Accurate Coordinates For Hiding

[twjolson & Kay]

I'm planning on doing my first cache hide soon. However my gps is old, and I am not sure how to get the most accurate coordinates for posting. Any tips.

[+JohnnyVegas]

Once you hide the cache let the GPS sit at the cache location for at least 15 minutes then mark the location in your GPS and you should be fine.

 

BTW-how old is your GPS

[+briansnat]

Does it go down to DD.MM.MMM, or is it DD.MM.MM. If its the former, you're good to go. If its the latter, please don't use it to place a cache. I've delt with a few of those and it ain't pretty.

 

I understand that there is a way to get better coords by using UTM, then converting, but I don't know the specifics - and if your conversion math is off you're going to have some pretty unhappy geocachers.

[+Joypa]

I don't see why the age of your GPSr is an issue. As long as it still functions, it can pull in the satillites as well as any newer model.

[twjolson & Kay]

I don't see why the age of your GPSr is an issue. As long as it still functions, it can pull in the satillites as well as any newer model.

because it doesn't have WAAS to hone the error box down. It's less accurate then the new ones with WAAS. I don't want to get a new one, too cheap, and the model doesn't allow updating to get WAAS.

[+The Leprechauns]

WAAS isn't that important. I'd rather have six satellites in a perfect array around the sky, with WAAS turned off, than four satellites in a poor geometry but with WAAS corrections.

 

It's way more important to know whether your older GPS goes down to .000 or just .00, as was mentioned above.

[+sbell111]

WAAS is more important in getting accurate elevation, than in getting a good lat/long fix.

 

As Brian and Lep stated, as long as your GPSr gives you your coords to three decimal places, you should be good to go. My old 3+ has been doing a great job for years, now.

 

When I place a cache, as soon as I arrive on-site, I set down my GPSr. I let it get a good fix for about ten minutes or so.

 

One other thing I do is check to make sure I have good sat lock. If I have to move a few feet away to get a good epe, I will. I'd rather have really good coords that are ten feet away from the cache, than bad coords that might be 50 feet away.

[+Joypa]

What matters is the number of satellites and the strength of signal. Every thing else is bells and whistles.

[+Scoobie10]

As stated, let your GPS hang out for a bit. However once you've taken the reading, walk 50-75 feet away and then see if your coords take you back to where you want to be. I usually do this in a couple of different directions. If each time I return to the cache location and am within 8-10 feet, I'll keep the reading.

 

Scoob