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ras_oscar

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Everything posted by ras_oscar

  1. Also remember, when geocaching you are building the error from your gps AND the error from the cacher that placed the hide. If acceptable error on a modern GPS is 16 feet ( not providing information, just repeating what is above) and both GPSs are at the opposite end of their max error, the cache could be 32 feet away from the posted coords and still be considered "accurate". That's why the *recommendation* when placing a hide is to return on several different days, take several readings and average the coordinates to derive the coordinates.
  2. The issue of performing maintenance on someone else's cache has long been discussed and debated. Everybody has their own rules, here are mine: I carry basic repair supplies to ensure i am able to sign the log and return the cache in good shape. Zlock bags, slips of paper, pre rolled binkey logs. If I find the container and the log is full I will add a slip of paper. If the cache is wet and the log is soggy and unsignable I will add a slip of paper with my signature in a new zlock. If it's a bison and the log is full I will replace th full log with a fresh log sheet and PM the CO asking them to PM me within 7 days if they wish me to return the original log sheet to them (so far nobody has replied). I will NEVER replace a cache i didn't find, because by definition I cannot claim it missing, only that i didn't find it. If i believe for whatever reason the cache is missing, i will post specific details on my DNF. If those details could be spoilers I will provide the information to the CO as a PM. They can determine whether the cache is missing. I had one cache I couldn't find, and checked the previous logs. One log included a picture of a small block of wood with a smiley face fashioned on it out of pushpins. The cache was a bison tube hanging from the smiley face nose. I found the block of wood but the bison was nowhere to be found. I PM'd the CO offering to travel back out ( since I cache in that area frequently) and replace the bison with a fresh one. I got a very friendly reply from the CO stating that they would relace the bison and I needn't trouble myself. One time I was caching on beachfront public property. The coordinates pointed me to a metal umbrella table. I sat down and casually groped the underside of the table, being rewarded with a film can containing the cache. I discretely signed the log and upon returning the cache, found ANOTHER film can with a log in it ( throw down) I left both in place and PMd the CO, since I now had no idea which was the actual cache and which was the throwdown.
  3. i hadn't seen it either. Was typing a reply when Keystone chimed in.
  4. If GPSs were always dead on, there would be little challenge in finding caches. I had one cache I went back to 6 times over the course of 3 years. Finally found it this spring. When I looked at my GPS with the cache in hand it said I was 2 feet away. Same GPSr each visit. Go figure. I'm blaming planetary alignment. On each of the previous visits the GPS brought me to the same feature which turned out to be 45 feet away from the location of the container.
  5. I had a friend in high school that found a bag of weed in his front yard. Brought it in the house to mom and dad. They called the police. Police confiscated the weed... and followed him around surreptitiously for 3 months. The police thought my friend was a dealer and had gotten busted by his parents. He wasn't. As stated above, the police have more important things to do than monitor a random glass pipe found in the woods. Call the police if you find something that is truly and immediately dangerous ( I have heard that there are certain illegal drug manufacturing processes that are hazardous and occasionally a 5 gallon bucket of chemical soup exhibiting an exothermic reaction or issuing a cloud of foul vapors is found in an area containing a cache. That is hazardous and IMHO deserves a call to the authorities)
  6. Is it your desire to exclude your caches from your GPSr or merely flag them differently?
  7. Also, one needs to be a platinum member for 24 consecutive months
  8. It hidden deep in the bowels of your phone. I regularly use the described offline data to save caches on phone and delete them when I'm through. I still don't know where the files are. Nor do I care. Let signal figure it out
  9. +1. I have seen plastic insects secured to the top and bottom of a hinged container on elastic string in such a way that the spider "jumps out" at the finder when opening the container.
  10. I always describe geocaching as " using billion dollar satellite system to provide information to a hundred dollar GPS receiver to find Tupperware in the woods
  11. how many bus stops are you considering adding to this trip, and how long is the total trip from first stop to last?
  12. I had accidently done something like that a few years ago. Was caching in Texas and saw a new souvenir from Minnesota, A state I had never cached in. I had slipped a digit when poking in the GC code. I corrected the error and asked Groundspeak to remove the souvenir( since I had not earned it) If It were not for the state souvenir I may never have noticed my error. Not all erroneous logs are armchair logging. Some like mine are simple human error. If I had not noticed my error, I would have appreciated an email from a CO to allow me to correct my error before someone contacts Groundspeak to have me censured.
  13. I had a hiatus of several years, because, ya know, life got in the way. I returned and would have been quite upset if my user name (and the attached finds) had somehow been given to another player.
