Coordinates Help

[+AdamandDom]

Hi

 

I am going to start a new geocache but obviously I need the coordinates for the GC website. It will be down a track. Is there any app for android/iPod that will allow me to determine exact coordinates?

Will the Android/iPod Groundspeak application allow me to do this or will I need a seperate app?

 

Regards

[+Bear and Ragged]

Welcome!

 

Well worth reading the guidelines, found here.

http://www.geocaching.com/about/guidelines.aspx

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/default.aspx

 

With How to hide a Geocache

http://www.geocaching.com/about/hiding.aspx

 

One part to take note of is:

Listing Guidelines for All Geocaches

 

1. Technical Requirements

* Listing must contain GPS coordinates.

 

And.

It's a big help if you've found a few first, so you know how things are done!

[+AdamandDom]

Hi

I have seen that it says it must contain GPS coordinates. I have also seen that you can use the Android GC app on a gps enabled phone. Would the app give me the accurate coordinates needed?

Regards

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

 

And.

It's a big help if you've found a few first, so you know how things are done!

Sort of like seeing a piano BEFORE trying to play one.

 

Actually, your post gives away the fact that you just may need to know a bit more. A GPSr unit (and presumably a smart phone) would provide you with the coordinates.

 

Now.... your reference to "track" leaves me guessing, and one guess is that you want to place it on railroad tracks. That itself is a no-no as per the geocaching.com guidelines.

If such is the case, I would strongly recommend that you read the guidelines linked by Bear and Ragged. There is a lot to read, learn, know and understand.

 

Good luck

[+Bear and Ragged]

Hi

I have seen that it says it must contain GPS coordinates. I have also seen that you can use the Android GC app on a gps enabled phone. Would the app give me the accurate coordinates needed?

Regards

Phones can give coordinates, but have a reputation of not being too correct.

It's not a problem when you are looking for a cache, as you are using your eyes and looking.

But, as a new user, with no finds, it makes any coordinates you do get look like they will be very inaccurate.

[+AdamandDom]

Hi

I have found a cache today and one a while ago. I would just like to create my own and if my android smartphone, using the GC app will give me the coordinates of my hidden cache so I can register it on the GC site

Regards

[+Student Camper]

Hi

I have found a cache today and one a while ago. I would just like to create my own and if my android smartphone, using the GC app will give me the coordinates of my hidden cache so I can register it on the GC site

Regards

Yor profile indicates you have not found any caches, It is HIGHLY recommended you find a few, 20 or more, some will say 50 to 100, so you don't make the mistakes noobs are prone to make.

Even then, errors are often made but not quite as embarrassing.

Some of the folks on this board can be quite unforgiving at times.

Edited June 18, 2011 by student camper

[+Bear and Ragged]

You want people to FIND your cache, and leave logs to say they found it and what a nice cache it is?

 

How about you LOG your finds...

 

It's all part of Geocaching.

 

Find caches.

Share your experience in the log.

Hide caches.

Get logs from the finders, who will share their experiences.

Edited June 18, 2011 by Bear and Ragged

[+AdamandDom]

Will the official app give me the coordinates then

[+GrateBear]

Despite several worthwhile suggestions, you seem bound and determined to place the cache. So, my advice is to go ahead and do so based on your phone app, and say a prayer to the caching gods that the coords are within what is normally considered reasonably accurate. If they are not, I'm sure there are some cachers who will freely offer insight. Not all of it will be painful.

[Pup Patrol]

Will the official app give me the coordinates then

 

Since you're going to ignore helpful advice...

 

Have you read and re-read the Guidelines...read them thoroughly?

 

And then read them again?

 

Do you understand the most basic and fundamental Guideline:

 

Technical Requirements

 

Listings must contain accurate GPS coordinates. You must visit the geocache site and obtain all the coordinates with a GPS device. GPS usage is an integral and essential element of both hiding and finding geocaches and must be demonstrated for all cache submissions.

[+Bear and Ragged]

I. PLACEMENT Guidelines: Placement guidelines govern the physical location of a geocache.

The more geocaches that you have found, the better you will understand the various elements that make up a great geocaching experience.

 

This knowledge will be invaluable when you place a hide, and likely make your geocache more enjoyable for the community.

 

We encourage you to find at least twenty geocaches before you choose to hide one.

 

I see you live on a small island.

It's a small caching community.

Get it wrong, you will have to live down the reputation of bad coordinates for a long time...

 

Ask if a local will help you. Cachers are always willing to help new cachers.

[+the3gmen]

I think the OP asks a very good question. The guidelines says you must use a "GPS device" to obtain the coordinates of your geocache. Wouldn't a smartphone with a gps chipset be considered a "GPS device" ? How about a smartphone a gps application ?

 

I thing the powers that be might want to clarify the guidlines to say that you must use a dedicated gps device.

[+niraD]

Not all smartphones are created equal. Some have better GPS receivers than others.

 

Anyway, with the Android version of Groundspeak's Geocaching app, the easiest way I know to access the coordinates of what the phone thinks is its current location is:

 

View a cache listing.

Select "Navigate to Geocache", then select "Map".

Select Menu > "Add Waypoint", then select "Use My Current Location".

 

The coordinates of what the phone thinks is its current location will be entered into the "Add Waypoint" form.

 

Whether those coordinates will be accurate depends on several things, including the capabilities of your specific phone and how long the phone has had to get a lock on its position.

 

There are other apps in the Android Market that use averaging and other techniques, and that claim to get better coordinates. I am not familiar with any of them though.

