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Tips, Tricks, And Timesavers


BlueDeuce

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When I have a fresh pack of batteries, I like to wrap up several pairs using masking tape (the 1.5 inch wide rolls work best).

 

Then when it’s time to change batteries, I take out the old ones (with no tape) and throw them in the bottom of my pack. Grab a fresh set and give them a quick twist to open.

 

It’s easy to throw a couple taped sets into a travel pack. There’s no fishing around to find two charged batteries, and if there’s no tape on them I immediately know they’re used.

 

Make sure to cover the connectors. I learned this after putting rechargeable batteries into my pocket along with keys and loose change. (Whew, that got hot fast!)

 

Anyone else have a tip they’d like to share?

 

 

4a22ca36-a9ab-4b7f-86a8-26e6f2893508.jpg

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We use a battery hold that Sissy makes to carry our batteries.

 

While we do carry a fairly full array of NiMH batteries, we also carry a pair of lithium batteries just incase. Even had to use them once.

 

Another tip: A antenna off a boom box makes for a compact spider stick. I added a lanyard and keep one in my pocket to brush the creepies away. Works as a gentle probe for hunting for the cache.

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We use rubber bands rather than tape. We also use rechargables. When they come off the charger, they get banded. If they're loose, that means they need recharging. They're 20 months old (8 AA energizer rechargable batteries) in nearly continuous use and still take a good charge.

 

In the digital camera, the incredibly expensive lithium batteries last so much longer that they're worth the extra cost.

 

Sam's Club will sell you 16 titanium AA batteries for just under $10 - not much more than regular AAs cost, and they have a very long life in a GPSr or camera.

 

I like the idea of the boombox antenna. I've carried a full sized car antenna on ocassion, but a little telescoping one would be easier to carry and work as well in most places.

Edited by Isonzo Karst
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In Houston, I use my walking stick for spiders (Golden silk spiders are HUGE. They would likely take your antenna from you and hit you with it).

 

My tip is for arrow chasers. When the arrow on the compass page is swinging around wildly, I go to the satellite page and look at the current coordinates it shows. I then move around to make these coordinates match those of the cache. For some reason, there seems to be less bounce in these numbers than in the arrow.

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One of the first ones I read when I started was to leash your GPS. I use a belt pouch, and my GPS is leashed to it. Never had it hit the ground or scratched the screen accordingly.

 

Also, carry/use a simple compass. For hiders that use the rule, "find spot w/horrible signal: hide cache", back off to where you have good signal, look at the bearing (not heading) on your GPS, set the compass to that, find landmark appropriate distance away and ignore the GPS.

 

How about a moneysaver? Buy highest octane (premium) gas. It's not any better for your engine and your car doesn't need it, but all mine get 10% better mileage. Since it only costs 5% more, you pay less overall (and stop for gas less frequently--a timesaver too!)

 

Enjoy,

 

Randy

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When I have a fresh pack of batteries, I like to wrap up several pairs using masking tape (the 1.5 inch wide rolls work best).

 

Then when it’s time to change batteries, I take out the old ones (with no tape) and throw them in the bottom of my pack. Grab a fresh set and give them a quick twist to open.

 

It’s easy to throw a couple taped sets into a travel pack. There’s no fishing around to find two charged batteries, and if there’s no tape on them I immediately know they’re used.

 

Make sure to cover the connectors. I learned this after putting rechargeable batteries into my pocket along with keys and loose change. (Whew, that got hot fast!)

 

Anyone else have a tip they’d like to share?

 

 

4a22ca36-a9ab-4b7f-86a8-26e6f2893508.jpg

 

careful - the glue on the tape can stay on the batteries and then make them stick in devices that eat the whole battery like flashlights.

 

wrap them in seran wrap - the ends get covered also. the twist trick works for this well also.

 

Sissy makes some nice bandoleers for bats too.

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For tough triangulations with bad terrain and bad signal because of tree cover, sometimes two 40-ft. lengths of twine with a small knot per foot are useful--you can tie one end to a fixed point and follow the bearing on your compass, while drawing the string, to visualize a straight line that's the proper distance.

Edited by prettynwitty
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How about a moneysaver?  Buy highest octane (premium) gas.  It's not any better for your engine and your car doesn't need it, but all mine get 10% better mileage.  Since it only costs 5% more, you pay less overall (and stop for gas less frequently--a timesaver too!)

 

Enjoy,

 

Randy

Actually in most cases, using premium gas in a vehicle that calls for 87 octane will reduce your mileage. 91 octane is only needed in high compression, supercharged / turbocharged, or vehicles specifically calling for that grade of gas.

