Preloaded GPS's

[+potshot]

I feel those things are drawing riffraff into our hobby since they can be purchased preloaded by anyone and not require them to sign up on the site.

 

I only have a couple of active caches out but one in particular keeps getting selectively parted out for it's cammo. A typical muggle would take or trash the whole thing so that makes me suspect a "quasi" geocacher is involved particularly when I find a non registered signature in the logbook that is between the last two legit cacher's posts the one that found it intact and the one that found and reported it needed maintenance.

 

I have to shell out a few bucks and an hour or two of my time to repair and replace it so it's not too big a deal but it is annoying and I may have to shut the hide down. I don't like just tossing a Tupperware container in the bushes for a hide I like to make cool little gizmos that I can hide in plain site or make for an interesting find but I may have to give it up if jerks are going to come along and steal parts off of them.

 

I'm going switch them to premium user caches and see what happens but I doubt that will get them off of any lists for preloaded GPS's in the future.

 

By the way I keep our hobby pretty much on the down low to begin with. I've only invited a couple of select people into it over the years. Every hobby I get into if it gets too popular some group or government starts sticking their paw out wanting money and then they start regulating it and eventually make it into more of a hassle than a worthwhile recreation. Just talk to any off roader for an example.

Edited September 15, 2010 by potshot

[Clan Riffster]

When they first announced the Hasbro GPSr, I objected strongly, as they did not contain anything in the packaging detailing the mores and standards by which this game is played. In many conversations regarding this game, muggles asked if they were supposed to keep the cache when they found it, and in one on one conversations, I was able to rectify this assumption. After selling a few gazillion of these to an unwitting public, the company listened to the concerns of folks here, and included some kind of flyer explaining how things work.

 

So, for those units sold in the early days, I have loads of angst. Not so much for the ones made today.

 

But I think he damage is already done.

 

If you keep your D/T high, your caches won't make it through the selection process.

[+Isonzo Karst]

Making them PM only caches will keep them out of future loads of such devices, but they're already loaded into some number of units.

 

Moving them some distance now, and making them PM will probably prevent them from being found by those with the GeoMate, but it may result in the area being torn up by hunters with old data.

[+captnemo]

Then again, you might put an instruction sheet telling the finder to trade not just take and be sure and return the cache to the exact spot they found it. Also tell them about loging in the web.

 

Education may turn them into new great cachers.

[+sbell111]

'Riffraff'???

 

How do we get rid of the 'riffraff' that went ahead and bought a 'real' GPSr and have been playing this silly game for several years?

[GOF's Sock Puppet]

Hey Riff! Is that you? It's me Raff. Long time no see, man!

[+Isonzo Karst]

How do we get rid of the 'riffraff' that went ahead and bought a 'real' GPSr and have been playing this silly game for several years?

 

Platinum

[knowschad]

[knowschad]

I feel those things are drawing riffraff into our hobby since they can be purchased preloaded by anyone and not require them to sign up on the site.

While I tend to agree with much of what you say, you have not presented one bit of evidence that the Geomate Jr. has anything at all to do with your muggling problems. How do you make that connection?

[GOF's Sock Puppet]

That is just too funny!

[+sbell111]

I would buy that for Princess Wigglypants.

[+Castle Mischief]

I would buy that for Princess Wigglypants.

 

Pardon the slight derailment of topic, but I think that's just too cute.

 

I had a small Princess Snugglebuttons once. Now she's 12 and only slightly less snuggly. Enjoy those early moments, neighbor.

[+potshot]

I feel those things are drawing riffraff into our hobby since they can be purchased preloaded by anyone and not require them to sign up on the site.

While I tend to agree with much of what you say, you have not presented one bit of evidence that the Geomate Jr. has anything at all to do with your muggling problems. How do you make that connection?

 

I'm just venting.

