July 2, 2011 began similarly to any other day of geocaching for Mike (Radioman84) and his wife Iris (ikolor). Mike woke up, packed his geocaching gear, and hit the road. He drove three hours with his family to attend the SCGA’s 4^th Annual Geo-versary in Merritt Island, Florida. But on July 3, 2011, as he and his wife prepared to cache along the drive home, their lives took an unexpected turn.

As they were preparing to head out geocaching, Mike suffered from a massive stroke. Medical care workers took no chances. He was flown by a medical helicopter to the hospital in Orlando.

Mike was treated at the Orlando hospital for weeks. During this time, his wife Iris remained right by his side. According to Iris, “Mike and I spent three weeks in Orlando while he was in the ICU and the neurological floor of the hospital.”

Mike and Iris have been avid geocachers since November of 2009. Mike, a communications technician from Sunrise, Florida is known for his committed participation in the geocaching community and for his series of famous “What is that doing there” caches. Mike has found over 1,700 geocaches and attended around 19 events.

Once news of Mike’s stroke reached the Southern Florida geocaching community, they rallied together in support. Because Iris and Mike were staying in Orlando, geocacher friends organized a fundraiser barbecue.

According to friend and fellow geocacher Marty, the barbecue was to “help defray the high costs of Iris having to stay in Orlando as Mike recovers and other expenses that they will experience at this difficult time.” The barbecue consisted of  delicious food, a raffle, and donated items to be auctioned off. Iris requested for geocachers to donate money and supplies to the Hubbard House, a charity that provides services for families of seriously ill people seeking treatment in the Orlando area. At the end of the day, more than $2,000 was raised.

Although they were three hours away from their hometown, Mike and Iris felt supported because according to Iris, “Cachers from all around Florida visited with me and Mike while we were in Orlando. I actually was able to steal away some time and go caching with some of them that came to visit. It felt so good to take a break and get to do something I love to do.”

As of today, Mike and Iris have returned to their home in Sunrise where Mike now frequently visits a rehabilitation center. The center is surrounded by specially hidden caches and is often visited by local geocachers.

Iris says, “a poster was made and signed by all the cachers that love him” and it now hangs in his recovery room. Mike is still on the road to full recovery. Marty, one of the lead organizers of the fundraiser barbecue, says, “[Mike] is in good spirits and even attended We are a little cheesy #3 event.”

Through this challenging circumstance Mike, Iris, and the rest of the geocaching world have experienced the beauty that can be found in community. In response to the event, Iris says “The amount of love is incredible.”

Using your GPS device in the United States to find the latest geocache could end with nothing but signal interference. That’s if the current proposal before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by the multi-billion dollar communications giant LightSquared™ is approved. According to press reports, LightSquared’s current proposal could render tens of thousands and possibly hundreds of thousands of GPS receivers obsolete starting as early as next year. But there is something you can do about it.

The LightSquared proposal involves offering an open wireless broadband network in radio frequency bands adjacent to those used by GPS receivers. LightSquared plans to use both satellites and land-based towers to provide this service.

A report delivered to the FCC in June shows significant interference to GPS receivers from LightSquared’s operations.

Groundspeak has joined a group of those willing to raise their voices in objection to this current plan. The group is called A Coalition to Save Our GPS.  We ask that you add your voice to the conversation. Tell the FCC that the current proposal by LightSquared could affect the family friendly activity of geocaching. Here’s why.

The LightSquared cell towers reportedly cast a signal significantly more powerful than the distant GPS satellites. GPS devices cannot filter out the stronger signal, resulting in interference. Tests reported to the FCC using a simulated LightSquared network reportedly jammed GPS devices used for aviation, surveying, agriculture, the U.S. Coast Guard and personal GPS navigation devices. Tests also confirmed that ambulance and police cars lost their  GPS reception within 600 – 1,000 feet of a LightSquared tower.

The FCC has asked for feedback from the public on the report. Comments will be taken until Saturday, July 30.  The “reply to comments” period then lasts until August 15. After the public comment period is closed, the FCC can announce a decision at any time. We’re asking that geocachers, and anyone who cares about GPS, rally to make the voices of GPS device users heard.

What can I do?

Everyone who cares about GPS should let the FCC know about the threat that LightSquared poses.  In writing to the FCC, we encourage you to cover the following points in your own words:

• How you use GPS technology in your business and/or personal life
• What would happen to your business/personal life if GPS became unavailable or unreliable
• While more capacity for wireless broadband services is important, it should not come at the expense of GPS, which is critical to the global economy
• The results of the testing that was performed at the FCC’s request show that GPS reception on certain devices could be affected by LightSquared’s proposed service.
• Now that the test results have shown interference to GPS, the FCC shouldn’t allow LightSquared to keep trying out modified versions of its plan to use the spectrum near the GPS band.  LightSquared’s operations and GPS are fundamentally incompatible and the FCC should order LightSquared out of that band.

How do I tell the FCC to save GPS?

The FCC has an easy-to-use portal on its website to submit feedback on the testing results:

(1)  Click on this link for the FCC’s Electronic Comments Filing System (ECFS):  http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs/upload/begin?procName=&filedFrom=X

(2)  In the box which says “Proceeding Number,” type:  11-109. It is important to include this docket number with your comments.

(3)  In the designated boxes, enter (a) your name or your company’s name, and (b) your mailing address/city/state/zip.

(4)  In the box which says “Type in or paste your brief comments,” do so.  Click “Continue.”

(5)  A review page will load listing all of the information entered.  If correct, click “Confirm.” (6)  If you have trouble, contact the FCC ECFS Helpdesk at 202-418-0193 or e-mail at ecfshelp@fcc.gov.

A letter by a young student helped lead a campaign to put GPS devices in the hands of school kids. Together, geocachers raised more than $9,000 for Donorschoose.org.

Geocachers simply had to introduce a friend  to geocaching, who created an account (basic or premium) and logged a cache in June. For every new referral Groundspeak donated a dollar  to Donorschoose.org.  A total of $9,135 will now be given to the charity. Donorschoose.org connects teachers with donors to fulfill classroom needs.

Karla helped lead the charge in the referral program. She attends a low income elementary school in Texas and a member of the after-school technology club, Tech-Click. In 2009, Groundspeak provided three GPS devices to Karla’s club through DonorsChoose.org. Those three GPS devices allowed Karla and others in her club to learn about latitude, longitude, spatial concepts and more. Karla sent us this letter to thank us for the donation.

Geocachers took part in the referral program to offer more  opportunities involving technology to more students like Karla. On June 1st, Geocachers began to track the progress of the program on the Signal donation thermometer found on the Geocaching.com blog, Latitude 47.   Cachers nearly reached the $10,000 goal. But this won’t be the only chance to help raise money for charity through geocaching.

Next year, geocachers will take on another referral challenge. They again will be able to help those in need by sharing geocaching with friends and family. Stay tuned to this blog for more information. Thank you to all the geocachers who helped school kids through Donorschoose.org. We’ll share any more thank you letters with you  – especially if they are as endearing as Karla’s letter.