Geocaching Wave

20090128
peterman enterprises

The entire globe is literally awash in the Geocaching wave. New ways to play this game are popping up daily. From fun and enjoyment to exercise, mystery, and thrill of the hunt; are all benefits of this great game.

The game first started on May 3, 2000 when Dave Ulmer developed a way to celebrate the start of civilian use of the military GPS (Global Positioning System). He proposed all of the basic elements of the hobby that are still in use today. The container. The trinkets. The log book. The rule of take something, leave something, and signing the logbook. Within a day, the stash had been found. In a couple of days, more stashes had been hidden in California, Kansas, and Illinois. Within a month, a stash had been hidden as far away as Australia. The hobby was on its way to being a worldwide phenomenon.

The craze has now spread to schools, day camps, hiking and dude camps, civic groups, scouts, church youth groups, hobbyists, scientists, scuba diving groups, the YMCA and more. Using different rule sets, Geocaching is also being used in different ways such as treasure hunts or 'Hide and Seek'.

Advances in GPS receivers has helped make Geochaching so widely popular. Many models now include special added features designed expressly for Geocaching. The most often used are inexpensive 'handheld' units. And, name brand high quality handheld GPS are very accurate (with WAAS, within 2-3 meters).

There seems to be no end to the variety of fun you can have Geochaching.

Lowrance Launches GPS Endura Line for Outdoor Enthusiasts

GPS World
1-23-09

Outdoor recreation product provider Lowrance (Tulsa, Oklahoma) has released the Endura handheld GPS product line for the outdoor enthusiast. All of the Endura models have touchscreens: the flagship Sierra model serves the high-end market, Safari is designed to be versatile, and the Outback is the most affordable model. All three will be available for purchase in May.

Sierra: Considered by Lowrance to be its next-generation handheld GPS, the Sierra enables sensor-enhanced navigation and better situational awareness capabilities with a high-accuracy 3D digital compass and barometric altimeter. Preloaded with high-detail outdoor maps, expansion capabilities include 4 GB of internal memory and a micro SD expansion slot supporting up to 32 GB of storage for maps, pictures, and MP3 audio files. Pre-loaded content includes Intermap’s Accuterra high-resolution topographic maps, extensive outdoor trail networks, and points of interest, as well as the Navteq road network for the contiguous 48 states with an upgrade option for full-featured turn-by-turn navigation. Optional maps include Lowrance’s Fishing Hot Spots and others. Its suggested retail price is $549.

Safari: The Safari combines advanced mapping capabilities with a trip computer, electronic compass, and barometric altimeter. It has a touchscreen display and keypad, comes preloaded with a sophisticated base map, and supports both plug-and-play micro SD cards and downloadable maps. The suggested retail price is $384.99.

Outback: While the most affordable model, the Outback can be expanded. It comes preloaded with a sophisticated base map and offers multiple mounting choices and downloadable mapping options, as well as support for shared web community content and plug-and-play micro SD cards. The suggested retail price is $229.99.

Russia launches 3 new NAV satellites

Russia has launched three new GLONASS navigation satellites in the payload bay of it's Proton-M rocket on Christmas day 2008. This system is designed to compete with the U. S. Global Positioning System (GPS) and Europes Galileo system. The satellites are just under one and a half tons each and join 17 others already in service. The russian military began development the GLONASS system in 1980, originally for missle targeting, and is projected to finish deployment in the next year. This system will enhance the ability of GPS system users to get position fixes at any location on the planet.