 

I'm not saying it did but if you read my post carefully I did say. "Selectively parted out for the cammo." There's no reason for the typical muggle to do that. They would take the whole thing or destroy it. An unregistered name in the logbook between the last two finds? Plus this cache is hard to just bumble into unless you know it is there. Once you do know it's there you don't even need a GPS to find it though. It becomes one of those "Duh" type of finds. I've had this happen several times and some other problems that I was able to correct quickly since I bike through there almost every day and check on it. For instance one time someone was too cheap to spend 50 cents on a magnet and too lazy to flatten out a soup can lid and paint it so they just had to pry my magnet out of the base and pry off the soup can lid which I had glued into my plastic container to make it stick to the magnet then shim my container back into the base with a tissue. Not something a muggle would do and I would hate to accuse a registered member of geocaching.com of doing that. Things like this make me suspect an amateur cacher of some sort is involved. Someone who likes to find them but is not really into the spirit of the game and may see an opportunity to use my cache parts to maybe make something weird of their own out of?

 

Another point I'm trying to make is my leeriness of the mass marketing of our hobby to just anyone. I liked it better when it was a semi secret nerd sport that you got into by being invited by another geocacher which is how I heard about it. Also the equipment costs and the knowledge needed to use it kept a lot of people out that might prove to be a problem. Now I see those preloaded GPSs for sale everywhere even at the swap meets. Anyone with $10 can download an I Phone app. A lot of the homeless in my neighborhood have I Phones and I Pods now surprisingly. I'm not bagging on the homeless I may me in that predicament too here shortly but that is an example of how easily anyone can get into our hobby and of coarse that opens the door for problems. More is usually not the merrier.

[+tozainamboku]

I feel those things are drawing riffraff into our hobby since they can be purchased preloaded by anyone and not require them to sign up on the site.

While I tend to agree with much of what you say, you have not presented one bit of evidence that the Geomate Jr. has anything at all to do with your muggling problems. How do you make that connection?

 

I'm just venting.

 

I'm not saying it did but if you read my post carefully I did say. "Selectively parted out for the cammo." There's no reason for the typical muggle to do that. They would take the whole thing or destroy it. An unregistered name in the logbook between the last two finds? Plus this cache is hard to just bumble into unless you know it is there. Once you do know it's there you don't even need a GPS to find it though. It becomes one of those "Duh" type of finds. I've had this happen several times and some other problems that I was able to correct quickly since I bike through there almost every day and check on it. For instance one time someone was too cheap to spend 50 cents on a magnet and too lazy to flatten out a soup can lid and paint it so they just had to pry my magnet out of the base and pry off the soup can lid which I had glued into my plastic container to make it stick to the magnet then shim my container back into the base with a tissue. Not something a muggle would do and I would hate to accuse a registered member of geocaching.com of doing that. Things like this make me suspect an amateur cacher of some sort is involved. Someone who likes to find them but is not really into the spirit of the game and may see an opportunity to use my cache parts to maybe make something weird of their own out of?

AFAIK, you need to have a Geocaching.com account to hide caches. Here you're accusing someone of stealing your magnet and the attachment mechanism. Seems that if is a geocacher, the person would be doing it to use in a cache they are going to hide. Someone with a pre-loaded GPS who doesn't have an account isn't hiding caches. I'd suspect however, that you cache was stumbled on by a homeless person who took the soup can lid and magnet to add the shopping cart of cans they were taking to the recycling center.

[+PKJ&Legato]

IDK...I got a new car GPS and it came with some Geocaching information which led to having 10 dollars and an Android phone, so decided to try geocaching. I don't think that makes me sub par. Blanket statements aren't cool. And to make another point. What is wrong with having new people start playing? You were new to it once. Just because someTHING got me into it and not someONE doesn't mean I'm any less valued then someone that joined because of a friend.

 

PKJ

[+Chokecherry]

I would never have got into this if it wasn't for the free app on the phone. From there I determined I really like this and invested in better equipment.

 

I saw some preloaded GPS units in Target. They're not exactly flying off the shelf here. Just not that many people interested. It's still kind of an investment for a limited use toy essentially. If it's not something you're already familiar with to some degree it's just not something that's going to interest you as you walk down the aisle in the store. I think the free phone apps are resulting in more people dipping their toes in the water than the pre-loaded units honestly.

[+potshot]

I feel those things are drawing riffraff into our hobby since they can be purchased preloaded by anyone and not require them to sign up on the site.

While I tend to agree with much of what you say, you have not presented one bit of evidence that the Geomate Jr. has anything at all to do with your muggling problems. How do you make that connection?

 

I'm just venting.

