Seth!
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Posts posted by Seth!
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now can you tell us where to find this "My Pop" page. And what are the delivery options that geocaching.com/Groundspeak has available?
Help! Clarification needed! Helllllp!
Thanks. -
now can you tell us where to find this "My Pop" page. And what are the delivery options that geocaching.com/Groundspeak has available?
Help! Clarification needed! Helllllp!
Thanks. -
I just found out about that. Thanks gang!
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I just found out about that. Thanks gang!
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I would love to see this, "There are now caches hidden in 111 countries!" (statement on the home page) link to a list of the countries with the number of active geocaches in that country next to each country. Maybe even a little "new" icon next to the newest countries on the list.
Surely someone at the vast Groundspeak Mega Corporation has a few hours to kill responding to yet another request. Right?
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I would love to see this, "There are now caches hidden in 111 countries!" (statement on the home page) link to a list of the countries with the number of active geocaches in that country next to each country. Maybe even a little "new" icon next to the newest countries on the list.
Surely someone at the vast Groundspeak Mega Corporation has a few hours to kill responding to yet another request. Right?
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Is there an explanation somewhere about what PopIt! does?
Regarding the state mailing lists: We have a new one for Washington. I like having this in addition to the forums. Some folks just can't be bothered to check the forums all the time. But they still want to communicate with their fellow geocachers. The listservs are a great way to do this. Sure, we have to post some things in both places, but it's still worth having both.
Seth!
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then you should say so in the description of the geocache. Those who disagree with my original post might consider including a caveat that says, "The hint will not help you find the geocache." I believe that it is quite possible (and likely) that a good hint will lower the difficulty level. I can understand why some hiders would not want to do that, so perhaps indicating this would be a thoughtful thing to do.
An aside: In these parts (Pacific NW), a lot of our higher difficulty geocaches involve having to do tasks before the hunt, e.g. solving puzzles, geometry problems, research, etc. Once you've done the hard part, then finding the box is relatively simple. Especially if there is a good hint.
Thanks to everyone who chimed in with an opinion. I think that my original post taken with the responses will help geocachers make informed and thoughtful decisions about writing hints.
(I guess my thoughts on ammo cans and spelling met with more approval.
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then you should say so in the description of the geocache. Those who disagree with my original post might consider including a caveat that says, "The hint will not help you find the geocache." I believe that it is quite possible (and likely) that a good hint will lower the difficulty level. I can understand why some hiders would not want to do that, so perhaps indicating this would be a thoughtful thing to do.
An aside: In these parts (Pacific NW), a lot of our higher difficulty geocaches involve having to do tasks before the hunt, e.g. solving puzzles, geometry problems, research, etc. Once you've done the hard part, then finding the box is relatively simple. Especially if there is a good hint.
Thanks to everyone who chimed in with an opinion. I think that my original post taken with the responses will help geocachers make informed and thoughtful decisions about writing hints.
(I guess my thoughts on ammo cans and spelling met with more approval.
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"...so what do you do when [someone] takes your Bug or Hitchhiker and does not log any of the cache pages."
This is my main problem with hitchhikers. If someone fails to log a Travel Bug, then the little icon stays on the cache page. That's annoying. If someone fails to log a hitchhiker OR the owner fails to change the coordinates, then an entire geocache page stays open and unfindable. That's REALLY annoying and misleading. It seems like a Travel Bug accomplishes the same thing with less hassle. As for being able to log a separate find, I don't see that as a plus. (Of course, I'll still log the find if I do find one
)I appreciate that you folks have taken the time to explain the process and your logic. I'll be looking for a hitchhiker near me...
- Seth!
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"...so what do you do when [someone] takes your Bug or Hitchhiker and does not log any of the cache pages."
This is my main problem with hitchhikers. If someone fails to log a Travel Bug, then the little icon stays on the cache page. That's annoying. If someone fails to log a hitchhiker OR the owner fails to change the coordinates, then an entire geocache page stays open and unfindable. That's REALLY annoying and misleading. It seems like a Travel Bug accomplishes the same thing with less hassle. As for being able to log a separate find, I don't see that as a plus. (Of course, I'll still log the find if I do find one
)I appreciate that you folks have taken the time to explain the process and your logic. I'll be looking for a hitchhiker near me...
