Taking co-ords

[mrlgrose]

Hi all,

We are new to the hiding side of Geocaching, however have been having some troubles taking co-ordinates. 

We have had 2 issues, as follows -
1) co-ordinates not being correct. When taking co-ords I have made sure to take co-ordinates multiple times, with moving around in between to 'reset', using both google/apple maps and the geocaching app itself, however they show up in the wrong spot, as much as 10 meters from where they are supposed to be. Anyway to prevent this or particularly accurate GPS apps, etc.?

2) Geocache self altering co-ords? This is not my issue, but rather my father's. He reckons that after entering the co-ordinates, they showed up different on the cache page. Any ideas on what may be causing this and how to prevent?

Cheers all.

[+Max and 99]

12 minutes ago, mrlgrose said:

Hi all,

We are new to the hiding side of Geocaching, however have been having some troubles taking co-ordinates. 

We have had 2 issues, as follows -
1) co-ordinates not being correct. When taking co-ords I have made sure to take co-ordinates multiple times, with moving around in between to 'reset', using both google/apple maps and the geocaching app itself, however they show up in the wrong spot, as much as 10 meters from where they are supposed to be. Anyway to prevent this or particularly accurate GPS apps, etc.?

2) Geocache self altering co-ords? This is not my issue, but rather my father's. He reckons that after entering the co-ordinates, they showed up different on the cache page. Any ideas on what may be causing this and how to prevent?

Cheers all.

2) Maybe he enters the coords in a different format?

Edited November 10, 2023 by Max and 99

[+kunarion]

28 minutes ago, mrlgrose said:

Hi all,

We are new to the hiding side of Geocaching, however have been having some troubles taking co-ordinates. 

We have had 2 issues, as follows -
1) co-ordinates not being correct. When taking co-ords I have made sure to take co-ordinates multiple times, with moving around in between to 'reset', using both google/apple maps and the geocaching app itself, however they show up in the wrong spot, as much as 10 meters from where they are supposed to be. Anyway to prevent this or particularly accurate GPS apps, etc.?

2) Geocache self altering co-ords? This is not my issue, but rather my father's. He reckons that after entering the co-ordinates, they showed up different on the cache page. Any ideas on what may be causing this and how to prevent?

Cheers all.

 

You have been hunting caches, and the coordinates are showing up on the cache page.  Where have those caches been in relation to the coordinates?  Do they always seem too far off, for example?  You will almost never end up at "0", but are you guided reasonably close, so that the description and hint help you find it?

 

Keep hunting caches, and get a feel for where the cache is, compared to the coordinates.  Hunt caches where you've entered coordinates yourself (such as solutions to puzzle caches).  You'll get a better idea about what the coordinates mean, and how to present them on your own cache page.

 

I mark many waypoints of my selected cache spot using my Garmin GPS, and select the consistently closest waypoint.  There are Apps and formulas to "average" waypoints, but I've never had trouble using the closest one.  You may notice that the coordinates wander around, and tend to settle on a pretty reliable spot.  Try some ideas and see how they work for you.

 

One thing I do to test my coords is, I go back several times and try to "find" my spot again, from several directions.  To see if I'm consistently close.  If I end up in basically the same place every time, I'm confident that my coordinates are OK.

 

If you see cache logs that say your cache is "a little off", believe them.   Don't be the Cache Owner where everyone says, "yeah, the coordinates are always wrong". 

And a great hint can help a lot.

 

Edited November 10, 2023 by kunarion

[mrlgrose]

Cheers some good notes+tips in there, very helpful.

[+peter-tvm]

I can recommend the app GPS Point, only available on Android.

It use averaging, Meaning hundreds of coordinates are taken during a few minutes and the average of them is saved.

And the coordinates are shown as used in geocaching so you can used them directly.

[+barefootjeff]

Beware of any apps that show the coordinates in degrees/minutes/seconds unless they include at least tenths of a second. One second of resolution corresponds to about 30 metres (100 feet) on the ground and is nowhere near accurate enough for a cache.

[geoawareUSA9]

15 hours ago, Max and 99 said:

16 hours ago, mrlgrose said:

2) Geocache self altering co-ords? This is not my issue, but rather my father's. He reckons that after entering the co-ordinates, they showed up different on the cache page. Any ideas on what may be causing this and how to prevent?

2) Maybe he enters the coords in a different format?

 

That's my guess.

 

@mrlgrose, you need to ensure that whatever app or device you are using to record coordinates is using DD MM.MMM format - degrees, minutes, and decimals of minutes, which is the format used for geocaching.

 

If you can't figure out how to change the setting on the app or device, basic math normally works:

 

- if your app or device is measuring in decimal degrees (DD.DDDDDDD), simply multiply the decimal places by 60 to get decimal minutes.

- if your app or device is measuring in degrees, minutes, and seconds (DD MM SS.SS), simply divide the seconds by 60 to get decimal minutes.

[+NanCycle]

18 hours ago, mrlgrose said:

Hi all,

We are new to the hiding side of Geocaching, however have been having some troubles taking co-ordinates. 

We have had 2 issues, as follows -
1) co-ordinates not being correct. When taking co-ords I have made sure to take co-ordinates multiple times, with moving around in between to 'reset', using both google/apple maps and the geocaching app itself, however they show up in the wrong spot, as much as 10 meters from where they are supposed to be. Anyway to prevent this or particularly accurate GPS apps, etc.?

2) Geocache self altering co-ords? This is not my issue, but rather my father's. He reckons that after entering the co-ordinates, they showed up different on the cache page. Any ideas on what may be causing this and how to prevent?

Cheers all.

1) Do not use maps!!  Maps are good for checking that your coordinates are reasonable , but for actually taking coordinates use a good GPS coordinates app or a handheld GPS unit.  

2) Someone mentioned different format--that would be my guess also.

[+kunarion]

9 minutes ago, NanCycle said:

1) Do not use maps!!  Maps are good for checking that your coordinates are reasonable , but for actually taking coordinates use a good GPS coordinates app or a handheld GPS unit.  

2) Someone mentioned different format--that would be my guess also.

 

Yes.  And it may be tricky to type the coordinates even if it's the correct format.  The spacing, decimal places, all of it means something.  And formats may look similar.  The coordinates are shown in the format that is used by the online form on Geocaching.com website for placing a cache.

 

Also, "10 meters" is not unheard of as a position error, especially if the GPS was not allowed time to settle down.  Unless the OP is finding all caches "10 meters" or more from the hide spot, maybe there's a format conversion issue, or a manual entry issue.

 

The Official Geocaching App is not even designed for placing a cache.  That's a little more involved.  The OP could consider attending a Geocaching 101 Event for some pointers.