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What have I missed?


Traveller689

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New guy. Knows how to operate his eTrex Summit. Lives in Fallbrook. Has looked for caches near roads and

parking lots he is familiar with... and is 0 for 5 so far. What the heck could I be doing wrong? I've done all the suggested actions ie: Cloverleaf back and forth at the location, etc., and still no success. I enjoy reading all the posts on the different forums and 'share' the satisfaction of each person's new find. Now, I'd like to have one of those experiences myself. I know this is Basic Stuff 101, but I'd really appreciate and few minutes of anyone's time.

This summer I'll have a chance to cross the country from Oceanside to Annapolis and look forward to being able to do some caching along the way. So you see, I'll have to know a little more than I do right now or I'll come home zero for a hundred or so and I'm not looking forward to that.

Thanks,

Mike

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New guy. Knows how to operate his eTrex Summit. Lives in Fallbrook. Has looked for caches near roads and

parking lots he is familiar with... and is 0 for 5 so far. What the heck could I be doing wrong? I've done all the suggested actions ie: Cloverleaf back and forth at the location, etc., and still no success. I enjoy reading all the posts on the different forums and 'share' the satisfaction of each person's new find. Now, I'd like to have one of those experiences myself. I know this is Basic Stuff 101, but I'd really appreciate and few minutes of anyone's time.

This summer I'll have a chance to cross the country from Oceanside to Annapolis and look forward to being able to do some caching along the way. So you see, I'll have to know a little more than I do right now or I'll come home zero for a hundred or so and I'm not looking forward to that.

Thanks,

Mike

Howdy Mike! Welcome to geocaching, glad you came aboard ... you're going to enjoy it. Now, as far as what you could be doing wrong? Hard to say, really; but I can tell ya I've been there. Here are a few things I do to try and eliminate DNFs (sometimes they work n' sometimes they don't ... but that's ok coz I got outta the house and saw something new to me).

  1. Double check yer coords - yeah, we've all done it, I s'pose ... and if yer coords are off you could be a 1/4 mile away :lol:
  2. Ask yerself, "Self? Where would you hide it if you'd hidden one in this area?" :D
  3. Read the logs of cachers who've already found it - sometimes you might find something written that'll tip ya off
  4. Owner hints - these can be helpful, but sometimes it's a giveaway
  5. Call a lifeline - Oh yeah, this is a good one. If ya don't have a lifeline yet, head to the nearest EVENT cache in your area and meet some of the folks caching in your neck o' the woods. At the very least, you'll gain some great tips
  6. Your eyes can fool you - an owner might make something look like something it isn't, if that makes sense. So, look up ... look under ... and if there's a chain link fence around, check those caps
  7. When all else fails ... take a friend with ya coz 4 eyes are better than 1 :D (hey, if yer friend has kids ... bring 'em along too)

I sure hope that's been helpful. :D That first find of yours is going to make a memory ... happy caching!

 

Barrie

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New guy. Knows how to operate his eTrex Summit. Lives in Fallbrook. Has looked for caches near roads and

parking lots he is familiar with... and is 0 for 5 so far. What the heck could I be doing wrong? I've done all the suggested actions ie: Cloverleaf back and forth at the location, etc., and still no success. I enjoy reading all the posts on the different forums and 'share' the satisfaction of each person's new find. Now, I'd like to have one of those experiences myself. I know this is Basic Stuff 101, but I'd really appreciate and few minutes of anyone's time.

This summer I'll have a chance to cross the country from Oceanside to Annapolis and look forward to being able to do some caching along the way. So you see, I'll have to know a little more than I do right now or I'll come home zero for a hundred or so and I'm not looking forward to that.

Thanks,

Mike

Howdy Mike! Welcome to geocaching, glad you came aboard ... you're going to enjoy it. Now, as far as what you could be doing wrong? Hard to say, really; but I can tell ya I've been there. Here are a few things I do to try and eliminate DNFs (sometimes they work n' sometimes they don't ... but that's ok coz I got outta the house and saw something new to me).

