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You got a problem with it - then talk to Jeremy (contact@geocaching.com) directly he's the only one that can do anything about it (if he agrees as this is his enterprise). You don't have to come here nor do you have to look at any particular caches if you do come here - for what it's worth I don't particularly like what's happening down south either. Childish sniping helps no-one, in fact on balance it probably makes the sniper look worse than the sniped. [This message has been edited by JasonW (edited 28 October 2001).]

I'm a little confused by this thread... Are there actually people who would consider going geo-caching WITHOUT a dog?!?!? Why????? Jenni (my 10 1/2 yr old Golden Retriever) goes just about everywhere I go... including geo-caching! Ya know though... 10 1/2 years later, and I had no clue you could teach 'em to talk.

The next day we went to a cache that is nearly drive-to in a quiet neighborhood with a very good view. As we were pulling up, a previous group was piling into their car to leave. They noted it was a good one and departed. Nothing given away. Have never identified other cachers when both parties were still well back into search mode, but if we did, we'd either talk to them to see who would go first or find something else to do for a bit to let them complete the cache before we proceeded. T-storm ------------------ http://www.cordianet.com/geocaching

The next day we went to a cache that is nearly drive-to in a quiet neighborhood with a very good view. As we were pulling up, a previous group was piling into their car to leave. They noted it was a good one and departed. Nothing given away. Have never identified other cachers when both parties were still well back into search mode, but if we did, we'd either talk to them to see who would go first or find something else to do for a bit to let them complete the cache before we proceeded. T-storm ------------------ http://www.cordianet.com/geocaching

We have taken our Golden Retriever on many caches. For a while she had her own login ID and posted on all the caches she went to. I didn't use the fake doggy talk. It was more of a description of the dog friendly stuff and things a dog doesn't like, at least mine. We have a real problem with cheatgrass that gets in a dogs paws and works its way into the skin. I then gave them 1-3 woofs for dog friendliness. At some point, I quit doing it and a couple months later cleaned them out. I still log her whenever we take her, so at least people see that it was OK taking a dog.

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!

Jeremy, I like the way you have organised the Canadian and Australian caches by province! Maybe we could do the same for the New Zealand caches? To date, I have included the name of the nearest significant town or city to each of my caches in parentheses at it end of its name. I would like to continue using this system (maybe without my parentheses), with the New Zealand province listed at the end of the name (as in Canada and Australia). The only problem I can forsee, is that all of the existing New Zealand geocaches would need to be edited to show the province in which they reside. I could provide you with an annotated list of all of the caches in New Zealand showing their province (that is, if cache owners don't get around to editing their own caches). Anyway, here is a list of provinces (actually regional councils and unitary authorities from section 1.5 of the Atlas of New Zealand Boundaries 1996; I have seperated Stewart Island from Southland): North Island: Northland Auckland Waikato Taranaki Bay of Plenty Gisborne Hawkes Bay Manawatu Wellington South Island: Tasman Nelson/Marlborough West Coast Canterbury Otago Southland Other Islands: Stewart Island Chatam Islands Territory These provinces can be split up onto even smaller regions (e.g., using the Mereorlogical services regions from section 2.1 of the above reference, Otago can be split into Central Otago, North Otago, South Otago, and Dunedin and Canterbury can be split into Canterbury High Country, Canterbury Plains, and Christchurch City and/or South, Mid, and North Canterbury (using the Federated Farmers provinces shown in section 4.7)). As you can guess, the local interpritation of the boundaries between provinces varies depending on who you talk to, it is usually a mixture of all three of the systems mentioned above. What does everyone else think? Have I made any mistakes? I would probably stick with the major govenmental provinces that I listed at the beginning, in that way we won't have to scroll down a massive list of provinces to find the right one (the list currently contains all of the provinces/states for the USA, Canada, and Australia). Cheers, Donovan.

Jeremy, I like the way you have organised the Canadian and Australian caches by province! Maybe we could do the same for the New Zealand caches? To date, I have included the name of the nearest significant town or city to each of my caches in parentheses at it end of its name. I would like to continue using this system (maybe without my parentheses), with the New Zealand province listed at the end of the name (as in Canada and Australia). The only problem I can forsee, is that all of the existing New Zealand geocaches would need to be edited to show the province in which they reside. I could provide you with an annotated list of all of the caches in New Zealand showing their province (that is, if cache owners don't get around to editing their own caches). Anyway, here is a list of provinces (actually regional councils and unitary authorities from section 1.5 of the Atlas of New Zealand Boundaries 1996; I have seperated Stewart Island from Southland): North Island: Northland Auckland Waikato Taranaki Bay of Plenty Gisborne Hawkes Bay Manawatu Wellington South Island: Tasman Nelson/Marlborough West Coast Canterbury Otago Southland Other Islands: Stewart Island Chatam Islands Territory These provinces can be split up onto even smaller regions (e.g., using the Mereorlogical services regions from section 2.1 of the above reference, Otago can be split into Central Otago, North Otago, South Otago, and Dunedin and Canterbury can be split into Canterbury High Country, Canterbury Plains, and Christchurch City and/or South, Mid, and North Canterbury (using the Federated Farmers provinces shown in section 4.7)). As you can guess, the local interpritation of the boundaries between provinces varies depending on who you talk to, it is usually a mixture of all three of the systems mentioned above. What does everyone else think? Have I made any mistakes? I would probably stick with the major govenmental provinces that I listed at the beginning, in that way we won't have to scroll down a massive list of provinces to find the right one (the list currently contains all of the provinces/states for the USA, Canada, and Australia). Cheers, Donovan.

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).]

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).]