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Amen, Steve! I wish all hints were written to do what they are supposed to do, which is to serve as a last resort after you have searched for some time and you’re unable to find the cache. At that time, it does little good to unencrypt the hint only to discover that it tells you where to park, or that the hint says “no hint needed”. For this same reason hints should be as short as possible so we can unencrypt them in the field in just a few minutes. If you write a very long hint, people are more tempted to unencrypt them on their computers before they even try to search without the hint.
As a follow-up to my previous post, I decided to attack this problem once again and I found a solution! I went into the task manager and began ending specific processes one by one, then attempting to download through EasyGPS. After ending a process labeled “HKServ.exe” I am now able to do the downloading thing.
[This message has been edited by kbraband (edited 10-29-2003).]
quote:
Originally posted by What’s Next?:
We’re trying to download with Easy GPS and finding it not so easy. Why is that? Should they have named the program Incredibly Frustrating Bang Your Head Against the Wall or Throw Something GPS. We know it works, we’ve seen it done so effortlessly at events! If anyone can try to shed some light for us, it would be greatly appreciated.We can get all the waypoints to display in a window on our monitor, but when we try to send them to the GPS, nothing happens. We’ve tried a couple different ports on the computer too.
Help…
You’re not alone in having this problem. In the past I successfully downloaded waypoints many times using my notebook computer. I even set it up for downloads at WGA events, but for some reason I haven’t been able to make it work for the past couple of months. JeremyV has been offering advice to help me. I got it to work a couple of weeks ago, but then it stopped working again. Evidently there is, as wzbt03 suggests, a program using and interfering with the COM1 port.
Here’s some advice JeremyV gave me:
Go to the Task Manager by hitting Control/Alt/Delete keys at the same time.If you have time, just go to the “Processes” tab in the Task Manager
and starting killing the processes one by one using the “End Process”
button. (Note: Only kill the processes that you started… check the
User Name column… you can ignore anything started by SYSTEM. Also,
it should be safe to shut down anything you started.) Then try
ExpertGPS and see if you can communicate with the GPS.
Here’s some additional advice from JeremyV:
First, make sure that COM1 is still installed and is not disabled. Go
to Settings->Control Panel->System->”Hardware” tab->”Device Manager”
then look under Ports (Com & LPT) to see if Communications Port (COM1)
is still there. If it is there but the icon has a red X over it, it is
disabled… right click on it to enable it.Second, try disabling the infrared port. On a lot of laptops, the
infrared port and physical serial port share the same resources, so
there could be a conflict. Easiest way to disable IR is through the
Device Manager.I guess if these suggestions don’t work, you may want to check for a
hardware problem… either the serial port on your laptop or the one on
the GPS could be physically bad, or the serial cable could be bad. You
do have serial communications properly set up on your GPS, right?
I hope this helps!
KenGood question. We’ll alert the WGA webmasters.
Cathunter’s link doesn’t open for me, but I do know that a muggler is a non-geocacher who accidently finds a geocache or who is in proximity to the geocache and is thereby at risk of finding the geocache or observing the geocachers and wondering what the heck they are up to.
Most excellent, John! Here’s hoping you have a great turnout. And nice job getting a link to the WGA site too!
Hi, OblongFred
I have seen your name when I hunted Cleveland caches. What travel bug is it?Not the answer you’re looking for, but there is a “locationless” cache that asks you to log your hikes on the Ice Age Trail. See it here: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=15658&log=y&decrypt=
quote:
Originally posted by What’s Next?:
As we approach our caching anniversary and chuckle about how the only expense is the one GPS unit, we find ourselves looking into another GPS (one for him, one for her). Friends of ours have the Magellan Gold. We currently own a Garmin Legend. We’ve heard it’s helpful to have different brands when checking accuracy. What does everyone think?
Uh oh, here we go again with the brand debate. My opinions, based on geocaching with quite a few other geocaches over the past couple of years: Garmin has the best user interface and PC software. Lowrance has the best internal antennas for when the tree cover is thick. Magellan has the slickest-looking GPS units.
Now you get a sense of what that admins have to go through to approve caches. Imagine how hard it was before the DNR made the existing maps available. Even though there may not be a map available for every SNA, there is a description of all SNA boundaries so cache-placers should be able to tell in advance if the cache they wish to place is within an SNA.
CD, Please see my response to your question in your other topic: Maps
quote:
Originally posted by DCexplorer:
I do not mean to critique another’s cache placement; I merely point out that from what information I could find, the descriptions of SNAs oftentimes are ambiguous in their descriptions.Without access to maps of the SNAs in question, my examination of the SNA issue is a layman’s take on the situation. As I said earlier, I am fairly new to the sport, and am trying to grasp the mindset of those who have been more heavily involved.
If maps of SNAs showing boundaries were available online, or if they are available, a link created to them, would help us identify what is and what is not a SNA. As anyone who has been to Rock Island knows, it is almost entirely wooded. Yet the “Rock Island Woods” SNA doesn’t apply to the whole island. Are the maps you’re using publicly available?
Since the Kangaroo Lake SNA is owned by the Nature Conservancy and the Door County Land Trust, perhaps seeking approval for the Geocache from the local land manager would be best thing to do, in a similar fashion to what CP Blacksmith did with “Top of Niagara.” I would hate to see this cache archived.
DC, I understood your questions and criticsms and feel you didn’t do anything wrong by raising the issue. You asked why new caches are not allowed in SNAs while others are already there, and you cited examples. It’s a fair question, one that some of us have tried to answer in the other topic.
Regarding a link to maps of SNAs, yes we do have it on our “Links” page here at the WGA website. Go the to the Home page, then click on “Links”.
quote:
Originally posted by DCexplorer:
Thanks for taking the time for the detailed response. However, if these are the reasons for the DNR discouraging SNA bans, I stand by my assertion that common sense would be a better determination of placement than an arbitrary ban.
Unfortunately, common sense would be the arbitrary thing, not a ban on caches in SNAs. What may be common sense to you and me is not the same for another person. On the other hand, a ban on caches in SNAs would not be arbitrary. It would be done for specific reasons and for the good of the cooperation between the geocachers and the DNR.
Special thanks go to wzbt03 for setting up this meeting. Jeff has been instrumental in working not only with the WPRA but also the Janesville Parks Dept. to let them know about geocaching. Janesville is now a geocaching-friendly area, thanks to Jeff’s efforts. This goes to show that local geocachers don’t need to sit back and wait for the WGA board to take action in their communities. We can work closely with you to support YOUR efforts with local parks and other municipal and county officials to make them aware of the benefits of geocaching.
Here’s a photo of Jeff speaking to the WPRA group.
[This message has been edited by kbraband (edited 10-15-2003).]
quote:
Originally posted by Trudy & the beast:
Awsome!Here is another alternative use for a GPS – a few weeks ago I met a golfer who has marked all the holes on his favorite course with his GPS. Now he knows the precise distance to the hole for every lie. He said this can frequently make a difference in which club/iron he selects for a shot.
There’s already an industry being built around GPS and golfing. Many golf courses have GPS systems built into the golf carts. You can also bring along your own GPS golf system, such as this one: http://www.proshotgolf.com/index-1b.htm
Personally, I don’t golf much. I’d rather be… um… let me think… -
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