- Seth!
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T-Storm, you always have the option of not reading the hint.
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Yes, I see that these can pre-date Travel Bugs. I just hope that these "hitch hikers" die off before long. The Travel Bugs seem like a much better plan.
The good thing about the travel bugs is that once someone picks them up, they show up in their inventory and not in a geocache.
The bad thing about these other ones: Looking at the example I gave (georover 2), it is at someone's house in Portland, just hanging out. Yet the coordinates show it in a geocache here in Seattle. AND it is showing up on my nearest geocache page AND is shows as a NEW geocache. That latter two not being true.
I'll just hope that there aren't many more out there and that they don't come to my area.
Thank you for clearing this up and I'd be happy to see this thread sink to the bottom. -
Yes, I see that these can pre-date Travel Bugs. I just hope that these "hitch hikers" die off before long. The Travel Bugs seem like a much better plan.
The good thing about the travel bugs is that once someone picks them up, they show up in their inventory and not in a geocache.
The bad thing about these other ones: Looking at the example I gave (georover 2), it is at someone's house in Portland, just hanging out. Yet the coordinates show it in a geocache here in Seattle. AND it is showing up on my nearest geocache page AND is shows as a NEW geocache. That latter two not being true.
I'll just hope that there aren't many more out there and that they don't come to my area.
Thank you for clearing this up and I'd be happy to see this thread sink to the bottom. -
Okay, explain this one. This has appeared on the Washington new geocaches list. But if you take a look at it, you'll see it's essentially a travel bug. I think that this should be archived and reincarnated as a Travel Bug. What do you think? There are six of these "georovers". Are there other travel bugs posing as geocaches? It doesn't make sense to me. What if everyone made their travel bug a "roving geocache"?
GeoRover #2
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Sure, I use the hints. Sure beats a "not found". I've started a thread on writing a GOOD hint:
http://opentopic.Groundspeak.com/0/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=1750973553&f=3000917383&m=4750995004
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It sounds like you have a good idea. I would recommend the Basic E-trex. It is less expensive, easy to use, and generally as reliable as other models. Because they are so inexpensive, you probably won't be able to find any bulk discounts on them.
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Geospotter, I think I can take most of the sting out of those arguments. First of all, 20,000 visitors a day is way out of line for most parks. Yellowstone gets about 7,400 visitors on average per day. Mount Ranier is about half that. (Great Smokey Mtns--one of the busiest--gets closer to the 20,000 figure, though.) But those are REALLY big parks.
But more notable is the geocaching tradition of not placing geocaches too close together. Once there are a handful of geocaches in Yellowstone, people won't be likely to place more. Twenty hides per day there is just unrealistic.
One thought would be that geocaching.com could limit the number of active geocaches it would post in a given area. That could even be negotiated with NPS if it would make them feel better.
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I think it's ridiculous that we can't place geocaches in national parks. And I'm aiming that at NPS, not geocaching.com. We're hiding them in all of our other parks. What if the city, county, and state decide to follow the NPS lead?
What exactly is the NPS ruling? Is it law, code, or just inter-office memo? Surely they must have to answer to somebody. What if Congress passed a law specifically allowing geocaching on NPS land? After all, we ARE paying the taxes to support them. I believe that most geocachers think of themselves as stewards of public lands.
Our presence in parks is doing a lot less damage to the planet than most other human endeavors. As a liberal, tree-hugging child of Gaia, I think that geocaching is a great way for us to "get close to nature" without destroying it.
I understand the concerns about bringing too much carbon monoxide, trash, noise, etc. into wilderness areas. But I suspect that the Brilliant Geocaching Community could help identify problems and solutions that would help the NPS cause and our sport. Can we get a seat on some committee?!
My two cents for the morning...
- Seth!
[This message was edited by Seth! on March 12, 2002 at 08:51 AM.]
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Now that I've logged my 100th geocache, I feel I'm ready to post a few helpful hints. These will be good for those just starting out but also for many with more experience. The first is:
How to write a good hint!
