Cache Canucks

I recently sent an email off to Garmin's cartography section to ask this very question. If/when I get a response, I'll be sure to post it here.

The better part of two decades in the Signal Corps of the Canadian Army (left in '96 as a Warrant Officer). In addition to serving in various units that saw me spend uniformed time in over a half dozen different countries (including 3 years with the Canadian Special Service Force [the pointy end of the stick]), I also did a couple of 6 month tours of military UN peacekeeping duty (Lebanon '78 / Cyprus '84).

quote:Originally posted by Mopar:"...If the owner of the site doesn't want political debates on HIS website (and thats what any thread with "war" in it turns into), he has that right..." I agree completely. Which forum discussions to lock or delete boils down to a judgement call on the part of TPTB, and those are entirely their decisions to make. From what I've observed, an off-topic thread that's entertaining without being controversial (such as the 'apostrophe' thread) stands a good chance of being left alone and is indicative of TPTB exercising reasonable discretion when swinging the 'off-topic' axe. On the other hand, an off-topic thread that shows every potential to boil over into a polarizing (insert 'angry' if appropriate) debate over a subject that has little - if anything - to do with GeoCashing tends to have a limited lifespan ...and rightfully so. I believe that most folks come to this site for a 'pleasant' experience; if it's an exchange over politics or religion that you're after (heated or otherwise), there's other websites a'plenty that would welcome your participation.

quote:Originally posted by Johnnyvegas:I use ham radios, the test is easy and lic. is only $10.00 for 10 years, and with repeater use I am not limited to line of sight. It's been awhile since I purchased my Yaesu 2m HT, but I'm pretty sure that you can't buy a pair of ham radio handhelds for "...around $75...".

quote:Originally posted by umc:I think he meant he wanted you to email that stuff to him not post it here. I think you're exactly right, but it would appear that, by re-starting a recently closed thread, someone is determined to exact some form of personal satisfaction(?) by attempting to drag a body through the streets. Perhaps if as much effort went into addressing specific (and substantiated) complaints directly with TPTB 'as they occur' as is being put into cumulative online forum rants, those who perceive themselves as having been wronged would have more success in making an effective case to the people in a position to do something about it. But hey, what 'fun' would that be?

quote:Originally posted by RobertM:I was taught to say "please". Weren't you? Something like "In the future please do not double post to the forums. One is enough." That sounds so much better. The difference is, you were clearly being 'told', not 'asked' ...not unlike a traffic sign that says 'Stop' rather than 'Please Stop' - get it? (...probably not )

Visions of Charlton Heston standing at an elevated rostrum with a huge floor-to-ceiling GeoCaching.com logo behind him; to his front, linked arm-in-arm, a large wide-eyed crowd of easily excited GeoCachers burning candles. As Chuck addresses the audience with his "...from my cold, dead hands..." patter, he waves above his head a Garmin in one hand and a Magellan in the other... ...be still my heart.

quote:Originally posted by ptv99jgc:"...As I understand it, the altimiter operates off barometric pressure readings. So if you head to your benchmark and calibrate it on Monday, and return on Tuesday, your readings will be based on the barometric pressure from Monday. Unless the pressure is identical the readings will be different..." In fact, you'll probably find that even immediately after calibration, the Vista's altimeter reading will fluctuate by several feet 'as you watch it' ...and while you're standing still in the same spot! At best, the altitude given is an approximation and would hardly be something on which you would want to base a night landing of an aircraft in heavy fog ["...200 feet, 175, 150, 100, <THUMP!>"]. Your best bet (I think) is to simply calibrate as often as practical against known topographic information - or by using altitude as provided by GPS satellite as a second choice - and acknowledge that your altimeter readings will merely be a close estimation at any given time.

quote:Originally posted by Jomarac5:"...This is true. And in a recent conversation with this guy, he told me "the local people around here need to be nice to me or their caches might not get approved"..." (and so on, and so on) If all of this is indeed true, why not simply make your case to TPTB and let them assess/determine/act...? We can vent and rant in the forums until our fingers cramp up but, when it comes down to it, there's only one person who can pull someone's plug on this particular website. If things are as bad as you say with this individual, Jeremy should have been receiving 'event specific' complaint emails from numerous GeoCachers all along.

quote:Originally posted by RobertM:"...What ever happened to these threads? http://ubbx.Groundspeak.com/6/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=5726007311&f=4016058331&m=2206006051&r=7806006051 http://ubbx.Groundspeak.com/6/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=5726007311&f=4016058331&m=4096009691&r=9506011791 I wonder if MrGigaFakeFindBlameCoWorker has been faking any more pictures lately? Any cache police following up on him?..." Unpleasantness almost as annoying as those who have nothing better to do with their time than to dredge it up again by starting identical threads in different forums within an hour of each other (see 'Canada' board). It's just a freakin' game ...move on.

