me_chris

My new eXplorist 500 gets here on Monday to replace my dead eXplorist 400 which died a horrible death while I was out caching one day. The cause of death? Swinging on a lanyard and smashing into my bike, shattering the screen. Lesson of the day: $24.99 for a bike mount is a lot less than the $160 I paid for my new GPSr... All told though, the paper/tape mount looks like it is working fairly well for you. Maybe a version 2.0 in the future made with sturdier materials? Edit for smileys...

Perhaps not so amazing afterall :-) I should pay closer attention to engaget...

Well, I would carry this, AND a GPSr... so I would always know where I am, but the SPOT unit phones home and tells my family where I am... OR emergency services where I am... If you go to the SPOT website and check out the coverage map, its purpose becomes clear... You can check in with family or call emergency services from just about ANYWHERE - even way off shore... Regardless of whether your cellphone works or not. Pretty sweet, and its actually affordable! :-)

Do I detect a bit of angst in this thread?

I would definitely be interested in a CB channel - though I'm not sure really how many people still use CB... I have a handheld Cobra CB lying around, but I never really use it since nobody else is on it. Not even truckers anymore for the most part... (At least in my experience)

Then there are also urban centers, parking lots (blech), the side of the road... etc... Basically anywhere that does not specifically forbid caches and that fits into the cache placement guidelines. Be creative :-)

Hmm... maybe I am slow to find out about these then :-)

Do we only hunt caches to be FTF? Or is there some worth in just finding it, regardless of whether or not you're the first to find it? You still got in a good hike right?

Never really "lost" something as in misplaced it... but I did lose my trusty Magellan eXplorist 400 in an unfortunate LCD-Screen related accident while hunting a cache that sadly and prematurely took its life...

1. How did you first hear about geocaching? Have always been interested in GPS navigation, and bought my first (extremely crappy) GPSr (A GPS plugin adapter for a Handspring Visor PDA) and was looking for ways to use it and stumbled on this site through a google search... I got hooked on geocaching, and now use a Magellan Explorist 500, but only after first buying a Garmin Geko, then upgrading to a Foretrex 201 (which I still use as my backup), then upgrading to an Explorist 400 which I used until it died a horrible death while caching (busted screen), then finally upgrading to an Explorist 500. Not I am in the process of buying an old Explorist 100 so that I can harvest the screen out of it to fix my Explorist 400 and use THAT as my backup instead of the ForeTrex 201. (Long answer.. Sorry) 2. Tell me about your first cache? My first cache was Happy Rock which I found with my PDA-Plugin setup which was only accurate down to about 50 feet. I later adopted that cache and it became the first cache I found, AND the first cache I owned... Sortof an I'm my own grandpa" type of thing.... 3. Have you had any bad/scary experiences caching? Had to abandon a search once after getting caught up in a FIELD of stinging nettles while wearing shorts... Then had to walk back out of the field to get to my bike. 4. What is the #1 reason you geocache? It combines the 3 things I love doing the most: Hiking, Photography, and playing with gadgets. 5. Do you prefer to hunt or hide? I love the hunt! But hiding is fun too - although I try to only hide "worthy" caches so my hide count isnt very high. 6. What was your favorite cache place? Why? Not sure if I have a favorite yet... only 30 found... 7. What was your worst cache? Why? So far, the nettles one... don't even really remember the name of it come to think of it - I never did find it... 8. Have you ever attened a cache event? Not yet - but I would like to if there is ever one in my area :-) 9. Tell me your best caching story? I would have to say that it was my first cache - just the thrill of looking for something that is hidden right under peoples noses but nobody knows about it - and the feeling of joining a somewhat "secret society" was great! :-) Hope this helps... I would really enjoy reading the paper once it's finished... if you wouldn't mind emailing it... irchriscdk @ yahoo.com :-)

First my disclaimer: No, I don't work for the company... I'm just a techie who loves any type of gadgety stuff and I thought I would share because I thought that these things are amazing... Anyway, here is a photo: No charger needed - they will recharge from any USB port... maybe something useful to keep 2 of these around in-case you need to recharge the GPSr but only have a laptop nearby... or even a stop in to any internet cafe could work... They are pricey: About $20 for a 2-pack of the AA size... but definitely very cool :-) Check out www.usbcell.com

I'm in the same boat - have an explorist 400 with broken lcd... very easy fix if you can find a new lcd anywhere... I have considered maybe getting an old explorist 100 off of ebay?

