of RF wattage. Because of a much shorter wavelength due to its higher frequency, the antenna on a typical FRS radio is much more efficient at radiating its signal than its CB counterpart (where, due to a much longer wavelength, portable antennas are not nearly as efficient); as a result, despite a sometimes higher RF wattage, a CB handheld has a much more difficult time radiating a strong signal when using a typical 'portable' antenna. All of that aside, the real hinge-pin in this is that what is being discussed is two-way radio contact between GeoCachers engaged in hunting the same cache. In the vast majority of cases, this would likely put the users within a 1 mile radius of each other ...well within the practical range of an FRS unit (even with moderate tree cover). Under these circumstances, a more costly and higher powered radio (not to mention the FCC license needed to use it), would be superfluous.

quote:Originally posted by worldtraveler:"...But even assuming all was done with the best of intentions, the inevitable results such as http://www.cafeshops.com/cp/store.aspx?s=geocachingpd are a direct attack on the profitability of Groundspeak..." ...if you look closely at the 'products'(?) being advertised, they're nothing more than digital mock-ups. A digital image of the GX logo (or a 'version' thereof) was simply super-imposed over photographs of 'blank stock' (shirts, sweatshirts and so on). Someone is clearly in a rush to 'cash in' on an opportunity to make a bit of pocket change ...as opposed to taking the time to bring quality products to market (rather the opposite of how the 'GeoCaching.com' store seems to operate). As was mentioned in an earlier forum, this is the price that's paid for the 'freedom' of a logo being in the public domain. Buyer beware...

quote:Originally posted by Rubbertoe:"...Yup - I've jumped around from version to version, testing out new and old at different times. It will even let you know if you are backing up an older version onto your unit that is already current. As long as you aren't like v1.05 or something, I don't see how it would hurt. It's never hurt my Vista, anyway..." Thanks 'Toe'. BTW, love the dancing banana. Until I followed the hyperlink, I had no idea what the 'peanut butter jelly with a baseball bat' that my 13 year old would sing was all about; actually, I still have no idea... (you're one strange 'toe')

quote:Originally posted by Kobayashi:"...The Cache is still there. It's just barron now. All of it's goodies were removed. There is still a log book. I'll fill it up with some more goodies. Not much worth Geocaching in this area anymore with a moron like that ruining it for everyone else. ..." It takes all kinds. The big thing to keep in mind is that, if you read through some of the forums, this isn't entirely unheard of (the person is neither original or imaginative), nor should you take it personally (unless you have reason to believe otherwise). That having been said, my suggestion would be that the best course of action is to minimize the 'kick' this person gets out of seeing his/her actions publicized and/or responded to by simply carrying on as if it never happened (ie: don't discuss it in the forums *oops!*, don't respond to any of their emails, don't 'bite the bait'...). Eventually, if nobody seems to care, even someone with limited cranial capacity will tire of trudging into the woods to leave an illustrated 'Got ya!' note and to scoop a couple of dollars worth of useless baubles (...skull and crossbones huh? ...how 'quaint').

When upgrading the Vista's firmware, do you need to do it sequentially, or can you 'skip' a version (or more) in order to go from what you currently have to that which is most recent? I'm guessing that the version I have (which came shipped with the unit when it was purchased earlier this summer) is probably 2 or more versions behind Garmin's 'latest and greatest'. I won't know my current version until I have a chance to check, but if I could avoid downloading anything other than v2.40 in order to upgrade, that's what I would like to do...

...the folks at Groundspeak are currently exploring the possibility of adding a 'GeoCaching/FRS Ch 2' car window decal to their 'GeoCaching Gear' offerings; it would indicate that a GeoCacher using FRS Ch 2 is 'in the neighbourhood', the idea being that by spotting such a decal in the window of a car parked at a trailhead (or wherever), GeoCachers would have a leg-up on touching base with each other over the radio ...if they were so inclined.

Garmin's latest firmware release for the Vista (v2.40) incorporates a user defined 'Owner's Page': View this forum...

quote:Originally posted by trippy1976:"...I'm still interested in hearing more about the channel scanning stuff on some of hte newer FRS radios. Anyone have some with that feature? What does it scan exactly? Just channels or codes too?..." I own a few Motorola T6220's and, in addition to being able to scan the FRS band for active channels, they will also identify which CTCSS tone is being used by another radio and then automatically 'switch' to that tone if you decide to key up and respond to that particular transmission (in order to do this, you need to first set each channel on the T6220 to a CTCSS code of '0' ...which is 'off'). Very handy.

quote:Originally posted by Gimpy:Thanks for the info, Cache Canucks. Going for the 6220s'. Amazon.com has them on clearance for a good price. "Gimpy" Ohhh the pressure! But really, I'm confident that you'll be happy with your (our) choice. Drop me a line once you've had a chance to give them a 'test drive'!