 

I'm not saying it did but if you read my post carefully I did say. "Selectively parted out for the cammo." There's no reason for the typical muggle to do that. They would take the whole thing or destroy it. An unregistered name in the logbook between the last two finds? Plus this cache is hard to just bumble into unless you know it is there. Once you do know it's there you don't even need a GPS to find it though. It becomes one of those "Duh" type of finds. I've had this happen several times and some other problems that I was able to correct quickly since I bike through there almost every day and check on it. For instance one time someone was too cheap to spend 50 cents on a magnet and too lazy to flatten out a soup can lid and paint it so they just had to pry my magnet out of the base and pry off the soup can lid which I had glued into my plastic container to make it stick to the magnet then shim my container back into the base with a tissue. Not something a muggle would do and I would hate to accuse a registered member of geocaching.com of doing that. Things like this make me suspect an amateur cacher of some sort is involved. Someone who likes to find them but is not really into the spirit of the game and may see an opportunity to use my cache parts to maybe make something weird of their own out of?

AFAIK, you need to have a Geocaching.com account to hide caches. Here you're accusing someone of stealing your magnet and the attachment mechanism. Seems that if is a geocacher, the person would be doing it to use in a cache they are going to hide. Someone with a pre-loaded GPS who doesn't have an account isn't hiding caches. I'd suspect however, that you cache was stumbled on by a homeless person who took the soup can lid and magnet to add the shopping cart of cans they were taking to the recycling center.

 

Actually you don't need an account with geocaching.com to hide a cache. Particularly if your going to use that cache to stash your dope in. You probably wouldn't want to publish it anyway. So far the only one accusing another geocacher of anything is you and you may be right. I'm trying come up with alternate theories. Maybe that's burying my head in the sand.

 

Chances are a homeless person would not notice this particular hide unless they are running an I Phone app or have one of those preloaded GPSs to play with. It looks like city infrastructure and appears to require tools to dismantle and the mount does require tools to remove which I figure most punks don't make a habit carrying around all the time and that's most likely why it has survived.

[knowschad]

Actually you don't need an account with geocaching.com to hide a cache. Particularly if your going to use that cache to stash your dope in. You probably wouldn't want to publish it anyway.

I don't think I'd be stashing my dope anywhere except in my own home, and certainly not in a stolen geocache. It would probably be in a hollowed out copy of Huck Finn on the 3rd shelf of the bookcase in my spare bedroom.

 

I can particularly related to your lament about the increasing popularity of what was once a "secret" activity. It looks like we both joined at about the same time (just near the tail end of the "secret" part). But there's a lot more than the Geomate, Jr. behind that popularity. You can also blame the smart phones, the REI, Jeep, and other marketing schemes, the news stories that result from bomb scares and geocachers (not to mention geocaching organizations!) that feel they are doing the activity a favor by popularizing it.

[+Coldgears]

Actually you don't need an account with geocaching.com to hide a cache. Particularly if your going to use that cache to stash your dope in. You probably wouldn't want to publish it anyway.

I don't think I'd be stashing my dope anywhere except in my own home, and certainly not in a stolen geocache. It would probably be in a hollowed out copy of Huck Finn on the 3rd shelf of the bookcase in my spare bedroom.

 

I can particularly related to your lament about the increasing popularity of what was once a "secret" activity. It looks like we both joined at about the same time (just near the tail end of the "secret" part). But there's a lot more than the Geomate, Jr. behind that popularity. You can also blame the smart phones, the REI, Jeep, and other marketing schemes, the news stories that result from bomb scares and geocachers (not to mention geocaching organizations!) that feel they are doing the activity a favor by popularizing it.

Not to derail the topic. But how is geocaching becoming mainstream a BAD thing. I'd think it would be good.

[+potshot]

Actually you don't need an account with geocaching.com to hide a cache. Particularly if your going to use that cache to stash your dope in. You probably wouldn't want to publish it anyway.

I don't think I'd be stashing my dope anywhere except in my own home, and certainly not in a stolen geocache. It would probably be in a hollowed out copy of Huck Finn on the 3rd shelf of the bookcase in my spare bedroom.

