+Grusvag337 Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 Hi. I'm working on creating and placing my first cache in a great park close to my home. I've found a neat spot amongst a small boulder field under some young trees. Unfortunately my Magellan eXplorist 300 has a hard time getting a good signal under the trees. The accuracy was only within about 90' when I tried to verify my initial coordinates (an average of 5 readings). Plus I was hard-pressed to come up with any real specific hints other than "it's near some rocks, under some trees". Heck, the whole place looked like that! So I've got two specific questions: Should I discount this location due to what seems to be heavy tree cover and an accuracy of only 90 feet? And does anyone have any suggestions for giving clues when the cache seems indistinguishable from it's surroundings? I'd hate to find another location because I think this one's reallly special and people would enjoy finding it. -John. Quote Link to comment
Peanut Butters Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 A lot of times you can reference another point. I've seen hints similar to this: "If you stay on the trail you will see 3 trees that are split. The cache is 50 feet North of this." An option for getting better signal depends on where you are located. If the leaves fall off the trees you should get a better signal then. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 Should I discount this location due to what seems to be heavy tree cover and an accuracy of only 90 feet? No, if its a good location find a way. Is there a spot nearby where you get good reception? Place a small container there with instructions saying something like (proceed 150 steps at 220 degrees to the cache). Also try going to the spot and let your GPS sit for about 10 minutes or so and see if it gets a better lock. Quote Link to comment
+niraD Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 Triangulation is recommended when you're searching for a cache, and similar techniques can work when you're placing one. For example, if you can get a good signal at a spot due north or south of the cache, and at another spot due east or west of the cache, then you can record the latitude and longitude separately. As another example, if you can get a good signal at a spot 100' from the cache, and at another spot 100' on the opposite side of the cache, then you can take readings at those two spots, and then get the coordinates of your cache by averaging the two lattitudes, and then averaging the two longitudes. Quote Link to comment
+Grusvag337 Posted May 26, 2006 Author Share Posted May 26, 2006 Thanks for your suggestions. Will give it another shot. Quote Link to comment
+JohnnyVegas Posted May 27, 2006 Share Posted May 27, 2006 Hi. I'm working on creating and placing my first cache in a great park close to my home. I've found a neat spot amongst a small boulder field under some young trees. Unfortunately my Magellan eXplorist 300 has a hard time getting a good signal under the trees. The accuracy was only within about 90' when I tried to verify my initial coordinates (an average of 5 readings). Plus I was hard-pressed to come up with any real specific hints other than "it's near some rocks, under some trees". Heck, the whole place looked like that! So I've got two specific questions: Should I discount this location due to what seems to be heavy tree cover and an accuracy of only 90 feet? And does anyone have any suggestions for giving clues when the cache seems indistinguishable from it's surroundings? I'd hate to find another location because I think this one's reallly special and people would enjoy finding it. -John. How long have you had your GPS turned on for before taking a reading? It should be on for at least 15 minutes You could also try walking into a clear area to get a 3D fix and then walk back to the the spot you want to place the cache in Quote Link to comment
+Grusvag337 Posted January 11, 2008 Author Share Posted January 11, 2008 Just wanted to report back that my first cache seems to have been a great success! I did all the things recommended to get the best possible coords including averaging a number of readings. Not everyone finds it, which is fine, it's meant to be a bit of a challenge, but most everyone who does thanks me for the great spot and the fun search. Quote Link to comment
+joranda Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 If the coords are that far off when they come and find it, I'm sure someone will send you updated coords. Quote Link to comment
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