...a simple "Are there any GeoCachers out there this afternoon (or morning/or evening)?" If you get a positive response, then exchange your GeoCaching usernames and enjoy a bit of a chat. If not, leave your radio 'On' and monitor channel 2 until you finish your cache hunt ...just in case another 'FRS enabled' GeoCacher pulls into the parking lot behind you and makes a similar 'anyone there?' call.

quote:Originally posted by Geo Boltz:GMRS yes, FRS no...you can extend you distance to up to 20 or more miles using a repeater. Yes the radios cost more and you may have to pay the repeater owner but if you want distance, go GMRS with repeater capability. If you join some associations like http://www.crestcom.org you can use their repeaters and others for free. A bit of overkill if you're just looking for two-way radios to use while GeoCaching.

quote:Originally posted by AD0OR:yes, FRS is very sub-par radio. Compared to what? I'm an amateur radio operator (VE3TDQ) and, in a past life, was a radio operator in the Communications and Electronics branch of the Canadian Army. Sure, if you're comparing FRS to a licenced service - where both the power and the price of the equipment is higher -, FRS falls short in performance ...but that's like comparing apples to oranges. FRS (both the band and the equipment) was intended to provide short range radio communication that would be accessible to 'the average Joe' ...which it does well.

quote:Originally posted by Gimpy:I've got a pair of Motorola TalkAbout 250s' that I picked up a couple of years ago. I used them recently at our Letchworth Cachers Gathering, & was not overly impressed with them. Are these a sub-par radio or am I just expecting a bit too much? I don't have anything to compare them to. Thanks. "Gimpy" I don't think Motorola even produces the 250 any longer (at least they're no longer listed on their U.S. website). I've had my T6220's for several months now and have put them through their paces in several 'real world' situations ...including measured 2 mile contacts over various types of terrain; in every case, the T6220's performance was problem free. Motorola has also (recently) introduced the T6250 which, from the looks of it, adds 1 watt GMRS capability to the T6220. [This message was edited by Cache Canucks on October 09, 2002 at 10:35 AM.]

quote:Originally posted by Gimpy:I've got a pair of Motorola TalkAbout 250s' that I picked up a couple of years ago. I used them recently at our Letchworth Cachers Gathering, & was not overly impressed with them. Are these a sub-par radio or am I just expecting a bit too much? I don't have anything to compare them to. Thanks. "Gimpy" I don't think Motorola even produces the 250 any longer (at least they're no longer listed on their U.S. website). I've had my T6220's for several months now and have put them through their paces in several 'real world' situations ...including measured 2 mile contacts over various types of terrain; in every case, the T6220's performance was problem free. Motorola has also (recently) introduced the T6250 which, from the looks of it, adds 1 watt GMRS capability to the T6220. [This message was edited by Cache Canucks on October 09, 2002 at 10:35 AM.]

...Motorola's T6220 was the one to buy (and I currently own 3 of them): T6220 Along with Motorola quality and its no-nonsense functional design (the thing actually 'looks' like a two-way radio), the T6220 incorporates a veritable 'all inclusive' list of features in a compact, reasonably priced package. Of particular value to GeoCachers is the T6220's ability to monitor the NOAA band of weather frequencies and 'break in' to normal FRS reception whenever a local weather alert is broadcast. Compatibility with other brands of FRS radios is a non-issue, since - in addition to channel frequency - the T6220's 'scan' function is able to determine (and switch to) the CTCSS tone being used by another radio.

...several months ago?: Your July shopping trip. quote:Originally posted by SR & dboggny:"...i am in the market for one of these two but cant decide and could use some thoughts. thanks..."

Just the most recent in a series of postponed Rhino release dates. Considering the protracted "...production problems..." Garmin seems to be having in bringing the Rhino to market, I would *not* be tempted to snap one up from the first batch to hit the stores.

quote:Originally posted by mrcpu:I guess the public outcry was enough for the CBC! Could you imagine HNIC WITHOUT RON?!?!?! Rob Mobile Cache Command Last I checked, a good number of your tax dollars and mine were used to close that particular deal (something to keep in mind the next time you're filling out your annual return to the CCRA...).

...how folks can plunk down a serious hunk of hard earned change to purchase a shiny new GPSr (that they plan on using while trudging through all shapes and flavours of 'the great outdoors'), yet they don't go the extra mile and get a $20 carrying case to protect their investment.

...how folks can plunk down a serious hunk of hard earned change to purchase a shiny new GPSr (that they plan on using while trudging through all shapes and flavours of 'the great outdoors'), yet they don't go the extra mile and get a $20 carrying case to protect their investment.

...might I suggest that he/she provide their name, position within the MNR, and office telephone number?

quote:Originally posted by G.P.S Trackers:Make it so.Are those rhino units on the market yet?If so, can someone who owns one share their opinion or rate it.They must suck a lot of battery power? May the angels fly with us down the beaten path! After several forum based votes, Ch 2 was the final choice. As for the Garmin Rhino, it has yet to be brought to market; the availability date posted on Garmin's website has changed several times and keeps being pushed farther back. Personally, if you're looking to acquire an FRS radio to compliment your GeoCaching activities, I think you would be better off to shop for a stand-alone unit (I'm a fan of Motorola's T6220 myself).