North Reference

[+Warriorrider]

Hi all, I am pretty new to this and I did a recent cache hunt where the owner of the cache said to set the GPSr to a magnetic north in order to find his cache. It was a multi-cache. I always have my GPSr set this way. Am I wrong in using it this way? Should I be hunting for caches using true north? I use a Meridian Platinum and I haven't had any problems to speak of locating caches.

[+Alan2]

I doesn't matter unless you start using quad maps that have their grids drawn in True North. Then you might want to match your GPS to True North. Otherwise you'll probably never notice the difference for regular caching.

 

Good luck.

 

Alan

[Bobthearch]

It can depend on where you live. In the West the difference between true and magnetic north could be significant - it's 10-13 degrees difference here in N.M. In Arkansas, as I recall, the difference was only 4-5 degrees - probably un-noticable, especially for short distances.

 

Generally, you should use True North. That's the way most maps are set, including USGS topo maps.

 

For simple Geocaching where you're looking for Longitude/Latitude coodinates, it won't matter at all. If you're following instructions that specify "True" or "Magnetic," that's what you should use.

 

Best Wishes,

Bob

[+Prime Suspect]

If you use a compass along with your GPS, it's much easier to set the GPS to magnetic north. You won't need to worry about the declination.

[+Alan2]

PS I believe is refering to a separate backup compass. Since your Platinum has a built-in magnetic compass, the unit automatically corrects for the declination whe you set it for True North reagrdless of where in the world you are (at least I believe it would if it's the same as my Garmin Vista).

[+xenophon10k]

Hi all, I am pretty new to this and I did a recent cache hunt where the owner of the cache said to set the GPSr to a magnetic north in order to find his cache. It was a multi-cache. I always have my GPSr set this way. Am I wrong in using it this way? Should I be hunting for caches using true north? I use a Meridian Platinum and I haven't had any problems to speak of locating caches.

There's really no right or wrong about it. His cache sounds like an offset cache, and he probably placed it with his GPSr set to magnetic North, so to follow his directions would require your GPSr to also be set to magnetic North. Most caches, you just follow the GPS to the cache site, and you don't have to pay a whole lot of attention to the direction you are going.

 

Personally, I always keep mine set to magnetic North just because I carry a separate compass, and it helps to take a bearing from the GPSr, then follow the compass. Of course, since you have a built in magnetic compass, you don't need to do that.