Life is too short (and time too precious) to waste it with this kind of 'excavation'. Is it really that difficult to come up with something more constructive to discuss...?

quote:Originally posted by Centex Trekker:"...Excuse me for being nit-picky; but isn't GPS (Global Positioning System) slightly inaccurate for our little bitty handheld units? Wouldn't "GPU" (Global Positioning Unit) or "GPR" (Global Positioning Receiver) be more accurate?..." I believe that most folks who avoid - and correctly so I think - using 'GPS' opt instead to use 'GPSr' (Global Positioning System Receiver).

As suggested by the posts above, 8MB means that you'll probably end up having to delete/load maps whenever you venture beyond a fairly limited area. My Vista's 24MB will max-out after I load the available Canadian maps for southern Ontario along with U.S. maps for adjoining border crossings (...and that's without any topo information). As another example, were I to drive between Toronto and Washington D.C., 24MB will cover the interstate corridor between Buffalo and Washington, along with maps for both of those cities ...but that's about it (and only after I delete all of my Canadian maps). Just goes to show, depending on how much travelling you do, the PC adage that 'You can never have enough memory' can apply to GPSrs as well.

quote:Originally posted by Matt1344:"...Sure . . . See how many people come find your cache without his Web site . . ." ...or how long it remains listed if you post contents which make a point (pardon the pun) of including prohibited items.

quote:Originally posted by Jamie Z:"...I thought the Magellan windshield mount sucked, so I bought a RAM as Cache Canucks mentioned..." Exactly my experience as well (except insert 'Garmin' for 'Magellan'). I first purchased Garmin's eTrex windshield mount thinking that OEM was the way to go, but it didn't take me long to realize that the mount was far from being 'rock solid', nor was it fully articulated. The final straw was the (second) time the thing unceremoniously 'Ker-Plunked' off of my windshield and tumbled onto my dashboard ...despite the best of efforts to ensure that the suction mount was securly sealed. On the other hand, The eTrex RAM windshield mount has proven to be everything that the Garmin OEM mount wasn't ...it's fully articulated, constructed of mostly metal rather than plastic, and the suction grip has never failed to remain fastened. However, as appears to have been your own experience, the RAM's 'use two hands' cradle arrangement is slightly more cumbersome than that used by the OEM mount sold by Garmin (how much that offsets the RAM's positive points is entirely a personal call ...in my case, it was worth the trade off). Again, my own experience is limited to comparing the Garmin eTrex windshield mount with the RAM equivalent. When it comes to mounting a Meridian to the handlebars of a bike, I have absolutely no idea how much of this comparison may or may not be applicable (for all I know [and as you would seem to suggest], Magellan's OEM mounts could be head and shoulders above Garmin's ...in which case, there's no need to 'shop around').

...I found that, when it comes to automotive mounts (and probably bike mounts as well), the RAM line of products are much better made and far more robust than any of Garmin's OEM mounts (which are little more than light pieces of plastic). Unfortunately, I had to learn this the hard way (after buying what Garmin offered, and then purchasing a RAM mount). I have no idea how Magellan's OEM mounts stack up against their RAM competition, but you might want to explore that option as well (surely there's Meridian owners a'plenty out there who can offer you the benefit of some firsthand experience).

quote:Originally posted by Team Bohica:"...Why shake your head? It's a tool. Nothing more, nothing less. Would you shake your head if it was a hammer? A rifle is an inanimate object. It can't hurt a thing... (etc.)" Well, I guess we can agree on one thing... with a little bit of effort and imagination, the public domain 'GX' logo can make a dadgum fine avatar.

