MaxEntropy

GPS, remote antenna, cell phone, radar detector and laptop computer with mapping software. Cool, techno-geeks hit the road!

GPS, remote antenna, cell phone, radar detector and laptop computer with mapping software. Cool, techno-geeks hit the road!

The military has always controlled the GPS system. They can at any time flick the switch and degrade everyone's accuracy except for theirs. However, with so many units out there and somy people and companies dependent on it, it's decision that they won't take lightly. As a practical test, I went outside, got five sattelites and 20ft. accuracy. It doesn't look like they've messed with it lately.

I have a Legend and I'm mostly happy with it. However, the antenna isn't as good as some. My brother and I were in a canyon covered with redwood trees. I could only get three birds while he had five locked easily with his GPS V. However, he didn't seem to have the compass display. His GPS V blew through four AA batteries long before I was done with two. I enjoy the small pocket size of my legend. I do wish that I had more memory though, the 8MB only holds one map at a time (though it's still a heck of a lot of data). I have the San Francisco Bay Area map installed most of the time, but if I travel more than 40 miles out of the area, I need to load another map at my computer. Without a laptop, I'm stuck that way. The maps are nice. I noticed that I'm never more than five miles from a McDonalds. BTW, the legend is the perfect size to wedge between the windshield and dashboard on my Expedition as well as on my Mustang creating my own little heads-up display.

Unless you actually see the mark itself and vcerify it with the markings, it's not a find. How are you sure that it's the right one? I have an area where there's six marks in a block, USGS, city and private. While I was trying to sort them out, I was sure of a mark a couple of times until I was able to see it, then I learned that it was yet another unlisted mark.

Living near San Francisco, I didn't get up until much later. I turned on the radio and the first thing that I heard was Lee Rodgers, normally a cheerful guy say in a monotone. "The north tower is down and it looks like something is going on at the south tower." Being a frequent boater on the SF Bay, I immediately thought of the North tower of the Golden Gate Bridge. I turned on the TV and was briefly relieved, then horrified that it was the World Trade Center North tower, then the South tower. I was supposed to be going to work that morning and taking the kids to school, but we were an hour late because it's hard to get dressed and to get the kids dressed when your eyes are glued to the TV. My 9 year old son was very chatty, saying "oh, wow, look at that! Cool" like it was a controlled implosion on TLC. I looked at him and told him that those buildings were full of people. He looked at me then burst into tears. I hope that I didn't hurt him.

I'm 39.9, married and my two kids are 7 and ten and they just love this game. I design computerized building automation systems. My wife gave me a lot of grief for buying a "$200 toy" (E-Trex Legend, I told her $200) until I started going out every weekend with the kids, getting a lot of exercise hiking around in the hills looking for hidden treasure. Then she was thrilled and told me that I should have bought it a long time ago. Speaking of techno-geeks. My brother joined me last week for a hunt. I couldn't get enough birds for a fix, so my brother pulled his GPSMap out of the car, plugged the NMEA port into his laptop and carried the whole rig down the trail looking for the cache. You should have seen the looks we got carrying a laptop and GPS into the woods, down the trail with his son out in front with the antenna. I was joking that they now know what techno-nerds look like when hiking. If that didn't work, we could have pulled the Northstar DGPS off of his boat and ran the antenna and differential antenna up a tree to get a better fix. Carrying the 12V battery would have made it a little harder.

I haven't seen it mentioned yet but we carry a bottle of Tecnu. It's a poison Oak/Ivy cleanser. After the kids and I get through with a cache near poison oak, we squeeze this stuff on our hands and forearms and scrub, then rinse off to reduce the chances of a poison oak rash. It does require water to rinse off, but it's worth it. In the San Francisco Bay area, there's a lot of Poison Oak in the hills. I also carry a bunch of zip-lock bags, gallon and quart, the heavy freezer kind. They weigh almost nothing and their uses are many. Keep the Tecnu in it's own bag in case it leaks. Mickey

One of the parts of Geocaching that I'm enjoying is seeing a lot of places around the area that I've never been in though I've lived in the east bay for all of my life. To return the favor, I was thinking of placing a cache in Ardenwood Park, a place that I visit frequently and would like to tell others about. Of course, I'd have to get permission which I doubt that I'd get but it's worth a try. However, since they charge $7-8 bucks to get in, it might be a better idea to place it ourside the fence. That way, people could log the cache without having to pay entry unless they wanted to visit inside, but it would get them there. So, I'm asking if anyone has ever tried to get a cache inside Ardenwood or outside on Perry Farms property. Also, does anyone have any tips on how to approach the managers or owners on placing a cache? I'm sure that they would be worried about hoards of people trampling off-trail and tearing up the vegetation looking for treasure. FOlks? Mickey M Still new at this.

quote:Originally posted by BrianSnat:The vast majoirity of caches in this area are under a half male from the parking lot. Ewww, what happened to the poor guy and where's the other half?

quote:Originally posted by survey tech:Keep in mind that lane closures must be done properly in order to insure traffic safety. In many jusisdictions a permit is required and safety training is a prerequisite to getting a permit. Redirecting traffic even briefly can have unintended consequences. Although orange safety cones are available to the public, they are intended only for emergency use. Anyone placing cones in a pulic thoroughfare without just cause may be subject to citation. That's why it's going to be very early on a Sunday morning. This street is in a business park so it'll be pretty dead then. This little maneuver should only take a minute. I can see the covers, I just can't get to them. Buy cones? Those things grow wild alongside roads. I've found a few lonely strays around while riding my bicycle. I use them to block off my cul-de-sac when the neighborhood kids are playing on their bikes and skates. If the telephone company, city, water department and CalTrans want them back, they're welcome to them.

Hard? Don't you know it. Yesterday at lunch time I found two benchmarks, or what I believe is two benchmarks. I can't tell for sure because they are located in the middle of a very busy street. The the traffic light is a little too short to dash out there, pop open the cover, wipe the mark off , record the information, put the cover back on and dash to safety before the light changes and I risk becoming flatter than day-old beer. My plan is to get up very early Sunday, put on my coveralls and a hard hat, put out a few cones and block the lane with my big 'ol SUV while I take a look. A clipboard will add to the deception.

An update on those two missing benchmarks. One is still missing, but the other I found about 120 feet away. Yes, I was using the correct datum as shown on this web site. Out of curiosity, I tried several others but none got much closer. The mark was found as I was looking for a third in the immediate area. The description mentions a private road that still has a section exposed, the right section. I was poking around in the brush, scared a king snake and jumped out of my skin when I came across a dog skeleton causing me to almost run into the witness post. Hello! Newbie tip: Walk 50 feet around the area first before kicking brush and get a little oriented. The old roadbed was visible but not obvious and I would have seen the witness post quickly if I had walked the site first. This can get obsessive.

I have two benchmarks near my home. The last time that they were recovered was in 1977. This area was developed around 1976-1978 and the corrugated culvert that is described is nowhere to be seen, probably converted to underground storm drain. What are the chances that the markers were removed but not reported? Is that common? Do contractors often destroy these markers or do they take them as seriously as is implied? Also, they report says that the marker is a foot below the roadbed height, but everything in that area is at roadbed height or above, so am I looking for an access cover now? Or is the poor thing possibly buried? I'm new to this, but it looks like a fun way to spend a Sat. with the kids. Thanks, Mickey