  1. Double check yer coords - yeah, we've all done it, I s'pose ... and if yer coords are off you could be a 1/4 mile away :lol:
  2. Ask yerself, "Self? Where would you hide it if you'd hidden one in this area?" :D
  3. Read the logs of cachers who've already found it - sometimes you might find something written that'll tip ya off
  4. Owner hints - these can be helpful, but sometimes it's a giveaway
  5. Call a lifeline - Oh yeah, this is a good one. If ya don't have a lifeline yet, head to the nearest EVENT cache in your area and meet some of the folks caching in your neck o' the woods. At the very least, you'll gain some great tips
  6. Your eyes can fool you - an owner might make something look like something it isn't, if that makes sense. So, look up ... look under ... and if there's a chain link fence around, check those caps
  7. When all else fails ... take a friend with ya coz 4 eyes are better than 1 :D (hey, if yer friend has kids ... bring 'em along too)

I sure hope that's been helpful. :D That first find of yours is going to make a memory ... happy caching!

 

Barrie

A. Identify a few caches you've looked for but didn't find so we can get some idea of what you are up against.

 

B. You mention looking in parking lots ... were you near a parking-lot light standard? If so then look under the metal skirt at the base of the metal post. You know, an LPC (lamp post cache.)

 

C. You mention roadways so look for a little-pile-of-rocks (LPR) hiding a container or a small metal container hanging on a sign-post or inside a guard-rail. Maybe the same sort of container held by a magnet to the side of a large electrical-utility box.

 

D. Tubular container wrapped in cammo tape and hanging ini trees or bushes ... you're on your own there. Tough to see. If you find one then tie a red ribbon on it and let us know so we can find it too.

 

E. Borrow the Boys of Boysnbarrie for an outing. They'll learn y' t' find hides.

 

F. Make sure to post all DNF instances on the associated cache page.

 

By the way, feel free to use the San Diego Thread for questions like this. You'll get good response there.

Edited by SD Rowdies
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New guy. Knows how to operate his eTrex Summit. Lives in Fallbrook. Has looked for caches near roads and

parking lots he is familiar with... and is 0 for 5 so far. What the heck could I be doing wrong? I've done all the suggested actions ie: Cloverleaf back and forth at the location, etc., and still no success. I enjoy reading all the posts on the different forums and 'share' the satisfaction of each person's new find. Now, I'd like to have one of those experiences myself. I know this is Basic Stuff 101, but I'd really appreciate and few minutes of anyone's time.

This summer I'll have a chance to cross the country from Oceanside to Annapolis and look forward to being able to do some caching along the way. So you see, I'll have to know a little more than I do right now or I'll come home zero for a hundred or so and I'm not looking forward to that.

Thanks,

Mike

Your best bet if you're having trouble getting started is to contact a local cacher to show you the ropes. Most cachers are great people and many will go out of their way to help a friend (or a stranger)!

 

Google a local group or association of geocachers. Get on their web page and join their forums. If you post there like you have here, you'll likely have multiple volunteers to cache with you.

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New guy. Knows how to operate his eTrex Summit. Lives in Fallbrook. Has looked for caches near roads and

parking lots he is familiar with... and is 0 for 5 so far. What the heck could I be doing wrong? I've done all the suggested actions ie: Cloverleaf back and forth at the location, etc., and still no success. I enjoy reading all the posts on the different forums and 'share' the satisfaction of each person's new find. Now, I'd like to have one of those experiences myself. I know this is Basic Stuff 101, but I'd really appreciate and few minutes of anyone's time.

This summer I'll have a chance to cross the country from Oceanside to Annapolis and look forward to being able to do some caching along the way. So you see, I'll have to know a little more than I do right now or I'll come home zero for a hundred or so and I'm not looking forward to that.

Thanks,

Mike

Your best bet if you're having trouble getting started is to contact a local cacher to show you the ropes. Most cachers are great people and many will go out of their way to help a friend (or a stranger)!

 

Google a local group or association of geocachers. Get on their web page and join their forums. If you post there like you have here, you'll likely have multiple volunteers to cache with you.

 

Check out the San Diego Cache Events thread. That's a great place to join in on a casual cache outing or start one of your own. The amount of people in the groups are usually between a couple and a few more then that. Don't hold me to those numbers though :D .

You'll also get a good mix of newbies and oldies (did I say that?).

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Thanks to all who have answered my post and offered suggestions. Some I had thought of and many I had not.

