Frustration

[+mcrojo/The Sluckers]

I don't know if it's my GPS apps (iPhone 3G an iPad), google maps, me, folks playing games with the caches or what. I hit maybe twelve sites this morning and maybe five of those came up empty for me. Either of the units will tell me I am one or two feet of the cache. Those which I was unable to find were in urban areas. One was inside a fenced off city government type area.

 

I am not completely convinced my devices are giving me the most accurate coordinates and will revisit when I am able to procure a real GPS device.

 

In the mean time... Chocolate summit is calling my name.

[knowschad]

I don't know if it's my GPS apps (iPhone 3G an iPad), google maps, me, folks playing games with the caches or what. I hit maybe twelve sites this morning and maybe five of those came up empty for me. Either of the units will tell me I am one or two feet of the cache. Those which I was unable to find were in urban areas. One was inside a fenced off city government type area.

 

I am not completely convinced my devices are giving me the most accurate coordinates and will revisit when I am able to procure a real GPS device.

 

In the mean time... Chocolate summit is calling my name.

You didn't say anything about the particular caches you were looking for. When beginning, start out with Large caches, if possible (small if you must, but avoid micros for now) with low difficulty ratings.

 

Also, it is my understanding that the phone GPS is either not as accurate, or at least, slower to respond. But many caches have been found with them, so I wouldn't necessarily give up, if geocaching is something that you really want to do. Just be sure to look for the easier ones until you learn some of our hiding tricks.

[+mcrojo/The Sluckers]

Aw heck! You mean I'm a beginner and have to start at the beginning? I was just about to set coordinates for the ISS.

 

I thought I was doing the easy ones!

[Skippermark]

Part of the problem could be related to the iPhone. The GPS in the iPhone 3/3Gs is not all that quick to update as you move around. What I found with mine was that it would get me to let's say 30 feet and then wouldn't really adjust much unless I stood there for a bit, but everytime I'd move, I'd have to wait for it to update again.

 

The iPad is supposed to have a much better GPS (similar to the iPhone 4), which seems to be as good as a stand alone GPS.

 

If you think you're going to do it a lot, you might want to pick up a stand alone GPS or upgrade to the iPhone 4 if you're eligible/able. I upgraded mine, and it's as good as the stand alone GPS I use. I like it so much that I often won't take my GPS if I'm only doing a few.

[+mcrojo/The Sluckers]

I've been relying more on the iPad than iPhone. What you say about the refresh time is true. However, when I put the two side to side they both will eventually give me the same location. I'm almost thinking it has something to do with google maps which I remember as one of the requirements for the apps I am using.

 

Also, wih the heat we're having these days, the iPad will require a power off period to continue using.

 

In many cases, both devices will shownthe location exactly. Most, really. I'm really wondering if the amount of time between the last find and hen I'm at he location has a lot to do with it. That is, are sites being pilfered?

 

Bottom line, a hand-held unit is probably in the future.

[+Coldgears]

I've been relying more on the iPad than iPhone.

Isn't the Ipad basically a labtop? How can you bring those things with you? They're huge!

Edited August 27, 2010 by Coldgears

[+ngrrfan]

Isn't the Ipad basically a labtop? How can you bring those things with you? They're huge!

That's why you use them to find Regular and Large caches.

[+briansnat]

One thing to remember is that the cache won't necessarily be right at the posted coordinates. The hider's GPS had some inaccuracy (up to about 30 feet and maybe more depending on conditions) so even if your GPS had pinpoint accuracy, which it doesn't, you could be considerably off even if your GPS says it's 2 feet away. Think like a hider. Consider where you would hide something in that area. Don't rely too much on the GPS.

[+mcrojo/The Sluckers]

The iPad is a laptop of sorts. It's smaller than traditional and much larger than iPhone or handheld gps. The main benefits are the size of the screen when viewing satellite photos of the area and ease of use. I don't expect to go on an epic hunt with it. Imagine being on site and viewing ALL the information about the cache including stories (i.e. Wedding Bells), description, and perhaps a hint.

[+teamblklab]

We started with our iphone 3g. DH quickly got a Garmin Oregon 400t. I've found that the 3g compass starts jumping around when the distance shows 17-21 ft. Once we had the Garmin, we compared and found out that even though the iphone would say I was close, I often was not. I must say that I now have developed the better "geo-sense" as I can't rely on my iphone to get me within only 3 feet. Keep in mind that the cache coordinates may already be off and then your Apple product is off by some too. Read logs to get clues, sometimes the cache name also provides a clue and go for low difficulty ratings. The thing that works best for me is asking myself "if I were hiding a cache in this location where would I hide it?". Keep caching! We've had so much fun with it.

[+orion X]

One thing to remember is that the cache won't necessarily be right at the posted coordinates. The hider's GPS had some inaccuracy (up to about 30 feet and maybe more depending on conditions) so even if your GPS had pinpoint accuracy, which it doesn't, you could be considerably off even if your GPS says it's 2 feet away. Think like a hider. Consider where you would hide something in that area. Don't rely too much on the GPS.

