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quote:Originally posted by laurie: Check out: http://coupons.dealnews.com/merchants/staples.com.html Thanks, but that looks like it's strictly for online purchases. Bigdoggie mentioned a B&M (Brick and Mortar, ie; actual store) coupon. Since Staples.com is going to charge me sales tax anyway (on the full $200 purchase price), plus the shipping, I would rather drive 2 miles and just pick it up if I can.

States, more than 200 meters in Alaska, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Island and in excess of 400 meters in Hawaii. Consequently, the shift between the various datums are not uniform across the United States and there is no single value that can be applied to latitudes or to longitudes based on old datums to convert them to NAD 83." NADCON was developed in order to facilitate conversion between the datums,. (from NAD 23 to NAD 83 and vice versa) To give an example, my Vista and Mapsource converts NAD 23 UTM 18 T 566000 4568000 to NAD 83 18 T 566034 4568212. If you compare to the actual 7.5 quad map from the USGS, the first set matches positions the waypoint fairly acurately on the actual 7.5 map which is in NAD 23. However, the 7.5 map says the offset for NAD 83 should be 6 meters south and 35 meters north. Garmin is pretty close on the latitude (34 vs. 35 metrers) but is way off on the longitude - 212 meters vs. 6. Interestingly the map itself no longer states the correct difference. The actual NADCOM calculation is 10.398 meter north latitude not 6. NADCOM calculated longitude is pretty close to the map 34.185 vs. the map's 35. Bottom line is the shift is not uniform and would reqire 150,000 points in a date base across the country to calculate it more accurately. I imagine that no one uses that database and is picking some sort of a common adjustment number used in thei calculations across the board. If you want to get an accurate conversion utility see the USGS NADCON site http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/TOOLS/Nadcon/Nadcon.html Alan2

Magellan 315:no map, good antenna(have one and works under trees no problem) etrex:no map, not as good antenna but will work still under trees (meant for hiking) lowrance:has map (very basic, but there), good antenna I was looking at these three for potential purchase. You will find that lowrance is a marine gps which will work for everything. ie: it has marine points of interest on basemap. highways and major roads too! Magellan and Garmin are much more widely used by people. But whenever I talk to someone about the lowrance they say it is "easy to use, and works great". I think they reatil about 200 USD. Adam

Welcome to the world of GPSR! I'm prejudiced - and really like my Garmin. I had a GPS III+ and recently sold it, and upgraded to a Garmin GPS V. The III+ works great, and you can buy it new for around $300. However, since many people (like me) upgraded to the new version, you can find the III+ for about $200 (eBay has one now for $125). I liked the III+ because it does do great under trees, and you can upload city and topographical maps into it. I used for hiking, and off-roading, in addition to geocaching. Of course, you need to use Garmin's mapping software for the loading of maps, and that costs more $$. I'm sure others will tell you about their brand, which I'm sure are also good. ------------------ Larry Farquhar http://www.azjeeper.com

Mtn-Man said: "The game is not to take the whole cache and move it to another location. The object of the game is to take one or two items and leave the same number of items for the next cache visitor." You mean I've been doing it wrong all this time? I've found close to 200 and wondered why those who followed me had problems! Just kidding guys, just kidding! [ ] On a serious note - Sushi of The Fisherkings makes some good points about interviewer and interviewee (sp?) communication skills. Sushi was the cameraman for the TV feature Mtn-Man mentioned above. The TV reporter did his homework, came to the interview with a GPS in hand, and asked intelligent questions that resulted in an accurate piece. It helped that between Mtn-Man and I we had superior intellegence too. [ ]

Mtn-Man said: "The game is not to take the whole cache and move it to another location. The object of the game is to take one or two items and leave the same number of items for the next cache visitor." You mean I've been doing it wrong all this time? I've found close to 200 and wondered why those who followed me had problems! Just kidding guys, just kidding! [ ] On a serious note - Sushi of The Fisherkings makes some good points about interviewer and interviewee (sp?) communication skills. Sushi was the cameraman for the TV feature Mtn-Man mentioned above. The TV reporter did his homework, came to the interview with a GPS in hand, and asked intelligent questions that resulted in an accurate piece. It helped that between Mtn-Man and I we had superior intellegence too. [ ]

I Only have $200 to spend what GPS unit should I buy so I get the most bang for my buck? If I had to go to $300 I could but I didnt want to. So what do you recommend? One more thing what is WAAS? and do I want it? [This message has been edited by Thargor (edited 18 November 2001).]

