[Beacon and Cache]

Thank you for the link. Bomb Squad is not a problem here. (would not put it in the city and we dont have a Bomb Squad here LOL) I would also not put the transmitter in the cache. I would put it under the cache or something to like. Then hide the coax and antenna in a tree above the cache. So when the cache is found you would not have access to the radio gear. Making it a low power 2m solar beacon. You could then hunt it with the GPS or the radio.

 

Just trying to come up with ideas to mix radio and caching.

Yep, my thread was linked to already as I am still working on getting this together. I've decided to weatherize and camouflage a 1.5 watt solar panel from Harbor Freight and attach a weatherproof box onto it that will contain the transmitter, charging circuit, and battery pack. This unit will be mounted directly above ground-zero (or at least there will be appropriate information to determine the location of the cache from the transmitter).

 

I haven't had much time this summer to get it going, but I'll have time this winter to get a location found and get it installed. Should be a blast!

[Newbie has question]

SO, my big question is; IS there a way to request a testing station or certification exam area close to me?

 

if so, How do i make such request, and filed with who?

 

I think you might just be in luck!

 

15-May-2010

Sponsor: MARGARETVILLE ARC

Time: 2:00PM (Walk-ins allowed)

Contact: JOHN W HAMPEL

(607)363-7303

Email: AB2IC@ARRL.NET

VEC: ARRL/VEC

Location: NEW KINGSTON PRESBYTERIAN PARISH(IN THE VILLAGE)

87 ORCHARD STREET

WALK-IN & HANDICAP ACCESSIBLE

DOORS OPEN AT 1:00 PM

MARGARETVILLE, NY 12455

 

31-Dec-9999

Sponsor: ARAST

Time: (No walk-ins)

Contact: BRYSON C DAVIS

(607)589-4606

Email: BRYSDAV@AOL.COM

VEC: ARRL/VEC

Location: BY APPOINTMENT ONLY!

CALL OR E-MAIL TO SCHEDULE

SPENCER, NY 14883

I would try contacting Bryson to see if it would be possible for him to come to you (or meet halfway)...

[is there a national simplex used for geocaching?]

I was taught that 146.520 is where you make a contact and then request to QSY (change frequencies).

 

Personally, when I'm out hiking or whatever, I'll monitor 146.520 (as well as FRS frequencies) on my HT. I think as long as 147.555 is open (always ask "QRL?") I'll suggest moving there for Geocaching, but I believe that 146.520 should still be used to make initial contacts.

 

I could understand if 146.520 is busy in other areas, but here it is not in use 99% of the time. I think it makes sense though to designate a frequency for event caches.

[will there be a decent winmobile app?]

I just came across this post made by a moderator in reference to GCzII:

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...t&p=4238519

 

It don't know what "proggy" means. But that application is now authorized. It wasn't previously.

 

You should check with the application developer for assistance though.

 

Is it true?

[Ham Fisted user goofs Invisible Shield install]

The easiest way to install any type of "invisible shield" is to take a bowl of water and add a couple of drops of dish soap to it, then peel off the backing from the shield and put it in the water.

 

You'll then pull it out of the water and be able to place it on top of your screen, sometimes taking your finger and rubbing some of the soapy water on the screen will help it "float" as well.

 

Once it's all aligned, take a credit card (or drivers license, or food rewards card) and use it to squeegee the shield to the screen. Do you best to remove any bubbles at this point and as the water dries it will stick to the screen.

 

Some people like to use Windex, however the ammonia will sometimes interact with the adhesive and cause it not to stick anymore...

[Radio Direction Finding & Geocaching]

I agree. The problem is, what about the bomb squad? There have been so many stories of caches that have been blown up (one of my dad's included). Not to discourage you, but what would they think when they found this package? It's not like you could put it in the woods...

Given that a cardboard box filled with garbage outside a dumpster was "blown up" recently in my area, I believe that proper labelling and landowner permission will help mitigate the risks. One option is, instead of trying to camouflage the cache, work with the landowner to make it look like as "official" as possible. One idea I had was to disguise it as a sprinkler control box, even with false controls showing if someone managed to open the lock without permission. But that's kinda why I made this post, as I wanted to see what others were doing...

[Radio Direction Finding & Geocaching]

Correct! A cache like the one I'm proposing would have a "special equipment" requirement, but would be available to everyone.

 

BTW, it is perfectly legal for anyone to own or receive with an amateur radio transceiver, however you just couldn't transmit without a valid amateur radio license. In this situation though, I would expect a lot of people to use a regular scanner to search for the cache.

[Radio Direction Finding & Geocaching]

I think this would be a lot of fun, however I would be really worried about leaving this type of equipment unattended..You could lose out on a lot of money,,,caan you say..MUGGLED?..or just out and out STOLEN.Like I said before I would love to find a cache like this,would really be lots of fun..just afraid it wouldnt stay put...good luck.

I agree that it wouldn't be very fun if it didn't last long. That's one of the primary reasons why I was looking at the cheaper BeeLine transmitter. Also, I would be placing it in a location that I would definitely be able to visit multiple times a week (I walk/bike to a transit station to get to work every day and it's by a nice cache-friendly area).

 

I guess another option would be to place the transmitter somewhere under my control with the final GPS coordinates transmitted in Morse code. I really like the idea of direction finding the cache a lot more though!

[Radio Direction Finding & Geocaching]

I'm looking at putting together a cache that requires using Radio Direction Finding to get to the final location, however I wanted to find out what fellow hams are doing?

 

I'm looking at using a BigRedBee BeeLine 16mw transmitter with a carefully disguised 1.5 watt solar panel to charge the battery so I don't have to swap it out every 3-4 days.

 

Any thoughts? Hopefully some people can post similar caches that I could use as an example. Thanks!