Ianronfingers Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 Hello. I am very new to the geocache world. I have found two urban ones with relative ease but today i was searching for a cache in Epsom Common (Surrey, UK) which is a bit more rural although only about a mile outside of Epsom which is a small but busy town on the edge of South London. The GPS on my Galaxy S2 smart phone didn't seem to track me properly I got to within 889m of GZ but after following the suggested direction for several hundred metres the distance to the co ordinates didn't seem to change at all. Is this symptomatic of using a phone or would i have had the same problem with a dedicated GPS system? In the end i gave up looking as I could have either been right next to it or up to 1km out in all directions. Any advice would be appreciated. If (as i suspect) i'd be better of with a dedicated GPS can you recommend a decent but affordable one for the casual newbie geocacher? Quote Link to comment
+whh0 Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 (edited) http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=301026 This very topic is currently being discussed on the forum under "Getting Started" (link above) I think you may find the answers you are looking for. Also just another thought - what app are you using for caching and is the GPS switched on, on your phone? Once my phone had me in the middle of a runway about a km away then realised that the GPS on the phone was switched off! Welcome to caching! Edited September 8, 2012 by whh0 Quote Link to comment
+Gitchee-Gummee Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 (edited) 889m? Almost a full Klick? That's wayyyy more than just a little off. Something's wrong. Clueless as to what it would be, though. Edited September 8, 2012 by Gitchee-Gummee Quote Link to comment
+Graculus Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 If you are interested in buying a new GPS then my UK geocaching resource site has a useful page all about GPS receivers including a comparison table of all the current Garmin and Magellan models which includes guide prices for the UK. There is also information about UK maps for GPS's that are available. Chris Graculus Volunteer UK Reviewer for geocaching.com UK Geocaching Information & Resources website - www.follow-the-arrow.co.uk UK Geocaching Wiki Geocaching.com Help Center Quote Link to comment
+Bear and Ragged Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 'Smart Phones' may be reasonable close in built-up areas, but may suffer in the country. Do you have the phone set to use GPS signals, or the 'phone network? If it's set to work from the 'phones network it WILL be unaccurate 'out in the sticks' where you will be away from the phone transmitters! (Or have limited reception from fewer transmitters) Quote Link to comment
+Chief301 Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Yes, check to make sure your GPS location services are turned on. If not it might be using cell tower triangulation alone for location, which can be sketchy at best. Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.