Google Map And Earth

[truckeer]

Hello,

 

I have been using google earth and google maps to view the coordinates for caches before we go looking. I have noticed that the google maps pinpoint varies from the google earth pinpoint by 50 or more feet. Additionally in google earth the pinpoint seems to change when I zoom in and zoom out. Somtimes when zoomed in the pinpoint sort of jumps a couple hundred feet often into areas that I know the cache could not be. So . . .long question short. How accurate are these tools, l assume far less accurate then a GPSr? Could you use these tools alone with out a GPSr? Thanks for any information or experience y'all have on this!

 

Truckee

[+zoltig]

I found it very helpfull on several counts.

You are right about the caches "jumping" around when the info is being feed through GC to Google Earth. I became a subscribed member to GE and download my GPS onto GE and the layering locks the waypoints in.

Keep in mind you can copy and paste the coords from a cache page into the search bar of GE and the location will be entered and marked.

Edited November 19, 2005 by zoltig

[+ddersch]

I would like to use Google earth to display all caches in my area, but don't know how to get the correct file and use it against Google earth to have it map those coordinates. How do you do that?

 

Doug

ddersch

[+AuntieWeasel]

I would like to use Google earth to display all caches in my area, but don't know how to get the correct file and use it against Google earth to have it map those coordinates. How do you do that?

The only way I know, other than one by one, is to lay down your $20 for a year's subscription and then you can hook it up to your GPSr. I'm uneasy about Google as an enterprise, but I love maps and finally broke down and did it. You can also upload your tracks, which is cool. Of course, you can do all this on other mapping programs, but Earth's interface is just so cool.

 

I get the impression (or I read somewhere or the voices told me) that the accuracy isn't very.

[+tozainamboku]

I would like to use Google earth to display all caches in my area, but don't know how to get the correct file and use it against Google earth to have it map those coordinates. How do you do that?

Log on to geocaching.com and go to your 'My Account' page. On the right side find the section labeled Google Mapping features. Click on 'Download Geocache browser in Google Earth'. This should start Google Earth and let you see the geocaches once you've zoomed in close enough. Note that coordinates displayed in Google Earth this way will not be exact. This is meant to just allow you to see what geocaches are in an area. You must still go back to the geocaching.com website to get the correct coordinates to find the cache.

[truckeer]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I guess I am just getting a little antsy wiaiting for my GPSr to arrive Also, a lot of the areas pinpointed by google maps and google earth are very very familair to me so I thought I could just maybe look at the pinpoint and go to that area and search, didn't turn out to lucky with that method. Thanks again.

[FWSquatch]

I understand what you mean. I did the same thing, but got lucky and found it! I was pretty pumped and so was my daughter!

[+Timpat]

I have been using google earth and google maps to view the coordinates for caches before we go looking. I have noticed that the google maps pinpoint varies from the google earth pinpoint by 50 or more feet.

If you are a Premium GC.com member you can request Pocket Queries (PQs) and have a Zip'd .gpx file emailed to you. You can then open this .gpx file in Google Earth, the free version, and have ALL the cache locations you want, and they do not float around. For that matter you can work with a single cache point .gpx file for dead-on accurate points.

[+hukilaulau]

I love using GE as a preliminary search tool for an area, since it is so much faster than panning with the GC.com maps. Also in some areas where the resolution is really good you can find roads and even trails that will help you avoid a lot of blind alleys.

Today my wife found a cache without a gps, and there was no name on the container or the log book. When we got home I used GE to figure out which cache it was!