Jump to content

greywynd

+Premium Members
  • Posts

    118
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by greywynd

  1. It seems that National and Provincial Parks are varying a lot in their viewpoint on caching across the provinces. I can't speak for anything other than Ontario, I know little more outside this province beyond what can easily be read in the forums. I can speak in regards to the caches in Ontario that have recently been placed in the National Parks, 6 of which are located in Georgian Bay Islands National Park, and a series of 6 plus a final along the Trent Severn Waterway/Parks Canada area in Peterborough. Both sets of caches were also 'kicked off' with a geocaching event, and there are coins associated with both sets of caches. In one case, coins were distributed to help promote the event and the caches, in the other, complete the series of caches and earn a keepsake coin. In both cases I was actively involved in helping with the placement and listing of the caches, to place GBINP, the staff had some general ideas of areas they wished to draw attention to, and we then arranged an outing, with myself, and three of the park staff present. One of the staffers works in the biology side of things, and is aware of the various levels and types of uses etc throughout the park. This allowed us to decide as we went what hiding spots were park, vegetation, and people friendly. As it is home to one of the few poisonous snakes we have in Ontario, cache placement was kept in mind to try to prevent any accidents with non-snake aware Ontarians. Caching in parks can be done safely and with the preservation of the area in mind, it does however require co-operation and teamwork from everyone. Let's face it, as cachers we should all consider ourselves ambassadors of the sport/game, and if we have a group that is resisting letting us 'play' on their field, we need to show them that we can be responsible when it comes to placing, finding, and maintaining caches.
  2. Emily would be much closer, there may be some private parks also, I'll take a look this weekend and see if I can find a few to list.
  3. More details to follow, but just starting to get the date out there. There is an event in the planning for July 16th, and will be something of an eye opener for many! This event is being planned , not only with the co-operation of, but the support and assistance of the folks at the ...Trent Severn Waterway, which, as some may or may not be aware, is a part of Parks Canada!! On top of that, as part of a pilot program in the area, a series of caches will be placed, and passport style, once found, it will be possible to earn geocoins!! These coins are minted already, and will be distributed through the Trent Severn Waterway, how cool is that?
  4. There are lots of cachers all around you. Many don't check into the forums often (myself in taht category, just happened in here for teh first time in a couple months) Keep an eye out for events, they are great places to meet other cachers. There may be an event in my area (Peterborough) in the next few weeks, not sure of what or where there are any others closeby right now, watch for them though. Cachers that you may want to contact could include myself, Luc & Sweety or JungleJ, they are all active and we've done educational presentations for various groups as well. If you have particular questions, feel free to post them, it might help out another newbie cacher(s) elsewhere. For a more local flavour, you may also want to look at the ontario geocaching association, or central ontario geocachers websites and forums.
  5. Got it going, I had used only the Garmin file and unzipped it. I went back and d/l the gpx, and opened it, that overlays perfectly on any map I select. I'll take a look at what tracks I might have to fill in the blanks...there's an issue in this area, many follow abandoned rail lines, but the Garmin maps at least have the rail lines shifted out of position. (So they show on your GPS, but might be several hundred metres from the actual location. I should have track logs for portions of almost all the trails in this area, and should be able to fill in the gaps. If not, maybe some time on the seat of the bike is in order..... lol
  6. Download the gpx version and use Mapsource to open the file. Tracks will show up. Guess I wasn't clear...I did that, but when I opened it in Mapsource, it looks like squiggly worms on a blank page. Wondering how to overlay it on a topo in Mapsource (not just on the GPS.) Though...when I transfer it to the GPS with the maps, could I then transfer it back and have the overlay? Looking at the local trails, I suspect that if I go through some of my tracks, I can likely fill in some gaps...but having the existing portions on there would also be good, so that I can only focus on the sections that are still missing. Depending on what I find I'm still missing after looking through my tracklogs, it might be a reason to explore some sections.....especially if there's a cache or two nearby.... lol
  7. I downloaded and installed it, using the info in the readme it worked great. I realize these are really meant for use on the GPS, but is there a way to overlay them in Mapsource, over, say topo maps? It would be handy to have when looking at a route to a cache for example. Maybe it's tehre already and I missed it too.....not like I've never done that before...
  8. It appears that cleaning the contact areas with the high strength rubbing alcohol has solved the issue. All buttons have worked fine now for 48 hours or so. Next step, though not sure when, will be to take it out and do some field testing with it and see if it seems 100% or not.
  9. I would say that mine received about the same 'treatment' as yours did Oz, and it's been splashed lots before during various canoe excursions and kayaking trips, also without issue. When it first happened, there was no issue with it, it worked fine. It was probably a few hours before I started having problems with buttons not working, but it would still turn off and on. Eventually that quit too. That evening I was able to take it apart, and there was very little water actually in it, small, small droplets in an are or two, and those being mostly in around the contact areas for the buttons. I suspect that it had got in around a button. I dried that out, put it back together, it worked for the rest of the evening, and part of the next day, when it slowly faded again, first the buttons not working, then it wouldn't turn back on after turning it off. After getting home the next day, I took it apart, and left it apart for a couple days, again, fired up okay (downloaded tracklogs then) buttons worked, but it only lasted a short time. I've actually been having one last attempt at it this evening, took it all apart again, this time I used highly concentrated (91%) isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol, and wiped the contact area and the backs of the buttons with it. It's back together a couple hours now, and seems to be working fine.....the test will be after it's left on for a day or two and I'll keep trying it periodically during that time. Somehow there must have been either a speck of something, or maybe a mineral deposit from the water evaporating that was affecting it. If this is all i takes to fix it, I'll be happy. I also suspect that there's no way that a service centre would have done that for under $100, since they can 'work their highly technical magic' to fix things.
  10. Well, I'm just disappointed with the response from Garmin about it all. The 60 seems to be one of the 'standard' GPS's out there, and I've rarely heard of any issues. I would have thought their response would have been better. To top it off, the last rep I spoke with was going to follow up with a call to me, and that's been a day and a half with nothing. Even a quick call to say 'I'm still looking into it' would be better then not hearing anything.
  11. Well, I'm just disappointed with the response from Garmin about it all. The 60 seems to be one of the 'standard' GPS's out there, and I've rarely heard of any issues. I would have thought their response would have been better. To top it off, the last rep I spoke with was going to follow up with a call to me, and that's been a day and a half with nothing. Even a quick call to say 'I'm still looking into it' would be better then not hearing anything.
  12. Well, it seems that my 60CSx doesn't meet IPX7 specs, a few weeks ago while on a canoe/geocache trip, we got swamped by a large wave. I was able to limp my 60 long enough to get the tracklog downloaded, and looking at the info in it, it looks like I was in the water about 12 minutes. The 60 was attached to a 'D' ring on my lifejacket, and it was at the surface of the water, and never went deeper then a few inches at most. (No where near the 3', or 30 minutes that IPX7 is supposed to be rated for.) Now, I've had the unit just over 2 years, so I realize it's out of warranty. However, I thought I'd call Garmin and tell them about it, because at that point I'd never heard of water issues in the 60 series. I was thinking that maybe they'd say something like "never had that, or rarely, maybe send it in so we can take a look at the cause" or " we're finding that water resistance starts to diminish as the unit get older, and we're going to start suggesting the seals etc be replaced every 'x' years to maintain that spec" or something like that. Nope, I'll I've got is 'too bad, send it to Raytech (the Canadian service centre that doesn't get too many good things said about them) and they'll fix it or refurbish it to 'like new' for a price." All in all I guess all can say right now is that I'm rather disappointed in Garmin and the statements of what these units are rated for. It's a shame really....... Can anyone suggest a comparable GPS that actually has a decent water rating?
  13. I was mostly just curious. There are a couple cachers in areas I cache that list all their caches as members-only, because of an issue a while back with what appeared to be malicious cache removal. One cache that they own a couple people have thought about putting on ignore, simply because it's a cache that isn't to their personal liking, but knowing the owner, they don't want to offend them either.
  14. My son is 8, and is mixed about it. I'll ask him though, and if he wants to come, he's welcomed along, and if not, I don't force the issue. I don't want him out doing something like this if (or when) he doesn't want to. I try to be honest though, tell him what kind of caches are planned, who I'm going with (if anyone) and how long I'm going for. If a cache is different, then I'll tell him that in case I think he'll really enjoy it. Reminds me, we need to get his logging caught up....
  15. I am a PM, simply for the PQ feature if nothing else. (Well, and to support the site too!) I'm really wondering whether or not another cache owner, particularly of a MO cache would see it if I put a cache on ignore? It's something that I've wondered, and others have asked me as well, and I simply didn't know. I tried searching both the GC site and guidelines, and also the forums, but hadn't really found that out.
  16. I may not have the title exactly the best...what I'd like to know is what the owner of a members only cache sees or doesn't see. I know that it shows a list of the visitors to a cache page. Does it also show who has a watch, who has ignored it etc? I'm not looking for any debates, just looking for some clarification on what it does exactly, I haven't been able to find this out. Greywynd
  17. And will there be free gps's again this year? Colorado's maybe?
  18. That would be it Ducky. If one looks at the aerial pics on google maps, the outline of parts of the causeway can still be seen. It's marked on maps for boaters because it's still a water hazard.
  19. Sorry moop. Will wait for a couple more tries/guesses before I give a hint.
  20. Harwood Ontario is located on the southern shore of Rice Lake. Long ago, there was a 'terminal' located there, that would allow passengers to ride north to Peterborough. Can anyone tell me what kind of 'terminal' it was, and for bonus points, what year it would have ceased operating?
  21. I suspect it is the 'English River' now owned by Lafarge, set up for hauling cement.
  22. Read post 12. I think cache tech has stated his point of view. And, to reiterate, like I said in the 'menu link thread', contact Groundspeak, you may be pleasantly surprised at how easy they are to contact.
  23. There have been some interesting posts on this topic since I last read it 9-10 hours ago. I for one had been looking for a response from Groundspeak, since it didn't appear to be coming, I went looking for it. I contacted Groundspeak, and without a lot of issues or questions, was talking to one of (what I would consider) the 'higher ups' They told me ifI wished I could mention their name in a reply to this thread, I am going to opt out though since I don't want to encourage them being flooded with people contacting them. I will say I was given direct, and easy access, without question (other than who I was, and the reason for the call, a common courtesy anyway) to this individual. We chatted about this particular thread, and a few other concerns I've had as of late, for some time, likely in the range of 30-45 minutes. At no time did they appear to be rushing me, brushing me off, or any other 'tactic' to make me go away. I would state a concern, or ask a question, and would receive a reply. Of course, similar to any decent discussion, sometimes that would prompt more input from one side or the other, and it would continue. As to this particular thread and topic. Due to privacy rules/regulations, they couldn't disclose all details, nor, to be honest, did I want them to. Therefore we couldn't discuss the particular case of the OP, and, I think some will agree, this thread has grown to envelop more than the original 'menu link' in itself. Now, let's take a step back. Geocaching is? Using a gps, and co-ordinates, to go find something, or someplace, someone else is trying to share with us. Technically, in reality, we would really only need to publish co-ords, (and for an event, a time and date,) and us 'cachers' should be able to find it, right? This has been expanded on, difficulty and terrain ratings have been added, descriptions of what you'll find/do, sometimes times that work better (or worse) due to people, etc. As the rep from Groundspeak said to me, their is no reason to identify the name of the place for an event, and in reality, to keep within the guidelines, it shouldn't be listed. However, it's allowed, primarily for one reason. So that non-geocachers, or at least those without a gps, can find the location. Beyond that, it is a courtesy to other cachers to have an idea what to expect. So because of this, they allow the name (and often the address) of the place to be listed, so those without the gear can find it. Up until now, I had not stated whether I had, or hadn't wanted the link to be allowed. I did ask for someone to explain why it was or wasn't being allowed, for a rep to come tell us if the reviewers couldn't, etc. As of now, I will state, don't allow the use of the link. If someone wants to summarize the menu options and price ranges on the listing, I would expect it would likely be allowed without issue. (Maybe one of our reviewers can give us an idea of what they would or wouldn't allow in this manner.) As to the menu link discussion, I don't believe I will have anything more to say on the matter. To go somewhat off topic, I will state, that the individual at Groundspeak I spoke with was polite, courteous, and wanted to hear my concerns. When I stated I wasn't trying to tell them how to run things, he stated that, in a way, I was. (BTW, I don't recall exact words, so this is paraphrased.) As a user, and customer, calling to voice my opinions, I was having an input on what, and how, things are done, and they welcome that input. My one voice isn't going to change everything they do, but it is added to the considerations. I will also say that after speaking to this individual, I now feel somewhat better about some of the how's and why's that I had concerns with. They also gave me more contact information, so that if I wanted to email them directly, I could do so. If you really feel strongly about something.....I would suggest trying to contact them directly, and see what you receive for a response.
  24. Well, I have to admit disappointment from Groundspeaks lack of response. I know right now I'm not certain how much more I'll be concerned about logging finds, placing caches, etc. I may just go explore the places I wish without the concern of the 'smiley', since these inconsistencies with the 'rules' are showing up, I'll have to think about it. From what I've seen in this thread, I would think there may be a lot of others here that may be willing to do the same. Shame on you Groundspeak.
×
×
  • Create New...