GPS setup for Geocaching

[+KA7CJH]

Is there a standard setup all Geocachers use? Are we all using the same datum (WGS-84)? Nautical or Statute miles? I ask because I was loking for maps inmy area on the internet and used my home's coordinates and I didn't get any map. Im setup for wgs-84 datum, nautical miles, and I have plotted my location on an aeronautical sectional. Am I doing something wrong ?

[Couch_Potato]

As far as I know the only standard is that the cache coordinates are given in WGS-84.

Everything else seems to be your choice. Statute, nautical, metric, UTM, magnetic or true all are personal preference.

 

While driving I tend to keep it on statute with true north. But when caching I prefer to use metric and magnetic north. That's just my own preferences.

 

I'm not lost!

I just don't know where I am.

[Atilla the Pun]

Some sites (like Geocaching.com) use HDD MM.MMM

 

Other's use UTM, or DD.DDD.

 

So what I'm asking is, are you putting in your home co-ords in the format requested, and does the site have a map for that location?

 

If you live in the US, you should be pretty will covered between Map Blast, TopoZone, MS Terraserver, and a bunch of other places. Outside the US I'm not at all sure what the coverage is like, but TopoZone uses USGS maps, and they map the world, so you should be covered there.....

 

AtP

[+KA7CJH]

IM not sure what format you'd call this. My coordinates are 39.38.33n 119.50.25w ..

 

Maybe I should find my GPS' book and read it?

 

I have a Magellan 2000 XL and only have a few waypoints in it. I took it out today scouting potential cahe spots in the desert behind my house. (Reno,Nv)..

 

I welcome any input good or bad on how I should best set this GPS up.

 

Thanks for the input so far..

[+apersson850]

If you key in the position of a cache, you have to use the format used on the cache page. Today, that means lat/long in the format degrees, minutes and decimal minutes, with the map datum WGS-84.

 

But when you search for the cache, you can use whatever setting you like, since all these different formats and datums are just there to make it easier to correlate the position to a paper map. The GPSr will guide you to the location, regardless of what coordinate system you use.

 

If you want to use a position display to check how far from the cache you are, then it becomes important again, but as long as you use direction and distance, it doesn't matter.

 

Anders