Ragnemalm

We just got started on making 3D printed geocaches, including our own designs. (I have owned an M3D for a long time, but now I have an Ender-3 which is much better and that got me started, finally.) The latest is a Corona virus. Just in time. So far, I have focused on PETG for caches and PLA for other things, but one cache is PLA, painted. Any expericences on how well that would work in the long run?

You are perfectly right! After the latest update, it works again!

There are many answers to your question. Really, anything beyond a plain regular with a standard container in an ordinary location. My most popular caches have various bonus problems to solve, either trad with a trick to find the log book, or a multi with a field puzzle at the start/intermediate stages. My two most popular ones are 4-stage multis with rather easy but often very special field puzzles in each stage, including a stage where you need to use a flashlight to illuminate some sensors. The next after them is a birdhouse with a hidden log book. Then, a Wherigo with hidden locations so you need to search for the zones according to clues, and then a somewhat special final. But my personal favourite is not as often found, it is a rather tricky electronic cache in a tree, so you need to climb up (just a few meters) in order to reach it and then solve it up there. In my search for ways to make fun caches, I have very much turned to multi caches with field puzzles. They are not found as often but they are much more popular than traditionals in terms of of FPs. Of course, you need to figure out different puzzles for each.

Has something changed for the worse? Step 2 does not work, I enter the login/password, but there is no confirmation on it to be correct. (It is correct though.) When I get to #10 and try to install, it signals that it is downloading for a while (Connection.... Logging in... downloading...), and then it reports an error ("Downloading: Error") with no further information. Is this some configuration/compatibility problem of mine or do others have the same problem?

As was noted above, I started a similar thread. I insist that rewarding "re-visits" would be beneficial. My idea was to have a special "re-visit" log type, which must happen at least one year (or maybe even more) after your first visit and only once per cache or once per X years. It is very likely that something has changed during that time which makes the re-visit interesting. Why would this be interesting and a good thing? Caches would get visited more often. When a cache isn't visited in years, the CO loses interest in it and won't check it out any more - nobody seems to care. Re-visiting a good cache is in my experience something nice. I logged it three years ago, let's see if it is still there, and how well I remember it! I am already doing it, logging as "note", but few others do. Cachers have something to do without travelling far. Driving 100km for finding a few petlings because you can't find anything nearby, that is not something I want to do too often. When I have another reason to travel, fine, but burning fuel for a few caches and spending time in a car instead of walking... no, not every day. Not everyone has many unfound nearby. Give me a reason to go out in the forest, that's the important thing. Much of my caching today is about maintaining my own caches. That's also revisiting. Why should a cacher who is not a cache owner not have that reason for exercise? Give them a cache type for that to encourage this beneficial behaviour. As with all geocaching, you could ignore the option if you want to, if it is not relevant for you. But for me it is.

It occurs to me that using a special program on the phone is not legal for virtuals. At least I don't think it is. That is an additional requirement for virtuals that would be against the rules, so a different type, adventure lab or Wherigo, is needed for adding that possibility. Or changing the rules. That sounds like an argument for a different type. But do we need a new type for it? I think it could fit into Wherigo or mystery.

Good point. The bonus becomes the entry point.

Really? AFAIK the reviewers are instructed to only unarchive archived listings for things like accidental archiving (due to hitting the wrong button on the smartphone) or other reasons that are mistakes or misunderstandings, but never for a listing archived because of inactivity from a CO. (This was possible in the past but not any more.) Does that not apply for unpublished caches? I have had a few unpublished listings archived because it took too much time and considered the listing dead. The question of unarchiving published caches is a question in itself but not relevant here. But it has some interest.

I have similar thoughts. I have been offered to make an Adventure Lab, but as far as I can see, it is very similar to a Virtual and/or a Wherigo. And a little bit of Turf. I made a Virtual last year and I didn't do it well. It isn't popular, and I still can't figure out why. Now I don't want to repeat that mistake with an Adventure Lab. What do people like in Adventure Labs? Is it very common, and desirable, to connect the Adventure Lab with a bonus mystery cache? Is it just location, location, location like with Virtuals? Concerning the question of stages above, virtuals, too, can have stages, require multiple locations to be visited, and that seems to be my mistake with my virtual. I tried to make it funny, I should have made it long since people remember the long ones (naturally, with multiple interesting locations). Multis have multiple stages, Wherigos have multiple stages (often painfully many) so of course an Adventure Lab can have multiple stages. But there is one thing I can make with a Wherigo that I don't know if Adventure Labs can do: Customization. You can tweak Wherigos quite a bit. I havn't gotten started with Adventure Labs yet so forgive me for being ignorant, but I hope that Adventure Labs can at least have hidden stages. Right? So, any advice you can give me is welcome. I am trying to come up with a decent idea before the time runs out.

1. I thought we agreed that the thread was about encouragement, not obligation. 2. It is no big effort to me to have a few emergency logs (the far ends of the paper when I cut my logs, they go there instead of trashing them) in my wallet and two or three petling caps in my pocket when going out caching (put aside when I put a PET bottle in the recycling bin). The trick in IMHO to do the small and easy things that helps. Saving these emergency logs is as easy as putting them in the trash. The petling caps almost so. I won't always be able to fix every cache that needs it, but I can handle the easy ones.

