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Hey there! Check out our site http://www.ggaonline.org for info about our group...we get together once a month and briefly talk about issues facing Geocaching in our area like parks that prohibit the activity and how we can change that, then we spend the majority of our time socializing and we try to have a couple of gues speakers talk about all sorts of things. We have had first aid demonstrations, snake presentations (with 20 live snakes!), demonstrations on how to create a cache, etc. They ARE a lot of fun, and can be helpful in prmoting and stimulating Geocaching in your area. Please let us know if our group can be of any assistance in helping you set up a similar group. Geo http://www.geopolitan.net/geotrex

quote:Originally posted by celts:If ONLY he could talk Speaking of talking, I must confess that everytime I see this thread listed in the forums, I swear it says "Talking Dogs on the cache search." Man, I've got to lay off the caffeine. ------------------ Jon (Moun10Bike) 31H/124F N 47° 36.649', W 122° 3.616' www.switchbacks.com/geocaching.html

quote:Originally posted by celts:If ONLY he could talk Speaking of talking, I must confess that everytime I see this thread listed in the forums, I swear it says "Talking Dogs on the cache search." Man, I've got to lay off the caffeine. ------------------ Jon (Moun10Bike) 31H/124F N 47° 36.649', W 122° 3.616' www.switchbacks.com/geocaching.html

I tell you what, fly me up there, and I'll let you play with both a MAP 330 and a Meridian Gold for a few days. (I've got a friend about to spring for a Meridian GPS... I was going to sell him my 330, but since we're both geeks, I couldn't help but talk him into buying an even better receiver. )

I tell you what, fly me up there, and I'll let you play with both a MAP 330 and a Meridian Gold for a few days. (I've got a friend about to spring for a Meridian GPS... I was going to sell him my 330, but since we're both geeks, I couldn't help but talk him into buying an even better receiver. )

Perhaps I need to re-think that talking thing, 'cause if he could talk, that would totally end the peace and quiet in the woods. I'm sure it would go something like this: Oh boy,oh boy,oh boy--I get to go bye-bye in the car. The cats can't go-hahahahaha!They never get to go. Wait--we passed the vet's office, goody goody goody --we aren't going to the vet!!!Can I sit in the front seat?--I want to sit on your lap. Where are we going, are we there yet? I don't want to wear this thing on my back--take it off or I'll take it off myself and rip it into tiny shreads--I don't CARE how much it cost or if it looks good against my coat!!Get it OFF. Where are we going? Oh boy-we're getting out of the car--look, there's a squirrel. I didn't mean to tangle my leash around that tree. Get up--you aren't hurt--it was just a small hill. A little mud never hurt anyone. No--I don't WANT to go home--we've only been looking for 2 hours. I know I can help you find it. Maybe it's in THAT log over THERE....

quote:Originally posted by Markwell:Are you sure he didn't need to go for walkies? If ONLY he could talk---'cause you sure can't tell from his expressions!!

quote:Originally posted by Markwell:Are you sure he didn't need to go for walkies? If ONLY he could talk---'cause you sure can't tell from his expressions!!