 

I can particularly related to your lament about the increasing popularity of what was once a "secret" activity. It looks like we both joined at about the same time (just near the tail end of the "secret" part). But there's a lot more than the Geomate, Jr. behind that popularity. You can also blame the smart phones, the REI, Jeep, and other marketing schemes, the news stories that result from bomb scares and geocachers (not to mention geocaching organizations!) that feel they are doing the activity a favor by popularizing it.

 

I'm sitting around today with my tinfoil hat on and and seriously thinking that this hobby is about peak here shortly then rapidly decline. Too many muggles, poor quality hides becoming the norm, more careless cachers popping up that like to trespass for shortcuts and damage landscape, more local and federal government restrictions and so on. Already caching has been prohibited on some public lands or requires a permit. One of my long time recreation areas is getting cache saturated now and it I thought it was a cool for awhile but now I'm noticing the geo trails popping up and I'm afraid things like that might get the place shut down to the public.

Edited September 16, 2010 by potshot

[+scaramedic]

 

I just paid $399 plus $75 shipping for one of these on E-Bay did I get a good deal??

 

 

 

 

 

[knowschad]

Not to derail the topic. But how is geocaching becoming mainstream a BAD thing. I'd think it would be good.

Why?

[knowschad]

Actually you don't need an account with geocaching.com to hide a cache. Particularly if your going to use that cache to stash your dope in. You probably wouldn't want to publish it anyway.

I don't think I'd be stashing my dope anywhere except in my own home, and certainly not in a stolen geocache. It would probably be in a hollowed out copy of Huck Finn on the 3rd shelf of the bookcase in my spare bedroom.

 

I can particularly related to your lament about the increasing popularity of what was once a "secret" activity. It looks like we both joined at about the same time (just near the tail end of the "secret" part). But there's a lot more than the Geomate, Jr. behind that popularity. You can also blame the smart phones, the REI, Jeep, and other marketing schemes, the news stories that result from bomb scares and geocachers (not to mention geocaching organizations!) that feel they are doing the activity a favor by popularizing it.

 

I'm sitting around today with my tinfoil hat on and and seriously thinking that this hobby is about peak here shortly then rapidly decline. Too many muggles, poor quality hides becoming the norm, more careless cachers popping up that like to trespass for shortcuts and damage landscape, more local and federal government restrictions and so on. Already caching has been prohibited on some public lands or requires a permit. One of my long time recreation areas is getting cache saturated now and it I thought it was a cool for awhile but now I'm noticing the geo trails popping up and I'm afraid things like that might get the place shut down to the public.

Not to derail the topic. But how is geocaching declining be a BAD thing. I'd think it would be good.

[knowschad]

 

I just paid $399 plus $75 shipping for one of these on E-Bay did I get a good deal??

 

In the original packaging it would be worth that much, at least.

[+Coldgears]

Not to derail the topic. But how is geocaching becoming mainstream a BAD thing. I'd think it would be good.

Why?

More caches, less bomb squad scares, more creativity as the newcomers come in with there own ideas, less people wondering what you are doing. There are some negatives, such as too many lame caches. But I think the positives are better. Honestly though, I think this discussion would deserve it's own thread.

[knowschad]

Not to derail the topic. But how is geocaching becoming mainstream a BAD thing. I'd think it would be good.

Why?

More caches, less bomb squad scares, more creativity as the newcomers come in with there own ideas, less people wondering what you are doing. There are some negatives, such as too many lame caches. But I think the positives are better. Honestly though, I think this discussion would deserve it's own thread.

 

Fewer caches, fewer bomb squad scares. More creativity because there was less duplication. But mostly... it was more fun when it was "sneaky".

 

I think this discussion is right OT, and I suspect the OP would agree. I think his post was more about geocaching becoming mainstream than about Geomate, Jr.

[+potshot]

I don't care if it gets derailed. It's getting interesting.

[+lomocacher]

(clipped)

Also the equipment costs and the knowledge needed to use it kept a lot of people out that might prove to be a problem. Now I see those preloaded GPSs for sale everywhere even at the swap meets. Anyone with $10 can download an I Phone app. A lot of the homeless in my neighborhood have I Phones and I Pods now surprisingly. I'm not bagging on the homeless I may me in that predicament too here shortly but that is an example of how easily anyone can get into our hobby and of coarse that opens the door for problems. More is usually not the merrier.

 

So maybe Groundspeak should require a college education and a particular income level to get a membership?

