jri

I don't know how this is worked out, but I have to say it irks me too. I've got 1200+ finds in the UK, and around 150 spread across the rest of the world, so I don't see very much variation in shade on the map, even when I have found 10 times more caches in some countries than others. I presume that it will be similar for the vast majority of cachers: lots of finds in the area the live, and relatively few in neighbouring states/countries.

Some good news and bad news... In general, GME should still be working. At least, GME v0.6.9.2 is working for me, tonight, in Firefox 29.0.1 and Chrome v34.0. However, there are a couple of problems rumbling around: Problem: Can't download GME. The Userscripts.org site that has hosted GME's installation for the last three years is looking progressively less reliable, and is unavailable as I type. Solution: I have posted GME to OpenUserJS, a new replacement site set up by some ex-userscripts.org users who wanted a higher-quality, open source alternative. You can download GME from https://openuserjs.o...ap_Enhancements Problem: GME doesn't work in Chrome. Tampermonkey (which makes it easier to use GME with Chrome) has had some glitches in recent updates which stopped GME from working when you upgraded. Solution: Check you have the very latest version of Tampermonkey, then uninstall and re-install GME. Problem: Lots of functions have stopped working. Yesterday's update to Geocaching.com included enabling secure (https) connections for every web page on the site. Because of this, GME functions which retrieve data from other websites won't work by default (Geograph & Panoramio Photos, spot heights, Geonames-enhanced search). They will not give any alert, but if you look in the browser console, you will see a security warning saying that mixed or insecure content has been blocked. This is because web browser's default security policy for https pages will default to blocking scripts from other websites, which includes the JSONP services GME uses to power those functions. Solution: In Chrome, a shield icon will appear in the address bar. In Firefox, a shield appears to the left of the address bar. If you click on it, it will tell you that the page has insecure content, and give you the option of loading it anyway. Doing this potentially makes your use of Geocaching.com less secure - but no less secure than before https was enabled. (Chrome details, Firefox details). I will have a look for a workaround for the blocked content issue, but I'm not sure if it's going to be technically possible to fix, and I've not got much free time to work on this at the moment. That said, I'll try to update the documentation shortly. It's at http://geo.inge.org.uk/gme.htm

Well, maybe it does! GME was exactly what I was trying to install (on my work PC - I've used it for a long time a home). Thanks for your help, and indeed for your script, and I'll give the other site a try tomorrow... My scripts will be at https://openuserjs.org/users/JRI So far I've not put up any documentation there though, and the site itself hasn't got much in the way of instructions yet either. Let me know if it works for you!

I couldn't figure out what was going on, as those error messages are normal for the website, without any scripts installed. Then I started getting the same problem as you. No script, but no error messages either. Tampermonkey appeared to be running, but wasn't loading on Geocaching.com (No "Tampermonkey started" message in the console. I'm still not sure what the problem actually was, but I fixed it on my machine by uninstalling Tampermonkey, installing the latest version (yesterday's!) from the Chrome store, then re-installing GME. Given that Tampermonkey seems to have had a few updates in the last week or so, I'm guessing it might be a Tampermonkey issue that was causing the problem...

I've not seen that message before, but I'm also seeing it now. Unfortunately, userscripts.org has been poorly maintained for some years, and suffers hugely from spam and junk scripts. In the past it's been targeted by denial-of-service attacks (sometimes self-inflicted by badly written scripts!), and had lots of performance issues. The install counts haven't worked for ages either. Because of these problems, some of the script authors (not me!) are getting together to set up an alternative Userscripts site: OpenUserJS.org. The new site is very much in its infancy, but I uploaded my GME script to it today, and if it continues to develop well, I will slowly migrate my other scripts there as I get the time and inclination. Hopefully this will improve the general accessibility of userscripts, and provide a better quality service. I'm afraid it doesn't solve your immediate problem though! Maybe try Googling for the script author's website?

