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Newbie questions


pattyannep

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Hey there, I just downloaded the free app.

Question 1: I understand I can't download maps or make lists because I'm not a premium member but I read somewhere that if I save them as a favorite, then they are somehow downloaded. Is this still available in the app? I can't find a way to make a geocache a favorite. The reason I'm asking is because of how much mobile battery used when geocaching for free. 

Question 2: is there a limit to the number of maps I can use in one day because I'm using the free app.

Question 3: Is there anyway to know if caches are still available? I'm looking at Lettuce Lake Regional Park and see there are 6 caches were placed between 2003 and 2010. There aren't many favorite points awarded so I wonder if they aren't active. 

Thanks for your help, P.

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41 minutes ago, pattyannep said:

Question 3: Is there anyway to know if caches are still available? I'm looking at Lettuce Lake Regional Park and see there are 6 caches were placed between 2003 and 2010. There aren't many favorite points awarded so I wonder if they aren't active.

Favorite Points, or the lack of, do not indicate whether a cache is still in place or not.

Reading the content of the previous logs can be helpful when looking at potential cache targets for a hunt.  You can look at the cache's "Activity" to see previous logs. If the last log is "Found It", then it's likely the cache is still there. If there are several "Did Not Find" logs, then that might indicate a missing or difficult cache. I looked at the caches in the park you mentioned and I don't see any indicators to suggest they have any problems.

ETA: Basic Members are limited to Traditional caches with D/T ratings both 1.5 or less. Some of the caches in the park are rated higher and so they won't be visible in the app, even though they are visible on the webpage. Basic Members can open geocaching.com in their phone's browser to see the higher rated caches, copy the coords from the cache pages, and then paste those coords into the Google Maps app (or one of numerous GPS apps).

Edited by noncentric
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38 minutes ago, pattyannep said:

Question 1: I understand I can't download maps or make lists because I'm not a premium member but I read somewhere that if I save them as a favorite, then they are somehow downloaded. Is this still available in the app? I can't find a way to make a geocache a favorite. The reason I'm asking is because of how much mobile battery used when geocaching for free.

Marking caches as a Favorite is a Premium Member feature, so that shouldn't be a workaround to download them.

 

38 minutes ago, pattyannep said:

Question 2: is there a limit to the number of maps I can use in one day because I'm using the free app.

The map usage is not a limitation of Basic Membership.

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2 hours ago, pattyannep said:

Hey there, I just downloaded the free app.  Welcome to the hobby, sport, obsession, or whatever it's called!!

Question 1: I understand I can't download maps or make lists because I'm not a premium member but I read somewhere that if I save them as a favorite, then they are somehow downloaded. Is this still available in the app? I can't find a way to make a geocache a favorite. As noncentric noted, marking a cache as a favorite is premium member feature.  And it has nothing to do with whether or not it is downloaded to your phone.

The reason I'm asking is because of how much mobile battery used when geocaching for free. Battery usage will be about the same whether you are geocaching "for free" or as a premium member, using the app, the website, or downloaded lists.  We carry car phone chargers, and extra battery packs, and some phones get better battery life than others.  If you are talking about DATA usage, I've found it to be minimal when caching without a wifi signal; the only time downloading the maps and caches from a list is helpful, or makes a difference in data usage, is when there IS no data signal to see the caches in the app or on the website via the browser.

Question 2: is there a limit to the number of maps I can use in one day because I'm using the free app.  No.

Question 3: Is there anyway to know if caches are still available? I'm looking at Lettuce Lake Regional Park and see there are 6 caches were placed between 2003 and 2010. There aren't many favorite points awarded so I wonder if they aren't active. Active caches will show on the map; caches that have been archived or disabled for whatever reason will not show on the app or the website.  Noncentric gave good advice to look at the activity tab on each cache to see if it has been found recently, or if previous seekers noted any difficulties.

Thanks for your help, .

