TaraMart Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 Well today I broke my first cache :( It was a magnetic nano. I was trying to get the log out, when the magnet also fell out and into long grass. After half an hour searching in the grass I had to give up. What I did with the now non-magnetic cache was hide it (pretty well I think) in a place about half a metre from where it had been placed (i.e. as close as possible without leaving it visible). I then messaged the cache owner straight away to tell him in a grovelling tone and let him know where I'd hidden it so he could find and repair it. Needless to say I feel absolutely dreadful that I broke a cache - but what should I have done? Is there an "etiquette" for this sort of thing? Yours clumsily Mart Quote Link to comment
GOF and Bacall Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 Don't feel bad. These things sometimes happen. You did the right thing letting the owner know just what happened and what you did with the cache. Quote Link to comment
+lamoracke Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 happens. You let the CO and were honest about it. Happens with losing TBs too. These things will happen even with the better made containers. Quote Link to comment
+SwineFlew Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 There are a few cheap nano out there and the magnet isnt glue into place, so it will fall out. Dont feel dreadful about it because the CO should have glue it in so it doesnt fall out. If that happen to me, I would put it on the ground and move on. The CO should known that any loose body parts will get lost over time. Quote Link to comment
7rxc Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 If they have a BIG magnet they can probably easily recover the magnet as well with a small idea where you were when you dropped it. I have one that has pulled a 3.5 inch 5/16 bolt out of a gravel surface without even trying... along with a bunch of other metal bits. And yes I was trying to recover a dropped nano that was still attached to a 'neoD' magnet, got it back a few times, but not that attempt. The one I use is about 12 inches long and has several strong magnets, used to be a knife holder before that garage sale. Takes both hands to pull it off any steel sheet. I use it either in hand or hanging from a sling. Find all sorts of things when not Geocaching or doing maintenance. Doug 7rxc Quote Link to comment
+The_Incredibles_ Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 Don't feel bad, sounds like a cheap nano to me. I lost 1/2 a nano once, just couldn't find it. Emailed the CO and apologized. That's all you can do. Quote Link to comment
Keystone Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 I own a cache on a pedestrian bridge. A finder dropped the magnetic keyholder into the depths of the river below. Instead of sending me a private email or mentioning the mishap in their log, they logged a "Needs Archived" because the cache was missing! I'd say you did a far bit better than that. Quote Link to comment
GOF and Bacall Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 I own a cache on a pedestrian bridge. A finder dropped the magnetic keyholder into the depths of the river below. Instead of sending me a private email or mentioning the mishap in their log, they logged a "Needs Archived" because the cache was missing! I'd say you did a far bit better than that. Um...Either way they were contacting you, right? Quote Link to comment
Keystone Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 Yes, though they probably didn't realize that! Quote Link to comment
+hukilaulau Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 you can turn your iphone into a metal detector. (yeah, there's an app for that) Quote Link to comment
TaraMart Posted May 5, 2012 Author Share Posted May 5, 2012 You know, I was actually feeling guilty enough to consider going to Currys or somewhere on the way home to see if they sold metal detectors... Thanks all of you for making me feel a little less bad about it.. I wasn't sure if I should log it as a "found" even though I did find it! Quote Link to comment
+NYPaddleCacher Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 Well today I broke my first cache :( It was a magnetic nano. I was trying to get the log out, when the magnet also fell out and into long grass. After half an hour searching in the grass I had to give up. Coincidentally, I found a cache today that apparently had the container replaced awhile back. While searching for the container I found a magnet the same size as the ones used in a nano. I assume that the magnet was the remains of the old container. You did the right thing. It's certainly not the first time something like this has happened. Who knew a hide-a-key would float so far down river after it, um, fell from a bridge? Quote Link to comment
+Don_J Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 You know, I was actually feeling guilty enough to consider going to Currys or somewhere on the way home to see if they sold metal detectors... Thanks all of you for making me feel a little less bad about it.. I wasn't sure if I should log it as a "found" even though I did find it! I know you felt bad, but sooner or later all of us end up doing something like this. Not all respond as well as you did. Putting it back the best you could and then letting the owner know was the right way to respond. I remember a seven cache series with clues to a bonus puzzle cache got published locally. As an early finder, I dropped one of the caches down a fence post. There were probably fifteen people out looking for the caches that day and I lost one of the clues to the puzzle. Quote Link to comment
+yorelken Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 I dropped one down a crack in the rocks once and made it inaccessible, I thought. I fessed up. The owner found a way to get it back. He insisted I log it. Pretty nice guy. Quote Link to comment
+Cryptosporidium-623 Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 You had the decency to contact the owner and tell them the truth about what happened. That's worth its weight in gold to many CO's. You did fine. Quote Link to comment
+J the Goat Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 You did fine. Better than most. I had something similar happen on this cache. Check out my FTF log. This is how I made one of my great caching friends though, so I guess it was sort of a good thing that I broke this one Quote Link to comment