 

Seriously, financial status and knowledge level are hardly factors that make or break a good geocacher. The idea that expensive GPS units kept out the riffraff implies that good cachers are financially well-off and bad cachers are poor. Not to mention that the least expensive unit is the Geomate Jr. at $70+--that's hardly pocket change. Or maybe I'm poor and don't realize it.

 

The real issue is education! Brochures or small books explaining geocaching should be included with the pre-loaded GPS units so people understand the game. I live in a major city and there are no local caching groups and no caching events. We need to work together to help others instead of excluding them.

[+potshot]

(clipped)

Also the equipment costs and the knowledge needed to use it kept a lot of people out that might prove to be a problem. Now I see those preloaded GPSs for sale everywhere even at the swap meets. Anyone with $10 can download an I Phone app. A lot of the homeless in my neighborhood have I Phones and I Pods now surprisingly. I'm not bagging on the homeless I may me in that predicament too here shortly but that is an example of how easily anyone can get into our hobby and of coarse that opens the door for problems. More is usually not the merrier.

 

So maybe Groundspeak should require a college education and a particular income level to get a membership?

 

Seriously, financial status and knowledge level are hardly factors that make or break a good geocacher. The idea that expensive GPS units kept out the riffraff implies that good cachers are financially well-off and bad cachers are poor. Not to mention that the least expensive unit is the Geomate Jr. at $70+--that's hardly pocket change. Or maybe I'm poor and don't realize it.

 

The real issue is education! Brochures or small books explaining geocaching should be included with the pre-loaded GPS units so people understand the game. I live in a major city and there are no local caching groups and no caching events. We need to work together to help others instead of excluding them.

 

There are people out there that have no interest in following rules and who's idea of having fun is spoiling the fun for everyone else. That's the RIFFRAFF I'm referring to! If you don't believe those people exist then you've been living under a rock.

The ones I've had to deal with come in all packages but they typically are dumb, lazy and cheap! Not necessarily poor. If ruining someones fun doesn't require too much thought, effort or spending their own money they'll do it.

 

Here's some examples of some riffraff killjoys who have destroyed my ability to enjoy some of my previous hobbies and are working on destroying some of my current ones.

People who hate and want to regulate or eliminate:

Motorcycle enthusiasts.

Gun owners.

Hunters.

Fisherman.

Mountain bikers.

Skate boarders. (Now that I'm getting too old do it myself they annoy me too but I leave them alone.)

Off roaders.

Hikers.

Campers.

That's just to name a few. No matter what you do to have fun if too many people get involved in it or know that it is going on some jerkoff is going to come out of the woodworks and try to screw it up. That's why I keep my fun on the down low, try to avoid as many people as possible while I'm recreating and be selective on whom I invite to join me. That's what originally attracted me to geocaching because the sport was a sneaky one and very few people knew about it.

 

My fear is that this hobby will be dead in a few years. Either inundated by muggles, regulated to the point that it's no fun anymore or outlawed completely.

 

By the way. I'm poor! The only reason I'm engaging in this in this conversation today is because I've been stuck at home all day on the computer selling everything I can get by without on the internet just to insure I can make rent this month. If work doesn't pick up I'm out on my a** by November. Hey maybe I can pass out some geocaching pamphlets at the homeless shelter while I'm there!

[+sbell111]

... Another point I'm trying to make is my leeriness of the mass marketing of our hobby to just anyone. I liked it better when it was a semi secret nerd sport that you got into by being invited by another geocacher which is how I heard about it. ...

Interesting take. Guess how I found about this game (four years earlier than you)? It was showcased on a national (international?) television show. I would consider that 'marketing to the masses'.

[MisterEFQ]

Another point I'm trying to make is my leeriness of the mass marketing of our hobby to just anyone. I liked it better when it was a semi secret nerd sport that you got into by being invited by another geocacher which is how I heard about it. Also the equipment costs and the knowledge needed to use it kept a lot of people out that might prove to be a problem. Now I see those preloaded GPSs for sale everywhere even at the swap meets. Anyone with $10 can download an I Phone app. A lot of the homeless in my neighborhood have I Phones and I Pods now surprisingly. I'm not bagging on the homeless I may me in that predicament too here shortly but that is an example of how easily anyone can get into our hobby and of coarse that opens the door for problems. More is usually not the merrier.

