GC Codes

[+craigla]

Hi fellow seekers,

My son and I are totally new to this thanks to my Iphone app !

got a question or two and wonder if anyone can help?

 

firstly we have noticed that the caches have GC Codes, are these allocated when you place a cache, or is each individual member given a GC Number, if so how do you get a code.

 

secondly: my Iphone app (geocache.com) ask's if I want to search by GC Code! where do i obtain a list of these codes from.

 

any other help would be greatly appreciated

 

both my son and I went seeking yesterday and found 4 out of 5 caches in our local area ( Wakefield)

 

this is an excellent hobby to undertake and with the dreaded 6 week school holidays now upon us think this will be a great Dad/Son hobby to continue to do.. even though my son is "Tech mad" it gets him out whilst still being able to have control of my Iphone app... ( excersice, interest & "tech stuff" all rolled into one ! fantastic )

 

Hope someone can shed light onto my questions..

 

Craigla & JordanSL

[+Jacaru & Wemnog]

Hiya and welcome. Yep, caching is a great Dad and son activity, fresh air, excercise and a sense of achievement when you find the cache.

 

In answer to your questions.

When someone places a cache, it is sent for review and given a GC code on submission.

 

Secondly if you go to www.geocaching.com you can register as a member, you will need a caching name so think of a good one.

 

On the left of the home page of the site, you will see a list, click on the Hide and Seek A Cache button and that will take you to another page, on that page you will have a list of options on how to find caches in your area, by address, you can put your hometown in, or by postal code to find the nearest caches to you. Then the page will take you to individual cache pages and you can put the coords in to your phone.

 

If you get in to caching it would be worth you considering buying a GPS as these are much more acurate than the Iphones. They vary in price, but to get you started you can usually find a cheapish second hand one on Ebay or Amazon. Garmins are good, but I am sure someone will be along to tell you more about the different GPS's that are available.

 

I am sure that there will be a localish caching group in your area, who can help you out.

Most of all, enjoy it, everyone has their favourite type of cache to find, from urban micros to the ammo boxes deep in the countryside.

It's a great hobby.......so all that's left for me to say is Happy Caching.

[+Amberel]

Hi fellow seekers,

My son and I are totally new to this thanks to my Iphone app !

got a question or two and wonder if anyone can help?

 

firstly we have noticed that the caches have GC Codes, are these allocated when you place a cache, or is each individual member given a GC Number, if so how do you get a code.

 

secondly: my Iphone app (geocache.com) ask's if I want to search by GC Code! where do i obtain a list of these codes from.

 

any other help would be greatly appreciated

 

both my son and I went seeking yesterday and found 4 out of 5 caches in our local area ( Wakefield)

 

this is an excellent hobby to undertake and with the dreaded 6 week school holidays now upon us think this will be a great Dad/Son hobby to continue to do.. even though my son is "Tech mad" it gets him out whilst still being able to have control of my Iphone app... ( excersice, interest & "tech stuff" all rolled into one ! fantastic )

 

Hope someone can shed light onto my questions..

 

Craigla & JordanSL

Welcome to the "club" . The GC codes are allocated automatically when you place a new cache. They are the unique identifier for a cache, it's quite possible for 2 caches to have the same name but they will have different GC codes.

 

As well as uniquely identifying the cache, they also tell you that it is listed on Groundspeak. There are other listing sites (considerably smaller than Groundspeak), they use a similar system but have different prefixes - OK for OpenCachingUK, TC for TerraCaching and N for NaviCache.

 

If you know the GC code, you can use it to quickly find the listing you want. If you don't know the code then you find the listing using the name, or a distance seach, or whatever, and if you wish you can make a note of the GC number from the listing for future use.

 

BTW, I know you didn't directly mention setting a cache yourself. If you are planning to do that, many people consider it a good thing to wait a bit until you've found a few, e.g. 100. The reason is that, like most hobbies, you will learn more about it as you do it. As you find your first caches you will become more skilled at using your GPSr, you will see that some hides work better than others and so on. Then when you do set your first cache, it's likely to be a better one. There isn't any rush, there is no shortage of caches, and there is no pressure whatsoever to hide as well as find.

 

So good luck with your searching, and once again welcome to this great hobby.

 

Rgds, Andy

[+Andy_and_Alfie]

Why not attend the Yorkshire Jamboree Day in Overton on Sunday

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...7e-e37e5ba4aca8

 

There will be lots of cachers in attendance (well those that arent up in Perth) and plenty of experts to answer any questions. Good beer as well