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Newbie thrill to disappointment


StepDr

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I have a friend from school who has been sharing his passion about geocache with me all semester. I got the opportunity on Saturday while we were on a school field trip to go on my first geocache find. Using my friends GPS and his guidance we found it GC1AB9KC called Hazadous currents. Had a little item snide that said "BeKind To One Another" I instantly thought, how cool! My friend showed me how to sign the scroll and we we off to find another. At this point I thought what a cool hobby this would be for me.

I registered on the site and today went to log my first cache and join in the fun. Then the brakes came on with the dreaded "Premium Membership" requirements to even learn about my first find or log it. I totally understand it takes money to keep site going etc. but for first timers there should be a beta period before one has to join.

Just sayin

StepDr

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I have a friend from school who has been sharing his passion about geocache with me all semester. I got the opportunity on Saturday while we were on a school field trip to go on my first geocache find. Using my friends GPS and his guidance we found it GC1AB9KC called Hazadous currents. Had a little item snide that said "BeKind To One Another" I instantly thought, how cool! My friend showed me how to sign the scroll and we we off to find another. At this point I thought what a cool hobby this would be for me.

I registered on the site and today went to log my first cache and join in the fun. Then the brakes came on with the dreaded "Premium Membership" requirements to even learn about my first find or log it. I totally understand it takes money to keep site going etc. but for first timers there should be a beta period before one has to join.

Just sayin

StepDr

 

 

You don't have to pay. There are many, many geocaches that are not premium member only-with over 2 million chances are there are hundreds near you. Now you can not view the cache page, but you can still log the cache as found. Search the forums for a how to.

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Some cache owners make their caches available only to premium members, but many don't.

Look for the non-premium caches first. Once you've caught the bug you will either choose to travel further to find new caches or enjoy it so much that you no longer care about the price of a premium membership.

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I upgraded to Premium after a local cacher made all his hides Premium Only. Once I learned about all the other perks of Premium Membership (pocket queries and notifications, mainly), I decided it was well worth it. It is not a necessity, but a nice option. I do agree, however, that a new member should be able to try it out for free. I have seen some coupons before, given out at an event, for a 30-day trial.

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The particular cache that your friend took you to -- properly, GC1B9KC Hazardous Currents -- does happen to be a Premium Member Only cache.

 

Nothing there, or at geocaching.com says that you must be a Premium Member to join and go geocaching. Indeed, you have already joined.

In the grand picture, if there were to be "fault" assigned, it probably be to your friend for not letting you know there is a difference. With 5700 finds to his credit, he would certainly know there is a difference. Or perhaps it was simply that you did not read enough of the website to notice yourself that there is a difference.

 

You simply ran into a wall of not being able to log a PMO cache, and based up that, made an incorrect assumption -- that of "..."Premium Membership" requirements..."

 

There is a method for you to log a PMO cache and I am sure that somebody will be along shortly to tell you how to do it, or you can search the forums with the keyword "backdoor". I would myself, but I have never needed or used the method.

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Check out this post in a thread on the backdoor logging topic. Your friend picked a really nice one to start you on. I found it last summer. We spent the better part of the morning in that park. You don't need to pay to play, but there are some features, especially Pocket Queries, that make it worth the expense.

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If you enjoyed the experience, you will definitely benefit from a PM. We pay for it by substituting McDonalds for Olive Garden once a year. :laughing: The idea is that the PM friend would show a newbie how to log the PM cache. Sorry you were left to your own accord. You will get some great advice in this forum if you are willing to listen. As with any new activity, seek to understand first. Here's to a great new hobby.

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I have a friend from school who has been sharing his passion about geocache with me all semester. I got the opportunity on Saturday while we were on a school field trip to go on my first geocache find. Using my friends GPS and his guidance we found it GC1AB9KC called Hazadous currents. Had a little item snide that said "BeKind To One Another" I instantly thought, how cool! My friend showed me how to sign the scroll and we we off to find another. At this point I thought what a cool hobby this would be for me.

