Anatomy of a Link: Understanding the Interface Process

Before I talk about how to interface a GPS receiver to a PC, you need to understand the types of data that can be passed between the two devices:

• GPS receiver to PC: Saved waypoints, routes, tracks, and current location coordinates
• PC to GPS receiver: Maps (if the GPS receiver supports them), waypoints, routes, and tracks
  

You can interface a GPS receiver to a computer and transfer data in two ways:

• Cable: Most GPS receivers use a special cable, with one end that plugs into the receiver and the other that plugs into the serial or Universal Serial Bus (USB) port of your computer.
• Memory card: Some GPS receiver models use Secure Digital (SD) or MultiMediaCard (MMC) memory cards to store data.

You transfer data between the GPS receiver and your computer with a card reader connected to the computer. If you use a Bluetooth wireless GPS receiver, you don’t need a cable or memory card reader to transfer data. These are designed to be used exclusively with laptops and PDAs
Avoid GPS receivers that can’t interface with a personal computer. The benefits of connecting to a computer far exceed the few dollars you’ll save.

About (Inter)Face: Connectivity Rules

If you choose to use a mapping GPS receiver (one that you can upload maps to from a PC), you’re in the right chapter. And kudos to you to getting a model that really lets you maximize using your GPS receiver. You’ll be outdoor navigating and geocaching in no time. Here are the very cool things you can do with a PC-compatible receiver:

• Back up and store GPS receiver waypoints, routes, and tracks on your computer.
• Download waypoints, routes, and tracks from your GPS receiver to your computer to use with computer mapping programs.
• pload waypoints, routes, and tracks to your GPS receiver from other sources such as Internet sites, other GPS users, or mapping programs.
• Upload maps from your computer to your GPS receiver (if your receiver supports mapping). For more on selecting a GPS with mapping capabilities.
• Provide GPS data to a moving map program on a laptop for real-time travel tracking .
• Update your GPS receiver’s firmware.

Internet connection for Digital Mapping Hardware

You need a modem and an Internet account if you want to

• Download mapping software updates
• Use Web-hosted mapping services
• Download data for creating maps

An Internet connection is a must for anyone interested in digital mapping. If you plan to download digital maps and aerial photographs, you really should have a broadband Internet account (DSL or cable modem). Even when compressed, these files can be very large, and it can be painfully slow waiting for the data to arrive on a slower, dialup connection.

Communication ports

You can connect most GPS receivers to your computer through the computer’s serial port. If you want to download data from a GPS receiver to use with a digital map or upload maps and data to a GPS receiver, your computer needs a serial port and a special cable to connect the two devices. (Note: Some GPS receivers use a faster USB connector to interface with a computer.) If your computer doesn’t have a serial port, as is the case with a number of laptop computers, you need a USB adapter and serial cable to connect your GPS receiver to a computer. Read more about this in Chapter 9, also. If your GPS receiver supports both a serial connection and a Secure Digital (SD) or MultiMediaCard (MMC) memory card for storing data, use the memory card when you’re exchanging data. It’s both faster and easier to use than a serial cable when interfacing the GPS receiver to your computer. You will need a card reader connected to your computer to transfer data to and from the memory card.

Printers for Mapping Software

At some point, you’re probably going to want to print a digital map. Expensive plotters and large format printers are important for a professional mapmaker, but any printer that can output the map in a readable fashion is fine for the average computer user. However, some printers are more suited for digital mapping than others.

• Color printers: Black-and-white printers are perfectly suitable for printing maps, but color output is usually easier to read and understand, especially when using topographic maps. A colored map produced on a cheap inkjet printer might be more useful than a crisp black-and-white map that came from an expensive laser printer. When cartographers make maps, they design them to be either black and white or color. Important information can be lost when a map program translates a color map into the inherent shades of gray in black and white.
• Resolution: The higher the print resolution in dots per inch (dpi), the better the map will appear; especially for maps that show a lot of detail. Printers designed for printing digital photos work quite well in representing topographic and other detailed maps.
• Print speed: Some printers are faster than others, and a faster printer means you get to see and use your printed map quicker. Printers are rated in pages per minute (ppm), which is the number of pages that can be printed in a minute. When you’re comparing page per minute ratings, be sure you look at the numbers for printing graphics instead of at text.
• Cost per page: If you’re frequently printing maps, it makes good economic sense to use a printer with a reasonable cost-per-page rating (the estimated cost to print a single page, considering paper and ink). Cost per-page rates vary considerably between printers and are usually mentioned in magazine and online reviews.

Graphics cards and monitors for mapping softaware

Unlike computer video games, graphics card requirements for mapping programs are pretty minimal. All you need is a Super Video Graphics Array (SVGA) card, which has come standard on computers for years. If your mapping software supports 3-D terrain display, a card that has a graphics accelerator will draw map images faster. An accelerator isn’t an absolute requirement because most commercial programs that support 3-D rendering take advantage of a graphics accelerator only if it is present. Check the specs of your current PC (or one you’re considering purchasing) to see whether an accelerator is present.

Just like the broad, general hardware requirements theme for mapping, bigger (that is, a bigger monitor) is better. Although most programs work fine on a 15-inch monitor, the larger the monitor, the more map area can appear onscreen. 17-inch monitors, which come standard with most computers these days, are more than adequate for digital mapping. However, if you’re spending a lot of time using maps in front of a computer screen, consider a larger (19-inch or 21-inch) monitor, which is both easier on the eyes and can display much more data.
In Windows, change the display size of a monitor via the Display Properties dialog box. To access this, right-click the desktop and select Properties from the contextual menu that appears. On the Settings tab, you can change the display area to different sizes such as 800 x 600, 1024 x 768, or 1280 x 1024 pixels. Try some of these different settings to see which works best for your mapping program as well as your eyes.

CD and DVD drives for Mapping Software

Just about every commercial software manufacturer uses CDs to distribute their products. Digital map manufacturers are no different; they extensively use CDs for map data. For example, the National Geographic Back Roads Explorer (a whopping 16-CD set) provides topographic maps for the entire United States. You can run these CDs on any CD drive; the higher the read speed, the faster the map data will load and display. Having a CD drive that can write (burn) CD-ROMs is way useful if you plan to download large amounts of map data from the Internet. Because data files can be very large, archive the data on CDs instead of cluttering your hard drive with infrequently used files. If you’re not going to be archiving map data, consider using CD-RWs (rewriteables) because you can delete files from them, using them again and again.
Computers are now commonly equipped with a DVD drive, which can read both CDs and DVDs. DVDs rock because they can store a whole lot more data than a CD; compare 4.7GB on a DVD versus a relatively paltry 700MB on a CD. As DVD drives become more commonplace on computers, expect map software companies to start offering their products on DVD media. This will make life easier for vendors who currently distribute map data on multiple CDs.

Hard Drives Requirement for Mapping Program

In these days of cheap, large hard drives, it’s easy to get a little blasé about storage space. Digital mapping can take up quite a lot of hard drive space, though, and you should be aware how much space your map software and its data can consume.
Software storage needs
A mapping program can easily install between 300–500MB on your hard drive, and that doesn’t count all the map data that’s contained on a CD. Depending on program options and the types of maps to be used, you can easily have up to 1GB of space taken up by a single mapping program. Always check the software hardware requirements to ensure you’ll have enough storage space to install the program.
If you’re running low on hard drive space, some mapping programs have a minimal install option that leaves some program data on the CD instead of writing it to the hard drive by default.

Data storage needs
Most commercial mapping programs come with map data on CDs, so you shouldn’t need to worry about storage space unless you plan on copying the map data on the CDs to your hard drive.
However, if you’re downloading lots of raw data from the Internet to create your own maps, you definitely need to think about your storage space needs. Map data is not small. For example, a single map data file can easily take up 5–10MB of space.