 

I improved my mileage in my cache vehicles, and reduced the number of oil changes by switching to full synthetic oil and gear lube.

 

I keep signature stickers in an altoids tin for logging caches.

 

If you cache paperless, it is wise to download Pocket Queries right before you cache. Old PQs can cause you to look for recently archived caches without you knowing it beforehand.

Edited by Kit Fox
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I'm not sure where I picked up this tip -- it may even have been here. It has come in very handy for me.

 

I usually carry spare batteries in pairs, wrapped with an elastic, and I carry used ones the same way. How to tell them apart? When you buy batteries new, they are all facing the same way. When you put them in a GPS, they face in opposite directions. So when I'm wrapping them with a rubber band, I orient them the same way: new ones bothl facing the same direction, used ones facing opposite directions. When if I reach in my pocket and grab a pair of batteries, I can easily tell whether they're new or used.

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Carry water -- even if you're sure you're not going to need it.

 

Don't leave the path just because the arrow on your GPSr is pointing in a slightly different direction.

 

Carry cache repair supplies (zip-lock baggies, and extra notebook and pen, a CITO bag); and fix up any caches that need it.

 

A couple bandaids fit easily into a wallet, and you won't regret having them.

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... a compact spider stick. 

BWAHAHAHAHA... Somehow I just don't picture you being scared of spiders ... :P

I'm only afraid of the ones that resemble an Alien Facehugger. ...and Sputnik thought his were huge!

 

Actually, we try to avoid breaking up occupied spider webs and will go around if it's not too much of an inconvenience. Primarily were it comes in handy is when a trail hasn't been walked that day and the spiders have left remanents of their web. My hiking stick is hickory and is a little weighty to be slinging around. So, it's either break up the old webs or wipe them off my face. (Guess who is generally in front just because of this?)

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I'm not sure anyone one else even has this problem, so it may or may not be helpful.

 

We have over dozen rechargeable AAs, all of the same brand, but purchased at different times. Despite being the same brand and looking virtually identical, they are of several different capacities (Pretty much each time I bought new ones, they were of higher capacity then the last set). The only way to tell them apart is to read the fine print on the battery.

To make it easier to keep like capacities together both for recharging and for using, and to make it easier to grab one of the 2300mah sets for the digital camera, I used permanent markers to put a stripe on each battery. A different color for each capacity, and the colors run "hot to cold". 2300mah batteries get a red stripe, 2100mah gets a green stripe, 1800mah batteries get blue stripes.

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Carry a walking stick all the time. I got out the other day and almost left my stick in the truck, since the cache was only about 50', maybe less, from the parking lot. I took the stick along, though, just in case I might need to move some briars. Near the cache, I found a 3' long rattlesnake, and I was between him and his den, which was under the cache. :P:laughing: The stick more or less kept him away as he went around me and into the hole, then turned around and dared me to retrieve the cache. I left without signing the log, and missed a FTF prize of a GPS. I already have a GPS, but I don't have a snakebite.

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Carry a walking stick all the time. I got out the other day and almost left my stick in the truck, since the cache was only about 50', maybe less, from the parking lot. I took the stick along, though, just in case I might need to move some briars. Near the cache, I found a 3' long rattlesnake, and I was between him and his den, which was under the cache. :P:laughing: The stick more or less kept him away as he went around me and into the hole, then turned around and dared me to retrieve the cache. I left without signing the log, and missed a FTF prize of a GPS. I already have a GPS, but I don't have a snakebite.

You didn't expect a cache with a GPS as a FTF prize to be EASY did you?

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lets see, all my tips and tricks and timesavers have to do with laundry.....how can I make this on topic!

 

Ok. WHen you buy new socks, only buy ONE BRAND ONE COLOR ONE SIZE and throw ALL your old ones away.

 

That way, when you're scrambling to be FTF in the middle of the night, you don't have to worry that you are wearing two different types of socks. THEY"RE ALL IDENTICAL.

 

PS. Don't bother matching them while doing laundry, what a waste of time.

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Where can I get a lanyard for my Magellan Meridian Gold?

This geocaching lanyard works very nicely! It is made from a comfortable material, easily detaches to hold out/up when signals start breaking up, plus you get two additional benefits of having the geocaching symbol/name on your lanyard (for other cachers to better spot you) AND give some pennies to gc.com.

 

I bought one, and absolutely love it!

 

edit: Uh, I don't know if the Meridian has a point to mount any lanyard. Regardless, this nice gc.com lanyard makes a wonderful cacher accessory for those GPSr units that are built with lanyard in mind....

