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Your dadgum right about that. The fact that I have the time and the means to chase "junk" out in the forest is something to be thankful for. I'm a college student, with very limited funds, but have managed to get a hold of everything I want. Within reason of course. I have a working car, a great GPS, a GameCube (for those vegetating days) etc. I am managing to go to a great university, and live in a beautiful (not to mention very cache dense) city. Life is good! And someday, I will have a BMW, and a Landrover, and all those other toys I've always dreamed of over the years!

Bottom line: it's the price. If the 60cs cost $200 and the Gold cost $200, which would you get for your first GPSr? hmm. If you said the 60cs, then your just trashing it because you either don't want to spend the money or can't afford it. The rest is rationalization. And if your honda accord is going 60 in 20 seconds, it's about to kaput. I was using an analogy because I hear it all the time. People talking trash about someone's car because it's expensive. As your income goes up, so does your lifestyle. When I was making poverty level ($15/hour or so) I say "Man I wouldn't spend $28k for that Honda Accord EX!! Crazy" When my income got to $65k/year, I was saying "Man I woulnd't spent $50k for that BMW" etc etc. I respect people who talk about what they own, but if you trash a GPSr and haven't even owned it it's just flat out envy. Get a 60cs and say it's not worth it. Otherwise you don't know. It's all preference. If someone enjoys using an eTrex yellow for caching that's great. If someone enjoys using a $1000 GPSr, then that's great. Worth is dependant on the individual. To a homeless person, your nuts for spending that much money on an eTrex yellow! It's all relative. Team Flashncache: "If I can drive to within a reasonable hiking distance and walk more or less straight to it, why would I spend more than 4 times as much for a GSPr?" First, it's not about just finding the cache. Once we drove into LA and just searched for attractions. We found Marylin Monroes Gravesite, Universal City walk etc without ever getting lost. Being able never to get lost, find and go to just about anywhere you want is 95% of my GPSr usage. I only geocache a couple of times a month. Second, I have a Legend, V, iQue, Rino 120 and just finally got fed up with the pointer jumping all over when standing still close to a cache. I just wanted a built in compass to prevent that. To me, it was worth the $$. That's it. Nothing too deep, just wanted the compass. The rest of the features are icing on the cake.

HA, too funny. That's like saying: "Are you kidding? Paying $60k for a BMW 545i when my Civic can get me to work just fine!" It' OK to say "I can't/don't want to spend that much" And an eTrex yellow cannot do a fraction of what the 60cs can do. I think for the most part people bashing a product cannot/do not own it. Sad...so sad....a person without Garmin Envy will have no need to tell others that they have no Garmin Envy.

My favorite story in this regard was in the Benchmarking section. I don't remember who it was, but the story went this way: " CACHER was just getting out of my car to hunt a benchmark which was near the side of the road. I had an orange vest on, my GPS in one hand, a clipboard with the details on it, and a camera around my neck. Up pulls a BMW with Ken and Barbie. Ken rolls down the window, and asks if they can get through or not. The words rolled out before I could stop them, "Nope, bridge is out, you'll have to take the long way around." If anyone remembers who that was, or is that guy, COngratulate them please.

Ratios are not an accurate measure of worth. Hyundai outsells BMW by a large ratio. Would anyone claim that Hyundai is a better product?! I think that the real reason that Garmin isn't offering memory expandability is that Magellan has a patent on the SD in the battery well. Garmin can't find an alternative that is practical and water proof. That doesn't conflict with the patent. I'm sure their research shows that no one is willing to buy their proprietary memory cards. You seem to be comparing apples to oranges here. There is a major difference between a mechanicial machine and an electronic one. Since there are VERY few moving parts on a GPS receiver, the subject of comparison is the software. One thing I hated about the MG was this silly rebound effect, I believe it's called. When you got near a cache, the GPS woulc suddely say the cache was another 100 meters away. Also trying to erase a waypoint in the MG seemed to be a bit more complicated than the Garmin units. I think both are very good units, but if the only reason people buy the Magellan is for the expandable memory, then I would suggest that taking all other things into consideration, the Garmin comes way out front. $.02

Ratios are not an accurate measure of worth. Hyundai outsells BMW by a large ratio. Would anyone claim that Hyundai is a better product?! I think that the real reason that Garmin isn't offering memory expandability is that Magellan has a patent on the SD in the battery well. Garmin can't find an alternative that is practical and water proof. That doesn't conflict with the patent. I'm sure their research shows that no one is willing to buy their proprietary memory cards.

I agree 100% with you on fines being a percentage of people's worth/income. I was just thinking about this the other day. The cynical part of me figured it would never happen in this country because it would be far too fair. As for the other things you mentioned, I don't agree as much. If you see a cop breaking the law, for heaven's sake, report it! I used to have a police scanner, and I remember hearing the police issuing some local fire department guys a ticket for turning on their emergency lights just to go through a red light. They're not immune, but unless you report it, no one will ever get in any trouble. As for the BMW... feh. You're just upset because when the two of you broke the law, you're the one who got punished. If you HADN'T broken the law, I'd feel some pity, but otherwise, you're getting none from me on this one. You break the law, you take the risk.

