I Keep Winding Up In The Lake!

[Kitegirl]

OK, I'm not the newest of newbies, but have been having this problem since Day 1.

Whenever I try to get coordinates to hide a cache near a lake, river etc, (within 40 feet or so) no matter what I do my Magellan puts me in the middle of the water! I'm trying to get a fix for a new hide and I've been back to the same spot 4 times, trying desperately to end up on land. Then, if I guestimate the coordinates so that it shows I'm on land, when I go back to test them I'm 150 feet or so off.

Do signals bounce off water or something? This is mega-frustrating.

Thanks in advance.

 

kitegirl

[+briansnat]

Maps are often off. Don't sweat it. I have several caches that are "in the middle of lakes and rivers", but are safely on dry land.

[+Alan2]

The map is wrong. Often, lakes especially are off so the coordinates will make it seem like you're walking on water. I assure you, that's not the case.

 

If you confident that you're reading the right coordinates, go for it. The first finder wil let you know.

 

Alan

[Cachengrab]

What mapping program are you using? What Mageelan are you using? Is your Mapping system and your GPSr both set for WGS84 for this site? If you are using a paper map what is the map datum?

[+Cherokeecacher]

If you are within 40 feet, that is about 12.2 meters, wich is well within the acceptable accuracy of "our" price range GPSr. I wouldn't worry about it.

[+RichardMoore]

The map on the my Magellan is wrong occasionally. I have found a few caches near Lake Erie where, according to the map on my GPSr, I was standing in the lake. Where I work is just south of I-90, but the map on my GPSr shows me as being just north of 90.

Go ahead and use the coordinates that the unit gives you.

Edited May 25, 2004 by RichardMoore

[2oldfarts (the rockhounders)]

Go to the spot where you want to place the cache and mark your waypoint for the hiding spot. Leave the area (say about 1/10 of a mile) and then do a goto for that waypoint.If it takes you to the correct place, go with it and don't worry about the mapping program.

 

If the coordinates will get you within 30 or 40 feet of where you want to place the cache that should be acceptable.

 

John

[+Torry]

Grow gills. The problem has to be YOU, not the equipment.

[+Prairie Dog]

Carry along some Gillyweed and it shouldn't be a problem. I'm not sure about signing the log underwater.

[+quills]

I have a couple of caches near water. I have only had one finder say their GPSr was pointing them into the lake. I let my GPSr sit as near to the spot as I can for several minutes and double check the accuracy. If it's within 20 feet I mark the waypoint then walk a good distance away and see if it brings me back. I hope this helps.

[+SixDogTeam]

Shorelines change with tides, floods, dam levels etd. The topo maps are the most accurate...

[Major Catastrophe]

I've gotten good fixes for new caches using the following system:

 

Decide on the exact spot for the cache, then walk 10 - 15 feet away due north. Take a reading, store it. Go to the point due east of the cache (same distance) take a reading, store it. Repeat for south and for west. Then go around the circle twice more, but vary the pattern: NSEW, then SEWN.

 

You now have 12 stored readings, 3 at each point in the cardinal directions from the cache, all the same distance away.

 

Go home and copy all the readings into a spreadsheet. Eliminate the highest and lowest readings from both latitude and longitude. Do this independently (don't eliminate a latitude just because you throw out the associated longitude and vice versa.)

 

Now average the remaining ten readings. That's your waypoint.

 

Anyhow, that's how I do it...

[Kitegirl]

Thanks for all the info. I took the advice of the majority and didn't sweat it and posted the cache w/my best shot coordinates...people seem to be finding it OK. I'm working on the gills, just in case because if I tried what Major Catastrophe suggested it would be just that...a major catastrophe! lol

 

Can you tell I have limited patience?

[+Brenin Tegeingl]

Go to the spot where you want to place the cache and mark your waypoint for the hiding spot. Leave the area (say about 1/10 of a mile) and then do a goto for that waypoint.If it takes you to the correct place, go with it and don't worry about the mapping program.

 

If the coordinates will get you within 30 or 40 feet of where you want to place the cache that should be acceptable.

 

John

Thats what I did with all my caches, no one has complained about acuracy. To try and get a more acurate reading I take 2 or 3 waypoints over a couple of days, and then just do a bit of maths to average them. I have one waypoint my Etrex constantly puts me 7m (21ft) away every time I go to following a goto. If your co-ords are wrong, finders will let you know, so that you can correct them.

Dave

[+Team Aspenoro]

Now average the remaining ten readings. That's your waypoint.

 

Anyhow, that's how I do it...

OK - but you left out one important bit of info... How do you position your tongue while following this procedure...

[+Team Aspenoro]

The map is wrong.  Often, lakes especially are off so the coordinates will make it seem like you're walking on water.  I assure you, that's not the case. 

 

Alan

Man are you going to be embarassed if she proves she can walk on water!

 

( In case anyone on the religious right has a problem with this post, please send me an e-mail through GC.com. I'll be glad to send you the coordinates of the cache I have been searching for off and on for two weeks. Wait for me there. The odds are real good your wait won't be short.)

Edited June 8, 2004 by Team Aspenoro

[+Melrose Plant]

Even the geocaching.com maps are not immune from being wrong. SeeThis map. I have been there twice, and I assure you, it is on dry land. Although come to think of it, with the flooding we've had recently, maybe I should say it was on dry land.

[+solid-rock-seekers]

I will concur with others that the maps are often a little off. In specific, the maps including the area of "Mine Falls Park" in Nashua, NH all seem to have some of the major features (a river and a parallel canal) off by about 75 feet or so. In most cases, having a map be a little off isn't a big challenge. However, in this case, Mine Falls Park is bisected by a river with a parallel canal not too far away. There is only one bridge across the river/canal combination, with well over a mile of unbridged water in both directions from this bridge. Caches can be placed on the strip of land between the river and canal, or on either far bank. For some cleverly placed caches, (I think the placement had to be intentional) the map will show the cache to be on a different bank than the one where it actually is! To find the cache, one may need to look in three different locations, each only about 150' apart, but each separated by a walk of about 1.5 miles unless you plan to get very wet! (Or unless you're caching in February, when the over-the-ice shortcut is no problem, especially with cross-country skis...) In any case, some of these otherwise easy caches can be quite tricky for that reason!

 

In sum, don't worry about the coordinates. It is most likely that the map is just a little bit off! As I understand it, the existing topo maps really weren't intended for the level of GPS precision we sometimes expect of them.

Edited June 9, 2004 by solid-rock-seekers