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marty621

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Everything posted by marty621

  1. Having been a hunter, navigator and now a geocacher, I have found that all the GPS topo programs are not detailed enough to be of any use in hunting situations, and of little use in hiking situations. Hunting on horseback maybe is a different story. My preference is also toward Garmin because they are the leader and compatible with various software other than Garmin's own. In hunting, all I use is waypoint navigating and marking capability, track log capability and an occasional route. For example, I recently walked the perimeter of the property I can hunt by going from posted sign to the next posted sign., all the while tracking with the log feature. I then downloaded that to the computer and made the track log into a route which I keep on the GPS. When my position and the route appear on the screen, as long as I am insde the route I know I am on my huntable property. I also set up a route and store it on the GPS which represents the 450 foot safety zone away from occupied dwellings.
  2. Might consider holding a sewing needle at a shallow angle to the GPS , and under magnification, lightly hammer the needle into the brass piece or plastic piece. Then grasp the needle with needle nose pliers and pull whilst keeping pressure against the needle into the brass/plastic.
  3. Check out "Blackjack in the Blackness" , GCH772, cache for this idea.
  4. So to a non-electrical engineer, can we assume that the microwave signals almost sag like a clothesline, a catenary? How wide would the microwave beam be? Or is it a question of signal reflections off the ground terrain? This might explain some weird readings we get on our GPS when near mountains or sheer rock walls.
  5. Team Rampant Lion, what software program did you use to plot the waypoints and tracks onto the Topo? I was considering joining you all today, but the drive from Princeton and the heat dissuaded me.
  6. EntropysEdge, or anyone else, keep me in mind if you want a motorcycling partner. I, too, look for partners to bike and cache with.
  7. Any kayak cache trips in mind? I would be up for that.
  8. What total distance of hiking would be involved? Estimate please, so my knees know what to expect.
  9. marty621

    Gone Help!

