A Welcome to Newcomers

January 14, 2003

It was suggested by Elliot that we should open up a new topic for new Geocachers who have joined the sport as a result of the BBC television programme on Geocaching.

So here it is.

This might be a good place for you to introduce yourselves so we can all say "Hi" etc.

Most importantly, Welcome to the fold, we do hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

If you need any help or advice, ask in this forum, we are generally a helpful bunch of crackpots, cranks, extroverts, loonies or just plain ordinary folk, call it what you will.

When you place a cache you fill in a form on the website. On the form is a link which takes you to a page giving some guidelines for hiding a cache. This link will take you there.

Tim & June (Winchester)

See June, I told you that sign which said 'Unsuitable for Motor Vehicles' was wrong !

[This message was edited by Tim & June on January 17, 2003 at 11:27 PM.]

1k · January 14, 2003

Yep....and if anyof you fancy a trip to the woods in the dark without a torch give us a shout! happy to guide you LoL

Pid

--------------------------------------------------------

One ring to rule them all, One ring to find them, One ring to bring them all and in the Darkness bind them!

www.buckscaching.co.uk

January 14, 2003

Shunting this up to the top of the forums for the newbies....

Welcome one, and welcome all!!

You'll never look back now.

------

An it harm none, do what ye will

January 14, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by TreeBeard (Pid):
Yep....and if any of you fancy a trip to the woods in the dark...

or indeed a field with no white gravel!

Michael aka 1/2 of Team Blitz

It's not a matter of win or lose...until you lose

January 15, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Kouros:
You'll never look back now.

...no. In fact you will spend most of your time looking down. Down at a small arrow on an LCD screen...

No trees were harmed during the production of this posting, but a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced....

January 17, 2003

So has anyone got any ideas as to how many people have joined since the show? I have heard from a couple but not seen too many new faces on the forums

Its just a hunt for a lunch box, why be so serious!?!

Dan Wilson - www.Buckscaching.co.uk

January 17, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Dan Wilson:
So has anyone got any ideas as to how many people have joined since the show?

I tried to get a rough idea by looking at random user profiles created in the last few days. I looked at 30 which gave their location before I got bored - 2 were from the UK. Based on this, I reckon there must be about 250 new UK cachers since it aired.

For comparison, I looked at some user profiles created earlier in the month. Again, I looked at 30 which gave their location - none were from the UK. So the Inside Out program has increased UK geocacher inflow by infinite percent.

SimonG.org

January 17, 2003

That doesn't sound too bad after all! Hello any newcomers who read this, apologies if me and Pid looked like very very strange people on the program, we are quite normal really...

Its just a hunt for a lunch box, why be so serious!?!

Dan Wilson - www.Buckscaching.co.uk

January 17, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by SimonG:
So the Inside Out program has increased UK geocacher inflow by infinite percent.

Gosh, at that rate all 59.8 million people in the UK must be geocachers by now.

Rich

mobilis in mobili

January 18, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Dan Wilson:
...apologies if me and Pid looked like very very strange people on the program, we are quite normal really...

Honest Guv

Michael aka 1/2 of Team Blitz

It's not a matter of win or lose...until you lose

January 18, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Dan Wilson:
So has anyone got any ideas as to how many people have joined since the show? I have heard from a couple but not seen too many new faces on the forums

Its just a hunt for a lunch box, why be so serious!?!

Dan Wilson - http://www.Buckscaching.co.uk

I don't know if it's the program or not, but since Christmas one of our caches has been visited by 4 new cachers, although only 1 since the program. I guess some people must have got a GPS for Christmas, and started playing.Hopefully the braver ones may turn up on Sunday in Winchester.

Happy New Year

Mark & family

January 18, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by el10t:

quote:
Originally posted by SimonG:
So the Inside Out program has increased UK geocacher inflow by infinite percent.

Gosh, at that rate all 59.8 million people in the UK must be geocachers by now.

Errr no (and you a statistician!), 0 x infinity is anything you like depending on the context.

