mrp

I think you may be misinterpreting the display. When WAAS is on, the last one or two slots are dedicated to WAAS satellites (numbers greater than 32, usually 35 and 42 in the western US). However, how many satellites appear on that page with WAAS on or off depends on how many are above the horizon for your location at that time. This can change relatively quickly. It could be that there were just 8 "normal" gps sats visible when you tried your WAAS test, but 12 when you turned WAAS off. Either way, I've never seen the causal relationship you describe. There is a cool faq over at Joe Mehaffey's site. -- Mitch [This message was edited by Pneumatic on June 20, 2002 at 11:21 AM.]

Well, first thing is to figure out which cache it is. If it had a name on the container, on on the logbook inside, then that would tell you. Otherwise, try using the search page to find caches near where you are. Once you know which cache it is, go to that cache page, and log a "find" tagged as "this cache should be archived" and explain why you removed the cache. You can also send email to the cache owner from that page. The cache owner can archive it, or one of the site-admins will check it because of the log, and they will archive it. If these instructions aren't detailed enough, then come back and we'll be glad to help. [update: Oops.. I misread the problem.. it's the owner who had to remove it.. yeah.. follow Markwell's advice] -- Mitch

quote:Originally posted by fizzymagic: But I live near you, and I rarely have any trouble locking on the WAAS satellites around here. Yeah.. I think we discussed this in an email thread about Magic Trig. I think the the difference is the Antennas of our respective units. My little etrex legend has a patch antenna, which is much less sensitive than the quad antenna on your unit. Probably doesn't make that much difference for satellites with with clear skys and low hour-angles (astronomy term), but under tree cover or when low in the sky (high hour angle), it probably makes the difference. But since this question was about a vista (basically the same setup as the legend, for our purposes), I stand by my assertion that it's not much use here, at least with the legend/vista/venture line. Owners of WAAS enabled Magellans and those Garmins with quad antennas probably have much better luck. I like the look of the new SportTrak series, though it sound like they've taken the lawyer screen to extreme lengths. -- Mitch

ClayJar gives a very ballanced overview of your options, but I want to make one small correction. quote:Originally posted by ClayJar: The other option is to purchase a Garmin GPS V. That'll run you about double your range (plus software, etc), but it *will* do automatic turn-by-turn directions. The price of the Garmin GPS V includes the software and an unlock code for one "region" of the US (or Europe in that market). There is a new version of the GPS V coming out (called Deluxe) that has unlock codes for all of the US (or Europe).

The best definition I've heard is still: It's all fun 'n games until sombody gets hurt.. and then it's a sport!

My understanding is that the battery drain associated with WAAS is pretty small, and won't greatly affect battery life. However, the bigger issue for me is that here in northern Califonia, the geometry of the two visible WAAS satellites is such that I can slmost never get a lock, and leaving WAAS on means that two slots of my 12 channel receiver are always dedcated to satellines that I can't get, pushing out two other satellines that I might be able to receive if I had WAAS turned off. So.. unless I am in a location with exceptionally good southwesterly views and I really need the differential corrections that WAAS provides, I leave it turned off. -- Mitch

There's a lot of jargon thown around, but try not to be intimidated by it. On the main page, there is a link called about geocaching, and if you follow that, then the first thing on that page is the FAQ. (Frequenly Asked Questions list) This has some of the information you are looking for, and there is other information scattered around the site, such as the different types of caches available, and different ways to search for information about caches near you, or near where you are going. The ratings are split into two values: Difficulty and Terrain, and are usually expressed in that order. There is a system of determining about what these values should be, but it's usually only loosely followed. Terrain is a measure of how hard the place is to get to. The scale is supposed to extend from 1 star (handicaped accessible, less than 1/4 mile walk), to 5 stars (extermely long, multi-day hikes or requiring special equipment like boats, climbing gear or scuba diving). 3 stars is supposed to repeset an easy to moderately challanging hike for a normal adult or older child. 2 is supposed to be accessible to small children and those with some mobility problems. However, there are quite a few people who mark anything less than a 1 mile hike a 1 star for terrain, regardless of whether it's handicapped accessible. The difficulting rating is more nebulous. It's a measure of how hard the cache is to find once you actually get to the location, with 1 star being in plain sight, and 5 stars representing a considerable amount of searching, puzzle solving, or intuition required. My advice, use the ZIP code locator to find a cache near home that looks moderately easy, and give a shot at finding it. If you get stuck, post a most specific question here, and we'll help you along. Alternatively, you could post a note in the appropriate regional forum asking if you could tag along on somebody else's hunt. I've introduced several friends to the sport this way. Part of the reason that the FAQ isn't more comprehensive is that it has trouble keeping up with the evolution of the sport. Locationless caches, Webcam Caches, and Travel Bugs are all things introduced to the game within the last year. -- Mitch

