Quick questions ( well quickish ) about trackables

[WorcesterDan]

I am a complete Noob at this ( see erm hello) and have a few questions re trackables

 

1. If you find a travel bug is it OK to just drop it another local cache or is that bad form?

 

2. How do tell what a tbs quest is ( is it listed when you input the number?)

 

3. what is the difference between geacoins and Travel bugs, seems to me the are both trackable items? I presume people like to find all the different types of coin that seem to be out there then it lists them on their profile, is this right?

 

4. how plausible does a TB quest have to be, could I for example attach a TB tag to a disposable camera and say I want it to go to new york take a picture from the top of the Empire State Building then return to the original cache.

 

 

Thanks in advance

 

ps I did have a look at all the FAQ etc but my head is awash with acronyms and new terms plus sometime a bit or personal assistance is better

 

pps thanks for the nice welcome on the other thread

[+Haggis Hunter]

1. If you find a travel bug is it OK to just drop it another local cache or is that bad form?

 

This is what a lot of Germans do, and it means that trackables get stuck in a vortex of never really moving. But with that said if you pick it up and realise you can't help it along then it is fine to just move it to another local cache. But always try to help it with it's mission if you can.

 

2. How do tell what a tbs quest is ( is it listed when you input the number?)

 

A lot of trackables have their missions attached to them, but if they don't you won't know it's mission untily ou go to log it. If you haven't helped it along then that is more the owners fault for not attaching a mission statement rather than your fault for picking it up.

 

3. what is the difference between geacoins and Travel bugs, seems to me the are both trackable items? I presume people like to find all the different types of coin that seem to be out there then it lists them on their profile, is this right?

 

Yep, you have basically got the gist of it there.

 

4. how plausible does a TB quest have to be, could I for example attach a TB tag to a disposable camera and say I want it to go to new york take a picture from the top of the Empire State Building then return to the original cache.

 

Try and get your quest as plausible as possible. For example I have a TB that wants to get to Antartica, it's been stuck in the vortex known as Germany for several years now. The sad thing is I know a cacher who went there the other month. Yet again I had a coin which was to get to Waterloo and then get back home. Mission was accomplished, although the coin went missing and I had to set off a replica.

So basically set you mission for what you want it to be, and see if it manages it.

 

One word of warning though, if you send any trackable off on a journey don't ever expect to see it again, or for it to complete it's mission before it disappears.

[+BareClawz]

what is the difference between geacoins and Travel bugs

 

A Travel Bug or TB looks very much like a 'dog-tag'.

To see the variety of geocoins type Geocoin into Google. But they're individual items, sometimes coin shaped, that have an individual number stamped on them. They're very collectable and sadly have a habit of dissapearing. Many collect them and take them to events and meets to let others log them as discovered.

I have a Native American one I carry with me and let cachers I meet when out and about discover and log.

 

Clawz

[Dick Turpin]

 

how plausible does a TB quest have to be, could I for example attach a TB tag to a disposable camera and say I want it to go to new york take a picture from the top of the Empire State Building then return to the original cache.

 

A point to bear in mind is that trackables always seem to find that great cache in the sky. The less value the item the longer it tends to survive though trackables of very little value appear desirable in someone's eyes. Geocoins are collectable in their own right and tend not to survive long. When deciding on a mission don't be over ambitious. Most people will not read a TB's mission until they have picked up the TB and then tend to place it in the next cache they visit (and that is not a bad thing, it prevents them being mislaid). Remember that you can change a TB's mission and it is quite alright to give it a mission to cross the Atlantic and once over there to change its mission to visiting New York and so on. Crossing the Atlantic is always a good idea, TBs tend to survive longer over there.

[WorcesterDan]

thanks peeps

[+Pieman]

I have geocoin with a mission to survive long enough to be able to visit caches on other planets so I am not one to discourage tough challenges for trackables.

 

Regarding trackables going to the US, my experience of caching there is the complete opposite of Dick Turpin. I've done nearly 60 caches in North America and I found it the norm that trackables listed in a cache had disappeared, whereas over here I find it to be relatively unusual.

[+dfx]

1. If you find a travel bug is it OK to just drop it another local cache or is that bad form?

 

This is what a lot of Germans do, and it means that trackables get stuck in a vortex of never really moving. But with that said if you pick it up and realise you can't help it along then it is fine to just move it to another local cache. But always try to help it with it's mission if you can.

if you have no plans of traveling anywhere in the near future and have no way of helping it along in any meaningful way, it's better to quickly drop it off (best choice is a cache that's frequently visited) somewhere close than keeping it to yourself for a longer time. it's nicer to see a TB doing many small hops, even if it's not being helped on its mission and the caches are each maybe only a few hundred meters apart, than have somebody keep it for weeks and maybe months.

