Dad and the Dynamic Duo

quote:Originally posted by the 5 little bears:My problem is i dont know what to write and how to word it and if i can mention this website or not.Any help in this would be apreciated Hello lil' bears, This is likely not the help you were looking for and I hope that you do not take my comments the wrong way. That being said, here it goes... Your question contains all the reasons you should wait to write such an article: I don't know what to write and how to word it. While our find count is well below that of many others on this site we have been around for a bit longer than your team. Even though I write and speak frequently for a living and would jump at the chance to write about caching I personally would be very careful about doing it. I have seen the words of several very experienced cachers twisted and used out of context or incorrectly quoted by the media. In many media formats, the editor has full control and authority to modify your submission. That is the real challenge we face. I salute your enthusiasm but would suggest that at the very least, you get some more experience and perhaps team up with an experienced cacher or two in your area that can work with you on the article. Until you know in your heart what the answer to the questions you ask I'd avoid writing an article. Thanks! George

Thanks all! That did it. George

quote:Originally posted by oneeyesquare:Hotsync... Thanks! But that I think is where this newbie Palm user needs some help. Where do I place this file so that Hotsync knows to move it from my PC to the Palm? I thought that I needed to open it in the Palm desktop Memo Pad first but the Memo Pad import is looking for a MPA file. I suspect that I am missing something basic to using the Palm. Thanks, George

I was recently given a Palm III so decided to try CacheMate. CacheMate (registered) is running fine on the Palm, I have run the converter but am at a loss as to how I now get this PDB file into CacheMate on my Palm. Thanks! George

quote: I am driving to Madison from Chicago-Midway, and was wondering if anyone had a suggestion for an easy cache or two located very close to I-90 between Chicago and Madison. I am going to be with my wife who is only semi-tolerant of geocaching, and I can't "waste" a lot of time with it on the way. You might try Buxley's to help you search for caches along your route. I have done this on a couple of trips for the exact same reason as you. Enjoy the wedding. Perhaps there will be time between the wedding and reception to grab a few more? (I'm sorta kidding as I often cache in dress clothes) George

quote:Originally posted by Dan Edwards:I was walking down the street in downtown Fort Collins and noticed a guy with a interesting contraption in his hand. It was hand grip leading to a "T". On the left side at the end of the "T" was a Garmin (Vista?) with magnetic compass, in the middle in line with the handle was a digital camera, and on the left side was a Pocket PC (iPaq I think). Anyway the GPS was tied to the PocketPC and it would take the memory card from the camera and modify the JPEG's using the GPS log to compare to the time stored with the JPEG the camera wrote. Not only would it record the location of the photo, but it would also record the direction he was facing as well. I asked if he had tried Geocaching and he had thought about trying it, and then I asked if he knew Rick from Geospacial experts (since he is from Fort Collins) and he said that his script was a modified version of the script available there. I really wish I had more time to chat with him, should have gotten his name because that was one cool setup. Dan, That does sound cool! Based solely on my limited research on this subject, I suspect that what his set up allows him to do is to receive the NMEA data instead of the ASCII text I am receiving in my set up. That is why the Geospacial set up has a device between the GPSr and the camera. I suspect that is what the pocket PC is doing in this fellow s set up. That is also why I can not use the scripts written for the Geospacial set up. George

quote:Originally posted by Geneva940:I recently heard about geocaching and was thinking about getting into it. First I guess I have to buy a GPS unit. For a beginner what is the best type of unit to buy? Would like to stay in the $50-$150 range. In advance thanks for your help. Hey Geneva940, Welcome to Geocaching, neighbor! I used the eTrex basic yellow (about $120)for my first 150 or so caches and it worked fine. After winning third in a football playoff pool, I treated myself to an eTrex Legend. It really does no better in helping me find caches than the yellow but it does help me get to the general location with the maps. Now when my boys aren't caching with me, the yellow is hooked to my digital camera and I cache with the Vista. For caching, you'll be fine with most any unit. Personally, I think for the money, an eTrex Legend is a wonderful value. Let me know if you'd like to get together and go caching. Also, the Chicago area has a very friendly and helpful Geocaching community. Check out the ChiTown Cachers We recently had a picnic at Fabyan Forest Preserve and there are lots of caches within 5 miles of Geneva. George

quote:Originally posted by wiredcur:I know for certain that the DC290 works since that's the camera 'Dad and the Dynamic Duo' uses. I think he's messing with the script to get the watermark he's looking for. Update: Let me preface my post by stating that I am an accountant and have not done any programming to speak of since my Fortran class in college 20 years ago. I took some time over the weekend to play with the scripting starting with a modified script sent to me by wiredcur. My first field test was yesterday and I took this picture: I only wish that I had chosen either to use a solid background or a different color text. As it was getting dark, the black text is hard to read on top of the dark picture. The picture below shows the watermark a bit more clearly: If anyone is interested, I can send you a copy of the script. Please note that it uses a SubString function that works with Digita version 1.5 and above. For the Kodak line, that means it will only work with the DC290. George

quote:These will be 14 regular micros.They will be summitted for approval and logged just as any other micro. They will not be placed soley for this cache...I'm just hitching a ride you might say. The entire concept behind it is Team Work. It will give cachers a chance to get to know other cachers around the United States. I personally think it would be cool to work one on one with cachers in 14 different states. El Diablo, Haven't noticed anyone replying from the Chicago area. The boys and I would be happy to help - we'll even use your hiking sticks to get to the location of the hide! George

quote:Originally posted by SkyeMaloney:We always called them 'hitch hikers' Us too. Had to laugh late this last winter when our oldest invited a friend to go caching with us. We arrived to pick him up and his mom had him dress from head to toe in polar fleece. All was well until the last cache where he had picked up 100s of hitch hikers. I have used a fine toothed comb as well as one of those sweater pill removers with varying success on the hikers. quote:Originally posted by Prime Suspect:Duck tape (and yes, it's "duck" not "duct") is not a good idea, as it will leave a sticky residue. I always thought that the product was duct tape and that Duck tape is a brand of duct tape (and also the sponsor of Stuck at Prom.) George

quote:Does anyone else have pics of what they have worn while caching.....goofy or otherwise? This picture was taken at Near a Catalog Giant: I probably do half my solo caches in business attire - I even have a suit that I call my Geocaching suit which is nice enough to attend most meetings in but old enough that if I ruin it, it won't ruin my day. If I cache in business attire and find it to be a reasonable cache to do so, I will usually note on the log: 'This cache gets a Dad's business attire friendly thumbs up!' George [This message was edited by Dad and the Dynamic Duo on August 19, 2003 at 08:45 AM.]

quote:Originally posted by Paul Ag:You guys have to write this up. This has been on my list as well. You have to dumb it down for stupid people like me. You lost me on the combining scripts. SpongeRob, one of our local cachers, has built a nice website and is hosting my article on what I have accomplished so far. I suspect that I am more stupid than many on this list so the article is not very technical. It should be enough to get someone up and going. When it is all said and done, it is possible to do this for $100 with a used camera (not the DC 290 though) and making your own cable. George

Double post [This message was edited by Dad and the Dynamic Duo on August 15, 2003 at 04:22 AM.]

quote:Originally posted by TotemLake:There are a lot of opinions in these threads already about hiking staffs. You can't go wrong with the Home Depot route, but there are advantages to the collapsibles and there is an asthetic appeal to the beautiful handmade Geo-hiking staffs that El Diablo makes. When the boys expressed an interest in hiking staffs, I asked El Diablo to make one for each of my boys. It was a combination Christmas present and celebration of our first full year of caching. When George and I did Well I'll Be, he used his El Diablo staff while I used an old ski pole as we made our way across the river. Both worked perfectly...George just did it with more class than me. El Diablo's staffs are as much a piece of art as they are functional. George

quote: quoting Paul Ag:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- @030715113851N4147133W0882497g George -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Can this be changed or is this the way the coordinates look like? Possibly. The above format is essentially straight from the GPSr to the image. From poking around some of the scripts, it seems that you can write a file with the data to the CF rather than the image. Then you can pull the data from the CF in pieces, even manipulating it, and write it to the image. For example, one I saw did the the conversion from UTC to a more familiar format. I have not played with this too much, yet. My focus lately has been to build a simple rig to hold both the DC290 and the GPSr so that I can quickly assemble the pieces in the field and more easily manage the carrying of the hardware. I also wanted to be able to mount it on a tripod. I took some pictures of it last night and will drop off the film this morning for processing. I will post a couple scans in the next day or two. George

Mr. O wrote: quote: Wow that's pretty high tech. I've been looking at Kite Aerial Photography for a while now (I think I first saw a link to it somewhere on this board about a year ago), and it's amazing how involved some people get with it. It's kinda like Geocaching like that. I've been meaning to build a rig and give it a try, but I've just never gotten around to it. I really liked your house/barn pics on your page by the way. Thanks! KAP has taken a back seat to caching - primarily because my family can enjoy it with me too where KAP is harder to do as a family event and have all enjoy the experience. They're both kinda geeky cool. The big difference is that with caching we try to keep a low profile to avoid geomuggles. With kite flying, it is not unusual for me to draw a crowd. Though I do hang some unusual stuff from kites. Two weeks ago, we were with friends at the beach and I had only brought a mid-sized delta and no KAP gear. On of my friends broke his lawn chair so I put it on the line and sent it up. A chair 200 feet in the air tends to draw attention! Shoot me an e-mail if I can help in any way. I know of some great resources that could help you get a rig in the air. For example, here is a simple kit including the camera for $25USD. George

quote: Is there a way to hide the info? It's nice to have that information, but data burned into the photo bothers me. The script does prompt you to choose between having it burned to the image or simply saved as part of the picture. I don't know about what causes the loss of the data in a save but there may be a way to control that. I'll need to check that out tonight. George

quote: There is a user, who hit a cache on my watch list and i noticed he left a 45 cal. bullet as his signature item. I did e-mail the user and let them know that it CLEARLY states this in the FAQ [blockquote]Explosives, ammo, knives, drugs, and alcohol shouldn't be placed in a cache. Respect the local laws. All ages of people hide and seek caches, so use some thought before placing an item into a cache.[/blockquote] and i suggested that he remove the item from the cache, and not leave any more bullets. Not certain if this is the same cacher, but I was doing some caching in Michigan last week and came across this too. It is harmless! I know little to nothing of guns and ammo but it was the end that is not pointed, whatever that is called. It was a spent shell that posed no danger. I picked one up to add to my signature item collection. George

The Kane County Forest Preserve District is conducting a survey to help them in planning of our natural areas. Not only can you be entered in a drawing but you can help in the planning. I also took a moment to write a brief note of thanks for their great ploicy on Geocaching in the comments section. George

Well, how about this? I had the pleasure of meeting Olivier Humez when I attended (and proudly wore my Geocaching shirt) KAPiCA/02 in November of last year. It was an international gathering of folks who do low level aerial photography using a kite to lift the camera. Olivier won the technical award for his rig that not only had a video feed for aiming the rig but he also transmitted data about his digital camera and from his GPSr that was attached to his rig. It was amazing. Put my rigs to shame! George

quote: Let's recap a little. You're using a DC290 running the garm.csm script with an eTrex model GPSr, right? Yep, that's correct. I was pleased with this picture from my field test yesterday. quote: You could create another "t" variable and format that string of characters adding labels and such. You could also change the current "s" variable that receives the text from the GSPr to a "t" variable and get all of the simple text output from the GPSr. Okay, if you say so! I'm going to look at the SDK (1.5) when I get home and see if I can figure out what you're saying! So am not limited to 31 characters as the SDK says? Or maybe you're saying that I pull it in two pieces, write them to the card, assign labels to the components them write it to the image file? Be gentle with me. I have no formal programming experience! I am willing to learn though. George

quote: Cool! Now we can geo-stalk you. You've become your own cache! You better have good trinkets in your pocket when we find you, too. It has been so long since I fooled with this I forget what the string on the photo is supposed to look like. Can you change the GPS output to DDDMMSS instead of DDDMM.MMM and what does that do to the string on the photo? Oh, you must not have noticed me on your deck! Changing the units had no effect but I was able to use the watermark settings to change how the output is written to the image. In this case, I adjusted the position, made it transparent and used red text: Not necessarily the best choice but it does demonstrate how it can be controlled. George

quote: I'm should be getting a quote back from the Pfranc guy in Florida on a custom cable. A miniDIN-8 to an eTrex adapter. That would be great as I have 8 feet of cable, a null modem and gender changer all wrapped together. In the event anyone is interested, here is a picture with the Garmin.csm script: The PhotoGPS scripts are still not working as expected but seem to offer some flexibility that the Garmin script does not. George

I wrote this morning: quote: Splitting this into what I think are the components: @030715 113851 N4147133 W08824917 g I found this site which provides the skinny on my components. So it looks like it is coming over just fine. Not as pretty as I had hoped but pretty slick none the less. George

Okay, getting closer. I believe I was using the garmin.csm (will confirm tonight), the yellow eTrex with I/O set to text at 9600 baud. The watermark written to the image is: @030715113851N4147133W0882497g Splitting this into what I think are the components: @030715 113851 N4147133 W08824917 g which is: taken on 7/15/03 time? N41° 47.133 W088° 24.917 g? The date and coordinates are correct. If I am correct on the time, I don't understand the format. I have no idea what the "g" is. I would be pleased if I could make the time something meaningful, add some space betwen the pieces and eliminate the "g" (or at least understand what it means!) George