Deepdiggingmole

That's a good idea, but try this: Take a clear tupperware box, and put the usual assortment of stuff in it. Close the box, and look at the side. You won't really be able to see what's in it, because the tupperware isn't transparent, it's translucent. So if you want to check that it isn't a bomb, you'll still need to open it. Maybe we need to find a source of truly transparent boxes. But I'm not sure that would work either. Consider, for example, a box covered with a couple of bricks. You'd have to move the bricks before you could look at what's in the box, and then you'd be looking down at the top, which probably has a big "HARMLESS" label on it obstructing your view. So you'd have to move the box in order to inspect it, and although I'm not an expert at bombs, I'd be reluctant to move a possible bomb. So I'm not sure that this idea solves the problem. So, let's define the problem. The problem is, someone looks at a box where there's no reason for a box to be, and sees someone "acting suspiciously" around it, and calls the police. The police need a way to safely verify that it isn't a bomb, at very low cost, and very quickly. I can't actually see any way to do this, other than by size. If it's too small to be a bomb, then you don't have to look inside it. Maybe what's needed, is for all urban caches to be less than a certain size, that size to be determined by advice from a bomb expert. one answer to the above as GAGB have been in consultation with ACPO to reach all police forces - it might be worth suggesting identifying police officers within each force (I am sure every Force has officers who are cachers - I know Kent have quite a few) to act as SPOCs (single points of contact) so if there is an incident and there may be a possibility that the package is a cache then these SPOCs can be contacted and hopefully they can quickly identify said location as a cache location Also - I appreciate that action has had to be taken due to the recent incident - however hasn't context also to be considered - i.e. of the hundreds of thousands of 'finds' by tens of thousands of cachers in the UK over the last 10 years, how many times has this happened ??

I am not overly worried about the new Beta maps as you can not do a pocket query from it (yet) However I have noticed the original mapping has begun to lose its ability to remember what to do I go back to that one to do pocket queries sometimes - I find it easier to go to a place on the map pick a suitable scale and then tick the 'hide my finds' box and then select 'create pocket query' and then blitz the area - particularly useful if a new series has popped up. However I have noticed the old mapping has begun to play around select an area on the map then tick 'hide my finds' and all your smilies disappear - move the map a bit to refine the area and even though the box is still ticked - all your smilies return - you have to un-tick and tick it again to make them disappear. Though what is more annoying when you do do a 'create pocket query' even though you select 'all caches I havent found' in the PQ - the result comes back with all your finds so unless you select a high number you are likely to miss a number of new caches because your finds are included in the number arrgh is anyone else experiencing this when creating PQs

I am aware of the Motorway and sidetracked series as I have added to each of those in my SOS (Series of series) series - however do either of them add up to over 1500 in number - I am not sure - but I do know that the church micro series which is mainly in the South East but has spread further does have over 1500 and each are sequentially numbered

Yes, that was as I thought thank you Tim - ddm

Ah not thought of bookmark listing - would that enable me to include archived as well as long distant ones then Tim

Ok read that - not sure why I missed that however an additional question then (as it did raise a point I had in mind) it states "Physical geocaches can be logged online as "Found" once the physical log has been signed. An exception is Challenge Caches, which may only be logged online after the challenge requirements have been met and documented to the cache owner's satisfaction." Does that mean that with a 'challenge cache', if all the requirements of the challenge are met AND there is a physical cache at the end you can log the find online though you havent actually been to the cache itself and signed that log or do you have to sing the log in the actual cache before you can make the claim online - or are the challenge caches as referred to ones that dont have a physical cache but do set a challenge where a number of actions have to be met - like finding a cache every day for a complete month. I have a bingo grid challenge cache based on difficulty/terrain lines, there is a cache container to find - once complete and the container found, log signed I request the caches found to complete the line are published in the log, and the find stands - if someone requested that they are not able to get to the cache because of distance but fulfil the challenge requirements, could they claim a find - do I have to allow it ?? Tim - ddm

Can someone point me in the direction where it states that in order to log a cache as found online - you must have found the physical cache first and signed the log book I have looked on the geocache site but cant seem to find it :-( tks tim - ddm

Can any one enlighten me When I do a PQ of 'My own caches' I dont get all my caches listed - I am aware that any archived caches may not come up (like meets etc which you have to archive a short while after the event) however i have an Earthcache in Cyprus and even though I put 2000 miles in the distance box - it seems to revert back to 500 and doesnt count it - is this right is there any way i can include ALL my caches (including the archived and long distant ones) Tim - ddm

