BigBadger & Li'l SG

Great, I'll play with it and see what you've done. Hopefully it will resolve some of my issues. Thanks

I'm happy to concede to your statement presuming you can show me how. I have spent many hours on Mapsource and have searched through the help files and index but can find no ability to project a waypoint other than by drawing a route line or a measurement to another area and then it's so basic and poorly implemented that it has little value to me. Why would I want a circle? Well considering all Pocket Queries are made with radius formula and they are limited to a 500 cache size, that might be a start. Another is that I live on a triangular penninsula adjacent to the main part of a large island. I do not want the caches on the main part of the island as it dilutes my ability to focus on the penninsula within the PQ downloads. On your other mention of downloading any info to my GPSr. Well Garmin has only just added the ability to use some of the main icons we use in geocaching (multi, etc.) but not all of them. And only the basic treasure chest can be used as a "FOUND" geocache. There are workaround for some of it as shown in this thread. but it's still not usable by the average user. Please, show me the ways.

I am an ardent "Updater" of software, so yes I continually update Mapsource with the most recent changes. It's funny that huge company like Garmin has left us with such a bland package of mapping programs. It would seem that with the amount of new products they put out each year that the backup for them is so limited. Granted, geocaching is only one very small part of the spectrum of users of Garmin GPS. However, since they obviously know we exist, and that sales of GPS for our hobby is increasing quickly it would seem inevitable that they continue to add support for geocaching. Even if they allowed for programmers to 'add-in' modules of software for specific sports and hobbies like geocaching, hunting, fishing, orienteering, etc. I don't know what these other sports would need but it shows more of the spectrum of users. COME ON GARMIN, WAKE UP!.......... or maybe I'm just being selfish here?

I've been using Mapsource with my Legend C for about 15 months now and am thoroughly fed up with it. Garmin indicated to me that they are putting little if any effort into their mapping software over the next while. I made a request to know if they were planning to put some very obviously need tools into the program and they indicated that they had no plans to but would put it in the request list. Mapsource is missing so very many tools that I cant stand using it. Things like - + projecting a waypoint from an info screen (23.549 km @ 035 degrees true or magnetic) + drawing tools (circles, squares, colors, etc) + ability to add marine info to topo info. (It's one or the other not both) + etc. Anybody else find that the Mapsource inadequacies has forced you to move to other software? What do you like and don't like? Thanks in advance. Bigbadger

The 60 series has an external antenna hookup capability. I had a 60 series and it would have much better sattelite reception while in my back pack under a jacket than my Legend would ever get out in a open field. I'm not sure about the 'H' series though. Battery life might suggest that the H is still going to be less accurate than the 60 series.

Well, this has been beaten to death and yet as with most meetings I've attended nothing has been resolved other than: many people want Family Plans within Geocaching.com and many do not. (details to be brought forth at next mtg.) I DO! I DO! I DO! .... I want family memberships as I have a son and a girlfriend and (according to the courts) neither live with me. But in the same breath, none of us geocache without the other. Yes, my son and GF have non-Premium memberships and can cache and log as I do. Only I can get PQ's and neither of them want to bother with that part either. I like the idea of an umbrella membership for a little more $$ that we can log our finds all at once just by checking off which family member was present at the time. I would also like the ability to get the "My Found" PQ's for each person to be used in GSAK. Cost? Well Groundspeak gets $30 from us now and will continue to do so. I suggest $46.83 (just to add something stupid to be ridiculed), or round it to $45 which is 50% more than your getting now. Okay, go ahead... everyone who now wants to bitch and complain against my thoughts.... GO!