This really is Pneumatic... with one last test.... or so i hope. -- Mitch

This really is Pneumatic... with one last test.... or so i hope. -- Mitch

Thanks.. although seeing these posts was a little like becoming the star of "Being John Malkovich" [] -- Mitch

Thanks.. although seeing these posts was a little like becoming the star of "Being John Malkovich" [] -- Mitch

It works. Once you change your title, use the logout in the forums to log yourself out. Then login on the geocaching.com site and check the box that also logs you into the forums. That should change the text. Jeremy (as Pneumatic)

I'm not Pneumatic but I play him on tv. Just checking to see if I can fix this. Jeremy

As much as I like my Legend, it seems that Garmin may have some manufacturing issues. While I have never had a problem with the stick, I've had other problems that seemed to recurr on a specific unit, maybe due to a flaw in the manufacturing process. My first legend had a problem where the rubber seal around the edge kept coming unglued, which compromised the waterproofness, and also meant that the buttons along the side didn't line up with the holes in the plastic underneath either, making certain buttons very difficult to use (zoom in particularly.) I sent it in for repair, and while the repair was quick and well done, the problem recurred a few months later. When I sent it in the second time, i had another problem which necessitated the replacement of the entire unit*. Since they sent me a new one, it hasn't been a problem. (fingers crossed). -- Mitch * They sent me a replacement unit that had obviously been another product return. Although they loaded my waypoints and routes into it, they hadn't cleared the unit since it had been returned, and it had several "other" waypoints, and until I deleted them, I could have told you exactly where the other person lived (in Illinois, near chicago), since the first thing he did was mark a waypoint called "001".

So.. I went ahead and ponied up the money for a membership, and went and uploaded an image for my avatar, and changed my title to something other than "geocacher". But, after waiting 4-5 days, my avatar doesn't show up in the forums, and I am still labeled as a "geocacher". While this isn't a big deal, I would love to get this stuff working. Any ideas? -- Mitch

quote:Originally posted by SuperGenius: I ... was wondering if I would be able to take an amo can on the plane. While you might get away with it, I wouldn't take the risk of making airport personell nervous. It shouldn't be too difficult to find a military surplus store in the area, and buy one there. The only disadvantage I can see is that you probably wouldn't have an opportunity to paint it or prepare it much. You could probably get away with just slapping a geocaching sticker on the can. I've seen a lot with exactly that level of preparation, and they seem to work fine. -- Mitch

There is another very good reason not to use geosnychronous orbits for navigation satellites... it leaves a large part of the earth without coverage. "How can that be?" I hear you ask? Well, the footprint (the area on the ground that can "see" a satellite) of a satellite in geosynchronus orbit doesn't extend form pole-to-pole. I would have to redo the calculation to know the exact answer, I believe it only extends from about 60d South ot 60d north. This isn't a huge issue with most geosynch. sats because not many direct-TV users live that far north or south, but there is a lot of navigation users up there.. from airline flights that take great circle routes from SF to London or Tokyo or fishing fleets in the waters off Alaska or Greenland. Also, as others have pointed out, if all the sats line up in a line, then you lose one hemisphere of information. And while a string of geosynch sats don't quite make a line here in the northern hemisphere (it's a gentle curve actually), it's close enough to cause a serious DOP (dilution of position). However, the WAAS sats are in geosynch orbits, but they're not used for positional information directly. -- Mitch