I recently found out that a TB of mine that ended up at a mega event has gone missing and no number of emails was going to help find out where it went GC1QM7K Geowoodstock VIII - a well attended event had I am told over 7000 TB's coins pass through it - a high percentage of these being ones that just 'visited' and held onto by the attending owners. However a small percentage were taken and dropped - by all accounts ALL of these were picked up by attending cachers - however 6 months after the event I noted that my TB was still shown at the event. I emailed the organisers but was told they could not help. I left notes on the cache page and eventually read one that said "There were 7391 trackables that went through the event. With 531 trackables still logged in the event, that's about a normal percentage (7%) to still be logged in at this point, for an event or a cache" - this was 3 months after the event - 6 months after the event the number was down to 488 I can accept a TB being left in a cache for an extended period - simply because that cache may not be visited for some time - an event is different - once it is over then TBs and coins should be moved on within 2 weeks as per the guidelines How can the disappearance of nearly 500 TB's coins be acceptable - I am sure this is not the first mega event or even any event for that matter where this has happened and there appears to be no concern that this is happening otherwise organisers would ensure a better system of logging is put into place so that ALL TBs/coins are tracked AT the event and details of any cacher removing a TB/coin can be obtained easily enough. Can I recommend that unless better systems are put into place then the 'dropping' of TBs/coins into events is banned and only those that are owned by attendees which are logged as 'visiting' be allowed. I know we are told not to get emotionally attached to our TB's/coins as they may disappear - however we are all part of the same community who enjoy caching and the owning of TBs, Picking up, moving on and dropping off TBs is part of the whole package and this sort of incident only spoils that enjoyment

Take a look at GC1QM7K Geowoodstock VIII nearly 500 TBs/coins have gone missing from that event which they have now archived

Geowoodstock VIII - not wanting to put down what appears to be a great event - however my TB ended up there and 6 months later it is still as being there ??? TBN1J1 for info 'MSM2' is its name. I noted a log says "There were 7391 trackables that went through the event. With 531 trackables still logged in the event, that's about a normal percentage (7%) to still be logged in at this point, for an event or a cache" This was 4 months after the event - its 'normal' for TBs to be logged in an event after 4 months - why is that ?, dont the guidelines for moving a TB on after two weeks still apply ? I can accept a TB being in a cache for an extended period - simply because that cache may not be visited for some time. Events are different. They end. I appreciate that an event the size of the one mentioned takes a lot of organising by many people - but surely any TBs that are being dropped (not visitors - TBs/coins being logged through) should be logged at the event (not online) showing who dropped it off and who picks it up so that if there is an issue later on the organiser can point the owner in the direction of the person who picked the TB up I asked about my TB shown at this event some time ago and some months after it was finished and the reply was a shrugging of the shoulder type response 'I dont know' It comes as no surprise that a lot of people say on their TB / coin page - 'Not to be taken to an Event' I wait, but not holding my breath to see if my TB will re-surface

They are from South Wales - they have been caching for 8 months and have found 113 caches - of the 15 TBs/coins they have picked up - they still have 10 in their possession I have sent a link of this topic to them and hope they move the bugs on soon

My other half had ordered a wildfire through t mobile as they were doing a great deal - however three weeks later and after a couple of calls to say there would be a delay in delivery - she got another call today to say they had run out of stock and will not be able to supply the phone - soo annoyed we were really looking forward to seeing how this matched up against my oregon ah well

Am I the only one or do other people get a little fed up with having to register with many other different travel bug sites in order to move a travel bug on I have picked up recently a few TBs in geocaches that can't be logged on geocaching.com but you have to go to a completely unrelated site to log the TBs movements - but in order to do so you have to register What if I dont want to register on to yet another site just for the purpose of moving on a TB

OK can GC11V8R be reviewed - this is the one as described and as I am taking my son for an interview at this Uni - this is shown as the nearest - when in fact when worked out it certainly isn't thanks