I know how bad it feels to have things stolen. I have had three bicycles stolen, two gas cans from the carport, and a $1,000 set of wheels and tires for my car. The police have yet to recover any of my stolen property. They do, however, seem adept at giving out tickets. It's a lot easier to cacth someone in the act than it is to follow a trail. What really bothers me is the last ticket I recieved for having dark window tint. The cop had tint on their cruiser! This is a ridiculous double standard. The law is supposed to protect cops from being shot by people with guns who are invisible behind the tint. Well, every cop carries a gun. So why do they get to hide behind tint? Just yesterday I was passed by a cop with no lights on going at least 20 miles over the posted speed limit. If it was an emergency, the lights should be on to alert other drivers that there is someone travelling at a high rate of speed. If it was not an emergency, then that person was abusing their power. Wherever they were going in such a hurry is no more important than my destination. How can we respect the people we pay to protect us, when they scoff at the very laws they are paid to uphold? The last ticket I got before the tint was on the way to place a cache. The guy let the expensive car in front of me slip by. I got the ticket. Just another example of the people who can least afford to pay stuff, compared to those that can yet never do. It would be nice if fines were a percentage of net worth, rather than a fixed amount. Then the guy in the BMW would be shelling out $10,000 or so for his speeding tickets. Seems fair to me.

How stereotypical can you get Woodster?!?!?! Sheesh!! People from all walks of life ride Harleys. Heck, I've been on Harleys, and I'm not what you say. Now, close your eyes and in a gutteral voice say to yourself over and over potato potato potato potato....... (sounds like a Harley ) LOL...I said it stereotypically...lol My sister's husband who is an Air Traffic Controller has one and goes to a bunch of hte rallies...if you saw him you would not think he had a Harley...lol My wife's father who is about 60 now and owns a large road construction company and is filthy rich, had a couple of them not too long ago, but bought a BMW one. He ended up selling the Harleys. I mentioned it that way in my previous message because they said they contacted the police and I saw the person who owned the travelbug was the name harleyguy. I just envisioned someone thinking it was some savage harley riding, tattoo sporting, hells angel that was gonna come and get them...

Example of a bad User Interface: A German couple drove their BMW with great confidence under control of its computerized satellite navigation. Indeed, they drove it past a stop sign, down a ferry ramp, and into the Havel River in Caputh, near Potsdam/Berlin, Germany. The computer system reportedly neglected to tell them they needed to wait for the ferry. ...

My geocaching name comes from my car - a BMW M3. We used to go by Trekks, but so many variations of that name started popping up in the area that we changed.

quote:Originally posted by tirediron: quote:Hold on. This site sucks so just get the BMer! You missed the whole point... Pocket Queries for me or a Beemer for the missus... :startjoke Hmm. I'd say if you have to think about a $3 a month expense then you probably can't afford that BMW either! :endjoke Rob Mobile Cache Command

Thanks all - I guess that pretty much makes my mind up $3.00/month it is! That new BMW I was going to buy for the wife will just have to wait Appreciate all the info!

Hi, I am new in this world. I use STreetpilotII (BMW Navigator) for a year now on the bike, but want to join caching. Any idea if this one can be used ? For I don't know how to enter coördinates into it ... Help is appreciated Sir Dive-a-Lot

I live in an area with a lot of trendy SUV owners, Escallades, Ranger Rover, BMW, Mercedes. I'd buy this just to one up everyone. Have to admit 40,000 miles on a 1975 vehicle is a bargin

There have been variations on this theme in the past, but it's one of those timeless subjects that may bring out some new ideas from time to time. Instead of what you DO NOT want to find in a cache (inappropriate items, McToys), what would you like to see sometime? Have you found things that are completely cool, totally unexpected? What were they? We're finding ourselves cleaning out crap from caches, and finding little else. We try to add things that might be nice to find, but it's always a challenge. So far we've minimized the Crap Shuffle. Hopefully we don't have to resort to that in a pinch. Yes, I expect this thread to deviate from topic, and there will be "keys to a new BMW" posts that appear. I also expect the "that's not what caching is about" responses. All fine by me. Think about it. What reasonable items do you want to find in a cache? -------------------- You have the right to defend yourself, even when geocaching!

quote:Originally posted by Cincinnati Bearcaches:Keys to a new BMW, but really thats not what caching is all about.... Seriously, anything thats not dirty, and that is unique/useful. We leave a lot of key chains, Mini tape measure, and Carabiner variety. They seem to get taken from the caches rather quickly. Compasses are good as well. Hehehehehehe! We hit a clearance on those Coast carabiner keychains, $1.97 each at a local store. Bought a bunch, and we'll probably buy some more. Small, colorful, useful, desirable, cheap. Sounds good to us! Compasses are great, too, especially when you know which way to go but the tree cover is messing too badly with reception. -------------------- You have the right to defend yourself, even when geocaching!

