CharlieP
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Posts posted by CharlieP
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I have not grabbed a TB for a while. I enter the code - it takes me to the page - but it does not show the options to grab, discover, etc. What's wrong? The name of the bug is SDUF and it was in Amsterdam.
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I am afraid I am beginning to see the issue - it appears there may be more than one. But it seems the largest issue revolves around whether the proposed formulas measure the error between two random points generated from the same target or from two points where the second is generated from the position error of the first. Those are two different problems, but it is certain that the second condition is the one that applies to geocaching. So dfx, when you generated your table, did you use the same target point for each of the two test columns. I think the answer is no - and therefore you have tested the second condition - the one applicable to geocaching.
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Wow, this dead horse is pounded to a pulp! I learned long ago in these forums that the concept of confidence interval does not work for some folks - and that leads to some long discussions. But no such discussion is complete without at least a mention of the major reason the EPE your GPS gives you (and gave the cache hider) may be a complete lie. That's signal reflection - or signal bounce as I call it. I know of a number of caches where the coords are off 60 to 80 feet - and yet I am quite sure the hider's GPS told him he had something like 15 foot EPE. From my experience you get signal bounce near rocky hillsides or buildings, but it can happen in other places too where there seems to be no good reason. Typically the GPS at different times and conditions will zero out in two locations maybe 60 to 80 feet apart, and it will show a good EPE (e.g. 20 feet) from both locations. Some folks may report the coords are dead-on, and others may say they are way-off. So from my perspective, and from a practical perspective, EPE and the associated statistics is only a rough guide - the actual error may be far greater than the stats indicate.
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Try this link: http://www.geocaching.com/my/geocaches.aspx?archived=y
Is that what you're looking for?
Yep - that's it! That was like magic.
But the calendar thing does not work to let me go back to caches earlier than 30 days. How did you do that? Is there a way I can get this to continue to work and also get those older logs? -
The site has recently deleted the ability to list recent logs with the "quickview" option on the account page. I have not been able to find another way to do this. I used this feature (with copy paste) to keep a text file with of all my logs - it is an easy way to search for specifics of old cache hunts. Am I the only one who was using this feature? Was it deleted purposely or by accident?
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... but civil liberties are at a low point. those of us who love civil liberties have good cause to be alarmed.
At a low point ... hmmm ... we had legal slavery in this country at one time. Folks who remember domestic security measures taken by the US during World War 2 would also disagree strongly that we are at a low point. Sadly, civil liberties are probably at a high point now, compared to future levels. Technology is a sword with two sharp edges, and it cuts civil liberties with the back edge.
what does follow is better work on cache placement and awareness of local climate. whether or not i like it, i live in today's more suspicious climate. i have to think about how my caching behavior might change caches in general. i have to think about how i will respond to the police the next time they speak to me.
i recommend being polite.
I can agree with you here. We have a lot of geocaches out there that are potential problems. You can ask geocachers to use common sense and discretion, but that will only go so far. Geocachers are people, and many people lack common sense and discretion. The only source of control over this potential problem is geocaching.com. But there goes another set of "civil liberties", like the right to place a cache that can be mistaken for a bomb in a public place.
FWIW, CharlieP
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When I began geocaching, I went off with my GPS, a sheet of paper with the cache info, a pen and a couple of trade items in my pocket. Now I carry a backpack that would cripple a mule. Pack includes: water, digital camera, small tripod, maps, cell phone, lots of trade items, PDA, compass, extra batteries, multi-tool, cord, matches, flashlight, plastic bags, first aid kit, paper towels, cloth towel, emergency poncho, extra socks and shirt, tape measure, pens and pencils, and sometimes my lunch. But hey, I got into geocaching for the exercise and hauling that pack up a hill IS a LOT of exercise.
I also carry my GPS and hiking stick in my hands, and usually wear a hat appropriate for conditions (e.g., red in hunting season).
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There is some good advice above, but I will add mine anyway
I bought a canoe about 25 years ago and still have it. I used it with my sons when they were kids. We traveled down rivers, camped on river banks, fished rivers and lakes, and even did some bow-fishing from the canoe. I was a very good investment. I have also used 2 person kayaks and they are also fun, but not as versatile. The canoe can carry much more gear, and a third person can sit on the floor in the center. I think a kid might get "antsy" in a kayak since you cannot move around at all. So I would recommend the canoe.
If you decide to get a canoe, you will notice there is a wide range of choices. If you think you may want to do some white water some day, you probably want one of the shorter smooth bottom canoes. If capacity is a requirement, get a 17 footer. But if you will be loading the canoe on the car by yourself, weight is a major issue, unless you are a weight lifter.