Edited March 16, 2010 by dfx

[+The Blorenges]

One word of warning though, if you send any trackable off on a journey don't ever expect to see it again, or for it to complete it's mission before it disappears.

 

Oh it's not that bad.... but they do indeed go missing sometimes. I'm sure some newbies pick them up assuming they are swaps and keep them without realising. Some people pick them up, get a change in circumstances and stop caching and the trackables get forgotton about. There are thieves about who steal them and keep them. There is even someone who takes the originals, makes a rather poor facsimile copy and puts it back in a cache (never understand that one).

 

If you've bought a really cracking coin with a great design then you can always take it to events and show it to people there so they can discover it and enjoy it. You don't have to let it loose in a cache with the risk that goes with it.

 

Chris (MrB)

[+dfx]

I'm sure some newbies pick them up assuming they are swaps and keep them without realising.

this one i will never understand. i can only see that happen when the people are completely illiterate. what part of "do not keep me" is so hard to understand?

[+Haggis Hunter]

One word of warning though, if you send any trackable off on a journey don't ever expect to see it again, or for it to complete it's mission before it disappears.

 

Oh it's not that bad....

Oh Yes it is!!

 

I have 44 trackables out of that I have 16 that I have either not released or managed to get back. One of which went missing and a replica was substituted, really making it only 15 which I have at home. 18 have gone missing, if you had the replica that makes it 19. Which only leaves 10 of those that I have released still surviving. I no longer buy or set out trackables due to the pointlessness of them. In that I mean it's pointless spending money for some thieving sod to take your item, or for someone not to look after it correctly. I did like them once but now they aren't worth the money.

 

I will however buy a trackable if it is in support of some form of fundraising and I like the item.

[+t4e]

One word of warning though, if you send any trackable off on a journey don't ever expect to see it again, or for it to complete it's mission before it disappears.

 

Oh it's not that bad....

Oh Yes it is!!

 

 

agreed 144.88%

[+TheShuttleWeeds]

I also have a little question

 

Is it considered a bit bad form to discover a TB then put it in one of your own Caches ?

[+dfx]

I also have a little question

 

Is it considered a bit bad form to discover a TB then put it in one of your own Caches ?

technically you can only do that when you "retrieve" or "grab" a TB, and not when you just "discover" it.

 

other than that, i don't see anything wrong with that, at least not when it doesn't go against the TB's goal.

[Lord Darcy]

 

Oh Yes it is!!

 

I have 44 trackables out of that I have 16 that I have either not released or managed to get back. One of which went missing and a replica was substituted, really making it only 15 which I have at home. 18 have gone missing, if you had the replica that makes it 19. Which only leaves 10 of those that I have released still surviving. I no longer buy or set out trackables due to the pointlessness of them. In that I mean it's pointless spending money for some thieving sod to take your item, or for someone not to look after it correctly. I did like them once but now they aren't worth the money.

 

I will however buy a trackable if it is in support of some form of fundraising and I like the item.

 

Got to agree with Haggis Hunter - my own stats for TBs and Geocoins ...

Total owned : 13

Released : 11 + 1 copy tag released (which has also gone AWOL) = 12

Disappearances : 7

 

(Logs of released trackables in 2010 : 2)

 

Paul

[+Original A1]

I have just a handful of TBs on the go and two of them (Little Miss Sunshine and Mr Strong) started a race back to one of my caches from Ushuaia right at the bottom of Argentina. Both got picked up quickly, Little Miss Sunshine by a German cacher and Mr Strong by an American cacher. Little Miss Sunshine has been whizzing in and out of German caches since she returned to Europe, but poor old Mr Strong has stayed put in a North American cache since he was put there.

 

It's early days, but quite interesting to see the pattern of activity...

 

I set out another TB before Christmas who was picked up relatively quickly, ostensibly went to one other cache 7 miles away, but when the cache owner did a maintenance check, it had already gone missing! I've e-mailed the cacher who left it there, but haven't had a response and they haven't logged on for several weeks. It's a shame to lose it QUITE so quickly, but hopefully I might get an answer before long...

 

(I won't hold my breath though.)