+wannafly Posted June 4, 2003 Share Posted June 4, 2003 Hey everyone, I fell upon this and have been reading and reading about it! I bought a magellan 315 GPS and hopefully it'll be here un saturday, and i'm gonna go sunday to look for some caches! I'm in a good area (Orlando), and there seems to be lots. Wish me luck! Also, I read one thread about "covertness". Will i get weird looks or questioned by police if i am walking around with my GPS out? I'll try and get some sort of case, but i believe I read that it need to be held almost vertical. Any suggestions? Thanks! Quote Link to comment
+Desert_Warrior Posted June 4, 2003 Share Posted June 4, 2003 Naaaa... I understand in Florida there are a bunch of weird people around. Some of them don't even know how to vote. You will likely fit right in! Some people walk around with much worse than a GPS out.... It helps if you carry with you a print-out of the cache you are seeking, and maybe even a cache note to explain what you are doing. Yes, the antenna on your 315 will like to be pointed straight up best. But it will work if it is tipped a bit. The antenna is called a quadrafilar helix, and it is one of two popular designs, the other being the patch. And now you know more than you need. Welcome to Geocaching. Mike. Desert_Warrior (aka KD9KC). El Paso, Texas. Citizens of this land may own guns. Not to threaten their neighbors, but to ensure themselves of liberty and freedom. They are not assault weapons anymore... they are HOMELAND DEFENSE WEAPONS! Quote Link to comment
Team Spending Time, Saving Cache Posted June 4, 2003 Share Posted June 4, 2003 Hey and welcome aboard! I am down in St Pete not too far from you... So far I have about 22 or so finds and have not had any run ins with police or anyone asking me anything. I do not try and go stealth or anything but then again I do not hold the gps over my head and jump up and down You will get the hang of it, and if you do get questioned just show them the printed maps (if you are using them off mapquest or whatever) and explain to them what you are doing, etc. should not be a problem though! Live to Cache... Cache to Live... & Doing it with a Meridian Platinum and Garmin Venture (backup) Quote Link to comment
+TeamBoonieHat Posted June 4, 2003 Share Posted June 4, 2003 Welcome aboard! I'm in Winter Springs. Lots of great caches in nice locations on this side of town. Check out the Oviedo area also. I'm still a newby too. Started about 3 weeks ago with my 12 year old daughter and 10 year old son ( wife isn't in to snakes, swamps gators, mosquitos ect.). Having a great time so far. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted June 4, 2003 Share Posted June 4, 2003 quote:Also, I read one thread about "covertness". Will i get weird looks or questioned by police if i am walking around with my GPS out? A possibility, esp. in urban and suburban areas. "Au pays des aveugles, les borgnes sont rois" Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted June 4, 2003 Share Posted June 4, 2003 The thing about stealth/being discrete is not getting caught by someone while finding the cache. The point is that if someone catches you with the cache they may steal it and ruin the cache location. ===================== Wherever you go there you are. Quote Link to comment
+sbell111 Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 I wouldn't worry too much about people seeing you with a GPS. If people ask questions, I (usually) just answer them truthfully and go on about my business. I also bring the cache printout with me to help explain the hobby to the 'man' if I get questioned because I'm acting suspiciously. That being said, do everything you can to avoid being seen at the cache site. This will help keep the cache from being plundered. You'll love caching in the Orlando area. I went to grad school at Rollins and I know there are some pretty good ones in the Winter Park area. I hope to come back in a few months to look for more. Have fun! Quote Link to comment
+Dave_W6DPS Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 quote:Also, I read one thread about "covertness". Will i get weird looks or questioned by police if i am walking around with my GPS out? If you were over here on the left coast being weird and acting strange actually just helps you blend in! It is those "normal" looking folks you have to watch out for! Besides, it takes more than a GPSr hanging out to get noticed around SoCal! http://www.moonamtrak.org Your Magellan may not be as suitable, but when I see someone has spotted me I just hold my Etrex Venture up to my ear and say "Can you hear me, now?". Then ask if they have cell coverage.... It actually works better if they KNOW it is not a cell phone--people tend to ignor the crazies out here. Welcome to the hobby! Dave_W6DPS My two cents worth, refunds available on request. (US funds only) Quote Link to comment
+Kite and Hawkeye Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 We were doing a multicache right after the San Diego geocacher's potluck this winter; I'd messed up the math and put in an incorrect coordinate, and as we hiked merrily down the trail we approached a couple sitting on a bench. I thought they looked vaguely familiar (but it was a crowded picnic). The woman lifted a small object to her ear and said something. "Isn't that an eTrex?" I asked Hawkeye. We were obviously holding a GPS ourselves, so I don't know why other geocachers would feel the need to hide from us, unless they found us REALLY SCARY at the picnic. Anyway, we passed them up, then realized our coordinate error and headed... right back to the bench they were sitting on. Yep, there was a tag with further coordinates right underneath it. No avoiding introductions this time! (We usually do greet other (suspected) geocachers, but we thought perhaps they wanted to be left alone, with the cell phone trick and all!) Quote Link to comment