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I notice, but usually don't say anything about it just to avoid insulting the owner. I will usually leave casual remarks that my GPS didn't lead me to it, instad of accusing someone of not taking the time to get a good reading when they placed it.
I think that's one reason folks don't mention coords that are off ... they consider it some kind of insult to question the posted coords. I don't think it is an insult to post coords different from those the owner posted. There are a lot of ways to get bad coords, with signal reflection being the #1 reason. I appreciate it when folks post their own coords and it helps me find the cache. If my own posted coords were off, I would want to know it. There are some people who are very easily insulted - that's their problem.
Then there are those who contend that "one set of coords is no better than another." That seems to be some kind of misplaced egalitarianism. Even if all men were created equal, it does not follow that all coords are equal.
But another reason folks do not post their own coords is that it may be un-necessary. If the cache coords are 70 feet off but it is an easy find anyway, why bother? What does it accomplish?
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The common quote that gets me into the most trouble:
"Yeah Honey, this is an easy find, you just wait here and I will be back in ten minutes".
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After reading the 'Hiding a cache' thread it seemed just as important to me that all members have a responsibility to hide as well as find. I try to keep a 25:1 ratio, but I think at least a 100:1 ratio should be enforced.
My math skills aren't up to the task, but I think it would be interesting to have the mathematical progression that idea implies worked out, just to see how many caches would result.
This issue has been discussed many times before. This is a post I made back in July in a similar thread and it addresses your question.
As the number of geocachers and geocaches increases, the idea that each cacher should hide a certain ratio of caches found becomes unreasonable. Consider a geographic area, say the metro area of a city. If there are 100 geocachers in the city, and each hides one cache, then after a while searchers will find all one hundred caches. So maybe a 10/1 found/hide ratio would be better. That gives you 1000 caches when each cacher has found a hundred, but when each cacher finds 1000 it will produce 10,000 caches. If in the meantime the number of cachers has increased to 800, you may have 80,000 geocaches in the city, and will have run out of lamp posts. If a cacher feels he MUST hide and maintain 100 caches, they are not likely to be high quality.
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I use NiMH rechargeables. If you use your GPS and other battery powered stuff alot, NiMH rechargeable cost much less than alkaline or lithium batteries. The newer niMH, with 2000 mah capacity or more, will power a GPS about the same period of time on a charge as alkaline batteries. The only drawback to NiMH is that they lose charge in storage, i.e., if you charge them up, put them in the GPS and then don't use it for a month, about half the charge will be gone. NiMH batteries work well in high power drain devices, like digital cameras.
If you use Nimh batteries in your GPSr or any device they will lose about 1% of their charge per day of non use. So 50% of the power after 1 month is reasonable. Hope this helps.
To get technical, the discharge rate is a function of temperature, the hotter the temperature, the faster they will discharge. Near freezing, the battery may still have 90% capacity after a month. The 1% per day is about right at 70 degrees F, but the rate is about 2% per day at 100 degrees. So if you leave the GPS in your car in the summer, NiMH batteries will discharge very quickly.
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I will vote for erik88l-r and GPSFUN. I would have included mtn-man, but I hear he already has the prize. He certainly TAKES the prize.
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I can see both sides of this one, and the verdict is pretty clear.
The searcher got into a situation during the hunt that he found frightening, and lashed out at the cache owner. A perfectly human response, but unfair, because the owner certainly made it clear that this cache hunt was very challenging. And the searcher has apparently retracted his initial statement and apologized. Good for him.
If there is a message here, it is that these challenging cache hunts should be clearly labeled with appropriate ratings and warnings. This one certainly is so labeled.
The issue of appropriate labels and warnings applies to more than just challenging terrain. Many cachers do not enjoy searches where they are likely to be observed by people in the area. This is sometimes called a "high muggle factor". I, for one, would appreciate such cache locations being identified as such. The main thing is for cache owners to include appropriate information in the cache description, so that searchers can determine if this is a cache they really want to do.
And if the cache is aggressively hidden in an unlikely place in a rocky valley where GPS reception is almost nil, with no useful hints, that is NOT a 1.5 difficulty, or a 2, or a 3.
Call it like it is.
FWIW,
CharlieP
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I use NiMH rechargeables. If you use your GPS and other battery powered stuff alot, NiMH rechargeable cost much less than alkaline or lithium batteries. The newer niMH, with 2000 mah capacity or more, will power a GPS about the same period of time on a charge as alkaline batteries. The only drawback to NiMH is that they lose charge in storage, i.e., if you charge them up, put them in the GPS and then don't use it for a month, about half the charge will be gone. NiMH batteries work well in high power drain devices, like digital cameras.
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a discussion of whether someone should be worried that a careless hunter would accidentally shoot a person.