Dave, as another member (and Steering Committee member) of the GGA, I'll add my thoughts to what Greg has said. I was not involved with geocaching when the club was formed. I heard about it in a TV segment and came to my first meeting before I even had my GPS in hand. This was the club's second meeting. Here's how to start: (1) schedule a meeting, (2) publicize the hell out of it, and (3) people will come. If they like it, (1) they will come back, and (2) they will tell other people, who in turn will come. So... NUMBER ONE, plan a meeting. Pick a date at least a month away. Pick a spot that has some intrensic value beyond geocaching. A park, a river, etc. Pick a place that people would bring their families and kids to, so that you can cast it as a "family friendly" event. Pick a place that has caches nearby (our Nov mtg has 40+ caches within 20 miles) and/or arrange to have some caches placed near the meeting site (for our Oct mtg in a more rural area, a member who lives near the park put out four new caches in conjunction with the meeting). All you really need is a pavilion (in case of rain). Try to get one for free; if you can't, pass the hat at the meeting. Plan SOMETHING to do at the meeting. Read the event cache listing for other groups, including ours, and plagarize their ideas. An easy one would be a group cache... you buy an ammo can and ask everybody to bring a nice trade goods item. Somebody places the cache, and the rest of you have a new cache to seek. Food is good... have a cookout before, after or as part of the meeting. If you are at a park where there is something historic or scenic, ask the Park Ranger to speak and/or give a tour. Ask a local sporting goods store to send a rep to talk about something. Have tutorials on map reading, compass useage, first aid, etc. Our biggest draw to date was the snake lady, who brought about 20 live snakes to show off. NUMBER TWO, publicize the hell out of the meeting. Use multiple channels of communication: geocaching.com, this forum, e-mail, web page, flyers/business cards, etc. List it as an event cache on geocaching.com. Post a link to the event cache in this forum with a descriptive subject line, like we do. Create a website/webpage. You can do this for free at www.tripod.com. This is our first, unofficial webpage that I created in about a half-hour: http://gageocaching.tripod.com Note that the page publicizes (1) the meetings and (2) the channels of communication that you have established. Use e-mail. Start by creating a two paragraph or so summary of what you hope to create. Include your webpage URL and a link to your next meeting event cache listing. On geocaching.com, find caches in your area, look at the log of who has visited, and use the e-mail link to send this e-mail to everybody who has found a cache in your area. Use cut-and-paste so you don't have to retype the message. Keep a log of who you have e-mailed to so you don't send duplicate messages. In five minutes you can e-mail 10 people. The next day, email 10 more, etc. Create a signature line in this forum, like mine below, with the URL to your webpage. I don't know how long a message can be, so I will continue in the next one.... ------------------ Interested in Geocaching in the state of Georgia? Visit the Georgia Geocachers Association at http://www.ggaonline.org [This message has been edited by BigDoggie (edited 25 October 2001).]

b's second meeting. Here's how to start: (1) schedule a meeting, (2) publicize the hell out of it, and (3) people will come. If they like it, (1) they will come back, and (2) they will tell other people, who in turn will come. So... NUMBER ONE, plan a meeting. Pick a date at least a month away. Pick a spot that has some intrensic value beyond geocaching. A park, a river, etc. Pick a place that people would bring their families and kids to, so that you can cast it as a "family friendly" event. Pick a place that has caches nearby (our Nov mtg has 40+ caches within 20 miles) and/or arrange to have some caches placed near the meeting site (for our Oct mtg in a more rural area, a member who lives near the park put out four new caches in conjunction with the meeting). All you really need is a pavilion (in case of rain). Try to get one for free; if you can't, pass the hat at the meeting. Plan SOMETHING to do at the meeting. Read the event cache listing for other groups, including ours, and plagarize their ideas. An easy one would be a group cache... you buy an ammo can and ask everybody to bring a nice trade goods item. Somebody places the cache, and the rest of you have a new cache to seek. Food is good... have a cookout before, after or as part of the meeting. If you are at a park where there is something historic or scenic, ask the Park Ranger to speak and/or give a tour. Ask a local sporting goods store to send a rep to talk about something. Have tutorials on map reading, compass useage, first aid, etc. Our biggest draw to date was the snake lady, who brought about 20 live snakes to show off. NUMBER TWO, publicize the hell out of the meeting. Use multiple channels of communication: geocaching.com, this forum, e-mail, web page, flyers/business cards, etc. List it as an event cache on geocaching.com. Post a link to the event cache in this forum with a descriptive subject line, like we do. Create a website/webpage. You can do this for free at www.tripod.com. This is our first, unofficial webpage that I created in about a half-hour: http://gageocaching.tripod.com Note that the page publicizes (1) the meetings and (2) the channels of communication that you have established. Use e-mail. Start by creating a two paragraph or so summary of what you hope to create. Include your webpage URL and a link to your next meeting event cache listing. On geocaching.com, find caches in your area, look at the log of who has visited, and use the e-mail link to send this e-mail to everybody who has found a cache in your area. Use cut-and-paste so you don't have to retype the message. Keep a log of who you have e-mailed to so you don't send duplicate messages. In five minutes you can e-mail 10 people. The next day, email 10 more, etc. Create a signature line in this forum, like mine below, with the URL to your webpage. I don't know how long a message can be, so I will continue in the next one.... ------------------ Interested in Geocaching in the state of Georgia? Visit the Georgia Geocachers Association at http://www.ggaonline.org [This message has been edited by BigDoggie (edited 25 October 2001).]

quote:Originally posted by ErnieB:Did you see that they can monitor "certain biological functions?" Hmmmm, there's some biological functions I wouldn't want monitored! Talk about getting caught with your pants down!