  14. As you progress in the hoobby you will discover tools that are helpful to have with you when you cache. I have built a caching bag for this purpose. Its an eagle creek fanny pack retrofitted with the strap from an old laptop bag. It contains all the TOTTs ( Tools of the trade) and allows me to grab and go when I decide to go out and find some caches. I can link you to a thread listing some tools people carry if you are interested.
  15. And a couple that are not on the planet, if i remember correctly ( space station?)
  16. In some states the property line actually runs down the center of the paved road. My uncle owned a home in NH that was like that. There was a 40 foot easement for a 24' road but the property was owned by the home owners. I believe the easement for a road is dedicated to "public access" which means you have the right to travel on the road. Not sure what happens when you park your car and get out, perhaps someone with more legal experience than I will chime in. I believe that many landowners take virtual possession of whatever they can see from their front door. If I saw cars repeatedly parking in front of my house and people getting out for a purpose I could not understand I would likely become concerned, even though on street parking does not belong to me. I was in Texas at GZ and walked into what appeared to be a homeless tent city. There were several fences surrounding what appeared to be a detention basin. I was pondering whether or not to abort my search when a homeowner leaned over the fence and told me I was trespassing on private property. Since he was leaning ON HIS FENCE i'm fairly certain i was not trespassing on HIS property, but I elected to apologize, turn and leave. I spotted the cache on the way out, and got the smiley anyway.
  17. Replace: to restore to a former place or position Return: to restore to a former or to a normal state Replace https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/replace
  18. I have found it helpful to occasionally go through the calibration process for my Oregon 700.
  19. there are also battery operated electric "candles" that could provide a light source to a photo sensor.
  20. if it was 400 feet away from GZ, are you sure you had the correct cache? 528 feet or more could well be a completely different cache. The coordinates couldn't have been that bad if there was enough info on the cache page and the coords to allow you to make the find. When I make comments on a cache I limit myself strictly to facts. -The cache was fond 30 feet from posted coordinates. -The cache was found in the open. -The container has a hole in the bottom that appears to be made by rodents. -The log sheet is too wet to sign, added a dry log sheet in a zlock. All my comments are designed to alert the CO to potential issues, so they can come to do their periodic maintenance armed with materials to resolve issues in one trip. I would never leave insulting or disparaging comments about the cache or the cache owner. This person on the internet whom I never met has taken the time to: -prepare a cache container -research hidings spots online and in the field -taken field coordiantes -hidden a cache -submitted the cache to the local reviewer for approval -committed to periodic maintenance of a cache that is intended to be permanent All for the sole purpose of providing ME with a pleasant experience I have on occasion approached GZ and decided not to complete the hunt. Often because, if I were the CO I would not have chosen that area to hide a cache. That doesn't mean the location is bad, it just means it does not suit my personal taste.
  21. so you remembered to bring a GPS or phone but not a pen?
  22. When I first started caching I would get my kids up early Saturday morning, take them to breakfast and go caching for the day. It was dad's day out with the boys. Then they discovered cars and girls, and I went alone. Set a goal of 1.,000 caches in a year and filling up my caching calendar. I achieved both goals but a the expense of getting burned out. Caching had become a self imposed chore. I actually let my premium membership lapse for several years. I have begun picking it up recently, but at a much slower pace. One of the issues is I can no longer go out ang "grab a couple caches" on the weekend. Most of my local caches have been fished out. Going to get caches is once again a planning chore, since I need to drive a couple hours to find a populated hunting area.
  23. To the OP: Couch cachers have been a problem for a very long time. Many discussions have been had regarding what to do with them. If you are the CO and the log is not signed, you have the right to delete the log. In truth, the practice is self regulating. The enjoyment in geocaching is the hunt, not the find. Someone sitting at home logging caches will quickly tire of the process, since little value is placed on numbers they know are not genuine. They will soon move on.
  24. Except for rare occasion, I always replace the cache where I found it. Unless i am the CO, I have no idea where a cache "belongs", I only know where I found it. If the coordinates are significantly off the current location I will add to my log " found XXX feet from posted coordinates" That will alert the CO to check the hide and/or their coordinates accuracy if appropriate. The rare occasion is when I find a standard size container in plain view. My first choice is to add camo to help conceal the container from muggles. If that is not possible, I may choose to move it up to 3 or 4 feet to a more concealed position. If so I will add to my log something like "Found container in the open, moved xx feet to a more modest location" That alerts the CO that the container has been moved, and how far it has been moved.
  25. Yes, but once the underlying PQ expires on the server ( about 7 days) the caches disappear in the app if you attempt to refresh the offline data. Not sure how often you run your queries, I do mine once a month.
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