Guest TresOkies Posted September 13, 2001 Share Posted September 13, 2001 I would like to suggest a change in the way waypoints are generated. The rationale behind my suggestion is this... I keep my GPSes stocked with waypoints for the caches within 100 miles of my home in Austin, TX. About two weeks ago, I was driving within a mile of one and had time to kill so I decided to tackle it. I got to the location and found a small cairn of stones. Finding no cache box, I thought the cache had been plundered. I keep my Palm unit stocked with cache pages using AvantGo. I pulled up the details on the cache and found out it was a letterbox puzzle from Eoghan, one of Austin's active cachers. Unfortunately, the details for finding the letterbox were on his site, not the cache page. A week earlier, I got to a location to realize it was a virtual cache but I had no information with me. So, I took a couple of shots with my digital camera and just happened to get the right information on one of the shots. I would like to suggest that waypoints be named in a manner to help us when we are in the field. 'GCxxxx' is fine for a standard-size cache. How about 'VCxxxx' for a virtual cache, 'MCxxxx' for micro-cache (so I'm not looking for a Tupperware container or ammo box), 'LBxxxx' for letter box and 'OCxxxx' for "other" where some other information is necessary in order to find the cache. I don't usually start out my day planning to go geocaching. Usually it happens when I have time to kill in the middle of the day or when I see a waypoint go by on my StreetPilot III. Sometimes I have auxiliary data with me on my Palm and sometimes all I have is my GPS. It would be great if I could look at the waypoint and know, with certainty, that I have a good chance of finding the cache. Feel free to refine my suggestion. It is just that--a suggestion. Cheers Eric (TresOkies) www.ericcloninger.com/geocaching Quote Link to comment
Guest JasonW Posted September 13, 2001 Share Posted September 13, 2001 Sounds like a reasonable idea - however there are a lot of caches out there that don't have a 'type' associated with them because they were planted before the 'type' was an available option on www.geocaching.com Quote Link to comment
Guest arffer Posted September 13, 2001 Share Posted September 13, 2001 Also, and I speak from having done this, caches can have their type changed after creating them. Changing a cache's waypoint after its creation would be a nightmare. Quote Link to comment
Guest brokenwing Posted September 13, 2001 Share Posted September 13, 2001 caches in your GPSR. Just a thought. brokenwing ------------------ http://www.cordianet.com/geocaching Quote Link to comment
Guest TresOkies Posted September 13, 2001 Share Posted September 13, 2001 I understand that I can change the waypoint name locally, but I would have to look at each cache page and classify it myself. Does geocaching.com do something with the waypoint other than create it for show and download? If not, I don't see why it would be difficult to change the generated name. It seems that it could be based on the existing "Cache Size" field which has 4 of the five things I suggested. Quote Link to comment
Guest ClayJar Posted September 13, 2001 Share Posted September 13, 2001 Um, not to be a bother or anything, but leave well enough alone, okay? I often have a couple hundred waypoints (or more) in my GPS receiver. Having all the caches start with one thing is all but a necessity to keep them organized. Feel free to change the waypoint names if you don't like them, but don't make me have to change them. Anyway, if you're having that much trouble with knowing the sizes and types of caches, I would heartily recommend either a Palm device (or other handheld) or a nice cheap printer (although if you go with a B/W laser, you'll get cheap pages and waterproof print). I figure it doesn't hurt me much to print out the pages for any caches I think I'd like to visit, so that's what I do (and sometimes I even toss them and reprint if I didn't make it to some). Solamente mis dos Pesos. Quote Link to comment
Guest Markwell Posted September 14, 2001 Share Posted September 14, 2001 As a database geek, I can definitively say that the cache names (GCetc) should NOT be changed. Each cache in the database needs a unique identifier that links to all of the other information. While the GC is just something added on to the beginning of the actual ID number (in hexidecimal format), it shouldn't be mucked around with. Who's to say that when you download this information, that the name cannot be changed locally based on the type of cache? Once you download it to whatever software you have, change the cache names there. Quote Link to comment