I frequently repurpose planned caches. I have a location, and an idea... and then I decide it wasn't good enough, or too much work, or too hard to get to, or I submit and it collides with a mystery. (Happens all the time.) If the idea felt good but has to wait, I print the whole page to a PDF to save the text and details, and then edit the page to what I want to do first. I have got some unfinished caches archived (by HQ, I think) because I was too slow. That hurts, but the problem was that I showed no signs of progress or planning in too long time.

I understand the conflict. I would say that there is a certain difference between expectation and encouragement but it is also easy to confuse them. A related encouragement is that of encouraging cache maintenance. A friend of one made a "cache maintenance stash" with some items useful for maintaining caches (like log books and pencils) - with the undertones that we can help each other with cache maintenance. That is also not allowed according to the rules, but is there any real reason for it?

Nice logs do count in the cache's favor, but they are harder to quantify. It isn't a competition, but the FPs is the only measure I have of whether a cache is enjoyable or not, which is important. Also, as CO I judge some of my caches as good even of the ratings are not so good. But I often question them and try to improve them. Why are they less popular, what can I do about it? And then, of course, there are many inofficial competitions, like FTFs, most founds, challenges etc. But there are so many things you can have as speciality, so we can all make our own niche.

I would call this an error from the reviewer, or an error in the rules. 1) The cache encouraged finders to place their own. Suggested. It did not require it. Not a requirement, not an ALR. 2) How can geocaching be a disallowed agenda for geocaches??? Isn't the "agenda" rule to avoid propaganda for irrelevant activities? Besides, there are thousands of caches with agendas only in my region! Have you ever seen a mystery about a rock band? Of course it wants to promote the band! Or yet another online jigsaw with a photo of a nice tourist location? Agendas, agendas, just as strong as this. This rule needs to be clarified and focused on the actual problem it wants to solve.

Thanks! Sorry for whining, I am tired. Much work. The Wilson score is my measure of popularity (together with nice logs), not the number of finds. I would rather want to make caches that are not necessarily found often but are entertaining than dull ones that are just yet another find among many. No, I don't mind that others go for quantity, that's their preference and diversity is an important strength of this hobby.

It is Sweden's second worst, in Wilson score. I thought it was funny and different, but seeing it in the absolute bottom, that means it was not a good idea at all and not fun. 51 finds is more than enough to be statistically significant. It is less popular than count-windows-virtuals! I want to make caches that visitors like. It is really hard to know what will be popular and what will not. Mine is probably too easy, since I was not allowed to demand what I wanted to make it interesting. My guess is that you need to make it really long with multiple (interesting?) locations to make it popular.

I wish I could put my virtual up for adoption, but that seems not to be possible. I am not very interested in it any more.

I am still working on the second round on the D/T. High T is not a problem, the big problems are high D. I can solve that with jigsaw mysts, but that feels like cheating, it is trivial, just takes time. But where can I then find a 5/3 or a 4.5/5? They are rare and extremely hard, like unsolvable mysteries or descending down *very* high cliffs with a rope (meaning working a whole day with multiple descents for a DNF...). Maybe high D are unusually hard here? Sweden? Can it possibly be Match Stash or Americana?

In my area, there has been a series of events with FTF hunts after the event for caches that are at the time unpublished, scheduled to be published in the night after the event. All attendants are given a link to a file with information about the new caches, and once they have the information, the whole gang sets off for FTF hunt. That means that FTF on the new caches are reserved for attendants! This is perfectly legal, but the local FTF hunters don't like it. They are locked out from FTFs if they don't attend the event, and an FTF hunt with 20 people isn't much of an achievement. FTF is a matter of agreement of inofficial rules. It is a pity when people disagree on them but that is hard to avoid.

And I am a yellow cheese and that's all I want people to know. Age, sex, color of my skin... who cares? In this hobby, what counts is that I try to be polite to others and be ready to take criticism. Also, to never ever get a cache archived by a reviewer nor be left in the forest after archiving, and to make caches that are better than average. So far it works pretty well.

I decided that in 2016, but when I felt that my body protested over too little exercise after a week of two, it gave me two choices: Go out and find some fairly tough cache, or find some other means of exercise. I took a reflex trail cache, pretty long and hard, and immediately felt better.

It must be very tempting to post a "will attend"-style log to something like this. I mean, we log "will attend" to events, so a similar log on this feels natural, although not very desirable. I can mention here, instead, that this will be a snap to log, since I will be part of arranging a Mega in september. No problem finding Signal there! Well, as long as I don't have to wear the costume myself of course! (That could be an interesting log picture.)

Kermit the frog is offended by your post!

Please tell me that you mean mystery caches or field puzzles, and not online jigsaws. They are everywhere.

Absolutely.. A clearly marked "on/off" switch takes care of this. I mostly use Li-Ion, but one cache is powered by a 9V alkaline. All of them hold their charge for months, and I mean many months. I was surprised that this was so easy. I thought the outdoors moisture would kill the battery in a matter of days, but it just runs and runs. Of course, there are no connectors exposed to the outside, everything is inside the box, but the box is not super tight. I also have one powered by a power bank, as Tungstène mentioned. This was not without problems though; with simple power banks it works just fine, but smarter power banks detect that too little power is drained from my low power circuit so it turns off! I had to add an extra resistor just to waste some energy!