I dont have a GPS

[holliesullins]

I wanted to take my kids this weekend to look for a cache. But just realized my Gps does not allow you to put in coordinates:{ I am so upset, we were all looking forward to going.

I did some looking on google earth and put in the coordinates and was wondering if anyone else has used this and how well did it work?

If anyone knows a good place to go in Paulding county for kids let me know. Thanks to you all

[+deb3day]

I know there are people who cache without GPS. Looking at the satellite pics works best from the Geocaching.com website. When you click on the map, it gives you the opportunity to go to a satellite picture. Obviously this isn't going to work for caches in the woods, but if it is out in the open, you will be able to tell pretty much where the cache is. I usually try to look at the satellite picture before going to a cache to get the lay of the land and a good idea where I'll be looking.

 

What is the zip code of the area you're looking in?

[+davematthews]

Hi, I'm quite new to this too and although I did buy a gps, it's very rare that my eyes will allow me to actually see the screen in enough detail to enter anything. I really must get some specs!! (or a bigger screen..?)

 

So I tried google earth and found it to be totally adequate for 99% of caches I've found so far.

GPS is handy if you're trying to find a site in a featureless area in the middle of nowhere, or to be sure you're in the correct field, but for most caches I'll type the co-ords into google earth and either print a pic or just do a quick sketch of the area, then get searching!

 

Give it a try!

 

Good Luck

[+DiamondDaveG]

Unlike most people, I don't put coordinates into my GPSr and it works just fine. I'm sure it can be done but I just haven't done it.

 

Simply go to the screen that shows your current lat/lon and decide which way to move from there. Since you know the coordinates of the caches and that the coordinates go up as you go north and west you can fairly easily decide which way to proceed.

 

Using the Google Earth download from the 'My Account' page you can see the caches marked for anywhere you want. Looking at Paulding County, you have a bunch available in the county and a big bunch more in and around Defiance.

 

-edit to add info-

Edited January 16, 2009 by DiamondDaveG

[+briansnat]

What kind of GPS do you have? I can't think of many that won't allow coordinate input other than some older automotive models.

[+va griz]

What kind of GPS do you have? I thought every last one of them would let you enter cords. If it can be done somebody here already has, just ask.

[+Coyote's Girl]

Wow. I have a barrel-scraper GPS and even I can put in my co-ords. On the happy side, I found my first 3 or 4 caches without a GPS and 2 of them were in the woods of a local park. Enjoy caching and welcome to the game!

[+ladyleo191]

Try to concentrate on larger caches to begin with. The kids will enjoy them more and without a GPSr, micros are going to be twice as difficult.

[Wallyp]

I am new to Geocaching as well and i don't have a GPSr. It's not in my budget right now but it hasn't stopped me from getting out there. I've only been caching for about a week and have found 21 out of about 30 or so urban hides. Most of the ones that I have found had some sort of unique feature near by that helped me narrow down the search area. I look at both Google Maps and Google Earth for the satalite photos for landmarks. Somtimes using the same coordinats gives different locations but they are still close. It will show in different areas of the same park or on the other side of the same creek or road. It makes it more of a challange but also more rewarding when you find it. Selecting which caches to look for will be may determin your success rate. I haven't posted a blue smily yet, but I have a list of the ones that I haven't found yet and I'm going too, eventually, I hope. Looking thru the log of previous finds is somtimes helpful. Some may give clues that are helpful and some give spoilers too. Who knows, I might get to #100 before I can get a GPSr.

[+Bubbles&Bonkers]

Hey, we knew more about the GPSr than the salesguy just by playing with it in the store. He said you couldn't put in coordinates and lo and behold you could. It's just a car GPSr, but I almost have 100! So maybe it's there and you can't find it??

 

Power to you peeps who just use Google Maps/Earth. I have NO idea how that works!!

[+edscott]

I know there are people who cache without GPS. Looking at the satellite pics works best from the Geocaching.com website. When you click on the map, it gives you the opportunity to go to a satellite picture. Obviously this isn't going to work for caches in the woods, but if it is out in the open, you will be able to tell pretty much where the cache is. I usually try to look at the satellite picture before going to a cache to get the lay of the land and a good idea where I'll be looking.

 

What is the zip code of the area you're looking in?

 

Obviously to who??? Those that can read satellite images can find anything that can be found with a GPS.

[+artemisworks]

I did many of my urban caches without a GPS too, it can be easy when you know the area well and the clues given are good. However, I am currently using the Garmin Edge 205 (a bike computer) to geocache with, and it's pretty good for countryside caches where it narrows the search down to about 5-6 metres at its best. My complaint is that I need to upload coordinates into it from a computer, I can't punch in the numbers, which makes it a bit tricky to do multi-caches or cache puzzles where you get the coordinates from one cache and then move to another at a different site, etc. I guess I'll have to work out what GPS unit I can afford when I finally decide to buy one!

 

ArtemisWorks