193 found - 9 hidden. Hope to get past 200 found and 10 hidden this year.

quote:Originally posted by peter: I'll describe how this works when using a Garmin eMap [...] Peter's description is very good, but since the original poster was also asking about cost... the eMap itself usually sells for under $200 now, but to do routing or address lookup on your computer, you need some software. And to look up addresses on your eMap, you need Garmin's "MapSource" software ($100) plus one of the Garmin memory sticks (about $70 for an 8MB module). I got all three in a $300 package, and I find it really handy both for Geocaching and for driving around.

Another problem... I look at my stats: I've found one in the state of 6/3/200. Chronocaching again?

Mark, you appear to be a troll. I was beginning to think I'd found one of the few message boards on the web without one, and then you show up. For those who don't know what a troll is, they are people that deliberately act like an *** by derailing threads, undermining discussions, insulting and threatening people, and starting arguments and flame wars on message boards. I've never really been able to figure out why, but they do exist. Marky Mark over here is turning out to be a fine example. That, or he's simply an fantastically astounding jackass... Now, I must admit that you have pointed out a flaw in my reasoning when I stated that I believed the military units would be far superior in accuracy to civilian units. I stand corrected. My thanks to you for the clarification. I'd still like to know what you expect for $200.00... My service record, or lack thereof, isn't relevant to the original discussion. Since you're so curious, however, I must honestly admit that I am unable to serve in any branch due to physical limitations. Apparently, your lack of a brain has not limited you in any way. You have my congratulations and admiration on your achievement in the face of adversity. You began a discussion about the merits and flaws of the eTrex line of handheld GPS units. I just bought one and chimed in. I came back to the thread to find a full-on gripe session about military funding. When I point it out, your delicate sensibilities are offended and you become a raging moron. I'm so completely thrilled that a hot-head like you can legally fire a .50 caliber weapon. I'll spell it out for you in plain language since you seem to have great difficulty with abstract concepts such as respect and courtesy. You are wildly off-topic. If you are no longer discussing the eTrex series, you are being rude. Your government-funded training or service to your country does not entitle you to be an ***. It binds you to the responsibility of being the best this country has to offer, as represented by your every action. When you threatened me because I dared to state how off topic you are (you delicate flower, you...), you failed in that responsibility completely. My involvement in this thread is now concluded as it is no longer a viable source of information relating to the topic at hand. -Jake P.S. For those of you stating your service records, you have my sincerest thanks and appreciation...and quite a measure of my jealousy directed toward you and your accomplishments. You should also know that while I cannot serve in the military, I will always work on the civilian and state-side of things to protect those very same civil liberties you fought to protect from outside threats, from those threats that exist inside our borders in any way I can as a well-protected citizen. I owe you that much and considerably more.

quote:Originally posted by navdog:Your assumptions are correct. The Topozone link off of the cache pages does not make the conversion to WGS84. The posted target on the Topozone maps on the cache page link is about 200 feet at a bearing of approximately 280 degrees from the true target if my memory serves me right. I have been using Expert GPS for a long time now so I generally just take a quick look at the Topozone map on the cache page to get a good idea of where the cache is, and if I need more accuracy, I draw up a map in Expert GPS. You can convert the coords to NAD27 in your GPS and then re-enter them in a new Topozone map or use the conversion table from Jeep.com below. http://jeeep.com/details/coord/ Is this true in all cases? I have actual 7.5 quads. Some are NADS 27's others are NAD 83's. Shouldn't Topozone at least match the coordinates on those latter 7.5's? It would be helpful if Topozone would indicate the Datum on there maps. Alan

