Field Notes / Time Zone bug

[+ivss_xx]

Hi!

I'm experiencing a weird bug when dealing with field notes.

I'm currently in New Zealand. Time zone now is UTC+12. I have set that in the site preferences.

After uploading field notes, I see that the time showing up there is shifted forward by 1 hour. (First cache on my list was found at the actual local time 22:00 but is showing 23:00 on FN)

"OK, no big deal," I think, "I'll just change the time zone to UTC+11 and issue will be solved" And, it seems that it is - now the first cache shows the correct time - 22:00.

 

But what happens the next time I upload field notes? (So, I left my time zone to UTC+11) The time of the field notes is now shifted an hour back! It is showing 21:00 find time for the first cache.

 

I would not mind "living in another time zone in site preferences" but this is a bit annoying, currently, to get the time right, I have to change zones all the time now.

To get the time right, I have to first be on +12, then change to +11 after upload, then, after logging but before next upload I have to change back to +12.

 

attaching some illustrative screenshots

Time zone

 

My FN file

 

Right Timezone, Wrong time

 

Wrong Timezone, still Wrong time

[+EngPhil]

Sadly, Groundspeak has never quite managed to get the hang of timezones.

 

You're doing better than many. Most folks submitting logs (not fieldnotes) in your timezone find that most of their logs end up logging the wrong date.

 

(Incidentally, a fieldnote loses its time when it's converted into a log anyway, so the date is really all that ends up being significant post-logging.)

[+ivss_xx]

Well, the wrong date comes in play if the cache was found in hours close to midnight.

FIeldnote loses it's time when it is made into a log, of course, but I just always like to write the found time in my log. And I take the time from the field note.

It was all good all these years wherever I was, and it was alright when I arrived in NZ as well, just seems that it went wrong after the Daylight saving time changed here.

Now I just need to remember or figure out which hour was the right one when logging.

[+noncentric]

Are you using a GPSr? If so, then maybe you can change the "Daylight Savings Time" setting in your GPSr? I have my eTrex 20 set to 'automatic' DST, but not sure how the time might be affected if I selected 'yes' or 'no'. One of the settings might work for you, if your GPSr has a DST setting.

[+ivss_xx]

Are you using a GPSr? If so, then maybe you can change the "Daylight Savings Time" setting in your GPSr? I have my eTrex 20 set to 'automatic' DST, but not sure how the time might be affected if I selected 'yes' or 'no'. One of the settings might work for you, if your GPSr has a DST setting.

 

Yes, I'm using a GPSr, but it does not matter because Field notes file does not contain any timezone/DST information whatsoever. The time there is represented by GPX standards:

http://www.topografix.com/gpx_manual.asp#time

 

[b]<TIME>[/b]

Optional in:      
2002-02-10T21:01:29.250Z
Creation/modification timestamp for element. Date and time in are in Univeral Coordinated Time (UTC), not local time! Conforms to ISO 8601 specification for date/time representation. Fractional seconds are allowed for millisecond timing in tracklogs.

 

 

So, that is just plain UTC time. The website should just set the time displayed according to my set timezone. But, for some reason, even though my timezone is set to +12, the website sets the time to +13.

[+Rekoons]

Hi,

I had the same problem.

I found out that there is a timezone setting on the geocaching website.

If you're in another timezone, set the timezone setting to the timezone where you are at that moment.

Even the uploaded fieldnotes are converted to the new date/time, so you don't need to do that again.

You will have a problem if you upload fieldnotes of more than 1 timezone at the same time.

 

Grtz.

Gertjan

Edited May 21, 2016 by Rekoons

[+ivss_xx]

No, the problem is, that I have set the correct timezone in the settings but the time rendered is still not right. And I have only one timezone in Field Notes file.

[+ivss_xx]

OK, so Groundspeak "fixed" the field notes by bringing back the timestamp to the drafts page.

 

BUT there's always a BUT!

 

The timestamps shown are totally wrong.

I'm uploading drafts from my Garmin Oregon 700.

This is an example of one:

In the field notes file, GC570V3,2017-06-25T14:48Z,Found it,""; so, it's UTC 14:48, so it's GMT 14:48

I have my time zone set to GMT+2 (currently real time is GMT+3 because of DST)

 

But the new drafts showed the time as 10:48. I can't understand from where does it get this? It shows 7 hours earlier than my real time.

Previously, you could change the time zone in the settings and then the time reflected in field notes would also change according to that. No more, I changed my time zone to smth else, drafts still show the same 10:48.

 

GPS sets the UTC time, so where is the problem to just apply the current time zone that the user has set in his profile? What is this mysterious minus 4 or 7 hours thing?