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Thread: Finally! I have a GPSr!

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Casco, Maine
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    62

    Default Finally! I have a GPSr!

    Well, we finally bought a GPSr for Geocaching this afternoon at LLBean. We picked up a Garmin GPSMAP 76. (Please don't tell me it's a bad model...hmmm...it IS a good one, right? ) It has a "12 channel GPS receiver with WAAS" and "it's waterproof and floats". So, what's MapSource and do I need it? The guy at LLBean couldn't tell me.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    New Gloucester, Me
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    Mapsource is mapping software that provides more detail than what your GPS come loaded with.
    More streets, back roads, bodies of water. etc.
    I'm not sure if you are only going to use your GPS for cachign we use ours for directions as well and the Mapsource software has helped us out a lot. On our GPS it includes places of interest like hotels restaurants gas stations ATM etc.
    It's a bit pricey but for us it has paid for itself.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    New Gloucester, Me
    Posts
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    Here is a link that will tell you more.
    I'm not sure what Mapsource is available for the Map76
    http://www8.garmin.com/cartography/AboutCart.html

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Maine
    Posts
    1,972

    Thumbs up Well.....

    Quote Originally Posted by Maine-iac_Mom View Post
    Well, we finally bought a GPSr for Geocaching this afternoon at LLBean. We picked up a Garmin GPSMAP 76. (Please don't tell me it's a bad model...hmmm...it IS a good one, right? ) It has a "12 channel GPS receiver with WAAS" and "it's waterproof and floats". So, what's MapSource and do I need it? The guy at LLBean couldn't tell me.
    Need it? No, but want it..........yes you will want it someday. The GPS'r will work fine without it, till you get lost somewhere unfamiliar.

    Congrats! and good luck.
    Why not live life like it is your last day....instead of pretending to be a member of the Peter Pan Club and believing you will be around forever.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Bangor, ME
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    3,968

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Maine-iac_Mom View Post
    Well, we finally bought a GPSr for Geocaching this afternoon at LLBean. We picked up a Garmin GPSMAP 76. (Please don't tell me it's a bad model...hmmm...it IS a good one, right? ) It has a "12 channel GPS receiver with WAAS" and "it's waterproof and floats". So, what's MapSource and do I need it? The guy at LLBean couldn't tell me.

    Trust me when "I" tell you this, but when they say that the garmin is "waterproof" and "it floats" they mean it! (i think its the most valuable part of the gps)
    Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Casco, Maine
    Posts
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    Default

    Another question: What do you put inside the caches in exchange for something? Ideas please!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    Bangor, ME
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    Quote Originally Posted by Maine-iac_Mom View Post
    Another question: What do you put inside the caches in exchange for something? Ideas please!
    a good rule of thumb is to "trade even, or trade up" meaning if ya take somethin out, put somethin in of equal or greater value. For example, don't take a dvd and put in the dead batteries out of your gps or an old movie ticket stub. Takin a trip down the campin isle at dicks or walmart can get you some good stuff pretty cheap, like those rain ponchos, match holders (make great micros), and other various little outdoor items. Just dont put in things that are smelly (like soaps or lotions) and dont put in any food items. (Those items attract critters that will tear apart the cache to get to em)
    Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Unity, Maine
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    3,874

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    Quote Originally Posted by Maine-iac_Mom View Post
    Well, we finally bought a GPSr for Geocaching this afternoon at LLBean. We picked up a Garmin GPSMAP 76. (Please don't tell me it's a bad model...hmmm...it IS a good one, right? ) It has a "12 channel GPS receiver with WAAS" and "it's waterproof and floats". So, what's MapSource and do I need it? The guy at LLBean couldn't tell me.
    Congratulations . . . and for the record while I am an unabashed Magellan lover just you really can't go wrong with buying a Garmin.

    As mentioned Mapsource is a more detailed map for your GPSr . . . while more detailed maps are never necessary to go geocaching, I often find that the more detailed maps are extremely useful . . . especially if you have mapping software that offers turn-by-turn directions to get you close to the cache while driving . . . or conversely I use my more detailed topo map while ATVing and sledding to see where I am. Trust me . . . not needed, but once you have it you'll never want to use the base map packaged witht the GPS ever again.
    "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the realization that there is something more important than fear."

    "Death is only one of many ways to die."

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Unity, Maine
    Posts
    3,874

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    Quote Originally Posted by Maine-iac_Mom View Post
    Another question: What do you put inside the caches in exchange for something? Ideas please!
    I try to put a mix of things that would appeal to children and adults . . . past experience has shown me that most adults don't tend to trade unless they see something that really appeals to them whereas children involved in this hobby love to trade items.

    As Hiram mentioned, camping type items are liked . . . some folks also love to hit up the dollar store (in fact one of my favorite items I pulled out of a cache was corn-on-the-cob holders -- in the package I should add, not used.)

    Typical items found in my caches include bouncy balls, mini frisbees, penlights, novelty pencils and erasers, flashlights, etc.

    In a couple of my caches I decided to experiment and placed items valued at $5 or more and asked cachers to make similar trades . . . while some folks expressed their opinions that folks would not adhere to the trading stipulations, most all have done so with only a few exceptions and misconceptions . . . in these I have placed mini-binoculars that I won at work, gift certificates to local restaurants and gas stations and other similar items.
    "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the realization that there is something more important than fear."

    "Death is only one of many ways to die."

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Unity, Maine
    Posts
    3,874

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    Quote Originally Posted by Hiram357 View Post
    a good rule of thumb is to "trade even, or trade up" meaning if ya take somethin out, put somethin in of equal or greater value. For example, don't take a dvd and put in the dead batteries out of your gps or an old movie ticket stub. Takin a trip down the campin isle at dicks or walmart can get you some good stuff pretty cheap, like those rain ponchos, match holders (make great micros), and other various little outdoor items. Just dont put in things that are smelly (like soaps or lotions) and dont put in any food items. (Those items attract critters that will tear apart the cache to get to em)
    Geocaching.com has a complete list of prohibited items . . . in addition to smelly items like soaps, lotions and candles (and me after I've spent all day working on the house) and food (bad since it attracts animals in some cases and also bad because who really wants to eat a granola bar after it's been sitting in a musty ammo can for who knows how long) . . . knives, firearms and shells, smoking materials and other adult-related items are prohibited.
    "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the realization that there is something more important than fear."

    "Death is only one of many ways to die."

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