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Pet hates when caching?


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I'm not asking for a complete timetable - that's obviously unreasonable - but giving people information about where the nearest bus stop or railway station is will be accurate for years as they rarely move or close. The assumption that everyone drives is just lazy.

 

Which is the nearest railway station or bus stop to http://coord.info/GC2GAVP ?

I know from the cache description that I can park my car at the leisure centre but would I know how to get there by bus or train if I was on holiday in the area?

 

Some of Birdman's caches would be near impossible by public transport - mainly because there is little of it round these parts. And even if you did know where the nearest bus stop was, chances are that a bus only stops there once a day, so while you might get there, getting back could be an issue.

 

I do take your point about saying if there is a bus stop reasonably close, but that still leaves a degree of research on the part of the non driving cacher to work out if it is doable, especially in a rural area.

Having a google map to hand with road names etc is usually enough I would have thought to take to the various bus and train websites to see if there is a service.

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Having a google map to hand with road names etc is usually enough I would have thought to take to the various bus and train websites to see if there is a service.

 

If from the cache page you choose the "Google Maps" link (not the Geocaching.com Google Maps), and then on the resulting map type "bus stop" into the search box, not only does it bring up all the bus stops on the map, its also hotlinked to the company running the service, where (presumably) timetables can be found.

 

I doubt whether this is 100% accurate 100% of the time, but it's much more effective than trying to put such info on the cache page and leaving it to go out of date.

Edited by MartyBartfast
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CO's that cant be bothered to change a log book despite numerous people alerting them that it's full.

 

Loosing GPS signal, following the blue dot on the iPhone app, standing at GZ and having the blue dot carry on going past itself.

 

Descriptions that describe more of the local area than the hide, that helps! 'In a tree' for example when there's hundreds of trees.

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The biggest pet hate I have is Dog Eggs. If you have a dog and it craps anywhere do the rest of the world a favour and pick it up and bag it . I know it isnt hard as I do it all the time for my mums dog. Seriously when looking for a cache I hate having to dance around the Dog eggs.

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the thing that is bugging me at this moment in time is ....

 

a hand full of cachers that only put:-

 

TNFC

or

keep smilling

or

biggrin.gif

 

or worst still leave it blank

 

and not adding any form of report as to the condition of the cache / log / surroundings etc .. or if any trackables are in the cache as per the inventory ?

 

then theres the DNF .. there to help others ? if cachers would add them .

 

other than that , nothing really bothers me

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Personally I think working out how to get to the cache location is all part of geocaching. Do we really need the cache owner to hold peoples hand saying "park here" or "get the number 23 bus from this place at this time?". We all have access to the internet and this information is readily available together with satellite photos, birds eye views, google street view etc etc.

 

My biggest pet hate as a cache owner is of course empty logs or "TFTC", even "Nice easy find" is better than that. A CO'ers only contact with their cache is from the logs. There are some that are very easy caches such as Motorway Mayhem, but even then I've had ones like "On my way to Beamish", "Driving up to Scotland for the weekend", which at least tells me something about who found it and why they went looking for my cache.

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Personally I think working out how to get to the cache location is all part of geocaching. Do we really need the cache owner to hold peoples hand saying "park here" or "get the number 23 bus from this place at this time?". We all have access to the internet and this information is readily available together with satellite photos, birds eye views, google street view etc etc.

 

For an individual cache perhaps, for a long circuit of caches I must admit I rather like having some idea in advance of where I'm likely to be able to park. Satellite photos might show me somewhere it's physically possible to park my car but won't let me know if I'll return to find my car has been towed.

 

Personally I like to know in advance whether a cache is accessible by bike, or whether a circuit is bikeable. I must admit I'd rather not take a long ride to get to a circuit only to find a six-foot high and very narrow kissing gate in the way.

 

What sometimes irritates me is the "no cycling" attribute used on a cache where you can cycle to within 50 yards of it and all you have to do is get off (at the "cyclists dismount" sign) and walk the last few yards to the cache pushing the bike.

