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Using postcodes in search for caches


adrianjohn

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Posted

For those of you that may have missed it you can now put a postcode in the ZIPCODE search box when looking for caches on the Hide or Seek a cache page.

 

Do no enter your full postcode: for example my full postcode is DN37 9RZ so I would just enter DN37 9. Note the use of uppercase letters I tried lower case and it did not work.

 

I believe we have Chris and Maria to thank for supplying the info to Jeremy. Thanks to all concerned.

Posted

Please bear in mind from your postcode anyone can find out your true address...

 

Geocaching.com users area all safe, but hey hey hey this is still the Internet and its free for all so I would be more cautious than that to be honest....call me cynical if you like but hey Im Pid..

 

I hadnt noticed that though.

Cheers

 

Pid

 

Ben Piddington http://www.buckscaching.co.uk

Posted

Postcodes cover anything up to 50 addresses each, so you'd find it hard to get someone's *exact* address from their postcode. The postcode will give you the street, or in the case of some big places (such as a hospital or large college) the postcode will reference a single building.

 

But for residential areas, letting people know your postcode is perfectly safe.

 

Well done to all involved on implmenting the postcode search!

 

--

**Mother is the name of God on the lips of all children**

Posted

The post code didn't work for me, I live at NE21 4SR so I typed in NE21 4 and it came up with the cache Heading for headley , Which is 6 miles away

I have a cache hidden 200 meters from my cottage

yet that didn't come up, heading for headley is in the NE 40's, so whats going wrong?

Nige

Posted

I don't think the system recognises all postcodes... perhaps it's the new ones it doesn't know. icon_confused.gif

 

Out of interest, I put "SO** 7" in there (I know the code exists, I checked it on the Royal Mail website) and it came up with an error. icon_frown.gif

 

That said, it works fine for my code, so what do I care? icon_wink.gif

 

(** = two digits I removed)

 

------

An it harm none, do what ye will

Posted

quote:
Originally posted by The Northumbrian:

...it came up with the cache Heading for headley , Which is 6 miles away

I have a cache hidden 200 meters from my cottage

yet that didn't come up, heading for headley is in the NE 40's, so whats going wrong?

Nige


 

Perhaps the Hedly cache is the nearest one that you haven't found yet?

Posted

quote:
Originally posted by The Northumbrian:

The post code didn't work for me, I live at NE21 4SR so I typed in NE21 4 and it came up with the cache Heading for headley , Which is 6 miles away

I have a cache hidden 200 meters from my cottage

yet that didn't come up, heading for headley is in the NE 40's, so whats going wrong?

Nige


 

Hi Nige,

Acording to the data file I sent to Jeremy NE21 4 Maps to

UK Grid NZ 1692 6268

Lat (dd)N 54.95849991

Long (dd)W 1.737294912

 

Not sure if these are right for you but if it is a rural area I assume they cover a bigger area. 6 Miles isn't that bad really. If you want complete accuracy I have heard you can now buy a small yellow handheld unit which shows you exactly where you are on the planet. Don't recon it'll catch on though icon_biggrin.gif

 

Chris

Bear rescues a speciality!

London & UK Geocaching Resources: http://www.sheps.clara.net

Posted

The trouble with postcodes is that they don't necessarily map easily to grid references.

 

For exampe you can get:

- postcodes split across more than one continuous area of land

- postcodes that are stacked vertically onthe same spot (large tower blocks have more than one postcode)

- postcodes that overlap part of, but not all of, the same area

- postcodes that have no geographical point of reference at all - businesses use them.

 

When the Post Office set the postcodes up they were only intended for mail delivery. There was/is no need to have them georeferenced for PO purposes.

 

This caused me a huge problem in 2001 when I conducted a large statistical survey based on postcodes and areas.

 

Rich

mobilis in mobili

Posted

Thanks to Chris n Maria I was able to find and purchase a better database (with 27 million postcodes, apparently), so it'll be more accurate in the near future. I'll make a post once it becomes available.

 

In the meantime, it has already been brought up that you can do an exact search on the "hide and seek a cache" page by entering in your latitude and longitude. That's as close as it gets.

 

Jeremy Irish

Groundspeak - The Language of Location™

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