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<--- post 1500 (now if I could just get my finds up to match it B))

thats because you like talking more than cacheing Brian :D:P:ph34r::(

Thought I'd be clever and look at Steviep's stats. 'Found: 209'

 

So it seems he's a rare poster on the 'right' side of the found/talked about divide. I feel a Dave Gormanesque 'Let's see what this post has done to the graph' moment coming on!

 

SP - Logged 340ish, posted about double that... :P

this is my first post :D and I have looked up steviep stats and he's been a member since may 2004 and got 200+ which i don't think is a bad score. I'm sure he was only joking :P:P:) but he may also be a numbers man???? :D

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i watched country file on sunday & ordered a gps on tuesday i have not found anything yet, so am a totally new pre newbie,what is a numbers man? forgive my ignorance!

 

found =zero

 

posted = one

Numbers Man (or Woman) - noun (possibly. Might be an adverb. I was away from school the week we did adjectives) -

Any cacher who tries to maintain a high number of finds per day/week/month/year. Sometimes used as a derogatory term by people jealous of others free (or rather, caching) time. This is because such cachers are in such a rush they can't possibly appreciate a cache in the way the setter must have intended. Mostly a light-hearted phrase used in forum banter for anyone who's racked up lots of finds. There is no obvious equivalent term for people who hide lots of caches, release lots of Travel Bugs, etc.

 

SP :ph34r:

 

P.S. Welcome to the wacky wild world of caching!

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I thought that...

 

I saw that some people have hundreds and hundreds of finds and don't seem to have been doing it that long.

 

In this my first week i have really enjoyed reading the logs and enjoying the peace and quiet. In my job i rarely stop and it's great to take a bit of time to enjoy nature.

 

Looking at some of these numbers i think people must have come to geocaching from orienteering...

 

Where is the fun in tearing through the tranquil country side loging TNLN TNLN TNLN TNLN...

 

What happens when you catch up and have done them all...? I have a feeling there will be a slight feeling of un-fulfilment as you hardly remember what you have done.

 

I am going to start with an easy pace but who knows i may too get hooked on numbers :laughing:

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Where is the fun in tearing through the tranquil country side loging TNLN TNLN TNLN TNLN...

 

What happens when you catch up and have done them all...? I have a feeling there will be a slight feeling of un-fulfilment as you hardly remember what you have done.

 

That is just it - the beauty of this sport/game/obsession is that you can tailor it to suit your own lifestyle.

So some rush around and the thrill of the hunt is sufficient and others take their time and enjoy the places they have been introduced to.

I must confess to getting it both ways. The fact that I have logged over 400 finds is put in perspective when I first registered with GC over 4 years ago but took 3 months before my first find (there were only 37 in the UK at that time)! On the other hand I look regularily at the site to see if there is anything new near home and if so am off out as soon as I can. I get a lot of fun too at events where we get together to swap stories, travel bugs and enjoy each others' company and have made good friends that way.

BTW - when is anyone going to approach doing them all - even just in the UK?

So don't worry about what others do - get out and enjoy it your way.

Edited by John Stead
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Where is the fun in tearing through the tranquil country side loging TNLN TNLN TNLN TNLN...

This is often the argument, but it's worth remembering (and this forum has taught me many times!) everyone has their own way of playing the game. Some decrypt the clue at home, some on the trail. Some do it at night because they choose to, or they work all day every day. Some like ones up mountains and some like ones you can reach from a wheelchair - and I guess they don't have a choice in this. So long as the cache isn't raided, it's well rehidden and the cacher respects the countryside around it* I don't care if it's found by sniffer dog, visited by helicopter or logged on the web site with a single word (I prefer it not to be, and such logs will be deleted if I check the cache's logbook and find they've not visited by that person at all!).

 

There's certainly no shame in finding lots of caches, but it does get harder to keep up the pace when you've found all the ones in your local area and have to make a days expedition to find more - and if you're caching for the day, it makes sense to find as many as you can in the fresh area you target. With over 4,000 caches in the UK, and more popping up every week, you don't need to worry about running out of ones to hunt. And if you do, turn your attention to hiding the coolest flippin' caches in the world - ever!! :P

 

SP

 

*Plus reseal the box with care, don't make a habit of rubbish swaps, sign the log book, do the right thing with Travel Bugs (TBs) and that sort of thing :laughing:

Edited by Simply Paul
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This Sport-Hobby-Pastime is truly massive.. I am glad i have discovered it now as i feel it's growth could well be limitless...