Apart from downloading the page-by-page list of other peoples finds, how can I download a PQ by other player? Say to play catch-up to someone or to create other special GSAK databases on my Son and Girlfriend and other friends, etc? I can see where this could take me regarding memberships... so then is there any interest in Family memberships at a reduced rate? There is really little advantage to pay for 3 when I am the only one interested in the computer end of things. Just a thought or 3,

Now having been involved in geocaching for nearly a year, I am getting to know a number of people involved in the game/sport/hobby/fun/whateveryouwanttocallit. It would be nice to be able to pull up a friends hotlist or something to that effect to watch stats, create watchlists, etc. I know you can look up people, but that is arduous/cumbersome/slow/etc. Have I missed this feature, or does it indeed exist? Any other thoughts on the matter would be appreciated. Bigbadger Victoria, B.C.

I was very surprised that a company that makes a great GPSr unit can release such a feature poor waste of hard drive space. Considering that Garmin includes several features used for geocaching within the GPS units themselves I was surprised how few actual tools this software had. I've emailed Garmin (Mapsource) with requests such as a radius tool to help configure a specific pocket queries which they responded with... "What a good idea, although we don't know of any plans to add any features we will put it in the suggestion box"..... ? Seriously? I would hope that all users of Mapsource make an effort to contact Mapsouce to request new features. It could be a half decent program. BigBadger

Even based on the old definition of a Virtual Cache... none of the signs along a trail would meet the criteria. Jeremy has repeatedly explained the difference between a Geocache and a Waymark. He has also indicated that Virtuals and Locationless were broken, and Waymarking is the solution. These issues have been repeated time and time again in various threads on both the Geoaching and Waymarking Forums... the decision is as locked as the "Yellow Jeep Locationless Cache" is. I don't see too many opinions stating that these are the same. It is quite obvious and reasonable to conclude that there are in fact different waypopints to search for and find. What I see as the issue at hand would be that there is no reason to separate them onto different websites. And now having read so many opinions and facts of the matter. It seems quite reasonable to work out the bugs that make these differences a challenge and THEN re-integrate them somewhat back together possibly under a new website called GEOMARKING.COM . As with your analogy of the air-based and land-based transportation, maybe they should be administered differently........... but counted and recorded from a centralized system. If not, and things become seperated due to their differences... logically we might see "mysteries" and any other variations pulled aside for re-working and ultimately ending up with their own websites.... dumb The biggest problems I have had to deal with are not the fact that there are no log-books or boxes to trade stuff from, but the inconsistencies of the owners of the caches to properly indicate "cache-type", or have inaccurate co-ord's, or hints where the description should be, or any other of a dozen small mistakes made when starting up a cache. With an updated system of pre-made form fields and checking feedback from cachers (non-owners) there is no reason these problems, small as they might be, can't be fixed.... and we can all be happy little cachers or markers, or geohunters, or ........ (steps down from soap-box, pats baby on head, shakes hands, throws stick for dog) my 2¢

I agree. From what I've seen of positions of the National and Federal Parks systems being resolute in having NO Caches placed, and State and Provincial parks seeming to be less absolute in their posturing. There seems to be little choice in the former other than virtuals.

Well I supppose it is merely a case of perspective. As in "a Square is a Rectangle but not neccesarily vice versa".... of course if you look at a rectangle from a certain perspective you WILL only see a square. I just don't see them as 'entirely different', only variations of . I have not been looking into concepts and aims because they matter little to my downloading of waypoints and searching them out while getting groceries or while taking my kids for a hike. It is very obvious that you take the matter considerably more seriously than I. I applaud your conviction but as you can see there is a matter of 2 perspectives here.

What is/was the reasoning behind separating Waymarking from Caching? I realize this is far from a new topic but I found no forums illustrating reasoning behind the separation from caching. (Finding thoughts within threads within topics within forums is like finding needles within pinstacks within haybales within barns, within.......) Benchmarking is still on GC.com and what makes that any different from Waymarking.com? Why is the Waymarking website not just a varied clone of the GC'ing website? It seems clunkier and more scattered? No PQ's, no Hide and seeks, no series of filter fields to search, etc. This all seems redundant considering the GC.com tracking of TB's, benchmarks, grandfathered VC's, etc. YES, I have read many items within forums, Waymarking FAQ, GC.com..... I am neither trying to be belligerent nor obstinate, only trying to understand.

If you find improperly labeled caches, inform your local reviewer. how does one go about doing that?

I may eventually change, but for now I am a cache & dash type of hunter. I do like Mysteries and offsets so the point is not that they are wrong/bad/annoying/etc.... the point is about careless inaccuracy. Nothing aggravates me as much as bad drivers and antisocial manners...... except maybe a distant second in the aggravation category would be wrongly typed caches. How hard can it be for cache owners to get the "cache type" correct? I would conservatively guess that almost 1/2 of all the caches I look for are actually offset or Mystery caches. Even as simple as co-ord's N-XXX and W-XXX..... oh, by the way it's 20 ft away on bearing 022.... Am I off-base here or should the owners not be asked to more accurately categorize their efforts? It's like stating a cache is a large container rather when it actually may be a micro....it's just as inaccurate It's like having a hint stating to 'look up' when it's actually underfoot.....

I don't see another area worthy of this question so here I am. I've seen (espescially in "Pictures - Cool Cache Containers (ccc's)") forum within comments or even just the single word "BUMP". What does this mean? BB

I hope this doesn't sound too 'Noob' ... but hey, we all start out fresh and naive to new topics and skills before we get all jaded and indignant, no? So are all trackables considered Travel Bugs, or is that just the term for the Dog-Tag style travel bugs? Can all trackables be logged onto my finds? Meaning, will they show as unique types within my profile trackables? And how, if they are unique such as Army men, coins, Monkeys... et al? Thanks for your kind and generous offers of fact and opinion... in advance!!

What's up with this periodic comment? All you other evil super-ultra-mega camo'd cache placers.... Good effort... just opened my eyes to the craziness of your evil genius.

I could have been more informative as to my particular interests in the application. - I use a Garmin eTrex Legend C. - I am relatively new at geocaching and am avidly hunting these little buggers down. - I am really hoping to use only 1 more peice of software as I already have to use Mapsource (from Garmin) and the Website. Mapsource is neccesary for adding and removing maps but will also hold waypoints, routes, etc, etc..... otherwise it is useless software with very few features. - I want to maintain a database of caches that I can draw from as needed, due to the limitation of only 500 waypoints my Legend can hold. I would prefer to get my GPX PQ's only once per week or so. - I want to be able to have this database communicate and effectively manage my cache data in conjunction with Cachmate that I use on my Palm PDA. - My first desire is to get GSAK to compile a list of caches based on similar filter factors as the PQ's.... ie: 30 km from a given center-point... well, actually I don't like the radius idea at all and would prefer to gather information based on polygons or rectangles. But since GC.com doesn't do that , I am relegated to the radius method.... (I have a few threads on the Groundspeak forums dedicated to that topic.) There is more but I shouldn't be too greedy to start. I hope this helps clarify my perspective.

I would like to hear peoples opinions of GSAK and whether they have found it to be intuitive or difficult to learn. I have been trying to figure it out but to be honest, I find it one of the most difficult peices of software I have ever tried to learn. Yes, I have followed the GSAK forums and the FAQ's. Is there another program that offers similar features but is more intuitive?

