[Team Deejay]

Oh, I forgot to add that you shouldn’t expect the Google Maps LINK to disappear from the cache page. The new fees apply to the API usage (where the maps are built into the webpage. Just linking to to the Google Maps page is not part of the API.

[Team Deejay]

The Dakota 20 only comes with the Basemap, which pretty much only has interstate highways and similar roads. You can either buy maps from Garmin (either the TOPO maps or the City Navigator maps), or find free maps online. I don’t use a Garmin anymore, so I don’t have the link for the free maps, but I’m sure someone can provide it to you.

Also, you should be loading your GPX files directly into the unit, so that you can see the geocache info on your GPS.

[Team Deejay]

I would agree that the new maps are pretty much awful in “Mapquest Satellite” mode, but there is an upgrade. If you map a pocket query, it now shows JUST the pocket query caches. Additionally, the OpenStreetMap Cycle map seems to have some trails on it (at least in a few places). I have always used GSAK for “real” mapping, so for scrolling around, I always used the non-satellite maps. Still seems ok for that purpose.

[Team Deejay]

Thanks to all the candidates and the voters! Great job everyone! Welecome to the BOD, folks.

[Team Deejay]

@Error3 wrote:

why can you only edit your post in the first 10 minutes, thats going to drive me nuts I make alot of mistakes

neck*

You may not believe this, but we were not always the pleasant, carefree, happy-go-lucky group that you see today. In the past we had people post inflammatory comments, then go in and change what they said after people responded, typically making it look like the responders had overreacted. At the time, it was felt that a 10 minute edit period would be sufficient to correct errors while eliminating the problem of people “covering their tracks.”

[Team Deejay]

Welcome back!

[Team Deejay]

Welcome to the game!

[Team Deejay]

You should probably know (before you start posting to the national forums) that each NPS facilities can set their own rules on geocaching. If you were trying to place one in a less popular NP (say Badlands, for example), I expect that you would get a much different answer. Yellowstone, Glacier, Yosemite, Great Smoky Mountains, and a few others really don’t want anymore visitors, so they can do stuff like this.

[Team Deejay]

Also, this device tries to read your mind. If you plug it in turned off, it connects as an external drive (like a thumb drive). If you plug it in turned on, it connects as a GPS. Also, be sure to install the Mapsource software that comes with the unit. This also installs the drivers, which you might need.

[Team Deejay]

It is discontinued. I would guess it hasn’t been updated in a while. There is software available, however, so that you can load a pocket query to it, assuming you have the update kit that is usually sold with it. For puzzles, you will probably want to use something like GSAK to “correct” the coordinates and create a new PQ before sending it to the GPS. As you probably know, you can enter ONE waypoint manually (the home waypoint), so you could theoretically use this for entering coordinates in the field.

If you bought this recently, I would suggest that you return it and purchase an Etrex 10, which can be had for under $100.

[Team Deejay]

Additionally, there are no rules against dirty tricks. For instance, you could bribe the cache owner to let you know where the cache is hidden before it is published. Or, if you can guess when the cache will be published, you could preemptively deflate your opponent’s tires. Or maybe rush for the FTF, and then hand deliver the container to your friends to sign, eliminating your enemies and leaving them to search all night for the stolen container? (Aren’t you guys glad I’m not playing?)

[Team Deejay]

Nuvi (generic) should work with any model. On most of them, the caches end up as “Favorites”.

[Team Deejay]

I suspect this thread went off track because there are large differences in different parts of the state. What Uncle Fun is referring to are places where people have placed caches every 0.1 miles or so along a highway frontage road or other similar “uninteresting” feature. Note that this is very different from an occasional guardrail hide, or a series along a bike trail, tourist route, or other linear “park”.

If you would like to see an example, use the geocaching map feature following I-94 through Racine and Kenosha counties. Some of the caches you will see are sort of interesting, but most are just a micro hidden in a sign or guardrail. If you made it your mission, you could easily find 50 or so caches in about 4 hours without much effort.

Now, these caches meet the requirements of the guidelines and, quite frankly, aren’t bothering anyone. No one says you have to look for them. On the other hand, placing a cache for no reason other than the fact that there is room for one will, in the long run, take away from the magic of the game. Think about how you felt when you first found a spot through geocaching that you would never have otherwise found. As a hider, I hope to get my finders to have that feeling more often than not when finding my caches. It seems unlikely that anyone will say “Wow! I never would have found that frontage road guardrail without this cache being here”.

And that, I think, is what people are trying to say. This is not about easy terrain or easy hides. It is about trying to do something interesting when you make the effort to place a geocache. A good example of what I’m talking about is an old GR8 Eyes hide in a Wauwatosa bus stop. Of course, the bus stop was nothing special, but the cache highlighted a nearby church built by Frank Lloyd Wright with a spectacular blue domed roof. Yes, we all hate bus stop hides, but here was one that brought you someplace special. Try to live up to her standard and your finders will thank you.

** I don’t normally do this, but this post is my personal opinion and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the WGA BOD. **

[Team Deejay]

I liked the puzzle one, because when I first saw it, I actually thought the attribute meant “suitable for infants”.

[Team Deejay]

Let’s see…creating bookmarks from the database (without having to click 1000 times and close 500 windows)…priceless.

Being able to automatically check and update the caches NOT in the PQ but in the database (essentially marking diableds, archives, and finds I forgot to mark) is a big time saver. My procedure is load PQ, filter for any caches where the last GPX date is before today, then refresh those caches. Note that you could also theoretically use the status check function instead of refreshing, but Groundspeak gives us 6000 cache refreshes for 24 hours, so I can’t see why I would just not do the whole refresh.

Along the same lines, once in a while I will update the entire database to get the new “Favorites” numbers. This is (today) the only way to get these values, short of typing them in manually. Hopefully those will start showing up in PQs (real soon now…)

Finally, being able to get all (or at least most) of the logs on a cache is helpful when administering the LCG. Sometimes people post a bunch of note/NM/NA/DNF logs on caches so that the standard PQ doesn’t include the last “found” log.

To be honest, the first benefit listed would justify the cost for me, but I would always update my software when it is as well supported as GSAK. I really want the developer to keep developing on this, so the best way to support him is to upgrade as soon as possible.

[Author]

Posts