If you plan to collect lots of map data, you’ll definitely need a high-capacity hard drive for storage. At 10MB per data file, 100 files quickly can consume a gigabyte of disk space. Although you can get by using smaller hard drives, I’d opt for at least an 80GB drive.
If you decide to get serious about computer mapping, I recommend that you purchase a second internal or external hard drive to exclusively store your data. A second drive provides more performance and is easier to maintain and manage files. And because a second drive currently can be had for a little more than a dollar per GB, the bigger the better.

Sweet emulation

Some mapping programs allow you to copy map data from a CD to your hard drive. This is useful because then you don’t need to find misplaced data CDs or swap between CDs to view different maps. Unfortunately, many commercial mapping programs don’t give you this option.
Skirt this problem with a special type of software:
a CD emulator. This program allows you to copy the contents of a CD onto your hard drive to create a virtual CD. This tricks a mapping (or other) program into thinking that you inserted its CD when the data actually already resides on your hard drive. Sweet. Do a Google search for CD emulator to find information about various products. They tend to be reasonably priced — under $40.

Memory for Digital Mapping

If you look at the system requirements of commercial mapping software, you’ll see some ridiculously low memory requirements considering what’s standard in today’s computers. (When was the last time you saw a computer advertised with 16, 32, or 64K of RAM? That’s actually some of the stated minimum memory requirements for a number of popular mapping programs.) Every contemporary computer should have enough memory to work with most mapping programs.
However, memory is one of those things that you can’t have enough of. Although a computer with 128K of RAM is probably going to meet most of your mapping needs, more memory will improve performance. If you’re running Microsoft Windows XP, you should consider running at least 256K of RAM. Don’t fret over the different types of memory. Double Data Rate (DDR) memory chips are indeed faster than conventional, synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM) memory. But if you’re the average computer user doing typical mapping projects, you’re probably not going to notice the difference.

Processors for Digital Mapping

Most commercial mapping programs have pretty humble processor requirements. To use these programs, your computer should have a modern Pentium or similar chip with a minimum speed of 300 MHz. That’s a pretty meager amount of computing power considering that current computers offer at least six times greater processor speed, if not more. If you’re using commercial mapping software, just about any contemporary computer is going to fit the bill when it comes to processor requirements. You’ll want a faster processor and more computing horsepower if you’re doing a lot of 3-D mapping or processing large amounts of map data — particularly creating maps from data that you download from the Internet. This can be a processor-intensive task: The faster the chip, the quicker the map or terrain image will be rendered and displayed. (Any Pentium III or above PC with a processor speed of over 1.2 GHz should suffice for the average map user.)

Processing Power

When it comes to software, whether it’s an operating system or program, the processor and amount of memory your PC has can make a difference in performance. Some people think that just like money, you can never have enough processor speed or memory; when it comes to mapping software, though, that’s not entirely true.
You don’t absolutely need to have the latest cutting edge and fastest technology for computer mapping. You can easily get by using older computers and peripherals. I have an old 3000 MHz Pentium IV with 512 Mb of RAM running Windows 2000 that works fine for mapping. Granted, it’s a bit slower performing some tasks than faster, newer computers, but it still gets the job done. With this in mind, take a look at practical processing and memory requirements for mapping software.

Digital Mapping Software Choices

Understandably, your hardware needs are driven by your software needs.
Here are the three main types of mapping programs you’re most likely to use:

• Commercial mapping programs: Commercial mapping programs come bundled with maps and offer a number of powerful features but are relatively easy to use. Most commercial map programs don’t have extensive hardware requirements. In fact, many of the programs on the market work fine with older computers.
• Web-hosted map services: Web-hosted map services are accessed with your Web browser. These map Web sites are easy to use but don’t offer as many features as commercial or standalone mapping programs. Viewing Web site maps isn’t a very resource-intensive activity. The speed of your Internet connection is a bigger issue than the speed of your computer’s processor.
• Standalone mapping programs: Standalone map programs are similar to commercial map software but don’t come bundled with maps; you need to provide the map data yourself. If you’re using a standalone program to make maps from data that you download from the Internet —especially if you’ll be creating 3-D images — you want as much processor speed, memory, and storage as your budget allows. It also doesn’t hurt to have a high-speed Internet connection to speed up downloads. Additionally, you need to factor in your processing power as well as what types of storage devices, display devices, printers, and communications equipment you’ll need and use.

In most cases, if you’ve purchased a computer in the past couple of years that runs Windows, it’s probably going to be more than adequate for computer mapping. (Always check a mapping software vendor’s Web site first, though, to ensure that your computer is compatible with the program you plan to use.)

Other caching pursuits

In addition to geocaching, a number of other GPS-related activities have sprung up on the Internet. A few that you might be interested in include

• Geodashing: This is a contest in which random points are selected and players need to get within 100 meters of the location. There are no caches, hints, or terrain difficulty ratings, and the points can be anywhere on Earth. In fact, some locations can be impossible to reach. A new contest takes place roughly every month. The goal of the game is for teams to collect all the points first or to get as many as they can before the contest ends. For more details, check out www.geodashing.org.
• The Degree Confluence Project: This is an interesting project in which people use their GPS receivers to visit places where latitude and longitude lines converge. They take a digital picture, which is then published on a Web site. The goal is to map all the major latitude/longitude intersections for the entire Earth. For more information, go to www. confluence.org.
• Benchmark hunting: Benchmarks are permanent markers installed by the government for survey purposes. Over one-half million benchmarks have been installed in the United States. The most familiar type is a small, brass disk embedded into rock or concrete. The National Geodetic Survey (www. ngs.noaa.gov) maintains a list of the benchmarks and their locations. The Geocaching. com site also provides benchmark locations and lets you log a benchmark when you find one.
• GPS Drawing: This is an interesting form of art based on using your GPS receiver to record where you’ve been. For some amazing examples, check out the gallery at www. gpsdrawing.com.

Internet Geocaching Resources

Because geocaching is very much a sport of the Internet community, the Internet contains some terrific sites about the sport. Here’s a sample:

• Geocaching.com (www.geocaching.com): This is the primary geocaching site on the ’Net. In addition to an extensive database of caches and FAQs about the sport, the site also has a large number of forums dedicated to different geocaching topics.
• Navicache.com (www.navicache.com): This is the second-largest Web site dedicated to geocaching, but it’s still currently quite a bit smaller than Geocaching.com in terms of caches listed. The site has many of the same features as Geocaching.com and is often viewed as an alternative to the more mainstream, larger site. There’s not much duplication in the cache listings between the two big sites, so be sure to check both their listings when searching for caches.
• Buxley’s Geocaching Waypoint (http://brillig.com/geocaching):This site has a comprehensive set of maps that provides a bird’s-eye view of caches in your area. Just click a dot on the map for cache information. If you want to socialize with other geocachers in your area, local and regional clubs and Web sites have sprung up. Many of these sites have their own lists of caches and practical information for the novice or experienced cacher. Do a Google search for geocaching and your city or state to search for Web sites with more information.

You can also find out more about geocaching in your area by checking out the regional discussion forums at Geocaching.com. The geocaching community is not immune to politics. Skirmishes and largescale battles can break out between individuals and rival Web sites. It’s best to duck your head, check your GPS receiver, and head to the cache waypoint.

Geocaching Etiquette

For the most part, there aren’t a whole lot of rules when it comes to geocaching. It mostly boils down to respecting other cachers and the land that you play on. Consider these etiquette points when you’re out geocaching:

• Always respect private property. Need I say more?
• Don’t leave food in a cache. Food can attract animals as well as get smelly and messy, and plastic cache containers have been chewed through to get at a tasty snack.
• Never put anything illegal, dangerous, or possibly offensive in a cache. Geocaching is a family sport, so be responsible.
• Always trade up or replace an item in the cache with something of equal value. Don’t be a Scrooge; what’s the fun in that?
• Be environmentally conscious when searching for and hiding caches. Tread lightly on the land. Check out the Leave No Trace site at www.lnt.org for more information.
• Geocaching is a pretty dog-friendly sport. Keep it that way by having Fido tethered in leash-only areas. And no matter how good your dog is, have a leash ready in case other people or animals are around.
• Cache In, Trash Out (CITO). If you see any litter on your way to or from a cache, get some additional exercise with a deep-knee bend, pick it up, and pack it out.
• Say thank you. After you visit a cache, send a quick e-mail, thank-you message to the geocacher that placed the cache or acknowledge him or her in your cache comments.