Edited by jeep_dog
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Ya know I had been wondering how to attach a lanyard I already have to my Geko101!! It has a little screw just above the middle of the back and I figured I could attach something to that somehow, just not sure how!! I bought some length of nylon lanyard material(which I am using some of to make a loop on a homemade hiking stick) and figured I could just cut it to length and screw it on. Not sure if that will work though-guess I won't know until I try. :blink:

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Where can I get a lanyard for my Magellan Meridian Gold?

They don't make one. I have considered using the threaded port for downloads as a point to make a lanyard, but don't want to add un-wanted stresses to the the mount. I use the port frequently for waypoint downloads.

Here are a couple of images of the lanyard attachment I made for my Meridian. It uses the threaded hole on the back as an attachment point.

 

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The thumb screw came from McMaster-Carr (#94567a120) #4-40, 5/16" long. I had to cut the threads down a little shorter...to about 3/16" (use the screw cutter dies on a pair of wire strippers) so that they didn't bottom out in the hole. Drill a hole thru the head of the screw and attach a keyring.

Edited by Stunod
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Hi,

 

I use those rayovac 15 minute rechargeables and a 4-at-a-time recharger; along with 4 AA and 4 AAA batteries. I change out the ones in my GPSr (AA) and my digital camera (AAA) for the ones in the charger when I start getting ready to head out, and throw the old ones into the charger. They're ready by the time I am, and I throw the fresh ones into a ziplock and dump them in my backpack.

 

I always (almost always :blink: ) mark a waypoint when I park my jeep...this has saved me hassles a couple of time.

 

I bring a compass and a cell phone (charged) everytime I go out.

 

I tell my wife when she should notify S&R, and where they should look if I don't come back for dinner.

 

I figure out how much water I'll need, and take twice that amount (Last summer I had to fill my nalgene from a stream, and wait to see if I would get Giardia).

 

nfa-jamie

Edited by NFA
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If you're walking through a rain-soaked or otherwise generally squishy area, and come to a creek/stream/runoff/whatever crossing, and have the Nifty Idea of jumping across it...

 

...it wouldn't hurt to first find a good-sized rock and throw it across - with some force, but not herculean - at the "firm looking" spot at which you intend to land in order to avoid the possible result of squishy boots/socks/et al.

 

If the rock thuds/embeds in, chances are you'll embed further.

 

DAMHIKT.

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Take an old prepaid calling card, and wrap a six foot piece of duct tape around it (long ways). Just put the card in your wallet or backpack, makes it easy to carry duct tape everywhere! I usually carry black or camo because i've used it once or twice on caches.

 

As for keeping track of which rechargable is which (mismatching them in not good I guess), I use nail polish to paint 'bands' on all the members of each set. Then when they're not being charge they're carried in small snack bag sized ziplocks.

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Where can I get a lanyard for my Magellan Meridian Gold?

They don't make one. I have considered using the threaded port for downloads as a point to make a lanyard, but don't want to add un-wanted stresses to the the mount. I use the port frequently for waypoint downloads.

 

CHECK OUT THE LANYARD ON THE GEOCACHE STORE -

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Where can I get a lanyard for my Magellan Meridian Gold?

I know that it's probably a sin :blink: , but you can use a couple of Garmin items on your Meredian.

They have a little button that fits perfectly into the screw hole that the data connector uses, and then you can connect a belt clip, neck laynard, or a carabiner clip. I discovered then when I got a carabiner clip for my Rino 120

 

Belt clip and button

 

Neck Laynard

 

Carabiner clip

 

I'm not sure if the metal of the button affects accuracy, but I haven't noticed any problems on my Meriplat.

 

Also if you search around (google works well) you can find better prices than you can find on the Garmin site. I found mine at gpsny.com

 

 

John

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If you really can't find a lanyard attachment point - here's a quick and cheap......

Get a cable tie, strap it around your GPS while trapping a lanyard under it. Pull it real tight and clip off the excess. :(

 

Good idea to have not only a lanyard but a soft case with the GPS in it. Will protect the GPS and will definitely have a place to attach a lanyard.

 

Had walkie/talkie in one hand, GPS in the other, tripped. Didn't get hands out in time. Scratched GPS screen, broke W/T and cut up face.... Happened really quick...

 

For inexpensive soft cases to protect GPS, walkies, etc - hit a local hardware or discount store. They usually have soft cases which are rugged, usually designed for phones and such and are alot cheaper than custom designed cases for specific units. Got several for under $5 each @ Home Depot and they fit my GPS as well as my cell and w/t. Also check out closeout cell phone cases for old models. Most of these will fit several models and even other devices and once the phones are out of date can be had really cheap. Try Staples, office depot, phone stores, etc.

