What am I doing wrong ?

[Beefcube]

Went today to find our first cache. Was a total bust. 0 for 4.

Used an old Garmin GPSMAP 60C.

It got me close then said arrived and left us to wander around. Didn't tell if we were on spot or off.

How do I get it to actually hit the waypoint and not just the general area ?

It was like I was driving to an address and it cut off out front, never got me to the door.

Is there a mode to make it actually go to the given foot ?

[Pup Patrol]

If you do a search of the forums, you will see many times people will advise to get within 30' or so of "ground zero" and put the gps away. At that point, one needs to look for a spot where you would hide a cache.

 

You're not doing anything wrong, and your gps is just fine. I love our 60, much, much more than the 76 we had. But I don't expect it to zero out at the exact location of the cache.

 

And, under tree cover in certain areas, the 60 can be completely wonky.

 

Highly recommended for beginners is to search for caches larger than micros. "Small" and "regular" sizes are recommended until you get your "geosense".

 

Also, check the previous logs. Have there been DNF's posted lately? Have other cachers used the word "tricky" in describing either the location or the camouflage?

 

Read carefully the cache description and decrypt the hint, if provided.

 

It takes a while to get the hang of this. It can be frustrating at the beginning, but once you've got a few finds, you will feel more confident. And then you will get tripped up and not find some more. Then you will find other caches that are "evil hides" and get your confidence back. Then you won't be able to find "easy peasy" 1 / 1 hides and lose your confidence again...and that's how it goes.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Well, geocaching is a "hunt", so...

 

No GPSr is going to hand the cache to you on a silver platter. They are usually hidden so that non-cachers don't happen across them.

 

Aside from that, other factors enter into the equation. The typical spot that one arrives at is a 20' circle (Ground Zero). It can vary, due to canopy, signal reflections and other things, too.

 

It is my "guess" that what you are doing 'wrong' is paying too much attention to the GPSr. Once you arrive at GZ, stop looking at the unit and start looking for the cache (more rather, it's hiding spot). If you is busy lookin' at the GPSr, you ain't lookin' for the cache -- simple as that.

 

It can (conceivably) deliver you to the "given foot", but it is highly unlikely. This is regardless if it is an old unit or a new unit.

They simply don't work that way -- unless you have unlimited resources and can purchase one used for military purposes or surveying.

 

In that you have no caches found, I would also guess that you may not yet know just what you could be looking for, or realize some of the hiding techniques that are employed. A good hider can let you look directly at a geocache and not realize that is what you are looking at.

 

You don't say what ones you have tried, but another suggestion is to look for small to large caches. At least for starting out, don't try the micros as they can be real buggers. Also, stick to the caches that show a 1 or 1½ difficulty rating. Once you find a few, you'll start grasping the concept.

 

Now, as for "what are you doing wrong?"... better to ask if what you are doing is right, because everything else is wrong. We can only guess as to what you are/aren't doing.

 

By-the-way, zero for four on a first attempt doesn't equate to anything except that (maybe) you don't know what you are looking for. Besides that, even the best score DNFs (Did Not Finds) with regularity.

Edited January 2, 2012 by Gitchee-Gummee

[Pup Patrol]

I just thought of something...

 

do you have the coordinates for the cache itself in the gps or maybe the coordinates for a parking area?

 

Were they multicaches or puzzles?

 

If you post the GC codes, folks can take a look at the listings and maybe glean something that may not be obvious.

[+The Frosties!]

hi and welcome to the game

I'm pretty sure I saw a documentary about bridge builders, and their GPS were extremely accurate, ours, being consumer level units, aren't. Others will give a better (and more accurate) answer, but, basically, we're lucky if we have around 10ft accuracy on any device. If the person hiding the cache also gives co-ordinates 10ft from true, that could be 20ft between what each GPS has reported, and the actual location.

Luckily, geocaching is a "treasure hunt", so we use the GPS to get nearby, then start searching.

 

For your first few caches try to find ones in large containers, with a low difficulty score, sometimes caches are really well hidden and disguised

[diggingest_dogg616]

I don't think it's really going to take you right to it. You should be close though. I've always heard that you get to point where it tells you you're there, then look within a certain radius of that point. Sometimes that radius is bigger than you'd want

 

You just need more practice (I do too!). I keep looking in all these places to hide things and I'm completely wrong. Micros and nanos are pretty hard too when you start out. The last micro I found, I somehow skipped over it for about an hour before I found a spoiler picture. Then I zeroed in on it. The cache I found yesterday, I actually walked around the silly thing multiple times before I noticed it.

 

It also depends on other people. How accurate is their unit? Has someone moved the cache, or even stolen it?

 

Good luck!

