Intentional Sabotage

[+thepublixeye]

I put out a new multi a month or so ago and it seems to be pretty well received. Today I received a message from a fellow cacher saying that they had found the first stage, found the final, figured out the combination to access the final, but the combo didnt work.

 

When I went out to check it.....yep....the word combo has been changed. it is a masterlock that you can change the reels to make them spell what you like. if you are so inclined, when you have it open, you can pop the spring loaded end off and switch the combination.

 

the final is visible and the lock accessible, but you would have no idea the correct combination unless you found the first stage.....which to me, means that it was tampered with by a fellow cacher.

 

To me, this is the most disappointing part. I put time and effort into making this fun, and now I am contemplating archiving it after a month. if I want to continue with it, I am going to find bolt cutters to remove and a new lock...with the faith that they will not just come back and mess with it again.....

 

thoughts??

[+Chokecherry]

Not having any experience with this kind of cache but much with those kinds of locks I can offer a little insight.

 

Yes it's possible it was intentionally messed with by someone finding step one and then purposely messing with it.

 

Those locks are not good locks in general. I have had to break them a few times to get into stuff (long stories you really don't want to know) and it took minimal effort to break them as far as locks are concerned. I've also attempted to use them myself and found if I hit them right etc next thing you konw the reels come off and you're stuck trying to get it all back together. If you're not familiar with the reel set up you could easily put them on wrong again in my experience.

 

Those locks also have some issues with weather. They don't do well in it. So you might want to think about the long term usage of a lock on your cache based on that as well.

[Gamma Ray]

I put out a new multi a month or so ago and it seems to be pretty well received. Today I received a message from a fellow cacher saying that they had found the first stage, found the final, figured out the combination to access the final, but the combo didnt work.

 

When I went out to check it.....yep....the word combo has been changed. it is a masterlock that you can change the reels to make them spell what you like. if you are so inclined, when you have it open, you can pop the spring loaded end off and switch the combination.

 

the final is visible and the lock accessible, but you would have no idea the correct combination unless you found the first stage.....which to me, means that it was tampered with by a fellow cacher.

 

To me, this is the most disappointing part. I put time and effort into making this fun, and now I am contemplating archiving it after a month. if I want to continue with it, I am going to find bolt cutters to remove and a new lock...with the faith that they will not just come back and mess with it again.....

 

thoughts??

 

Email he last people to find it and ask?

It may just be a prank.. albeit not funny and crappy.

 

otherwise i suppose you will just have to use boltcutters.

And when you put the new one on use epoxy or similar to block the compo changing?

[+Mezgrman]

This is something that really gets me

I can't imagine that one could do this that easily by accident. There must have been someone who did it on purpose...

 

And when you put the new one on use epoxy or similar to block the compo changing?

 

How would you block the combo changing without blocking the whole lock?

[+WRITE SHOP ROBERT]

This is something that really gets me

I can't imagine that one could do this that easily by accident. There must have been someone who did it on purpose...

 

And when you put the new one on use epoxy or similar to block the compo changing?

 

How would you block the combo changing without blocking the whole lock?

While not exactly the same kind of lock, I recently ruined one that my brother bought by accidentally changing the combo(to something unknown) just while fiddling with it. We had to buy a new one.

[knowschad]

I have put out many caches over the years that I thought were good ideas when I placed them, but learned eventually that I wasn't as clever as I thought I was, and have eventually had to archive them. I'm not saying that is the case for your cache, but you can see if that shoe fits. Creativity and pushing the envelope are good things, but they also have a backside, and sometimes you just have to decide which is most important to you. For example, I have an electronic doorbell sitting next to me right now. It was out there for a couple of years and was very well received, but eventually the ringers stopped working consistently. Had to pull it or spend another $30 or so to replace it and the two ringer buttons. I pulled it.

[+Dread_Pirate_Bruce]

If you have electricity nearby, an angle grinder with a metal cutting wheel works much better than bolt cutters, is only $19 at Harbor Freight, and has many other uses. (I especially like it for cutting rebar into short lengths to use in hiding caches in concrete tire blocks in parking lots.)

[+TeamAtlas]

I put out a new multi a month or so ago and it seems to be pretty well received. Today I received a message from a fellow cacher saying that they had found the first stage, found the final, figured out the combination to access the final, but the combo didnt work.

 

When I went out to check it.....yep....the word combo has been changed. it is a masterlock that you can change the reels to make them spell what you like. if you are so inclined, when you have it open, you can pop the spring loaded end off and switch the combination.

 

the final is visible and the lock accessible, but you would have no idea the correct combination unless you found the first stage.....which to me, means that it was tampered with by a fellow cacher.

 

To me, this is the most disappointing part. I put time and effort into making this fun, and now I am contemplating archiving it after a month. if I want to continue with it, I am going to find bolt cutters to remove and a new lock...with the faith that they will not just come back and mess with it again.....

 

thoughts??

 

I just bought one of those exact locks with the same idea as you. Found it on clearance at Staples for $4 so I thought I'd give it a shot. We have not put it out yet. My husband's first comment to me was, all someone has to do is pull the end off and change the combination. I wonder if there is a way to epoxy the end on, so that it cannot be pulled off.

[Andronicus]

If you have electricity nearby, an angle grinder with a metal cutting wheel works much better than bolt cutters, is only $19 at Harbor Freight, and has many other uses. (I especially like it for cutting rebar into short lengths to use in hiding caches in concrete tire blocks in parking lots.)

You could also rent a cordless angle grinder from Home Depot.

[4wheelin_fool]

If you have electricity nearby, an angle grinder with a metal cutting wheel works much better than bolt cutters, is only $19 at Harbor Freight, and has many other uses. (I especially like it for cutting rebar into short lengths to use in hiding caches in concrete tire blocks in parking lots.)

You could also rent a cordless angle grinder from Home Depot.

 

The Walmart rentals are free, as long as you keep the receipt.

[+Viajero Perdido]

I have picked those locks a couple of times by feel alone.

 

On one of those occasions, a fellow cacher was doing the math to calculate the combination while I just futzed with the lock. I got it open first.

 

In other words, the OP's situation may have been the work of a muggle.

[+DragonsWest]

Reel-type combo locks are notoriously easy to "feel" the combination. With a little work you might be able to discover what it has been set to and open it.

 

I've yet to find one I couldn't unlock within a couple minutes.

 

Just call me "fingers" DragonsWest.

[+thepublixeye]

I wish I had you, "fingers, around to figure out what the combo has been switched to! Then I could just take it off and replace it with a different lock. My skills don't seem to be up to par! I am going to work on it though....

[jo3owens]

What!? I had no idea there was international sabotage going on!

[+niraD]

As I've read multiple times in these forums, "The best thing about geocaching is that anyone can play. The worst thing about geocaching is that anyone can play."

 

Sorry it happened to you.