First Geocaching trip

[+Not the Mama!]

We made 3 finds today & it was also our first ever outing with a GPS unit. We have a Colorado 300 & I wondered what are the best settings for this? When close to a cache it shows feet, I'd prefer metres. Also is there a way for the unit to take account of which direction I am facing? The unit basemap always seems to face North.

[jholly]

Never seen a 300 before, but the other garmin you can set the units. Try looking on the system setup menu. You might take a look at the map setup menu for any map orientation options.

 

Jim

[+Not the Mama!]

Under Setup, distance/speed is set to "Statute". What does that mean please?

 

I'd like to use miles, but then as we get closer to use metres.

[jholly]

Under Setup, distance/speed is set to "Statute". What does that mean please?

 

I'd like to use miles, but then as we get closer to use metres.

 

statute as in staute miles (feet) as opposed to nautical miles. Your in the right area, press enter when that selection is highlighted and you should be able to chose metric.

 

Jim

[+Not the Mama!]

Thanks. The problem is that if I choose metric, I'll bet that the longer distances of miles will change to kilometres. I really don't want that!

[+LifeOnEdge!]

Not the Mama!

 

I just read your first log and it looks like you're off to a great start! You should enjoy this. You're doing good looking for answers as well.

 

You need to choose a system. Feet or meters. With feet you get miles (5280 feet.) With meters you get kilometers (1000 meters.) I assume that you are European and live in the U.S. and drive a car that indicates miles on the odometer. It's handy to think in miles to get to the general cache area. If you're used to metric units, its only natural to think in terms of meters, etc.

There are different settings for your unit, but cross settings aren't available. I suggest you play with it and go with what feels best.

 

The real bottom line while looking for a cache is approaching ground zero. Luckily, zero feet = zero meters. Problem solved!

 

There are several ways to look for the location of the cache (ground zero) using your GPS unit.

 

You could know the coordinates of the cache and read the coordinates of your GPS unit. I do this at times, but only for fun and a change of pace. I keep in mind that for each .001 minute of arc, there is approximately 2 meters in distance along the ground. The western distance will vary depending on your north or south position on the globe. The closer you are to the poles, the shorter this distance is. For me, in Texas, this distance is about 5 feet. When I cache in Michigan, this distance is 4 feet. Where you are located, this will be different (especially if converting to meters.)

 

You could use your compass page of the Colorado. This is a handy feature. With the magnetic compass on, your distance to ground zero and the direction you need to go (bearing) is easily displayed on the compass page itself. Consider this a point and step method.

 

You could also use your map page of the Colorado. A small map of the area is displayed (depending on the zoom you choose) along with the track that you have been following to get there (providing your GPS was on during your travels.) You see where you've been, where you're going, and where you need to be. This method is similar to a rat finding his way around a maze. In this case, there is no maze so it can be a little comfusing. You'll see various cachers preferring this method BUT they almost always insist that the map follow their travel. Normally, this method works. At this time, the Garmin Colorado will not zoom any closer than 80 feet. This is difficult to do under these conditions.

 

Here is what most people do:

 

Arrive close to the cache site - this may be 100 feet or 10 miles. They bring up the compass page, note the distance and the bearing to the cache. Holding the GPS level with the ground (simulating an actual, magnetic compass) they note the direction they need to travel and survey the area. There's a big tree straight ahead about 200 feet away. The compass page shows the cache at 215 feet and the red arrow of the compass is generally pointing ahead and slightly to one side. As you walk to the tree you'll see the numbers change and note the direction of the arrow. Thirty feet from the tree, along the same direction of travel, you see 44 feet to the cache while the red arrow is pointing ahead and to the right. At this point, some cachers will walk directly right from their previous direction of travel (not in the direction of the red arrow.) As they walk, taking note of the red arrow, they slow and eventually stop where the red arrow indicates directly to the left. Now they note the distance to the cache as 15 feet and see a fence post about 8 - 10 feet to their left and slightly behind them. Some cachers will continue to sweep left and right until the distance is as close to 0 as possible, taking note of landmarks in the immediate area. Some will go to the nearest landmark and note the distance and bearing of the cache location.