 

Briansnat said it best, you have to think like a hider. Of all the caches I have found, very, very few have been within 5 feet of where my 60CsX zeroed out. Once I get within 20ish feet I put away the Gps and start searching. Heck I have found caches that were over 200 feet off of where my gps said it "should" be. Best of luck, and just have fun with it, and don't rely on where your gps ( iphone/ipad) say 0 feet is.

[+TEAM HARTSOCK]

True a stand alone GPS doesn't mean that everything will be perfect, but I have come to believe that alot of the combo things...apps on the iPhone, iPad or Verizon's VZNavigator, just aren't going to cut it. The phones are made to be phones with apps as a bonus (although I would admit that is starting to change). I personally would prob invest in an old eTrex and use it before relying on the iPhone. Just my opinion, I love my iPod, love the iPhones I have used, and the iPads I have seen, but doesn't ring my bell to use for caching.

[+Crow-T-Robot]

One thing to remember is that the cache won't necessarily be right at the posted coordinates. The hider's GPS had some inaccuracy (up to about 30 feet and maybe more depending on conditions) so even if your GPS had pinpoint accuracy, which it doesn't, you could be considerably off even if your GPS says it's 2 feet away. Think like a hider. Consider where you would hide something in that area. Don't rely too much on the GPS.

 

This comes with experience. I know when I started, I would be following the arrow as it approached zero and at the same time, I'd walk right past the tree/stump/whatever that the cache was hidden in. Now I like to use the analogy of going to a stadium. The GPS will get me to the right section and maybe even the right row, but it is up to me to find the correct seat.

[+brslk]

One thing to remember is that the cache won't necessarily be right at the posted coordinates. The hider's GPS had some inaccuracy (up to about 30 feet and maybe more depending on conditions) so even if your GPS had pinpoint accuracy, which it doesn't, you could be considerably off even if your GPS says it's 2 feet away. Think like a hider. Consider where you would hide something in that area. Don't rely too much on the GPS.

 

This comes with experience. I know when I started, I would be following the arrow as it approached zero and at the same time, I'd walk right past the tree/stump/whatever that the cache was hidden in. Now I like to use the analogy of going to a stadium. The GPS will get me to the right section and maybe even the right row, but it is up to me to find the correct seat.

 

Yup^

[Skippermark]

I've been relying more on the iPad than iPhone. What you say about the refresh time is true. However, when I put the two side to side they both will eventually give me the same location. I'm almost thinking it has something to do with google maps which I remember as one of the requirements for the apps I am using.

The two units have different GPS chips in them. The 3G chip is quite a bit slower to react.

 

The thing that I noticed with the 3G was that it might stop counting down the distance when I was 30 feet away, so I'd walk 20 feet away to see if I'd get closer to the cache. The distance wouldn't update, so I'd stop for a few seconds, and it would finally update but say I'm now 50 feet from the cache. It got to be a guessing game to try to figure out which way you need to go when getting close.

 

So, what I would do is, when I'd get about 100 feet away, I'd look to see where the GPS was pointing and then I'd pick an object about that far away and then walk the line between where I was and that object. If the GPS stopped updating about 30 feet away, I'd know I need to keep going to wards that object. Once I got close to that area, I'd put the phone away and just start looking.

Edited August 27, 2010 by Skippermark

[+mcrojo/The Sluckers]

Did some experimenting this morning.

 

The iPhone 3G is slow to respond, freezes location occasionally, and is fairly difficult to see location on the small screen. The iPad is crazy accurate, pretty fast to refresh, and goes so far as to show shadows of objects such as telephone poles, trees, and bolds to help navigate. I'm trying to save this device WTO end the frustration of bad iPhone assistance.

 

I'll probably stick to these units until I plan some back country and mountain searches where the signal will probably get lost and a handheld unit will be needed.

[+roziecakes]

I've cached with some friends who have an iphone and it is seriously the most frustrating thing to cache with, so kudos to those of you who can find caches with one. My husband is borrowing a droid from work so that he can develop some apps for it, and it was just as frustrating to cache with. Maybe I just don't have enough patience...

 

I have never used an ipad at all though; not really interested in getting one as it seems a little pointless to me; but I'm glad that you're getting better accuracy with it. Best of luck, and I know that when you do get a handheld GPS you'll love it!

[+cterral]

I have an iPhone 3G and have been successfully caching with it since 7/27/10. I started with the free Groundspeak app and liked it so much I bought the real thing. I have only logged 24 caches so far. Of those 8 were did not finds. Of those 8, it turns out 6 had been muggled and one was a micro that took me two tries.

 

I have not had much success using the compass portion of this app, because when I get close (20 ft or less from the cache) it starts spinning around. If I keep it on the main navigation screen and use the distance info on the top right I am led up to the cache.

 

I think the biggest thing about using the 3G is that you cannot be in a huge hurry because of the need to update. However, if I just walk at a normal pace in a straight line it will update fast enough to lead me to the right place.

 

I have not had success with GPS apps like MotionX or others available at the app store.

 

The only downside to using the Groudnspeak app is that it is a bit of a battery hog.

 

That being said, the $10 investment for that app has totally been worth it. It has worked well for me as a novice geocacher.

Edited August 27, 2010 by cterral