an acceptable variation in gps coords?

[+hopefulpundit]

so, i'm getting back into the hunt after a year or so and now i want to start hiding caches. my question is this...

 

Is there a generally acceptable deviation error when it comes to determining your gps location on the cache page? i would think one wouldn't want to be TOO exacting, esp. in a location that might not have many places to hide the cache, more to the point i am not using a dedicated gps reciever as it is an older one and doesn't allow for gpx files. On the other hand i like using my Nokia N82 phone and going with geocache navigator or smart gpx and i'd rather not carry an extra reciever, at any rate it constantly shows a accuracy difference of anything between12-19m and in a single evening i've been able to find caches that ranged from dead on to being about 12-13 feet away (or more) according to MY reciever. The thing is i don't know if this is simply due to a degraded signal on my reciever's part, or if the person hiding the cache either gave a less-exact location either intentionally or inadvertently and rather than run afoul of my fellow cachers, i'd like to get a handle on determining the coordinates i would want to use on any caches i will be hiding

[+FamilyDNA]

Your posted coordinates should be as accurate as you can make them, but all GPS units will have some margin of error. 12-13 feet away is actually quite good, given your potential error and the potential error of the hider.

[Motorcycle_Mama]

You should not intentionally post bad coordinates for the Traditional caches you hide.

[+randco]

A personal use GPS'r has an accuracy of 3 meters or around 10 feet on a good day. If you mark your cache location 10 or 15 feet away from the actual location, you are automatically putting another cacher 20 to 25 feet away from the actual coordinates on a good day when conditions are perfect.

 

Why would you want to mislead fellow cachers? Would you like it if others would do it to you?

[+Chokecherry]

I was just looking for a cache and was sure I was in the right spot but the unit still said it was 50-70 feet away into an office. The clue indicated I was right where I should be. I gave it a quick once over and DNF it. Went back and read the lots. Most of hte last finders noted the coordinates to be 50+ feet off when they found the cache.

 

Considering that where it was hidden was in a well maintained garden the damage that could be done with soft coordinates is amazing. I personally did not want to add to any damage to the area so I left it and will no longer look for that owner's caches.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Although some do intentionally list soft coords (for whatever reason), I more suspect that bad coords come up because somebody made the mistake of "hurrying" when they obtained their readings for the hide. Too as noted here in the forums, a number of people use Google or other maps to obtain their coords, even though guidelines say to use a GPSr. That is a matter of them not reading what they should have read (then understanding what it was they just read)!

 

A lot of unknown/unseen/unnoticed variables exist when using a GPSr, also. That is why multiple readings on different days or times should be taken prior to placement. Remember too, those same variables may exist while you are trying to "find" it.

[+Prime Suspect]

If you're using a smartphone to hide a cache, the last thing you need to worry about is that your coordinates are "too accurate".

[+humboldt flier]

If you're using a smartphone to hide a cache, the last thing you need to worry about is that your coordinates are "too accurate".

 

10-4 to that

[+edscott]

Soft coordinates invite environmental damage which can lead to cache banning. Get them as close as you can.

[+humboldt flier]

Soft coordinates invite environmental damage which can lead to cache banning. Get them as close as you can.

 

10-4 to that as well.

 

I might add, if signal interpretation is sketchy include a meaningful hint as well.

[+hopefulpundit]

If you're using a smartphone to hide a cache, the last thing you need to worry about is that your coordinates are "too accurate".

 

10-4 to that

 

Which is sort of my point, i guess. As i mentioned in my posts when i'm hunting , apparently i have fairly good results with my not-so-smart phone (using smartGPX i get within 12-15 ft. ) and then let my geo-sense take over, but i figure hiding requires a certain sensitivity and sensibility and i didn't want to do a disservice to anyone. I guess at the end of the day it wouldn't hurt to use my older gtrax but in side-by-side comparisons there wasn't a heck of a lot of difference between the phone and the dedicated GPSr so either they are both reasonably accurate or not worth using. I figure the former is the case so i guess i'll just have a go at it. judging from some of the responses and my results i'm on fairly good ground (and so will my hides be )

Edited August 6, 2010 by hopefulpundit

[Andronicus]

If you're using a smartphone to hide a cache, the last thing you need to worry about is that your coordinates are "too accurate".

 

10-4 to that

What information are you guys basing your statements? Wild speculation I presume. My HTC Touch (Vogue), which has the QualCOMM GPSOne chipset, has consistantly given me approx ±3m on the 70ish survey monuments I have tested it on.

 

Hopefulpundit: Your phone may or may not be accuriate (kind of like a dedicated GPSr). The only way to know is look up the specs, or do some testing.

 

To answer the original question, never intentionaly give bad coordinates. If the hider did not have a newish GPSr (with WAAS or simmilar), the coordinates may be quite bad unintentionaly.