Checking cache locations

[+TheJavaJoe]

I have submitted a couple of caches that showed to be available spots but were rejected for one reason or another. I have a pretty complex cache planned but would like to check the coords with a reviewer before setting it up to make sure it will fly. Don't want to spend the time getting it together only to find that a mystery cache's final coords are just 100 get away or something. Is there a way to do this?

[+TriciaG]

Make a bare-bones cache page. Title it something like "coordinate check" and enter only the info that is required. (Things like cache size can be changed later.) Add your coordinates and waypoints. In the reviewer note upon submittal, you can provide any further explanation you like.

 

The reviewer will do a proximity check and then send it back to you for further development and/or waypoint changes.

[+TheJavaJoe]

Thanks so much!

[+niraD]

For reference, see the Help Center article Checking for Geocache Saturation.

[MoonPie Mafia]

I followed the instructions from the help center, and have used this method in the past to communicate with the cache reviewer.

 

I submitted a coordinates check a few days ago and got this response from the local reviewer today.

 

"Temporarily Disable Listing

01/29/2016

 

PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT CACHES JUST FOR A COORDINATE CHECK. Contact the reviewer."

 

What gives? From looking at THE ALL CAPS it appears I upsetted the reviewer by creating a cache page to ask if the area is open for a new cache placement.

[Keystone]

And, when you submit a "coordinates check" page, your chosen spot is "reserved" for a reasonable period of time while you are working on your cache (building a custom container, getting permission, designing a complex puzzle, waiting for better weather, etc.). Just be sure to communicate your plans clearly, and post updates if things change.

 

MoonPie Mafia, there are no conflicts with hidden waypoints for a radius of 1000 feet from the coordinates on the page you submitted.

Edited January 29, 2016 by Keystone

[MoonPie Mafia]

And, when you submit a "coordinates check" page, your chosen spot is "reserved" for a reasonable period of time while you are working on your cache (building a custom container, getting permission, designing a complex puzzle, waiting for better weather, etc.). Just be sure to communicate your plans clearly, and post updates if things change.

 

MoonPie Mafia, there are no conflicts with hidden waypoints for a radius of 1000 feet from the coordinates on the page you submitted.

 

Thank you sir for your prompt assistance. I thought I made my intentions very clear on the cache page when I submitted the coordinates check.

 

I recycled that cache page from a coordinates check that may have been too near a mystery cache and the area was not open for a new placement.

I'm not sure why the reviewer responded the way they did, but I thought I was following protocol for a new cache placement?

 

I would like to wait a few days to publish my new listing until the snow melts. Hopefully I will get a response from the reviewer, but I would expect them to be fluent in the guidelines and hope that I did not upset them by asking for a coordinates check.

[+J Grouchy]

Your local reviewer may have a method he or she prefers. The reviewer in my area likes a submittal titled *LZ33 Proximity Check* with all the waypoints set up in the page just like it would be on a regular submittal.

[MoonPie Mafia]

Your local reviewer may have a method he or she prefers. The reviewer in my area likes a submittal titled *LZ33 Proximity Check* with all the waypoints set up in the page just like it would be on a regular submittal.

 

Our local reviewer contacted me and it was that I enabled the cache for review instead of contacting them first with the GC code.

 

The way I read the help center article either way would be correct per "3. Either enable the geocache, or email your reviewer with the GC Code."

 

Their point, and I understand, is to keep coordinates checks out of the review queue. Their ALL CAPS RESPONSE just freaked me out a little because I thought a coordinates check was the proper way to ask if the area is open before I waste my time working on a new placement.

[+hzoi]

I think you're ok. Each reviewer is different. (Some are dogs.) So they all have a different way of doing business. If your reviewer prefers you send them the GC code for coordinate checks rather than submitting the cache for review, now you know.

 

[+Mockingbird559]

I followed the instructions from the help center, and have used this method in the past to communicate with the cache reviewer.

 

I submitted a coordinates check a few days ago and got this response from the local reviewer today.

 

"Temporarily Disable Listing

01/29/2016

 

PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT CACHES JUST FOR A COORDINATE CHECK. Contact the reviewer."

