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Found the geocache but my GPS didn't


diazdassie

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Hey all,

I'm brand new to the game of geocaching, but not to hiking. I live in Raleigh and spent a few minutes this ornign finding three geocache locations close to my home. I found all three but my GPS says I didn't.When hit "show found" on my Garmin 400T, it says No results found, try adjusting parameters. Is the GPS slightly off? I noticed each time I was close to the Geocache, my GPS would make me walk away from the geocache, the darn thing was right there in front and my GPS says 6ft NW.Kinda irritating, especially seeing as I spent alot of money.Anyone have any ideas?Any help would be post appreciated.

Cheers

Mike

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Perfectly normal. Your GPS is pointing to coordinates not the cache.

 

The general accuracy of most consumer grade handheld GPS units is around 15 to 25 feet sometimes a bit less sometimes a bit more. Add any potential error you are seeing to the potential errors of the hider and you could easily find yourself searching up to 50 feet from where your unit says ground zero is at. Most often you will find the cache within 20 feet but do be prepared to widen the search area. What fun would it be if you always found the cache precisely at ground zero.

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I have the 400T also and these are the steps to mark the cache as found.

 

1. On the geocache screen (not the map) select Log Attempt

2. On the log screen, select Found it.

 

If you select the wrong choice by mistake you just repeat the two steps above to create the correct log.

 

When I get home, I log my finds manually on the geocaching.com site, but I believe there is a way to get them from the 400T to the website.

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When you find the cache, you have to (assuming you are in the geocache mode, and on the compass screen) hit the geocache symbol and select LOG ATTEMPT>FOUND. Now when you select SHOW FOUND, it will display the list of caches found.

 

Let me know if that doesn't answer your question....

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When you find the cache, you have to (assuming you are in the geocache mode, and on the compass screen) hit the geocache symbol and select LOG ATTEMPT>FOUND. Now when you select SHOW FOUND, it will display the list of caches found.

 

Let me know if that doesn't answer your question....

 

I've never thought about doing it this way (marking location before looking) but my older GPS (Garmin E-Trex Legend) doesn't have this feature. I just go to the Lat. or Lon. line and track to the coordinates. I've noticed this "drifting" but I can stand anywhere and it may do this. If I am at the location, and it stabilizes, and I can't find it, I turn off the GPS and walk a few hundred feet away, turn it back on and let it reaquire. When it does, and it takes me to the exact same place, I know it is around that spot. So I keep looking.

 

But, I'm no expert. It just works for me. However, after finding a cache, I put the GPS on the location and every find has been right on the cordinates. That says something for the accuracy of the units. If I don't find it, I either feel that it is there, or it is now missing. A few that I felt were missing, turned out to be missing. Especially ones that I went back to look again on another day.

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