Keys to a new BMW, but really thats not what caching is all about.... Seriously, anything thats not dirty, and that is unique/useful. We leave a lot of key chains, Mini tape measure, and Carabiner variety. They seem to get taken from the caches rather quickly. Compasses are good as well.

quote:Originally posted by Cholo:That's true, unless you're from Wisconsin, you shouldn't drive on both sides of the road at the same time. I lived in Wisconsin for the first 26 years of my life and I learned early on that you should always leave plenty of space on both sides of the road (especially within 200 miles of Chicago on Friday or Sunday night) because you never know when one FIB is going to pass you on the right at 110 mph in his Audi because some FIB in a BMW is already passing you on the left at 108 mph.

Well, we use a 1987 Bronco II for caching. We do the 4 X 4 caches and since we paid nothing for the Bronco, we don't really worry about what happens to it. We scrape against trees and don't worry about the paint etc. The Bronco II is small enough to get us between trees and places that full sized rigs can't make. My other car is a BMW M3 and there isn't any way that one is going caching!

Get the cache, take the ticket then challenge it in court. When you get to court, use your time to present a full multi-media geocaching promotional presentation. Bring some extra GPS units and offer to take the judge, attorneys and court room spectators on a cache hunt. Borrow the cop's paddy wagon, load them up and have a great hunt and end up best of friends with everyone. Of course, that's how it would end in a Disney movie. In the real world, you'd be thrown in the slammer for contempt and the cops would confiscate the GPS units as being terrorists tools. quote:Originally posted by Cruzin!:I had some run-ins with the PVPD when I was a teenager. It doesn't sound like they've changed much. Back then, they thought they were gods who were themselves completely above the law. They would routinely pull people over and spend an hour or more harassing them, searching their vehicle (without probable cause) and generally give them a hard time, all without ever telling them why they had been pulled over in the first place. This happened to me and just about everyone I knew. Basically, if you weren't driving a Mercedes or BMW, you weren't supposed to be there. I'd pick up the cache and place it somewhere else, with a different e-mail address associated with it (in case it gets found again). If they (or anyone else) ever gives you a ticket for littering because you placed a cache, I'd fight it with everything I had - a cache is NOT litter. I wouldn't normally suggest going against the recommendation of a local police department, but I have experience with the PVPD and if it happened to me, I'd make them prove their case in court. IMHO, they're giving you a hard time _because they can_. That's what they do, and they're used to getting away with it without having it disputed. -- Pehmva! Random quote: http://sthomas.net/sigimage.php Mickey Max Entropy More than just a name, a lifestyle.

I had some run-ins with the PVPD when I was a teenager. It doesn't sound like they've changed much. Back then, they thought they were gods who were themselves completely above the law. They would routinely pull people over and spend an hour or more harassing them, searching their vehicle (without probable cause) and generally give them a hard time, all without ever telling them why they had been pulled over in the first place. This happened to me and just about everyone I knew. Basically, if you weren't driving a Mercedes or BMW, you weren't supposed to be there. I'd pick up the cache and place it somewhere else, with a different e-mail address associated with it (in case it gets found again). If they (or anyone else) ever gives you a ticket for littering because you placed a cache, I'd fight it with everything I had - a cache is NOT litter. I wouldn't normally suggest going against the recommendation of a local police department, but I have experience with the PVPD and if it happened to me, I'd make them prove their case in court. IMHO, they're giving you a hard time because they can. That's what they do, and they're used to getting away with it without having it disputed. -- Pehmva! Random quote:

Since you did post here and may return looking for some feedback, here is my input. I have a Meridian Platinum. I love it for geocaching. Yes, it has some fancy features that I rarely use and may never use, but it works great. More importantly, Magellan has great customer service should your unit ever have a problem. If I decide to upgrade to a better unit, Magellan will be my first consideration. There are pros, cons, and caveats for every GPS; Garmin, Magellan, and others. Look at all the models from all the manufactures. Compare the features and the prices. Decide what features you like and can afford. Pick a few units from each maker and compare them. Do your homework. Then purchase it. Enjoy! Remember this, a basic GPS receiver will put you on top of a geocache just as well as an advanced unit. It does not matter much how you get there, just as long as you get there. A Toyota Corolla will take you to the 7/11 store just as well as a BMW M5. Happy hunting!

ok... I'll bite.. this is a future dream, but if I don't have my dreams, what do I have. R1150GS Adventure Of course it has to have the BMW Motorcycle Navigation unit. It's a Garmin StreetPilot III with base maps supplied by Navigation Technologies. my $0.02 FINALLY!!! Something useful I can do with that Geography degree. :-D

I'm definitely interested. I'm just getting over tendinitis in my left (clutch) arm and am now cleared to ride again. Since the tendinitis started about the same time as I learned about Geocaching I haven't been able to do both at the same time yet. I have the Garmin bicycle mount on my Etrex and my brother made me a custom stainless steel bar that bolts into the (unused) mirror bolt holes on my BMW. Works great. I used my GPS while riding all last summer and fall and with the maps up I don't have as many wrong or missed turns. Easy to find nearest gas, too. We should work some group thing out.