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For an individual cache perhaps, for a long circuit of caches I must admit I rather like having some idea in advance of where I'm likely to be able to park. Satellite photos might show me somewhere it's physically possible to park my car but won't let me know if I'll return to find my car has been towed.

I agree.

For us our caching day starts when we start walking and finding footpaths, not driving round and round country lanes in an area we don't know all that well trying to find somewhere to park the van while burning up diesel.

Driving round and round is frustrating (not to say expensive), especially on the single track roads round here where if you need to turn round you sometimes have to drive a mile before you find a muddy gateway to turn the van.

In the end you find a space at the roadside where if you park right up against a hedge you can just about get away with not blocking any access gates or the road itself. Then 2 miles round the walk you find a little picnic area with plenty of parking.

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GZ's near overhead power line that stop the GPS working propperly

 

I've never had powerlines making any sort of difference to my GPS signal. What sort of unit are you using ??

 

Garmin's Oregon instructions for calibrating the compass states; Do not stand near overhead power lines. So they must effect them, magnetically.

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GZ's near overhead power line that stop the GPS working propperly

 

I've never had powerlines making any sort of difference to my GPS signal. What sort of unit are you using ??

 

Garmin's Oregon instructions for calibrating the compass states; Do not stand near overhead power lines. So they must effect them, magnetically.

Yes, but you don't need a compass (or working compass function) to geocache. The GPS signals don't use magnetism.

Edited by NattyBooshka
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Yes, but you don't need a compass (or working compass function) to geocache. The GPS signals don't use magnetism.

 

I don't know about that particular unit, but a lot of them do.

They have a compass function... which is handy when you first turn a unit on I guess. Once moving any GPSr can derive your bearing, and the distance to the cache. So, whilst powerlines can interfere with the working of the compass, they do nothing to the GPS signal that is required to find the cache. Maybe for geocaching purposes, turning the compass off would be a good idea. I guess if getting an underground cache, a compass can be handy.

 

Always seemed a strange move to add a compass to GPSr units to be honest, as it adds nothing to the usefulness of the device. It's like me putting a horse and cart in a trailer and towing them round the country.

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Yes, but you don't need a compass (or working compass function) to geocache. The GPS signals don't use magnetism.

 

I don't know about that particular unit, but a lot of them do.

The GPS signals are radio signals. Some GPS handsets have a built in electronic compass, but strictly speaking that is not part of the GPS receiver, it is a separate part of the handset electronics. Such a compass doesn't use the GPS signals.

 

Rgds, Andy

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Always seemed a strange move to add a compass to GPSr units to be honest, as it adds nothing to the usefulness of the device.
It is a very useful addition, and especially for geocaching. It means your direction pointer still works when you are stationary or moving very slowly, as we often are when we get near to a cache.

 

Rgds, Andy

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I'm not asking for a complete timetable - that's obviously unreasonable - but giving people information about where the nearest bus stop or railway station is will be accurate for years as they rarely move or close. The assumption that everyone drives is just lazy.

 

Which is the nearest railway station or bus stop to http://coord.info/GC2GAVP ?

 

Click on "Google maps"

Zoom in.

 

Oh look! Six bus stops!

 

Click on one it tells you the buses, their times, and the site to get further info.

 

Edit the search at the top to:

 

rail station near N 55° 58.271 W 003° 37.599 (GC2GAVP)

 

Linlithgow Rail Station 1.2E

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I'm not asking for a complete timetable - that's obviously unreasonable - but giving people information about where the nearest bus stop or railway station is will be accurate for years as they rarely move or close. The assumption that everyone drives is just lazy.

 

Which is the nearest railway station or bus stop to http://coord.info/GC2GAVP ?

 

Click on "Google maps"

Zoom in.

 

Oh look! Six bus stops!

 

Click on one it tells you the buses, their times, and the site to get further info.