 

Talk about Elitism. Thats one thing I like about geocaching, ANYBODY can do it. If you have a GPS and some gas, its pretty much free. I tell as many people as I can about geocaching. Hoping that they will play the game too.

 

I really dont get this viewpoint.

[+Charlie Fingers]

 

OK, I will admit the 'shopped photo had me for a few minutes. At first I was outraged that such a device was made available. Especially with the tag lines "Get FTF" and "Find Ammo Boxes." Then I looked closer at the picture and also googled it.

 

Ha ha, jokes on me.

 

BTW: I made a copy of the picture to show some of my non forum reading fellow cachers. Hope you don't mind. (this line added in edit)

Edited September 17, 2010 by Charlie Fingers

[+wimseyguy]

I feel those things are drawing riffraff into our hobby since they can be purchased preloaded by anyone and not require them to sign up on the site.

 

I only have a couple of active caches out but one in particular keeps getting selectively parted out for it's cammo. A typical muggle would take or trash the whole thing so that makes me suspect a "quasi" geocacher is involved particularly when I find a non registered signature in the logbook that is between the last two legit cacher's posts the one that found it intact and the one that found and reported it needed maintenance.

 

I have to shell out a few bucks and an hour or two of my time to repair and replace it so it's not too big a deal but it is annoying and I may have to shut the hide down. I don't like just tossing a Tupperware container in the bushes for a hide I like to make cool little gizmos that I can hide in plain site or make for an interesting find but I may have to give it up if jerks are going to come along and steal parts off of them.

 

I'm going switch them to premium user caches and see what happens but I doubt that will get them off of any lists for preloaded GPS's in the future.

 

By the way I keep our hobby pretty much on the down low to begin with. I've only invited a couple of select people into it over the years. Every hobby I get into if it gets too popular some group or government starts sticking their paw out wanting money and then they start regulating it and eventually make it into more of a hassle than a worthwhile recreation. Just talk to any off roader for an example.

 

Dude, have you looked around at an event recently? Plenty of guys like this have been showing up for years and geocaching. Stop being so elitist. Anyone who wants to get outside and have fun can geocache. If you are having problems with one of your special caches, update the stash note in it. Umm, you do have one of those in it right?

 

[+Charlie Fingers]

Actually you don't need an account with geocaching.com to hide a cache. Particularly if your going to use that cache to stash your dope in. You probably wouldn't want to publish it anyway.

I don't think I'd be stashing my dope anywhere except in my own home, and certainly not in a stolen geocache. It would probably be in a hollowed out copy of Huck Finn on the 3rd shelf of the bookcase in my spare bedroom.

 

Hey! knowschad just told us where to find their weed next time we visit!

[knowschad]

Actually you don't need an account with geocaching.com to hide a cache. Particularly if your going to use that cache to stash your dope in. You probably wouldn't want to publish it anyway.

I don't think I'd be stashing my dope anywhere except in my own home, and certainly not in a stolen geocache. It would probably be in a hollowed out copy of Huck Finn on the 3rd shelf of the bookcase in my spare bedroom.

 

Hey! knowschad just told us where to find their weed next time we visit!

Sshhhhhhh!

[+GeoGeeBee]

Actually you don't need an account with geocaching.com to hide a cache. Particularly if your going to use that cache to stash your dope in. You probably wouldn't want to publish it anyway.

I don't think I'd be stashing my dope anywhere except in my own home, and certainly not in a stolen geocache. It would probably be in a hollowed out copy of Huck Finn on the 3rd shelf of the bookcase in my spare bedroom.

 

Hey! knowschad just told us where to find their weed next time we visit!

Sshhhhhhh!

 

Huck Finn is a terrible choice. Anyone scanning your bookshelf is likely to pick it up and flip through it out of sheer nostalgia. Something like "Principles of Financial Accounting" would be a much better choice.

[+DanOCan]

Geocaching went downhill in December of 2003 as soon as they let me in.

[AZcachemeister]

 

I just blew beer out of my nose.

The keyboard is soaked.

Thanks a lot.

[knowschad]

 

I just blew beer out of my nose.

The keyboard is soaked.

Thanks a lot.

No problem... any time. Just ask.