On another note, there are now 11 replies on this topic and not one of them by a cacher-who-started-as-aresult-of-inside-out. I don't think it deserves its priority status anymore.

-------

jeremyp

The second ten million caches were the worst too.

http://www.jeremyp.net/geocaching

January 18, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by jeremyp:
Errr no (and you a statistician!), 0 x infinity is anything you like depending on the context.

Which is why I put a smiley on my post.

Rich

mobilis in mobili

January 18, 2003

I'm not sure if this counts or not, we didn't see the programme but caught the details on the BBC website. Went and found the cache this morning and shortly will be deciding which one to try for tomorrow.

Regards, Ann and Brian

January 18, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Ann_and_Brian:
I'm not sure if this counts or not, we didn't see the programme but caught the details on the BBC website. Went and found the cache this morning and shortly will be deciding which one to try for tomorrow.

Regards, Ann and Brian

Welcome to our obsession Ann and Brian.

Iintroduced two new people to the sport today and looks like they are going to get hooked.

Merman

I woke this morning and my boat was not rocking...for one horrid moment I thought I lived in a house!

January 18, 2003

Hey! I'm answering your prayers!

As a direct result of Inside Out there are now four new geocachers in this house alone! (Me, my wife, my 13month daughter and my brother in law! Also the family dog!)

I'm buying an eTrex Venture (Should come in handy when I go kayaking as well!) next week and we'll be off shortly after to find our first cache. I've spent the past week or so reading up in forums and stuff, and have only just come across this forum off the back of geocaching.com!

This forum looks a lot busier than others I've visited and I look forward to becoming part of the furniture!

January 19, 2003

Welcome one, welcome all!

You'll really enjoy this new hobby, we're a friendly bunch (albeit obsessed by plastic boxes and ammo tins for some unfathomable reason!).

I would advise the purchase of some good sturdy boots if you don't already have some: your nearest army-surplus store will have some good boots at a very reasonable price. A digital camera can come in handy as well: a lot of caches are placed in very beautiful surroundings, and you may want to share your snaps with fellow cachers.

One final thing: a sense of humour is a must!

Good luck to any new cachers and, again, welcome!

It's a tradition, or an old charter or something...

January 19, 2003

quote:
You'll really enjoy this new hobby, we're a friendly bunch (albeit obsessed by plastic boxes and ammo tins for some unfathomable reason!)

You should have seen the excited crowd around Hornet's van today as he opened up, and everyone saw the big pile of ammo boxes :-)

quote:
I would advise the purchase of some good sturdy boots if you don't already have some: your nearest army-surplus store will have some good boots at a very reasonable price.

Or even a simple pair of wellies will do for most people.

quote:
One final thing: a sense of humour is a must!

Yes, that is needed when you have been out for a nice walk... maybe it's been drizzling a bit, then 500mtrs from the car, the heavens open, and your jeans get 100% soaked!

Happy caching!

Team Blitz

White gravel? What white gravel? I can't see any.... heck, who cares!

January 19, 2003

Watched the Inside Out programme earlier this week and have just borrowed a Geoexplorer 3 to find our first cache.

What great fun; our children really enjoyed it and can't wait to go again. We had a bit of wading to do but that just added to the fun, especially for the dog.

Just need to go and buy our own etrex or similar. The Geoexplorer 3 was somewhat sophisticated for our needs. Where is the best place to purchase a GSP? Are there any reasonably local shops (Winchester), or is it best to purchase from the internet?

Debbie and Boys

January 19, 2003

Check out Maplin, GPSW.com and anywhere else yer can think of..

And welcome to the fold of Geocachers UK Inc.. LOL LOL

Moss de Boss... Sorta

1.2k · January 19, 2003

I've found the GPS Warehouse in Feltham, Middx to have by far the best selection and very knowledgeable staff.

Maplins have a very limited range but if they've got what you want they are nationwide and may be more convenient.