+wannafly Posted June 5, 2003 Author Share Posted June 5, 2003 Thanks for the replies everyone, that cell phone trick is great, but ya it wont work as good with the magellan I got, oh well, i'll think of something. Thanks for the tips also, cant wait to get started! Quote Link to comment
Olafo Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 Actually, when I show my GPS ( Magellan Sportrak Map ) to my friends, 75 % says ... " oh, what a beautiful PHONE ". They think it's a Celular Phone !!! ;-) Quote Link to comment
+Shoebox Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 Magellan sells a very nice canvas charring case that has a belt loop for about $15. I find that most of the time I leave my 330 in the case and only have to check my direction from time to time, especially when following trails. Most of the caches you will search for will be along some trail or another and you won't want to be carrying your GPS in your hand the whole way to the cache especially on longer hikes. And welcome to the madness! Quote Link to comment
+DustyJacket Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 I agree. I keep my GPS in a pouch and take periodic "sightings" until I got close. Then I have it out more often. (1) I don't want to drop the darned thing. (2) I don't want to draw attention, but maybe the hiking staff, camelbak, hat, boots, and a couple of pouches/cases on my pack or belt defeat that reason. DustyJacket Not all those that wander are lost. But in my case... Quote Link to comment
selias Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 I would take exception to Mike's comments about Floridians, but - well - that would mean I'd have to disagree with him... I'm a Fort Lauderdale native but I went to UCF for two years of college. Great place - I can imagine the cache opportunities in the state forests east of Orlando... Good luck and have fun! I'm pretty new to this and find that fewer people stare than you might think... granted I'm in South Florida which is a few notches higher on the weirdness scale, but I find most people are too absorbed in whatever they're doing to really care much about what I'm up to. And that's just fine by me!! -- Scott ** The Cacher foremerly known as "Scott / WA4SE." Thanks, Caching In for the inadvertent inspiration!! Quote Link to comment
+Lefty Writer Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 quote:Originally posted by sbell111:<snip> That being said, do everything you can to avoid being seen at the cache site. This will help keep the cache from being plundered. Hoo-wahh!! Low crawlin' through the bush... P carpe cerevisi Remove the NOSPAM from my e-mail to contact me. Quote Link to comment
malcontent Posted June 13, 2003 Share Posted June 13, 2003 I'm new to this also. I have already run into a situation where I found myself being looked at oddly by a couple of Officers. I put the gps up to my ear and kept saying,"Can you hear me now? Good". They seemed to crack a smile and left me alone. Sometimes the goofiest actions get you out of tough situations!!!!! _MAL_ Quote Link to comment
+Tsegi Mike and Desert Viking Posted June 13, 2003 Share Posted June 13, 2003 The cops aren't all that 'scary' when it comes to geocaching. There is one cache in Mesa that is near a police station parking lot, but in a public park. I'm pretty sure the cops know it's there. When we found it, I swear a couple of them were watching us and laughing. We've found that most people really don't pay much attention to what you're doing. The ones you have to watch for are bored kids. They're most likely to look at what you're doing afterwards. We haven't pulled the cell phone trick, but we've muttered "now where did he lose those bicycle keys?". Really people are far too self absorbed to pay much attention to what you're doing. *********** Till a voice, as bad as Conscience, rang interminable changes On one everlasting Whisper day and night repeated -- so: "Something hidden. Go and find it. Go and look behind the Ranges -- "Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go!" Rudyard Kipling , The Explorer 1898 Quote Link to comment
+Huntnlady Posted June 14, 2003 Share Posted June 14, 2003 Check out my article on URBAN GEOCACHING STEALTH TECHNIQUES. I went out and bought the clipboard and regularly play "the inspector" now. I plan on getting some uniform type short sleeve khaki shirts with the epaulets like I used to wear when working for the department of food and agriculture. Yesterday I was looking under benches for a micro that the owner suspected was gone, and there was an older couple sitting on one of the benches. With an authoritative air, I asked them if they could move over so I could look at that bench, and they were only too happy, asking me if the bolts were all there. Then I slapped the bench and proclaimed it sound and they gave each other a knowing nod- I had a hard time keeping from cracking up. The cache was indeed gone. Deer laugh when they hear my name! http://www.geocities.com/cacheinon Quote Link to comment
+MAntunes Posted June 14, 2003 Share Posted June 14, 2003 quote: "Can you hear me now? Good" That's easy for me this one. I have a MeriPlat and a Nokia Communicator. So, if someone draws his attention over me, I pretend to be trying the other "brick"... Manuel Antunes Quote Link to comment
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