Guest TresOkies Posted September 17, 2001 Share Posted September 17, 2001 I have a Palm device and I use AvantGo with it. Usually, I'm "out there" with nothing more than my "light" pack (water, compass, cell phone, GPS). My motivation behind suggesting this was that I have AvantGo but it's hard on the server. I don't need 98% of the information that comes across--just the coordinates and a little information about what I should be looking for. I don't like wasting bandwidth and I'm exploring alternatives. I'll just do what I've seen others do--write a script to query the server for all the caches and massage the data into a format I can use. Quote Link to comment
Guest ClayJar Posted September 17, 2001 Share Posted September 17, 2001 Is there any chance that Jeremy would make a little XML-ish cache details script for people to use? If you could just pass it a few parameters and have it return a light XML (or whatever) formatted dataset, it would be cool. For example: xml_details.asp?ID=xxxx&SDesc=1&Hint=1 would return the coordinates, name, short description, and hint for cache xxxx. (Just an idea.) Quote Link to comment
Guest TresOkies Posted September 17, 2001 Share Posted September 17, 2001 I wrote a PHP script for AvantGo and sent it to Jeremy to approve. I was trying to reduce the load on the server by logging in to the server and getting the list of caches in my area that I haven't visited so it doesn't get caches that I have. The ASP idea is fine too, so long as I can get a list of IDs in my area that I haven't visited. Maybe xml_details.asp?SDesc=1&Hint=1&Waypoint=1&zip=zzzzz&username=uuuu&password=pppp would return the coordinates, waypoint, name, short description, and hint for caches that haven't been visited in zip code 'zzzzz' by 'uuuu'. [This message has been edited by TresOkies (edited 17 September 2001).] Quote Link to comment
Guest Silver Posted September 26, 2001 Share Posted September 26, 2001 TresOkies, Why not just use a different icon for each cache type? Then you could look at your GPS unit and tell what kind of cache it was by the icon. Silver Quote Link to comment
+zelph Posted April 23, 2002 Share Posted April 23, 2002 I knew that this topic was discussed before... Just wanted to bring it back up that this would be a great idea. I totally hate dropping by a cache I happen to be passing by and looking for 20 minutes and leaving in despair, only to get back to my computer and find that it was a Virtual cache. I don't want to have to go through all 100+ caches I download or whatever and check each one to see if it's Virtual or Mirco or other. The VC, MC or whatever would be a much easier way to diferentiate what it what. Add a vote to the list to change the prefix!! Quote Link to comment
Zuckerruebensirup Posted April 24, 2002 Share Posted April 24, 2002 With my Eagle Explorer, I have to manually enter each waypoint. (I'm in the process of researching for an upgrade. I've given Geocaching enough of a try to feel confident it's something I want to do for awhile. ) However, even with a GPSr that you can automatically download waypoints on to, it makes me a little uneasy to think that there are a lot of people out there looking for caches who haven't even read the cache page. I have put (or seen) cautions on pages to watch out for poison ivy, slippery areas, snakes, or various other possible dangers. Also, many cache descriptions will point out something especially cool to look for or to enjoy while you're there. It seems to me that by not reading the cache pages, you're missing out when you visit the site. ------- Join us at our first "geo-gathering" on 4/27/02! Quote Link to comment
Zuckerruebensirup Posted April 24, 2002 Share Posted April 24, 2002 With my Eagle Explorer, I have to manually enter each waypoint. (I'm in the process of researching for an upgrade. I've given Geocaching enough of a try to feel confident it's something I want to do for awhile. ) However, even with a GPSr that you can automatically download waypoints on to, it makes me a little uneasy to think that there are a lot of people out there looking for caches who haven't even read the cache page. I have put (or seen) cautions on pages to watch out for poison ivy, slippery areas, snakes, or various other possible dangers. Also, many cache descriptions will point out something especially cool to look for or to enjoy while you're there. It seems to me that by not reading the cache pages, you're missing out when you visit the site. ------- Join us at our first "geo-gathering" on 4/27/02! Quote Link to comment