I've upgraded to the latest versions of Chrome, Tampermonkey and GME, and it's still working for me... Have you accidentally turned off Tampermonkey, or disabled GME? If not, then I'd need to know more about the problem to figure out what's going wrong. Are there any errors messages in the Javascript console (Ctrl-Shift-J). PS I've uploaded a minor bugfix update to the script this evening, although it shouldn't have any bearing on your problem.

I used to use RMaps a few years ago, but abandoned it in favour of Locus. Locus lets you use a range of online map services, and can download portions of maps for use offline. You can also use your own SQlite format maps, created by other tools or websites; WMS services; or offline vector maps (e.g. from http://www.openandromaps.org/).

Try this JSON... {"alt":"Esri WorldStreetMap", "tileUrl":"http://server.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/services/World_Street_Map/MapServer/tile/{z}/{y}/{x}", "attribution":"<a href='http://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=3b93337983e9436f8db950e38a8629af'>ESRI World Street Map</a>"}

On occasion I've carried a lot of the types of thing already mentioned in this thread, but I normally cache very light, with just a smartphone and a red biro. I can't really extol the virtues of the smartphone enough. It's GPS is accurate, and it's combined in one handy tool with a camera, radio, MP3 player, calculator, moving map, route planner, internet link, etc., etc. It also takes phone calls, but luckily you can turn that off. And at Christmas, my mother-in-law bought me some 3.5mm biros that fit in the headphone jack, so I can even write with it (although I haven't actually been able to bring myself to do this yet!) For the gadget lovers, a USB on-the-go cable and a USB Ant+ adaptor mean I can pick up Chirps with the phone too, but the real geeky add-on is a Pebble smartwatch. This talks to a smartphone over bluetooth, and allows for stealth caching in the city, or hands free while cycling! One more practical addition to my basic kit has been a safety pin (for the extraction of nano logs) - I've now got these pinned into the lining of most of my bags, as I tend to forget them otherwise. More esoteric stuff I've carried that has been useful at one time or another includes a magnet on a telescopic stick (for things dropped in holes) and a small laptop (networked via the phone) for field research (when a cellphone screen just isn't big enough). A puncture repair kit proved necessary on one occasion, and large quantities of fluorescent clothing can be surprisingly handy for making oneself less conspicuous!

With over 500 caches within 5 miles of the centre, it's hard to choose! I have to say I tend to prefer the rural ones, but here's a selection from the city itself: A good place to start is a wander around the harbour and up to Cumberland basin. Most of the hides aren't amazing in themselves, but they'll show you lots of interesting sights. The mcborrowers' Trymseries gives a nice walk along a hidden green corridor. If you've got the technology, *mouse*'s Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep and evesy101's Singing Birds Of Blaise are worth a try. There are lots of good puzzles, I recently enjoyed cracking _alanwall's Silence Sleeps In Every Sound Further afield (near Cold Ashton) and more of a challenge, abanazer's h4ck3r is probably the best cache I've done recently.

I've checked over all the map sources listed at http://geo.inge.org.uk/gme_maps.htm, and yes, all the environmental ones had broken. I've fixed the ones from the National Biodiversity Network (SSSIs, National Trust, RSPB, Nature Reserves). Unfortunately the Woodland Trust map is now incompatible with GME, and the Northern Ireland data doesn't seem to be working, so I've removed them from the list. You can also get this type of information from DEFRA's MAGIC Map portal. There's a good explanation to it, with links, on the Groundspeak wiki. You can also use GME to load the MAGIC Map at the point you're interested in using the i map information tool. NB MAGIC has some information that goes across the whole UK, but mainly it's limited to England.