 

At some point, depending on the units estimated accuracy, if you continue to follow the red arrow you will be chasing your tail. Here. No, here! Now its back over here. Once you get inside this circle of uncertainty, the cache could be anywhere within a certain distance. Generally, the cache should be inside a circle whose radius is the distance to the cache PLUS the accuracy of your GPS unit at the time. The closer you can get and the better the GPS accuracy, the closer you'll be to where the cache was placed.

 

I wouldn't depend on the map page closer than 80 feet (25 meters). I wouldn't depend on the compass page closer than the GPS accuracy (lets call this 12 - 18 feet.) Also, remember that your GPS needs to be on and in clear view of the sky for several minutes before arriving at the cache site. I generally have my GPS on for 15 minutes before getting to a cache site and allow it to settle for a couple minutes at the cache site.

 

As you get better at caching and find more and more caches, you may turn the GPS on as you're leaving the house and leave it on for the entire day of caching.

 

If you ever turn on your GPS and see that the date and especially the time is not correct, you need to allow your GPS a clear view of the sky for at least 15 minutes before proceeding -- especially before looking for a cache. This allows the GPS to update the satellite data and can then calculate your postion more accurately.

Edited February 9, 2008 by LifeOnEdge!

[+Not the Mama!]

That really is great info, thanks so much for taking the time to write this.

 

We live on the Isle of Man, a beautiful small island in the middle of the Irish sea. We see ourselves as Manx, rather than European! I think miles & feet would make more sense to me than kilometres & metres.

 

I think that by the time we did our 3rd cache we were pretty much using your suggested system. However I have found it fine checking the red arrow in the Colorado, but I think that I'd prefer the map to orientate itself on the direction I am facing. Is that possible or would that make the red arrow not work?

[+LifeOnEdge!]

That really is great info, thanks so much for taking the time to write this.

 

We live on the Isle of Man, a beautiful small island in the middle of the Irish sea. We see ourselves as Manx, rather than European! I think miles & feet would make more sense to me than kilometres & metres.

 

I think that by the time we did our 3rd cache we were pretty much using your suggested system. However I have found it fine checking the red arrow in the Colorado, but I think that I'd prefer the map to orientate itself on the direction I am facing. Is that possible or would that make the red arrow not work?

 

Hey! You're more than welcome. I'm glad to see new cachers with nice equipment. Or is that nice cachers with new equipment? Either one works for me!

 

Right now, the map only zooms down to 80 feet. This was a little disorientating to me at first, but I realized that I was being silly. I rarely use the map at ground zero.

 

Here are the strengths of this new unit:

 

Solid satellite recepetion. This unit doesn't jump around as much as previous ones did. (It knows were you are.)

 

Rock Solid compass readings. This compass is much more dependable than on previous units.

 

Combine these two and searching by compass page is your best option, as long as you don't take the information too literally. Get close to ground zero. Set your GPS down, unload your gear, put on your thinking cap and start thinking like a cache hider, not a cache finder. Where would you put a cache in this area?

 

Do you know what you're looking for? The very first line (short description) of my cache pages clearly stated what you are looking for.

 

Do you know the terrain and difficulty ratings? Terrain tells you a lot. If you're on flat, even terrain and the rating is 2.5, the cache is up in that tree. If the terrain rating is 1.5 and there's lots of trees, its at the base of one of them. If the terrain is 1.0, its wheelchair accessable and should be an easy reach.

 

Rechargeable NiMH batteries (at least 2500 mAh) will serve you well in this new unit. Ignore the posts about trouble with these batteries. Make sure your unit software is updated 2.30 or higher. Buy a slow charging car charger (Energizer sells a nice one) and you won't be wasting money on batteries.

[jmundinger]

Thanks. The problem is that if I choose metric, I'll bet that the longer distances of miles will change to kilometres. I really don't want that!

 

Somewhere in that area of your GPSr you should also have options related to map orientation. It sounds like you currently are set on north up. You should also be able to change it to "track up", in which case the map will be oriented to the direction that you are moving.