How To Zero In

[+2Rad4U]

How do you "zero" in on a cache in the woods? I'm having trouble finding a couple of cache's. I walk into the area my GPS is pointing and look around...no go. I then look back at the GPS and it's pointing me 30 feet in another direction. I can do this 3 or 4 different times. I never know if I'm looking in the right place...ever.

 

Any ideas, hints or advice?

 

I have a Megellan Explorist 100. Do I need a 300 or 400 to get closer to caches?

[+New England n00b]

If you can get 'Bearing' numbers from it (I don't have one of those), use a compass to zero in a bit better.

 

Generally though, once within 20-30 feet, you can start looking at the environment and only use the GPS to stay within that circle.

[+Bluejaytoo]

You may need to switch to a Garmin.

 

Ha! Nah, navigating by GPS is still not an exact science; there's a little finesse to it. My Garmin eTrex Summit can bounce around on me at times, especially if there's a lot of tree cover. You need to spend some time with it to learn its nuances. Many times I'll walk into ground zero, walk on past, then come in from another direction. Eventually I'll find a common location, and I'll have better confidence. Of course, once it reads within 50 feet, it's time to put it away and start looking. My caching partner uses a Magellan SporTrack, and we often race to find the cache. I think we each have about a 50% find rate between us. Keep in mind, your Magellan doesn't have a magnetic compass, so you need to be on the move for it to triangulate.

[+BlueDeuce]

Yep , there is a 'margin of accuracy' 30' is about average. Someplaces might get you closer, some farther especially if you are under heavy tree cover or near a cliff wall.

Plus you really need to keep moving steadily for the gps to point you in the right direction. Stopping or slowing waaay down confuses it.

 

When it's really bad, I'll walk away about 100-200 feet and start heading back. I'll then try to determine where the arrow is trying to get me to. Then I'll approach from a another direction to try and 'cross point' where I should look. Still, you need to do some searching no matter what.

[+robert]

How do you "zero" in on a cache in the woods? I'm having trouble finding a couple of cache's. I walk into the area my GPS is pointing and look around...no go. I then look back at the GPS and it's pointing me 30 feet in another direction. I can do this 3 or 4 different times. I never know if I'm looking in the right place...ever.

 

Any ideas, hints or advice?

 

I have a Megellan Explorist 100. Do I need a 300 or 400 to get closer to caches?

You're actually experiencing a pretty common thing. Once you get to the area your GPS tells you is ground zero, put the GPS in your bag, set it down, and start looking. Don't let the GPS point you in the right direction, it's going to be 20-30' off at times. The cache description will often tell you what size container you're looking for--find a spot that can hold something like that.

 

A newbie experience typically involves watching the GPS until it hits 0 and looking at their feet for the cache. Don't do that.

 

With your Explorist you may need to start looking at "obvious" spots about 50' or so before zero.

 

Good luck!

[canadave]

I use a Garmin yellow etrex classic, and I've experienced the same disorientation once close to the cache. What I do (just from learning recently on these forums) is I just find a bit of a clearing where I can walk a few paces in one direction, and then closely watch the direction arrow as I walk. If, by the end of my short walk, it tells me the cache is 6 meters away, then I'll just keep walking in that direction, guesstimate about 6 meters, and then just see if I can find it in that area.

 

Don't expect to find a cache based on the GPS direction arrow and coordinates alone. It'll get you close, but then (even with the higher-end GPSr's) you just have to "get down and dirty" and start poking around to find it

 

cheers,

Dave

[+Jhwk]

1. Don't (try to "zero in", that is)

 

1. Use the compass screen versus the map screen. Tells you where to go and how far left to go.

2. Rather than trying to get to the 0 point on your GPSr (basically standing on top of the cache) stop about 50 feet from the expected location. Then stop looking at your GPS and start looking at your location. Look for the obvious clues to the cache location. Piles of sticks, rocks, dead hollow tree, or stump in plain view. Don't forget to look at the size of the cache you are looking for. Nothing like thinking you are hunting a regular sized cache, when it is actually a micro-cache.

3. Start out with the easiest dificulty caches (D/T). So go for the 1/1 to 2/2 caches first.

4. Have fun and enjoy the great Winter weather...

[+2Rad4U]

Thanks for the quick responses. I'll try these hints tomorrow as I head out to capture today's DNF's (yes, I logged them). One of my DNF's today was a well hidden ammo box that just about needed to be stepped on to be found, so I was frustrated with my GPS readings. I'll have more time tomorrow and hopefully I'll have better luck.

[+Iowa Tom]

I posted a discussion about how I make and find coordinates here.

 

Some GPSrs (mostly Garmins as far as I know) work best when held in a horizontal position. The Magellans I'm aware of are designed to get the best reception when held vertically. It’s easy to tell which works best by watching the signal bars as you change the orientation of your unit.

 

Merry Christmas

 

-it

[ProfessorFlight]

Team King of the Hill carries an array of GPSrs. I carry a Magellan eXplorist 600 and my wife carries a Magellan eXplorist 200. Stormy627 also carries a Magellan eXplorist 200 and Cotton Hill carries a Garmin Legend C. We generally approach a cache from different directions.