I babysit adults (if by adult you mean college freshmen aged 17-19)... Basically, try to keep them from burning the residence hall down, try to remind them that going to class every now and then is a good idea, and various other fun and exciting things like that... I work in University Housing at a certain school in southern illinois... :-)

I found my first geocache without a GPSr as well - shortly after that I realized how addictive this is (especially because of the whole secret society appeal) and I bought a Magellan :-)

Sadly, my Magellan Explorist 400 was killed in action a few days back while hunting This Cache - There's a photo and such if anyone wants to see it... I would say it lived about... 9 months... I am waiting on a new Foretrex 201 to arrive, which I will use until I can save enough to afford an Explorist 600... or a Garmin 60csx, I havent decided yet... My car system, a Nav-Cam 7000 is about a week old. I do not know if I will keep it though, the Nav-Cam's address routing is very inaccurate - I am actually surprised that they would sell a product like this...

No geocaching bag here - I travel light, usually by bike if I can... So: GPSr (used to be an Explorist 400 bit it was recently killed in action, so I am currently using a Foretrex 201) Camera (ultra-compact Kodak v603) Camelbak for hydration (usually with a granola bar in its pouch) Palm Treo 650 cellphone/pda for paperless caching That's it... It seems like I travel very light, but it is still expensive for such a small amount of gear: Foretrex 201: $104 Kodak v603: $250 Camelbak: $35 (a brand name one, "Classic" model - got on sale at Dick's sporting Goods) Treo 650: $300 --------------------- TOTAL: $689 A bit shocking when I add it all up! :-)

Hmm... this is true... Maybe the compliment department can catch up?

We all have plenty of complaints... I have my fair share... BUT - what do you LOVE about geocaching/geocachers/life in general?

No angst or advice or question or anything really in this thread - just a thought I had today... - Earlier today, I found myself hot gluing wood chips to a 35mm film canister... - Yesterday, I got WAY too excited about buying a lock-n-lock... - Most of the time, I obsess about finding/hiding otherwise worthless junk... - I walk around all the time looking for hiding spots... - I spend long amounts of time walking in circles in the woods staring at a tiny LCD screen mumbling "darn tree cover... my accuracy is only 67 feet!" Anybody else out there with some psychology experience think that Geocaching should be officially listed in the DSM-IV TR? (For the non-psych people, that is: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Edition 4, Revised Text - used for diagnosing mental illness...) Just a thought... :-D

Ha! I havent come across any exploding caches yet... I will have to remember to wear my flak jacket when I go caching... :-)

I am probably going to go with a travelbug unless somebody has any other really cool ideas... As far as the insanity of connecting a flash drive to your computer is concerned - While I am aware that the proliferation of viruses, especially on Windows PCs is a very real threat, I believe that it is insane to own a computer and NOT have it protected with antivirus software. I should hope that fellow geocachers are competent enough to understand how to protect themselves from computer viruses.

looking good!

Hmm... that makes me sad. Perhaps a travelbug then... ? That may be fun as well... Come one, someone help me out there... how can I use this old flash drive for geocaching?

Hmm, maybe a travelbug - The flash drive in question is a 128mb one that I no longer have a use for since upgrading to a 2-gig... Ok. So, if not a log, then how about something like a "photocache" where there is a traditional logbook, and a flash drive, and people are encouraged to bring a laptop and load a photo of themselves onto the flash drive so that subsequent finders can browse through the photos and add their own?

I am thinking about hiding a cache that would just be a drive-up micro, but instead of a paper log it would contain a small USB flash drive. The finder would have to have a laptop in the car, and would plug in the flash drive, maybe solve a quick puzzle or something, and then type in their name to add to a digital log. Really the only advantages would be the novelty, and the ability to include some type of neat computerized puzzle. What do you all think? Is it too much to require a laptop? Or would this be an interesting and unique cache idea? Let me know! :-) Thanks!