Hiding Caches with a phone?

[jodier7]

Is it acceptable to hide a cache and take coordinates with your phone, as long as you average them. I haven't read anything that says you can't, but I'm not sure that it is proper etiquette.

[+T.D.M.22]

Well, seeing your other thread, you probably should hold off hiding a cache for a bit. And no I don't think you should hide a cache with your phone. They just aren't always accurate enough. Even if you average the readings, if each of those readings is 50 feet or so south of the cache, you're just going to have a location about 50 feet south of the cache....

[jodier7]

Okay thanks, just curious. I have actually been caching off and on for 2 years, though I only have 9 logged caches. My brother introduced it to me and took me along with him on many of his outings. He logged his finds, it was a while before I created an account, and logged my finds. Then it didn't feel right to log a cache that I had found 4 months ago.

[+T.D.M.22]

Okay thanks, just curious. I have actually been caching off and on for 2 years, though I only have 9 logged caches. My brother introduced it to me and took me along with him on many of his outings. He logged his finds, it was a while before I created an account, and logged my finds. Then it didn't feel right to log a cache that I had found 4 months ago.

 

You did find them didn't you? Go ahead and log them, just be sure to say what you just said here...

[+niraD]

My experience with Android devices (G1, Nexus One, Galaxy S) is that they're about as accurate as my old yellow eTrex. A lot of caches have been placed with accurate coordinates using devices of that caliber. Of course, a modern high-sensitivity receiver will be more accurate, especially in adverse conditions like heavy tree cover or deep canyons, but you can get the job done if you invest the effort.

 

No matter how you get your coordinates, if you aren't confident in their accuracy, then test them. Walk at least 100ft away, enter the coordinates into your device, and have it guide you to the cache location. The arrow should point directly at the cache location as you approach. Repeat the process, approaching from different directions. The arrow should still point directly at the cache location as you approach, regardless of the direction you approach from.

 

If it doesn't, then fix your coordinates and repeat the test until it works.

 

Bonus points for repeating the test on a different day, when the GPS satellites are in a different configuration.

[jodier7]

Thanks for the advice everyone, I will hold off on hiding a cache for now, but I'm really anxious to fully join the community.

[+thebruce0]

What niraD said - modern phones' GPS accuracy are plenty sufficient for hiding. BUT whether you use a phone or a dedicated device, always be confident in your reading, and do whatever it takes until such time. Anything from averaging over time, to testing by walking away and returning, to verifying visually on a satellite map (depending on the map tiles' accuracy of course), to testing with a friend's device, etc.

 

No one ever has an excuse for publishing bad coordinates (not even people using cheap phones or gpsrs -- in those cases, they shouldn't be publishing! )

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

We used to dislike phone hides (very much so).

Have backed away from that stance now, realizing that it is not the device... it is the user.

 

Many seem to be in a "rush" to place hides. Usually, those folks have little more than a clue as to how their unit functions or how to interpret what it shows/tells them.

 

Getting to know your unit, what it can do and what it won't do, before placing hides is paramount.

 

It doesn't seem to matter a hill of beans whether the unit is a phone or a GPSr, when it is the operator that is the loose nut.