I registered on the site and today went to log my first cache and join in the fun. Then the brakes came on with the dreaded "Premium Membership" requirements to even learn about my first find or log it. I totally understand it takes money to keep site going etc. but for first timers there should be a beta period before one has to join.

Just sayin

StepDr

 

If you're not a spammer you should be punished for giving an example.

 

I noted in my posting that the example I gave wasn't fully excepted. How was I to know that they never read a book. Later I decided to change the conversation in an attempt to dissuade them from knowing what I was up to.

Edited by BlueDeuce
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I have a friend from school who has been sharing his passion about geocache with me all semester. I got the opportunity on Saturday while we were on a school field trip to go on my first geocache find. Using my friends GPS and his guidance we found it GC1AB9KC called Hazadous currents. Had a little item snide that said "BeKind To One Another" I instantly thought, how cool! My friend showed me how to sign the scroll and we we off to find another. At this point I thought what a cool hobby this would be for me.

I registered on the site and today went to log my first cache and join in the fun. Then the brakes came on with the dreaded "Premium Membership" requirements to even learn about my first find or log it. I totally understand it takes money to keep site going etc. but for first timers there should be a beta period before one has to join.

Just sayin

StepDr

 

If you're not a spammer you should be punished for giving an example.

 

I noted in my posting that the example I gave wasn't fully excepted. How was I to know that they never read a book. Later I decided to change the conversation in an attempt to dissuade them from knowing what I was up to.

:blink: wut?

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I have a friend from school who has been sharing his passion about geocache with me all semester. I got the opportunity on Saturday while we were on a school field trip to go on my first geocache find. Using my friends GPS and his guidance we found it GC1AB9KC called Hazadous currents. Had a little item snide that said "BeKind To One Another" I instantly thought, how cool! My friend showed me how to sign the scroll and we we off to find another. At this point I thought what a cool hobby this would be for me.

I registered on the site and today went to log my first cache and join in the fun. Then the brakes came on with the dreaded "Premium Membership" requirements to even learn about my first find or log it. I totally understand it takes money to keep site going etc. but for first timers there should be a beta period before one has to join.

Just sayin

StepDr

If you are still reading this thread, use this link to log your find

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?WP=GC1AB9KC

Edit: I think you posted the wrong cache code, try this one, I think it is the one you were refering to.

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?WP=GC1B9KC

Edited by Andronicus
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With 5700 finds to his credit, he would certainly know there is a difference.

 

While I know the difference, I really have no way of knowing that I'm looking for a PMO cache when I'm actually looking for it. My GPS doesn't tell me and it's not like the container is a different color or anything. Of the ten caches that I found last week, I have no idea how many, if any are PMO. Having been a PM since 6/05, it's really the last thing that I think of when geocaching. I'm afraid that I could easily make the same mistake if I were to take a new person out because I'm simply not paying attention to such things.

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I have a friend from school who has been sharing his passion about geocache with me all semester. I got the opportunity on Saturday while we were on a school field trip to go on my first geocache find. Using my friends GPS and his guidance we found it GC1AB9KC called Hazadous currents. Had a little item snide that said "BeKind To One Another" I instantly thought, how cool! My friend showed me how to sign the scroll and we we off to find another. At this point I thought what a cool hobby this would be for me.

I registered on the site and today went to log my first cache and join in the fun. Then the brakes came on with the dreaded "Premium Membership" requirements to even learn about my first find or log it. I totally understand it takes money to keep site going etc. but for first timers there should be a beta period before one has to join.

Just sayin

StepDr

 

If you're not a spammer you should be punished for giving an example.

 

I noted in my posting that the example I gave wasn't fully excepted. How was I to know that they never read a book. Later I decided to change the conversation in an attempt to dissuade them from knowing what I was up to.

:blink: wut?

