B&J

I'll take it for $30 (including shipping). Email me with payment details. Thanks, Bob Hench bhench@att.net

I'm not sure what to suggest. I have never had the "found" property work when I use the pointer to choose the cache and mark it. I've gotten into the habit of hitting menu from the map screen and running through the Geocache list to choose and mark the cache found. This has worked consistently for me. I hope you find a solution. Bob

I haven't had this problem with my XL. When you turn the unit off, are you sure you're only briefly pushing the power button? It should go through the countdown and then say "Saving Data". If you hold it too long it will reset the unit and I don't think the changes will be saved. Bob

Today we were looking for a cache when my Meridian Gold suddenly displayed that we were 150' from the proper location. This after previously and consistently displaying that we were within 10' of the cache. No matter what I did - re-initializing the unit - removing the batteries and memory card, etc. would ever get us close to the same location. We did search where the GPS was now indicating but it was out of the way and didn't fit any of the clues. The tree cover in this location is minimal and we were at an elevation of slightly over 2000'. We stayed in the area for an additional 30 minutes while I tried all sort of things to re-establish the correct readings but without success. When we finally returned to the car, the coordinates that I had entered for the parking area now indicated that we were about 150' away from where we should be - this would have put us on a very steep face of the mountain. We double checked all of the coordinates and confirmed that I had entered them correctly. On the drive home the unit seemed to be off at first but finally settled down and seemed to track the highway just fine. This is the first time that something like this has happened to me with this unit. Any ideas or suggestions not involving exorcism or the need to bury a dead chicken under an oak tree at midnight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks - Bob Hench

When I describe Geocaching to the outside world (those who haven't played the game), one of the most common responses I get is, 'Well, if you have the coordinates, where's the challenge?' I've noticed that this perception also seems to shared by some of the newer participants who log comments like, 'your coordinates seem to be off by 30 feet.' I have typically withheld comments of this sort unless I find the distances pushing 100 feet or more. Am I expecting too little - are they expecting too much? I know that there have been times when I have laid my GPS on top of a new cache that I'm placing, let it sit there for 20 minutes averaging with a WAAS lock, and still find variations when I return to the site later. My assumption has always been that when my GPS says I'm reasonably close, it's time to search! What guidelines do you use when reporting variations in the coordinates to cache owners? Thanks - Bob

My wife not only enjoys caching with me, she doesn't want me to go without her. Her instincts have proven to be very good and she has climbed into some areas where I don't fit to retrieve a cache. Bob

quote:Originally posted by wcgreen: You forgot meteors, earthquakes, and giant mutant squirrels--unless you promise that I'm safe against them, I'm not going anywhere near your cache. Okay, the meteors and earthquakes are now in the ammended statement. The giant mutant squirrels, however, is one of those local things that have been discussed here that make ratings different. You see, we live about 15 miles from TMI...

I swear and attest to the following: When I placed this cache there were no obvious plants of the ‘poisonous’ variety. There were no briars or, if there were briars, it was not necessary to go through them to get to the cache. It was not raining at the time that I placed this cache but it is possible that it may rain at this location at some time in the future. I acknowledge that the presence of rain may make the ground soft and the rocks slippery. On the day that I placed this cache the air temperature was in the low 70’s and the sky was slightly overcast. Increasing the air temperature and/or decreasing the cloud cover could result in less comfortable conditions for the search. Likewise lowering the air temperature might result in the formation of ice and/or snow and might also make the ground very hard. I have also noted the presence of gravity at this location, which may make any climbing more difficult and stumbling a possibility. I noted no wildlife in the area but am fairly certain that some does exist. It is therefore possible that you might be bitten, stung, mauled, chased, chewed upon, killed, or inconvenienced in some way. I saw no source of potable water at the cache location so thirst is also a possibility. You may also assume that no source of food exists so hunger could also result (attempting to eat any indigenous plant or animal life is done at your own risk). I further attest that I did survive the ordeal of placing the cache and am able to swear to this statement without the need for assistance from medical personnel or life support equipment of any kind.

Waterboy, I appreciate your concern for the environment and I have certainly seen grafitti-ridden areas that are a blight on the land, but I'm not sure that this example is quite as bad as you make it sound. As I understand it, the painted numbers are 3 to 4 inches high on a rock and meant to show the point at which you should leave the trail. While this may be larger or more specific than a trail blaze, I believe it was created for the same purpose. With all of the concern that has been expressed about creating new trails through bushwhacking, this would seem to be a means of limiting such potential damage. I would also suggest that it is much less intrusive than the painted arrows I have seen on the ground, rocks and trees to denote a mountain bike course - some of these markings are still visible after a year or more. While I have not spoken to the cache owners about this, I have to believe that their motives were innocent. Just my opinion... Bob

I was also getting tired of carrying my Meridian in my hand and really wanted a belt clip like I have on my MAP330. So I bought a second swivel dashboard mount and a belt clip case for a Motorola phone. I threw out the swivel base and cut away the mounting points on the back of the plastic support that holds the Meridian. I removed the belt clip from the Motorola case (and threw away what was left of the case) and then epoxied (is that a word?) the belt clip to the back of the support. I still have the button on the top to release the unit when I want to hold it but I've found that it's just as easy to grab and hold the whole unit - clip and all. So far I'm very pleased with this solution. If anyone in interested in seeing some pictures of my creation, email me at bhench@worldnet.att.net Bob