quote:Originally posted by Dersu:"...We do indeed live in different worlds..." Thank goodness. (...remember, this wasn't about gun control laws or 'culture', it was about a 6 year old sleeping with a rifle in his room)

quote:Originally posted by Team Bohica:"...I started teaching my son about knives and guns before he even started kindergarten. He is now 6. He has his own pocket knife and a rifle he keeps in his bedroom..." Please, someone tell me that I'm not the only one who finds themselves shaking their head in astonishment at the idea of ANY 6 year old who sleeps with a *real* rifle(...??!?) in their bedroom. It doesn't matter how well ol'Pappy has taught Junior (or what part of Texas you hail from) ...at that age, shouldn't there be a baseball glove, some Pokemon cards, and perhaps a stuffed toy animal or two in the corner of a little boy's room - not a .22 Remington?

quote:Originally posted by georgeandmary:"...Don't trade. Just a log book and a not too pointy pen. That's all I need..." Yup, what George said. Just think of all of the controversy that could be avoided if that were the case (not to mention a much easier task of cache placement and maintenance)? No more b**ching over who 'traded down' with what, no more hand wringing over what should or shouldn't be left in a cache container, no more angst about whether a cache might plundered. Just a good dose of fresh air, the thrill of the hunt, and a few friendly lines left in a log book ...sounds pretty good to me.

quote:Originally posted by gnbrotz:"...I think that a large number of cachers don't even know they exist..." I think you're bang on the money with that observation. Only a Sys Admin could confirm the actual stats, but my guess is that the vast majority of GeoCachers use this site for nothing more than... well... 'GeoCaching' (go figure). Those who participate in forum discussions (and, in turn, presumably see any value in posting a user profile) are in the minority. As for the 'forum regulars' who have little more than their user name as a calling card (ie: no profile whatsoever), that's certainly their choice to make. Personally, I think it's simply good online forum etiquette to give folks some idea of who it is that's behind your keystrokes.

quote:Originally posted by spyder40:"...Is anyone using NiMh rechargeable batteries in their Rino 120's? I'm thinking of going the rechargeable route and am curious how much time I can get on the 2000 mah ones..." Simply divide the mA current draw of your Rino into the mAh rating of the batteries that you're considering using (ie: if the Rino draws 200mA with the GPS 'On' and the radio in 'StandBy' [and I have no idea if that's the case], you should get approx 10 hours out of a set of 2000mAh NiMh's).

At the risk of this becoming a Vista group hug, I'll chime in with my own 'got it/like it'. As with most folks who contemplate laying down a few hundred dollars of their hard earned cash, I did as much pre-purchase research as I could (using as many different information sources as possible) before I settled on buying a Vista early last summer. Rather than go on about why I arrived at choosing this particular unit, I think it's probably more helpful to simply acknowledge that no single model of GPSr (Vista included) can be considered a 'best choice' for every user. As important as doing your pre-purchase 'spec by spec'/'price by price' homework is, taking the time to objectively consider 'what you need' and 'how you'll use it' is just as critical. One trap that you should try to avoid is placing too much value on biased owner comments; as well intentioned as they are, most people tend to become enamoured with their own choice of GPSr and - at times - can lose their objectivity. Not to suggest that the comments in this and other forums can't be useful, but - if it were me - I'd be filtering them with information that was more objective from other sources before making my final choice. Good luck!

quote:Originally posted by Accident_Prone_Hiker:"...Apparently concerns can't be voiced without some individuals blowing them out of proportion..." "...I am shocked by the irresponsibility evidenced by some of you..." I think that you can still find some solace: 1. The vast majority of GeoCachers rarely (if ever) post in these forums; 2. Of those who do, there are several(many?) who simply enjoy argument for argument's sake. Start a forum by stating that placing an armed mousetrap into a cache is 'bad', and you'll get people who'll defend their right to do so 'just because'; and 3. Folks tend to respond more to forum posts that they disagree with, as opposed to ones which express ideas similar to their own. All that to say, don't let yourself become too disillusioned with 'The Human Condition' by anything that you may read in the forums. Common sense is, more often than not, still a common denominator among the group at large.

My guess is that, if the image appears pixelated (chunky) and is 'live', chances are they're using a VideoPhone ...and almost certainly so if the 'live' image is coming directly from a couple of guys hanging off of a moving vehicle thundering across the Iraqi desert at 40 mph. An amazing use of a satellite phone, a video camera, and a small box the size of a lunch pail.