 

I find myself asking the same thing for a large percentage of their comments. :huh:

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With 5700 finds to his credit, he would certainly know there is a difference.

 

While I know the difference, I really have no way of knowing that I'm looking for a PMO cache when I'm actually looking for it. My GPS doesn't tell me and it's not like the container is a different color or anything. Of the ten caches that I found last week, I have no idea how many, if any are PMO. Having been a PM since 6/05, it's really the last thing that I think of when geocaching. I'm afraid that I could easily make the same mistake if I were to take a new person out because I'm simply not paying attention to such things.

I'm the same way. I never notice if a cache is PMO or not. It's in my database, so I look for it.

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I have a friend from school who has been sharing his passion about geocache with me all semester. I got the opportunity on Saturday while we were on a school field trip to go on my first geocache find. Using my friends GPS and his guidance we found it GC1AB9KC called Hazadous currents. Had a little item snide that said "BeKind To One Another" I instantly thought, how cool! My friend showed me how to sign the scroll and we we off to find another. At this point I thought what a cool hobby this would be for me.

I registered on the site and today went to log my first cache and join in the fun. Then the brakes came on with the dreaded "Premium Membership" requirements to even learn about my first find or log it. I totally understand it takes money to keep site going etc. but for first timers there should be a beta period before one has to join.

Just sayin

StepDr

 

If you're not a spammer you should be punished for giving an example.

 

I noted in my posting that the example I gave wasn't fully excepted. How was I to know that they never read a book. Later I decided to change the conversation in an attempt to dissuade them from knowing what I was up to.

:blink: wut?

 

I find myself asking the same thing for a large percentage of their comments. :huh:

 

Exactly.

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I have a friend from school who has been sharing his passion about geocache with me all semester. I got the opportunity on Saturday while we were on a school field trip to go on my first geocache find. Using my friends GPS and his guidance we found it GC1AB9KC called Hazadous currents. Had a little item snide that said "BeKind To One Another" I instantly thought, how cool! My friend showed me how to sign the scroll and we we off to find another. At this point I thought what a cool hobby this would be for me.

I registered on the site and today went to log my first cache and join in the fun. Then the brakes came on with the dreaded "Premium Membership" requirements to even learn about my first find or log it. I totally understand it takes money to keep site going etc. but for first timers there should be a beta period before one has to join.

Just sayin

StepDr

 

If you're not a spammer you should be punished for giving an example.

 

I noted in my posting that the example I gave wasn't fully excepted. How was I to know that they never read a book. Later I decided to change the conversation in an attempt to dissuade them from knowing what I was up to.

:blink: wut?

 

I find myself asking the same thing for a large percentage of their comments. :huh:

 

Exactly.

:laughing::lol::laughing:

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With 5700 finds to his credit, he would certainly know there is a difference.

 

While I know the difference, I really have no way of knowing that I'm looking for a PMO cache when I'm actually looking for it. My GPS doesn't tell me and it's not like the container is a different color or anything. Of the ten caches that I found last week, I have no idea how many, if any are PMO. Having been a PM since 6/05, it's really the last thing that I think of when geocaching. I'm afraid that I could easily make the same mistake if I were to take a new person out because I'm simply not paying attention to such things.

 

If you are not a premium member you will not be able to see PMO caches, your GPS will only show caches you put in it.

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With 5700 finds to his credit, he would certainly know there is a difference.

 

While I know the difference, I really have no way of knowing that I'm looking for a PMO cache when I'm actually looking for it. My GPS doesn't tell me and it's not like the container is a different color or anything. Of the ten caches that I found last week, I have no idea how many, if any are PMO. Having been a PM since 6/05, it's really the last thing that I think of when geocaching. I'm afraid that I could easily make the same mistake if I were to take a new person out because I'm simply not paying attention to such things.

 

If you are not a premium member you will not be able to see PMO caches, your GPS will only show caches you put in it.