I have a Garmin Etrex Venture and Microsoft 2001 Streets and Trips. I bought a Dell Inspiron 2100 without a serial port so I bought a serial to USB connector from Belkins. The GPS appears to be communicating to the Dell. I try to configure S & T to see my GPS but it only gives me the option of Comm port 1 or 3 when get to the configure page and my GPS is on comm port 2.

e... from the law firm that represents Radio Flyer. "Please understand that the owner of a mark must protect the value of the mark as a unique identifier of the source of its goods and services. If you use the RADIO FLYER trademarks, including both the name and the logos, on your web pages, actual and potential users of your sites are likely to mistakenly believe that our client sponsors, endorses or is associated with your services." "It is this likelihood of mistaken belief that trademark law in intended to prevent, and which gives rise to a potential legal action for trademark infringement and/or unfair competition." "Furthermore, given the strength of Radio Flyer Inc.'s famous RADIO FLYER trade name and trademarks and how long they have been in use, our client believes that your proposed use would dilute the strength of its RADIO FLYER trademarks." They went on to tell me to kiss their butt, and go talk to my lawyer if I did not like it. They also told me that "Absent further correspondence from you, we shall assume that you agree to remove the RADIO FLYER trademarks from your web page immediately so that the matter may be concluded." Well I did that gladly. Yes, I also wrote back to the president (not the lawyers). Here is the last half: "I would think your company would be more concerned with the corporations that copy the red wagon look and make the cheaper versions. I would think my usage of your logo would STRENGTHEN and REINFORCE your brand name as it is exposed to more people across the country. Every one I talk to about the cache has some childhood story that they tell about the wagons or the sleds that your company makes. These memories and your trademark recognition would have grown exponentially with the touch of each Geocacher." "Per your law firm's instructions, I have removed all references to your company on my web site. As I have stated, I will redo the luggage tag and mail it to the next Geocacher that takes the WAGON in North Carolina. After sleeping on the letter from your law firm I have seriously considered going to get the "ATL... NONAME WAGON", throwing it away and changing it to another toy. I have some of the Mars Sojourner toys from the highly successful Mars Pathfinder mission. They are rare and difficult to find, but I may part with one (I got mine from eBay). Since the government owns this, I can use it as long as I do not generate any profit from it. I have sent them an email 7-22-01 regarding this, though I cannot imagine any problems." "A problem with going to get the "ATL... NONAME WAGON" is the cache popularity. Saturday morning it was placed in a new cache, then someone else picked it up and hid it again the same day. Then Sunday it was picked up again and re-hidden in yet another cache, ironically a cache that I created. This gives me a great opportunity to immediately change the attached tag since it is close." "I use the 4" long version of the toy wagon as a business card holder on my desk. My wife uses the smallest version of the toy wagon (the one I use as the cache) as a paper clip holder on her desk. We saw these examples on the redwagons.com web site. We will remove those too. We will gladly explain why if any one asks." "Typical in the world today? greed seems to be more important than fun. Too bad. Thanks for stomping on our childhood memories." I did change the cache. It is now the Mars ROVER. I mailed Van & Judy in NC the new ROVER, and told them to keep the old FLYER. I have not heard anything from the JPL guys, but I think that group is now dismantled anyway. I think they would appreciate any publicity. They would most likely think it is cool. I will not buy another product from Radio Flyer again, I can assure you. The company that says that I will dilute thier image is the same company that has a movie named for the Flyer. As I was reminded, that was the movie about the abusive parent and the children that tried to build a true flying contraption to escape the abuser at any cost. Yeah, now that is the image we should strive for according to them. I gotta' stop venting. I hope the real Scooby and Shaggy do not go to Chicago any time soon. See ya... mtn-man

