Clan Riffster

Any idea what keeps causing the 503 Service Unavailable error, when trying to get into the Wherigo website? I'm assuming it's something on Groundspeak's end. Server overloaded? Maybe? I don't get this error all the time, but I get it enough to be frustrated. What are the odds Groundspeak will fix it? -Clan Riffster

Thank you for your input. I will play with this tonight. -Sean

That's the key factor. The geo-art is in an area where getting to the posted coords would be all but impossible. I was thinking that simply checking the "Play Anywhere" box would allow folks to play the cartridge without going to the posted coords. But apparently, it's not that simple. My Wherigo experience is limited to the more traditional type builds, so I'm left scratching my head on this one. BFlentje mentions a Reverse Wherigo, but I don't even know what that means. (Sorry Bart. I truly am clueless) Tungstene mentions a zoneless option, but again, because of my cluelessness, I don't know how that works. Any clarification folks could offer would be most appreciated. -Sean

Hey gang, I'm hoping you guys can help me with a problem. I am looking at creating geo-art using Wherigo caches, and my Reviewer told me that, in order to do this, the cartridges will need to be the "Play Anywhere" variety. My plan is for the cartridges to be simple, single trivia question types. (Answer a trivia question, and get the coords for the final. Lather, rinse, repeat) My problem is, I've never built a "Play Anywhere" cartridge. Heck, I've never even played one. I made a couple cartridges using the Wherigo/Kit builder, loaded them to the Wherigo page, selecting the "Play Anywhere" box, loaded them to my phone, and they don't seem to be acting like "Play Anywhere". The player is showing zone 1 as 59 miles away, so it's not triggering the question. I know I'm doing something wrong, but I don't know if my failure is in the build, in the upload, or in my phone operation. Any ideas? -Sean Edit to add: Here is a link to one of them. http://www.Wherigo.com/cartridge/details.aspx?CGUID=589d95dc-b7de-481c-9ddd-fde6f51f094c

Hi Meg! I've found another method which seems to help: Fairly early on in my caching career, I noticed an issue with swag degradation, and I tried to study cause and effect. Why does Cache A get cleaned out in a week, whilst Cache B goes for years with no swag degradation? My observations are not perfect, and there are, of course, exceptions, but Riffster's Law of Swag Deterioration mostly holds true. "There is a direct relationship betwixt how many meters your cache is from parking, and how many days your swag will last" A cache 5' from a WallyWorld Parking lot will empty much faster than one which requires a half day hike to get to, number of finds being equal. It seems that folks who go after the harder to acquire caches are more in tune with the notion of 'Trade Up, Trade Even or Don't Trade'.

Just to pick at this one little nit... I am a person, and I do not measure my caching by numbers, either black and white, or otherwise. I honestly have no idea how many caches I've found, or, how many I've logged. Granted, I could look it up, but I really don't care. It is irrelevant to me. I will say, whatever the current total is, you could probably add a few thousand to that count, as I tend not to log finds on caches I dislike, and delete logs on caches I can't remember.

Thank you, Sir!

Good afternoon, Ranger Fox. Long time since I've been to the forums. Since I first played with Kit, I've never looked back. I don't even bother with other builders. As conditions change with my existing Wherigo caches, requiring a rewrite, I scrap the original, and use Kit for the replacement. One thing I've noticed which is different, possibly due to a failure on my part. I like to add a bit of snark to incorrect answers, which then take them back to the question. In other builders, I can have three, (or more?), multiple choice answers, and a different message for each one. In Kit, it appears I can only have two messages, one for the correct answer, and one for any incorrect answer. Is there any way to have multiple messages for different wrong answers? An example would be, <Arriving at zone> "As you kayak up to the island, beware. On my last night paddle, I accidentally parked my kayak on top of a critter, and neither of us were pleased with the outcome. Based on the geographic region, which is the most likely critter I encountered?" 1 ) Telletubby < Incorrect > Dude! Whatever you're smoking, please share! There are no Telletubbies around these parts, as best I can tell. Try again? 2 ) Hippopotamus < Incorrect > Yowza! Whilst those dudes would definitely be unpleasant to kayak with, perhaps we could stick to critters which occupy this half of the planet? Have another go? 3 ) 13' Alligator < Correct > Eggs-Zactly! Seriously, Brother. I don't recommend repeating this. Not fun. From here, you'll paddle west, through Mud Slough, to the Final Zone, at N 28 12.345, W 081 54.321. When I do a rebuild with Kit, I need to edit my responses for the binary state, (Correct/Incorrect), rather than having multiple responses. Is there a way I can maintain my multiple response options in Kit? Thank you for your efforts. -Sean

This is what trips me up. When I export from Wherigo - Kit, (my all time favorite builder), I usually get a bit of HTML in the long description. Once I delete these, I can edit to my heart's content.