knowschad Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 I own a cache on a pedestrian bridge. A finder dropped the magnetic keyholder into the depths of the river below. Instead of sending me a private email or mentioning the mishap in their log, they logged a "Needs Archived" because the cache was missing! I'd say you did a far bit better than that. Um...Either way they were contacting you, right? ... AND his reviewer!! Quote Link to comment
+gnjeepn Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 When we were still kind of new to the game we knocked one off a bridge into the river bellow. It was a magnetic key holder hidden under the hand rail. We were looking and feeling all over and all of a sudden it came loose and down it went. We contacted the owner to let them know what happened and offer to reimburse them for the cost of the cache. They responded with you aren't the first ones to do this and to not worry about it. They then replaced the cache with a magnetic with a ring attached that they tied with a small wire to the bridge so it didn't happen again. Quote Link to comment
+uxorious Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 I own a cache on a pedestrian bridge. A finder dropped the magnetic keyholder into the depths of the river below. Instead of sending me a private email or mentioning the mishap in their log, they logged a "Needs Archived" because the cache was missing! I'd say you did a far bit better than that. How did you know it was the person who dropped the keyholder that logged a "needs Archived"? If they didn't send a private E-mail, nor mentioned the mishap in their log, could it not have been someone before them? ( Just thinking, if they logged a "Found it", then a "Needs Archived", I guess it would be fair to assume it was there when they got there and gone before they left? ) Quote Link to comment
+scrapcat Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 Like the fact that you fessed up to the CO. That makes a major difference and keeps the game fun for everyone. I've learned to keep a cache-repair box in the trunk of my car. I have most everything in there. After reading this, may considering adding magnets to the box. Quote Link to comment
+Harry Dolphin Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 Ah. I knocked a magnetic keyholder off the side of a bridge into the Passaic River. It probably dissolved before it hit bottom. I apologized profusely to the CO. Offered to replace it. Some humorous banter as to whether it was now a T5 cache. I apologized. He accepted my apology. I also apologized for breaking the fishing line holding the cache up in a hemlock tree. Obviously, the fishing line was not strong enough to deal with a hemlock tree. (He thought it was a pine...) One apologizes. Offers to replace, if possible. And life goes on. Quote Link to comment
Luckless Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 I can think of three cache I've broken since starting. Usually let owner know. Offered to replace where necessary. Quote Link to comment
TaraMart Posted May 6, 2012 Author Share Posted May 6, 2012 (edited) To make me feel worse, the next log after mine is, perhaps unsurprisingly, a DNF! But then one on the same day (today) found it, so my new hiding place can't be THAT hard! It's right by where it originally was... Not heard anything from the CO as yet, knowing my luck I did this on his first day of a 2 week holiday! PS thanks for the multitude of reassurances guys, really did help Edited May 6, 2012 by TaraMart Quote Link to comment
knowschad Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 To make me feel worse, the next log after mine is, perhaps unsurprisingly, a DNF! But then one on the same day (today) found it, so my new hiding place can't be THAT hard! It's right by where it originally was... Not heard anything from the CO as yet, knowing my luck I did this on his first day of a 2 week holiday! PS thanks for the multitude of reassurances guys, really did help As others have already pointed out... those magnets do fall out on certain nanos. I don't have any nano caches out anymore, but when I did, I would put a drop of superglue on the magnet before putting them out. It happens... not your fault at all. Quote Link to comment
+SwineFlew Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 To make me feel worse, the next log after mine is, perhaps unsurprisingly, a DNF! But then one on the same day (today) found it, so my new hiding place can't be THAT hard! It's right by where it originally was... Not heard anything from the CO as yet, knowing my luck I did this on his first day of a 2 week holiday! PS thanks for the multitude of reassurances guys, really did help As others have already pointed out... those magnets do fall out on certain nanos. I don't have any nano caches out anymore, but when I did, I would put a drop of superglue on the magnet before putting them out. It happens... not your fault at all. Same here as well. The problem is, some CO are very unaware of it when putting them out. We got one that is aware of it and tell people to be careful and not lose the parts. Not everybody read the cache page. Quote Link to comment
+Don_J Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 To make me feel worse, the next log after mine is, perhaps unsurprisingly, a DNF! But then one on the same day (today) found it, so my new hiding place can't be THAT hard! It's right by where it originally was... Not heard anything from the CO as yet, knowing my luck I did this on his first day of a 2 week holiday! PS thanks for the multitude of reassurances guys, really did help As others have already pointed out... those magnets do fall out on certain nanos. I don't have any nano caches out anymore, but when I did, I would put a drop of superglue on the magnet before putting them out. It happens... not your fault at all. Same here as well. The problem is, some CO are very unaware of it when putting them out. We got one that is aware of it and tell people to be careful and not lose the parts. Not everybody read the cache page. I found one that was on a pole about five feet over my head. I figured that I would just knock it clear with my hiking stick and then reattach it and shove it back up. I gave it a whack and the nano fell to the ground. The magnet stayed on the pole, five feet out of reach. Oops! I had never seen one where the magnet detached from the bottom so it was totally unexpected. Quote Link to comment
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