Hello Dave, You probably should talk to Jeremy, (Cache God), at contact@geocaching.com, about the do's and don't of this. We are just worker geocachers and will go along with any ideas and live only to plug new waypoints into our GPS devices. I might add that we are not "treasure hunters" and respect for personal privacy and the enviroment comes first in planning where a cache will be placed. We practice "cache in trash out" to remove any trash in the area we visit. I also think it would be best to have local geocachers in areas where you plan to hide caches accompany you or your staff when caches are placed, or hide the caches for you. But Jeremy is the person you want to talk to, it's his baby! We just work here. BTW- I think it's a great idea! Steve [This message has been edited by Fotogg (edited 23 October 2001).]

Hello Dave, You probably should talk to Jeremy, (Cache God), at contact@geocaching.com, about the do's and don't of this. We are just worker geocachers and will go along with any ideas and live only to plug new waypoints into our GPS devices. I might add that we are not "treasure hunters" and respect for personal privacy and the enviroment comes first in planning where a cache will be placed. We practice "cache in trash out" to remove any trash in the area we visit. I also think it would be best to have local geocachers in areas where you plan to hide caches accompany you or your staff when caches are placed, or hide the caches for you. But Jeremy is the person you want to talk to, it's his baby! We just work here. BTW- I think it's a great idea! Steve [This message has been edited by Fotogg (edited 23 October 2001).]

After spending 2 hours on hold to talk with someone, anyone at Garmin (I never did get to talk to anyone)it would be nice if they would poke their head up here every now and then.

Hey there! Welcome to the game! There is a virtual club here in Cincinnati on the Yahoo newsboards that can be found here. The Cincinnati Geocaching Picnic was a great time and we plan on doing it again soon. You can read about the picnic as well as see some pictures from it here (you will need to be logged in to the system) and here. We also left a cache for others to find after the picnic was over. You can read about that here. I have actually wanted to start an official club here in the Cincinnati area where we could all meet once every month or so, talk about caches and make some new friends. I met a guy who is part of such club down in Atlanta. They have business cards and all that good stuff! But it is just the Yahoo message boards for right now, and they are hardly ever used! Hope this helped, ------------------ Bill Ware The Cinci Cachers http://www.cincicachers.com

Making a cacher dig 6 feet in a graveyard before getting the goods. Talk about the looks they're gonna get from passers by...

Making a cacher dig 6 feet in a graveyard before getting the goods. Talk about the looks they're gonna get from passers by...

Clayjar, Is it basic software-compatible with the older Magellans? What I'm really asking is... Does it work with EasyGPS, oziexplorer, and the like? Or are we going to need to wait for updates for these 'third party' applications to talk some new meridian protocol? Sorry if this has already been covered elsewhere, I couldn't find it. I'd ask at LAGG1 today, but I figure someone else might be wondering the same thing... Thanks!

Listening to talk radio at work Thurs. night & geocaching got some publicity on a nightly spot called "the technofile" with lazlow. Caught it on our 50,000 watt local station that reaches 37 states & Canada. Only a few minute spot, but thought it was cool. Listen to the spot at this link. http://www.lazlow.com/ Click on Listen to the Technofile-October. Just locate the broadcast for 10/18 on the list. . ------------------ Gary "Gimpy" Strong Rochester,NY [This message has been edited by gstrong1 (edited 19 October 2001).]

Listening to talk radio at work Thurs. night & geocaching got some publicity on a nightly spot called "the technofile" with lazlow. Caught it on our 50,000 watt local station that reaches 37 states & Canada. Only a few minute spot, but thought it was cool. Listen to the spot at this link. http://www.lazlow.com/ Click on Listen to the Technofile-October. Just locate the broadcast for 10/18 on the list. . ------------------ Gary "Gimpy" Strong Rochester,NY [This message has been edited by gstrong1 (edited 19 October 2001).]

With all the talk about getting the new Meridian line of GPS and buying new "high tech." toys and stuff I have been wondering if anyone has one of those GPS watches by Casio. Does it work well and have you found any caches with one? Just wondering about this GPS that I have not anyone mention.

