You have no cache finds or hides, so I can't determine a starting point for a quick search for "Whiskey" or "Romeo". Those caches will have waypoint numbers in the GC##### format. With those numbers/letters, or even better a link, we can look at the actual cache pages. Then you could tell us how the downloaded coords look in your GPS display. Then by making a comparison we might be able to explain a 19 mile discrepancy. It's probably a coordinate format issue, but I need ALL the precise info you can provide to pin it down.
There is a code number next to the description of the cach that starts with GC#####. If this is the one your talking about then the code for Whiskey is GC1JEVF and the code for Romeo is GC1JCK3. I typed in my zipcode which is 56304 and these two caches are supposed to be within a couple of miles. When I have my waypoint Information page up on my GPS it looks like this
N 45degrees(in symbol not words)50.780'
W 94degrees(in symbol not words)06.802'
There is not a degree symbol on the keyboard that I could find.
Hi gapins
Zip Code 56304 is Saint Cloud, Minnesota. From there it is only about 6 miles Southeast to Cable, Minnesota. From Cable, Minnesota it is only a very short distance Southeast to WHISKEY (GC1JEVF). The coordinates for WHISKEY are N 45° 30.468' W 094° 04.081' in the Geocaching standard Format of Degrees, Minutes, Decimal Minutes. The Degrees, Decimal Degrees equivilant of that exact same spot is N 45.507800° W 94.068017°. This places the cache very near the intersection of 42nd St Se & 45th Ave Se which is also very nearly intersected by a road numbered 10.
But look at the distance between the N 45° 30.468' W 094° 04.081' and N 45° 50.780' W 94° 06.802' coordinates. It's 23.483 miles. Allowing a little bit of fuzz factor for distance from the zip code centerpoint, there is the 19 mile error. The cache page coordinates of N 45° 30.468' W 094° 04.081' are being correctly converted to a different format of 45.50780° W 94.06802°. But then the digits of 45.50780° W 94.06802° are being incorrectly dumped into the GPS as N 45 50.780' W 94 06.802' (a 23.483 mile error).
With the proper conversion you can use any coordinate format you wish. But you can't just grab the digits from one format and cram them without proper conversion into a different format. You need to fix a software format setting somewhere. But don't feel bad. Look at all the impossible guesses that were provided by posters with very little more understanding of the process than you have.
I was messing around with my GPS and reading the user manual yesterday and found out that I can change my coordinate format in my GPS. When I tried this I ended up with much closer mileage, the right spot this time. I guess I should have done a little research. I didn't realize that there that many different formats. I also thought that the EasyGPS software had done that for me. So much for assumptions.
Is there one coordinate format which is more accurate than another?
THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HELP!!!