Idea For New Pocket Query

[+junglehair]

I think this has been discussed before, but thought I'd mention it again as a suggestion for future development.

 

I have often thought it would be useful to be able to enter an origin and destination and request a list of all the caches within a certain distance of the route between the two places.

 

Basically, combine the routing functionality of a site like MapQuest, create a buffer around the suggested route, then select all the caches that were within that buffer.

 

For example, next month I may be driving to Boston from Rochester, NY. It would be great if I could request a list of all caches within half a mile of I-90 along the way (basically all the roadside caches).

 

Something to think about if the GC people are bored and looking for new challenges.

[+Joske]

Hi,

 

isn't this something that can be done with Geocaching Swiss Army Knife?

[+GrizzlyJohn]

Hi,

 

isn't this something that can be done with Geocaching Swiss Army Knife?

Yes it is and from what little I have played around with it it seems to do a good job at it.

 

But the problem has aways been trying to get the data in the first place. It requires a lot of tweaking and playing around with building PQs. And no doubt one still ends up with overlaps and/or missed caches that fall between the cracks.

[+rallypacific]

I just recently drove from Vancouver Island to Portland Oregon and back along the coast. It is almost a nightmaire trying to find the different caches along the route.

To be able to get this done with a pocket query would be ideal.

 

This problem is actually applicable to my base caching location as well. For those who don't know, Vancouver Island is a very large island off the west coast of Canada.

It is hundreds of miles long, but only about 25 miles from the mainland coast, and maybe 25 miles wide.

Whenever I search for caches I almost invariably get the mainland caches. I have had to resort to doing pocket queries based on fictional poinst in the middle of the ocean.

Then I these several points as the center of a circle that encompasses the Island, but NOT the mainland (based on a specific radius).

It is a total pain, but I haven't been able to figure out any better way.

 

It the "route" system was incorporated, I would be able to make a straight line route from the one end of the Island to the other, and get all the caches along this strip.

In other words, instead of 4 or 5 queries, one would do the trick.

[+treemoss2]

Glad to see I am not alone in this. I had posted on another thread about this. The best reply I got was using GSAK filters, which was not as user friendly as it would at first appear.

I did do a filter and got results, but need to check them visually, to see if the results are actually within the paramters I set, and that they are all there.

I will only believe it if I see it. I am a visual sort of person. Plus, the whole object is to SEE the caches along the route.

I will do a query and then a filter in my hone area along a route which I can then map the waypoints on my NG state map and I can SEE if it worked.

 

In my photo program, in any PAINT program you can usually select a rectangle, circle/elipse, and encompass some object for cutout, paste, or whatever.

THIS is the feature we would need for selection of caches along a route or within any defined area that is not a radius of a circle, which is the ONLY available choice now.

[+sbell111]

As much as I would love this feature to be added to PQs. I get the job done using GSAK and MS Streets & Trips.

 

Markwell's page includes details instructions on how to do this, but basically I request PQs to cover the entire distance. (This is actually the hardest part of the process. I use MS S&Ts and google on ZIP to center my PQs. I then run the PQ live to verify that it gives me all the caches I want without too much overlap.) I then open all of the gpx files in GSAK and convert them into a single csv file.

 

I then go to S&T and create a route of the journey. I import the csv file to S&T and use the 'find nearby places' tool to locate the caches x miles from the route. (You can then add these caches to the route, but use caution following the resulting directions. S&T will try to get you to exit the interstate to hit rest area caches.)

 

Next, I go to GSAK and delete the caches that are not to be included. I save the file as a gpx file and upload the waypoints to my GPSr. I also Spin, Pluck and Sync the caches to my pda.

 

It sounds complicated, but it really isn't too much of a hastle (ummm, unless Jeremy reads this and then it is terribly difficult and confusing. Please make PQs do this for me so I don't throw myself off a bridge ).

Edited May 2, 2004 by sbell111

[+IV_Warrior]

As much as I would love this feature to be added to PQs. I get the job done using GSAK and MS Streets & Trips.

 

Markwell's page includes details instructions on how to do this, but basically I request PQs to cover the entire distance. (This is actually the hardest part of the process.

It's also the most "resource wasteful" part of the process, too. You have to run many more PQ's than you would need if it were possible to do a PQ for caches along a route. Then you end up with thousands of cache descriptions, when, for your route, you may only need 100......Yes, it's possible to do with third party stuff, but from the user end, it'd be a lot simpler, and likely put less of a burden on the servers, if it were available from the PQ generator.

 

Now, having said that, I realize there are other things which are just more important right now, but hopefully this is something that will eventually make it into the PQ generator.

[+sbell111]

I am in complete agreement with IV Warrior.