Your assumptions are correct. The Topozone link off of the cache pages does not make the conversion to WGS84. The posted target on the Topozone maps on the cache page link is about 200 feet at a bearing of approximately 280 degrees from the true target if my memory serves me right. I have been using Expert GPS for a long time now so I generally just take a quick look at the Topozone map on the cache page to get a good idea of where the cache is, and if I need more accuracy, I draw up a map in Expert GPS. You can convert the coords to NAD27 in your GPS and then re-enter them in a new Topozone map or use the conversion table from Jeep.com below. http://jeeep.com/details/coord/

I am just as curious as anyone about the rankings, although I am way past chasing numbers. Mostly, I just like to see how active the other cachers in my area have been in hunting. Way back in June when I broke the top 10, I was compiling my own list weekly to see where I ranked, and I was steadily climbing, since I would bag as many as 20 caches per week. That said, I have other ideas about why this is not being done "officially." Jon (Moun10 Bike) was doing a weekly post with the top 25 finders (also on his website) and I guess he actually received e-mails on occasion to the effect of "ha ha I passed you" and the like. Clearly this is completely opposite of the spirit Jeremy and others, including me, would like to see for the game. Friendly competition never hurt, in fact, myself and another cache in Utah actually met at the trailhead to hike to #200 for both of us, and another in our group got #100 at that same cache. We had a great time, and it was truly something special for us all. We really enjoyed sharing and reliving experiences from our 100+ cache hunts, but it really never was about competition. I realize that most (nearly all) cachers are in it for the fun and the outdoors experience and all the right stuff. That being the case, I doubt there will ever be an "official" ranking on the website or cache finders or hiders, and in my opinion, that is as it should be.

Careful when using these survey markers. Use only the most recent in your area. I have found that in some parts of the country the surveys are a bit "loose". I have found 3 seperate brass caps for the same section corner within 200' of each other.

*sigh* I just wish I had found all of this information a week or so earlier. I bought an eTrex Venture a couple of weeks ago, with the intention of taking it with me on my first deer hunting trip. I did find the GeoCaching site, but I just didn't have enough time to peruse everything before I left on the trip. I also didn't have enough time to try to find my first cache, but I'll be doing that this weekend. Rather than tell a super-long story, let me just say that at one point, I set a waypoint at my house with a stated "accuracy" of 15-30 feet, and after a bit of traveling, the waypoint was about 600 feet off from the current reading at the same point. 600 feet! This is with minimal treecover, WAAS enabled, etc., etc. Then I used it in deciduous woods (not enough southern visibility for WAAS) and got readings about 200 feet off between two readings separated by about an hour. The bottom line here is that my limited experience indicates that the ETE reported by my GPSR is somewhat useless, even misleading. Now, I'm basically a programmer, so I understand I have a bit more of a black-and-white view of the world than most people. But while I can mentally accommodate multiple correct answers, I have a hard time reconciling mutually exclusive "correct" answers. Can someone help me get my head wrapped around my "GPS conundrum?"

I was looking for some rechargable batteries and came across this off. Maha rapid charger C204F for $16 there are 200 left but it is ending soon. thomas-distributing.com has these for the cheapest if you where to buy a lot of 6 or more is $21.97 So get them when you can, THIS IS NOT MY AUCTION AND I DO NOT KNOW THIS PERSON, I am just passing on the deal I seen that I think is outstanding. And if you are looking for batteries here is what I have come up with so far best prices I seen so far for NEXCELL AAA -650mAh $1.25 each AAA -700mAh $1.37 each (these prices where on ebay but most of them where from package deals of 4,,8,12 and some where 24) Haven't got to AA yet as I am right now in the market for AAA UPDATE: For Nexcell AA 1600mAh the cheapest is $1.79 each as many as you want or for a lot of 50 is $1.58 dam thats a lot of AA. ( of course these where the ones from Ebay) If anyone know anyplace cheaper please email me. [This message has been edited by BX Tale (edited 28 November 2001).]