I use Delorme Street Atlas 9 with an etrex basic and an etrex legend. SA9 seems to speak the native garmin protocol, and that is surprising since even the Garmin MasSource program seems to need the NMEA interface setting for live tracking. Anyway, it can take SA 9 a little while to recognize the unit and get lock (5 minutes or so), but after that it works fine.... well.. I still don't like its routing choices, and there are a lot of errors in the maps that I wish I could correct, but the communication between the GPSr and the software seems to work okay. -- Mitch of team Pneumatic

When I try to upload a photo of my latest non-find, I get the following error: ImageGlue5.Canvas.1 (0x80004005) Your license has expired /mark/upload/imageupload.asp, line 202 -- Mitch

Two things to keep in mind. Most places on geoccaching.com you can only uplaod files of 100k or smaller. (I try to keep mine less than 50k.) There are two ways to doing this using jpegs. First is to reduce the size of the image, say from 640x480 to 320x240, or maybe even 160x120 (judicious cropping of the pictures also helps.) The other technique is to reduce the quality of the picture. Most image manipulation packages will allow you to adjust the quality of the resulting image. The other thing to keep in mind is that it may take a considerable amount of time to upload the picture if your upstream bandwidth is small. If you have a 56K modem, then your upstream bandwidth is still only 33kbps, and at that speed it can take 30 seconds or more to upload a 100kbyte picture. If neither of these tips are helping, maybe it's your browser. What browswer/platform are you using? -- Mitch

quote:Originally posted by Team Dralasites: Now, it would be good if someone can get us the coordinates to the picnic area at Shadow Cliffs so we can update the cache page. I haven't gone there personally, but this should get people in the general vicinity: N 37 40.158 W 121 50.505 I've pulled these numbers from aeiral photos within expertgps. It's the center of what appears to be the picnic area. If somebody could go and double check them soon that would be cool. -- Mitch [This message was edited by Pneumatic on June 13, 2002 at 03:56 PM.]

quote:Originally posted by Team Dralasites: Now, it would be good if someone can get us the coordinates to the picnic area at Shadow Cliffs so we can update the cache page. I haven't gone there personally, but this should get people in the general vicinity: N 37 40.158 W 121 50.505 I've pulled these numbers from aeiral photos within expertgps. It's the center of what appears to be the picnic area. If somebody could go and double check them soon that would be cool. -- Mitch [This message was edited by Pneumatic on June 13, 2002 at 03:56 PM.]

I recenetly had to have my legend replaced, and the replacement unit from the factory didn't even cause my install of Mapsource to hiccup. Maybe they transfered the electronic ID, but I doubt it. There *may* be such a limitation on the GPS V, but I don't have any direct knowledge of it. -- Mitch

It downloads the time from the satellites, that's the way GPS works after all, by comparing the time signals of satellites for which it knows the orbits. I had this problem when I first got my legend. The problem is (apparently) that when the almanac was downloaded from the satellites it got corrupted, and that causes a date offset. The almanac won't expire for something like 6 months, so until then, you will have the problem. What you need to do is a master reset on the unit, and that will force it to download the almanac again. However, you will lose all stored waypoints, tracks, routes, etc. (Strangely, you don't lose loaded maps). You can read garmin's FAQ on it here: http://www.garmin.com/support/faqs/60.html -- Mitch

It downloads the time from the satellites, that's the way GPS works after all, by comparing the time signals of satellites for which it knows the orbits. I had this problem when I first got my legend. The problem is (apparently) that when the almanac was downloaded from the satellites it got corrupted, and that causes a date offset. The almanac won't expire for something like 6 months, so until then, you will have the problem. What you need to do is a master reset on the unit, and that will force it to download the almanac again. However, you will lose all stored waypoints, tracks, routes, etc. (Strangely, you don't lose loaded maps). You can read garmin's FAQ on it here: http://www.garmin.com/support/faqs/60.html -- Mitch