 

I'd like to be here in 20 years time when the virtual's are holographic and lunch boxes have clocking devices :laughing:

 

I'll be saying "I remember when you had to drive cars yourself and people didn't hover."

 

:P

 

3rdeye

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Regarding the numbers thing, a lot of it comes from necessity. For example, if you have found all the caches near home, it's not economic to travel say 50 miles just for one cache. If you can bag 10 to 15 while you are there it makes the fuel costs worthwhile.

 

For us, part of the challenge is the planning the weekends caching in advance, using the various mapping tools available to work out a rough list of which caches to do in what order. We are having great fun at the moment planning IOM and Edinburgh trips in April.

 

We very rarely tear through the countryside, we tend to make up time on the road as any time in the car is wasted caching time. We have 2 speeding fines to show for that since we started. As for not rememvering what we have done, at I guess I'd say we can remember 99% of the caches we have done, and the other 1% probably aren't worth remembering. As for swaps, most of the time we TNLN, but we always take the time to check the contents to see if there is anything worth swapping.

 

T

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Hi All,

 

Well thanks to Simply Paul, Bubbamummy and I are now firmly hooked on cache-ing. Sunday mornings infront of John Craven are now a thing of the past :-) Also, we knew deep down inside that the little yellow GPS fella would be used for something one day, other than collecting dust on the shelf.

 

 

We have found 2 caches already (though the less said about the first the better - wrong co-ordinates) and really enjoy having a purpose to going for a walk. We live near the Forest of Dean, Glos and there are caches all over the place :)

 

OK now for the questions.... our Etrex doesn't map the co-ordinates very well, on both caches we have been circa 1/2 mile off the location - not much use when looking for a treestump in the forest (luckily we have tried easy caches - so no harm done). Is there a magic formula or something special we have to do the Etrex in order to get the co-ordinates pointing us to the right place?

 

Any help appreciated

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To all newbies (I'm still one myself really as I still have single figure number of finds) you can check lots of different stats based on your finds here and also use the G:UK Forums to discuss your finds and other stuff. A lot of the members here are also members on the other forums but there are also a lot of other very helpful people on that forum who rarely post here (politics I think) but feel free to try it out.

 

Glenn..

Edited by Turkey Trotter
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:rolleyes: To all who have joined this ever growing family..welcome...enjoy,have fun,swap good swap with good swap or money!,paid directly into my bank account..hehehehhehe.If at any time....(day or night) you ask a question ,there is always someone that will put in the right direction..some real clever cachers,full of Knowledge.if you really are not sure how to go and find, or cant find,i am sure a local cacher to yourselfs would be more than happy to go on a mission...just make sure it is a 1 Difficulty Rating and not a 5 star,cos believe me there are some very very well hidden caches,may take quiet a few attempts,there the ones that get you!!...i will find it..i wil find it,i have got to find it because i cant sleep!.happy Hunting
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Another tip:-

 

When you find the cache, take it several meters away from the hiding place before you open it. This way, if someone should wander past, the hiding place won't be compromised. Once you've traded and signed the log, and the coast is clear, you can safely return the cache to it's hinding place.

 

Although we haven't found many caches ourselves, we have had people wander past on a few occasions and the above advice came in handy!

 

Best wishes,

 

Brad

 

*edit - why does hitting Submit generate typos? ;)

Edited by Faye & Brad
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Just a quick query from a newbie...when trying a cache from the website which is the most accurate, the British National Grid coordinates or the Northing/Eastings?...Still haven't got my GPS yet but trying to gather as much info beforehand so I don't look like a complete buffoon on the day. Thanks for any help.

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I would advise using the WGS84 Latitude and Longitude. They are as noted by the cache placer. Just make sure you have the datum on your GPSr set to WGS84.

 

The OSGB co-ords have been converted by the site, and will be converted back by your GPSr in it's calculations.

 

There shouldn't be a great difference, but you might as well reduce the chance of error if possible.

 

Of course, it might be an interesting experiment (if you can be bothered) to input both, and see what the difference is. I might try that some time.

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You dont even need to leave your seat to work out the answer to that question.

 

No matter what co-ordinate system you use on your GPS, the GPS will use a set of internal algorithms to calculate the position into its native system, and vice versa.

 

So, all you need do is enter the lat/long into the GPS, then switch the GPS to OSGB and then look at the calculated OSGB co-ords.

 

Then, compare them to those given by the website.

 

If both the GPS and website use the same algorithm and settings, then the answers will be the same, however, if there is any difference then you can easilly calculate the error by subtracting the web site co-ords from the GPS co-ords, and using pythagorus to calculate a hypotenuse.

