bladesedge

Hi, Been thinking about how to improve people's experiences finding caches. For me, if I go to GZ and the cache doesn't instantly jump out at me then I hit the logs and see what everyone else says. Not everyone's GPSrs are built the same - so coords can be out - whether on your device or someone elses. With many phones coming out with GPSrs built in, there are more questionable coords being listed. I am wondering - is there a way that we can record in the logs that perhaps a cache was 10m west of the coords listed. This then could translate into a bullseye type graphic in the log section of a cache and help people to zero in on a cache without haven't to destroy the flora around them! Bullseye showing the centre as the described coords, with everyone else's findings around it showing as dots. Perhaps size of dots show the number of people that found it at that distance/direction, colour indicating how long ago it was found there (red = recent logs, blue = ancient ones). Would help with trolling through copious logs to find a cache that isn't at GZ.

I've been the FTF on a couple of caches placed by someone I know who's only device is an android smartphone. In 2 of the 3 cases her coordinates were at least 20m out. 1 was next to a building which was on its own with no other buildings within 20m of it. Still it put me across the street in somoene's front yard. Luckily the CO happened to be in the neighbourhood and saw me searching. Pointed me in the right direction and I found it soon enough. I gave the correct coords to the CO - and people have been able to find it since. There had been one DNF prior to me finding it. Person had been looking in the same area I was. The next cache she put out a few weeks later was in a dense bush area - after 15 mins trying to get to GZ, I gave up and started scoping around the 15-25m circle mark on any tracks I could find.... and found the cache. Cache was about 24m from GZ on my Garmin 62s. I noted this in the log. Personally - I don't want it made any easier to log new caches on phones. I really don't trust the GPS in them and would hate to see someone stick 5-10 out in one go and have all the coords wrong. Doesnt' do much for geocaching's rep if geocaching coords have people rooting around in the wrong place for caches.

I'm pretty sure that's against the guidelines. Has the local Reviewer been made aware of the issues? The local reviewer is a National reviewer, not always aware of whats happening around the country. I haven't actually done any of the guy's caches yet. Just going by what I've been told at events!

Apparently there is a cacher near here who's idea of making a cache harder to find is to not actually hide it at the coordinates, but within a 10m radius. As far as I'm aware noone has yet been able to convince him to change his tactic. I haven't come across any of his caches yet, but when I do I'll be reading the logs first!

My goal is to use geocaching to plan my holidays to take me to new and exciting places. And to create cool caches that are memorable.

I'm with the others. Noone finds a cache .... ok no.... very few people can find a cache sitting in their car. I think in the case of group caching, cachers should be taking turns about looking for the cache - or both looking for you to sign the log for someone else. Driving is not caching!!!

I hear ya! These are very lightweight and breathable and comfortable for walking long distances. Also allow me to jog if the occasion arises. I have hiking boots as well, but they're more for winter when keeping the feet warm is a priority.

Adidas Kanadia. I originally bought them for orienteering but I use them geocaching as well. Theres mens and womens ones of the same model, and they're an offroad trail shoe.

Well, back in the good old days the Boy Scout handbook and just about every other outdoor guide recommended digging a small hole and burying your waste. But nowadays the enviro-Nazis would have a fit if you dug a 6" hole in precious Mother Earth. I guess it's OK to leave your nasty TP lying around though..."It's biodegradable, dude!" Its now pretty much illegal to urinate or defecate in a public place here - all because of the freedom camper tourists.

I have these. Great grip, comfortable and it doesn't matter if you get them dirty!

I hope that everyone who takes TP with them also takes a shovel to bury it!!! In our country freedom campers have ruined all the rest areas by leaving their toilet paper where they used it. Nasty. There's a couple of caches in rest areas that require some careful footwork to avoid people's toilet paper. Have even seen it at a rest area where there is a toilet available! Well thats my gripe.... - I do take TP as well, but only for when bathrooms are out. I take GPS, tablet, laptop, and all the chargers I need for them and my GPS's rechargeable batteries. Maps for the area for when c:geo fails (out of coverage). Antiflamme - for rubbing on tired aching muscles at the end of the day, hand sanitiser, paracetimol, my cache log/directions book, my camera, and a few spare pencils and logs for stocking caches. Also tend to snoop around local caches on GSAK and try to grab a couple of TBs that look like they need to be moved to a new area - the flip side of that, is I always try to being some TBs home with me.... cos I live at the Southern end of New Zealand, people like their TBs to go as far and as wide as possible.... we're about as south as you can go without going to Antarctica! oh yeah - and several different jackets! I always have one for caching - when you go bush you tend to get it quite grubbing, so its good to have a spare for going out for dinner etc!

