MinnBrewer
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Posts posted by MinnBrewer
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According to section 4 of the geocaching.com terms of use, "You agree not to: [...] (m) Publish, on any Groundspeak owned web property, the solutions, hints, spoilers, or any hidden coordinates for any geocache without consent from the cache owner." However, here are some general puzzle tips (based in part on a puzzle-solving class event presented by The Rat a while ago):
Identify the theme. Check the cache title, the hint, the HTML source, the graphics (including names/URLs), any links (including URLs), whatever is at the posted coordinates, etc. If you can figure out the theme, then you should look for numbering systems that are associated with that theme (zip codes, athletes' jersey numbers, episode numbers, product codes, etc.).
Around here, coordinates will have 15 digits, and will look like "N 37° xx.xxx W 122° xx.xxx". So when I'm solving a nearby puzzle, I look for a group of 15 things, and then I look for ways to get the digits 37xxxxx122xxxxx from them. In general, I look for ways to get the number 37 (or the digits 3 and 7) from something near the beginning of the puzzle, and the number 122 (or the digits 1, 2, and 2) from something near the middle of the puzzle. (Of course, you'll need to adjust this for the coordinates near you.)
Other useful resources include:
Puzzle Solving 101 Series (bookmark list)
Puzzle Shortcuts Series (bookmark list)
Solving Puzzle Caches (online article)
How Do I Solve All These $@! Puzzle Caches? (tutorial-style puzzle cache)
Puzzle FUNdamentals (archived event cache) and the Puzzle FUNdamentals resources on the GeocacheAlaska! education page
The GBA's Puzzle Cache FAQ (for puzzle designers, but useful for understanding how puzzle caches work)
If you're interested in extremely challenging puzzles, then consider the online discussions of Venona's ACTIVITIES in the GBA forums. The puzzles for this annual event are very challenging, intended to be solved by multiple people working together online. (You'll need to register on the GBA site to view these forum threads.)
Thank you. I have read all of these however, with the exception of Venona's. I was not able to solve this puzzle with these suggestions although, as I indicated in my original post, I do have some clue how to proceed, but it just has gone to a dead end for me. I guess I will have to ask the cache owner, since I am clearly missing something [that presumably IS available in the puzzle].
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I did put the words into Google (not Bing). Results ...edited out the hints. Anyway, I didn't see anyway to make use of the results. The word "appropriate" seems to be the worst in that logic.
Perhaps I am just quite dull
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Can somebody teach me how to get started here? I am getting frustrated with the mystery caches that I am finding. They are all over, but some are so pathetically simple that they aren't worth it [i.e. direct rip off of the HOWTO pages Google brings up], or so insanely cryptic that I can't seem to make heads or tails of it. While I would love to do this one myself, I have to ask for a hand with methodology. I don't want to ask the cache owner for a nudge, at least, not yet...I guess I feel that I shouldn't have too. So, given this cache, can anybody point me to a resource, or point out an obvious pattern?
[GC Code / link to cache removed by moderator]
I see that there are two lines with 7 words indicating they will probably convert to coordinates by digit. I suspect these words are part of a list which I haven't been able to locate. I don't know any ten year old boys and nobody I know who I have asked recognizes the words as belonging to a cartoon, game, etc. The first letters don't seem to match anything. Even reordering doesn't give me a pattern such that the coordinates start with 44 and 93 respectively. I am stumped about where to head with this.
Thank you.
*** I was notified that these may be Yu-Gi-Oh cards. In fact, I had thought this too, but could find no pattern what-so-ever that lead me to coordinates. I tried to narrow down to spells, find an ordered list, etc. While I believe this may be where the ultimate solution lies, I was not able to find any notable pattern. ***
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Cache before work and change shirts to cache at lunch. I still try to grab a cache or two on the way home from work if opportunity allows...addiction must be fed!
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I just got hold of a Garmin GPS for geocaching to replace my phone and I am excited to get it setup. Authentication server is failing on my.garmin.com. Really...just when I needed you most.
...working fine now
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I just got hold of a Garmin GPS for geocaching to replace my phone and I am excited to get it setup. Authentication server is failing on my.garmin.com. Really...just when I needed you most.
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Depends upon your use. This has been asked many times efore. Try reading here: What GPS should I buy?
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I stopped feeling awkward when it occurred to me that I'm not the one that put the cache there. Don't get me wrong: I still do my best to avoid compromising the cache. But since the CO's the one that decided to put a cache next to a road where anyone searching for it will be seen, I have to assume he or she has taken the risk into account. (By the way, the first thing I consider is whether there's anywhere here for a cache that, contrary to my expectations, I can't be seen from the road. Good caches along roads are sometimes hidden in such places.)
I try not to look absolutely obvious, but I only care because I don't want a cache compromised. I figure I am having fun, this is a legitimate hobby and anybody can ask me what I am doing and I will be happy to explain (if they won't harm the cache). Part of the fun is dodging muggles and part of the game.
Also keep in mind that anyone driving by that notices you doing something weird will have no idea what you're doing and will never come on foot to poke around trying to figure it out. I figure 9 times out of 10, they'll think I'm taking a pee by the side of the road, so while they'll think I'm gross, they'd never investigate.
Ah....
