+Yshf Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 when I enter my postal code 14850 into the map section in hide and seek a geocache, it still shows up way off. I AM ANGRY NOW! Quote Link to comment
+Ecylram Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 when I enter my postal code 14850 into the map section in hide and seek a geocache, it still shows up way off. I AM ANGRY NOW! What do you mean "way off"? Quote Link to comment
+scout_toujours Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 Mine shows up 22 kms away, at the local post office. Mind you, i live in a very remote area... Quote Link to comment
+sdrawkcab Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 when I enter my postal code 14850 into the map section in hide and seek a geocache, it still shows up way off. I AM ANGRY NOW! When the map pulls up the Seatle WA area try using the zoom to address. Put your zip in there and you will get pay dirt. Quote Link to comment
+Yshf Posted December 6, 2010 Author Share Posted December 6, 2010 Well not way off. It shows up near my old house which was like a half hour away from where the map should center. Quote Link to comment
+Ecylram Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 (edited) when I enter my postal code 14850 into the map section in hide and seek a geocache, it still shows up way off. I AM ANGRY NOW! Looks like it centers a few miles to west of the center of 14850. This website was helpful for finding the boundaries to the zip code area:http://maps.huge.info/zip.htm I'd suggest submitting this to Groundspeak (contact@Groundspeak.com???) or, probably better here: http://feedback.geocaching.com/forums/75775-geocaching-com Until then, try searching by coordinates. Edited December 6, 2010 by Ecylram Quote Link to comment
+Sol seaker Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 if it is showing up at your old house, are you sure you updated it correctly? Perhaps it has lost the update (maybe on a crash or something) and you need to redo it. Quote Link to comment
+Lil Devil Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 when I enter my postal code 14850 into the map section in hide and seek a geocache, it still shows up way off. I AM ANGRY NOW! Looks like it centers a few miles to west of the center of 14850. ... I'd suggest submitting this to Groundspeak (contact@Groundspeak.com???) or, probably better here: http://feedback.geocaching.com/forums/75775-geocaching-com Actually, you'd need to submit the complaint to Google. Groundspeak uses Google Maps and simply passes your request on. Until then, try searching by coordinates. Lil Devil thinks this is one of the best points. Quote Link to comment
+Yshf Posted December 6, 2010 Author Share Posted December 6, 2010 This has been brought up as a topic before. I'm just pointing it out that even though many many people have informed google, they still haven't done anything. Well i guess it does take awhile to fix something this big (It has happened to others too) but really! Quote Link to comment
+Ecylram Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 This has been brought up as a topic before. I'm just pointing it out that even though many many people have informed google, they still haven't done anything. Well i guess it does take awhile to fix something this big (It has happened to others too) but really! You're not going to get much help from Google by just posting your problem in a Groundspeak discussion group. Go to the source of the problem. Quote Link to comment
knowschad Posted December 7, 2010 Share Posted December 7, 2010 This has been brought up as a topic before. I'm just pointing it out that even though many many people have informed google, they still haven't done anything. Well i guess it does take awhile to fix something this big (It has happened to others too) but really! I don't believe Google follows these forums, my friend. And yes... they are the ones with the error. This website uses their maps API, and gets what Google gives 'em. Quote Link to comment
+NYPaddleCacher Posted December 7, 2010 Share Posted December 7, 2010 when I enter my postal code 14850 into the map section in hide and seek a geocache, it still shows up way off. I AM ANGRY NOW! Looks like it centers a few miles to west of the center of 14850. This website was helpful for finding the boundaries to the zip code area:http://maps.huge.info/zip.htm I'd suggest submitting this to Groundspeak (contact@Groundspeak.com???) or, probably better here: http://feedback.geocaching.com/forums/75775-geocaching-com Until then, try searching by coordinates. Since I live in the same zipcode as Team Yeti SMP I thought I'd check where it's showing. 14850 is the zipcode for the city of Ithaca and it extends outside the city proper several miles. The center point when entering the zipcode close to the western edge of the boundry, a good 6-7 miles away from city center. Rather than use the zip code, entering "Ithaca, NY" for the location centers map in the city center. As to why this behaves as it does. The maps are centered around specific coordinates, and those coordinates are determined by "looking up" a feature, whether it's a zipcode or a place name. The transformation to lat/long values is called geocoding, and depending on what data source is used to geocode the place name different lat/long values my be used. I recall a year ago or so when I did lookups on the site using just the zipcode, the city name, and a combination of the city name and zipcode and each resulted in different lat/long values. Why the center point for the 14850 zipcode is geocoded to a spot so far est of the middle of the postal code area can't really be determined without knowing the data source and I *suspect* that Groundspeak has no control over what geocoded values are provided without changing their data source. Quote Link to comment
+Prime Suspect Posted December 7, 2010 Share Posted December 7, 2010 when I enter my postal code 14850 into the map section in hide and seek a geocache, it still shows up way off. I AM ANGRY NOW! Instead of getting angry, just enter your coordinates instead, and bookmark the page. Quote Link to comment
mtbikernate Posted December 7, 2010 Share Posted December 7, 2010 if I do a postal code search for my area, the center coordinates also wind up being many miles West of my location. The zip code is the quickest way to get in the general area of my home coordinates, but not the most accurate way. My solution: put a cache in my front yard and use it. I tend to do my PQ's based on the coordinates of a particular cache in the general center of the area I want to search. It's really not even Google's fault that the zip code points are located where they are. They don't generate that data. It probably comes from the TIGER data, which comes from the federal census. You're going to have to take your complaint pretty high up the totem pole to get it addressed. Quote Link to comment
Imagin0s Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 One of the things I's like to see is the Groundspeak searching through googlemaps taking advantage of the available toggle for using bike paths when creating routes. Quote Link to comment
+roziecakes Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 It's really not even Google's fault that the zip code points are located where they are. They don't generate that data. It probably comes from the TIGER data, which comes from the federal census. You're going to have to take your complaint pretty high up the totem pole to get it addressed. This is true, as a GIS professional I can tell you that a lot of Google's data is not self-generated. I would follow the advice of NYPaddlecacher and type in 'Ithaca, NY' rather than using the zip code to get closer to the city center. Quote Link to comment
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