Geocaching...

[Ammoyankee]

I have recently got into the geocaching thing as a way to get exercise after surgery. Kind of like a technogeek treasure hunt, anyone elso on here Geocachers?

[atb35]

I dont do it, but i just started reading about it, seems interesting.

[socalheart]

It's a lot of fun, as long as you aren't in a nest of rattlesnakes, which happened to a friend of mine who geocached in San Diego. I might do it here, if I had one of those GPS thingies. I recommend it for the adventurous, boonie stomping sort. :thumbup1:

[P_chan]

If I had a GPS and a lot of free time, I would do it.

[Ammoyankee]

Well, I bought a Garmin GPS for about $120, nothing fancy but it works. And surprisinly, it doesn't take that much time. There are roughly 160 caches hidden here on the island and many are 5-10 minutes from your car. Most of the parks have at least one hidden. Some are more difficult and require a bit of a hike but you can pick and chose as you have the time...

[atb35]

An interesting one would be underwater geocaching, taking advantage of the plentiful diving here. (not sure how that would work in regards to damaging the environment or something though)

[socalheart]

My friend got into geocaching while here on island. He's a diver and would find the geocaches that were underwater. He's hooked! He's now a commercial diver in The Gulf and still goes geocaching. Everytime this comes up in conversation, I get more interested in doing it. Heh.

"We're all just the retarded offspring of five monkeys having buttsex with a fishsquirrel" -- atb35 This is dang funny! I can't imagine what a fishsquirrel is exactly, but it's still funny. :D

[P_chan]

Does anybody know of a good reasonably priced hand held GPS that has maps of the entire world? I've seen a lot with north and south america but nothing with world maps. Or do you know of one that you can download maps form a certain country, like japan.

[atb35]

This is dang funny! I can't imagine what a fishsquirrel is exactly, but it's still funny. :D

It is from Southpark, the evolultion episode. I posted it in a link on one of the religious threads i think.

[Asshat]

Does anybody know of a good reasonably priced hand held GPS that has maps of the entire world? I've seen a lot with north and south america but nothing with world maps. Or do you know of one that you can download maps form a certain country, like japan.

P_chan, you need a unit that allows insertion of cartographic chips. There are some out there that contain GIS datum of the earth, but they are not accurate enough for navigation.

Most of the units which accept chips are proprietary in nature, so you need to buy the chips those units support. Look in boating supply sites, or perhaps the company sites like Garmin.

[P_chan]

Still not sure which GPS to get.

I was thinking about this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-eTrex-Legend-GPS-Navigator/dp/tech-data/B000058BCQ/ref=de_a_smtd/002-0010187-2399234

or this one:
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=410

It says I can hook it up to a PC but I'm not sure if I can download maps for okinawa onto it.

What do you guys use? I contacted garmin and they said it's a matter of finding a map that is compatible to their GPS, but they don't offer any maps of okinawa or japan.

[Ammoyankee]

I use the Legend. Pretty basic but does the job!

[Hollarey]

What kind of treasures do you usually find?

[P_chan]

So I got my GPS today! Got if from the foster clothing sale! I wanted the legend, but all they had was the vista, and the one below the legend, can't remember what is was called. I got the vista, it was about 50 more but it's not big deal I've been wanting one forever.

So what are some good sites to find coordinates for geocaching?

[socalheart]

When I went geocaching with my friend in SD, it wasn't exactly "treasure" that we hunted. Usually, it's the prestige of finding the cache. The one I found was a hide-a-key box with a bit of paper and some odd bits inside. You're suppose to write your name (userID from geocache site) and date on the paper and leave a little trinket, like a button or penny.

Come to think of it, anyone interested in doing a poor man's version of geocaching? Instead of buying a GPS, do a "treasure" map thing here. For example: I can be found under a twelve step program leading to the north star of the Aeon wheel. This might mean that the item is under the twelfth step on the staircase on the northside of the building where the ferris wheel building. Now, you could either write your user name and date on a slip of paper and put it back, and at the end of a month, the placer of the item then posts all the people who found the item in that month.
OR, and I like this idea better... The first person to find the item takes the item and leaves a note saying that the item has been found instead. Then, the person has to hide the item in another place, and place the clue online in the forums. The item will still have a list of who found it, but it will be a more active game.

Duct taping a small plastic box to a place would work in most spots. We'd just have to be clear to those more adventurous types to avoid the boonie stomping and other dangerous areas. The hiding places would have to be all off base to make it fair for everyone, including the kids who post here. Anyone interested? :D

[Ammoyankee]

So I got my GPS today! Got if from the foster clothing sale! I wanted the legend, but all they had was the vista, and the one below the legend, can't remember what is was called. I got the vista, it was about 50 more but it's not big deal I've been wanting one forever.

So what are some good sites to find coordinates for geocaching?

Once you learn to operate the GPS, take coordinates at your home. Then go to geocaching.com, get an account, enter your home coordinates and it will be able to tell you which ones are on the island. If you need help, drop me a line...

[P_chan]

anyone know of where I could purchase a map of okinawa for my Vista? It has japan, and even has a marker for naha, but once you zoom in there isn't an okinawa island. I don't really need it, but I'd like to have it.

[Ammoyankee]

Check the forums that are linked off Geocaching.com and do a search for Okinawa. I believe I saw links for sites with free map downloads...

[P_chan]

But now where do I get the mapsource program to put those maps on my GPS? I looked on the garmin site and it just had maps for sale. They don't allow you to download the mapsource map loader to your computer?

[Ammoyankee]

But now where do I get the mapsource program to put those maps on my GPS? I looked on the garmin site and it just had maps for sale. They don't allow you to download the mapsource map loader to your computer?


I think you might be able to find it or another compatible available for d/l also...