I think someone said a multitool - that would be very useful. Theres caches you need a screwdriver to undo the lid and theres some that are nanos, but the nanos hidden inside something and a large set of tweezers come in handy. I also have a travel bug decal for my car.... so I can log my travels, and others can recognise me as a geocacher..... but they can also log as having seen my car! Have had that at a few events! For your GPS unit, consider the amount of time you intend to be out in the field caching. I went on a caching run with a guy who had a touch screen Garmin, and I have a 62s. I didn't have to change my batteries at all, but he had to do it at least once. All good with rechargeables, but its a nuisance when you're away from the car on a trek to a cache and the GPS goes flat!

I have a 62s, and the only I experience an issue like that is when under really dense bush cover.

i always take heaps of pics, but they make my Facebook page rather than my gallery.

I LOVE GSAK, and I live for the day it works fully on the Android platform! That would mean I too would no longer need to take my laptop on holiday with me! I use GSAK for the macros and for corrected coords on Puzzles, then export out to my GPS and Tablet.

I looked at this tablet - Samsung have great Android technology! But I went with the Acer iconia because it has the USB port - as well as a micro USB as well. Aside from that - if you have wireless on your home router you should be able to hook your tablet up to that. Put your gc.com credentials into whatever program it is you're going to use, and automatically download your PQs from there. Such is the technology now they've opened up the API! No more needing to manually download the PQs first!

Actually, I could not change it to use a folder on external SD card. I'm not sure if the Iconia is the same as the Transformer (I assume it is) but /sdcard refers to internal memory. Stupid, I know. External memory is /Removable/microSD What I did was to copy the GSAK DB from microSD to /sdcard/GDAK using File Explorer and it opened just fine. I'm not sure what you see when you connect your Iconia to your PC, but if you don't see "sdcard", just create a folder "GDAK" and copy into that. Cheers, that got it! I made it /mnt/sdcard/documents/GSAK and it worked! Thanks a lot!

I found out about a couple of good websites for using when trying to solve puzzle caches from some seasoned cachers at a recent event down here on using GSAK. www.purplehell.com rumkin.com/tools/cipher/ I hope they help!

I have just downloaded and installed GDAK onto my tablet (Acer Iconia, Honeycomb 3.1), but I don't have an SD card in it. Any attempts to save my database for GSAK somewhere else on the tablet and set the database location have failed. For example: I plugged my tablet into my laptop and created a folder in 'document's' called GDAK on the tablet, and saved the Default folder from my laptop into there (the default folder being the only database I have and copied from the Folder Finder result for Databases). I then set the database location in GDAK as /documents/GDAK/ and it told me there was no database there. Any help greatly appreciated.

It's not a cache!! Sorry! Slip of the tongue.... or finger in this case!

thanks all. Cache was archived and the new one is now published!

Or does that link vanish when the challenge can no longer be edited (>24 hrs or accepted by other player)? correct. If people want to help me out by flagging it as unplayable.....http://www.geocaching.com/challenges/view.aspx?cx=CX22F ... then I can re-add it with a proper location!

I think you are missing the point, the point is basically a creative way of saying, "what would you do differently". Suggestions are generally limited to what you think Groundspeak *MIGHT* do. The way this thread is set up, the sky is the limit, not Groundspeak. Meh - I don't see it that way.

The idea of this thread is akin to walking into a womens clothing store with a survey saying you're going to open a rival women's clothing store, what would people like to see in it. gc.com has been around too long, and people have histories here that they're not going to easily walk away from. My 574 finds were all hard earned, and I don't see peeps with more being any more likely to leave gc.com than I am. I did sign up on opencaching.com.... but never logged a find.... I don't think,.... or maybe I logged one... it just doesn't have the same status as gc.com.

But the flag reasons are otherwise.... spam, undo-able, abusive etc.....its none of those. I want to make it more about geocaching