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Map preview is not correct


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I was helping a local new cacher fix the coords that were off on his new (first) cache GC2VR9Q that had many DNF's before I found it today. I found the cache about 90ft from his wrong original coords. I got the correct new coords and double checked them on a website I use to double check my own cache coords. I sent them to him. He updated his coords and we both thought all was great. After doing that he looked at the preview Google map that is on the cache home page, zoomed in, and the icon was pretty far off. He wrote me and said he didn't think the coords were right still. I checked the cache page and saw how far off it was as well. I then pulled up the original map and double checked it again on another website and the coords and icon were dead on to the coords I gave him. I then checked a bunch of my caches that I have placed and noticed the icon was off on all of them as well when zoomed in to see the icon location. Has anyone else seen this? Is this a known problem? Thanks!

Edited by angelsfan33
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just what makes you think that google maps (or any other online map) is any more accurate than your GPS?? The fact is that most maps have a published accuracy of 48 feet or more at well known locations. Even a simple consumer grade GPS receiver can usually beat that. Sometimes they are more accurate - sometimes not - you just can't know.

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just what makes you think that google maps (or any other online map) is any more accurate than your GPS?? The fact is that most maps have a published accuracy of 48 feet or more at well known locations. Even a simple consumer grade GPS receiver can usually beat that. Sometimes they are more accurate - sometimes not - you just can't know.

 

I know that. I am just saying that the little preview Google map window that is on all cache pages used to show the icon pretty dead on to it's actual location, and now it is showing them all slightly off. I was wondering if anyone else had noticed this on their caches like I did on mine, and if it was a Google map thing or a GC.com thing?

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Assuming you're talking about GC2VR9Q, this seems to be a google maps problem in this area. If you look at the "hybrid" map view for this area, you'll see a fairly large discrepancy between where it sees the roads and where it puts the aerial image. This tells you that either one of them is wrong, and possibly both. It's foolish to trust either of them.

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I just looked at it and found it interesting that the beta maps and original maps don't agree. What's up with that?

 

Probably because the beta maps only update so often and the coordinate change didn't make it there yet.

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I just looked at it and found it interesting that the beta maps and original maps don't agree. What's up with that?

 

That is what I was describing. The Google preview map on the cache page puts the cache icon in the wrong spot, but when I open the map and zoom in close on the original map, not the beta map, the icon is dead on in the right spot. The preview box map must use the beta map, and that is the map all of the icons seem to be off of the actual spot. Oh well, I was just trying to see if anyone noticed this? I know that the maps and icons are not always dead on, but they were never as off as the beta map is putting them.

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Many times repeated, Google maps good here, not-so-good there, horrible elsewhere.

Fine to use as a (personal) reference, but not even good as a last resort in "checking" anything.

 

The other day on one cache I was looking for, Google Maps was a lot more accurate than my GPSr. The latter was consistently telling me it was in the middle of a parking lot; Google Maps said it was in a tree at the edge of the lot, 30 or more feet away. Which it was.

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That is what I was describing. The Google preview map on the cache page puts the cache icon in the wrong spot, but when I open the map and zoom in close on the original map, not the beta map, the icon is dead on in the right spot. The preview box map must use the beta map, and that is the map all of the icons seem to be off of the actual spot.

 

It's still a google maps problem. You're seeing this because the beta maps and also the little preview map on the cache page (and also regular google maps on their own page) uses newer (or well, different, as we don't know which ones are newer) aerial imagery than the old non-beta map. Compare them side by side and you'll see it, the images are not the same. So, the icon is in the right spot on both maps, but the underlying aerial images are different, one of them is more inaccurate than the other one.

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The other day on one cache I was looking for, Google Maps was a lot more accurate than my GPSr. The latter was consistently telling me it was in the middle of a parking lot; Google Maps said it was in a tree at the edge of the lot, 30 or more feet away. Which it was.

 

That would probably be because the hider used the google imagery to obtain the coordinates. So, the coordinates are wrong, but because the aerial images are also wrong by the same amount, you see it in the right spot. So no, the google maps are not more accurate, quite the opposite is true.

 

Unless your GPS is really that inaccurate, quite possible if it was a smartphone...

Edited by dfx
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I have noticed a lot of problems with the maps recently, both before and after the upgrade...

A few weeks ago the icons on googlemaps were more than 50ft out on some of my caches on the original maps but fine on googlemaps website itself and also fine on the maps preview on the cache pages. They all seem to be in the correct places now though.

 

I am having other issues with maps - especially that I have just noticed that the satellite preview map is missing on the cache pages - I can no longer see either an aerial view, zoom in or access streetview with the lovely floating cachebox in the sky! I *REALLY* hope that all of these features will be returning as I use them all very regularly when I am planning a caching trip, to assess the sort of terrain I will be visiting! I will be very unhappy if they are gone forever! :( - Does anyone know?

 

Similarly, I am hating the way beta maps doesn't allow you to zoom in as far as it used to on the satellite view, and how you can't number the caches displayed and get a list of them to the side the way the old maps do. I often use a screen capture of the old maps to give an overview with a list of caches I'm planning to visit on a day out, so losing this feature is not good! (I assume at some point the old maps will be removed completely?)

 

Sorry if this is not all entirely relevant to this thread! - If there is somewhere else you feel it would be more appropriate, please point me in the right direction!

 

Thanks! :)

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I've been noticing some map discrepancies myself, and wondered what was up. Was looking for an obvious location (couldn't miss the place, the difficulty was in the retrieval) and Google map tracking my path was WAY off. Would've hated to have that happen on a hike cache! So I'm being a little more careful about their reliability ... and up to recently the same program would show me driving into the precise parking spot in a parking lot that I was actually using. So something on their end has changed ... because my software, GPS apparatus, and physical location certainly haven't. (FWIW, I use a Galaxy tablet computer for the urban stuff, in combo with my Garmin handheld, and the other way around for the off-road caches. So I do have backup.)

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just what makes you think that google maps (or any other online map) is any more accurate than your GPS?? The fact is that most maps have a published accuracy of 48 feet or more at well known locations. Even a simple consumer grade GPS receiver can usually beat that. Sometimes they are more accurate - sometimes not - you just can't know.

 

And tangentially related: Therein lies the problem of cachers placing caches using various map products WITHOUT putting boots on the ground with GPS'r in hand at the site. ( yes, it happens )

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Now the preview map on all of the cache pages has been changed to a static map with no option to make it a satellite view or zoom in close to see the icon anymore??? Obviously TBTB are still tweaking the heck out of the maps.

Click on the "View Dynamic Map" link to get the "full" featured map. The static image on the cache page takes less processor "work".

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I'm wondering why the parking place listed on the GC2Y08T cache webpage doesn't show up on the map, though the coords for parking are listed. I've seen it (maybe in old maps). Is there a setting we need to change in the setup? I think it would be helpful if the map of the cache shows where to park.

Should I be asking or giving this map feedback in another spot?

Thanks.

Cache on,

Sunny

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I'm wondering why the parking place listed on the GC2Y08T cache webpage doesn't show up on the map, though the coords for parking are listed. I've seen it (maybe in old maps). Is there a setting we need to change in the setup? I think it would be helpful if the map of the cache shows where to park.

Should I be asking or giving this map feedback in another spot?

Thanks.

Cache on,

Sunny

 

There are no parking coordinates listed as part of that cache. The parking coordinates would need to be listed as "additional waypoints" in order for them to show up on the cache page and on the map.

 

Additional Waypoints:

 

http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=72

Edited by Pup Patrol
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