Of course, if you'd be embarrassed if some stranger you'll never meet thinks you're taking a pee by the side of the road, then you'll want to look for other caches.My Wife and I were caching yesterday and decided to look for a cache where she didn't want to go into the brush and I did anyway. A lady we had passed on the trail came by and was looking funny at her when I was yelling out from the trees. She was prepared to say, "That is my husband and he couldn't wait to get home to take a pee". She didn't have to use it, but I draw the line!
. She lives near us somewhere and might see me again with the label, "oh, that is the guy that was peeing". We ditched that alibi. -
I am not too worried about my bugs so much that I am amazed at home many [all so far] that are not in the cache that are listed as being there when I arrive. I have yet to collect one to help it move. Mine seem to be moving along however
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I notice that this cache http://coord.info/GC256FW has been visited multiple times since I found it and dropped a travel bug in it. Two were supposed to be in it and were not there when I got there. Nobody seems to be picking up mine, so I suspect it may also be gone. Time will tell, but I have yet to find a trackable even though I should have found many.
From what I see, it has been logged online one time since you placed your TB two days ago.
Your expectations may be a little steep, I think.
Sit back, relax and enjoy a homebrew, I have a wonderful Spruce Beer (if my neighbor hasn't raided it again).
TB4XGT1? It still shows as located in Tree Fiddy,
When I wrote the last sentence, it was true, but a finder has come along and reported it
The bug itself seems to have suffered for the ride, but it's dog tag survives. -
I notice that this cache http://coord.info/GC256FW has been visited multiple times since I found it and dropped a travel bug in it. Two were supposed to be in it and were not there when I got there. Nobody seems to be picking up mine, so I suspect it may also be gone. Time will tell, but I have yet to find a trackable even though I should have found many.
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1340455005[/url]' post='5066754']
Download GPS status from the android market (free) and have a nosey. Pressing the menu key opens up and option to reset the compass, which is worth a try. If all else fails, buy a bluetooth GPS and use that instead of the phone's own - it should be both more accurate under cover and use far less of your battery as you can then turn off the phone's GPS
My phone has this problem as many of the model do. I can usually get I working again with the GPS Status app and a magnet (refrigerator). Move the magnet around the back and face of the phone until the app shows a change. Calibrate the compass normally after that (also using the app). It is a real pain to have a dead/frozen compass.
Post back if this works.
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Buy/borrow another type of GPS unit and/or go caching with someone else. Preferably somebody much better at it than the OP.
I only have 26 under my belt [6 today], and I can say that after my first find, the several misses in one day were a bit discouraging. After finding a few different types of caches, especially micros, you quickly learn where these types of things are hidden when walking around anywhere you are. A "geosense". No worries; keep trying and you will succeed.
I have learned one tip that is the most useful for me. Get to the the location and put away the GPS. Only use it if you drift away and need to get back (difficult terrain). I have a LOT to learn yet, but making some cool finds is very encouraging. I found an evil micro experiment recently that I found extremely gratifying. You will learn from each find how to find a future hide. Also, if you get too frustrated at one location, try again later. Maybe put a watch on the cache to see if it is found by others. I find that more often than not, it somebody has found the cache after me and I have to go back now.
I am three weeks in since starting from an accidental find on June 1st, so you can take all this with a grain of salt. Still using my Droid RAZR until I decide what to use next week. Montana is looking mighty good :-). Don't give up...I said the same thing about being a poor geocacher...but I am getting better and now my Wife is too.
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Thank you all for the feedback. I look toward to pushing my trackables to their goals and to help others on their way. I am sure the stats will even out on trackables finds as I find more caches.
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Not saying that you should not send geocoins out into the world, but they have a far better chance of survival in your collection.
I found another cache over lunch today and again, a trackable was not present when it should be. To be fair, there was a log entry on June 10th for this location that was not logged on the website, so perhaps it will show up eventually. I think that I may avoid dropping any Geocoin tackables into a cache unless I can find a sign that such bounty has successfully traveled about via that cache. I'll take a slight dose of cynicism with "Geocoins gone missing" for the time being
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I don't have many finds under my belt as of yet, only 15 at the time of this writing, however, I have landed at several caches which indicate there is a trackable item inside; usually a geocoin. Today, I found a cache that I discovered was supposed to have two geocoins in it. When I arrived, there was no sign of either of them although there was plenty of swag. In fact, I have never found a trackable item in any cache where it is listed as being there. Looking back, all have gone missing between 6 months to 18 months previously.
Is this so common that I am less likely to find a trackable than I am likely to find one when it is in inventory of the cache that I am visiting?
I don't want to believe that people take them and hoard them, but I am having a difficult time understanding how this is happening so often. I am dropping a few in myself at this point, but I am worried that it is a rather fruitless endeavor (I guess I will find out
).
. She lives near us somewhere and might see me again with the label, "oh, that is the guy that was peeing". We ditched that alibi. 
The bug itself seems to have suffered for the ride, but it's dog tag survives.
How to solve this puzzle?
in General geocaching topics
Posted
I know that the CO will almost certainly give a tip for this particular cache. What I am really looking for is how to solve these types of puzzles without the need for a hint...the methodology is what I need, not a specific hint for a specific puzzle. How do I spot what is missing? It is like finding a first cache of a given type...it can be very difficult until first found and then easy forever more. Granted, I have found every cache without a mentor, but apparently I need a little mentoring to learn the ropes for puzzle caches. The cache I am looking at is a difficulty three which is supposed to be "typical".
There was a request in there somewhere
Thank you.