Car GPS Device

Geocaching -- The New High--tech Sport
By James Chartwell, Thu Dec 8th

There are about 150,000 of them spread throughout 213 countriesand you need satellites to help you find them. What are they?They're geocaches and geocaching is a sport that is quicklygaining popularity.

The geocaches come in all different sizes and shapes. Usuallystored in a waterproof container, these caches are treasures ofminimal value. The container is often a Tupperware container orammo box. The "treasures" can be just about anything you canimagine: a mini-stapler; a toy soldier; foreign coins.

How do you find them? That's the satellite part. If you haven'tbeen in a cave for the last five years, you've probably heard ofthe Global Positioning System, or GPS. Just in case you're oneof the cave people, GPS is a system of 24 satellites orbitingthe earth at an altitude of 11,000 miles. A small handheldreceiver, a little larger than a cell phone, picks up signalsfrom the satellites and can pinpoint your position anywhere onearth, sometimes as accurately as 3 meters.

If you go to Geocaching.com you can enter your location by ZIPCode, state, or country and get a list of caches in your area.Each listing has a log of who found the cache, when it wasfound, and usually what trinkets were taken and left.

You are given the coordinates of the cache in degrees oflongitude and latitude. Enter those numbers in your GPS andstart following that little handheld device. It may sound easy,but depending on the individual cache, it can be a challenge.

Some examples of hiding places are in holes at the base of largetrees, holes in the face of a cliff, and some are even found inurban areas. One is under a bridge accessible only by rope.Another clever place was created when a cable company workerattached an empty cable connection box to the side of a building.

As you can imagine, public parks are popular places for hidingcaches. However, they're not allowed in National Parks in theU.S. Geocachers, being outdoor sort of people, are mostlyecologically--minded, and there is even a "cache in trash out"program that promotes participants picking up trash that theymay find while hunting treasure. Many places require permits forplacing caches. Park authorities' main concern is damage tosensitive areas such as wetlands or locations of endangeredflora or fauna.

GPS receivers start at about $75.00 US and can be purchased atsome department stores, sporting goods stores, or orderedonline. Amazon.com often has very good prices. Geocaching reallyis a lot of fun and it's a great way to get outdoors and getsome exercise.

About the author:J. Chartwell has developed Maps GPS Info.com which providespractical information on GPS and maps that everyone can use. Thewebsite includes product reviews and a maps/GPS glossary. Visithttp://www.maps-gps-info.com/gp.html

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