reading log....they found cache to be 18' off from coordinates....

[+bonblu]

in this situation, shouldn't it be moved back to where it's "supposed" to be??

 

i want to go looking for this one this evening if i have time.....if i find it, should i move it?

 

thanks,

 

bonblu

[+BlueDeuce]

Gps accuracy is limited, you will very rarely find a cache where your unit says is ground zero. On average you'll be searching a 30 foot circle, so 18 feet off is not uncommon.

[jkettu]

How would you know where it is "supposed" to be? Considering the accuracy of both your and hider's gprs, 18' is practically spot on.

 

Leave it hidden as you found it. If in doubt, let the cache owner know of the situation (email or 'needs maintanence' log) and let him sort it out.

Edited January 15, 2010 by jkettu

[+WRITE SHOP ROBERT]

in this situation, shouldn't it be moved back to where it's "supposed" to be??

 

i want to go looking for this one this evening if i have time.....if i find it, should i move it?

 

thanks,

 

bonblu

It's not always a case of the Cache being in the wrong place physically, but rather a small error or variation in the coordinates listed. Rather than moving the Cache to where you think it "Should" be, you can take a reading of the cordinates where you find it, and report those to the Ccahe Owner. There's a way to attach your adjusted coordinates to the log you write, or you can send an email to the Cache Owner. Either way...18 feet is not unusual to see as a difference between GPS units.

Edited January 15, 2010 by WRITE SHOP ROBERT

[+bonblu]

ok....i will do that....thanks (of course with my luck yesterday, i won't find this one either!)

[+FreeBird65]

I found one this morning that my unit said I was 33 feet away from. I figure that is within the margin of error for both (mine and the owner's) GPS units.

[+smstext]

if its 50ft or more off then i leave a note of the co ords i found it at. it might be a case the CO accidently put the wrong co ords in or their gps was having an off day.

 

If someone posts them on one of my caches i will check it out, but i have found caches where cachers have put in the co ords where they found it and have been spot on.

 

knowledge is power, so if you feel it might help someone out...

[+Harry Dolphin]

Can be a tricky problem. Your accuracy. My accuracy. Signal bounce. (Stop bouncing the frog!) If everyone's searching 42 feet away, then is everybody out of step but Kelly? I found one of those today. I know where my Gupy was leading me. I can tell by the dolphin tracks in the snow that that's where most people were looking. The Flat Brook is not a large enough river to be giving major signal bounce. Every finder comments on the 'signal bounce'. I gave up and was heading back up the hill when I found it. I'll claim that it was 42' off. It was rather a 'needle in a haystack ' hide. My personal opinion is that the coords were bad.

But, anyway, to answer your question: It is up to the cache owner to determine if the cache is in the proper place, signal bounce notwithstanding. Unless it was obviously badly replaced. If the page says under the rock, it should not be on top of the picnic table. In that case, you may want to replace it where the hints seem to lead, and notify the CO of what you have done.

[+WRASTRO]

I rarely am looking at my GPS when I am around GZ so I usually don't know what the trusty GPS thinks about the coordinates. I will say that I have had cachers post "coordinates" that were less than your 18' from the listed coordinates. I think they are a bit obsessive and they forget about the innacuracies of my GPS and of theirs. I check the coordinates for my caches every time I visit them. They tend to be very consistent. So when folks post coordinates that are .001 different from mine I simply ignore them.

[GermanSailor]

if i find it, should i move it?

No!

 

You can, if you want, post the coordinates your GPSr showed (probably average them). But you should never move somebody elses geocache. Actually 18' off is not uncommon. Especially in the woods you can expect much more, since the inaccuracies can double (two GPSr used).

 

GermanSailor

[4wheelin_fool]

in this situation, shouldn't it be moved back to where it's "supposed" to be??

 

i want to go looking for this one this evening if i have time.....if i find it, should i move it?

 

thanks,

 

bonblu

 

Hold up 2 GPS units next to each other, and they will almost never read identical coordinates, unless you give them 10 minutes or so to settle down.

[Braff-n-MandaRue]

It's a little late in the conversation now, but definitely don't move it and let the C.O. take care of it.

 

I've had one well camo'd cache that got moved several times because people thought it should go elsewhere (i.e. - in a easier to find spot). Because they weren't willing to place it back where I hid it, but instead where they thought it should go, in a much less camo'd spot, it eventually got muggled.

 

Sometimes the most obvious spot isn't the best.

[+ras_oscar]

If i find the hide more than 30 feet from the posted coordinates I usually note it (ie Found container 57 feet from posted coordinates) but I always return it where I found it. The note in my log alerts other seekers that they may need to widen their search radius. I've seen others post updated coordinates. In that case I usually start with the published coords and the use the alternate if I need a fresh start point. There are also reports of hiders posting "soft" coordinates to make the search harder. But that's just a rumour, and really isn't in the spirit of the game IMHO.

[+Photoguy505]

I agree with the others that say report to the cache owner and let them sort it out.

Also, I read about something called EPE (Estimated Postion Error). When you put your gpsr on the 'sattellites' page and you see the graphic of sattellites, there's a number near them. That number is the number of feet it may be off. Some of the numbers are low, some are high. So basically the EPE COULD make it further off the mark than you think.

Don