Incidentally, the problem seems to be fixed now. (Sigh...)

Some friends tried downloading one of my cartridges and tell me they got an error message. I tried myself, and got this: Error During Upload System.Web.Services.Protocols.SoapException: Server was unable to process request. ---> Attempted to read or write protected memory. This is often an indication that other memory is corrupt. at System.Web.Services.Protocols.SoapHttpClientProtocol.ReadResponse(SoapClientMessage message, WebResponse response, Stream responseStream, Boolean asyncCall) at System.Web.Services.Protocols.SoapHttpClientProtocol.Invoke(String methodName, Object[] parameters) at Wherigo.GSPCartridgeService.CartridgeService.GetCompiledCartridgeWithMetaData(GWZMetaData gwzMetaData, String CartridgeFileName, String CartridgeId, Int64 PlayerId, String PlayerName, DeviceType deviceType, String CompletionCode) at cartridge_download.btnDownload_Click(Object sender, EventArgs e) Any thoughts? -Sean

Just had to toss out a heartfelt "Thank You!" to Ranger Fox, for his ever awesome Wherigo / Kit builder! I had to change the final location for a cache I hid a bit over 3 years ago, using the Urwigo builder. For reasons still unknown to me, I could not get Urwigo working on my dusty old desktop. Since I still had the text file from the original build, I was able to recreate the whole thing in very short order using Ranger's builder. Point / Click, Copy / Paste, Done. It's a beautiful thing, Sir!

911: "911, what is your emergency?" OP: "Somebody hid a geocache" 911: "Uh... Er... I'm sorry. What?" OP: "SOMEONE HID A GEOCACHE!!" 911: "Sir, please calm down. I heard you. I just didn't understand you. Is this an emergency?" OP: "OF COURSE IT IS! SOMEONE PLACED A GEOCACHE! IN THE WOODS!" 911: "Sir, what is it about someone placing a geocache in the woods represents an emergency?" OP: "THOSE WOODS ARE SCARY!" 911: "Sir, is the person who placed the geocache forcing other people into the woods, or is it strictly a matter of personal preference and individual accountability?" OP: "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" 911: "Please stop shouting sir. Help us understand why this is an emergency, warranting you tying up the 911 system." OP: "Sorry. I was a bit excited." 911: "No problem, sir. By the way, have you been drinking?" OP: "Look. This could be a film can... In the woods... Do you get it now?" 911: "HOLY CARP! WE'LL GET SOMEONE ON IT RIGHT AWAY!"

Many years ago, I had a notion of using physical camo materials, adhered to various containers, (Lock & Locks, decon kits, Therapak canisters, ammo cans, etc), to break up their outline. The medium I ended up with was a mixture of spanish moss, ground moss and something called Excelsior, (I think?), which is really just shredded aspen bark. The brown looks a lot like pine needles. After trying many different adhesives, the one I settled on was Liquid Nails Roof Repair, which comes in a caulk tube. This stuff is seriously messy, and odoriferous, so you want to use it outdoors, wearing grubby clothes, and latex gloves. It takes a few days to cure. The end result is a bond which remains flexible in a wide temperature range. Good stuff.

Sometimes they are at the oh so perfectly spaced and placed locations shown:

So there really *is* a geocacher with a handle of BillyBobNosePicker....and has anyone heard from the Riffster? It's been awhile since I've seen him post. I guess I need to come up with a different generic nickname. (Sigh...)