 

What gives? From looking at THE ALL CAPS it appears I upsetted the reviewer by creating a cache page to ask if the area is open for a new cache placement.

 

WOW. I did a coordinate check with my reviewer a year or so ago and received a very nice response from my reviewer. I had a feeling there was a puzzle final nearby. Turned out there were no conflicts and I went ahead with the cache. Didn't want to make a custom container that I could not use.

 

And isn't doing a coordinate check contacting the reviewer?

 

Cache Happy

[+noncentric]

I recall coming across a Reviewer's profile page where the Bio section included something along the lines of "Don't submit coordinates just to check if they're available". I remember being confused by that, since the Help Center says that we should do just that. I don't recall which Reviewer it was, but it definitely wasn't someone local to my area (near HQ). I may try to find that page again, and see if they described a different way of checking coordinates.

[MoonPie Mafia]

I recall coming across a Reviewer's profile page where the Bio section included something along the lines of "Don't submit coordinates just to check if they're available". I remember being confused by that, since the Help Center says that we should do just that. I don't recall which Reviewer it was, but it definitely wasn't someone local to my area (near HQ). I may try to find that page again, and see if they described a different way of checking coordinates.

 

When I contacted the reviewer and explained the I was following directions from the help center they responded by asking if I could direct them to the article, so I must assume that they were unaware of it.

 

Another reviewer had told me to keep everything on the cache page so our communication did not get lost in emails.

 

In the future I'm just going to follow the instructions like I have been doing and post in the reviewer note I am requesting a coordinates check but do not submit the cache for review and contact the reviewer.

 

I would have thought a coordinates check for cache saturation would be more common, but I guess not.

[Pup Patrol]

Help Center → Hiding a Geocache → Review Process: Hiding a Geocache

http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=199

 

1.15. Checking for Geocache Saturation

 

Before placing a new geocache in a chosen area, go geocaching there. Other people may have already placed their own geocaches there, some of which may have multiple stages.

 

New geocaches must be comply with the Geocache Saturation section of the Guidelines. They must be at least 0.1 miles (528ft or 161m) from the physical elements of any other geocache. Below are some tips that can make this process easier for you.

 

Search for nearby geocaches

 

Go geocaching in the area. When you find a good place for your geocache, check for "nearest" geocaches on your GPS or geocaching app. If you see geocaches 0.1 miles or closer, this location is unlikely to be available. In the field, it's a good idea to look within .12 miles from your proposed spot, allowing for error in the GPS readings.

 

Back at home, you can use the Planning Map or Search to check if your proposed coordinates are too near the visible coordinates of another cache. If you see any physical geocache within 0.1 mi (528ft or 161m) of your proposed location, your geocache is unlikely to be published. Some multi-caches start with virtual stages, and you may be able to place a geocache near these stages. A community volunteer reviewer will be able to help you with this question (see below).

 

Hidden stages or off-limit areas

 

Even if a spot appears to be available on the map, it doesn't guarantee that spot is an open location for your cache. Neither the planning map or the Search shows hidden stages of geocaches, mystery finals, stages of multi-caches, unpublished caches or areas off limits to geocaching (such as a nature preserve). See Understanding the Geocache Planning Map for more information.

 

If you see mystery geocache with posted (bogus) coordinates within 2 miles of your chosen location, its final location might be near your proposed geocache. Many, but not all, multi-caches start and finish in the same area too. So solving mysteries and multi-caches in the vicinity will greatly increase your knowledge of whether your proposed geocache location is available.

 

Coordinate check with local reviewer

 

If you are still concerned about encountering the hidden parts of other geocaches, you may contact a community volunteer reviewer for a saturation check with your proposed coordinates. This should be done before placing the geocache container.

 

1. Create a geocache listing, with a title like "Coordinate Check". You can add additional waypoints if you'd like more than one spot checked (such as by using stages of a multi-cache).

 

2. Add a Reviewer Note explaining that the geocache is not in place and you would like a saturation check.

 

3. Either enable the geocache, or email your reviewer with the GC Code.

 

To find your local reviewer, check for a recent published log on a nearby geocache. Follow the link of the reviewer's name to their profile, where you can email them through the site. For more information on contacting reviewers, see Finding your Local Reviewer.

 

B.