An interesting topic - and having found hundreds of these things over the years IMHO I feel it does come down to a small number of factors 1) size of log inside - I have come across many which are just a little too big making the replacing the lid a challenge in itself and invariably not enough to prevent water getting in 2) this is mentioned before - relying on finders actually taking those few extra seconds to make sure the lids are replaced completely and not just slapped on resulting in the same 'water getting in easily' issue. 3) using the 'lid outside version' as these do tend to offer a little more 'seal' though reliant on 1) and 2) above. Though as anumber have already indicated there does seem to be a few more suited alternatives out there if you are willing to fork out for them - the one factor in using the film canisters is that they are free (well all the ones I have, I obtained from a local photo shop owner who was happy to pass them over)

Are there set guidelines on how far away from given co-ords a cache is actually hidden when it comes to the likes of puzzle caches. I have completed many puzzle caches and most have been within a reasonable distance of the published co-ords - obviously these are not too near as to make it obvious where the cache might be thus negating the need for the puzzle it self. The reason I ask is that I was in the middle of completing the puzzle aspect of a cache listing to discover that the cache itself is hidden some 10 miles from the publshed co-ords. The reason for choosing the puzzle was that it was the nearest to a place that I am visiting and thought I would do a couple of caches while there, thus choosing the nearest ones to that location - as it transpired that it is as far away as it is (between 8 and 12 miles) I will probably not be able to do it. However it made me think about whether it was sensible having it so far away from the published co-ords or whether it complied with guidelines if there were any as such.

I have had the Garmin E-trex, Venture and Legend gps units since I started and 5 years of having the same problem with the rubber working loose and the glue melting on really hot days - and although found the really useful hints on repairing the problems (double sided tape etc) I have finally found the solution to solve this ongoing problem I have got an Oregon - saves on a lot of paper too

In line with the above theme - i have just got an oregon 200 - no probs in downloading waypoints and files etc. However i can not seem to be able to delete these files - they dont show up on the delete waypoint function (only ones that you have manually put in seem to be able to be deleted that way) any help gratefully received

Yea - me 3000 finds

To add my twopennys worth what is quality ? is it the type of cache container found, full of goodies, a dry log book and a couple of Tb's to remove or.. A film cannister in a location which has a superb view or in an area with sights of great interest. Both can be as good as each other if once you get to the end of the hunt - it is satisfying. I find a cache which has been hidden in such a way that it makes it a challenge to search for it also worth the trip, but also a series of micros which takes you places you wouldn't have thought going to just as satisfying. I recently did various single caches in north Wales, some involving long walks others not so, but the end result with the views etc. made for great trips out. That is why we go up that way a lot. It is different in the SE - but there are great walks out there and a few cachers who set nice trails allowing you to enjoy same. I do agree with many however that there are some caches being placed just for the sake of it and when you get to the location there is nothing to look at when you get there and you do just end up signing a log pulled out of a film cannister. I will admit I probably seek these out to make up numbers but only if I am in the area on a cache blitz. However to be fair - a lot of uninteresting caches have been placed by new cachers who are still learning and these are set to get the feel of hiding a cache. Another point which has always been at the back of my mind - do cachers hide caches with the intention of keeping their caches out in the wild for a considerable amount of time - or are there some who hide caches with the intent of archiving after a certain period - I have 69 caches and all are still active and all have been found within the last 2/3 months - I do not intend to archive any of them - some of them were fiendish puzzle caches which had the hardened puzzlers scratching heads for a few months - but now the puzzles have been cracked I have made them easier with extra hints in order that the less hardy puzzler can have a go. If I had not done this I think one or two would not have been sought for a couple of years - caches are there to be found after all

I am trying to track down anyone who might know or has been out caching with and can get in touch with 'Major Matt' thanks Tim

GSAK macros is your friend! Look for one called FindStatGen (Beta version is stable...) and download and install that. Obviously, this presumes you are running GSAK already, AND that you have all your finds in GSAK, AND that you have all the find logs on your placed caches in GSAK. Your finds can be updated with the MyFinds PQ available from the PQ summary page. Logs on your own caches are more difficult. A PQ of your caches will return the last 5 logs. A GPX download of each individual cache will provide 20 logs, and any more than that and you will need to run the AddLogs macro (available above) as Bear and Ragged suggest - on a one time basis to catch up with old logs... Hope that gets you started! Dave I am running the addlogs macro as we speak - so many thanks for your help one and all

That sounds promising - anyone know what that macro is ????

I am sorry i did not understand the above - and whether or not it helps my query does no one have an answer for this or is there no answer I have seen many profiles where there are stats for the owners caches which is why I am confused about there being no response many thanks