Hiding where there is little to no signal

[+bugbrat_&_family]

We would like to place a hide in an area that has little to no satellite signal. It's a place that's special to us and would be perfect for the type of cache we have in mind. Is this possible and/or desirable?

 

Thanks!

[+Chief301]

Where in the world could you possibly be that has no satellite coverage? 😳

 

Are you sure you mean no satellite coverage, or are we talking about cellular coverage?

Edited July 3, 2014 by Chief301

[+Walts Hunting]

Deep in a narrow canyon where you might only have two satellites visible. Anywhere with a heavy forest that rises high with a large canopy. Probably other I can't think of.

[+Walts Hunting]

Burp

Edited July 3, 2014 by Walts Hunting

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Lessee here.... a cave? Mineshaft? Tunnel? Deep narrow canyon? A triple-canopy forest? Maybe a building or parking garage... Oh yes, under a bridge, eh?

 

There are lots of places that come to mind.

 

I would suggest that you make sure such information regarding 'lack of signal' is on the cache page.

Edited July 3, 2014 by Gitchee-Gummee

[+kunarion]

parking garage...

I found one in a parking garage. Icon is on the roof of course. But the cache is hidden on which level? I hate that cache owner. Hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.

 

Sorry, what was the question again?

[+Manville Possum]

Yes, a tunnelcomes to mind. I can never get a signal here.

Edited July 3, 2014 by Manville Possum Hunters

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Where in the world could you possibly be that has no satellite coverage? 😳

 

Are you sure you mean no satellite coverage, or are we talking about cellular coverage?

 

How about this one. 833 favorite points.

[+Scratch Ankle]

Where in the world could you possibly be that has no satellite coverage? 😳

 

We have one locally that is in an area with a pretty heavy tree canopy and up a hollow so hills surround it. Makes for poor reception under the very of best of circumstances. Add in clouds, rain, and wind and the GPS is about useless. Standing still I would see that I was 5' from the cache. Without moving I'd see I was suddenly 10' away, then 30' away, then 100' feet away. Eventually it would show me I was 5' away again. All without moving a bit. Actually I was about 75' away. CO gave a very good description of where the cache was located and you had to wander about to find it. Only one tree fit the description in the area I wandered but it was a pretty good sized area with a lot of trees.

[+Bear and Ragged]

Yes, a tunnelcomes to mind. I can never get a signal here.

 

Yep.

Tunnel.

 

Did one.

Multi-cache. Stage gets you to the tunnel entrance. Then a bearing of X for y distance.

[nonaeroterraqueous]

I have one like that. I tried for a few years at different times of day, different seasons, etc. to get a reading, and never got more than one satellite in my reception. One lucky day, I managed to get a solid reading, and I had enough time to double-check my coordinates before conditions changed. Then, I gave a detailed step-by-step description leading from the nearest place a person could reliably get a signal to the the cache, itself. Find rate is a little low, probably because it weeds out people who don't read the cache page, but people seem to like it, so far.

[TahoeJoe]

Go for it and in your description state that the satellite coverage is spotty. You might also want to give a strong hint.

[+narcissa]

Letterbox hybrid - give posted coordinates close to the cache, and then letterbox clues to help them get to it.

[+niraD]

We would like to place a hide in an area that has little to no satellite signal. It's a place that's special to us and would be perfect for the type of cache we have in mind. Is this possible and/or desirable?

At some point, your cache needs to involve the use of accurate GPS coordinates. But...

 

You don't need to use accurate GPS coordinates for every stage. I've found a number of multi-stage caches where you need accurate GPS coordinates for one or more stages, but other methods are used for identifying other stages. And...

 

Even if there is no GPS reception at the cache site, it is still possible to use a GPS device to determine accurate coordinates for the cache site. And it is still possible for seekers to use a GPS device to identify the cache location. I've found a number of caches like this, where there was no GPS reception at the cache site, but it was possible to use the GPS reception in the surrounding area to figure out where the cache location was.

[+edscott]

I have one (GC1MKQ2) in a spot that sometimes has poor GPS reception. I assume that is because half the sky is obscured by a cliff face. I got solid coordinates from about 150 feet away and from that data calculated the actual coordinates of the cache. It does have about a 10% DNF rate, but almost all DNFs appear to be terrain related, not due to the poor reception.

[+StripyJules]

There is one inside here

 

 

Quite a long way inside here... the published co-ordinates are for the entrance and then there is a very 'hint-y' hint to help you pinpoint the cache itself.

[+TheWanderesss]

I can't imagine why not. At least as long as you make it a game that's not solely dependant on the coordinates, then it should be great fun!

[+dprovan]

Yeah, should be fine. At least, I haven't heard of a reviewer rejecting a cache at the posted coordinates even though a GPSr doesn't help when you're actual at the hide, and I've seen a few caches where it's made very clear in the description that that's the case. Just keep in mind that without a GPSr, a geocacher is like a blind man, so you need to provide information that allows them to use their other senses or they won't be able to find it. And, on the other hand, you need to find a way to confirm that the coordinates you post really are where the cache is, since if you can't, the reviewer would be quite right to reject it even if the coordinates aren't important to the find.

 

Or you could make it a letterbox hybrid and post the starting coordinates.