[+Chief301]

Any consumer grade GPS is only going to get you within a few feet at best. Even if you manage to get your display to read "0" , it's no guarantee that the cache is exactly right there. It might be, or it might be 2 feet that way or 15 feet the other way. The "general area" is the best you're going to get...once you're there it's time to stop staring at the screen, put it in your pocket, and start looking (and sometimes feeling around with your hands too) for likely spots where a container that size might be hidden (which is why it's important to read the cache description first to know what size container you're looking for).

 

I liken it to flying...your instruments will only get you to the airport, at that point you need to use your skills to land the plane.

 

Don't worry, once you finally find a few you'll get the hang of it...you're just having a hard time finding them now because you really don't know what you're looking for yet.

 

Look up the Cool Cache Containers thread to get some idea how cleverly (or deviously) some of these containers can be hidden and camouflaged.

Edited January 3, 2012 by Chief301

[+niraD]

A common recommendation for beginners is to stick with small size, regular size, and large size caches. Until you're more experienced, avoid micro size caches, some of which are smaller than most beginners can imagine (sometimes called "nanos"). Save those for later, after you have some experience.

 

Also, stick with caches that have a difficulty rating of no more than 2 stars . Save the more difficult ones for later. You may also want to choose caches with easy terrain ratings. (The difficulty rating tells you how hard it is to find the cache once you get there. The terrain rating tells you how hard it is to get there.) And it is often best to start with traditional caches, which will be at the published coordinates. Multi-caches or mystery/puzzle caches or other cache types can require more work just to figure out where the container is located.

 

Under ideal conditions, a consumer GPSr will be accurate to about 3m (10'). That applies both to your device, and to the cache owner’s device, so you may find the container 15-20' from ground zero under ideal conditions. Under less than ideal conditions, both GPSr readings can be much less accurate. Once you get within that distance of ground zero, put your device away and look around for places where a container could be hidden.

 

Go ahead and read the cache's additional hints (if provided), and read the past logs and look at any photos in the cache's image gallery. They may help you understand what you're looking for, and how/where it may be hidden. It may also help to look at some of the cache containers available online. For example, check out the cache containers sold by Groundspeak. Also, take a look at the Pictures - Cool Cache Containers (CCC's) thread in the forums.

[+SeekingBigfoot]

I started another link on this same subject "what do you do first", sorry would not have started it if I had seen thiwhat ive found out so far is to take good notes from the cache info page and take it with you to the field.

 

Two or three of my dnf's could have been I found it if I had done this.

[+Mark+Karen]

It isn't always easy, even with over a hundred finds (180 I think!) I only find perhaps 80% of them, so one out of every 5 I don't find! But I usually try to go back to them and try again, and I usually find them eventually. One locally to me I had to go back 4 times, but I got it in the end!

[+Dancing_Duo]

Same as Mark+Karen said; we, too, have had to go back a few times on some of the cache.

 

Thanks Chief301 for suggesting the Cool Cache Containers thread. I am definitely going to look into that.

[+hzoi]

Went today to find our first cache. Was a total bust. 0 for 4.

Used an old Garmin GPSMAP 60C.

It got me close then said arrived and left us to wander around. Didn't tell if we were on spot or off.

How do I get it to actually hit the waypoint and not just the general area ?

It was like I was driving to an address and it cut off out front, never got me to the door.

Is there a mode to make it actually go to the given foot ?

 

I don't think folks are spotting your actual issue here. It sounds like you're navigating to the cache with routing (turn by turn directions), like you'd use for driving. Once you arive, the GPSr thinks you're done and quits trying to get you there.

 

Your GPSr may be set up to automatically follow the roads. When looking for a geocache, it's best to use the "off road" setting, so you can keep moving around and the GPSr just tells you how far it thinks it is to the cache without turning the navigation off. Check out the manual for the 60c. Page 52 walks you through how to change the default settings for routing.

[+Thrak]

Went today to find our first cache. Was a total bust. 0 for 4.

Used an old Garmin GPSMAP 60C.

It got me close then said arrived and left us to wander around. Didn't tell if we were on spot or off.

How do I get it to actually hit the waypoint and not just the general area ?

It was like I was driving to an address and it cut off out front, never got me to the door.

Is there a mode to make it actually go to the given foot ?

 

I don't think folks are spotting your actual issue here. It sounds like you're navigating to the cache with routing (turn by turn directions), like you'd use for driving. Once you arive, the GPSr thinks you're done and quits trying to get you there.

 

Your GPSr may be set up to automatically follow the roads. When looking for a geocache, it's best to use the "off road" setting, so you can keep moving around and the GPSr just tells you how far it thinks it is to the cache without turning the navigation off. Check out the manual for the 60c. Page 52 walks you through how to change the default settings for routing.

 

I think hzoi may have nailed the issue. Driving directions can be great but once you've arrived you definitely need to go to Off Road guidance and use the arrow on the compass screen! The "old Garmin GPSMAP 60C" is a great geocaching unit. Learning to use it properly will enable you to be a successful geocacher.