nincehelser

Ditto to that! My first GPS didn't have mapping. I didn't think I needed it. Then I bought a mapping GPS for non-mapping reasons. I then discovered that having maps is really, really nice, and I don't ever want to go back. Even the base maps in the units are very useful. George

I'm actually seeing four different view points, which makes things more difficult. Some of us seem to have some combination of these points. A: Not asking permission is a philosophical expression of freedom B: Not asking permission is a pragmatic tactic to keep a caches from being removed or denied C: Asking permission is a pragmatic tactic to keep caches from being being banned or removed D: Asking permission is a philosophical expression of the politeness and conforming to established rules and policies George

See http://www.usageocoins.com and http://www.txgeocoins.com for a couple of examples. There are also some for Canada and I think maybe California. Those are those are the general geocoins most people see. They have serial numbers and can be tracked kind of like travel bugs. In the case of usageocoins, they really are treated as travel bugs on this site. Those with the money have similar coins custom minted. They usually aren't serialized and are meant more as a gift for the finder rather than to travel. The coolest custom geocoin I've found was done by user "Waypoint 15". I'm not sure what it cost him, but it's a really nice bronze coin with a howling wolf on the front, and the geocache symbol on the back, in color! George

So THAT's why I haven't had any in my wallet lately! Personally, I've found them hard to break at the local convience store. George

Custom "Casino"-type chips have also been mentioned as an inexpensive sig item that can be personalized. I hear they're made of some kind of clay, and can be painted with bright colors. However, I've yet to find a customized wooden coin or clay chip myself. Seems like a good idea, though. I'm suprised I haven't seen one. George

Well, they might not have "official" power, but they may wield a lot of influence. For example, I have had many jobs where I did not have the "official" power to make big purchasing decisions, but the people above me wouldn't make a move unless I thought it was a good idea. Of course, it can also work the other way. I've experienced that, too. Policy is often dictated from above, but it can also often be driven from below. Much depends on the particular individuals involved. George

Another thing might be to check into those business cards that are directly printed on a magnet. That solves the water-proof issue, and many people are attracted to the idea of collecting magnets. They're fun and useful for posting the kid's artwork to the 'fridge. Not sure how much it would cost, though. You could also get the magnetic backings that go on the back of traditional paper business cards. Those aren't expensive at all, and would probably promote collecting. George

Another tactic might be to organize a CITO event, and make sure the land managers know what is going on so it is properly recognized. This would establish a positive image of geocaching in their mind, and make them more likely to accept geocaches in their area, both existing and future. They'd probably think twice before banning an activity occasionally gets them a volunteer clean-up crew. George

But just think of it $250 Million TAX FREE! Isn't that worth a trip to Iraq? Actually, I think there are 6 or 7 caches in Iraq now. Isn't it worth getting your find count up, alone? George

Some folks make sig stickers or stamps they put in the log book. I've never been a real fan of the cards sig items. The have a tendency to get damp and mildewy. Not that the log book doesn't do that at times, too, but sig cards tend to be worse. I'd consider laminating them. That might help. Also, many people print them with their ink-jets, and those inks don't always stand up real well to moisture. I think the best sig items are the metal personal geocoins, but those, of course, run into some serious money. George

I'd say I being trying for that one. I can't see why it wouldn't get listed here, but I bet the FTF will go to some US military person already stationed there. I think the biggest problem might be how to get that much cash out of the country. George

I've seen few caches that are really cool, but for some reason don't get many visits and it is a total mystery. They aren't that hard. They aren't that remote. They aren't that difficult. They just don't get many vists. Sometimes the owner goes ahead and moves the cache a bit, and then all of a sudden traffic picks up. I guess it's the "Location, Location, Location" thing a sometimes a bit of luck. George

I don't see any ethical requirement to tip off the land manager to the existance of other caches in his domain. I guess it's a matter of discretion and tact...you may have to plan your sell job so damage is minimized if things don't go well. I mean, if you're going to ask if it is OK to place a geocache, I'd avoid using the pre-existance of other caches in that particular park as a reason he should allow it. If you direct him to the site and he finds a bunch of other caches that he didn't know about, yet were placed under his nose, it just might put him on the defensive. Of course, he might find out about these other caches in the course of his own research (if he actually dose any), but that's just a risk you'll have to take. Don't "rat out" the others unnecessarily. Carefully feed him information over time, and let him warm up to the concept. Obviously, how you sell it is going to vary from person to person. Like I said, I'm no salesman, but I know they have techniques to size up who their dealing with, and adjust their selling tactics accordingly to get to a positive outcome. One particular geocacher in the area may excel at this sort of thing ( say a used car salesman , and maybe they should lead the initial selling phase. Once a positive climate is established, then the existance of other caches may not be such a big deal. George

That software sounds awfully restrictive I'm gathering that it only accepts degrees in decimel so you're going to have to do a little math to get the conversion. Example: 37 degrees 46.009 minutes. You need to convert the 46.009 from minutes into a fraction of a degree, or (46.009 / 60) which is 0.7668 or so. Add that to the 37 to arrive at 37.7668 for the software. The reason you can't just simply put in a decimal point is that there are only 60 minutes in a degree, not 100. This is one of the areas where Metric never really caught fire. George

How about an audio beacon emitting the call of an unusual bird for the area? It would drive birders insane, but you'd have to be careful that it's not a call that would disturb local wildife. Or maybe a cricket or frog sound. You could post an audio file of the sound to let people know exactly what to listen for. You could integrate the photo cell light mentioned above to make it a night only cache (or day cache). You could probably scavange the necessary electronics for the motion sensor from one of those singing fish or dancing flower novelties. I was just given a motion-activated singing Santa that was less than $10 at a discount store. George

Oh, it would be a night-only cache. The timer circuit I am thinking about would force the system off in the daytime. In other words, if it stays bright for too long (like in the day) it will shut itself down until it "sees" some period of darkness. George

Yes. It typically deserves a terrain rating of 5 because a boat is special equipment for a lot of us. Island caches don't get as many visits for this reason. They're fun, but if you're looking for lots of traffic for your cache, this isn't the way to go. George

A Christmas Wish: That Garmin would offer a nice rebate to anyone buying two or more Rinos...one for themselves, and the other as a gift for a friend. George

Everyone take deep breath....... Jimmy, for what it's worth, I didn't see anything wrong with your note, and believe it was productive. The rest of this is note directed to everyone in general. I think that we're all getting a little punchy, and some of the things we're feeling and saying are not what would we typically express in calmer times. Be it fatigue, confusion, or just plain getting burned out, I don't know, but it's too hot in here. In other words, we're all getting a little too carried away, and we all need to stand down and re-integrate ourselves. I think everyone here wants to see geocaching succeed in the long run, and we should keep that in mind, and not get huffy with each other over mis-understandings and minor differences. I'm as guilty as anyone, and I pledge to strive for the sentiments I preach. Can we all come in with fresh minds in the morning? George

I'd hazard a guess that solar cells and flashlight would have a hard time powering a laser. I'd use batteries, a photo-cell and timing circuit (to preserve battery life). A motion sensor scenario might work. George

With the current climate for virtuals, I would hazard a guess that it wouldn't be approved. It would probably have to be a very unique and unusual grave site to be approved. However, there are several existing virtuals that are grave markers. These were grandfathered from before the policy changes. Virtuals are kind of a touchy subject around here, so be careful. Permission in general seems to be a hot issue, too. I think the site rules are pretty clear. In any event, requesting permission in a cemetary is probably the most respectable course of action. I'd be really suprised if someone would invoke the "Frisbee Rule". Just my opinion. George

I was under the impression that the Garmin's mixed the two types, at least at one time. One of the firmware updates seemed to indicate there were times when the GPS wouldn't pick up the best scenario...i.e. is a WAAS-corrected sat in a poor geometry better or worse than a non-WAAS sat in good geometry? I've no idea how the unit goes about it's decision making. It sounds pretty complex. George

Once with my eTrex on the dash, I noticed it was reflecting in the windshield....like a "heads up" display. Of course, the image was reversed, and conditions had to be "just right", but it made me wish for a GPS purposely designed for "heads up" display. It would probably be a battery eater, though George

That is true. Many claim the typical FRS units have much cleaner audio. Some of that is probably due to the microphone in the Rino, which was designed to meet the tradtional GPS waterproof-ness standard. Reports are that the hands-free headset improves this issue. Then there's the case of position reporting. You can only get that with the Rino solution. I guess something to consider is if anyone else you'll be with has a Rino. The position reporting feature doesn't shine with single unit. George

Perhaps, but I'm not going there again! Seriously, in the same vein it might be a good idea to wear something that promotes the positive side, like CITO, when going to see the manager. It sure wouldn't hurt. Of course, if you're really bent on getting arrested, I guess the "not a crime" shirt would be appropriate. George