How to maintain the geo-cache?

After you hide your cache and it appears in the database, your work isn’t over yet. You now have the responsibility of maintaining the cache. This means visiting the cache every now and then to verify that it’s there and in a good state of repair. You may even need to restock it with some trinkets if the supply is running low. During your visits, check that the area around the cache isn’t being extremely impacted by people searching for the cache. If the site is being disturbed, consider either moving the cache to a new location or pulling the cache entirely. (If you decide to temporarily or permanently remove a cache, be sure to post a log entry to let other geocachers know when they look up information about the cache. Also, let the Geocaching.com administrators know so they can update their database.)
In addition to physically checking the cache, you should also check your cache online and read the comments posted from people who have visited the cache. These comments can alert you when it’s time to make a maintenance call to the cache. Patience, Grasshopper! Sometimes it can take a while for someone to first find your cache and post about it.

The Oregon Hell Hole

It all started in June when Croaker posted a message in a Geocaching.com Web forum, asking about something called The Oregon Hell Hole. He remembered seeing a public television show about it several years back. The Hell Hole was considered such a dangerous place that the U.S. Forest Service didn’t want anyone to know where it was located.
A geocacher named Moun10Bike mentioned that he had an old newspaper article that described a 200-foot-deep rift in the forest floor somewhere in the Willamette National Forest, above the North Fork of the Middle Fork of the Willamette River. The location had been deliberately kept out of tourist books and omitted from government maps since the 1930s,and there were ominous quotes from a Forest Service geologist about how easy it would be for someone to get killed because of the crumbling rock around the deep hole. Geocachers are by nature very curious people, and the thought of a spectacular geologic formation that was being covered up by the government got the forum all riled up. Soon there were posts from people examining aerial photographs (some conspiracy theorists offered that likely even aerial photos had been doctored), visiting university libraries in search of old maps, asking relatives employed by the Forest Service for information, and trying to find a copy of the TV show to see whether it might offer any clues to the location of the secretive Hell Hole. Thirteen days after Croaker’s original post, Navdog solved the mystery when he located a videotape of the TV show at the library.
By pausing the video at a key point where a map and aerial photograph were shown, like Sherlock Holmes, Navdog put these and other clues together and posted a series of maps where he believed the Hell Hole was located. A few hours later, Uplink confirmed Navdog’s hypothesis, posting a scanned map from 1937 that had the words Hell Hole printed exactly where Navdog thought the rift was.
There was much discussion about getting a group of geocachers together to visit the place — not to descend into the Hell Hole but just to see what it was like. Almost everyone agreed that placing a cache there wouldn’t be a good idea. (Most geocachers are sensitive to their sport being potentially overly regulated by federal land managers, and if the Forest Service had been trying to keep the Hell Hole secret for all these years, it would be like thumbing your nose at them by advertising a cache there.)
After several failed attempts by others, Grin’n’ Bearit and Lef-t made it to the Hell Hole on July 19. After about five hours of searching and bushwhacking, the geocachers found the Hell Hole and left a cache there.
The cache’s listing in the database generated a storm of controversy in the forum, with fears about safety and getting the Forest Service angry about their once secret place now revealed to the world. There was a heated debate, as each side weighed in with their opinions. In the end, Grin’n’Bearit returned to the Hell Hole. Instead of the tangle of underbrush he initially encountered, he found a new path from a different road. It was a three-minute walk from where he parked to the edge of the Hell Hole. He reported well-used trails, all leading to the hole. He moved the cache to a safer spot and changed the description in the database.
The story of the Oregon Hell Hole is a testament to the ingenuity, creativity, and community spirit of geocachers as well as the struggles involved in trying to do the right thing for their sport. Although perhaps not as dramatic, lesser versions of this story happen every day.

Cache hiders checklist

When you hide caches, you bring along most of the same things you have when you search for caches. Here are a few other things not to forget:

• Waterproof cache container
• Cache log (spiral notebook)
• Pencils and/or pens to leave in the cache
• Resealable plastic bags
• Trinkets to stock the cache
• Notebook to record information about the cache to submit to the Geocaching.com database

How to submit the cache?

Time for a little advertising. It doesn’t do much good if people don’t know about your cache after you place it. The Geocaching.com Web site currently has the largest database of caches and is where most people go to find information about caches. You need to have a free or premium account at the site to be able to post your cache, so if you don’t have an account yet, go to the site and sign up. (I promise that it’s quick and painless.) After you log on to the site, submitting a cache is just a matter of filling out an online form about your new pride and joy. You enter things like the cache’s name (think of something creative), its coordinates, the date it was placed, and other information similar to what you find when you’re looking at a cache description Web page.
If you’re having trouble trying to determine the terrain and difficulty ratings, head over to geocacher ClayJar’s online terrain and difficulty calculator, at www.clayjar.com/gcrs.
After you enter all the cache information, submit the form. Volunteers will check things like whether all the information needed is present, the coordinates are generally correct, and the cache meets the general submission guidelines. Keep in mind that volunteers don’t physically visit the cache because that would require thousands of people all over the world with a considerable amount of free time on their hands. The approval process can take up to a couple of days but is usually shorter. If you’re approved, your cache is added to the database. If you’re not approved, you’ll be informed why, and you can either address the problem and resubmit or discuss the issue with the staff.
If you’re handy with HTML and your Internet provider supports Web hosting, you can associate a Web site with your cache. The Web site might have digital photos, detailed maps, or anything else that supplements or complements the standard information found in a cache database entry.

What to put in your geo cache?

• Logbook and writing utensil At the very minimum, your cache should contain a logbook and a pen or pencil so other cachers can write about their discovery. (Pencils work better in cold climates because the ink in most pens will freeze); mechanical pencils are the best because they don’t need sharpening. The logbook is usually a spiral notebook with the name of the cache written on the cover. Some cache hiders paste their personal logo or some other graphic to the notebook cover. As the cache founder, you should write some profound thoughts about the cache on the first page.
• Identifying information The cache should have some information that identifies it as a geocache, describes what geocaching is, and provides instructions to the finder. (Non-geocachers often stumble upon a cache.) The Geocaching.com site has an information sheet in a number of different languages that you can print out and place in your cache; laminating this sheet is a good idea. Be sure to mention the cache’s name and its coordinates.
• Treasures Add some treasures to your cache. These should be unique and interesting items. Because geocaching is a family sport, initially put a mix of things in it that appeal to both adults and children. You don’t need to fill the container up like a stocking at Christmas. Many caches start out with 6–12 small items. If you want, you can add a hitchhiker or a Travel Bug.

Even though your storage container may be waterproof, always put your logbook and cache goodies into resealable plastic storage bags. This prevents your cache from turning into a soggy mush when someone inevitably forgets to seal the container’s lid.

Taking geocaching to the extreme

Although geocaching usually doesn’t require a high degree of fitness or special skills, a few caches out there might be labeled extreme geocaching. A cache might be perched midway down a cliff face, requiring climbing equipment to rappel down to reach it. And a handful of caches are underwater and can only be reached by scuba diving. (GPS doesn’t work underwater, so this would be the spot for a boat to anchor.) Obviously, these types of caches limit the number of finders but can be quite unique if you’re into challenging and technical outdoor sport.

Where you shouldn’t put your geo-cache?

After you figure out the land ownership issues, the next step is to ensure that your cache appears in the Geocaching.com database. The site has a series of common-sense criteria that a cache must meet to be added to its database. Generally a cache can’t be

• Buried: Covering it with braches or leaves is okay, but no digging, please.
• Placed in environmentally sensitive areas: This includes archaeological and historic sites.
• Placed in national parks or designated wilderness areas: This is a no-no. Sorry; them’s the rules.
• Placed within 150 feet of railroad tracks: Umm, this is for safety reasons.
• Placed anywhere that might cause concerns about possible terrorist activities: Use your post-9/11 brain. This includes areas near airports, tunnels, military facilities, municipal water supplies, and government buildings or bridges.
• Placed within one-tenth of a mile of another cache: This is a rule for adding a cache to the Geocaching.com database as well as simple geocaching etiquette.
• Of a commercial, political, or religious nature: Keep it neutral; don’t cache something promoting some business or cause.