Not a bad idea, and it is already being done sort of. See Aquaman, and the rest of the Superfriends. If I didn't think he would disappear before I got out there - Aquaman is kind of close (Ok maybe the 200 miles round trip is not that close).

So you suggest that if there are one or two Scottish cachers (no offence intended) then possibly a dozen of us should drive 120 miles further north... I dont think thats fair... do you? Remember there are a few northern cachers that live well south of me... for them its 200 miles or so Lets all drive a bit instead of trying to wangle things so its held on our doorsteps eh? [This message has been edited by Monz (edited 27 November 2001).]

Herein lies some debate from Geocachers. I myself am of the averaging camp: I take several readings, turning my GPS off in between and walking about 100-200 feet away, turning it on and taking another reading. I then take the numbers and average them (averaging just the latitudes and just the longitudes). While empirical data may show that this doesn't make the coordinates any more accurate, I know that I feel better, and I've had very few complaints about my coordinates when I do this. There are others ("Kerry" will chime in, I'm sure) that are on the camp that when I'm doing this type of averaging, I could just as well be averaging bad numbers. On this side of the equation, it might be best to take some readings, and come back on another day and in another time to do more readings. Most of us don't have the patience for this. Jeremy has mentioned that he does the bullseye approach. Take some graph paper and graph the coordinates. Then take the best "center" spot and use that. The Magellan people may tell you to get one of their units because they do auto-averaging, which is fine for hiding. But they have to do this hula-dance thingy to reset their auto-averaging when they are getting close to the cache. I suggest you just use due diligence and try to provide the best possible coordinates. That's all we can ask. If your coordinates are far enough off, you'll see repeated notes about it in the logs (not just one or two).

I was about to put this on Ebay but thought I'd post it here first. I'mgoing to wait 24 hours and if I haven't sold it here it'll go up on Ebay. I bought an Etrex Vista three weeks a go and LOVE IT. Problem is I went home for thanksgiving and discovered my folks had bought me a Garmin GPS V as a present. (I know they are great parents). I was going to take back the GPS V and keep the vista but darn it all -- on the ride back home I was playing the GPS V and my wife decided she liked the routing features and the fact that it beeps when you need to turn. So, it looks like we're keeping the GPS V. So, I've decided to give up the Vista and use the proceeds to buy some mapsource discs. Here's the deal. A 3 week old Vista which was taken care of lovingly with the lastest firmware installed, data cable, 12 volt adapter cable, garmin vinyl pouch and all original documents/receipts for 200 bucks. Email me at jollybgood@aol.com if you're interested. If i don't have an offer in 24 hours it goes on ebay. Thanks JRB

My latest log from Mitchells Stop. Well where do I start. I did this one on a trip back to Ballarat. I arrived at the area and the GPS took me straight to the location. Bec and I spent quite some time searching for this one but had no luck. It was around 6:30-7pm when we got there and I decided I should try and contact the owner because it was starting to get dark. Back to the car I go to get my mobile phone to connect to my Palm pilot to chat (ICQ) to the owner who usually is on line at that time of day. I finally got connected with little mobile service and a flattening battery. He was online so I got his phone number and chatted to him. I wasn't in the right spot was the conclusion. Something must be wrong. His coords where not the same as the ones on the website. His where even worse. So with a little guidance over the phone I was directed to the location. At 10pm I gave up. No luck and it was pitch black. Bec was in the car by herself so I thought I'd better give up. I spoke to wanderers the next day and we decided to go and check it out. We found it and the coords were 200 meters off, but within about 5 meters from where I had been searching in the dark. I did write in the log book, but took nothing and left nothing. Needless to say they are now correct. Have fun going after this one. I did. Spend some time there and enjoy the surroundings. Thanks guys for a challenge. I had a great time trying to find it. Mark and Bec. After 3.5 hrs in the dark, is it an obsession or do I need therapy! ------------------ It's out there...let's go get it!

