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PQ and favorite point issue


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I am having a strange issue with PQs.

 

I want to do a PQ for certain area with certain criteria and then to find the caches within that PQ that have high favorite points. I stated I wanted 200 caches included in the PQ, the location I wanted as the center point, and then to make sure I got 200 caches, I said within 90 miles.

 

I created the PQ and everything seemed fine. I could click on the map icon from the PQ page and see the caches in the area I wanted. I could click on the list icon from the PQ page and get a list of the caches in the area I wanted.

 

Then, from within the list, I clicked on the favorite points icon to sort by number of favorite points. The list I got was sorted by favorite points, but it was not the 200 caches centered around my center point. Rather, it was the 200 caches with the most favorite points that were within 90 miles of my center point.

 

I suppose I could reduce the radius a few miles at a time until it included only the 200 caches that I wanted and then sort by favorite points, but that seems an odd way of doing it. Any idea what is happening? I used to be able to do just what I did and then sort the limited universe of caches by favorite point.

 

Thanks for any ideas.

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If the area of. A pocket query includes more than the requested caches, the returned list includes the caches by some algorithm, distance I think. When you sort them by favorite points, you have changed the criteria so the algorithm changes and you get the caches with the most favorite points. I usually select the distance based on how far I am willing to travel. This can then be sorted by a variety of criteria without changing what caches are included.

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I don't know what the cache density is but this will give you a way to approach it. For purposes of this I'll say you want 200 cashes nearest your home. After you set your filters, use the smallest distance that makes sense, perhaps 2 miles from home, but ask for a number larger than you want, say 250. Run the PQ in test mode by not selecting a day for it to run. If the practice PQ returns less than 200 caches, you need to expand the search a little. If it returns more than 200 then you need to make the search area smaller. Your plan is to decrease the search area by until you see the results drop below 250 so you know no caches have been skipped by the PQ. You can then keep reducing the search area until you get close to your desired 200, When you get to a number that suits you, click a day to run and your are done.

 

If you ask for a particular count and the PQ returns exactly that number then you know the PQ has likely been truncated. By getting results less than you ask for, you know it is returning that number of caches that are closest to your home. That is why you should ask for the higher number then you actually want, 250 in the above example.

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