The geocaching community polices itself fairly well. If you put a cache where it shouldn’t be, a cacher will probably let the Geocaching.com administrators know about it, and the cache will be removed from the database. After you select a good general location to put the cache, visit the area to figure out exactly where you’re going to hide the cache. Use your creativity to find a challenging hiding place: in a tree hollow, underneath bushes, wedged in rocks, and so on. The more experience you have finding caches, the more ideas you’ll have for good hiding places.
After you find your secret hiding spot, you need to determine the cache’s coordinates as precisely as possible. (Use the WGS 84 datum) This can be challenging because ofless-than-perfect satellite coverage. You might find the location’s coordinates changing on your GPS receiver every few seconds. Many GPS units have an averaging feature that compares coordinates at a single spot over a period of time and then averages the result. If your receiver does do averaging, get it as close to the cache as possible, let it sit for five or ten minutes, and then copy down the cache coordinates and enter them as a waypoint.
A manual approach to averaging is to set a waypoint for the cache location, walk away, and then come back and set another waypoint. Repeat this until you have 6–12 dozen waypoints; then examine the list of waypoints, and pick the one that looks the most accurate (generally the value in the middle of the list).

Location is everything

Just like in real estate or retail sales, location is everything when it comes to placing a cache. After you select a container, figure out where to put it. The location of your cache usually defines its success and popularity. I recommend doing some initial research to locate a general area to hide your cache. For many geocachers, visiting a new place with some unique feature, incredible scenery, or just gorgeous view is every bit as important as finding a cache. Keep this in mind as you use maps, travel guides, or memories from your own explorations to help you select a good cache location. An important part of your homework is discovering where caches are and are not permitted. The geocaching community tends to be very aware that the continued growth and success of the sport depends on good relationships with landowners.
If you want to place a cache on private property, always first ask the owner’s permission. Because geocaching is so new, many people don’t know what it is, so take the time to explain how the sport works. Always check with a governmental agency before placing caches on its land. You can contact the agency directly, try a Google search to see whether its geocaching policies are published on the Web, or talk with other geocachers in your area to get their experiences in dealing with different agencies. For example, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management recognizes geocaching as a recreational activity and tends to be friendly toward cache hiders who want to locate a cache in places other than wilderness or wilderness study areas. The U.S. National Park Service, on the other hand, prohibits placing geocaches on the land that it manages; if you’re caught hiding a cache on such land, it’s a federal offense. Yipes.

Selecting a container to hide the cache

First things first. You need something to house your cache in. The only real requirement for the container is that it needs to be waterproof, although sometimes cachers use plastic bags inside a nonwaterproof container. The size of the container determines where you’ll be able to hide the cache and how full you’ll be able to fill it with trading trinkets. Any container that you can think of has probably been used for geocaching, including plastic buckets with lids, breath mint tins, margarine tubs, 35mm film canisters, pill bottles, plastic Army decontamination kit boxes, and PVC piping. You’ve probably got a suitable geocaching container lying around the house or garage. Just for the record, the two most popular types of cache containers are

• Ammo cans: Made of military surplus steel, ammunition (ammo) cans work great because they’re sturdy and waterproof. (The narrow cans tend to fill up with trinkets quicker.) Depending on the terrain and vegetation, the olive-drab color makes ammo cans difficult to spot. You can typically get ammo cans for around five dollars or less from local or online Army surplus stores.They typically come in two sizes, based on the machine gun ammunition they once held:
• 50 caliber: 11 inches long, 5.5 inches wide, and 7–5 inches deep.
• 30 caliber: 10 inches long, 3.5 inches wide, and 6.75 inches deep.

• Tupperware: Rectangular Tupperware or other plastic storage containers are also a popular choice but aren’t quite as rugged as an ammo can. Sometimes a geocacher won’t reseal the lid very well. Plastic containers are cheaper and more available than ammo cans, and you can easily match a size to go with any cache. Some cache hiders spray paint the containers to make them blend better with the surroundings.

How to hide a cache?

After a while, you might get the urge to set up a cache of your own. This section discusses how to create and hide your own cache. It’s not that difficult, and most cache hiders spend $10 or less to set up their cache, which is some pretty cheap entertainment these days. It’s also a way to give something back to the sport.
Don’t rush out and hide a cache before spending some time finding caches. Searching for other caches will give you some good ideas and set expectations for creating your own. Check out Geocaching.com for the FAQs there as well as a complete set of guidelines for hiding and placing caches.

GeoJargon: Speaking the lingo, the Geocaching Jargon

Like any sport or pastime, geocaching has its own language. Because the sport is so new, the jargon is still evolving, but here are some terms to be familiar with so when you talk to other people about geocaching, you sound like a pro.

• Archived: Caches that no longer exist but still appear in a Web site database for historical purposes. A cache can be archived because it has been stolen, is no longer maintained, or does not abide by the guidelines for where caches should be placed.
• Cache machine: A preplanned event in a local area, where geocachers look for caches. The event can last hours or days. This is a marathonendurance session of geocaching, where you try to find as many caches as you can in a set amount of time. The event is named after a dedicated geocacher. BruceS, a true cache machine, found 28 caches in 24 hours, totaling 86 finds in 5 days.
• DNF: Did Not Find (as in, did not find the cache). It happens to everyone. If you didn’t find the cache, try again on another day.
• FTF: First To Find. This means bragging rights that you were the first person to find a newly placed cache.
• GPSR/GPSr: GPS receiver. Many people drop the R and just call a GPS receiver a GPS.
• Hitchhiker: An object that moves from cache to cache. A hitchhiker is marked with some instructions, telling the finding geocacher to take it and place it in another cache.
• McToys: Cheap trinkets left in a cache, like the toys that appear in fastfood kids’ meals. There are better things to leave in caches.
•  Muggles: People you encounter on the trail who aren’t geocachers; from the Harry Potter stories.
• Neocacher: An inexperienced or newbie geocacher.
• Signature item: Something unique that a particular geocacher always places in a cache that he or she finds.
• Spoiler: Information that might give away the location of a cache.
• Swag: Goodies that you find in a cache; from the marketing term swag (or schwag) used to describe the promotional trash and trinkets (tchotchkes) handed out at trade shows.
• TNLN: Took Nothing, Left Nothing. Just what it sounds like. Also, TNLNSL, which means that the geocacher signed the cache log.

The force is strong with this one

A Star Wars Darth Vader action figure, Travel Bug, started his travels in an Arkansas geocache in February, 2002. By the time he was returned to his owner nine months later, he had journeyed 17,534.64 miles, including tagging along on aerial missions in Afghanistan, pub-hopping in England, and working on his tan in Florida. At last report, Darth was getting some R&R in Texas.

Lost cache but now found

In more cases than not, after looking around for a while, behold! You find an old, olive-drab ammo can tucked behind some rocks. Congratulations, you found your first geocache! Now what?
 Savor the moment. There’s definitely a sense of accomplishment when you find a cache and a little bit of childlike wonder as you open up the container to see what types of treasures are inside.

• Sign the logbook. Write down the date, a few sentences about your experiences finding the cache, what you took and/or added, and your geocaching alias. Some people who are really into geocaching have custom business cards or stickers made up for placing in the cache log.
• Read the logbook. It’s fun to read about other cachers’ adventures and when they discovered the cache.
  