Sorry, I was away for a few days. I see others have already responded but here is my $.02. -bridaw Originally posted by RoyD: bridaw Let me see if I understand this. With VPC I can download and install firmware upgrades, using the proper cable adapter, to my Garmin MAP76 receiver on my MAC G3. Yes. I have been able to launch VPC (running Win98 First Edition) on my iBook and then use GPSR updaters from the Garmin web site (Legend updates as well as Marine POI file) and it does not require MapSource. I use an iBook instead of one of my 2 desktop macs when I do use VPC so I must also use a Keyspan serial-USB adapter (many posts about this topic on this site). Also, I can use MapSource software and download to the GPSR. You can use all the features of MapSource supported by your GPSR and it can "talk" to your GPSR provided you have the right cables and such (keyspan adapter for USB macs). I only use MapSource on my mac to push maps to my IIIplus and Legend. I tend to keep the same set of maps in both units so I rarely use MapSource on my mac these days. With Mac GPSPro I can download maps to the GPSR. NO. No 3rd party program can load maps to your Garmin GPSR. Mac and WinTel users all have this same problem, you MUST use Garmin MapSource if you wish to load maps into your GPSR. No other option at this time. However, MacGPS Pro provides real-time tracking (many programs offer this these days on mac and PC) superimposed over virtually any map from any source. Within 15 minutes of receiving the MacGPS Pro program, I had downloaded a MapBlast map of PB, CA and calibrated the map in MacGPS Pro. I pulled the tracklogs and waypoints out of the GPSR and displayed them over the Mapblast map in MacGPS Pro. I tossed the iBook into the Durango and drove around just to check out the real-time features of MacGPS Pro. This is within minutes of calibrating the map I had just downloaded from the web minutes after launching MacGPS Pro for the first time. The maps I tend to use most are high quality FREE USGS topo maps from this site: http://www.gisdatadepot.com/catalog/ Another feature I REALLY like about MacGPS Pro other than the fact that it is a feature rich mac native app with awesome support, is that it stores all waypoint, route, tracklog files as a text file. This is SOOOO cool compared to MapSource formats or other proprietary formats that require all kinds of converters and such that make it really painful to make quick simple tweaks to your waypoint or track log files. The MacGPS Pro file format is text so you can open it in BBedit or whatever text editor you prefer. Format: DMM M/D/Y H:M:S -7.00 hrs Datum[106]: WGS 84 ID Date Time Latitude Longitude Altitude T 10/15/01 10:10:27 32°48.032' -117°14.064' T 10/15/01 10:10:28 32°48.031' -117°14.069' T 10/15/01 10:10:41 32°48.020' -117°14.109' T 10/15/01 10:10:42 32°48.019' -117°14.109' T 10/15/01 10:10:43 32°48.019' -117°14.109' T 10/15/01 10:10:47 32°48.030' -117°14.114' T 10/15/01 10:11:02 32°48.052' -117°14.121' T 10/15/01 10:12:00 32°48.047' -117°14.118' T 10/15/01 10:12:10 32°48.090' -117°14.131' T 10/15/01 10:12:11 32°48.095' -117°14.133' T 10/15/01 10:12:23 32°48.170' -117°14.155' T 10/15/01 10:12:31 32°48.219' -117°14.170' T 10/15/01 10:12:37 32°48.224' -117°14.172' T 10/15/01 10:12:41 32°48.229' -117°14.175' MacGPS Pro tracklog> Does Mac GPSPro erase the base maps in the GPSR when it is installed? No. I believe NO GPS program, PC or Mac, is capable of erasing the base map. The basemap is there to stay. Why the hell did I spend $95.00 on the MapSource software? Well, I did the same thing. I bought MapSource Topo and Road & Rec CD sets. I don't regret buying them (especially since I paid half price for them on eBay) since it is the ONLY way you can push maps to your mapping GPSR. What I do regret is waiting so long to check out MacGPS Pro and forcing myself to use MapSource for managing tracklogs and waypoints. ------------------ Brian and Terry San Diego, CA [This message has been edited by bridaw (edited 17 October 2001).]

