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x_Marks_the_spot

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Everything posted by x_Marks_the_spot

  1. Logging a DNF doesn't mean anything. It doesn't detract from your reputation, it doesn't affect your statistics, it just indicates that you didn't find the cache. If I were you, I wouldn't worry about the logging habits of other cachers. If you found the cache and signed the log, as you would any other time, log it as Found. If you were onsite and looked for the cache, but didn't find it, log it as Did Not Find. If you found it and there was something wrong with it, log it as Maintenance Required, and if you could still sign the log, log it as Found also (two logs, because the Maintenance log won't count as a find). Just don't assume that because you can't find it, it is missing. In this case, it looks like the cache has been missing before, but just log your DNF and keep an eye on the cache page for updates or other finders.
  2. How you play the game of geocaching is entirely up to you. If you want to go it alone, have at it. We hunt with others sometimes. As a cache owner, however, you call the shots on your cache. If you want to delete their log, you are at liberty to do so. Me? I'd be a bit put off by it if it was my log. If you're worried about your cache being muggled, that's kind of the risk you take when you place a cache. if you're trying to control the way people play the game, then I have to wonder why. But it's your cache do with it what you want.
  3. First of all, the Mio is not appropriate for geocaching at all. It isn't waterproof, it isn't shockproof, it isn't designed to be held in the hand, and even though you can enter coordinates, the software is going to constantly try to lock your position to a street, which will constantly throw your position off. You'll almost certainly want to get an inexpensive handheld GPS. Second, there may be an option to change the settings from the Dd coordinate format you're currently using to the DMm format geocaching uses. And third, the conversion from decimal degrees to degrees/minutes is easy to do. Just multiply the decimal portion by 60 (60 minutes to a degree and all that). For example: 34.58126 N 0.58126 x 60 = 34.8756 So it would be N 34° 34.876'
  4. I don't think that's very likely to happen at all, but it bears thinking about, at least. As a workaround, on the description page you may think about giving your name, address, and phone number so that in case anyone is approached by police they can explain what's going on, and give the landowner's information so the police can follow up if they want. Since the OP was talking about logging nearby, I assumed it was basically undeveloped land, in which case the chances of anyone saying anything are basically nil.
  5. Looks like I'm just a wee bit late, but I'll add my two cents anyway. You're all entitled to know what I think. If it were me, I'd skip the geocaching how-to books. There's nothing so complicated about it, once you figure out how to use your GPS. Thumb through the manual for your GPS, read the Geocaching FAQ, and just go have fun. My guess is (and for the record I haven't read either one) that it's just going to complicate things, and lead you to believe that there's something more to it than there is. As a general observation, however, having handled, sold, and read other books in both series, I find that the Dummies books are slightly better. For whatever that's worth. (Edited to change some sloppy grammar)
  6. You can simply put up a very distinctive "No Trespassing" sign; a bright neon color, maybe. Describe it on the listings for the geocaches, so cachers will know they're in the right place, and let them know they are welcome.
  7. I'll ditto briansnat's sentiments about having two units. We use a TomTom ONE in the car, which we got on sale for $150, and up until Santa rewarded my good behavior with a brand new Lowrance iFinder last year, a $12 thrift-store Magellan MAP 330. It just makes more sense to keep the two distinct purposes separate. You can certainly find a single unit that does both, like a handheld that autoroutes (Garmin GPSMAPs) or an automotive unit that can go outdoors (Quest or Magellan Crossover), but that sounds like a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none situation to me.
  8. I'm not entirely sure I know which magnetic nanos you're talking about, but those will be just as good as the location you put them in. As far as good cheap cache containers, that really depends on what kind of cache you're placing. Ammo cans are just about the best containers you can get. They shouldn't be more than $5 at your local Army/Navy store. Lock&Locks are also great containers, they come in a variety of sizes, easy to camo, less than $8 for a large one. Recycled food containers will be varying degrees of mediocre, but they're free. And never mind whatever the hypersensitive whiners out there hare to say (and God have mercy, they will whine at anyone who will listen, and most people who won't), if you thoroughly wash the blasted thing, you won't be exposing anyone to any allergens they wouldn't have been exposed to on the way to the cache. But you can generally do better. Wal-Mart has little Pelican style containers that are waterproof and tough in Sporting Goods for $7.
  9. Any automotive GPS is also going to try to lock your position to a road. So if you wander too close to a road while you're searching, it'll throw your position off. You will also have a very unhappy day if you drop your TomTom on a rock or into a creek while you're hunting a cache. Leave the TomTom in the car, and get an eTrex H or an eXplorist.
  10. Going back to a previously visited cache is just fine. We've done it before. I rather take the personal position that if I go back to get a traveler from a cache I've already visited, I should leave another traveler behind. But that's just me personally. If someone returns to one of my caches just to get a traveler, I don't mind in the least. So go for it.
  11. First of all, I would consider getting a few more finds under your belt before you start hiding. That way you'll get a better handle on what works and what doesn't. From containers to hiding places to camo. But when you do go ahead and start hiding, caches with locks have been done before, and there is nothing wrong with it. Just be sure to list it as a puzzle cache, and make sure you have the combination findable somewhere or somehow.
