Help...cache finders are reporting bad coordinates

[Skylerdragon]

I am a newbie! I hid my first cache last weekend. I loved hiding it and used my Explorist 100 to get my coordinates. I thought I did a good job, and the clues left for my cache have lead the seekers to the right place, but still I don't like that I reported the wrong coordinates!

 

What should I do?

 

Should I archive my cache until I get better equipment?

 

What makes coordinates go wrong?

 

Is it okay to ask finders to report the coordinates they used in their logs?

 

I would love to do this right since it is my first cache.

 

Thanks for any help you can give.

[+StarBrand]

First check to make sure you didn't transpose some numbers in your report. Second, run out and get a new reading at the spot. 3rd, goto google maps and plug in the coordinates (new) - zoom in and make sure you have approx the right spot. If not - check your GPS to make sure it is set to WGS84 datum and coordinate format is decimal minutes DDD MM.mmm - fix that and get a new reading if necessary.

 

Bad coords happen. 300 feet is a long way though. You may now have problems with with density to other caches. I hope not.

 

You will have to contact the reviewer to get the coords changes for a distance that far. Don't archive it - just get it fixed. You may want to temp disable the cache until it is fixed but don't archive.

 

Good Luck!!

[+JDandDD]

You may not actually have done anything wrong. Sometimes the GPS can be way off due to a variety of factors, such as being in trees.

 

What I do is to take a reading (after letting my Magellan average for a minute or two). Then I walk north for about 50 meters and then come straight back to the cache an take another reading (usually its off by the error) then I do the same thing for the other 3 cardinal points (E,W,S) and the give me a very good idea of where the coords should really be.

 

One other thing, there is a Magellan effect that all Magellan users have had to get used to. Magellan's have had a tendency to overrun a cache (sometimes 50 to 100m) and then average back. You'll see Magellan people always walking past a cache and then coming back.

 

Any way, that's why you need to average for a minute or two by stopping and letting the Magellan truly find itself. I should add, I have not used an Explorist but a friend who has one tells me the overrun that I experience oni my Platinum is still there in the Explorist series.

 

JD

[+Mach2003]

We always return on another day and at a different time of day, and use the GPSr to "find" our own hide, and see what happens.

You should contact the two finders, and see if they have recorded the coords, compare them to each other, then re-check for yourself. If they need changing edit the listing, to have your reviewer change them.

[+Miragee]

When I take coordinates, I let my Garmin Vista C average for several minutes. Then, I save that coordinate, walk a distance away, and make sure the GPSr brings me back to the location.

 

Often one reading is enough. However, one day, it behaved very erratically. I had to turn it off and turn it back on before I got a consistent reading.

 

It was nice of you to give such a detailed hint that cachers could still find your cache. I would have appreciated that.

[falcone]

All I can add to the good advice you already have is that I also have an Explorist 100, and it is a dandy little unit for the price. Mine is almost never more than 7’ off dead center. But it might be worth finding a few bench marks (brass markers with exactly known coordinates put in by the USGS and other gov units, see http://www.geocaching.com/mark ) to check the accuracy of your unit so you can stop worrying about it.

[+Cardinal Red]

I would have suggested checking your GPS settings, but StarBrand already did that. There are some caches nearby your hide that you have not found yet. Enter the coords, and go look for a few of them. If your unit takes you within 30 feet, the settings are OK. But you have certainly confirmed the value of a good hint.

[Skylerdragon]

 

Thank you all for your help! I know I can do this sport! It's a brainy one! Anyway I will check and try each of your suggestions because I want to make my coordinates accurate.