As an alternative why not try Ebay or something similar for a second hand one? When I upgraded mine I ended up with a perfectly good GPS gathering dust and considered trying to auction it.

Finally don't forget that www.geocacheuk.com have a For Sale section.

_________________________________________________________

It is better to regret something you did, rather than to regret something you didn't do.

January 19, 2003

I'm ordering my GPS from www.tracklogs.co.uk

I know its a mountain biking site but the Garmin etrex range is priced by far the cheapest I've seen any where else.

-------------

"I'm really looking forward to finding some geo-cash. Where can I spend it?" - My wife. Bless.

3.8k · January 20, 2003

I think we way have a couple more converts….

I was out last Saturday looking for a cache that was placed on a small island in the middle of the River Ouse. Only a few yards away were two fishermen, a middle-aged gent and his son. There was no way I could go crashing around in the bushes without them noticing so being a fisherman myself, I wandered over for a chat. During the course of this chat I introduced the subject of geocaching with a GPSr. They was totally fascinated at the thought of normally sane(?) people wandering around the countryside hunting wild Tupperware.

To cut a long story short, all three of us searched for half an hour or so but failed to find the cache (I suspect it fell victim to the recent floods). As I left them I could hear the young lad asking his dad “Can we get one, dad? Please… can we?”

John

January 20, 2003

quote:
Are there any reasonably local shops (Winchester)....
Debbie and Boys

Hey, you're not my wife are you?? She's a Debbie, we have 2 boys, and live in Winchester too!

Welcome to 'the club'... there are plenty of caches on the area to do, so you shouldn't get bored too quickly!

Paul Blitz

(curses... using Mike's account!)

January 20, 2003

quote:
Hey, you're not my wife are you?? She's a Debbie, we have 2 boys, and live in Winchester too!

We actually have 3 boys, but my middle son (Robert) knows Michael. They were at Harestock Primary together and now at HB. Robert tells me they were in the Sudent Council together last year at HB.

Thanks for the welcome.

Debbie

January 21, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by THE BRAMBLERS:
...my middle son (Robert) knows Michael. They were at Harestock Primary together and now at HB. Robert tells me they were in the Sudent Council together last year at HB.

I remember, I had to read through my minutes to remember though

Nice to know that at least someone i know might be vaguely intrested in this hobby !

Michael aka 1/2 of Team Blitz

It's not a matter of win or lose...until you lose

January 21, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Dan Wilson:
So has anyone got any ideas as to how many people have joined since the show?

I've just had a look through the logs on our watch list and on our own caches and found that there were logs by 23 new cachers:

Ann_and_Brian (Inside Out visitor)

THE BRAMBLERS

CACHE CRACKER GANG

cooljug

The Dreamchaser (No GPS)

gbzrce

GeoCam

hjd

JazmineIsha (Inside Out visitor)

johnnie g

Krazy Kats (No GPS)

Lyric (Inside Out visitor)

Nutcaches

Paul & Suzie

Rumpy&Pumpy / Andrea & Mike

simo1

stephen in bosham / bosham2002 (Inside Out visitor)

stul

temporalanomaly / hindessm

Vidler

Vincents

Wandering Woods

wing-co

Some of these are even in our own county of Dorset so hopefully we'll have some new caches to find soon .

January 21, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Gary & Jane:

quote:
Originally posted by Dan Wilson:
So has anyone got any ideas as to how many people have joined since the show?

I've just had a look through the logs on our watch list and on our own caches and found that there were logs by 23 new cachers:

Good idea. I've just checked our own caches (not any others) and found logs by 9 new cachers:

DJ Jacks

Ali & Pete

scrumpymuppet

mobilepanda

Sprintrider

milo.c

RohanUK

The_Fletcher_Gang

Steve & Michelle

However, only the top 3 registered in January, the other 6 of these registered in December.

Also, the top 3 hit Oxford and Cirencester caches which both transmitted the Inside Out programme (it wasn't transmitted in the Chippenham area).

Welcome to any of these new cachers who have found their way onto the forums.

