Is there something wrong with my GPS?

[joshua_joshua]

The last two caches I've searched for I couldn't find. It's pissing me off and I'm starting to hate geocaching. The compass will point me there and there's nothing near me. It was pointing at a fire hydrant today and of course there was nothing near it. One hour of staring at a fire hydrant and staring at the ground and looking around. Twice. My compass used to be very jittery (using c:geo app for android on galaxy s3) but this time it kept pointing to the same spot and there was nothing. I looked everywhere. All that was near was a fence and a street. There was no hiding spot it could be. Are the coordinates messed up or is there something wrong with my GPS or the compass or something? I looked at where the cache was on the map and it was right where the compass was pointing. Everyone in the logs said they found it. What's the deal here

Edited November 22, 2013 by joshua_joshua

[+TriciaG]

Sometimes my compass goes all haywire. Sometimes it points in the opposite direction. I don't always trust my compass.

 

Who knows - maybe it's a clever hide that you just couldn't see, or maybe it's missing, or maybe your GPS compass went cattywumpus. It's hard to know for certain.

 

What's the GC # of the cache? Does anyone say it's a clever hide? Perhaps it's just a hard one.

 

Don't expect 100% success at finding caches. Zero-for-two isn't unusual.

[+T.D.M.22]

You've got three finds-so you haven't seen every type of hide yet. Some of the caches are the size of the eraser on a pencil, and then camo'd as well. I've seen a cache camo'd to look like a berry, and placed on a tree.

 

And just so you're aware, the compass won't point you to the cache, it will point you to the direction. It's the co-ords that get you to the cache area, and then when you get within 10 feet or so, start looking. The cache may bot be exactly at the co-ords, your GPS may be off, the hiders may have been off, or the cache may not have been put back in the same spot.

 

Try looking for regular size and bigger caches with a low difficulty rating, and you should have better luck.

 

Or they could be missing, or you could just be having a bad day. I've had trouble finding a 3.5 foot long cache before, so try again another day, at another cache.

Edited November 22, 2013 by T.D.M.22

[+coachstahly]

I wouldn't worry about it too much unless it happens ALL the time. I've managed to DNF my fair share of 1/1s and then come back to the cache page a week later to see that the next 10 finders all made the find. Sometimes it's just not in the cards to find each cache. As has been previously mentioned, with only three finds under your belt, don't stress about it. Try to go back with someone else later to see if they're in the same boat. Also, don't fret about the DNF. It doesn't mean you're a bad cacher, just that you couldn't find it on that particular visit. I DNF at about a 10% rate, meaning one out of every 10 I look for I don't find.

[+gpsblake]

You can always test out the accuracy of your unit by going to GC's benchmark site

 

http://www.geocaching.com/mark/

 

enter your zip code, look through them and find one with ADJUSTED COORDINATES in the description.

 

Example: http://www.geocaching.com/mark/details.aspx?PID=DE1758 - one near me

Altitude is VERTCON and location is ADJUSTED

 

If it says location is SCALED, those are not accurate coordinates.

 

Put those coordinates into your unit. Then go find the benchmark. Adjusted coordinate benchmarks have remarkable accuracy down to centimeters so your unit if operating property should put you 20 feet or less from it (and probably less then 10 feet).

[+luvvinbird]

The last two caches I've searched for I couldn't find. It's pissing me off and I'm starting to hate geocaching. The compass will point me there and there's nothing near me. It was pointing at a fire hydrant today and of course there was nothing near it. One hour of staring at a fire hydrant and staring at the ground and looking around. Twice. My compass used to be very jittery (using c:geo app for android on galaxy s3) but this time it kept pointing to the same spot and there was nothing. I looked everywhere. All that was near was a fence and a street. There was no hiding spot it could be. Are the coordinates messed up or is there something wrong with my GPS or the compass or something? I looked at where the cache was on the map and it was right where the compass was pointing. Everyone in the logs said they found it. What's the deal here

Try to take comfort in the fact that geocachers with way more experience than you are still logging those blasted DNF's, lol. Scroll through the logs of the cache you're attempting to find and look for clues that will help you. A fire hydrant, eh? Did you run your fingers around the bottom of it? Any extra bolts on it? Try not to fixate on the fact that your GPS unit tells you that, gosh darn it, GZ is right here and there's nothing here! In fact, GZ may be several feet away. Broaden your search and don't give up, we've all been there and some of us are still struggling, too, lol.

