Ever found a GPS unit?

[Astrogoth]

With the unfortunately high number of lost GPS units reported here I have to wonder if anyone has ever found, say a nice yellow eTrex, on a trail? If you have found one did you find an owners phone number on it?

 

I got this idea while on a long dry trail yesterday. I started seeing Vistas behind every rock. Needed more water I guess.

 

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but don't bet on it.

[+CharlieP]

Just one ... and it *was* an e-trex. The guy who lost it had reported the loss on the cache page, so I e-mailed him and he came to claim it. The whole story is posted here, July 5-6, 2001:

 

Cache the Hooch

 

It felt good to return the GPS, I could put myself in the other guy's boots, that had to be a bummer of a cache hunt.

 

FWIW,

CharlieP

[Couch_Potato]

I've never found a GPSr but once I found a tree wearing a pager.

Back in May I was looking for First Cohort when I came across a pager clipped to a branch. There's a photo of it in my log. The pager's owner saw the log and contacted me. The pager was returned and I found the cache (not neccessarily in that order), and everybody was happy.

 

I'm not lost!

I just don't know where I am.

[+Acc-Risk and Snarflax]

quote:

---

Originally posted by CharlieP:

Just one ... and it *was* an e-trex. The guy who lost it had reported the loss on the cache page, so I e-mailed him and he came to claim it. The whole story is posted here, July 5-6, 2001:

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=3791&log=y&decrypt=

---

 

That one looks fun...

 

Contents Under Pressure...

[+MaxEntropy]

I brought my brother Geocaching in Alameda a week ago. he loved it and declared "I've got to get one of those things"

The next day, he was walking a job site on the roof and over near the edge he saw a small case. It was a steep roof so he ignored it thinking it may be a cheap pair of sun glasses. Then later he was thinking that it might be an expensive pair of sunglasses so he crawled out over to them, flipped the severely faded case over and it said Garmin on the bottom. It was a GPS III. He fired it up, it looked for satellites for 30 seconds and the batteries died. After a change of batteries, it works just fine. He's going caching next weekend.

[+Geo Boltz]

TRUE STORY

I recently bought a bicycle to get some more excercise during Caching. After a find one day I turned off the GPSr and went out scouting the local areas trails looking for a place to hide my first cache. I went up and down some pretty rough hills but fianally found some possibe hiding places. After making a mental note I headed back down. About half way down I noticed the sun reflecting from the ground about 35 feet in front of me. As I got closer I kept thinking, "Man, that sure looks like a MeriGold." I was right. I picked it up and then instantly realized, IT WAS MINE. I had it attached to my bike with a generic cell phone mount and it had been jostled out. While climbing up the hills, in my out of shape hyperventilations, I didn't notice it fall out. Thank goodness I went back the way I came. Suffice it to say, I have ordered a proper GPSr Ram mount and will pay closer attention to my GPSr, even after a find.

Embarassing, but true.

[+Geo Boltz]

TRUE STORY

I recently bought a bicycle to get some more excercise during Caching. After a find one day I turned off the GPSr and went out scouting the local areas trails looking for a place to hide my first cache. I went up and down some pretty rough hills but fianally found some possibe hiding places. After making a mental note I headed back down. About half way down I noticed the sun reflecting from the ground about 35 feet in front of me. As I got closer I kept thinking, "Man, that sure looks like a MeriGold." I was right. I picked it up and then instantly realized, IT WAS MINE. I had it attached to my bike with a generic cell phone mount and it had been jostled out. While climbing up the hills, in my out of shape hyperventilations, I didn't notice it fall out. Thank goodness I went back the way I came. Suffice it to say, I have ordered a proper GPSr Ram mount and will pay closer attention to my GPSr, even after a find.

Embarassing, but true.

[+Geo Boltz]

TRUE STORY

I recently bought a bicycle to get some more excercise during Caching. After a find one day I turned off the GPSr and went out scouting the local areas trails looking for a place to hide my first cache. I went up and down some pretty rough hills but fianally found some possibe hiding places. After making a mental note I headed back down. About half way down I noticed the sun reflecting from the ground about 35 feet in front of me. As I got closer I kept thinking, "Man, that sure looks like a MeriGold." I was right. I picked it up and then instantly realized, IT WAS MINE. I had it attached to my bike with a generic cell phone mount and it had been jostled out. While climbing up the hills, in my out of shape hyperventilations, I didn't notice it fall out. Thank goodness I went back the way I came. Suffice it to say, I have ordered a proper GPSr Ram mount and will pay closer attention to my GPSr, even after a find.

Embarassing, but true.