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Nobody has mentioned that it is a helpful option to have a dog.

It saves the embarrassment when poking around in the undergrowth and muggles are nearby.

You talk to the dog saying things like" Wheres the ball" or " Stop digging up that body" :D

It also helps to have a dog with an over active nose - our first find was actually made by Missy the Springer Spaniel, but we have to credit if to #3 son to get his interest :P

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When you find the cache, take it several meters away from the hiding place before you open it. This way, if someone should wander past, the hiding place won't be compromised.

 

This point is very important to the longevity of a cache. Ensuring that your activities are unobserved is not always easy and in one or two cases, we have had to abandon finding a cache, even when we knew where it was, because of the presence of too many people. It simply isn't fair on the cache owner to compromise their cache in this way. Much better to leave it alone and come back another day or time when it is likely to be quieter.

 

When you have finished trading make sure you hide the box exactly as you found it (or better if has become exposed by weather or critters).

 

Re-hiding the cache is just as important as finding it in the first place. We have often found it necessary to add a little more cover etc. than the cache had when we found it. On a recent maintenance visit to replace a muggled cache in our Zodiac series, we also checked on the other two associated caches. The first one was lying totally exposed where any muggle walking by could see it. The second was unfortunately missing in action, another one needing to be replaced. As stated above, weather and animals can cause this so always take the time to ensure that there is ample cover especially when the area is very muggle prone.

 

Good Hunting,

Martin & Lynn

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Found my first 3 caches this weekend...So a quick question on etiquette, as soon as I found the caches I rushed home to log the finds on the relevant cache pages. Should I also e-mail the cache owners to let them know, or do said owners just keep an eye on their cache page to keep updated? I don't want to be guilty of bombarding people with needless mail but transversely I don't want to be considered rude for not doing so. Any sagely advice would be welcome!

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When you log a find on the website, the owner gets an email letting him/her know.

 

Under normal circumstances it's not needed to email the owner. One obvious exception is if there is some problem with the cache that you would like to inform the owner of but doing so in the log would be a spoiler.

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I wouldn't say we were newbies anymore, but I just thought I'd add my two penneth ....

 

Phill and I both used to be real outdoors people, I loved nothing more than getting out onto the Yorkshire Dales, and Phill has done the 3 peaks challenge in 19 hours (Ben Nevis, Snowdon and Scafell Pike)

 

However....then work, DVD's, etc overtook us, and weightgain etc!!!!! We decided we needed to get out and walk more, and heck... in 4 months we've both lost a stone and a half.

 

Not only have we lost weight, we've become fitter, we get lots of fresh air, we feel more healthy, and more importantly, we get quality time together - it's a hobby we share.

 

I think of caching as something for the whole family - whether you are able bodied or not.... plus the fact that there are absolutely no barriers to it - it's free, and granny could go just as easily as a new born baby.

 

Sorry to ramble (no pun intended!!) :unsure:

 

H

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Hi, I hope someone can help me out here - Is HDD.MM.mmm the same as HDDD.MM.MMM ? I am using an old Garmin GPS38 at the moment until I can get a new one and it doesn't have HDD.MM.mmm on it.

 

Thanks Emma.

I would think it is

H=hemispere (N, S, E or W)

DD=degrees (0-89 for North or South, 0-179 for East or West)

MM=whole minutes

MMM (or mmm)=decimal minutes

 

Not to be confused with H.DD.MM.SS which is degrees, minutes & seconds.

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Hi there

I am a completely new kid on the block; awaiting my GPS. I've found all info very useful and am looking forward to going out there!! Will keep you posted on any successes :laughing:

"Die Hügel sind mit dem Ton der Musik lebendig" :laughing::laughing::rolleyes:

 

If you need any help, just shout.

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Hi there

I am a completely new kid on the block; awaiting my GPS. I've found all info very useful and am looking forward to going out there!! Will keep you posted on any successes  :)

Where are you based?

Hi there

If I am not on another planet, which sometimes I am, I reside in the home counties. :laughing:

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Hi there

I am a completely new kid on the block; awaiting my GPS. I've found all info very useful and am looking forward to going out there!! Will keep you posted on any successes  :lol:

"Die Hügel sind mit dem Ton der Musik lebendig" :):laughing::lol:

 

If you need any help, just shout.

.........mit Liedern die seit tausenden von Jahren gesungen wurden............... :lol:

thanks for the offer, I will give a shout if needed :)

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I dont think this has been mentioned yet, apologies if it has but Ive also found baby wet wipes very useful if you find a particularly mucky cache and need to clean your hands before eating something!