A very fitting and appropriate example would be dick cheney. Totally appropriate example by any measure.
Lets see now, the question was:
"Does anyone have any suggestions for dayglow orange atire? I really don;t want anything too bulky or heavy, but I also don;t want to be mistaken for a black bear or a deer. I hear those razor-tipped arrows are SHARP."
How could anyone think that an accidental shooting of a hunting companion on a bird hunt, the companion standing nearby and in full sight, has anything to do with proper dayglow attire to wear in the woods? Only someone who knows absolutely nothing about hunting, or someone with a political axe to grind would bring that into this discussion.
Now for the question asked. Orange or red attire is a good idea, but not a guarantee that you won't catch a bullet. There are a very few novice hunters out there who may shoot without identifying their target. Also be advised that a bullet from a rifle can carry for a mile or more. So my advice would be:
1. Avoid walking in the woods, especially off-trail, on opening day of deer season or at other times that hunting activity is heavy. Hunters are usually most active in the early morning. It is illegal for non-hunters to be in some hunting areas on days when hunts are scheduled ... check with management agencies.
2. Wear Orange or red. This may be a legal requirement in some areas. But remember, bullets don't see and they can travel long distances. Some hunting areas only allow shotguns ... these are safer because the gun has limited range.
3. If you think hunters may be nearby, make some noise (talk loudly, yell at a non-existant buddy). Don't worry about ruining things for the hunters ... your presence has already done that ... the deer already know you are there and are far away by now.
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Averaging will produce more accurate coords than a single reading. Averaging several times at intervals of 30 minutes or more should give the best results. If satellite geometry or signal reflections are causing a substantial error, averaging for say 10 minutes will not reduce the error by much, and the averaged coords may be off by 50 feet or more if signal reflections are present. If you come back to the location later, satellite geometry may change enough to eliminate the reflection problem and allow accurate readings. I see a lot of posted coords that are off 50 feet or more due to signal reflections, almost always on or near a rocky slope.
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I carry a cheap and very light-weight Eveready 2-AA light in my pack at all times. Weight is a big consideration for this light. If I know I will be using a light, like for a night cache, I carry my 8-AA Princeton Surge dive light, lots of lumens in a small (but heavy) package.
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I think he meant search for all bookmark lists with at least one cache in the search radius. Large international ones such as SCUBA Caches would only show up if there was SCUBA cache in the radius.
Yep, that's what I meant. But the proposed feature could also allow you to specify a minimum number of caches in the radius, e.g., if you specified a 5 cache minimum you would only get the lists with at least 5 caches in the radius area.
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It would be nice to have the ability on geocaching.com to input a location and radius, and get a list of all bookmark lists containing a cache (or a specified number of caches) in that area. This would make it easier to identify the caches in an area that folks think are special.
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If you like to see/find new places, why should finding or not finding the cache change that? A DNF brings you to the same spot a smilie does.
You're absolutely correct. Unfortunately, if I can't find the cache, I keep looking until I get frustrated and give up (truthfully, it doesn't take me long), forgetting to enjoy the location.
Yep, same here. Its very similar to the point made in old quote of Mark Twain about golf: "Golf is a good walk spoiled.” Adding a touch of failure and frustration to a nice walk is not a positive addition.
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Geocaching is really really easy if you just remember to apply the NHF rule.
When you're Not Having Fun, do something else.
That's pretty good advice. Searching for a well hidden cache, micro or otherwise, can be fun. But after doing a few of these, it gets old. If you read the cache logs, you can filter out most of these ... lots of DNF's is a bad sign.
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Although averaging for a few minutes is likely to give better accuracy than a single reading, the average may still be off 40 feet or more. If satellite geometry is not good at a particular time, it is necessary to wait and take readings at a time when geometry has changed enough to make a difference. Testing has shown that a large number of averaged readings taken over a period of less than 30 minutes will not be as accurate as a lesser number of averaged readings taken at times separated by at least 30 minutes.
I try to take several readings (mark waypoints) over a period of less than 5 minutes or so, marking only when the GPS shows an EPE less than 20 feet, preferably 15 feet or less. Then this process is repeated 30 minutes or more later. This process may be repeated a few times. Then I average the waypoints on the map page visually. I have tested this method on known positions and if reception is good, it is usually within about 5 feet, if three or more sets of readings are taken, each set separated by at least 30 minutes.
But the calendar thing does not work to let me go back to caches earlier than 30 days. How did you do that? Is there a way I can get this to continue to work and also get those older logs?
Can't grab TB on site
in Trackables
Posted
I found the solution with a hint from one of the other logs on the TB page. I used the IE tools/Compatibility View setting and that worked. But I still don't understand the problem - or the solution.