Just my opinion. Where your question entered the realm of the absurd is when you escalated something which has, historically, been focused on 10 to 20 caches, and bumped it to 2000 caches. You and I both know this will never happen. Rather than inflate a question to the point of silliness, why not focus on the real question of proximity? Something worded to the effect of, "If Lake Bubba County Park wanted to create an official GeoTour with 15 caches, set 100' apart, could that get special permission too?" would be far more effective. I suppose we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. To me? It's not a big deal. To the numbers crowd, it could be a big deal. I guess it's all a matter of perspective. When I think of the E.T. Highway, all I see is a giant eyesore. You do know that this appeal failed, right? If my fading gray matter is functioning properly, the only reason the E.T. Highway was resurrected is because every single one was moved far enough off the roadway as to no longer be on DOT property.

Question: would you log a Found It on a CO-sanctioned container you replaced, if it was a challenge cache whose requirements you had met? Only if I were feeling particularly snarky, and wanted to poke fun at a friend. I might make a "Found It!" log describing the challenge of locating an ammo can in my backpack, then delete it later once the CO got their chuckle. But as a serious find? Personally, no, I would not. I didn't find it, by my definitions.

Where I would argue with Groundspeak is on their definition of a throwdown. True, it's just semantics, but still. I feel if I have the owner's explicit permission to replace a cache they believe to be missing, my replacement is not a throwdown. It's a replacement. Groundspeak may see them as being one and the same, but I do not. Either way though, logging a "Found It!" would be inappropriate, since I 'found it' in my backpack.

Come on down to the Sunshine State for one of the best mega events in the Southeast United States! We'll be back in the beautiful Ocala National Forest for four days of food, fellowship and finds, starting Thursday, October 23rd through Sunday October 26th. There will be several different events, throughout the four day weekend, with the main mega, happening on Saturday, October 25th. Whether you are a numbers oriented cacher, someone who prefers high terrain stuff, or a cacher who loves them all, the ONF is the place for you! If you are planning on joining us, be sure to log your "Will Attend" on the Geocaching Event Page, and register for food, swag, etc, on the Florida Finders Fest Registration Page. Hope to see you there!

This should be your primary concern. I abhor throwdowns. But the problem is one for the owner to resolve, not you. If the owner is MIA, obviously this isn't going to happen. If you can't just let it go, you might consider putting them on your watchlist. Once they turn to carp, post an NA, explaining that the owner is no longer playing and the cache is in bad shape.

I enjoy the process of puzzle solving, or, as often is the case, puzzle attempting. That being said, if I was with someone who solved a puzzle, I would not hesitate to log a find on it, once my name was on the log.

I'm a flashlight junkie, so it's safe to say I've got a bunch of them laying around. For the incandescent Vs LED debate, my preference leans toward LED, for battery life. I do love headlamps, though, when I'm doing a night cache a required bit of clothing for me is my smelly hat. Headlamps and hats don't play nice together. The light I use the most is a 2 D-Cell LED MagLite. Very bright, amazing battery life and super durable.

Hi kd, welcome to the addiction! Personally, I think it's way kewl that you were able to score three of these for a buck. And, you immediately recognized their possible geocaching potential! Extra kudos for that. I hope you'll take Gitchee's advice to heart. There's an old caching axiom which goes, "If you must use a baggie to protect your log, your container has already failed at a very basic level". The more seasoned amongst our ranks can verify the truth of this. The job of a container in this hobby is to protect its contents. The container you've picked will not protect its contents. I checked out one of your hides to get an idea of where you call home. I came up with Cobb California? Looking at the weather statistics for Cobb tells me it has an average humidity of 83%, and an average annual precipitation of 41" which is twice that of the state, and an average temperature fluctuation of 40* Fahrenheit. In my opinion, this is not an environment suitable for just a baggie. If I were to score such a neat find at a yard sale, I'd do one of two things. If I opted for a traditional, I'd place a Bison Designs tube inside. (No, not one of the cheap Chinese knock offs sold on EBay) Something like this would solve any potential issues: http://www.bisondesigns.com/products/capsule-x-large If I opted for a multi, I'd use that as a stage, writing coordinates with a Sharpie on a piece of PVC pipe, which would be hidden inside the lock. If I opted for a mystery, I'd use a UV marker to write the coords for the final inside. Good luck!

The Tampa area has a hider who does this. I too thought it strange. Though, I gotta say, they got some great hides. <Shrugs>