My thanks to Curtis Brown for the following detailed instructions on using the "Excel Family" BuddyMap application.

There seem to be three problems that people commonly experience when using the "Excel 5th Wheel Owners" BuddyMap:
1. Inability to change your location.
2. Web errors when trying to access the map.
3. There is a "Dead Area" in the upper right quadrant of the map.

The following is a discussion of these problems and some workarounds or solutions to these problems.

Regarding the Inability to change your location:
There has been a lot of confusion about how to use the BuddyMapping system. The first couple of times I tried to put my location marker on the map I was unable to change it and had to have John delete my old location marker after I
put my new one on the map.

It is actually quite easy to put your location marker on the map and later change it, if you follow a couple of simple procedures.

First, when you create your location marker, enter your correct e-mail address. As far as I can tell the only ones who can see your e-mail address in the BuddyMapping system are yourself and the owner of the map. (That would be ChiefJohn.)

If you do enter your e-mail address when you create your location marker, you will receive an e-mail from the BuddyMapping system. The email will be from moreply40358@buddymapping.com. It will contain a welcome message as created by the map owner and the following message:
'To edit your entry on the map, click the link below. It will take you to the map, and you can click the "edit" button on the right to change your marker.'

There will then be a link that has a person number that is assigned to your location marker and a long series of numbers and letters that are used by the system. That link is the only way to change your location! save that email
or copy the link and save it.

To change your location marker just click the link on the above mentioned e-mail. This will cause a browser window to open and take you to the "Excel 5th Wheel Owners" map where you can click on the edit button found at the bottom
of list of owners. When you click on the Edit button, the information for your marker will open and you will be able to change all the
information related to your marker. When you have finished making your change simply click on the Save button.

Regarding the web errors:
Another common problem with the BuddyMapping system is that it frequently displays a web page error rather than the actual web page. When this happens, just click the refresh button on your browser and the web page should
appear. If you get an error again, just click the refresh button until the web page displays. This may happen several times before the web page appears. I have no idea what causes it. But, I suspect it is related to some problem that BuddyMapping is having getting map data from Google.

Regarding the "Dead Area" on the map:
The third problem you may experience is that the upper right quadrant of the map is dead. In other words clicking on a dot in that area does not display the information about that dot. This seems to be a bug on all maps in
the BuddyMapping system including the "Excel Dealers" map. The work around is to simply use the grabber to move the map around under the window until the dot you are interested in is not in the upper right quadrant. You will
then be able to click on the dot and the related information will appear.
Curtis

Map Excel Family members (76) as of: 12 Feb 08
Name -- Location
Butch and Sharon Evans -- Sutherlin, OR
Don and Kathy Holmes -- Eugene, OR
Bruce and Jenna -- Olmpia, WA
ALREMC -- San Diego, CA
Roger and Sally Watts -- Banning,CA
Penny and Gene Urbatsch -- Coeur d'Alene, ID
LindaH -- Quartzsite, AZ
Wilf and Monika Kern -- Edmonton, AB
swellexcell -- Phoenix, AZ
Greenthumb -- Cave Creek, AZ
DRYHEAT -- Tucson, AZ
Rick_CO -- Grand Junction, CO
Steve and Patt Walker -- Albuquerque, NM
Smiths -- Sante Fe, NM
David and Sheila Knapp -- Crestone, CO
Larry and Patty Godby -- Longmont, CO
d.duin -- Ft Collins, CO
GaryandPat -- Ft Collins, CO
Phil and Lynne Sullivan -- Colorado Springs, CO
George and Barbara Zednick -- Artesia, NM
Rick and Yvonne Dyer -- Alpine, TX
unfinished91 -- Odessa, TX
Paul P -- Burlington, ND
Larry and Billie Eberle -- Oakley, KS
lucky1945 -- North Platte, NE
redcow -- North Platte, NE
Dick Allison -- San Angelo, TX
Peterson Industries -- Smith Center, KS
phil and pauline -- Jamestown, ND
Frank and Nancy Stephenson -- Blanco, TX
clspds -- Pharr, TX.
G L Arnold -- Georgetown, TX
sgs4024 -- Guthrie, OK
Sonny and Earlene Wells -- Gonzales, TX
Highgturn -- Fort Worth, TX
Curtis Brown -- Whitney, TX
kidzalot -- Sioux Falls, SD
Eric and Deanna -- Sioux Falls, SD
Dan Henry -- Caddo Mills, TX
P3 Guy -- Emory, TX
MandS Norrell -- Lake Jackson, TX
MRBV10 -- Oak Ridge North, TX
teague -- Clute, TX
The McGhees -- Deer Park, TX
Redwing1 -- Tahlequah, OK
Rockintom -- Livingston, TX
Cookieman -- Galveston, TX
Bob and Jos RV Center -- Guthrie Center, IA
W. J. Emary -- Osceola, IA
Paul Landolt -- Warsaw, MO
Milkman -- Belmont, WI
ChiefJohn -- Mascoutah, IL
L44SPD -- Springfield, IL
Lee and Sallie Goodin -- Charleston, MO
RayandWendy Wright -- Mukwonago, WI
Larry and Julie B -- Elgin, IL
Tyke and Bob M. -- Menomonee Falls, WI
Indiana Bob -- Greenwood, IN
dick and toni howard -- Greenfield, IN
Jim and Bona -- Kalamazoo, MI
MakinSmoke -- Suches, GA
maverik/gypsy -- Bridgeport, MI
Peg -- Amherst, OH
Workshop -- Orange Park, FL
Sidney and Judi Kaye -- Mt Dora, FL
Bill Cramer and Carole Wolfand -- Vienna, VA
Jimmy and Peggy McClanahan -- Mason Neck (Lorton), VA
Lindaxtwo -- Montgomery, PA
Gary and Nancy Beaupre -- Williamsburg, VA
headinsouth -- St Mary's City, MD
D(oug) and J(utta) -- Randolph, NJ
Sidney and Judi Kaye -- Candiac, CA
George and Dawn Dietz -- Manorville, NY
bsc -- CT
Dick and Barbara Smith -- East Bridgewater, MA

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ChiefJohn,