My latest log from Mitchells Stop. Well where do I start. I did this one on a trip back to Ballarat. I arrived at the area and the GPS took me straight to the location. Bec and I spent quite some time searching for this one but had no luck. It was around 6:30-7pm when we got there and I decided I should try and contact the owner because it was starting to get dark. Back to the car I go to get my mobile phone to connect to my Palm pilot to chat (ICQ) to the owner who usually is on line at that time of day. I finally got connected with little mobile service and a flattening battery. He was online so I got his phone number and chatted to him. I wasn't in the right spot was the conclusion. Something must be wrong. His coords where not the same as the ones on the website. His where even worse. So with a little guidance over the phone I was directed to the location. At 10pm I gave up. No luck and it was pitch black. Bec was in the car by herself so I thought I'd better give up. I spoke to wanderers the next day and we decided to go and check it out. We found it and the coords were 200 meters off, but within about 5 meters from where I had been searching in the dark. I did write in the log book, but took nothing and left nothing. Needless to say they are now correct. Have fun going after this one. I did. Spend some time there and enjoy the surroundings. Thanks guys for a challenge. I had a great time trying to find it. Mark and Bec. After 3.5 hrs in the dark, is it an obsession or do I need therapy! ------------------ It's out there...let's go get it!

I've got family in parts of Texas - I'm all too familiar with the terrain and flora. By "flat and small trees" I'm speaking relative to what we have here. Mt Hood excluded, most of the mountain ranges are in the 5-8K foot range and the trees grow up to 200+ feet tall. In the southwest the horizon is much lower overall than in most areas up here, which increases your ability to pick up more horizon satellites. Many geocaches hidden here are between ridges which limits the number of available sattelites to those directly overhead. Many times I'm limited to only 2 sat locks as they are the only sats within line of sight. And the trees I've seen in Texas (mostly around Austin - I've never been to Ft Worth) generally do not have as thick a canopy as NW forests, mostly due to the density of the forests themselves. Granted, I'm not a botanist, but with the climate difference, the moisture content within the trees/leaves there may be much less than here. And most trees here are also wet on the outside more often than not (did I mention it rains alot here?). Being that moisture is the prime interference for these units, the ability to hold locks up here is more difficult than in the southwest. If you ever come up this way (especially durng the winter) look me up and we can do a field test. I can take you to some areas where I guarantee your unit will lose lock As for superior product, it's a matter of opinion. And you know what they say about opinions Have a Happy Thanksgiving [This message has been edited by makaio (edited 21 November 2001).]

I've got family in parts of Texas - I'm all too familiar with the terrain and flora. By "flat and small trees" I'm speaking relative to what we have here. Mt Hood excluded, most of the mountain ranges are in the 5-8K foot range and the trees grow up to 200+ feet tall. In the southwest the horizon is much lower overall than in most areas up here, which increases your ability to pick up more horizon satellites. Many geocaches hidden here are between ridges which limits the number of available sattelites to those directly overhead. Many times I'm limited to only 2 sat locks as they are the only sats within line of sight. And the trees I've seen in Texas (mostly around Austin - I've never been to Ft Worth) generally do not have as thick a canopy as NW forests, mostly due to the density of the forests themselves. Granted, I'm not a botanist, but with the climate difference, the moisture content within the trees/leaves there may be much less than here. And most trees here are also wet on the outside more often than not (did I mention it rains alot here?). Being that moisture is the prime interference for these units, the ability to hold locks up here is more difficult than in the southwest. If you ever come up this way (especially durng the winter) look me up and we can do a field test. I can take you to some areas where I guarantee your unit will lose lock As for superior product, it's a matter of opinion. And you know what they say about opinions Have a Happy Thanksgiving [This message has been edited by makaio (edited 21 November 2001).]