Newbie Alert

[+archeangelsk2002]

hello,

my handle if you will is archeangelsk2002, most people just call me archie or the old bald headed archie, how ever, my name is chris griffin and i live around the

breckenridge lane bardstown road area here in louisville. About 3 weeks ago while in buechel park shooting bearings for setting up an orienterring course i was approached by an unnamed older man who basically turned me on to the gps unit and its usage. 2 weeks ago i purchased the etrex legend...now im hooked!!!!. it seems that ive become addicted to the technology and such concerning gps.

as a matter of fact there are several caches within a 5 mile radius of my location.

any way i have some questions ....

1.) i have a sharp OZ-590 pda, what applications, if any, could i download onto my pc so that i would be able to download cache info to said pda?

2.) what is the recommended procedure in case any police officer notices a cacher wandering around...do we id ourselves as geocachers or what, and if so will most law enforcement be aware of geocaching as a whole?

3.) is there any such thing as "extreme geocaching" by extreme i mean with time limits,unusual locations, etc?

4.) what kinds of public areas are off limits to geocaching as a whole?

5.) are there any officially sanctioned competitive geocaching events?

in conclusion(finally, for now), best regards archeangelsk2002

[+GPSKitty]

    2.) what is the recommended procedure in case any police officer notices a cacher wandering around...do we id ourselves as geocachers or what, and if so will most law enforcement be aware of geocaching as a whole?

   

I can only offer advice on #2. I'm sure someone will be along to help with the others.

 

Yes, fess up to law enforcement. No point in lying. And besides if you lie and then after more intensive questioning from the officer, you admit what you're doing, it makes you look suspicious because you lied to begin with.

It helps to carry the cache page, or in your case the downloaded info in your pda. There is also a little info sheet you can print out titled "What are these people doing!? Geocaching!". It gives a brief explanation of the game and lets the officer know you are not some lone nut wandering around, but that you are part of an organized sport.(there are LOTS of us nuts wandering around) I forgot where I got the printed page, but someone should be able to provide the link. I'm hoping they do, because I'd like to print some more.

Some cops know about caching and some even cache themselves. I don't know if most cops are aware of caching or not. I would think not.

[+Imajika]

Yep I work in law enforcement and I cache.

 

If you are stopped by an officer (which, on a whole, is pretty rare) just tell them what you are doing and show them your cache print out (or the cache page on your PDA) and your GPSr unit and most will either leave you alone or just tell you to scram.

 

There are several regional caching organizations that hold meetings, get-togethers and geocaching games. You should post in your regional forums and ask who your local organization is. It's a great way to meet other cachers and have even more fun!

 

There are several 'extreme caches' which involve everything from SCUBA diving, repelling down mountain sides, going to volcanos, etc. There are also several which challenge you mentally (VERY difficult puzzle caches)!

 

As far as 'off limits' areas, there is no ban on federal lands, only those managed by the National Parks Service and US Fish & Wildlife Service. Lands managed by the US Forest Service and BLM (which makes up most of the federally owned lands) are, for the most part, open to geocaching. If you are wanting to hide a cache, I would talk to your local approver and see what they have to say about the area you have in mind. There are several 'public' areas that are just bad ideas when hiding a cache and those guidelines are posted on the gc.com website.

 

Well, those are all the questions I can answer for you but I am sure some more people will have information for you. Welcome to this very addicting hobby and I hope you have a lot of fun!

[+Mastifflover]

As far as using your pda, as long as it is using the palm or pocket pc format you should be able to use it. There are a few different combinations of programs to use. I use GSAK and Cachemate which are programs that you have to pay a very reasonable fee, and there are free ones like the Spinner/ Plucker combo. Do a search for pda, or any of those program names on the boards and you will have a whole afternoons worth of reading to get opinions and recommendations. Welcome aboard!!

[Neos2]

 

 

The URL above has information you can download to show to property owners, law enforcement officers, etc. I plan to use it in my classroom to introduce geocaching when I begin my satellite section in Earth Space.

[+Hikezilla]

Hey Arch...welcome to the hobby!

 

Isn't Bardstown the home of "Maker's Mark"? YUMMM

[+IV_Warrior]

As others have stated, always fess up to the police, you have nothing to fear, you're not doing anything illegal. Be prepared to explain though, because not everyone knows about geocaching, yet. This brochure is the one referenced in a previous post. That page also has lots of other helpful information.

 

If the Sharp runs on PocketPC OS, and you can upload programs to it, (I'm not familiar with that unit, is it a full fledged PDA, or just a digital address book?) look into GPXSonar for viewing cache pages on it. Of course you'll need to be a Premium Member and get the pocket querries, in order to get the data to send to Sonar, but it's well worth the $30/year.