+The Hole-in-the-wall Gang Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 I am planning a cach in the north Hampshire area and would like to get hold of an ammo box. Can anyone point me in the right direction of a source please ? Also , can you suggest methods for making sure that my co-ords are accurate when placing the cache(s). I would try and make sure that the GPSr was seeing enough satellites to have reasonable accuracy ( what is considered as normal ? ) but I know that tree cover can cause errors so any techniques that you could suggest to overcome this would be useful. Perhaps there is a FAQ on the subject that I have missed ? Cheers, John Syhrag va qrpelcg Quote Link to comment
+naffita Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 quote: can you suggest methods for making sure that my co-ords are accurate when placing the cache(s). Take at least three waypoints and preferably a lot more, walking away from your cache and returning each time. When you get home, average them out and you should get a reasonably accurate figure. As for ammo boxes, cue...Hornet. Quote Link to comment
+Pharisee Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 quote:Originally posted by naffita: quote: can you suggest methods for making sure that my co-ords are accurate when placing the cache(s). Take at least three waypoints and preferably a lot more, walking away from your cache and returning each time. When you get home, average them out and you should get a reasonably accurate figure. And leave it two or three minutes to settle before you fix the waypoint. John Age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability Quote Link to comment
+Team Paradise Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 You can get ammo boxes from the chap with the small army surplus shop at the 'top of town' in Basingstoke, a few yards down Church Street. Alternatively there's mail order from many UK sources, such as here. One of the fellow cachers used to sell em too, but I can't remember who... got a feeling it was Moss or Hornet but I could well be wrong. Hope that helps... Steve If you can see the 'light at the end of the tunnel', it's usually a train coming ! Quote Link to comment
+The Hornet Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 "Hornet Supplies" did manage to get hold of 240 boxes last year at a very big discount. Although at one stage I was beginning to worry that I would have a back garden full of the little beasts I now only have 3 left, all of which are painted up ready for me to place. I won't be able to get any more, sorry, you'll have to look elsewhere. _________________________________________________________ Enthusiastic user of GeocacheUK - Information, not control. It is better to regret something you did, rather than to regret something you didn't do. _________________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment
+Flackadder Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 I got a couple of the smaller ammo boxes from a steam fair last weekend. £2.50 each Bob.... http://www.bobh.co.uk 'Life, it's a game with one serious bit - geocaching!' Quote Link to comment
+The Hole-in-the-wall Gang Posted August 18, 2003 Author Share Posted August 18, 2003 Thanks for the advice on getting the co-ordinates fixed guys, sounds sensible. I will bear this in mind when I hide my cache. Thanks also for the info on ammo boxes Steve, I am not too far from Basingstoke so I will give the top of town shop a visit . I remember that you and AuntieMary were kind enough to take us round one of the practice caches at the HCC event, and so; Oaks from acorns grow. Cheers, John Syhrag va qrpelcg Quote Link to comment
+Omally Posted August 19, 2003 Share Posted August 19, 2003 From experience, I've noticed that (partly due to the physical movement of the GPS satellites) reception quality can vary from day to day at a given location. For this reason, I usually visit a cache-site-to-be on about 3 different days, and take 3 readings each time. I then bung the whole lot into MapSource or Memory Map and take an average. Seems to work OK, but I daresay there's folk out there who'll complain about some of my locations!! For ammo boxes, you could do worse than these guys, especially for the screw-top thingies! "Woof" quoth he. Oh, and "Grrr" also. Omally Member of the GAGB Quote Link to comment
+The Hole-in-the-wall Gang Posted August 20, 2003 Author Share Posted August 20, 2003 Thanks Omally, Interestingly , I spoke to a friend and he suggested a scrap yard in St Mary Bourne near Andover. I had a nose in there on the way to work and found great piles of ammo boxes of all shapes and sizes ( could be a sneaky place to hide a cache ) small ones were £2.50 each. If anyone is in the area, it is calles J.Hirst & sons, opens 07:30 to 17:00 and is located near N51 15.156 W001 23.755 Cheers, John Syhrag va qrpelcg Quote Link to comment