[joshua_joshua]

Try to take comfort in the fact that geocachers with way more experience than you are still logging those blasted DNF's, lol. Scroll through the logs of the cache you're attempting to find and look for clues that will help you. A fire hydrant, eh? Did you run your fingers around the bottom of it? Any extra bolts on it? Try not to fixate on the fact that your GPS unit tells you that, gosh darn it, GZ is right here and there's nothing here! In fact, GZ may be several feet away. Broaden your search and don't give up, we've all been there and some of us are still struggling, too, lol.

I'll look again tomorrow. I'm just worried I will get frustrated and will be tempted to blow up the fire hydrant with a bomb. It's annoying cause people give me strange looks while I'm geocaching and sometimes ask if I'm ok or on drugs and that pisses me off. Like just let me geocache. Anyways, in one of the logs someone said it was a quick find. That just makes it more frustrating. A few people said it was a clever hide. And the geocache is small. I inspected the fire hydrant quite a lot but I guess I'll look more. I want to make sure my GPS is working correctly first though. I'm using some GPS mods on my phone that are supposed to make it better and so I'm gonna take off all those mods just in case.

[+Chief301]

If you've inspected the hydrant thoroughly and are quite certain it's not there, expand your search a bit. Coordinates can be a little off sometimes....the actual spot may be up to 10-15 feet away.

 

There's a fence nearby, huh? Chain link? Did you check the caps in top of the fence posts to see if they lift up? I've found several under fence post caps, it's a common hiding spot. Also look for a bison tube (small metal cylinder about the size of a AA battery) hanging on the fence.

 

I've also seen micro caches hanging in storm drains by a piece of monofilament line, so check the street and sidewalk too.

 

Check any street signs or other metal objects nearby.....the cache may be magnetic. It may also be very small....about the size of a pencil eraser (classified as a micro but commonly referred to as a nano).

 

If you post the GC code number so we can take a look at the cache page, we might be able to give you some ideas where to look.

 

Don't be so quick to assume there's something wrong with your GPS....its accuracy is measured in feet, not inches. Plus, you don't know how much care the hider took in obtaining his coordinates (there is a process involved), so no matter how accurate YOUR device is, you don't know how far off HIS coordinates might be.

 

Geocaching is a skill that must be honed through experience....it will take you awhile to see the many varied and sneaky ways caches can be hidden. Go find some others and come back to that one later when you have developed your cache senses a bit.

Edited November 22, 2013 by Chief301

[Colorado Bear]

Patience grasshopper

 

DNF’s are part of the game you may not be able to find it, or it may not be there. My worse one to date was Mondo Goes To Market , it took me at least 20 tries, and two hints from the cache owner. It was near a restaurant my wife and I like to go to so I kept going back until I found it.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Normally, I wouldn't do this... but everything about the Original Post is indicative of not knowing what you are doing (yet). Going over this post piece-by-piece, is probably the best way to show that you have yet a bit to learn...

This may come off as a slap... but that is not the intention. It is intended to show you that there may well be some things about geocaching that you may not be aware of or even thought of, yet.

The last two caches I've searched for I couldn't find. It's pissing me off and I'm starting to hate geocaching. The compass will point me there and there's nothing near me. It was pointing at a fire hydrant today and of course there was nothing near it.

You have Found (logged) three, you say that you cannot find two others, and that is pissing you off.

Actually, that is pretty good for a raw beginner. If this is all it takes to turn you off to something, perhaps you should find another hobby, or obtain some anger management treatments. If you use patience and learn a bit to think "outside of the box", just maybe you would learn how geocaches are placed or hidden.

Geocaching is supposed to be fun. When it stops being fun, you should stop geocaching. It can be a challenge... if you don't like challenges (and that is part of the game), well...

On your first driving lesson, did you do good enough to enter the U.S. Grand Prix?

One hour of staring at a fire hydrant and staring at the ground and looking around. Twice.

While not having been to this cache myself, I have a real good idea where (and how) it may be at the fire hydrant. I could be wrong though, and if I were... I just might look elsewhere other than to stare at a fire hydrant for an hour. Remember, your eyes are not the only search tools that you have. Sure, look the hydrant over VERY, VERY carefully, but don't become obsessed with the hydrant.

My compass used to be very jittery (using c:geo app for android on galaxy s3) but this time it kept pointing to the same spot and there was nothing. I looked everywhere. All that was near was a fence and a street. There was no hiding spot it could be.

"There was no hiding spot it could be"... funny, but the previous quoted statement just may hold the key. So far, I have noticed two (easy) possibilities... and yet, I haven't even been to the spot.

Are the coordinates messed up or is there something wrong with my GPS or the compass or something?

Yes, something is messed up... and it ain't the coordinates, the GPS or the compass. It is your thinking, or lack thereof.