Sorry, I was away for a few days. I see others have already responded but here is my $.02. -bridaw Originally posted by RoyD: bridaw Let me see if I understand this. With VPC I can download and install firmware upgrades, using the proper cable adapter, to my Garmin MAP76 receiver on my MAC G3. Yes. I have been able to launch VPC (running Win98 First Edition) on my iBook and then use GPSR updaters from the Garmin web site (Legend updates as well as Marine POI file) and it does not require MapSource. I use an iBook instead of one of my 2 desktop macs when I do use VPC so I must also use a Keyspan serial-USB adapter (many posts about this topic on this site). Also, I can use MapSource software and download to the GPSR. You can use all the features of MapSource supported by your GPSR and it can "talk" to your GPSR provided you have the right cables and such (keyspan adapter for USB macs). I only use MapSource on my mac to push maps to my IIIplus and Legend. I tend to keep the same set of maps in both units so I rarely use MapSource on my mac these days. With Mac GPSPro I can download maps to the GPSR. NO. No 3rd party program can load maps to your Garmin GPSR. Mac and WinTel users all have this same problem, you MUST use Garmin MapSource if you wish to load maps into your GPSR. No other option at this time. However, MacGPS Pro provides real-time tracking (many programs offer this these days on mac and PC) superimposed over virtually any map from any source. Within 15 minutes of receiving the MacGPS Pro program, I had downloaded a MapBlast map of PB, CA and calibrated the map in MacGPS Pro. I pulled the tracklogs and waypoints out of the GPSR and displayed them over the Mapblast map in MacGPS Pro. I tossed the iBook into the Durango and drove around just to check out the real-time features of MacGPS Pro. This is within minutes of calibrating the map I had just downloaded from the web minutes after launching MacGPS Pro for the first time. The maps I tend to use most are high quality FREE USGS topo maps from this site: http://www.gisdatadepot.com/catalog/ Another feature I REALLY like about MacGPS Pro other than the fact that it is a feature rich mac native app with awesome support, is that it stores all waypoint, route, tracklog files as a text file. This is SOOOO cool compared to MapSource formats or other proprietary formats that require all kinds of converters and such that make it really painful to make quick simple tweaks to your waypoint or track log files. The MacGPS Pro file format is text so you can open it in BBedit or whatever text editor you prefer. Format: DMM M/D/Y H:M:S -7.00 hrs Datum[106]: WGS 84 ID Date Time Latitude Longitude Altitude T 10/15/01 10:10:27 32°48.032' -117°14.064' T 10/15/01 10:10:28 32°48.031' -117°14.069' T 10/15/01 10:10:41 32°48.020' -117°14.109' T 10/15/01 10:10:42 32°48.019' -117°14.109' T 10/15/01 10:10:43 32°48.019' -117°14.109' T 10/15/01 10:10:47 32°48.030' -117°14.114' T 10/15/01 10:11:02 32°48.052' -117°14.121' T 10/15/01 10:12:00 32°48.047' -117°14.118' T 10/15/01 10:12:10 32°48.090' -117°14.131' T 10/15/01 10:12:11 32°48.095' -117°14.133' T 10/15/01 10:12:23 32°48.170' -117°14.155' T 10/15/01 10:12:31 32°48.219' -117°14.170' T 10/15/01 10:12:37 32°48.224' -117°14.172' T 10/15/01 10:12:41 32°48.229' -117°14.175' MacGPS Pro tracklog> Does Mac GPSPro erase the base maps in the GPSR when it is installed? No. I believe NO GPS program, PC or Mac, is capable of erasing the base map. The basemap is there to stay. Why the hell did I spend $95.00 on the MapSource software? Well, I did the same thing. I bought MapSource Topo and Road & Rec CD sets. I don't regret buying them (especially since I paid half price for them on eBay) since it is the ONLY way you can push maps to your mapping GPSR. What I do regret is waiting so long to check out MacGPS Pro and forcing myself to use MapSource for managing tracklogs and waypoints. ------------------ Brian and Terry San Diego, CA [This message has been edited by bridaw (edited 17 October 2001).]