 

Also how long would you reasonably expect a muggled cache to remain disabled whilst the owners replace the box? 3 months, 6 months?

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Re Ammo Boxes

 

If anybody wanted, say, 6 boxes to one address then

it might be possible to parcel them up and send them via a carrier.

I would guess that £10 would cover up to about 6 boxes.

 

It's only a thought.

 

If anybody wants a decent quantity then let me know how many and I will get a quote for the boxes and the carriage.

 

Rod :cool:

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As a newbie myself all I wanted someone to tell me was what to go out and buy so that I could get started straight away, there's just too many options and too few shops where you cango and get face to face advice. So with that said...

 

I bought a Holux GPSlim to go with my existing Bluetooth iPAQ and it's fantastic. I'm sure everyone has different requirements and different views but this hardware alongside memory-map (to avoid walking off the cliffs) and Navigator II to do the final searching seem to be doing me well.

 

The receiver works in most parts of the house (why I'd need it there I don't know) and operates fine from the glovebox of my car. I suspect there are better software options but for around a tenner Navigator II and a keen pair of eyeballs makes for a good start.

 

The biggest problem I had was understanding how it all worked together with so few instructions provided but trial and error always works in the end.

 

If you're in the same position I was then canvas opinion in the forums or even try dropping a mail to some successful cachers.

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With the recent influx of new cachers over the christmas period and now that only the dedicated ones are left :lol: heres a list of things i wish id known when starting out and things you may of missed.

 

1.

Did you know you can edit cache pages after they have been approved button top right corner.

2.

Most GPS'r take a few moments to settle when you stop so walk slowly and try to walk straight (lynn still spirals down to the cache).

3.

Set a multi? go and do it yourself using the numbers on you are putting on the cache page.

4.

Did you know you can keep a cache on your private listing by unticking the "this cache is active box" reviewers only see the caches after this box is ticked this helps with point 3.

5.

Read the FAQ at www.markandlynn.co.uk :)

6.

Always post your did not finds

7.

Learn how to pick up and drop Travel Bugs on the website.

 

Loads more but I'll leave this for everyone else

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Thanks Mark and Lynn... all tips very welcome!

 

I've got a question about tracking down caches in other countries. I'm heading off to France end of this week, but all I seem to be able to do is search under the drop down menu 'france', which throws up loads of caches, and I can't sort out which might be near where I am going. Does anyone knw how I can order them more helpfully?

 

(also, is there any likelyhood of being able to combine geo-caching and snowboarding... or is that simply ridiculous?!)

 

clare

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Thanks Mark and Lynn... all tips very welcome!

 

I've got a question about tracking down caches in other countries. I'm heading off to France end of this week, but all I seem to be able to do is search under the drop down menu 'france', which throws up loads of caches, and I can't sort out which might be near where I am going. Does anyone knw how I can order them more helpfully?

 

(also, is there any likelyhood of being able to combine geo-caching and snowboarding... or is that simply ridiculous?!)

 

clare

I use google earth to recce an area that I am going to ski in. I 've not found a cache while skiing, but I have found caches in the summer in mountains that will be ski pistes later in the year.

 

The other thing I do is use GSAK and then export them to Autoroute.

 

Of course you need a pretty good map of the area before you start hunting around. Piste maps are rubbish for working out what the area is going to be like before you get there.

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Having done a few caches, we are planning one of our own. Having got a "great idea" for a cache and trawled around geocaching.com to see if it had already been done - with no success (although it probably has). Is there a way to see if our idea is valid without going through the entire process of creating the cache and submitting it?

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Having done a few caches, we are planning one of our own. Having got a "great idea" for a cache and trawled around geocaching.com to see if it had already been done - with no success (although it probably has). Is there a way to see if our idea is valid without going through the entire process of creating the cache and submitting it?

E-mail lactodorum or eckington via their profiles (I hope that's OK - always cautious putting other people's names in the frame, but that's what I would do)

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Having done a few caches, we are planning one of our own.  Having got a "great idea" for a cache and trawled around geocaching.com to see if it had already been done - with no success (although it probably has).  Is there a way to see if our idea is valid without going through the entire process of creating the cache and submitting it?

E-mail lactodorum or eckington via their profiles (I hope that's OK - always cautious putting other people's names in the frame, but that's what I would do)

Exactly so :grin: - We're always happy to offer advice on proposed caches so send us your ideas if you're not sure.

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