I use the Google Chrome browser to look at foreign caches, as it normally offers to translate web pages automatically when it detects a foreign language. As you've probably discovered, the language selector on Geocaching.com only changes the language the website's menus and messages appear in, not the cache descriptions. This can still be useful though: if Chrome doesn't detect the language of a cache description, setting the whole website to German (for Austria) should prompt Chrome to start trying to translate everything back into English. If you're using http://translate.google.com/ already, another tip is that you can enter URLs into the translation boxes, rather than copying and pasting the text from the cache description. This will let you browse through a translated version of geocaching.com, and should work on any browser, not just Chrome. Unfortunately, I'm not aware of a method of automatically translating the contents of GPX files, so if you haven't got an internet connection when you're abroad, it looks like you need to start planning where to go now! At least these days plenty of places have free wifi!

How to download and install GME depends on which web browser you are using. There are instructions at http://geo.inge.org.uk/gme.htm#install It sounds like your browser doesn't understand userscripts. In Firefox or Chrome this could be because Greasemonkey or Tampermonkey is disabled or not installed. In Opera Classic, it would be because you're trying to view the script rather than save it (right click on the install link, and save it to your userscripts folder). If you were using Opera Classic and have upgraded to the latest Opera versions, you'll probably need to install Tampermonkey to get userscripts working again.

I also like to research the area online before heading out for a cache. Using different maps can help - where I live in the UK, OpenStreetMap shows more parking areas than Google Maps. In rural areas I'll often start with Google Satellite view to look out likely spots, then check use Streetview to check whether there's enough space, or any restrictions on parking. In urban areas, the Parkopedia website can be a handy tool.

Good spot. I've uploaded a new version 0.6.9.1 to correct this and a similar bug that affected coordinates within one degree of the equator.

The most common reason for this is that you have got the map switched to using the Google Maps API rather than Leaflet Maps. GME only works with Leaflet (which is the default elsewhere on the site, and for non-Premium members). You can switch between the two using the "Set Map Preferences" button at the bottom of the side panel to the left of the main map. If that wasn't the problem, let me know what browser you are using, and whether any errors show up in the browser console when you reload the main map page.

In England, the MAGIC map provides a lot of this information (see https://wiki.Groundspeak.com/display/GEO/MAGIC+Map ). It's one of the sources the reviewers use when checking locations. Your local government environment agency might have something similar.

Unless that's part of the name of a geocache hidden under the icons, I've no idea why that's happening, and I can't replicate it. Can you let me know which browser you are using, and whether you have any other userscripts installed that work on Geocaching.com? Also, if you could send me a screenshot, that would help me figure out what's going on.

As some of you might have noticed, GME v0.6.9 is on the streets! Here's the summary of the changes in the new version: Route drawing now has its own tool. Click the pin icon to turn it on, click on the map to draw the route, and click the pin icon again to turn it off. As you draw the route, the widget at the bottom of the screen will keep track of how long it is. You can either right- or left-click on the map; right-clicking avoids having the cache details pop up every time you click near a cache. If you make a mistake, you can click and drag the pins to move them. You can also click on the pins to delete them, either individually or all at once. Plus, you can click on a pin to get a .GPX file containing your route. Exporting the .GPX files works differently in different browsers, and depending on what other software you have installed. You might need to either left- or right-click on the GPX link, and you will probably need to set give the file a meaningful name that ends in ".gpx". You might also be able to drag-n-drop the GPX link into some other programs to save it. You can only work with one route at a time, but you can also display routes from GPX files by dragging-n-dropping them onto the map. This means that if you've finished drawing one route, you can drag its GPX link onto the map, where it will appear as a non-editable route. You can then clear all the pins from the original route and start again with a new one. The other new thing about the i tool is that there's an option to show and hide the caches. This can be useful when you zoom the map out a long way: often there are so many caches shown, you can't see what's underneath. It's also handy when you're not geocaching and you want to use the GME tools to research a place or plan a route without being distracted by all the caches to find! As ever, further documentation and instructions are at geo.inge.org.uk/gme.htm

