stagg's Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Ok...so I'm new to this and don't have a GPS yet of my own. Am I still able to participate by just using the clues and a online gps system until I get a handheld?? Quote Link to comment
+dnnsgps Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 My first 10 was without a gps! I just followed the lay of the land (boyscouts) and a compass. Might also want to check trail maps to see if you can find it that way. Quote Link to comment
+huskerrich2000 Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 starting gps unit is only $100, some people are very good and can find a geocache using maps, and the verbal clues, so yes you can try. another option would be letterboxing, I don't know your location so I can't advise you on that. Quote Link to comment
stagg's Posted September 30, 2009 Author Share Posted September 30, 2009 starting gps unit is only $100, some people are very good and can find a geocache using maps, and the verbal clues, so yes you can try. another option would be letterboxing, I don't know your location so I can't advise you on that. looked at that website but, can't find any in my area....so I think I am gonna use maps and verbal clues for awhile....yeah...I'll make it challenging...but let me tell ya...a handheld GPS just went higher on my priority list Quote Link to comment
+geognerd Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 You can also try searching for benchmarks: http://www.geocaching.com/mark/ Quote Link to comment
+Team Noodles Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Ok...so I'm new to this and don't have a GPS yet of my own. Am I still able to participate by just using the clues and a online gps system until I get a handheld?? You could try using google earth to help narrow the area down visually, so you got a rough idea of where you need to be Quote Link to comment
+huskerrich2000 Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 (edited) http://www.letterboxing.org/BoxView.php?bo...I_love_you_most! http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...b5-ca80715f0b3e Stagg you appear to be lucky I found this active box right in your area. i did find another there, that you might actually meet the placer of those boxes, there are a couple of letterbox hybrids that show need maintenance, but df mob hasn't visited geocaching for awhile, i can get you those letterboxes if you are interested Edited September 30, 2009 by huskerrich2000 Quote Link to comment
+niraD Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 I've found hundreds of caches without using a GPSr. I usually identified ground zero with the satellite photos in Google Maps instead. Quote Link to comment
+Sol seaker Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 EBAY is a good place for cheap GPSr's. Better if it is a new one, and make sure the seller you're dealing with has a return policy. If they won't take returns, then don't buy it. There are some GPS's on craigslist too. the problem with that is those tend to be older ones and they just aren't as accurate. Check out the pages on the forums under GPS technology to see all the arguments for different GPS units. I just found an end-of-the-season sale on a bottom-of-the-line Garmin GPS for 75.00. It was the last one and the box had been opened so they gave us an additional 10% off the sale price for that. (had to ask for it, but they were happy to give it). You can check out the discount sporting good stores in your area for sales. REI charges the most but has the best return policy. That is not so much an issue with GPSr's because the manufacturer should carry the warranty if there's any problems. Garmin may not stand behind it if it is bought online though. I guess you could say you got it as a gift. Or better yet, actually ask all your friends to pitch in and give it to you as a gift for christmas. Good luck!! Quote Link to comment
+Chi-Town Cacher Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 starting gps unit is only $100, some people are very good and can find a geocache using maps, and the verbal clues, so yes you can try. another option would be letterboxing, I don't know your location so I can't advise you on that. looked at that website but, can't find any in my area....so I think I am gonna use maps and verbal clues for awhile....yeah...I'll make it challenging...but let me tell ya...a handheld GPS just went higher on my priority list Hi. Speaking of very reasonably priced GPSr's there is a very basic one that works great. I know because in addition to my Delorme PN-40 that does paperless caching I also am a proud owner of a Geomate Jr. GPSr! It's only use in life is to find geocaches and can not be used for other purposes. The starting price on this awesome little caching machines is $69.99 and can be purchased at the Groundspeak web store or from REI.com . By the way I've been told REI.com (and their brick and mortar stores) have a very generous return option so if you try and don't like it you just return it (make sure you save your unit packaging and receipt) and the only money you're out would be the shipping fees. That's about as low of a risk as you can get. Then later on when you upgrade to a GPSr with more bells and whistles then you can either keep this as a great little unit for on roadtrips or you can sell it on the Garage Sale forum at this site or on eBay or Craigs list. Oh, I forgot to mention the best part. This very basic and very easy to use GPSr comes with 250,000 geocaches already preloaded on it. Now my Delorme PN-40 that I love will only hold I think it's 1,000 geocaches and that is dwarfed by the Geomate Jrs. 250,000 (that's spread all over the 50 states so it's sure to have some near your area unless you just happen to be in an area with almost no caches to begin with). So anyways if you think you might be interested in learning more about this awesome little caching machine (have I mentioned that I love it?) then you can CLICK HERE! Quote Link to comment
stagg's Posted September 30, 2009 Author Share Posted September 30, 2009 http://www.letterboxing.org/BoxView.php?bo...I_love_you_most! http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...b5-ca80715f0b3e Stagg you appear to be lucky I found this active box right in your area. i did find another there, that you might actually meet the placer of those boxes, there are a couple of letterbox hybrids that show need maintenance, but df mob hasn't visited geocaching for awhile, i can get you those letterboxes if you are interested huskerrich--thanks! I will probably go this weekend and check this one out. I would be interested in those other boxes as well pending that they aren't too far out! Thanks... Quote Link to comment