  12. Letterboxing is definitely what you want. ...... Perhaps I am missing something but I thought letterboxes were usually found by following written clues rather than by using a map and navigational skills. From the Letterboxing North America homepage (emphasis added): LETTERBOXING is an intriguing pastime combining navigational skills and rubber stamp artistry in a charming "treasure hunt" style outdoor quest. A wide variety of adventures can be found to suit all ages and experience levels. Click on the desktop items above to explore this fast-growing hobby. From the Wikipedia article on Letterboxing (emphasis added): Letterboxing is an outdoor hobby that combines elements of orienteering, art and puzzle solving. Perhaps this is what you were missing.
  13. It's happened to me twice. Once, I had already made the find, and was signing the log when he pulled up. I offered to rehide it while he turned his back, but he was content just to sign in. The other time we were about to leave after hunting one which we suspected had bum coordinates when he arrived. We told him we were heading out, and wished him luck. In each case, we introduced ourselves. You aren't going to be able to hide. You're holding a GPS, loitering around the area of a new cache, and the other cacher has probably been watching you for a little while. Might as well to meet another cacher and find the cache together.
  14. I haven't been using a handheld today, but we navigated around Greenville, SC with a TomTom. No problems with satellites to the grocery store and to church. Sometimes the GPS just acts up from time to time. Sometimes it won't lock on the satellites for hours. Sometimes we'll get wild errors throwing the distance off. Sun spots and solar flares can screw up radio frequencies, which is what GPS works on, so that may be causing it also.
  15. Using your GPS on an airplane absolutely won't screw up the GPS. I've done it before. If your GPS records trip data it'll be neat to see your speed at 500 mph and your altitude at 30,000 feet. It definitely won't be confiscated. I'm not so sure putting it in your checked baggage is the disaster KoosKoos seems to think it would be, but mine stays in my carry on. You should certainly check your airline's policy on GPS usage. Try here.
  16. It's up to you how you play the game. If you think you can find them without a GPS, then go for it. Just don't get to thinking that you have to drop $300 to get a GPS that's suitable for geocaching. I personally have used a Magellan MAP 330, which I know you can buy on eBay all day long for under $50. I found mine at a thrift store for $12. Garmin V and III units are available on eBay as well for a good bit less than a brand new unit, and they'll do the job just fine.
  17. Ditto briansnat. If the cache itself is soliciting for anything, then it's right out. So you can't call the cache "Science Fiction Fan Club Cache" (if that's the name of your group). And you can't have the description for the cache be a whole big schpeel about your club. But just putting the magnets inside isn't a problem.
  18. Also, the coordinates you have only resolve to enough accuracy to give a search area over a mile in diameter. (BTW, that should be N 47° 30' E 18° 28', not N 47.30° E 18.28°. The latter come up about 15 miles south of Dad.) And from 23,000 feet, there's no telling where everything landed. It would be interesting to look for, but talk about a needle in a haystack ...
  19. It's also easy enough to make the conversion from DMS to DMd. To wit: N 34° 28' 35.21" There are 60 seconds in a minute, so you divide the seconds portion by 60. 35.21 / 60 = 0.58683 Round to 3 decimal places, and the coordinates are: N 34° 28.587'
  20. I don't know for sure, having never tried, but I would bet good money that any GPS you buy here stateside would work in Korea (the "G" in GPS standing for "global" and all that). Interesting bit of history (interesting to me anyway), the Selective Availability system which previously diminished the accuracy of civilian GPS receivers was turned off during Desert Storm so soldiers who had non-military GPS receivers could use them in battle when military GPS receivers were in short supply. They worked in Iraq 17 years ago, so I would bet they'd work in Korea now. All the major GPS manufacturers have mapping products which will cover all manner of regions of the world. I certainly can't speak to how accurate Korea would be on those maps, or how much money you'd spend on them. As for transitioning from Korea to the US, you just have to give the unit a little extra time to figure out where it is the first time you turn it on in the new location. Depending on the unit, it may have an initialization feature to give it a little leg up by pointing it to its rough location. You may also want to give this article a look. I have no idea how applicable it is to Korea, but it at least bears thinking about. And thank you for your service over in Korea.
  21. Just to be clear: DD° MM' SS" is not the same as DD° MM.mmm' The former is a one second of longitude or latitude. The latter is one thousandth of a minute of longitude or latitude. One second equals about 16.6 thousandths of a minute. That means here in South Carolina at about 34° 51' N, using Markswell's nifty table, one second east or west equals about 83 feet. Which answers the question the OP actually asked, but maybe didn't intend, and which also explains why Google Earth resolves DMS coordinates to hundredths of a second.
  22. From the Guidelines: "You as the owner of the cache must visit the site and obtain the coordinates with a GPS. GPS usage is an essential element of geocaching." GPS units are plenty inexpensive nowadays, especially for a pretty basic unit. In fact, some of the older Gamin and Magellan units you can find on eBay for well under $50 are just as good as some of the units available today (look for Gamin III and V and Magellan MAP). You can find caches without a GPS (although the sport was invented specifically for GPS, so you're kind of missing the point), but you must use one to hide. Edited to add: I must've glossed right over Motorcycle Mama's post. No matter; it bears repeating.
  23. I plugged the coordinates directly into the "Fly to" box on GE. That gives me a crosshair right on the spot. I even took into account how far the map of the roads differed from the roads in the photo.
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