Is this a travel bug??

[+ElfWitch]

Hello, I have found the wearable badge in the photo in a cache today and I'm wondering what it is. I have entered the code on it on the trackables search, but no result...

[RuideAlmeida]

Make sure you enter the code correctly. The last digit is a "zero".

[+ElfWitch]

Thanks, RuideAlmeida, I tried all versions... Is the first digit a "one" or a capital "i"...

[+ElfWitch]

Got it!! Thanks

[+HHL]

Codes never do contain these chars: isoul
(The prefixes may do so)

Hans

Edited February 19, 2018 by HHL

[+ElfWitch]

Ok, I have found the page about the trackable, but this is a pin badge, not the actual trackable, am I right? So what do I do with it, keep it? Put it in another cache? The page doesn't really explain...

[RuideAlmeida]

14 minutes ago, ElfWitch said:

Ok, I have found the page about the trackable, but this is a pin badge, not the actual trackable, am I right? So what do I do with it, keep it? Put it in another cache? The page doesn't really explain...

Maybe you can send an email to the owner. Or just take it to other cache, yes.

[+ElfWitch]

I have emailed the owner to ask

[+hzoi]

Well, per the button itself, the only option is "discover me."  So apart from that, I'd say you can keep as swag or put it in another cache. 

As for grabbing the actual trackable, though, I would say no.

[+cerberus1]

Agreed with hzoi, the button says "Discover me", and that's really all you can do.  I wouldn't want more issues than you're experiencing.  These multiples sometimes end up locked if they get too annoying.

 - The original is supposedly still in the hands of the owner.   I'd dropped it in a cache and forgetaboutit.

Edited February 21, 2018 by cerberus1
to add...

[+The A-Team]

On ‎2‎/‎19‎/‎2018 at 9:55 AM, HHL said:

Codes never do contain these chars: isoul
(The prefixes may do so)

Hans

Actually, this isn't true for trackables. I've personally seen trackables that contain some of those letters. Not many, but they do exist.

My sister works for a well-known geocaching supply store that also designs trackables for customers. She told me about a client that wanted all of their coins to have the codes start with the same two letters, one of which was the letter I (i). Despite being strongly advised not to use that letter due to the ambiguity, they insisted and the coins were made with that letter. I'm sure the finders of those coins will forever be cursing that decision.

If you really want your mind blown, did you know that trackable codes aren't always six characters long? There are some well-known early geocoins with three-digit codes, and I've personally discovered a trackable code that was seven letters long and even contained the letter O!

[+hzoi]

19 hours ago, The A-Team said:

On 2/19/2018 at 0:55 PM, HHL said:

Codes never do contain these chars: isoul
(The prefixes may do so)

Hans

Actually, this isn't true for trackables. I've personally seen trackables that contain some of those letters. Not many, but they do exist.

My sister works for a well-known geocaching supply store that also designs trackables for customers. She told me about a client that wanted all of their coins to have the codes start with the same two letters, one of which was the letter I (i). Despite being strongly advised not to use that letter due to the ambiguity, they insisted and the coins were made with that letter. I'm sure the finders of those coins will forever be cursing that decision.

Both of your statements are true.  The tracking codes for a series of geocoins and travel tags (not to be confused with travel bugs) typically have the same two characters to start -- I believe this is what Hans meant by prefix.  The Jeep TBs start with JP, personal coins often start with PC, etc.  This 2-character prefix is not subject to the isoul rule, though as you point out it's still a good idea to avoid confusion.

I want to say I've seen Oakcoins with the OC prefix, but I can't find any.

[+The A-Team]

3 hours ago, hzoi said:

Both of your statements are true.  The tracking codes for a series of geocoins and travel tags (not to be confused with travel bugs) typically have the same two characters to start -- I believe this is what Hans meant by prefix.  The Jeep TBs start with JP, personal coins often start with PC, etc.  This 2-character prefix is not subject to the isoul rule, though as you point out it's still a good idea to avoid confusion.

I want to say I've seen Oakcoins with the OC prefix, but I can't find any.

Ah, when he said prefix, I thought he was talking about GC, TB, etc.

I could have sworn I had seen some trackables with ILOSU in the 3rd-6th positions. I don't have access to my system with my GSAK database of trackables at the moment, but I'll do some data analysis tonight to confirm or refute my recollection. The 7-letter code I referenced earlier does have the letter O in the 5th position, but it's a bit of a special code and may not be considered representative.

[+The A-Team]

20 hours ago, The A-Team said:

I could have sworn I had seen some trackables with ILOSU in the 3rd-6th positions. I don't have access to my system with my GSAK database of trackables at the moment, but I'll do some data analysis tonight to confirm or refute my recollection. The 7-letter code I referenced earlier does have the letter O in the 5th position, but it's a bit of a special code and may not be considered representative.

I did this analysis, and it does appear that the letters ILOSU don't exist in trackable codes outside of the two-character prefix (with the exception of a couple of special 7-character codes). There are a number of prefixes that do contain those letters, including GL, GS, LS, OC, and US.