 

The truth is we have experienced funky activity from all of them. There are times when one is right on and the others are off by up to 3 or 4 meters. Other time we are all zeroed in. I have found I have the best success and results if I take the 30 seconds necessary to calibrate my Magellan eXplorist 600 before each outing.

 

BTW - I have found it really does not matter which way they are pointing.

[gridlox]

Lot's of good advice there.

 

My cache finds greatly increased once I realized to only use the GPS to get me to an area.

 

We had a cache go active last weekend and I had a FTF bug up my rear that night and just HAD to have it!

My family didn't want to go out in the cold 20-something degree cold night air to help, but I knew that going alone to the cache site wouldn't be advisable because it was hid next to a remote family plot type cemetary off of a backroad on the other side of town.

 

I called my bro-in-law that does Geocaching, but just isn't into it as much as I am and convinced him to go with me.

 

I plugged the car power cord into the GPS and took off across town, picking him up along the way to the cache site. When we got there I noticed that I had failed to plug the car power cord into the power supply outlet and the batteries on the GPS was running low. We approached the cache site crossing the cemetary and when the GPS registered about 75ft from the cache a "Low Battery" warning popped up on the screen and promptly shut down!

I put it into my pocket and walked about what I thought should be that distance and started looking.

In the meantime, my bro-in-law is looking at the printout decifering the clue to help out. After we had the clue we started looking in some of the more obvious spots. My bro-in-law started giving up after about 10 minutes and started saying that we should just DNF and come back the next day after getting some more batteries for the GPS so we could zero in better (I hadn't brought my CachePak that contained my extra batteries with me since I was just going to this one cache and had just stuffed a trade item in my pocket).

I told him to give me another 15 minutes before we called it quits(It was getting pretty cold up on that hill ).

I extended my search area another 5-10 feet and promptly found it tucked away under some exposed roots of a large tree.

Whoo Hooo!! FTF! And a successfull find "without" zeroing in on the cache site.

 

You'll find that you'll learn the hiding techniques of certain cachers in your area, and that finding them will get easier the more you learn.

When I first started hiding caches, it threw a couple of the cachers in this area a curve because no one had a micro hide similar to the way I had hid them. But a few out of towners had no problem with them, because they had seen this technique many times before. Now the guys in my area know to look out for this way to hide them when I post a Micro.

Time to change it up!!

 

Basically, what this all rounds out to is that with more experience the easier the common caches will be to find.

Oh, there will be a doozie from time to time, but for the most part cachers will hide caches the way they have found caches. As the more creative hide ideas get to be common, more creative ways will be created!!

That's one of the things that keeps this sport/hobbie/way of life fun!

 

D-man

[+Renegade Knight]

However if you really want to find zero...

 

Try the Drunken Bee Walk or the Hula Dance.

 

Start when your GPS is too close to point you the right way. This is usually 20' or so, but with practice you can walk to within 6-9'.

 

The Hula Dance is when you hold out your GPS at arms length. Read the display. The move your arm another direction. Read the display. Did the distance go up or down? When you find your minimum distance, step that direction. Repeat. You can find zero.

 

The Drunken Bee Walk is similar but instead of using your arm, you step one direction or another and read the display. Keep stepping and reading and going in circles until you hit zero...

 

Keep in mind that while you find zero, your friends and family are going to find the cache.

Edited December 24, 2005 by Renegade Knight

[+Remander]

In wooded areas where the GPS goes nuts, I often look for a nearby clear area where I can get a good read of the sky.

 

I start there and begin slowly walking in the direction indicated, paying attention to the distance and direction.

 

Once the GPS begins to go bonkers under the tree cover, I put it away, do a little math (my paces are about 3 feet each) and try to pace off the remaining distance from the last clear read in the direction indicated.

 

It's not perfect, but it's usually more accurate than watching the compass and distance-figure bounce wildly under the tree cover.

[+briansnat]

Some GPSrs (mostly Garmins as far as I know) work best when held in a horizontal position. The Magellans I'm aware of are designed to get the best reception when held vertically. It’s easy to tell which works best by watching the signal bars as you change the orientation of your unit.

 

Depends on the antenna. Units with quad helix antennas (Magellan Sportrak & Meridian, Garmin 60 and 76 series) like to be held vertically, while units with patch antennas (Magellan eXplorist, Lowrance, Garmin eTrex,& Geko) work best if held flat, face up to the sky.

 

Some units are more sensitive to position than others. The older eTrex units (basic yellow, Venture, Vista, Camo and Legend) are the most sensitive and have a hard time if not held flat. Some of the newer units are not as sensitive.

[+KiAyker]

And don't forget that the cache hider's coords may not be 100% right on either. So even if you can find zero with your gps, there is no guarantee that the cache will be there

[+Planet]

Sometimes you can be at ground zero and standing on it and still not see it, as is the case with this container I placed, people have stepped on it more than once, so you sometimes have to keep your eyes and your mind open: