CachingCentral

WADE ZAROSINSKI
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The use of the Global Positioning System, known as GPS, has grown a lot in recent years.
Currently, GPS technology can be found in cars, planes, boats, phones and handheld devices, along with numerous other technologies. GPS uses a network of satellites to triangulate and calculate the location of a GPS-enabled device.

Users of this technology have recently created a new use for it: the most advanced scavenger hunt to date.

The new sport, known as geocaching, uses GPS and the Internet to allow for a new kind of treasure hunt, in which players hide a “cache” in the form of a location, box of items or picture, log the GPS location and coordinates and create a search.

Players can find and create new caches on sites such as www.geocaching.com. Geocaching.com has more than 150,000 active caches in 214 different countries, and has an expansive amount of information about strategies and geocaching techniques.

While being able to find a cache’s location through GPS technology may make the search easy, there is much more that meets the eye to geocaching.

Full story…

A lot of information I have on the tricks and use of my GPS unit I got by reading along and participating in Yahoo Groups related to various units. My first unit was a Garmin GPS V with an active group, at the time, at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gps-v. The group has 1209 members.

When I was investigating the purchase of a new unit, I joined the 60CS and 76CS groups at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GarminGPSMAP60C_60CS with 1343 members
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Garmin_GPSmap_76C with 714 members.

A lot of what occurs in the 60CS and 76CS groups are very similar since the devices themselves are practically the same units.

There’s also a lot of other Garmin and Magellan groups on Yahoo which you can find by going to http://groups.yahoo.com/ and typing your model in.

You can set your preferences to email you each message, a daily digest of all messages for each day, or no email at all and you would browse the site using a web browser.

GPXchange.com is a new site I was sent a link to. GPXchange is a central database for sharing location-based information contained within GPX (GPS eXchange format) files. Registered users can upload and store their files privately, or make them publicly available for download or viewing by anyone with internet access.

As files are uploaded, GPXchange automatically produces detailed maps and elevation profiles of the uploaded GPX data and provides tools that allow contributors to include photographs and detailed descriptive information relevant to their files.

GPXchange looks like it has a lot of potential to become a great resource for, among many groups, us geocachers. Take it for a little spin and make sure you bookmark it for future reference.

Garmin has release firmware v3.70 for the GPSMap 60C/60CS/76C/76CS units. They are still updating the site so you might not be able to see it for each model, but the firmware is the same for all units so select anyone and you would be fine.

There was a report during the 3.61 beta regarding some tracking issues when set to a very frequent interval. Seems that issue might still exist.

Links to the downloads:
GPSMap 60C
GPSMap 60CS
GPSMap 76C
GPSMap 76CS

Changes made from version 3.60 to 3.70:
Fixed transfer problem with custom waypoint symbols.
Now reports DEM map support to PC software.
Fixed lockup that could happen when selecting a Tracback point.
Fixed shutdown caused by viewing some marine light points.
Fixed problem with Indonesian Southern Grid using wrong longitude of origin.
Added advanced NMEA support settings to support certain marine autopilot units.
Fixed problem where the interaction with certain beacon receivers was not displayed.
Added ‘Select Map’ option for Address and Intersection searching.
Fixed problem where waypoint depth was not being saved as invalid when it was unknown.
Fixed problem where waypoints could not be saved in certain areas of BlueChart maps.
Fixed lockup that could occur when selecting symbols for waypoints.
Added warning message about removing batteries when Pressure Trend Recording is always on.
Fixed lockup that could occur when approaching certain roads on the map.
Made the way intermittent water areas are drawn more visible.
Fixed problem where compass pointer could transition to the next turn too quickly.
Fixed problem with bearing being adjusted improperly when projecting waypoints with a non-zero north reference.
Fixed lockup that would occur when ‘finding by name’ and then viewing map information for the point.
Fixed problem in tide charts where local time axis would not match the station time axis.
Changed tide stations to show selected date when saved on a calendar day.
Fixed a potential problem where the wrong number of bytes could be sent for USB get requests.
Fixed problem with displaying ‘Waypoint At Destination’ while doing a tracback.
Fixed lockup that could occur when approaching certain roads on the map.
Fixed problem where route recalculation would slowly go to 100% and lock up.
Improved WAAS search and selection process to be smarter in its handling of multiple SBAS service providers, overlapping service volumes, and exceptional conditions.
Fixed lockup that could occur when selecting a tracback point.

Satellite tracking is the latest way to hunt for hidden treasures
By ELIZABETH LANGTON / Special Contributor to the Dallas Morning News

More than 2,600 treasures lie hidden within 100 miles of Rockwall, and Larry Kelly has tracked down more than half of them.

Two years ago, Mr. Kelly discovered geocaching, a high-tech scavenger hunt in which players use Global Positioning System receivers to locate their finds. He and his wife, Jo Ellen, go out every weekend to seek and hide new caches.

“We just like finding things,” he said. “It’s like finding treasure, even though most of the time there’s no treasure.”