When I place a geocache, I place it so that other geocachers can find it. Nobody likes to log a "not found". That's just not fun. But I also want to avoid accidental finds and plundering. Plus, I know that a variety of levels of difficulty are important to the sport. So how do I accomplish all of these goals? BY WRITING A GOOD HINT! My rule of thumb (and I hope that this will be yours) is that the hint should lead the person right to the geocache if he or she is within 50-100 feet. Why? Because a good geocacher can get that close without the hint. After that, there are too many variables, not the least of which is signal quality. People don't have to use the hint. But if they are within 50 feet and just cannot find it, do I want them to go home empty-handed or do I want to offer some help? It's the sporting thing to do.
Here is an example of a good hint:
"At the base of the large fallen tree, under some leaves."
That's a clear, concise hint that will help a geocacher as long as there is not a multitude of large fallen trees.
Here are some examples of bad hints:
"Located in Jellystone Park" (No kidding! Just how far off do you think my GPS got me?!)
"Take exit 46, then left at the gas station." (That would have been helpful an hour ago, but now I'm knee deep in mud, 50 feet from the darn cache!)
This one is also less than helpful:
"Look 12 feet west of the trail." (Okay, I guess I assumed that it wasn't in the middle of the trail. Now I know on which side to look. Too bad the trail is 3 miles long.)
Beware of hints that have multiple solutions. I wish I had a dollar for every hint that says something like "by the crossed trees" when there are 38 pairs of crossed trees in a 40' radius! Bottom line: Make sure that your hint meets the 50-100 foot rule and is unambiguous.
Spelling!
Folks, let's try to spell words correctly. Typos in log entries are forgivable. Typos in geocache descriptions are annoying. Typos in geocache names are crimes against humanity! If you aren't sure, ask someone. Proofread. Don't be afraid to go back and edit your page if you find an error or if one is pointed out to you. I'll sleep better and so will you.
Ammo Boxes
I love ammo boxes as geocache containers. But please paint over the ammunition label! Simply adding the words "geocache" is not enough. If someone finds your geocache and it says "50 cal. ammo for XYZ gun" on the side, that sets off alarms, baby! Your best bet is some olive drab camouflage spray paint. It's awesome. You can actually find this in many regular paint departments. If not, some other natural (e.g. green, brown) color will suffice.
Happy geocaching everyone!
- Seth!
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What's an opb? Is this TV or radio?
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quote:
Originally posted by MrGigabyte:Originally posted by Seth!:
""If they are in the exact same position in the sky twice a day (i.e. 6:47 am and 6:47 pm), would your GPS be more accurate if you were to search for a cache at the same corresponding time of day as when the cache was hidden? The answer is no."
Reply by MrGigabyte:
Sorry, the answer is yes. GPS satellites broadcast simple radio signals. These signals are affected by many external forces before they hit your eTrex. Not the least of which is the refractive effect of the ionosphere.
Ionosphere effects on radio waves are significantly less when there is no solar effect on them. That is, any observations after sunset will always be better than those take 12 hours previous.
Sorry, but the answer is still NO. MrGigabyte may have misread my response. He rightly points out that accuracy is better some times than other, like after sunset. BUT that was not the question. The question was, is ACCURACY better if you hunt a geocache the SAME TIME OF DAY that it was placed. No, it isn't. If I place a geocache at noon and you hunt it after sunset, your accuracy may be better than mine was. Do you see what I mean?
[This message was edited by Seth! on March 11, 2002 at 02:23 PM.]
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Doesn't it seem like the term "geocoin" should be generic term used to describe anything along the lines of a coin placed in geocaches? Just like the term "geocache", it shouldn't be owned by anyone. Moun10Bike has graciously 'allowed' anyone to use the term geocoin. This woman who is putting a TM behind it is really misrepresenting her product. What if I put TM after my geocaches?! On the other hand, the folks at geocoins Canada seem to have a nice product and aren't trying to scam on the name.
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Doesn't it seem like the term "geocoin" should be generic term used to describe anything along the lines of a coin placed in geocaches? Just like the term "geocache", it shouldn't be owned by anyone. Moun10Bike has graciously 'allowed' anyone to use the term geocoin. This woman who is putting a TM behind it is really misrepresenting her product. What if I put TM after my geocaches?! On the other hand, the folks at geocoins Canada seem to have a nice product and aren't trying to scam on the name.
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