It's nice to see that the planning map has been implemented, as I know a lot of people have been asking for it. However, I can also see a fair few owners of puzzle or PM caches getting annoyed if it lets people work out the locations of their caches. Using this map, a basic member who knows a little Javascript can quite easily work out precise coordinates for a traditional PM cache. I did notice a couple of glitches: The planning map doesn't seem to work if you set your language to French (although as I'm English, I consider this a good thing ). You get the error message "Oups! Il y a eu une erreur lors du chargement des geocaches. Merci de réessayer plus tard." The other few languages I tried worked fine. It happens on all browsers, because the Javascript string containing the French translation of the message telling you how to obtain accurate coordinates has a single quote in it instead of an apostrophe, breaking the script. Panning the map doesn't work well with a touchscreen. In Firefox 27, trying to pan the map north/south using a touchscreen makes it zoom in and out instead. In Opera 12, the whole page scrolls but the map doesn't pan. Opera 19 and Chrome 33 worked OK (all tested on Win 8.1).

From this thread (Moun10Bike is one of the site admins):

I went down to see the bore from a different location further downstream, got a great view, and logged the Earthcache as a result. But I didn't meet any other cachers, so I didn't log the event. Other people went to the event location, or thereabouts, and met other cachers (some said they even met the event CO). They may not have seen as good a bore, but them logging the event seems fair enough (especially as the CO apparently said he was happy). In the end, everyone plays the game their own way,

All navigation apps are going to be a big battery drain on a smartphone, because the phone's GPS receiver draws a fair amount of power. Look for apps which have the option of disabling the GPS while the screen is switched off - it means you don't get a fix so quickly when you turn on again, but the battery will last longer. Another major power drain is the radio connection to the internet. Geocaching apps will generally use the network for getting downloading maps and Geocache data. The radio will use more power when the connection is weak, which is often the case when geocaching out in some shady countryside valley. However, there are offline solutions that avoid this problem. For maps, you can download free offline vector maps from OpenAndroMaps. These are based on OpenStreetMap data, and are available for most of the world at varying levels of detail. See their FAQ page for the list of apps the maps work with. The GB map is about 650MB, which fits OK on a modern smartphone. Alternatively, some apps let you cache small portions of online maps, but these take up a lot more storage on your phone compared to the amount of detail you get. Most geocaching-specific apps should be able to work with offline geocache data. If they get the information directly from Geocaching.com, then they are supposed to use the Geocaching Live API. Unfortunately, this is rather limited unless you are a Premium Member. There is a list of Geocaching Live apps at http://www.geocaching.com/live/partners/. However, many apps can also accept Geocache data as .GPX files. GPX files (either pocket queries, or from individual cache listings) are also a Premium Member feature, but they can also be generated in various other ways, e.g. basic members can download .LOC files and convert them using GPS Babel. GPXs made this way won't contain so much information as the ones from the website, but should have the essentials: name, GC-code and coordinates. GPX files can also be created by other navigation programmes and websites, to show routes, tracks and other, non-geocache waypoints. As Tyke points out, the Radar navigation function is part of the GPS Status app, and can be used as a plug-in to various other navigation apps. GPS Status is worth having in its own right as it lets you download Assisted GPS (AGPS) data, which makes the GPS time-to-first-fix much shorter. One free Android app that works with all the above is Locus (with its Geocaching plugin). It displays various online map services (either live or cached offline) as well as offline vector maps, can take cache data from either Geocaching Live or GPX files, and will integrate with GPS Status. That said, it does come with hundreds of configuration options, and isn't so user friendly as other apps you may have tried.

Thanks for the update. I'm not seeing the map functionality bugs I'd spotted before.

Just spotted a different bug, also associated with this website update. This one is specific to Chrome v32 (Firefox and earlier Chrome versions seem OK). If you try to zoom the map on a cache listing page by double-clicking or using a mouse wheel, the map will zoom in on a point way to the north, rather than zooming in on the centre of the map. Using the zoom buttons works OK though. This is a documented bug in Leaflet Maps v0.7.1, caused by a change in how Chrome reports the mouse location. According to the Leaflet Changelog, it has been fixed in v0.7.2. See the entry in the Leaflet Issues Log for more details.