Geocachers hide containers and post the precise latitude and longitude on the Web. Those who find the cache are bound by simple rules: Sign the logbook, leave a replacement trinket if you take one, and re-hide the cache in the same location.

The Web site geocaching .com, where players post their cache hides and finds, lists 147,375 active caches in 213 countries. More than 16,500 registered users posted on the site in one recent week.

“When we first started geocaching two years ago, there were not a lot of cachers in our area,” Mr. Kelly said. “We had kind of the run of the place for a while. There’s not very many close to us that we haven’t found.”

Full story…
Requires registration to access. See BugMeNot for an id/password for the site.

Garmin today released firmware updates for the eTrexC and LegendC models. Both firmwares release are v2.20.

eTrex LegendC
eTrex VistaC

They download pages list a pretty extensive set of fixes for this release.

Magellan has updated the firmware to v5.40 for the following models:

Magellan Meridian Color Standard
Magellan Meridian Platinum Standard
Magellan Meridian Gold Standard

Go to the Magellan Firmware (Software) Update page and select the appropriate model.

Geocaching enthusiasts rely on GPS receivers to help with discoveries
By ELIZABETH LANGTON / Special Contributor to the Dallas Morning News

While scouring the underbrush for hidden treasure, Tom Martin relies more on his Global Positioning System receiver and his instincts than on his dog, Rush.

Every weekend, Mr. Martin and Rush go geocaching, a high-tech scavenger hunt where players use GPS receivers to locate their finds. Mr. Martin, who took up the game four months ago and has logged more than 300 finds, said Rush’s sense of smell isn’t as good as a GPS receiver.

“Of all the caches I’ve found, my dog has found none,” the Mesquite resident said.

Geocachers hide containers and post the precise latitude and longitude on the Web. Those who find the cache are bound by simple rules: Sign the logbook, leave a replacement trinket if you take one, and re-hide the cache in the same location.

The Web site geocaching.com, where players post their cache hides and finds, lists 147,375 active caches in 213 countries. More than 2,800 caches lie hidden within 100 miles of Mesquite.

“It’s like a modern-day treasure hunt, but there’s no map with an ‘X’ on it. You use technology to find your treasure instead of a compass and map,” said Tommy McMahan of Rockwall.

Mr. Martin discovered geocaching through a magazine article. He bought a GPS receiver on eBay and started caching as soon as it arrived, he said. He hunts caches near his Irving workplace during lunch hours and hits spots closer to home on weekends.

Full story…
Requires registration to access. See BugMeNot for an id/password for the site.

Scott Stein
The Pine Journal

Esko firefighter Scott Engstrom is one of a growing number of Carlton County residents who discovered a new adventure game for global positioning system (GPS) users. The game is called “geocaching” and it’s as addictive as it is fun.

The basic idea is that individuals set up caches all over the world and then share the locations of these caches via the Internet. Once found, the cache may provide the cache hunter with a wide variety of rewards – each cache is different.

All the visitor is asked to do if he or she gets something is to leave something else in the cache.
“You end up going places that you used to just drive right past,” Engstrom said. “There are a lot of beautiful places that we’re completely unaware of. I went looking for one near Port Wing. I’ve driven by Port Wing many times, but I never knew there was a beautiful cave with a waterfall. That’s just one example of what you find out when you get into this.”

Once a cache hunter has the coordinates, it would seem the hunt would be relatively simple. But while it’s one thing to see where an item is, it’s a different story to actually get there. Even when you get in the area, the cache isn’t always easy to find. There’s no rule saying it must be out in plain view.

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Some Bourbon Central students know all about it

By Jeanine Scott
HERALD-LEADER CORRESPONDENT

PARIS – What goal of many savvy searchers can be found by the hundreds in Fayette County but can’t be found in neighboring Bourbon County?

The answer is a geocache. A geocache consists of some type of log book and usually small items for trade. It is found using a global positioning system, or GPS, unit.

Geocaching is a new game gaining popularity worldwide. Basically, individuals and groups set up caches around the world and post the locations of these caches on the Internet for others to find. Players have three rules, according to Web sites devoted to the game: take something from the cache, leave something in the cache and write about it in the log book.

The Geo-Bears Geography Club at Bourbon Central Elementary, made up of eight fourth-grade students with an interest in geography, decided to make sure that Bourbon County has at least one geocache; they recently placed a cache at one of the county’s historical attractions. It will be listed along with thousands of other geocaches on www. geocaching.com. They plan to hide more caches in the coming months at other historical attractions in the area.

“We want to draw people’s attention to the historic treasures in Bourbon County by hiding our geocaches there,” said Lori Sheroan, a teacher at Bourbon Central and the Geo-Bears sponsor. “It will be interesting to see how many people come to find our geocaches and where they’re from.”

The Geo-Bears club took an earlier field trip to find three Fayette County geocaches listed on www.geocaching.com. Sheroan said the group found two of the three they were searching for despite the cold, wet weather. The third was located under a bridge and it was too slippery for the kids to get to safely.

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