• Exxchange treasures. If you take something from the cache, leave something. If you forgot your goodies, just sign the logbook. Quite a few geocachers are more into the hunt for the cache than for the loot inside.
• Trading up means leaving something in the cache that’s better than what you take. There’s always been a considerable amount of discussion in the geocaching community about how caches start out with cool stuff but soon end up filled with junk (broken toys, beat-up golf balls, cheap party favors, and so on). Some geocachers even take it upon themselves to remove anything from a cache that doesn’t meet their personal quality bar. If you can, trade up to make the finds more interesting for everyone.
• Cover your tracks. Seal the cache container up and put it back where you found it, making sure that it’s hidden just as well as it was before you found it.
• Go home. Use the track-back feature of your GPS receiver to follow your exact path back to your car. Better yet, activate the waypoint that you set for your car (but see some different sights by taking a new route back to where you started).
•  Share your experiences. When you get back to your computer (if you’re a member of Geocaching.com), log your find on the Web site so the whole world knows you found the cache. Go to the cache description page and click the Log Your Visit link at the top of the page. (This is completely optional. Some geocachers prefer operating under a low profile, keeping their discoveries and adventures to themselves.)
• Do it again (and again, and . . .). After you have your first cache find under your belt, you’re ready to venture out into the brave new world of geocaching and find even more caches. As your experience with a GPS receiver grows and your skills in navigation and cache finding improve, you’ll likely want to start challenging yourself more by going after caches that are more difficult to find and reach.

What to do when you going in circles?

This will happen: You find the general cache location, but after a couple of hours of wandering around in circles, you still can’t find the cache container. You’ve double-checked the coordinates, the satellite coverage is good, and you’re starting to get a bit frustrated. Take a deep breath. Here’s what to do. You can always resort to using a hint. Most cache description pages have a short hint, but you have to work for it because it’s encoded.
The reason for the spy stuff is so the hint doesn’t spoil the fun for another cacher who doesn’t want to use the hint as part of his search. Fortunately, the hint is encoded with a simple substitution code (for example, A = M, B = N, C = O, and so on), so you don’t need to work for the NSA to be able to break it. The decoding key is on the right side of the page, and it’s pretty easy to figure it out by hand. One of the more challenging types of caches to find is a microcache. Instead of using large containers, smaller ones — like small pill bottles, 35mm film canisters, or magnetic hide-a-keys — are used that only hold a piece of paper that serves as the log. These caches are typically in urban areas and can be cleverly hidden to avoid detection by nongeocachers passing by.
In addition to the hint, you can also look through the logged visit comments that other people have posted who have already found the cache. Although most geocachers try to avoid including spoilers (way-too-obvious hints or commentary) into their comments, sometimes enough information leaks through that can help you narrow your search. How you go about finding the cache is up to you. Some purists will use only the coordinates and basic description of the cache, never using the hints or the comments. Other cachers decrypt the hint and read all the comments before they head out the door on a search. It’s up to you. There’s no shame in a DNF (Did Not Find); it happens to everyone. Go back to the cache location another day and try again.
Geocaching is supposed to be fun, so don’t take it too hard if you can’t locate a cache. Consider bringing someone else with you next time: Two heads are better than one, and a different set of eyes might find something you overlooked. Don’t be shy about logging a DNF for the cache at the Geocaching.com site. If a cache owner hasn’t visited the site in a while, a number of logged DNFs could mean that the cache has been moved or stolen by someone. Unfortunately, cache vandalism and thievery happen: For example, the cache you were looking for might have been stolen, and the database hasn’t been updated yet.

Geocaching stats

Just like any sport, geocaching has statistics (stats). In this case, stats refer to the number of caches that you’ve found and hidden. When you sign up for a free or premium account at Geocaching.com, you can log the caches you’ve found as well as add caches that you’ve hidden to the site’s extensive database. The Web site tracks the finds and hides for you and displays them on a user profile page. Other members can check out your stats, and the number of caches that you’ve found appears next to your alias when you log your comments about a cache you’ve visited. Some geocachers are competitive and are in to racking up as many cache finds as possible. Others are more blasé about the whole numbers thing and could care less. Like so many other aspects of geocaching, it’s up to you how you want to play the game.

Few Things To Do To To Help Improve Your Odds Of Finding The GPS Cache

As you start looking around, you can do a few things to help improve your odds of finding the cache:

• Find out the maximum distance to the cache. Check the Estimated Position Error (EPE) to see how accurate your GPS receiver currently is, based on the satellite coverage. Remember: The bigger the number, the less accuracy. This helps you roughly determine how large your search area is. For example, if the EPE is 20 feet, your search area is a circle with a 40-foot diameter, with the center at the closest location that you can get to the cache waypoint.
• Follow a magnetic compass. When you’re within 30 feet of the waypoint and your GPS receiver is showing a consistent bearing to the cache (tree cover and poor satellite coverage can cause the distance and direction numbers to jump around), use a magnetic compass to guide yourself to the cache. As you slow down, unless your receiver has an electronic compass, the direction that your receiver shows to the waypoint becomes less precise, and you can easily veer off-course. Handheld magnetic compasses or electronic compasses built into the GPS unit don’t rely on satellite signals, and won’t have this problem.
• Think about the container. Knowing what kind of container the cache is stored in can be a big help in identifying and eliminating possible hiding spots. Sometimes the cache description lists the container type (ammo can, plastic ware, bucket, or whatever), which can narrow your search based on the container size and shape. For example, you shouldn’t be looking for an ammo can in a three-inch-wide crack in a rock.
• Think about the terrain. Look at the surrounding environment to get a general idea of where a cache might be hidden. What natural (or manmade) features make a good hiding place? Remember, unlike pirate booty hiding, geocaching has a rule against burying cache containers, so you shouldn’t be burrowing holes like a gopher.
• Split up the work. If you’re geocaching with other folks, assign areas for people to check. Although you don’t need to precisely measure and gridoff squares, divvying up an area to search is faster and more efficient than randomly wandering around.
• Think like a cache hider. If you were going to hide a cache, where would you hide it? Sometimes trusting your intuition can be more effective than trying to apply logic. After you check the ordinary places, start looking in the unordinary spots.

There’s an old safety saying in wildland firefighting that goes, “Look up, look down, look all around.” The same advice applies to geocaching, which is an excellent way to improve your overall awareness and observation skills.

How to find GPS cache?

After you select a cache you want to search for, the next step is finding it. This might be a little bit more challenging than you think. Remember that your GPS receiver will only get you within 10–30 feet of the cache location — perhaps even farther away if you have poor satellite coverage or the cache hider’s coordinates are a little off. After your GPS unit gets you to the general vicinity of the cache, start using your eyes and your brain, which at times might be more reliable than your GPS receiver. Sometimes a series of caches are located close together, usually separated by at least a tenth of a mile. Because you’re already in the neighborhood, consider trying to find several instead of going for just a single cache. Check out the link on the cache description page that displays all the nearby caches and how far away they are from each other.
Finding a cache boils down to following these general steps:

1. Enter the cache coordinates in your GPS receiver as a waypoint and then add a name for the waypoint on your GPS receiver. The methodology for entering waypoints differs from model to model. Check your user manual for specific instructions about how to enter and name a waypoint on your GPS model. You can use the six-character waypoint name on the cache description Web page for the name of the waypoint. Double-check that you’ve entered the correct coordinates. Many caches haven’t been found on the first try because of an typo in the coordinates in a GPS unit. If you have an account on Geocaching.com, you can download the cache waypoint to your computer from a link on the cache description page and then upload the waypoint directly to your GPS receiver. Doing so helps to eliminate errors caused by typos in GPS coordinates.
2. Print a copy of the cache description Web page so you can bring all the information you need to find the cache with you. If your printer is out of ink or you’re being frugal, scribble down the coordinates and any other information that you think might be useful in locating the cache.
3. Gather your equipment, including your GPS receiver, map, compass, food, water, and other essential items mentioned in this chapter.
4. Head out to the cache’s starting point. Drive or bike as close to the cache as you can get. Sometimes the cache descriptions give you exact instructions, like at which parking lot or trailhead to start from. The more challenging caches give you only the coordinates, and it’s up to you to decide where you’ll start from and how you’ll get there. One of the pleasures of geocaching is it’s usually not a timed event (although a few timed competitions are starting to crop up), and you can take as long as you want to reach the cache site, stopping to smell the roses and enjoy interesting sights.
5. Turn on your GPS receiver and get a satellite lock. Hopefully! If not, you brought that map and compass, right?
6. Save a waypoint for your starting point. Getting back to your car can sometimes be a challenge after finding a cache, and saving a waypoint with your car’s location can make life much easier (and get you home in time for dinner). Your GPS manual contains details for setting a waypoint for your particular model.
7. Double-check to make sure that you have the coordinates, cache description, hints, and the rest of your geocaching equipment in your possession. (Keeping it all together in a backpack is convenient.) From personal experience, I can tell you it’s never any fun arriving at the cache and remembering that I left vital clues in the cache description that’s now a couple of miles away in the car.
8. Activate the cache’s waypoint. Activating a waypoint tells the receiver to calculate the distance and direction from your current spot to the waypoint’s location. Your GPS unit will let you know how far away the cache is and what direction you need to head to get there. (This often is as simple as pressing a button on the GPS receiver and selecting the waypoint you want to go to.)
9. Follow the direction arrow, road map display, or compass ring on your GPS receiver toward the cache. A local map can come in handy as you move toward the cache because you can use it to figure out what the terrain is like and whether any rivers, cliffs, or mountains lie between you and the cache. Don’t feel compelled to always head in the direction your GPS unit tells you to go. It might make more sense to walk around a pile of rocks or downed trees than to go over the top of them. After you get around an obstacle, you can check your receiver again to get on the right course. Watch your step! As you head toward the cache, don’t get so caught up in staring at your GPS receiver that you fall off a cliff or trip over a tree root. And watch the scenery, too. Sometimes the journey is the reward.
10. When your receiver says you’re within 30 feet or so of the cache, move around and find the place that reports the closest distance to the cache.

Begin your search at that spot. This is where the real fun starts. You now shift from relying on technology to using your powers of observation and common sense. A cache could be inside a cave, tucked in a tree hollow, hiding behind a rock outcropping, or concealed under a pile of brush. Some caches are easy to find, and others are devilishly difficult.

Selecting a cache to look for

After you get all your gear together, ready to venture out into the wilds, comes this one small detail: How do you know where to look for a geocache? Like most other modern-day searches for information, start with the Internet. Many Web sites have listings of geocaching caches. I list some of the best Internet resources in the upcoming section, “Internet Geocaching Resources.” Geocaching.com (www.geocaching.com) is currently the most widely used site and has the largest database of geocaches all over the world; most of the information in this chapter is orientated toward that site. However, if you use another geocaching Web site, you’ll find most of the same general techniques described here for selecting a cache also apply to other sites. You can set up a free user account on Geocaching.com to log caches that you find, as well as to be informed of new caches that are placed in your area. Anyone with Internet access can freely view the cache locations without an account. Site owner Jeremy Irish also has Premium Member subscription services ($30 per year) and sells products to help keep the site running.

To start, go to www.geocaching.com. Finding caches is as simple as entering the ZIP code for where you’re interested in geocaching. You can also search for caches by state, city, country, latitude, longitude, or by street address (only in the United States). After you enter where you’d like to search for caches, a list of geocaches in that area is displayed. The list is sorted by how far away the cache is from the search criteria you entered; the closest geocaches are displayed first. The name and type of the cache is shown, when it was first placed, when it was found last, and how difficult the cache is to get to and find. You can scroll through the list of geocaches until you find one that looks interesting. Cache names that are lined out are no longer active. Just click the name of a cache displayed in the list about which you want more information to see a page with the following information.

• Cache name: The name of the cache (usually the cache name has something to do with the area where it’s hidden, who hid it, or a play on words). Bonus: If you hide a cache, you get to name it.
• Who placed the cache: This is usually a cacher’s alias.
• Cache type: Caches can be traditional (a single container), multicaches (where clues in a single cache point to one or more other caches), or virtual caches (a cool location that doesn’t have a container).
• Cache coordinates: These record where the cache is located in latitude and longitude and UTM coordinates; these coordinates use the WGS 84 datum, so be sure your GPS receiver is set to this datum.
• When the cache was hidden: The date the cache was originally placed.
• Cache waypoint name: All caches in the Geocaching.com database have a unique name: for example, GC followed by the numeric order the cache was added to the database. You can use this to name a GPS waypoint for the cache location.
• Difficulty: The difficulty rating is how hard the cache placer thinks the cache will be to find; 1 is easiest, and 5 is the most difficult. Whoever places the cache decides the difficulty level, based on some general criteria, such as how steep or rocky the terrain is or if you have to go through very much underbrush to reach the cache.
• Terrain: The terrain rating is how difficult the terrain is. 1 is flat, easy, and level; 5 could be very steep and rocky with lots of underbrush and generally miserable travel conditions. Like with the difficulty rating, it’s up to the cache placer to rate the terrain.
• General description of the cache: Cache descriptions range from a couple of sentences to stories and history lessons about the location. Clues often appear in the description, so check it closely.
  
• Map location of the cache: At the top of the page is a small state map from which you can take a general idea of where the cache is. A larger map with more detail appears at the bottom of the page. You can click the larger map and go to the MapQuest Web site, where you can zoom in on the cache site.
• Hints: The cache placer can optionally add hints to help a geocacher narrow his search. The hints are in code; I discuss these in the following “Finding the cache” section.
• Logged visits: This is a list of all the comments about the cache from people who have visited it and then logged Web site comments. Some of these logged visit comments may contain spoilers, which are hints that may make it easier to find the cache.

Although most cachers try not to spoil the fun for others, sometimes a clue accidentally appears. Before heading out to search for a cache, check the last time someone found it. Although Geocaching.com tries to keep track of inactive caches, sometimes caches that have been stolen or kidnapped by space aliens slip through the cracks. If you’re just getting started geocaching, go after caches that have had some recent activity. This increases the odds that they’ll still be hiding where they’re supposed to be when you go looking for them.

Three Other Important Things for Geocaching Activity

• Flashlight: This is a must-have for looking in cracks and crevices where a cache might be hidden — and also in case you run out of daylight. If you’re smart, your flashlight uses the same type of batteries as your GPS receiver, giving you even more spare batteries.

• Cellphone: You probably have a cellphone, so bring it along (preferably with the battery fully charged). Just a note of advice, from my search and rescue experiences: I’ve found at times that people think of their cellphones as an absolute insurance policy against trouble. They can fail, cellphone batteries go dead, and you might have really bad cell coverage out in the middle of nowhere. So although a cellphone is great to have along, be prepared to take care of yourself!
• Spare batteries: I always bring along spare batteries for anything that uses them. (In this case, that means your GPS receiver and flashlight —and if you’re really safety conscious, your cellphone, too.) That’s the basic gear you need for geocaching.

The whole key with gear lists is to find out what works best for you. You’ll probably end up carrying too much stuff in your pack at first. After you’ve geocached for a while, check your pack and see what you’re not using so you can lighten your load. Most geocaches are located in pretty tame, civilized areas (usually 100 feet or so off a main trail or road), but I advise letting someone know where you’re going, when you’ll be back, and what to do if you’re late. Twisted ankles and broken-down cars seem to happen a lot in areas without cellphone service.