You do "see" them online via a computer but you dont see the coordinates for them. When an area is so full of PMO caches, its really annoying to go through the list to find a cache that is a non PMO cache. That wasnt an issue for me, but of where this OP was caching in is could be annoying.

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just over 57 cents a week - not bad IMHO .

In fact, thats really bad if you are going to pay just to cache for PMO caches.

 

I pay my membership so I can get PQ and API. Thats all. PMO caches are a joke IMHO.

This discussion is always entertaining to me as I have been a happy premium member since 2003. The stuff I like is always available. I do not care for PM only caches. They are a part of the landscape. Good caches are always available to find.

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With 5700 finds to his credit, he would certainly know there is a difference.

 

While I know the difference, I really have no way of knowing that I'm looking for a PMO cache when I'm actually looking for it. My GPS doesn't tell me and it's not like the container is a different color or anything. Of the ten caches that I found last week, I have no idea how many, if any are PMO. Having been a PM since 6/05, it's really the last thing that I think of when geocaching. I'm afraid that I could easily make the same mistake if I were to take a new person out because I'm simply not paying attention to such things.

 

If you are not a premium member you will not be able to see PMO caches, your GPS will only show caches you put in it.

You do "see" them online via a computer but you dont see the coordinates for them. When an area is so full of PMO caches, its really annoying to go through the list to find a cache that is a non PMO cache. That wasnt an issue for me, but of where this OP was caching in is could be annoying.

I hadn't looked at where this OP was caching. There does seem to be an overabundance of PMO caches in the area. It would probably be enough to make me upgrade, if I wasn't Premium already. Like I said earlier, that was my initial reason for upgrading. I didn't find out how nice the other perks were until later. Now I wonder how I was able to function without them (especially PQs).

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With 5700 finds to his credit, he would certainly know there is a difference.

 

While I know the difference, I really have no way of knowing that I'm looking for a PMO cache when I'm actually looking for it. My GPS doesn't tell me and it's not like the container is a different color or anything. Of the ten caches that I found last week, I have no idea how many, if any are PMO. Having been a PM since 6/05, it's really the last thing that I think of when geocaching. I'm afraid that I could easily make the same mistake if I were to take a new person out because I'm simply not paying attention to such things.

 

If you are not a premium member you will not be able to see PMO caches, your GPS will only show caches you put in it.

You do "see" them online via a computer but you dont see the coordinates for them. When an area is so full of PMO caches, its really annoying to go through the list to find a cache that is a non PMO cache. That wasnt an issue for me, but of where this OP was caching in is could be annoying.

 

I think you all got sidetracked a bit. My point was as a PM, you don't see a lot of distinction between basic and PMO caches. I could very easily bring a new cacher to a PMO cache because I simply didn't realize it was a PMO cache. If I'm sitting at work and I decide to show one of my co workers what Geocaching is about after work, I'm going to go grab my 60SC out of the car, find the nearest cache and bring him there. At that point, I have no idea if that cache is basic or PMO, it's simply a waypoint on my GPS.

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With 5700 finds to his credit, he would certainly know there is a difference.

 

While I know the difference, I really have no way of knowing that I'm looking for a PMO cache when I'm actually looking for it. My GPS doesn't tell me and it's not like the container is a different color or anything. Of the ten caches that I found last week, I have no idea how many, if any are PMO. Having been a PM since 6/05, it's really the last thing that I think of when geocaching. I'm afraid that I could easily make the same mistake if I were to take a new person out because I'm simply not paying attention to such things.

 

If you are not a premium member you will not be able to see PMO caches, your GPS will only show caches you put in it.

You do "see" them online via a computer but you dont see the coordinates for them. When an area is so full of PMO caches, its really annoying to go through the list to find a cache that is a non PMO cache. That wasnt an issue for me, but of where this OP was caching in is could be annoying.

 

God forbid anyone being annoyed.

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