Sunday, March 18, 2012

Finding Multi-Caches With Geocaching Buddy

Geocaching Buddy

As a general rule I don’t like Multi-caches. These are the class of geocaches that have you visiting a number of locations, collecting clues along the way which you then pump into a final formula to give you the location of the actual cache. I must stress that my dislike is entirely personal. Why go for a three mile walk to find one geocache when that same walk could be made as a circular series of 5 – 10 caches? It always seems like a waste of space and time to me. read more

Getting accurate coordinates for your geocache hides

Getting accurate coordinates for hiding geocaches

If you’ve ever gone geocaching you’ve undoubtedly found yourself thinking about hiding your own geocache. You’ve probably said, “I know somewhere that would make an excellent hide…” Maybe you’ve wisely waited until you have a number of finds under your belt. Maybe your area is so saturated with geocaches that you’ve yet to set one. Or maybe you’ve set a few and had geocachers come back to you and say that your co-ordinates are way off. If so, then this month’s article on getting accurate co-ordinates when placing geocaches should be of use to you. read more

5 Reasons Every Geocacher Could Benefit From GSAK

If you’ve been geocaching for any amount of time, you’ve probably heard experienced cachers talk enthusiastically about the PC software application GSAK. And no doubt, if you’ve asked them what’s so special about it, and what it can do that your GPS cannot, you’ve received some vague answer that hasn’t had you completely convinced.

GSAK stands for Geocaching Swiss Army Knife and it’s a very apt name, because GSAK can do a lot of those fiddly things manipulating your Pocket Queries and ‘found caches’ data in a way that you wish your GPS could.

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The Geomate.jr is back

It appears that the phoenix-like rise of the Geomate.jr from the ashes is almost complete. In a Facebook post yesterday, the new owners shared the following with geocachers: read more

RIP Geomate.jr

UPDATE: As of February 9, they have revived the update zone, at least temporarily.

Sad news today for geocachers on a budget – the Geomate.jr will no longer be sold and the Update Zone service has been discontinued. Keep reading for all the gory details along with how to get a new pocket query into your Geomate…

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Garmin chirp wireless geocaching beacon

UPDATE: Now available at Amazon and REI.com

The Garmin chirp was announced this morning — a wireless geocaching beacon designed for multi-stage caches, although it seems to cry out for other uses as well.

Slightly larger than a quarter and weighing in at 1 ounce, the chirp has a one-year battery life and a range of 32 feet. It can transmit hints or coordinates for the next stage of a cache

Wireless-enabled Garmin Dakota, Oregon and GPSMAP 62/78 series units are listed as compatible. The chirp is password protected and provides the owner with stats showing the number of visitors the chirp has recorded.

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Handheld GPS 101: Geocaching

Geocaching container

This is the fifth in a series of posts designed to help introduce beginners to the use of handheld GPS receivers.

Geocaching is a sort of high-tech treasure hunt and a great way to learn to use your handheld GPS. To begin, go to geocaching.com and enter your zip code. You’ll likely find coordinates for hundreds of nearby caches. You’ll need to register (free) to be able to download them directly to your GPS.

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Magellan eXplorist GC review

Magellan-eXplorist-GC-review

Hands on with the Magellan eXplorist GC

The Magellan eXplorist GC is a new introduction designed to do one thing well – geocache! It has a 2.2” color (non-touch) screen, 18 hour (rated) battery life and a highly detailed  worldwide basemap. And while it isn’t designed for backcountry navigation, it can accommodate 500 waypoints and a 5,000 point tracklog. Really though, the eXplorist GC is a one-trick pony aimed at geocachers, with a low and sure to be discounted MSRP of $199.99.

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