New to Geocashing - basic question for those experienced...

[kasniak]

Hello All,

I'm new to geocaching and I have a few questions. I don't know anyone else who does this so I need to be able to ask my questions here.

 

1. When I use my garmin to track myself, I want to make sure I'm doing it right because I'm having some problems finding caches sometimes. I have a little blue dot (with an arrow pointing to the direction I'm walking toward) that represents me and when I stand in a spot and change direction sometimes there seems to be a delay in the gps showing me my new direction with that arrow. It would make life a lot easier if the arrow updated quicker before I move 20 feet in the direction and then it tells me my new direction.

 

2. Also, when I'm right on top of the checkered flag, do I need to be at the "bottom" of the pole of the checkered flag to be on the site, or on the "top" of the pole where the flag is? I'm sometimes having trouble finding caches and I'm putting the blue dot right at the base of the pole of the checkered flag.

 

3. When I'm super close to the checkered flag, is there a way to zoom in closer for more accurate precision on my gps screen? I have a garmin 1450 and I hit the "+" symbol on the view screen, but it only takes me so far into the zoom. It says like "accuracy 20 feet", but it would be nice to get closer.

 

I'm feeling a bit frustrated because I only found 2 of the past 4 or 5 caches I tried looking for so far.

 

Thanks for any help.

[+Panther&Pine]

Edit: I can read.

Sounds like an automotive one.

The best thing for you to do is make sure you are in pedestrian mode and when you get close, put the GPS down and start looking where you think the cache might be.

Rarely will the GPS get you right on the cache (although I've set my GPS on the darn thing and didn't find it).

Edited August 30, 2011 by MooseJawSpruce

[+softballmom19]

Don't expect any gps to put you right on top of a cache they just will not do it. There can be as much as 5o to 60 feet difference from the coordinates given on a cache page. When you get close start looking at where you would hide a container in the area. Look for things out of place,and piles of sticks or stones. Containers are not always on the ground. You may need to look in,up and under things to find them. If you haven't started out looking for caches that small or larger and with a terrain rating of 1 or 1.5 then do so. These tend to be easy to find and will help you get an idea of what to look for. Plus I have found gps made that aren't handhelds have a bigger margin of error compared to the handheld devices that are more geared for geocaching.

[kasniak]

Yes, my garmin is made for the car, but it does have a pedestrian and off rode mode and I set it to that when I'm caching. --Does anyone know about the "pole" thing? Do I need to be at the top or base of the checkered flag pole?

 

Thanks for your help!

[+Brooklyn51]

Yes, my garmin is made for the car, but it does have a pedestrian and off rode mode and I set it to that when I'm caching. --Does anyone know about the "pole" thing? Do I need to be at the top or base of the checkered flag pole?

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Convention would suggest it be at the base of the pole, but the point of the above posts was that your accuracy may make that a moot point anyway. You can still be as much as 30-40 feet off, all things considered. When your GPSr indicates that you close to the goal, it's time to stop looking at the GPSr and start looking around you for places that may hide a cache. Try to think about how you would hide something. It helps if you have an idea of the size of the cache you're looking for but you won't always have that clue so try to keep an open mind and outside the box.

[+EdrickV]

Sounds like a Garmin Nuvi to me. I used one of those at first. You would want to be towards the bottom of the flagpole. But as mentioned, when you start getting close, take a second and look around rather then at the GPS screen. Accuracy will be affected by the terrain and weather. For example, I've seen 53ft accuracy on a Nuvi 1300 while in a wooded area. In a case like that following the GPS may literally lead you around in circles. Use your eyes and look around for potential hiding spots. We call that using your Geosenses. Over time you'll get better at spotting potential hiding spots.

 

Also, if you aren't doing this already, it would be a good idea to bring info about the cache with you. I actually use saved copies of the cache website stored on a smartphone and viewed with a browser on the phone. (Used to use a cheaper PDA to do the same thing.) Other people just print out cache pages. The easiest way having that info would be to use a GPS capable of Paperless Geocaching combined with a Premium Membership and Pocket Queries. (With a Pocket Query you could basically download a single file with info on a max of 1000 Geocaches. And the info would include the description and any hints. But to use all that extra info you need a GPS capable of displaying it, aka a Paperless Geocaching GPS.)

 

Edit: Knowing the size of the container, and if possible knowing the actual container type, can help a lot.

Edited September 2, 2011 by EdrickV