+zelph Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 Time to bring up this bane of my existance yet again... Was in a town doing something totally unrelated to geocaching, but did have my GPS for navigation. Had some time to kill so I thought to go looking for a few local caches. The first one I went to, had a big ole sign saying how "this fountain is what the city was built around" and since I didn't see any places to hide a cache (meaning... parkinglot, sign, and wall were all that was available) I figured it was a Virtual Cache. When I got home, I found out that it was a Micro Cache... so naturally this whole naming concept entered my mind once again. Understanding that past caches may be difficult to change, why is changing future cache names to be VCxxxx (virtual) MCxxxx (micro) GCxxxx (regular/anything else) such a bad thing? Won't this help people to know what they are looking for? Quote Link to comment
+Mopar Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 quote:Originally posted by zelph:Time to bring up this bane of my existance yet again... Was in a town doing something totally unrelated to geocaching, but did have my GPS for navigation. Had some time to kill so I thought to go looking for a few local caches. The first one I went to, had a big ole sign saying how "this fountain is what the city was built around" and since I didn't see any places to hide a cache (meaning... parkinglot, sign, and wall were all that was available) I figured it was a Virtual Cache. When I got home, I found out that it was a Micro Cache... so naturally this whole naming concept entered my mind once again. Understanding that past caches may be difficult to change, why is changing future cache names to be VCxxxx (virtual) MCxxxx (micro) GCxxxx (regular/anything else) such a bad thing? Won't this help people to know what they are looking for? I still agree its a great idea, but in the meantime, you can do this yourself with some of the waypoint management software out there. You could just do it manually in easygps if you don't have too many, or there are other tools out there to filter/change in bulk. Tae-Kwon-Leap is not a path to a door, but a road leading forever towards the horizon. Quote Link to comment
+The Leprechauns Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 Mopar's right.... and as a charter member, zelph, you have access to more tools that will help you keep everything straight. Order traditional caches as one pocket query, virtual caches as a second, etc. Use Watcher to further sort traditional caches by container type (micro, large, regular) or whatever other criteria you specify. Then mass-convert the waypoint names in the resulting discrete cache lists to whatever convention works for you. I've done it in WordPad (I'm low-tech.) In prior discussions of this topic, Jeremy has explained that it's quite useful for him to retain the "GC" prefix for all cache waypoints, in order to assist in communications with land managers who write to the site, asking about a cache. It uniformly designates a cache as being listed on geocaching.com. x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x I was formerly employed by the Department of Redundancy Department, but I don't work there anymore. Quote Link to comment
robertlipe Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 quote:Originally posted by The Leprechauns:Order traditional caches as one pocket query, virtual caches as a second, etc. Use Watcher to further sort traditional caches by container type (micro, large, regular) or whatever other criteria you specify. Then mass-convert the waypoint names in the resulting discrete cache lists to whatever convention works for you. I've done it in WordPad (I'm low-tech.) Ick. This sounds like a good job for a computer. Use a tool like GPSBabel (I think Spinner and Watcher do similar things) that honk on the GPX file and give you both sensible waypoint names (including diff/terr/full names in the comments when they can) and icons based on the cache type you're looking for. Doing it by hand is just so 2002... Quote Link to comment
+georgeandmary Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 Spinner Download the pocket querry for you area and run it through the Spinner I carry about 800-1000 waypoints with me at all times and I never have to worry about not knowing which type of cache it is. I even can tell the difference between a regular sized traditional cache and a micro cache, if the cache has a bug in it or not. I'm still stuck if it's a letter box with the info being pulled off some images or other info not on the cache page. george Pedal until your legs cramp up and then pedal some more. Quote Link to comment
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