+Daisy&me Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Team Paradise: Alternatively there's mail order from many UK sources, such as http://www.springfields.biz/CategoryResults.asp?selCategory=Storage%20Boxes. Thanks for that Steve. I ordered 5 on Tuesday and they just arrived. Condition is reasonable and they were £2.99 each + £6.99 p&p Quote Link to comment
+THE BRAMBLERS Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 quote:Originally posted by The Hole-in-the-wall GangThanks Omally, Interestingly , I spoke to a friend and he suggested a scrap yard in St Mary Bourne near Andover. I had a nose in there on the way to work and found great piles of ammo boxes of all shapes and sizes ( could be a sneaky place to hide a cache ) small ones were £2.50 each. If anyone is in the area, it is calles J.Hirst & sons, opens 07:30 to 17:00 and is located near N51 15.156 W001 23.755 Cheers, John I visited this scrap yard yesterday, got very dirty, but paid £2.50 each for medium sized ammo boxes, and another £2.50 for 4 small ones. Maybe it was my smile. David went and got the boxes for the HCC event from here and one of them had two live smoke grenades inside! Debbie [This message was edited by THE BRAMBLERS on August 21, 2003 at 07:29 AM.] Quote Link to comment
AuntieMary Posted August 23, 2003 Share Posted August 23, 2003 quote:Originally posted by The Hole-in-the-wall Gang: I remember that you and AuntieMary were kind enough to take us round one of the practice caches at the HCC event That's a pleasure John, very happy to have helped you in your early efforts!! Looking forward to seeing your new cache now you have your ammo box BTW that wasn't Steve, that was (Uncle)Neil. Steve was manning a tentful of fancy gadgetry all day at the event I'll get me coat Quote Link to comment
+Lizzzzeeeee Posted August 24, 2003 Share Posted August 24, 2003 quote:Originally posted by The Hole-in-the-wall Gang:Also , can you suggest methods for making sure that my co-ords are accurate when placing the cache(s). I would try and make sure that the GPSr was seeing enough satellites to have reasonable accuracy ( what is considered as normal ? ) but I know that tree cover can cause errors so any techniques that you could suggest to overcome this would be useful. My GPSr (Garmin eMap) has an averaging feature whereby you sit at your site with the GPS in average mode and it takes lots and lots of readings then averages them itself. I haven't used it in anger yet but now I've found out what it can do I will when I place my next cache. Also, Omally is right and coverage does vary throughout the day so I would just camp out at your cache location for a full 24 hours if you want to be really accurate!! Lizzzzzzzzzzzzzzeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Why is it that when you're out for a walk carrying a map everyone asks if you're lost? Quote Link to comment
ddinvt Posted August 29, 2003 Share Posted August 29, 2003 My "team" is also about to start its 1st team cache here in NW Vt. This discussion about averaging points caught my attention. We scouted our sites using a Gamin and Magellan taking multiple marks at several locations. We returned a few days later for a final recon & found all our marks off by 50-90 ft at every mark on both GPS units. Reception at all marks was excellent both days. Does it make this much of a difference if you get your points at different times of the day? Do power lines affect the GPS units at all? I'm going to hit the area again this weekend to check the points again. I don't know if it would be best to average all the points together or just pick one set that seems best. The Magellan was doing WAAS averaging for the points, is this a good or bad thing? How close should a cache hunter expect the coords to be, within 50ft, 100ft? I'd appreciate any advice from experienced cache hunters/placers... Quote Link to comment
+The Hole-in-the-wall Gang Posted September 2, 2003 Author Share Posted September 2, 2003 Hi Steve / AuntieMary. Sorry for failing to put the right name to the face. I have been checking out a couple of sites and will be putting a cache in place in the next couple of weeks. Cheers John. Syhrag va qrpelcg Quote Link to comment
AuntieMary Posted September 3, 2003 Share Posted September 3, 2003 I've remembered the other way to get accurate co-ordinates...Put vaguely close ones up and wait for Steve to visit. Worked for me anyway I think I'm doing well if I find the cache within about 40' of its published location. But then, I rarely get an accuracy less than about 20' in any case. I'll get me coat Quote Link to comment
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