 

No matter how short the hike to the cache MAY be..... WAYPOINT YOUR VEHICLE!!!

WAYPOINT YOUR VEHICLE!!! WAYPOINT YOUR VEHICLE!!! WAYPOINT YOUR VEHICLE!!! :blink:

 

BRING WATER! BRING WATER! BRING WATER! - If you don't drink it you can wash off your wounds with it... :P

Edited by Crusso
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If you are going to be caching in the afternoon, always carry a small flashlight. It's easy to underestimate how long it will take you find the cache, and it can really not be much fun trying to walk the trails back to your car in the dark. If you know you are going to be caching at night, and travelling any distance by foot, carry two lights.

 

A small inspection mirror is sometimes very handy for searching for caches that are hidden undeneath things. And it doesn't look that much weirder than laying on your back, under the park bench, looking for the coordinates hidden "in plain sight." :(

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Always carry the phone numbers of at least three people who have already found the cache. Get one of them on the phone BEFORE you arrive at the cache site, and have them direct you straight to the cache.

 

Better yet, just ask someone else to sign your name in the log book for you. B)

the quickest time saver is to skip going to the site and just log it anyway. you never have to leave your house

 

never mind me, I've been trapped with the kids too long.

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I tried markers and nail polish to mark my battery pairs, but it kept wearing off. Then I bought an engraver and numbered each pair on the flat (negative) end. Now I can identify the pairs, and tell which is the older set. I just put the discharged ones in my pants pocket when removing them from the GPSr. When the load gets too heavy, it's time to go home! B)

 

Cache On!

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Take an old prepaid calling card, and wrap a six foot piece of duct tape around it (long ways). Just put the card in your wallet or backpack, makes it easy to carry duct tape everywhere!

 

Duct tape is great on blisters or chafed foot areas. Other products are made for this purpose, but duct tape is, imo, better and cheaper. Always carry about a linear foot or two of it.

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My tip is for arrow chasers. When the arrow on the compass page is swinging around wildly, I go to the satellite page and look at the current coordinates it shows. I then move around to make these coordinates match those of the cache. For some reason, there seems to be less bounce in these numbers than in the arrow.

Wow - good tip. I will try that.

 

"Arrow chasers"? I figured most people do it that way. B)

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No matter how short the hike to the cache MAY be..... WAYPOINT YOUR VEHICLE!!!

 

Copy that. It is very useful for those caches that take you to some trail that may actually be a loop and you can go forward to go back. That way you can see more of the trail instead of doubling back B)

 

But more important would be marking the trail when you go off it. You can lose the trail very quickly bushwhacking in some areas.

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Instead of "banding" my recharables, I us a permenant marker to "letter" each pair. I always use them in lettered pairs and always recharge them in lettered pairs.

 

Somewhere, probably here, I saw a suggestion that a film can will hold three AAs. This serves the same purpose as the tape that OP suggested, without the goo problem. + end up for charged, and down for needs charged.

 

For years I have used self-sticking velcro to make "straps" by sticking the two pieces back-to-back. When you wrap the strap around a cord or something, it will stick to itself where it overlaps. When I started geocaching I wanted a way hold the GPS up on my shoulder, so I wrapped one of these straps around the strap of my pack, near the top. A piece of velcro on the back of the GPS and it stays out of the way and with good reception. I put a keyring on the velcro strap and a small carabiner on the GPS lanyard to secure it. The lanyard is long enough to use the GPS without uncliping it.

 

You know those CITO film cans that you have a bunch of....throw a couple in the glove box, your purse or brief case. They dont take much room and you never know when a plastic bag will come in handy. I always have a couple in my carry-on bag in case the motel doesnt have a laundry bag.

 

Also, I use the ever-present Walmart/grocery store bags instead of actual trash bags. Our recycling place wont take them so they were going to be in the trash, and we usually dont fill a kitchen garbage bag anyhow.

 

Not really caching related, but when I travel I hate to have a pocket full of change. I used to just toss it in my brief case, or carry-on bag but now I put it in an empty film can.

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My tip is for arrow chasers. When the arrow on the compass page is swinging around wildly, I go to the satellite page and look at the current coordinates it shows. I then move around to make these coordinates match those of the cache. For some reason, there seems to be less bounce in these numbers than in the arrow.

 

I just use the distance function once I get within 100 ft. I keep walking in the direction that the distance goes down, so I find the spot pretty quickly.

 

 

 

Yerocrg

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