Few things that make geocaching activity more enjoyable

A few other things can make your outing a little more enjoyable:

• Map and compass: A fair number of geocachers use only their GPS receiver to get them to a cache, but a good local map of the area can be very helpful. Although a receiver can lead you directly in a straight line to cache, it’s probably not going to tell you about the river, deep canyon, or cliffs between you and the cache. Even GPS receivers that display topographic maps often won’t show enough detail that can help or hinder you on your way to a cache. Additionally, a map and compass serve as a backup just in case something goes wrong with your GPS. (Just make sure you know how to use them.)
• Pen or pencil and paper: Carry a small pad of paper and a pen or pencil for taking notes about your route or things that you see on the way. Some geocachers keep an ongoing journal of their adventures, and you never know — you might turn into a geocaching Hemingway.
• Something to leave in the cache: When you locate a cache, you’ll find all sorts of swags, which are treasures other people have left. Don’t expect diamonds, gold bullion, or Super Bowl tickets, though. (You’re far more likely to find baseball cards, costume jewelry, or corporate marketing giveaways.) Just remember that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. The best things to leave in a cache are unique, out-of-the-ordinary items (such as foreign coins, fossils, exotic matchbooks, or anything that has a high cool factor). And, please, avoid leaving McToys, geocaching lingo for junk that you reasonably expect to find with fast-food kid’s meals
• Appropriate clothes and footwear: There are no geocaching fashion police, so wear clothes that are comfortable, weather appropriate, and suitable for getting dirty. Even if it’s the middle of summer, it’s not a bad idea to bring along a jacket in case of an unexpected rain shower or drop in the temperature. Also, make sure you’re wearing sturdy and comfortable footwear if the cache is outside an urban area. High heels and wingtip loafers generally aren’t recommended.
• Food and water: Some caches take all day to find, so be prepared with enough food and water to get you through your search; you can even plan a picnic lunch or dinner around your outing.
• Walking stick/trekking poles: If the terrain is really rough, a good walking stick or set of trekking poles can make life much easier when going downhill and negotiating uneven surfaces. A stick or a pole is also useful for poking around in rock cracks looking for a cache, just in case there’s a creepy-crawly inside.
• Digital camera: Although definitely not a required piece of geocaching gear, a number of cachers tote along a digital camera to record their adventures or to post pictures on the Web.
• Small pack: It’s much easier to put all your geocaching gear in a small daypack rather than stuffing your pockets full of stuff.

Three Required Items for Geocaching

I start off with the technology-related items:

• Cache location: Obviously, you need to know where to look for a cache: a set of latitude and longitude or UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) coordinates. You’ll find tens of thousands of caches freely listed on the Internet. For information on locating a geocache, see the appropriately named section, “Selecting a cache to look for,” later in this chapter.
• Geocaching alias: Most people who geocache use a registered handle (alias) instead of their real name when they sign cache logs or make Internet posts. The aliases are cool-sounding names like Navdog, Wiley Cacher, or Moun10Bike. Be imaginative and come up with an alias that fits your personality. The aliases are all unique: If you try to register an alias on one of the popular geocaching Web sites and someone else already has registered the alias, you need to select another name.
• GPS receiver: You can certainly find caches by using only a map and compass (my adventure racing team does this to practice our navigation skills), but it’s sure a lot easier when using a GPS receiver. You don’t need an expensive GPS unit with lots of whistles and bells to geocache; a basic model around or under $100 will work just fine; receivers that support WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation Service) usually are more accurate than those that don’t.

Don’t forget to bring the GPS receiver user manual, especially if you just purchased your receiver and are still trying to figure out how to use it.

The original caches: letterboxes

The whole geocaching concept isn’t that new. Over 100 years ago, something similar developed in England: letterboxing. Letterboxing comprises placing a blank logbook and a custom-made rubber stamp in a waterproof container and then hiding it. Clues are distributed with the container’s location, and searchers armed with inkpads and notebooks try to find the hidden box. If they are successful, they stamp the logbook in the box with their own personal rubber stamp and also stamp their logbook with the box’s stamp. This low-tech version of geocaching is still very popular. Depending on whom you talk to, 10,000–40,000 letterboxes are hidden in England, and around 5,000 are lurking in the United States.
Read more about letterboxing at www.letterboxing.org.

Geocaching: The High-Tech Scavenger Hunt

When the U.S. government turned off GPS Selective Availability (SA) in May 2000, it was like magic. Suddenly civilian GPS receivers that were formeraccurate to about 300 feet were accurate to 30 feet. This level of accuracy offered some creative possibilities. Three days after SA was turned off, the following message appeared in the

sci.geo.satellite-nav USENET newsgroup:

From: Dave (news2yousNOneSPAM@hotmail.com.invalid)

Subject: GPS Stash Hunt... Stash #1 is there!

Newsgroups: sci.geo.satellite-nav

Date: 2000/05/03

Well, I did it, created the first stash hunt stash and here are the coordinates:

N 45 17-460

W122 24.800

Lots of goodies for the finders. Look for a black plastic bucket buried most of the way in the ground. Take some stuff, leave some stuff! Record it all in the log book. Have Fun!

Stash contains: DeLorme Topo USA software, videos, books, food, money, and a slingshot!

Earlier that day, in the same newsgroup, Dave Ulmer had proposed a worldwide stash hunt, where people would post GPS waypoints on the Internet to lead searchers to hidden goodies. While Ulmer envisioned thousands of stashes tucked in places all over the world, he had no idea how popular his idea would become.

Starting with a humble little bucket full of goodies in Oregon, Ulmer’s idea took off like wildfire. Within weeks, caches were hidden in Washington, Kansas, California, New Zealand, Australia, and Chile. A newsgroup and Web site that hosted the coordinates of the stashes soon popped up as the word started to get around.

By the end of May, in a Yahoo! Group devoted to the new sport, member Matt Stum suggested that the sport be called geocaching in order to avoid some of the negative connotations associated with drugs and word stash. (A cache is a hidden place where goods or valuables are concealed.) Geocaching had a nice ring to it, and it didn’t sound like a bad Cheech and Chong movie. Today, geocaching has grown popular, and the rules are still pretty much the same: Take some stuff, leave some stuff, record it in the logbook, and have fun! Relatively cheap and accurate GPS receivers and widespread Internet access have helped the sport flourish. As of November 2003, the www.geocaching.com site (currently the largest geocaching site on the Net) had over 72,500 active caches in 188 countries listed in its database. That’s a lot of caches out there to find!

Four top PDA mapping software

If your journeys take you off the beaten path, here are four products you should be aware of:

• FUGAWI: FUGAWI was one of the first Windows desktop mapping programs and now works with Pocket PCs and Palms. The product comes bundled with U.S. street maps and nautical charts, or you can import maps of your own, such as USGS Digital Raster Graphics topographic maps. For additional product details, go to www.fugawi.com.
  
• Maptech Outdoor Navigator: The Maptech Outdoor Navigator is unique. Instead of being bundled with map data or requiring you to create your own maps, (with purchase) you receive a year-long subscription to download all the USGS topographic maps and NOAA nautical charts that you want from Maptech’s Internet servers. Nice. Versions of Outdoor Navigator are available for Pocket PCs and Palms. You can find more about the product at www.maptech.com.
• SkyEye: This is a slick shareware Pocket PC program that displays aerial photographs and topographic maps that you can download from the Internet or create on your own. The program also interfaces with Garmin\ GPS receivers to provide real-time mapping capabilities. For more about SkyEye’s features, visit www.etree.com/tech/notsofreestuff/skyeye/ index.html.
• TeleType GPS: Although originally designed for street navigation, TeleType’s PDA mapping program supports importing aerial photographs and digital maps from the TerraServer-USA Web site. For more information on the software, visit www.teletype.com.
  
• OziExplorerCE: OziExplorerCE is a Pocket PC version of the popular OziExplorer mapping program. The CE version allows you to import maps that you’ve created with OziExplorer on your PC to your PDA.