Dave

January 21, 2003

Hey, its nice to know that in this wide world of the internet there are people even more local than you know.

I live just west of Bere Regis and both my wife and I work in Poole (Myself by the Quay, overlooking the sunseeker yard, and my wife in Parkstone!)

Wow! Maybe we could join you and vice versa on some cache hunts in the near future!

-------------

"I'm really looking forward to finding some geo-cash. Where can I spend it?" - My wife. Bless.

January 21, 2003

Hi folks, Signed up at this site about an hour ago. Planning on getting a GPS thingie and hunting for my first cache this weekend.

I think I might have seen a bit of the TV program previously mentioned - I caught about 5 minutes of something last night that mentioned geocaching and I typed it into yahoo today to find out more, and now here I am.

January 21, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Llamapower:
I caught about 5 minutes of something last night that mentioned geocaching and I typed it into yahoo today to find out more, and now here I am.

Welcome! I wasn't aware of anything on TV last night - I think you found something we don't know about.

SimonG.org

January 21, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by SimonG:

quote:
Originally posted by Llamapower:
I caught about 5 minutes of something last night that mentioned geocaching and I typed it into yahoo today to find out more, and now here I am.

Welcome! I wasn't aware of anything on TV last night - I think you found something we don't know about.

http://www.SimonG.org

It was on BBC 1, early evening. I only caught the very last couple of minutes of it.

January 21, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by SimonG:
Welcome! I wasn't aware of anything on TV last night - I think you found something we don't know about.

A friend said that it was on the South East version of Inside Out yesterday.

January 27, 2003

Hello!

We are newbies thanks to the BBC Inside Out programme. Simon has a very old GPS so we thought we would give it a go. I have to confess to feeling a bit of an idiot the first time we went out as we did get some very strange looks but am totally hooked now Simon is quite chuffed too as it might give him an excuse to upgrade his GPS too!

Had the added bonus of catching the most amazing sunset on Sunday while looking for one of Tim & June's caches. It really was a fab way to end a weekend.

Thanks!

Kate

P.S. Hope this post comes out ok as this is my first time at this too

January 27, 2003

Well I'm a newcomer as a result of the recent fracas with HH/TMA. I don't have a GPS though so I'm a bit stuffed at the first hurdle :-) I'll have to see about that...

Cheers,

Andy

Responsible cachers are welcome at

http://www.megalithic.co.uk

Prehistoric sites in the UK, Ireland and beyond

Thousands of Images, Links, Downloads, Maps, Web Search, Members Features

January 27, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by megalithic:
Well I'm a newcomer as a result of the recent fracas with HH/TMA. I don't have a GPS though so I'm a bit stuffed at the first hurdle :-) I'll have to see about that...

Cheers,

Andy

Responsible cachers are welcome at

http://www.megalithic.co.uk

Prehistoric sites in the UK, Ireland and beyond

Thousands of Images, Links, Downloads, Maps, Web Search, Members Features

Andy you will find that until such time as you can find a GPS you like you should be able to find a couple of caches using a good old fashioned map and compass. (I feel sure that as a "Megarak" you will be capeable with a map!) There are a couple that I met while caching in the USA who have something like 30 finds without a GPS and they never intend to get one. (They claim that orienteering style caching is more fun) I have to say that I did one without a GPS and it was a fun experience and took me back to my days roaming the Peak District as a kid.

It is the sport with a GPS but still lots of fun without.

On a side note....You will be taken to many beautiful places that will make you glad you went to and you would never think of going to them without a "Shove" from another cacher

I woke this morning and my boat was not rocking...for one horrid moment I thought I lived in a house!

January 27, 2003

Posted by megalithic

quote:
Well I'm a newcomer as a result of the recent fracas with HH/TMA. I don't have a GPS though so I'm a bit stuffed at the first hurdle :-) I'll have to see about that...

You might try a few virtuals, they are often easy enough to find without a GPS. In the meantime start saving up, once the bug bites you're hooked!

naffita

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