[+briansnat]

One Geocacher I know "hacked into" his Garmin and when it's turned on, the welcome page with the disclaimer displays his name, address and phone number. He gave me instructions on how to do it, but I haven't tried it yet.

 

"Life is a daring adventure, or it is nothing" - Helen Keller

[BassoonPilot]

Long ago, I lost my beloved Maggie when seeking the Night Vision cache. I returned the following morning and found it hanging by its lanyard from a branch of a bush.

 

It's strange that three of us found that cache the first week it was placed, and nobody has logged an attempt in the eight months since!

[BassoonPilot]

Long ago, I lost my beloved Maggie when seeking the Night Vision cache. I returned the following morning and found it hanging by its lanyard from a branch of a bush.

 

It's strange that three of us found that cache the first week it was placed, and nobody has logged an attempt in the eight months since!

[Couch_Potato]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Geo Boltz:

I had it attached to my bike with a generic cell phone mount and it had been jostled out. While climbing up the hills, in my out of shape hyperventilations, I didn't notice it fall out. Thank goodness I went back the way I came. Suffice it to say, I have ordered a proper GPSr Ram mount and will pay closer attention to my GPSr, even after a find.

Embarassing, but true.

---

 

As I recently had pointed out to me:

 

Lanyard, lanyard, lanyard!

 

When I have my Legend mounted on my MTB I always have the lanyard wrapped around the stem. Then if the mount fails, at least the GPSr won't hit the ground and be left behind.

 

I'm not lost!

I just don't know where I am.

[Couch_Potato]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Geo Boltz:

I had it attached to my bike with a generic cell phone mount and it had been jostled out. While climbing up the hills, in my out of shape hyperventilations, I didn't notice it fall out. Thank goodness I went back the way I came. Suffice it to say, I have ordered a proper GPSr Ram mount and will pay closer attention to my GPSr, even after a find.

Embarassing, but true.

---

 

As I recently had pointed out to me:

 

Lanyard, lanyard, lanyard!

 

When I have my Legend mounted on my MTB I always have the lanyard wrapped around the stem. Then if the mount fails, at least the GPSr won't hit the ground and be left behind.

 

I'm not lost!

I just don't know where I am.

[+Gloom]

...on a golf course of all places. He wasn't geocaching, as this was a couple years ago, before SA was turned off. It was an older model magellan.

 

----

Duct tape is like the Force. It has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together.

[+whooven]

Actually my father-in-law found one on 395 up there. Must have fallen out of a boat or slide across the dash and out the window or something. Works fine. It has what appears to be start of the owners trip in AZ and we're going to track it back to that point shorlty to try and return it.

 

-----------

Bill

Jeeps Only!

http://www.jeepsonly.com

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

[+Planet]

I found mine at the store but they made me give them money for it! I just wanted to say that CharlieP is one special guy for returning that GPSr. I've only had mine a week and I would be very sad if it went to unknown coordinates. So kudos CharlieP. You'll have good karma.

 

Cache you later,

Planet

[+Planet]

I found mine at the store but they made me give them money for it! I just wanted to say that CharlieP is one special guy for returning that GPSr. I've only had mine a week and I would be very sad if it went to unknown coordinates. So kudos CharlieP. You'll have good karma.

 

Cache you later,

Planet

[+Geo Boltz]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Couch_Potato:

 

Lanyard, lanyard, lanyard!

 

---

 

Unfortunately, My MeriGold has no lanyard, wrist strap or other such things. I have now wrapped some of those wide rubber bands around the top and bottom.

[+cachew nut]

I use a Merigold and there is a program to change the "lawyer screen" available from the yahoo groups Meridian forum.

 

However, this got me thinking...I have a waypoint called "home" on my GPS, I would assume most everyone else would have put one in as well. So if I ever found a GPS, I would try to get it "home". And if that didn't work, I'd look for a waypoint called "mom" or something similar.

 

I found a cell phone once, and called "mom" from the list of saved numbers. I told the lady where her son could come get his phone.

[+phantom4099]

I was just got to read this and I was going to post about the Home waypoint.

 

Wyatt W.

 

The probability of someone watching you is directly proportional to the stupidity of your actions.

[+VentureForth]

Came across this thread. Kinda fun reading.

 

There was also a scenario I couldn't find in the archives about a geocacher who found a park ranger's GPSr and the ranger SCOLDED him for hanging on to it after he found it before it could be returned. Anyone else remember that story, or was it just a real cool dream?

 

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Go! And don't be afraid to get a little wet!

[+Scott Johnson]

I learned this trick with my laptop computer:

Create a waypoint in your GPS (or a Word file in your laptop) and title it "if found". If your unit is lost or stolen, hopefully the finder will call you if you give him your home phone number, address or coordinates.