 

[Edit typo]

Edited June 19, 2011 by niraD

[+ngrrfan]

I think the OP asks a very good question. The guidelines says you must use a "GPS device" to obtain the coordinates of your geocache. Wouldn't a smartphone with a gps chipset be considered a "GPS device" ? How about a smartphone a gps application ?

 

I thing the powers that be might want to clarify the guidlines to say that you must use a dedicated gps device.

IMHO... and this is ONLY my opinion, the term "GPS Device" means a GPSr not a phone. A phone is sold as a phone first and the "gps capability" is an extra and not its prime function.

[+Graculus]

As a reviewer I see many caches submitted for review with the coordinates clearly wrong! How do I know this? I read the description and hint and then look at the various maps. If the hint say the cache is in a clump of trees but maps show it on a beach near the sea with the nearest trees some 200 to 300 feet away then it's obvious.

 

To answer the original question about smart phones. They use two means of determining their location; the mobile signal from nearby phone masts (triangulation) and the built in GPS. The GPS needs a clear view of the sky and several minutes to pick up the satellite signal and determine where it is. The mobile signal is pretty instantaneous. But - and there is always a but.... on the iPhone geocaching app, when you switch it on it WILL give you a set of coordinates (and I'm sure the Android app is the same though I've not used it). Those initial coordinates could be determined by the mobile signal alone and can be very (very!) wrong. Some weeks ago I was in a restaurant in a seaside town with high cliffs all around it. There was another town on a headland some 5 miles distant - visible from the restaurant. My iPhone Google maps told that was where I was - 5 miles away because that was the only signal it could get. The geocaching app also told me that was where I was!!

 

So, use the smart phone by all means. The GPS is fine but you need to make sure it is ready!

 

Finally I must echo the other advice given that it is well worth finding a few caches, going to events and meeting other cachers before placing your very first cache.

 

Chris

Graculus

Volunteer UK Reviewer for geocaching.com

UK Geocaching Information & Resources website www.follow-the-arrow.co.uk

Geocaching.com Knowledge Books

[+AdamandDom]

Anyway, with the Android version of Groundspeak's Geocaching app, the easiest way I know to access the coordinates of what the phone thinks is its current location is:

 

View a cache listing.

Select "Navigate to Geocache", then select "Map".

Select Menu > "Add Waypoint", then select "Use My Current Location".

 

Thank you! That worked perfectly. It is giving me up to date coordinates and will be using that in the future. Thanks for your help everyone

 

Regards

[7rxc]

I think the OP asks a very good question. The guidelines says you must use a "GPS device" to obtain the coordinates of your geocache. Wouldn't a smartphone with a gps chipset be considered a "GPS device" ? How about a smartphone a gps application ?

 

I thing the powers that be might want to clarify the guidlines to say that you must use a dedicated gps device.

IMHO... and this is ONLY my opinion, the term "GPS Device" means a GPSr not a phone. A phone is sold as a phone first and the "gps capability" is an extra and not its prime function.

A further consideration... there are still many older GPSr units that use older chips and software... they still work though.

I have one that is (in my current location) hard pressed to deliver better than 7 to 10 metre EPE often much higher due to mountains and trees etc. Given my newer GPSrs, I would never consider using the older one for placement... So perhaps insisting on a dedicated GPSr isn't quite a good idea as it was a while back... I suspect even the worst 'true' GPS phone would be no worse... not sure about the phone tower ones... but they can go sour... but same for satellites. Signal blockages and reflections can mess up any device readings without your knowledge... No serious navigator ever works from a single set of readings without some verification. That can be done many ways... one checks the others.

 

Perhaps they need to state a generation of GPS device in the guideline, ahead of type of device.

 

Doug 7rxc

[+Student Camper]

One of the many factors involved in getting good coords is the number of satellites that are used in obtaining the fix.

I use an older Magellan that can use up to 12 satellites and know from experience the poor coords from only three sats being available.

The more satellites that are used, the faster and more accurate the fix.

I don't know how many sats a phone uses but I'm sure it is fewer than a GPSr, I may be wrong, there are others here that would know.

[+mwellman]

Welcome to Geocaching mrnothersan!

 

Yes, you can find geoaches with your android/iPod. And you can get a set of coordinates. On one of our recent hides, we took coordinates with our Garmin HCX and our iphone, guess which was 40 metres away?

 

Take 25 waypoints on a few different days and times of day and then average them. I have done so by hand.

 

Then walk 30 metres away, navigate to the averaged waypoint and see how close you get to your cache. Repeat a few times.

 

Then go to Google Earth and see how close your waypoint looks to your cache. Google Earth has differing accuracies - in Edmonton, Alberta - great, in the bush or on the prairies - not so great. But at least you will know if your waypoint has you in the France!

 

Take a family member or friend and give them the waypoint, and see how close they get to the cache. Now you are ready.

 

We waited for 50 finds so that we had a good feel for our Garmin GPS and the game, before we hid our first cache.

 

And to repeat the previous posters, read, re-read and re-read the guidelines to make to sure that you understand the rules including railway tracks and private property permissions.

 

And lastly enjoy your Geocaching Adventures and cache ownership!

 

mwellman

[+jnielsen78]

Hi

 

I am going to start a new geocache but obviously I need the coordinates for the GC website. It will be down a track. Is there any app for android/iPod that will allow me to determine exact coordinates?

Will the Android/iPod Groundspeak application allow me to do this or will I need a seperate app?

 

Regards

 

Another little app i like is called gps status. Ill use that along with my gps to compare coordinates. Its free in the android market place.

[+MrNimby]

I've only been Geocaching for a week and have some hits and misses using the iphone for coordinates.

But yesterday I did find something online which helped me get a 'spot on' coordinates,

Try this http://itouchmap.com/latlong.html

 

Hope it works for you too.