(dadgum quote thing never seems to work out right for me. Don't judge my response by the lack of ability to quote properly) Oh, Good. It's tough through these writings not to know one way or the other if one is being adversarially pissy or trying earnestly to make a point. 1. I live on an island and I travel around areas I am completely unfamiliar with, plus I always carry my GPSr with me and may not know when or where I may be able to use it. To limit my PQ's so that my GPSr which limits out at 500, I stick solely to "Traditional" caches (hence my original topic). I do NOT have access to a computer when I travel, roam, etc so I try to use my palm as backup information on the 500 that I have in my Garmin. Paper would be ridiculously overkill, am I right? (following a personal phylosophy of Reduce, Re-use and Recycle). ...so.... if I look for a 'traditional' cache and I find it, regardless of the instructions which probably should not be overlooked but may be none-the-less, I'm going to log it online. 2. Yes, absolutely. Come on, who really cares? If one or 2 people don't do it, will it really change things? I don't think so. In fact I think most people will follow your instructions anyway. Rules? I think guidelines is a better term. Geocaching has few RULES. see below: Step 4 – The Find Huzzah! You found the cache! Congratulations! Now what? Usually you take an item and leave an item, and enter your name and experience you had into the log book. Some people prefer to just enter their name into the log book. It’s an accomplishment enough to locate the cache. Make sure to seal the cache and place it back where you found it. If it had some rocks covering it, please replace them. It’s pretty straightforward. Remember that waypoint we suggested you create where your car/trail was located? Use that now to get back! You’ll be glad you had it. When you get home, email the person who hid the cache and let them know you found it! They’re always happy to know the condition of their cache and it’s nice to know that people are looking for them. How is the trade-item theme different? You said it yourself: it is uncontrollable. I can NOT enforce a rule that requires people to place only themed trade items in a cache. I CAN, however, enforce a rule about how a cache is logged online. I don't understand. How does one enforce the logging requirements? Does owning a cache offer more options? My limited experience has indicated that many owners simply place and forget. many state that they will re-stock, etc. but little evidence through online logs or the more obvious cache contents show any sign of upkeep or even reviewing. I think it's cool that you have gone to the trouble of creating an extra little bit. But I really think that holding my find count hostage due to something as petty as neglecting to format my logging isneither necessary nor benficial. I think a better response is a gentle email request by yourself to the culprit.

While we digress and get more and more off-topic. I will neither concede, nor will I fight my points ad infinitum. It seems obvious that both you and I share an equal and strong passion for this enjoyable pastime. And just as 2 opposing political parties have an equal passion for their country, they will also have vastly different views on any given subject. In a way they can both be right and wrong based upon ones perspective. I will answer your questions with a question. Have you ever been to a cache that the contents were supposed to be of a theme that reflected the owners original plan only to find that in contained a bunch of plastic crappy toys and nothing at all even remotely resembling the theme? Yes, it is annoying and yes, it is uncontrollable. That's people for you. Is it worth getting uptight over? How is that any different than not writing in poetry? The web info did not indicate what I had to do it was log that had a requirement. I've read that sentence five times -- I give up. I should have stated that it was the log-BOOK within the cache that indicated a requirement. My bad.

Complete Rubbish. Paperless caching is a RESPONSIBILITY. And on that note, I was using my PALM for everything in my hectic life.... and it died. It died while looking for a cache. So the rest of my day offered no clue as to what I was looking for, or how I should behave, respond, reply or continue to look. 3 of the 4 caches I had on my Garmin were supposed to be Traditional but were not, and the final was a micro that had me completely bewildered. I really enjoyed that one, but as it turned out I was supposed to do something there. Which I went back and did. The web info did not indicate what I had to do it was log that had a requirement.

Hi I'm lst2ltdwn, Iv'e got a question ? How do you put a picture in the description of you cache location Do you mean in your own cache, or a cache that you have found belonging to someone else?

I understand and agree with you on many points. However, when driving down a road and realizing you are driving by a cache that you had not planned on..... AND... when you try only to do the basic 'Traditional' (read - point and shoot) cache, you must admit that there is no way to know that you may have had to respond in poetry or scientific parrabollah (read - cynicism... kinda tongue-in-cheek style). I eventually read the cache pages. I read them in less detail when I've done a whole pile in a day and the kids are screaming for dinner and the fridge is broken and my car has just died in the driveway.... It's easy to prioritize time away from frivolity and onto necessity whilst still attempting to finish your BASIC day. My initial point was just that if the cache is NOT at the posted coordinates, It should not be considerred "Traditional" I, Bigbadger, do hereby and with full comprehension and understanding, undertake the responsibility of having buggered up someones effort of placing any TYPE of cache by not complying with their conditions set forth upon the GCXXXX pages, will immediately and with full humility offer 5 seconds of silence.