I suspect that you are making a newbee mistake of giving your device absolute trust in where it is directing you. Trust it sure, but not with total 100% absolute conviction -- this is a pitfall that can and does also affect not-so-newbee geocachers, at times.

Your unit only takes you to the AREA of where the cache is hidden. You should NEVER expect it to take you to the cache, it can only take you (near) to the coordinates at which the cache is listed as being at. You need to learn and understand the limitations of your consumer-grade unit as well as how those limitations also affect the hider of the cache. This of course, assumes that some other cacher has replaced it properly after making their find.

I looked at where the cache was on the map and it was right where the compass was pointing. Everyone in the logs said they found it. What's the deal here

Maps... hmmm... those are a bugaboo in themselves. Inasmuch as maps are simply overlays placed over a grid system, there are bound to be inaccuracies -- more often than not. Trust your GPSr more-so than maps.

What's the deal? The deal is that others have found it and you haven't. Do you think it is possible that they just may know a little more than you or have more experience? Perhaps they have a different method of looking for a cache. Perhaps that have already experience just such a hide before. Perhaps they know the methodology which that particular hider uses.

 

 

Honest advice:

1] DNFs are part of the game. You simply cannot find them all. Anyone who says they can or have are lia... (not telling the truth).

2] Your GPSr device is capable of only so much... the finding of the cache is still up to you. Again, the device will only put you in the area of the hide. Once you are in that area -- PUT THE DEVICE AWAY and stop looking at it... look instead for the cache itself or (important) its hiding spot! You are wasting your vision if you are looking and concentrating at the device. That "area" is considered to be an approximate 20' circle. It could be a larger circle, too.

3] When looking for a difficult (especially a tiny) cache, use more than just your eyes. Feel beneath things that you cannot see under (carefully as there can also be hazards to doing that). The cache may well be hidden within something else. Can some object or covering be EASILY moved, by hand? Look UP, DOWN, UNDER and OVER. Important: Look for something that just...doesn't...seem...quite...right.

4] Frustration... when it stops being fun, quit. Take a break. Go do something else. You can always come back later if you really, really, really must find that one. Place a "Watch" on the cache... if others continue finding it, come back later with a rested brain (it does wonders) and a fresh outlook.

 

Lastly... when you do find this, or another cache that has driven you "batty", just think... you learned something new and realize that there will most likely be a lot more learnin' to do.

 

Good Luck... and most importantly... HAVE FUN!

[+fishgeek]

Some of the best geocaching advice that I've heard is "if you're looking at the GPS, you're not looking for the cache". I usually put my GPS down at the center of GZ and use it to reference my search area. I'll re-check it after 15-20 minutes.

 

Buildings and trees will greatly effect the accuracy of the GPS. Sometimes, it's better to take a reading away from the obstruction to figure out where you should start looking.

 

Repeating something already said, when it stops being fun, move on to the next one.

 

Also, don't forget the possibility that the cache just might not be there.

[+ecanderson]

I'll look again tomorrow. I'm just worried I will get frustrated and will be tempted to blow up the fire hydrant with a bomb.

OK - understand I don't know where you're from or where this cache is. I'm just going to throw this out to give you a point of reference. Until you've found a few hundred caches, you'll keep running into things you've never seen before fairly frequently. After you've found several thousand, you will STILL run into things you've never seen before.

 

So -- cache is a "Small", only nearby feature is a fire hydrant which you have inspected. Imagine what you'd think if you found a fake sprinkler head somewhere near that fire hydrant. One with a log in it! You haven't begun to see just how evil some caches can be. Watch the difficulty rating of the caches you visit for a while. Don't tackle anything more than a 1.5 for starters, then work your way up as you develop more confidence.

 

It's annoying cause people give me strange looks while I'm geocaching and sometimes ask if I'm ok or on drugs and that pisses me off.

Frankly, I've always thought that stealth was overrated. Most people have never been trained or developed the skill set to work in 'stealth mode' in public, and in the process of trying to do so, they become even more obvious, especially when being obvious is causing them some amount of distress and they become even MORE obvious!

 

That said, there's times when it's best to wait until a time where an area isn't so busy, or at least wait until you're not in close proximity to anyone who will bother you. Some caches are such that you could set of those bombs you are talking about and no one would notice (lots of caches outside of any town, for example) and there are others where it seems impossible to do a proper search at a decent hour of the day. One thing -- as you get better at this, you'll be able to find them more quickly, and get in and out without so much obvious behavior.

 

As for wondering about your phone and its ability to get you to the right coordinates .. since you've found a couple of caches, revisit those a few times and see how well your phone does at putting you in the same spot each time.

 

You'll be getting a lot of advice like this, I suspect. Hope it's getting through!