 

Edit the search at the top to:

 

rail station near N 55° 58.271 W 003° 37.599 (GC2GAVP)

 

Linlithgow Rail Station 1.2E

 

I agree with you Rutson, the information in a lot of cases is easy to access and I therefore wouldn't argue that cache owners should spell it out on every cache page as some are doing.

 

I was perhaps being a little mischievous in highlighting one of the poster's caches which did not provide public transport info but did detail car parking info. This after they had said that assuming everyone drove when constructing a cache page was 'lazy' and that people should include nearest bus stop and train station info in their descriptions.

 

By the way, can I just say thanks for your GSAK Memory Map macro - invaluable, thank you for sharing it.

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Always seemed a strange move to add a compass to GPSr units to be honest, as it adds nothing to the usefulness of the device.
It is a very useful addition, and especially for geocaching. It means your direction pointer still works when you are stationary or moving very slowly, as we often are when we get near to a cache.

 

Rgds, Andy

Geko 201 and eTrex Legend never had an issue with this... pointer still works when moving very slowly, and is static when stationary, as you'd want... all without a compass! For walking, there is no replacement for map and compass, and I wouldn't venture into mountains with a GPS alone no matter how good the mapping was... of course map reading is a dying art!

 

Then again, I'm the old fashioned sort who carries a camera and a phone, and uses sat nav and iPod (classic) I guess I like to be surrounded by dedicated toys! While I have an iPhone, I don't think it does anything brilliantly... it just does more than any other. Hope GPSr units continue to cover the basics well instead of going down that route... but then Garmin have done a phone :(

 

Done a few caches with map and compass from parking location, just using GPSr to give me bearing and distance, then turning off.

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Always seemed a strange move to add a compass to GPSr units to be honest, as it adds nothing to the usefulness of the device.
It is a very useful addition, and especially for geocaching. It means your direction pointer still works when you are stationary or moving very slowly, as we often are when we get near to a cache.

 

Rgds, Andy

Geko 201 and eTrex Legend never had an issue with this... pointer still works when moving very slowly, and is static when stationary, as you'd want... all without a compass!

I guess that depends on what you want :lol: I don't want it to be static, I want it to point to GZ!

 

While a Geko or an eTrex without a built in compass will update the direction OK at and a little below normal walking speed, I guarantee it will not do so if you move a lot more slowly, and it certainly won't update correctly if you change direction without changing position. When searching it is normal for me to do both of those, so having it point in the correct direction in those circumstances is without doubt very useful to me.

 

As for the rest of the post, I agree, and I too always carry a paper map and conventional magnetic compass, but I can't see what bearing it has on the present discussion.

 

In short, provided it is calibrated, a device with integrated compass performs exactly the same as one without as long as you are moving at a reasonable speed, and better than one without when you are stationary or moving very slowly.

 

Rgds, Andy

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Always seemed a strange move to add a compass to GPSr units to be honest, as it adds nothing to the usefulness of the device.
It is a very useful addition, and especially for geocaching. It means your direction pointer still works when you are stationary or moving very slowly, as we often are when we get near to a cache.

 

Rgds, Andy

Geko 201 and eTrex Legend never had an issue with this... pointer still works when moving very slowly, and is static when stationary, as you'd want... all without a compass!

I guess that depends on what you want :lol: I don't want it to be static, I want it to point to GZ!

 

While a Geko or an eTrex without a built in compass will update the direction OK at and a little below normal walking speed, I guarantee it will not do so if you move a lot more slowly, and it certainly won't update correctly if you change direction without changing position. When searching it is normal for me to do both of those, so having it point in the correct direction in those circumstances is without doubt very useful to me.

 

As for the rest of the post, I agree, and I too always carry a paper map and conventional magnetic compass, but I can't see what bearing it has on the present discussion.

 

In short, provided it is calibrated, a device with integrated compass performs exactly the same as one without as long as you are moving at a reasonable speed, and better than one without when you are stationary or moving very slowly.