Looks like you all have me on the right track, now I just need to look more carefully when I get close to the 'spot'.Geocachers are a nice bunch of folks. I'm impressed when reading the forum groups how polite everyone is to each other... as opposed to many other groups using the internet.

Cheers,

Mike

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Thanks to all who have answered my post and offered suggestions. Some I had thought of and many I had not.

Looks like you all have me on the right track, now I just need to look more carefully when I get close to the 'spot'.Geocachers are a nice bunch of folks. I'm impressed when reading the forum groups how polite everyone is to each other... as opposed to many other groups using the internet.

Cheers,

Mike

I live in Murrieta. Email me if you want to set up a time this weekend and we can get together and I'll help you find a couple. I should be able to see if there is something wrong, and give you a couple of pointers if you're not. 'Course, I'm not an expert, but I have the advantage of living closer than anyone who has responded so far :laughing:
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Thanks to all who have answered my post and offered suggestions. Some I had thought of and many I had not.

Looks like you all have me on the right track, now I just need to look more carefully when I get close to the 'spot'.Geocachers are a nice bunch of folks. I'm impressed when reading the forum groups how polite everyone is to each other... as opposed to many other groups using the internet.

Cheers,

Mike

I live in Murrieta. Email me if you want to set up a time this weekend and we can get together and I'll help you find a couple. I should be able to see if there is something wrong, and give you a couple of pointers if you're not. 'Course, I'm not an expert, but I have the advantage of living closer than anyone who has responded so far :laughing:
I live close but I'm tied up (out-of-town) for a couple of weeks. But maybe Kosh Naranek will join you and give you some pointers! He is another newbie in our area! But then again maybe he is not visiting our area at the moment.... :laughing:

B5_kosh01b.jpg

Edited by TrailGators
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One thing my colleagues have not mentioned is to ensure you're using the correct coordinate datum. Using different datum is like mixing inches and centimeters. It only matters if you're entering coordinates by hand. If you download electronically, your GPS will convert the geocaching datum into whatever default you have the GPS set at, and lead you to the right area.

 

The webage uses hddd mm.mmm' . UTM is also listed on the webpage, but the coords download in the other system. Cachers use the 1st system when calling out coords or using them in a multi. There are exceptions, as in some puzzles.

 

I'm not sure if your Summit is set up the same way, but my HCx has the settings at: Menu-Setup-Units.

 

As others have suggested, start with caches rated with a "1" difficulty. These should be the easiest to find. I say "should" because it's a subjective rating by the hider. Don't be afraid to ask the cache owner and/or previous finders for some additional help. (It's acceptable, and encouraged, to fess up in your electronic log that you obtained additional help - especially in high-rated difficulty caches.)

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One thing my colleagues have not mentioned is to ensure you're using the correct coordinate datum. Using different datum is like mixing inches and centimeters. It only matters if you're entering coordinates by hand. If you download electronically, your GPS will convert the geocaching datum into whatever default you have the GPS set at, and lead you to the right area.

 

The webage uses hddd mm.mmm' . UTM is also listed on the webpage, but the coords download in the other system. Cachers use the 1st system when calling out coords or using them in a multi. There are exceptions, as in some puzzles.

 

I'm not sure if your Summit is set up the same way, but my HCx has the settings at: Menu-Setup-Units.

 

As others have suggested, start with caches rated with a "1" difficulty. These should be the easiest to find. I say "should" because it's a subjective rating by the hider. Don't be afraid to ask the cache owner and/or previous finders for some additional help. (It's acceptable, and encouraged, to fess up in your electronic log that you obtained additional help - especially in high-rated difficulty caches.)

-------------

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll check the setup, and right now, I do enter coordinates manually. I'm getting a Garmin 60CSx soon and then will input electronically.

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Howdy......

CONGRATS! Looks like ya found one....

 

Vern / Foothills Drifter... B)

Thanks for the cheer. Yup, I'm finally in the 'win' column.

I think was looking too hard- now it's take a breath and

just look around. Found 2 more today. I'm hooked.

Mike/Traveller 689

The "other one down the street" that you mention has bad coordinates (30 feet off) and is a nano. Concentrate your search where the name of the cache suggests.
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