    Get some stick-on reflective tape, or steal a traffic cone with the white reflective band on it. Peel off the band, cut into strips about 1/8" wide, 2 inches long. Fold them over a branch and stick them to themself., sticky side to sticky side. They will stay there forever, won't be able to get them apart, no nails, no tacks, no problem.
  10. I have the 12xl which is the same as the 12 except for the 12 volt capability. With NiMH rechargeables batteries as cheap and available as they are, I do not view the lack of 12 volt capability as a fault. For $ 20 at Wal Mart you can get 8 batteries and 2 chargers., less than a 12 volt adapter. Second point about the display being able to only resolve down to 0.01 miles, firstly change to metric as previously stated and get from 53 foot readout resolution down to 33 feet. But more importantly, this is not the best way to zero in on a cache with this unit. A better way, when you get close is to go to Nearest Waypoints, the closest waypoint, your cache, will be at the top of the list. Highlight it, hit enter, and then memorize the last two digits of the lat and long. Then go to the position screen where lat and long are displayed to 0.001 minute, which is nearly equal to 6 feet. Work into the cache location by watching the last digit of the lat and long. I see no practical difference being within 6 feet of ground zero as opposed to 3, 2 or 1 feet. Alternatively, work in UTM and get screen resolution to 1 meter. The 12 and 12XL are workhorse units, and unless your backpacking, slightly larger weight hardly matters. I would buy a 12 over a yellow eTrex anyday just because the 12 is so much easier to scroll thru screens and operate with all the dedicated buttons. Try the two side by side and you'll see what I mean.
  11. I saw mention of a multicache which had something to do with a lighthouse challenge in NJ. Does anyone know the correct name, I can't seem to find it by a keyword search.
  12. Thanks all, should keep me busy for a while.
  13. I am looking to compile a list of caches I can do to take advantage of some great vistas and take pictures of such. Anyone have suggestions for the North Jersey,/ Eastern Pennsyvania area.
  14. My thoughts: Lots of wet tree cover can cause the loss of accuracy. I would check the units accuracy by letting it sit on a benchmark of known accuracy for about 15 minutes in plain view of the sky. Regarding moisture, I would carefully let it bake out on the dashboard of my car for several days. But be careful not to let the LCD display get too hot as it might get ruined. I would not leave it there unattended.
  15. I am not a real experienced paddler, but want to try some paddle to caches by kayak. I am thinking about on the Batsto River, maybe grab 3 or 4 caches. Nothing is definite but I am thinking about Sunday July 3 only if I get a partner. I am from Princeton and can carry two kayaks on my truck. I need to be back by 6 pm so I would need to leave early. Let me know if anyone is interested in joining me or meeting me somewhere to do them. Short notice but that's the way my life is right now. Weather looks good, not too hot.
  16. In my opinion, altimeter and compass features are just flashing lights. Its probably a good idea to carry a stand alone compass, anyway , when hiking, so why not choose that compass carefully to fit your needs. I have found that all available topo programs for GPS units are simply not accurate and detailed enough for practical use while hiking, unless you are covering huge distances. Now if they would come out with a unit that would allow scanned orienteering maps to be calibrated and loaded into the GPS, that would be a great feature.
  17. I wish I was there to see the action, but frankly, you guys disappoint me. I am surprised you let a stinking little bird keep you from getting the cache. Now a snake would deter me. That was just a blackbird with a little too much steroids.
  18. Looking for potential partners to do the paddle-to caches on the Batsto River near N39 39.200', W74 39.200' . I am novice kayaker and would feel more comfortable having someone else along when I attempt these caches. Looks like about a 2 mile paddle upstream and maybe get 4 caches. Would probably try to get the land based caches in the immediate area also. I am based in Princeton and could meet up with someone to share the ride. I can carry mine and one additional kayak on my truck. I am thinking about doing this maybe sometime on a weekend day in May or June. Let me know if your interested and when you are available. Weekdays are also a possibility.
  19. Can anyone supply me with a link to some new color aerial photos available online , they were posted recently, but I failed to bookmark the site.
  20. I was invited to attend the NJDEP, Division of Parks and Forestry Volunteer Recognition Ceremony at McGuire Air Force Base, NJ. for some trail mapping I did at Allaire State Park. While reading the program I ran across an article about one of our fellow cachers, that is worth mentioning. Text from program as follows: BrianSnat New York-New Jersey Trail Conference Brian's basic volunteer mission is as the Trail Conference Area Supervisor in Ramapo Mountain State Forest, where he supervises eight trails as well as the activities of 15 trail maintainers. Beyond this, however, Brian has unstintingly volunteered much more of his time to special activities in state parks and forests throughout northeastern New Jersey. His contributions during 2004 included: participating in reblazing more than twenty miles of hiking and multi-use trails, including the Cannonball, Hewitt-Butler and Hoeferlin Memorial trails. In additon, Brian contributed a full day toward renovating a heavily-worn section of the Cannonball Trail; helping to build the new Hasenclever Iron Trail, including locating, flagging, GPS, blazing and clearing blowdowns from the trail; assisting in the establishment and upgrade of interconnecting trails between state lands and adjacent county, municipal and scout woodlands. Brian is also one of a group of volunteers working to upgrade our North Jersey maps. As a result of his personal dedication as well as his fine example to other volunteers, Brian, who contributed more than 20 volunteer hours during 2004, has helped to make the vast and beautiful backcountry of our state parks and forests much more accessible and enjoyable to the people of New Jersey. Congratulations Brian !!!
  21. Can anyone tell me how I can tell what version software is loaded in my unit? I have the monchrome Street Pilot.
  22. Crusso, I believe these benchmarks are made of cast aluminum which will probably crack if you try to bend it. There is usually a sleeve on the back which gets driven via a press fit onto a piece of reinforcing bar. This sleeve, since it projects would make it near impossible to attach to a pole. The utility companies are very touchy about having things attached to their poles and may complain. I may order a few but finding 3/4" rebar for mounting might be tough, I doubt its a Home Depot off the shelf item.
  23. I just think that a surveyor out searching for property line evidence might come across this thing labeled Official Benchmark and be confused as to what it really is. Don't get me wrong, I am fully in support of our hobby and promoting same, but I think here in NJ, the State Board of Professional Engineer's and Land Surveyors might take a dim view of laymen (non-surveyors) placing objects that have traditionally been associated with property lines. It may very well border on being illegal. My suggestion would be to only place these "Personal Benchmarks" far away from anything that could be construed as a property corner, property line, or boundary of any sort. I think, also that the design should be changed to remove the word "Official" and remove the triangle in the center which is used to represent the punch mark, accurately delineating a property line on a real benchmark.
  24. What do surveyors think about these personal benchmarks or fake benchmarks offered by http://benchmark.gps-fun.com/ ? I am thinking the surveyors would really be opposed to these being placed.
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