 

Rgds, Andy

Maybe I'm just blessed up here... As long as the waypoint is right, 2 slow walks in 2 directions and it's done!

 

And I'd hope that you would want your pointer to be static when you're stood still... Otherwise this game gets a bit harder!

 

When battery is low the legend tends to point ahead yet count distance up as you pass the cache... Which is made all the stranger by the fact that the "map" view is still perfect and shows the cache behind me... Can't work that one out!

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Hehe... Forgot my pet hate!

 

Logs saying "co-ordinates about 3 yards out" when it's been hidden and found with GPSr devices that probably both showed an accuracy of 15 feet anyway... And of course there's no measurement of the accuracy of the "accuracy" reading! iPhone claimed 17 feet the other day... eTrex claimed 2 feet... Don't believe either, though the hide was directly under the etrex!

 

Biggest pet hate is PQs that turn up about 3 hours after you've given up on it and gone out for the day. I get the email with the file... But it's kinda hard to get it from phone to GPSr (maybe there is a market for garmin's phone!) why do I pay for it again?

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And I'd hope that you would want your pointer to be static when you're stood still... Otherwise this game gets a bit harder!
Not if you remain in the same place, but turn, which is what I said. I confess I do struggle to understand why you're so strongly opposed to a feature that never reduces performance and under some circumstances enhances it.

 

Maybe I'm just blessed up here... As long as the waypoint is right, 2 slow walks in 2 directions and it's done!
That's fine on the moors, but a lot less likely in dense forest or urban jungle.

 

Rgds, Andy

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And I'd hope that you would want your pointer to be static when you're stood still... Otherwise this game gets a bit harder!
Not if you remain in the same place, but turn, which is what I said. I confess I do struggle to understand why you're so strongly opposed to a feature that never reduces performance and under some circumstances enhances it.

 

Maybe I'm just blessed up here... As long as the waypoint is right, 2 slow walks in 2 directions and it's done!
That's fine on the moors, but a lot less likely in dense forest or urban jungle.

 

Rgds, Andy

I'm not so strongly opposed... just opposed as much as I am to the stopwatch function on a watch... it's there, it doesn't do much, and isn't actually of use most of the time. I'm also opposed to camera's on phones (as they're poor) and video calling! No greatly opposed to any, just fail to see the point!

 

The moors and the towns here are much the same... so yeah I'm lucky... of course we pay for it in other ways!

Edited by NattyBooshka
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And I'd hope that you would want your pointer to be static when you're stood still... Otherwise this game gets a bit harder!
Not if you remain in the same place, but turn, which is what I said. I confess I do struggle to understand why you're so strongly opposed to a feature that never reduces performance and under some circumstances enhances it.

I use a 60CSx and I have to admit that the electronic compass is very rarely turned on. I've found from experience that the navigation pointer is very unstable with the compass turned on (and correctly calibrated). It's OK when you're standing still but the pointer swing wildly all round the dial as you walk. It's not so bad when you've some distance to go to your destination, more that 0.1 miles or so but get progressively worse the closer you get to the waypoint. With the electronic compass turned off, the pointer is much steadier. I have no explanation for this nor do I know if all 60CSx units behave this way but mine does so the electronic compass remains off and I rely on my Francis Barker M88 for all my compass needs.

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Francis Barker M88... Wow, they're some piece of kit! Have to settle for a Silva Ranger CL myself as I can't justify £200 on a compass... Then again, I do want one! Just have to convince the other half that not only do we need 2 GPSr units, we need the best compass money can buy!

 

I've yet to find an accurate electronic compass... I consider them to be toys pretty much, and I think that's the issue I have with them on the GPSr... They're not needed, they don't really work, but they're OK to play with... Like a stopwatch on a digital wristwatch.... Occasionally a small proportion of the population will find a use for them!

 

For those with proper map and compass skills, my cache idea from wayback is taking shape... Just the landowners to convince!

