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Suggestion - Search by Country and 100 mile radius


Croquet

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I live in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, which is on the border between Canada and US, across the river from Port Huron, Michigan.

 

When I use the 100 mile radius search feature for local caches, it gives me Michigan ones too (the majority). Crossing the border to geocache is not something I would very often want to do. Is there a way to only search Ontario caches within 100 miles of my location? Right now you can't say both 100 mile radius AND Canada.

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quote:
Originally posted by Jamie Z:

Geocachers see beyond international boundaries. We are all one.

 

Seriously, I think pocket queries would do this. To use pocket queries, you need to become a member.

 

Jamie


 

Jamie is correct on both counts. The pocket queries will limit searches to Country/Province if you wish.

Sadly the Windsor to Sarnia area is very short of caches (see this discussion thread). You may have to cross the bridge and do your caching State-side. Like JamieZ says, "Geocachers see beyond international boundaries".

Spread the word Croquet and get more interest in our Sport down your way. Its amazing how fast it's popularity can grow. Tell them Mike Weir uses a GPSR to measure tee to green and they'll all rush out and buy units.

 

Cheers, Olar

 

"You are only young once but you can stay immature forever"

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I second this request. As it stands now I cannot get the caches I want at all. I can get all of BC in one shot, BUT it is limited to 500. BC is a big place and I don't care about the caches that are 1000km away and are still in BC! I think the folks in the US don't realize how big BC is. I think we could fit about 18 states in here and still have room left over for Texas.

 

I also don't care about any of the 250 caches on Vancouver Island as it costs a fortune to get there.

 

Unfortunately, there is NO way to avoid them. I can get BC which does not give me the caches I want because it cuts off at 500, OR I do a radius search and get 500 caches where 450 of them are in Washington State.

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Jamie, this is what I thought too. But it does not appear to work (at least not for the options I have selected).

 

Below see a screen cap of my Pocket Query settings and a map that is the result of the waypoints returned.

 

BC is definitely selected as is a specified starting coordinate and a radius. The combination of that radius and starting point eliminates the caches on Vancouver Island (as seen in the map). However, it now completely ignores the BC parameter as soon as I use a starting position and radius, and returns the closest caches south of the border.

 

Again, I have nothing against cross border caching. In fact I look forward to the rubber glove inspection at US Customs.

 

If anyone can figure out how to make this work using the options I have used, it would be most appreciated.

 

Pocket Query Settings...

 

radius.jpg

 

Pocket Query Results...

 

map.gif

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Hmmm... looks like the proximity criteria overrides the geographical boundary criteria. It would be nice if the cacher could program the list to limit it by adding an "and" clause. (Must be within 160KM AND in BC.)

 

Barring that, the Watcher program can sort by geographical boundary. You can then "mark" the ones in the area you want and then make the file "save as." The new GPX file will only have the ones you mark.

 

It's a pretty lengthy process. I wonder if Clayjar could put the geographical area (state/province) as a filter - using aggregates of the states included in the GPX file...

 

I'm very good at suggesting creeping features - just not good at programming them. icon_wink.gif

 

Markwell

Chicago Geocaching

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quote:
Originally posted by MrGigabyte:

Jamie, this is what I thought too. But it does not appear to work.


Hmmm, well you've produced exactly what I had in mind (with some goofy looking windows settings, BTW). Since I hadn't experimented with it, I thought it would work. Apparently it doesn't.

 

I wonder if it's a non-US issue. If I were to search for caches in a 100 mile radius of me, but only in Tennessee, would it filter out Mississippi and Arkansas?

 

I'll run a test query to find out.

 

Jamie

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Results:

 

Um... it worked, sort of.

 

I first ran a pocket query to return the nearest 100 caches to me, but only in Tennessee. The file I got was filled to 100-cache capacity, and all were in TN, except for one or two.

 

I ran a new pocket query, this time I requested a list of caches in a 100 mile radius, but only located in Mississippi. The file I got was exactly that.

 

I'm not sure why the first search yielded some out-of-state caches. There may be a simple explanation. But the fact that the second query worked as requested shows that the generator does recognize political boundaries, at least between states of the US.

 

MrG, I wonder if you could exclude the caches in Canada, and get just a list of Washington caches. Not that this would be helpful to you, but I'm curious if the query generator recognizes states, but not countries, which would be counterintuitive, since cross-state caching is a whole lot easier than international caching.

 

Jamie

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Jamie,

 

How did you run a test at 3:49, get the results and compare, and post a message at 4:10? I don't even get my queries for 2 or 3 days after I make a change. Me thinks there is a few more international quirks here that need to be looked at. Looks like international queries move right to the back end of the queue.

 

Olar, can you please post (or email me) a screen capture of ALL your settings. Also, how long did it take you to get the query results emailed to you?

 

(BTW: Jamie, those windows are what you get with a real OS ... OS X)

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quote:
Originally posted by MrGigabyte:

How did you run a test at 3:49, get the results and compare, and post a message at 4:10?


Pretty quick, no?

 

As long as I've used pocket queries, if I create a new one on a particular day of the week, and then checkmark that day for the query to be generated, I usually get the query within a few minutes.

 

To test the radius question, I made a new query and requested that the file be sent on Friday. Today is Friday. I got the file almost immediately.

 

Jamie

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quote:
Originally posted by The Leprechauns:

edited to remove post that was duplicative of Jamie's


Pretty quick, no?

 

Heh.. I read your original post, Lep, and was gonna razz you about it, and then when I clicked on it to reply with quotes, the message was different.

 

Jamie

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quote:
Originally posted by MrGigabyte:

Ok, I give up. How do I get the pockect query to be emailed to me the same day I edit it. Everyone seems to get it right away. Mine take days, alway have.


what days are you telling it to run the query?

 

whenever i've edited one and made sure today was checked, I have gotten them pretty fast. Usually less than an hour, small ones back in under 20 minutes.

 

waypoint_link.gif22008_1700.gif37_gp_logo88x31.jpg

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quote:
Originally posted by MrGigabyte:

I have a query already saved. I go in and make a change. The day does not change, it is set to today, Friday. I will probably get it Sunday or Monday.


hmm, dont know what you tell you... icon_frown.gif

Do you get other emails 'on time'?

 

waypoint_link.gif22008_1700.gif37_gp_logo88x31.jpg

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quote:
create a new query, and set the day for the current day.


 

Jamie, Olar...

 

Thanks for the tips and email. I think you have nailed it.

 

It seems that if I delete the query and then recreate it from scratch, I get the query sent right a way. However, if I edit an existing one, it may or may not come, and if so, arrives a day or so late.

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