hoyshnin Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Also look on craigslist for gpsr units for sale. If you want to start geocaching without a gpsr, I would suggest looking for urban geocaches that are larger than a micro. Using google maps you should be able to see where urban hides are generally and any size bigger than micro shouldn't be too hard to find. Quote Link to comment
+huskerrich2000 Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 (edited) http://www.letterboxing.org/BoxView.php?bo...e_dogs_:_Afghan this letterbox is quite interesting, but I am not certain if it is there. http://www.letterboxing.org/BoxView.php?bo...fitti_Letterbox this box is also cross listed on geocaching as a hybrid but logs indicate it hasn't been there for awhile http://www.letterboxing.org/BoxView.php?bo...e=tbc_letterbox this is the one where you might meet def mob herself http://www.letterboxing.org/BoxView.php?bo...awyer_adventure unknown as to the status of this one Edited September 30, 2009 by huskerrich2000 Quote Link to comment
+JABs Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 We did our first 20 or so without one and still do the odd one for the extra challenge without a GPS. The is one Cachers in Oz who has several hundred finds all with out a GPS. Quote Link to comment
+TheChagnons Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 We did not have any luck without a GPS, but we are not a resourceful family...lol! We looked for our first cache for 15 without a GPS, said screw it and ran to walmart to buy one... Quote Link to comment
stagg's Posted September 30, 2009 Author Share Posted September 30, 2009 Thanks everyone for all your feedback...that give me some great ideas for getting a cheaper gps! Also, thanks to huskerrich for all the info on the letterboxes...those look fun too! Going to check some of those out this weekend! And btw I officially found my first cache!! I'm excited...now of course, it was outside my work in my parking lot but....who cares?? Not me! 1 down and way too many to count to go! Quote Link to comment
Knight-Errant Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Ok...so I'm new to this and don't have a GPS yet of my own. Am I still able to participate by just using the clues and a online gps system until I get a handheld?? Certainly you are still able to participate. (We found about 500 caches before we were able to take advantage of a GPSr.) In fact, we would almost recommend everyone start gecaching without a GPSr for two reasons: 1) Believe it or not, geocaching is not for everyone. If you spend a even a small sum on a GPSr and then decide you are one of those extremely rare people, you are not going to be very happy. 2) Once you can start using a GPSr, you will appreciate it much more. Until you get a GPSr you can indeed use the online maps. However, you will find that they do have some limitations. Your primary limitation will be when searching in areas without distictive landmarks (i.e., heavily wooded areas, open areas, etc.) and areas that have low resolution for the online maps. (Again, for the comments that will come later, we didn't say you can't use the maps in these areas, just that they are not as beneficial.) The other limitation will be if you try to use the onlime maps only for placing caches. We still highly recommend at least borrowing a GPSr to establish confirm your coordinates before submitting a cache. While it is possible to establish coordinates using online maps only, we have seen a lot of frustration generated using this proceedure. Finally, in our experience, the one of the greatest advantages of the GPSr is often not necessarily in finding a specific cache, but in finding all the nearby caches. Good luck in your geocaching endeavors! Quote Link to comment
rbirtles Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 Some car satnav systems allow you to search by GPS co-cordinates. Although these units are meant for the roads they are fairly accurate to let you know how close you are to a location/cache. Thus if you can determine the approximate location via google earth, maps and compass such a unit may be useful until you work out whether you want to invest in a proper handheld GPS unit. Just my 2c worth. Cheers Rob. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 starting gps unit is only $100, some people are very good and can find a geocache using maps, and the verbal clues, so yes you can try. another option would be letterboxing, I don't know your location so I can't advise you on that. You can find a servicable GPS for less than that. A new eTrex H goes for 90 bucks and you can find some very good GPS units used for as little as 30 dollars on Ebay. Just check here before buying something because the regulars can tell you which used units are worth the money and which ones should be avoided. Quote Link to comment
+DENelson83 Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 starting gps unit is only $100, some people are very good and can find a geocache using maps, and the verbal clues, so yes you can try. another option would be letterboxing, I don't know your location so I can't advise you on that. You can find a servicable GPS for less than that. A new eTrex H goes for 90 bucks and you can find some very good GPS units used for as little as 30 dollars on Ebay. Just check here before buying something because the regulars can tell you which used units are worth the money and which ones should be avoided. Plus, there's the geomate.jr. They go for about $70. Quote Link to comment
+edscott Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 Thanks everyone for all your feedback...that give me some great ideas for getting a cheaper gps! Also, thanks to huskerrich for all the info on the letterboxes...those look fun too! Going to check some of those out this weekend! And btw I officially found my first cache!! I'm excited...now of course, it was outside my work in my parking lot but....who cares?? Not me! 1 down and way too many to count to go! There 'ya go. Just keep on caching. If you feel like getting a GPS go ahead, but if you don't you'll probably end up being a pretty good map reader. Quote Link to comment
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