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I received a free keyring which has a LED light, whistle and magnetic compass, included with my cheap hill walking boots. When im close enough that a magnetic compass would provide benefit its accuracy of 90deg right against 100deg right is completely negligble.

 

If you have the money for beautiful kit, go for it. If you simply want something that works, doesnt matter how much you spend as long as it does its job intended.

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I received a free keyring which has a LED light, whistle and magnetic compass, included with my cheap hill walking boots. When im close enough that a magnetic compass would provide benefit its accuracy of 90deg right against 100deg right is completely negligble.

 

If you have the money for beautiful kit, go for it. If you simply want something that works, doesnt matter how much you spend as long as it does its job intended.

Got a few of them from walking shoes and boots (all nice n cheap!)

 

Absolutely right about costs... anyone getting into this game could do far worse than buy an eTrex H... which is available new and ready for collection from a well known store for under £60. I don't want to be accused of advertising, so I wont name them here... sufficed to say, just like Groundspeak, they also encourage people to go outdoors!

 

The compass in question is for the serious walker (and real ale drinker) no doubt about it... and far less money can buy most people what they need... just like for this game, £60 can get you what you need... but the £500 pieces of kit out there are on everyone's wish lists, and much better suited to other outdoor purposes. I cant decide between the 62st and the Oregon 550t, so hoping to see both in action before committing serious cash!

Edited by NattyBooshka
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I received the garmin dakota 10 for crimbo at the pricely sum of £110. Its features such as full keyboard touchscreen make it worth the extra, but I really dither on the benefit of a top of the range. Its like the difference between a vauxhall and a bentley. If u got the money spare then fair fair.

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I cant decide between the 62st and the Oregon 550t, so hoping to see both in action before committing serious cash!
It entirely depends on where your priorities lie. The Oregon 550t is probably better in every respect other than the GPSr performance. It's much easier to use for paperless caching, but sadly, Garmin concentrated on that aspect so much that they dropped the ball a bit on the receiver itself.

 

It's even got an electronic compass and a camera :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

Rgds, Andy

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I received a free keyring which has a LED light..........

 

If you follow DrSolly about, you'll find a few of them as he tends to leave them scattered all over the countryside. :lol:

I suppose he gets through a lot of shoes, looking at those stats!

 

A good pair of boots can last for days and days!

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Trying to find a cache in a tree when its nearly dark, thinking ive found it ... pull out a dead squirrel :blink:

 

Even by day it's sometimes not immediately clear if a small bag at the foot of a tree where the GPS says 3 feet contains the film pot or something far less pleasant.

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Trying to find a cache in a tree when its nearly dark, thinking ive found it ... pull out a dead squirrel :blink:

 

Even by day it's sometimes not immediately clear if a small bag at the foot of a tree where the GPS says 3 feet contains the film pot or something far less pleasant.

 

I did once find a micro in the woods which was disguised by being hidden inside a dog poo bag, and hung in a tree - YUK :huh:

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Trying to find a cache in a tree when its nearly dark, thinking ive found it ... pull out a dead squirrel :blink:

 

Even by day it's sometimes not immediately clear if a small bag at the foot of a tree where the GPS says 3 feet contains the film pot or something far less pleasant.

 

I did once find a micro in the woods which was disguised by being hidden inside a dog poo bag, and hung in a tree - YUK :huh:

 

eeewwww.... :mad: Was it also wrapped in rolled, brown plasticine? :huh:

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1. It's been said many times, but nano and micro caches in places you could hide a 100 litre barrel.

 

2. Cachers who complain about nettles when finding caches hidden in the countryside. Although not very pleasant if you expect to get off the beaten track they are a fact of life.

 

3. Cachers who do not read the instructions and expect to get everything off of their hand held devices, then complain when they make life hard for themselves.

 

4. 35mm Film pots!!! Bring on the digital revolution and get rid of these things.