I'm a relative newbie myself, but I hope my answers have been helpful.  I had a basic membership for the first couple of months I was geocaching, but my husband had a premium, and we would cache together, following his app.  I could log the PMO and other caches as a find, even if I couldn't see them - as long as I had the GC code.  Still, after a couple of months, caching on my own and with him, I upgraded to premium.  One of the reasons was I wanted to hide some caches, and make them PMO - and I had to be a PM to do so.  I also wanted to mark some favorites - and the lists became a factor too.  

Basic membership is good to explore and see if you like the challenge; if you are serious about geocaching for any length of time, or hiding any caches, premium becomes a given.  At least it seems so to me,

Side note, and a bit off-topic - when and how does one lose "newbie" status?!? 

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11 hours ago, pattyannep said:

Question 3: Is there anyway to know if caches are still available? I'm looking at Lettuce Lake Regional Park and see there are 6 caches were placed between 2003 and 2010. There aren't many favorite points awarded so I wonder if they aren't active. 

Favorite points weren't introduced as an option to the site until 2010.   Many older caches are  "short" FPs simply because they weren't out yet.  :)

The first thing we did when FPs first came out was go back to those old caches (many now long-archived) and award them favorite points.  We've noticed that not too many others did the same thing.

I'd think that simply reading logs on those caches would give you an idea if they're still active. 

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Another newbie joining in.

My other half wants to go for skiing in France and I found on this website that there are 3 caches hidden around where we'll go. Since there is "nothing" other than ski (and those 3 caches, but no pool or other amusement I found), I wanted to give it a try. What do I need to start and how do I get the instructions and/or coordinates to a GPS?

 

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On 11/11/2017 at 10:52 AM, Silinde said:

Another newbie joining in.

My other half wants to go for skiing in France and I found on this website that there are 3 caches hidden around where we'll go. Since there is "nothing" other than ski (and those 3 caches, but no pool or other amusement I found), I wanted to give it a try. What do I need to start and how do I get the instructions and/or coordinates to a GPS?

 

I would definitely find some here before you go to give you a idea on how to do it when you get there.

 

  • Upvote 1
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On 11/11/2017 at 1:52 PM, Silinde said:

Another newbie joining in.

My other half wants to go for skiing in France and I found on this website that there are 3 caches hidden around where we'll go. Since there is "nothing" other than ski (and those 3 caches, but no pool or other amusement I found), I wanted to give it a try. What do I need to start and how do I get the instructions and/or coordinates to a GPS?

 

 

Do you mean a handheld hiking GPS receiver?  If you mean a car GPS (like a Nuvi), that's not ideal.  But lots of people find caches with car GPSrs.  Do you have a map of France on whatever device it is?

One simple way to find caches is to print out the 3 caches (or to save the cache pages from a web browser in a phone or tablet).  If you're using a handheld GPS, I hope you can get some practice first, as WarNinjas mentioned (especially with a  Nuvi).  But look for info on how to add a "waypoint", manually typing the coordinates from the cache page.  The GPS device may not include any decent maps of your destination.  Depending on the caches, it's often possible to use a handheld GPS's bearing and direction pointer, to lead you directly to the waypoint, even without suitable maps.  Before you leave, zoom into the maps and see where the 3 caches are in relation to roads or buildings or whatever.  If you have a smartphone, you can pull up a cache page and maps in the field, and there are Geocaching Apps that might work.  But I don't know what the roaming charges will be in France.

Edited by kunarion
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On ‎11‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 1:52 PM, Silinde said:

Another newbie joining in.

My other half wants to go for skiing in France and I found on this website that there are 3 caches hidden around where we'll go. Since there is "nothing" other than ski (and those 3 caches, but no pool or other amusement I found), I wanted to give it a try. What do I need to start and how do I get the instructions and/or coordinates to a GPS?

One of the best sources to understand the basics (what you're asking...) of how the hobby is played is Geocaching 101:)

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Thanks for your replies. I think I'll just do that, try an find some near us first. This morning one of the kids asked for more walks so that's a great excuse. ;) 

I have an old car GPS at the moment, but there's a handheld on its way (both Garmin). My other half can put new maps on it since it has "life time updates" so that should be covered.

Edited by Silinde
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