Reviewing PDA Mapping Software

If you buy a GPS receiver specifically designed for PDA use, it will probably come bundled with mapping software that includes map data and a program that displays the maps and interfaces with the GPS receiver. In addition to the program that runs on your PDA is a program that runs on your PC; this program installs the maps on your PDA and can be used for route planning. You select the maps that you want to install on your PC and then upload the selected map data to your PDA. Because the maps are typically stored in the PDA’s memory card, the more memory you have, the more maps you’ll be able to use.
Most PDA navigation software is designed for street navigation, and has features for getting around on roads and highways, including

• Autorouting: By inputting starting- and ending-point addresses, the map program creates a route for you to follow to reach your destination. (You usually can choose between fastest or shortest routes.) The route is outlined on the map, and the program also provides turn-by-turn directions to get to your destination.
• POI data: In addition to maps, most programs have extensive databases of POIs (Points of Interest) information, including gas stations, restaurants, shopping locations, and other useful travel data. POIs appear as icons on the map that you can click to get more information. You can also search for specific POIs by geographic location.
• Real-time tracking: When your PDA is connected to a GPS receiver, an arrow moves on the screen, giving you real-time information about your current position as well as displaying where you’ve been.
• Voice prompts: In addition to displaying turn-by-turn directions on the screen, many programs provide voice prompts that tell you when to make turns to reach your final destination. This is a nice safety feature because you can pay more attention to the road and less attention to the PDA screen. Devote an entire book to discussing them all.
• Most of these programs are sold individually or might come bundled with a GPS receiver. Expect to pay anywhere between $40–$150 for a software package. One of the challenges in using a PDA in a car is dealing with the stylus. It can be quite a coordination test holding the stylus in your hand, tapping commands on the PDA with it, and driving at the same time. One slick solution is the Stinger Stylus, which is a cross between a plastic ring and an artificial fingernail. Just slip the Stinger over your finger, and your fingertip takes the place of a stylus. For more information on the Stinger, go to www.stingerstylus.com.

Most of the software and maps that come bundled with the PDA GPS receivers are designed for road navigation. But what if you want to display topographic or nautical charts on your PDA or use real-time GPS tracking off the road? You’re in luck because several PDA programs fill this need. Topographic map display is one area that PDA mapping software far exceeds handheld mapping GPS receivers. Your PDA can display full-color, detailed 1:24,000 scale maps that look exactly like the USGS paper versions. Compared with the 1:100,000 scale vector maps typically used on mapping GPS receivers, there’s no comparison when it comes to the amount of map detail that a PDA can display.

GPS-integrated PDAs

The most expensive option when creating a PDA navigation system is to purchase a PDA that comes with a built-in GPS receiver. In 2003, Garmin introduced the iQue 3600, a PDA that runs the Palm OS and features an integrated GPS receiver.

The iQue 3600 looks like a normal PDA but has a flip-up, adjustable antenna that pops out of the top. It has extensive mapping capabilities, including turnby-turn voice directions and integration with the calendar and address book programs in which you can click an address and get instant directions. For more information about the iQue 3600, visit www.garmin.com. If the iQue becomes popular, look for other integrated GPS PDAs to be released by Garmin and other manufacturers in the future; especially as GPS receiver components become smaller and cheaper. As this book went to press, Taiwanese manufacturer MiTAC announced the Mio 168, an integrated GPS/Pocket PC.

Bluetooth GPS receivers

If your PDA supports Bluetooth (a wireless communication standard; www.bluetooth.com), you have yet another GPS receiver option. Bluetooth GPS receivers are pretty slick because they don’t

• Rely on the PDA’s batteries for power They have their own power source and will run from 6–10 hours when fully charged, depending on the model.
• Use up one of the PDA’s expansion slots
• Need cables that can get all tangled up

Bluetooth devices have about a 30-foot range, and the GPS receiver can be placed in an optimal position on the dashboard to receive satellite signals.
Just place your Bluetooth GPS receiver (about the size of a mouse GPS receiver) anywhere with an open view of the sky, and it will broadcast GPS data to your Bluetooth-enabled PDA. (If you have an older PDA that doesn’t support Bluetooth, there are Bluetooth receivers that plug into your PDA’s memory card slot.)
Many of the companies that manufacture GPS receiver cards, listed previously,
also make Bluetooth GPS receivers. Some other companies that offer
Bluetooth receivers include

• ALK Technologies: www.alk.com
• DeLorme: www.delorme.com
• EMTAC: www.emtac.com

For outdoor use, you can easily mount your Bluetooth GPS receiver on a high spot, such as on top of a pack (or some other location that’s in an optimal position to receive satellite signals) and wirelessly record GPS data with your PDA. OtterBox also makes waterproof cases for Bluetooth GPS receivers that don’t degrade the transmitted radio signals so you can create a rugged wireless PDA navigation system for use in harsh conditions. For an extensive list of the GPS receiver devices available for Pocket PC PDAs, including reviews and detailed specifications, check out www.gpspassion.com/en/hardware/gpslist.htm.

GPS receiver sleeves

Certain models of iPAQ Pocket PCs and Palm OS PDAs have a proprietary expansion slot into which you can plug hardware devices. These add-on pieces of hardware are often called sleeves because they fit around the PDA.
The same advantages and disadvantages found with GPS receiver cards (they’re convenient but can run down the PDA’s battery quickly) also apply to GPS sleeves. Additionally, a sleeve adds a lot of bulk to the size of a normally slim PDA.
The main producer of Pocket PC and Palm sleeves is Navman. Expect to spend around $200–$250 for a GPS sleeve. Find more about these products at www.navman.com.

GPS receiver cards

Some GPS receivers take the form of a card that you can plug into a PDA expansion slot. The two types of GPS receiver cards are

• Memory cards: Most PDAs have a memory card slot that supports a Compact Flash (CF) or Secure Digital (SD) type of memory card. Both of these card formats also support hardware devices that can be embedded into the card: in this case, a GPS receiver. (PDAs without internal memory card slots might have optional expansion packs that plug into the PDA and provide a memory card slot.)
• PC Cards: A PC Card (also called a PCMCIA card) is a hardware expansion card designed for laptops. PC Card devices include hard drives, modems, and GPS receivers. These receiver cards are mostly used with laptops, but some PDAs support expansion packs for using PC Card devices. Using a GPS receiver card with your PDA means that you don’t need to worry about an external GPS receiver or cables. You just plug the card into a slot, and the GPS receiver starts accessing satellite data.

However, note these drawbacks:

• Slot competition: CF and SD memory cards that function as GPS receivers take up the expansion slot that’s used for additional PDA memory.
• Battery hogs: GPS receiver cards quickly run down your PDA’s battery if you’re not connected to an external power source.

Some of the main GPS receiver card manufacturers (and their Web sites) are

• Deluo: www.deluo.com
• Fortuna: www.fortuna.com.tw
• Haicom: www.haicom.com.tw
• Holux: www.holux.com
• Pharos: www.pharos.com

Mouse GPS receivers

GPS receivers that don’t have a display screen but connect to a computer with a serial or USB cable are often called mouse receivers because of their resemblance to a computer mouse. A mouse GPS receiver acts as an input device for a PDA or laptop and only sends satellite data that it’s currently receiving. Mouse GPS receivers are about half the size of the smallest handheld GPS receivers, but even so still have good satellite reception with open skies. Another advantage to a mouse GPS receiver is you can place it in an optimal spot on your car’s dashboard for satellite reception and then mount the PDA in the most visible place for driving. Depending on the model and type, a mouse GPS receiver can be powered by a cigarette lighter adapter, rechargeable batteries, or the device it’s plugged in to.
Although mouse GPS receivers are smaller than handheld GPS receivers, you still face the cable clutter issue, plus you can’t use the mouse receiver to get satellite data unless it’s connected to a PDA or laptop.
Some of the vendors of mouse GPS receivers (and their Web sites where you can get product information) include

DeLorme: www.delorme.com
Haicom: www.haicom.com.tw
Holux: www.holux.com
Mapopolis: www.mapopolis.com

Handheld GPS receivers

If your PDA has a serial port, you can easily interface the PDA to a general purpose, handheld GPS receiver.
Because you’re using the handheld GPS receiver exclusively as a data input source — and really don’t care about what’s appearing on its screen — just about any GPS receiver that can communicate with a computer via a serial port will fit the bill. You don’t need a lot of features and whistles and bells on the GPS receiver if you’re primarily using it this way. This option makes a lot of sense because the GPS receiver can be used independently of the PDA, especially outdoors during bad weather.
The primary disadvantage is that you have to contend with two electronic devices and the cable that connects them together. This can sometimes get a bit messy in a car, with hardware and power and interface cables scattered all over your dashboard. Also, this type of PDA navigation setup is a bit cumbersome to deal with if you’re walking around.
One of the best sources of GPS receiver interface cables for a wide variety of PDAs is Pc-Mobile. Check out its extensive product Web site at http://pc-mobile.net.