 

Grumble, Grumble

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Trying to find a cache in a tree when its nearly dark, thinking ive found it ... pull out a dead squirrel :blink:

 

Even by day it's sometimes not immediately clear if a small bag at the foot of a tree where the GPS says 3 feet contains the film pot or something far less pleasant.

 

I did once find a micro in the woods which was disguised by being hidden inside a dog poo bag, and hung in a tree - YUK :huh:

 

eeewwww.... :mad: Was it also wrapped in rolled, brown plasticine? :huh:

Or hidden inside a slightly melted snickers bar....

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Logs saying "co-ordinates about 3 yards out" when it's been hidden and found with GPSr devices that probably both showed an accuracy of 15 feet anyway...

 

Being out by 3 metres is very picky, and the individual reading by the finder may not be that accurate anyway.

 

However the cache owner should really have averaged the coordinates over several minutes (preferably coming back at a different time and averaging another waypoint etc.) - or taken multiple waypoints and taken an average. By doing this a sufficient number of times, you should usually get pretty good coords.

 

Any cache where the coords are out by more than a few metres should be pointed out IMHO. Too many caches have really poor coords (consistently > 10-15m out etc.). Finding caches by GPS coords is, after all, the whole point.

Edited by RickyB_uk
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Logs saying "co-ordinates about 3 yards out" when it's been hidden and found with GPSr devices that probably both showed an accuracy of 15 feet anyway...

 

Being out by 3 metres is very picky, and the individual reading by the finder may not be that accurate anyway.

 

However the cache owner should really have averaged the coordinates over several minutes (preferably coming back at a different time and averaging another waypoint etc.) - or taken multiple waypoints and taken an average. By doing this a sufficient number of times, you should usually get pretty good coords.

 

Any cache where the coords are out by more than a few metres should be pointed out IMHO. Too many caches have really poor coords (consistently > 10-15m out etc.). Finding caches by GPS coords is, after all, the whole point.

I always take at least 5 readings when I find a spot... then a few days later, another 5 as it's hidden. Next one will be using 2 GPSr units too.

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I always take at least 5 readings when I find a spot... then a few days later, another 5 as it's hidden. Next one will be using 2 GPSr units too.

 

All very commendable, but - unless your finders go to the same lengths and return for another set of readings on a separate day - I wonder if it isn't just a little wasted? If the co-ords really vary that much from day to day, you're going to have to take a full almanacs worth of readings to make a meaningful difference.....and even then, how many cachers are going to get to ground zero, leave their GPS alone with a clear view of the sky, and take an average reading before looking for the cache?

It's probably fair to say that most finders don't even look at the GPS for the last few meters.

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When I first started caching I would always try to get to gz and expect it to be there. After about cache 30 I learned if I got within 5 yards to start looking with the eyes and brain of a human.

I can't rely on that last bit... as those that have met me will testify!

 

A lot of the ones near here in them thar hills are pretty much bang on. I sometimes leave the unit on the stone that the cache was under and move away a little to write the log on paper and phone. Went back to one the other day with the GPSr claiming 0.75 ft... Was very impressed. Nearly commented in log that co-ordinates were 9 inches out... But didn't want to set a precedence! Old reviewer once commented mine were a foot out... Wore a paper bag on my head for a week!

 

GZ normally has something that although natural to the untrained eye, in actual fact isn't... Like yourself I look from 5 yards or so and usually know where it is. Used to be 10 yards, but new glasses not good!

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Went back to one the other day with the GPSr claiming 0.75 ft... Was very impressed. Nearly commented in log that co-ordinates were 9 inches out... But didn't want to set a precedence! Old reviewer once commented mine were a foot out... Wore a paper bag on my head for a week!

 

 

But civilian GPS only aims at a 7 metre accuracy - with accuracies possible (but not guaranteed) to the one metre level with WAAS/EGNOS, in perfect conditions. So all you are saying is that your GPS and the reviewer's GPS had the same inherent inaccuracies, on the day you hid the cache and the day the reviewer looked for it. :)

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