finding gps cords

[sanman87]

Hi everyone , new to geo caching and just have a simple question.

 

I want to hide some caches but don't know how to find out the coordinates without using a gps device , if there is any website or software that would allow me know the exact cords so i can upload the data to this site , thanks alot

[+Panther&Pine]

Per the guidelines you must use a GPS to obtain coords.

Check out thislink for more details.

 

Also it helps to find a number of hides over a bit of time to see what caches you like and what caches are good for your area. It is also good to see if you still want to be a Cache Owner in a few months.

 

Edit:

And welcome to this great activity!

Edited July 20, 2011 by MooseJawSpruce

[+SeekerOfTheWay]

You can use Google Maps but that's often highly inaccurate. You can use a smartphone with the correct app. They are fairly accurate. A handheld GPS unit Is the best for that job, and they are pretty cheap.

 

How do you find caches?

[+Panther&Pine]

You can use Google Maps but that's often highly inaccurate.

Around here that will put you between 30 feet and 400 feet off- that puts you on the incorrect side of the river in many cases.

[+SeekerOfTheWay]

That's really bad. Wouldn't work here either then because we have canals. I never found a cache that was placed using GM.

[+Earl B. Fisk]

This is what I would do. Attend one of the local cacher get-togethers in your area and make a friend -- geocachers are some of the friendliest people I know. Ask them to help you set out your first cache. They will be glad to help with the coordinates using their gps and you might get some good helpful advise as well. I'd do it if I lived in Illinois, but I don't. And to +1 on what was said above, it might help (and is very often encouraged) to find a number of different cache types before putting your first out.

 

Happy caching, and welcome to our addiction.

 

- earl

[+L0ne.R]

Hi everyone , new to geo caching and just have a simple question.

 

I want to hide some caches but don't know how to find out the coordinates without using a gps device , if there is any website or software that would allow me know the exact cords so i can upload the data to this site , thanks alot

 

Cache ownership is a responsibility, a long term commitment and requires investment in terms of your time (months and hopefully years of ownership} and money (a good water tight container, swag, GPS unit, gas money to get to and from the cache for maintenance visits).

 

You will need to use a dedicated GPS unit to get accurate averaged coordinates (if you can't afford one, borrow one). Do not use online mapping services (google maps, yahoo maps, bing, google earth, etc.). Do not use the GPS app on your cell phone (they are fine for finding caches, not accurate enough for hiding caches). You will upset cachers if you post fuzzy coordinates that are over 30 feet away from ground zero.

 

You should invest in a good watertight container. The most popular choices are Lock and Lock containers and Ammo cans.

 

You will be expected to respond to problems with your cache (full logbook, wet logbook, cracked container, muggled cache, etc.) as soon as possible, usually within a month. You are also expected to maintain your cache listing - disable the cache when necessary, post notes when necessary, post Owner Maintenance logs when required.

 

Try to do your best to impress people with your first hide. Plant in a nice location, plant a swag size cache (micro caches please a sub-group of cachers - those that don't care about swag, larger caches please everyone - those who care about swag and those who don't.)

 

Read the guidelines and the Getting Started pages, then read them again. If you feel comfortable with the responsibility and commitment, welcome to cache ownership.

[+EdrickV]

My own personal opinion, as something of a newbie at Geocaching myself, is that it would be a wise idea to wait on hiding caches until you've found a bunch more of various difficulty levels. You'll learn a lot more about good hides, bad hides, as well as what types of containers work well and what don't. (My first cache find seemed like an amazing place to hide a Geocache and took me like over an hour to find. Now I know that type is way overdone and actually rather boring, and I can usually guess where they are before I get out of the car.)

 

As others have said, if you want to hide a cache, get a real GPS. And don't just check the coordinates once, do it multiple times from multiple directions. Bad coordinates can make a good cache bad.

[+luvvinbird]

Hi everyone , new to geo caching and just have a simple question.

 

I want to hide some caches but don't know how to find out the coordinates without using a gps device , if there is any website or software that would allow me know the exact cords so i can upload the data to this site , thanks alot

You're new to this but I can tell you that you'll quickly frustrate a lot of geocachers if you have really inaccurate coordinates. In the ballpark is okay and usually works out when coupled with a good clue but beyond 30 feet from GZ and you'll likely receive unhappy logs, especially from those hoping to be the FTF (very popular among cachers in my area). A GPSr with the ability to average coordinates is suggested, and (as others have commented)the most critical step in hiding a cache is posting accurate coords.

[Andronicus]

This is what I would do. Attend one of the local cacher get-togethers in your area and make a friend -- geocachers are some of the friendliest people I know. Ask them to help you set out your first cache. They will be glad to help with the coordinates using their gps and you might get some good helpful advise as well. I'd do it if I lived in Illinois, but I don't. And to +1 on what was said above, it might help (and is very often encouraged) to find a number of different cache types before putting your first out.

 

Happy caching, and welcome to our addiction.

 

- earl

+1! New cachers have great ideas, so don't not hide a cache just because you are new. If you do as Earl suggested, you will avoid most of the rooky mistakes. I would even recomend getting some input from an oldtimer on your cache container. That is one of the bigger rooky mistakes (that and poor coordinates).

You can use Google Maps but that's often highly inaccurate.

Around here that will put you between 30 feet and 400 feet off- that puts you on the incorrect side of the river in many cases.

In town here, Google maps is bang on. You can even tell what side of a small tree the cache is on. But just outside of town, it is 70m (230 feet) off. The problem is, without a GPS, you just don't know where it is good, and were it is no.

Edited July 21, 2011 by Andronicus