Electronic Caches

July 8, 2005

Johnnie - Just make sure that you set the channel to something other than 2 or 12 as Geocachers in the area just chatting to one another may inadvertently be setting off your system and draining the batteries more quickly than you had planned. I'd try something like 11 or 13 as it wouldn't be a common number for kids to select, they would more likely go for a single digit channel.

If your power consumption becomes an issue you could always look at one of the FRS radios that goes into sleeper mode, when not used for X seconds, to conserve battery life or disable the LCD display on the radio, I don't know how much power an LCD display consumes but every bit would help.

1.1k · July 8, 2005

Johnnie Stalkers said:
So does the need of an FRS radio to complete the cache qualify as special equipment? We don't have a 5/5 cache locally and this concept on the proper terrain could potentially be a 5/5.

How about making it a multicache and leave the other radio in the first stage, with instructions that it must be returned after the find.

July 9, 2005

Found a cache recently that had a voice recorder in place of a logbook.

Of course, I left the standard "Captain's Log..." style entry.

20.7k · July 9, 2005

Pork King said:
Found a cache recently that had a voice recorder in place of a logbook.

Of course, I left the standard "Captain's Log..." style entry.

Did you use Shatner's pauses and inflection?

2.4k · July 9, 2005

CacheNCarryMA said:

Johnnie Stalkers said:
So does the need of an FRS radio to complete the cache qualify as special equipment? We don't have a 5/5 cache locally and this concept on the proper terrain could potentially be a 5/5.

How about making it a multicache and leave the other radio in the first stage, with instructions that it must be returned after the find.

Now, you just KNOW someone's gonna be

a] greedy and keep the good radio

-or-

B] just too dadgum lazy to return it to the first stage.

Either way, I'd just make it a difficulty 5 (special equipment required) and make 'em bring their own radios.

Edited July 9, 2005 by IV_Warrior

July 9, 2005

IV_Warrior said:
<snip>...
Either way, I'd just make it a difficulty 5 (special equipment required) and make 'em bring their own radios.

Oh, I just assumed you would bring your own radio. Its somewhat specialized but nothing too far out of reach. Bring your own for sure.

July 9, 2005

One of my caches uses a geiger counter:

One Of These Things (GCNMV3)

Members Only to view the listing.

July 10, 2005

Has anyone thought of using APRS for a cache hide? APRS=Automatic position Reporting System Of course this is a HAM radio thing but you do not need a license to recieve signals... I think you could adapt it somewhat

July 21, 2005

Johnnie Stalkers said:
The light charges during the day and when the photo cell stops detecting light it turns on the LED. I clipped off the LED and soldered on wires and then ran them to the pos and neg posts on the Radio. I then soldered the LED to the speaker output...

Okay, first off, this is brilliant. I really like the idea. :lol: I was thinking about the quandry of getting people to bring the radio back to the first stage or what have you, and realized that there might be a few options:

1) Have the first radio much closer to the second receiving radio. This way people would likely activate the second one, see it, then put it back in its case.

2) It sounds like you are pretty good with soldering and basic electronics. Good! Why not take the guts of the first radio out of its standard case and mount it in something else...that nobody would want to take. Mount it inside a waterproof metal case or something that is bolted to the first stage. Make the power and xmit buttons easy to find (obviously) but just make it less desirable or impossible to remove that first radio.

Also, places like mouser.com and LEDsupply.com have a pretty big selection of LEDs, so if you wanted to use something a bit more exotic...there it is! Another place that has a great selection of LEDs is LSDiodes.com. Check out this neat multi-color unit. How would you like THAT pointing to your cache!!

1.4k · August 5, 2005

Johnnie Stalkers said:

Field test (my back yard) provided really good visability at 50 yards without any obstructions. I am currntly testing the units charging and battery life capability in the lab (again, my back yard). The light, on a full charge is supposed to run for 8 to 10 hours. I predict the radio will put less drain on the batteris than the constantly lit LED would. $15 bucks a piece isn't THAT bad.

I'm curious what the battery life test showed? My guess is that the radio drains the batteries faster than estimated, especially after about a week of use. The small solar panels on the walkway lights are pretty inefficient.

Even if it did croak every morning at 3 am, it would still be a viable waypoint as everything would recharge and reset by the next night.

Who goes caching at 3am anyways? :wacko:

1.1k · August 5, 2005

The radio's drain on the batteries is much higher than I originally predicted. I added a second solar panel and it still isn't suffieciently charging the batteries. After the first night the panels simply don't charge enough, even on a really bright day, to run the radio for more than 15 minutes at night fall. That's a pretty small window.

My options at this point as I see them:

1. Use better / larger solar panels and better rechargable batteries.

2. Scrap the solar panels all together and use a long cycle battery.

3. Scrap the radio and just use the lights.

August 5, 2005

Crazy Aaron said:
One of my caches uses a geiger counter:

Looking at the cache page, it sounds pretty cool.

Care to share any info on how you created this?

2.6k · August 8, 2005

How could a cache be called Black Box and not have any electronics?! :unsure:

I also understand there's a cache (in the Bay Area?) that makes you whistle at the right frequency (which is unknown to the hunters). Can you imagine walking around a park whistling and trying not to smile or laugh at your foolishes. :unsure: I'm looking forward to hunting this cache one day.

August 26, 2005

If you are fluent with soldering, then I assume you must have a multi meter (or know a friend that has one). If you can, check the current drain of the batteries when the radio is on. If it is anything more than about 15mA, then you are drawing more current than the LED and your run time will be less. Also, did you verify that the solar cells are putting out enough voltage to charge the batteries (about 15% above rated voltage). And as a fail safe, make sure that there is a diode in between the solar cells and the batteries to make sure that at night, the power from the batteries do not feed back into the solar cells and drain power that way.

If you need more help or a schematic just PM me. I work around 2-way radios for a living, and some of them are solar powered. This sounds like a great project! If it works, I would like (with your permission) to try the same thing here.

Good luck,

-LM :laughing:

1.1k · August 26, 2005

I have at this time declared the experiment a failure. With my current design the solar cells simply are not efficient enough to charge the batteries.

I need a larger solar array to keep the batteries charged in the low light of the winter months. Realistically I need the batteries to survive several consecutive cloudy days. Otherwise the cache is going to be hit or miss.

Once the solar array issue is resolved, how do I hide it from muggles? In a tree is the obvious choice but the leaves would restrict light in the summer months. My current configuration is a bird house with about 1 sq foot of panels on the roof. The electronics 'reside' inside the house. It's going to require a pretty specific location to maximize daylight and be muggle proof.

This idea can work, I just think it is going to be a real challenge here in the midwest. By all means borrow the idea. I shared it for that purpose. Let me know what you turn out.

August 27, 2005

I think this will work, just not in the way you expected it to. If you really want to have a FRS radio in a box that will receive a signal for a few hours a day, it can be done! Using a 6 volt 9AH rechargeable battery, you can set it up so that the radio is on a timer, and will only turn on the radio for a few hours a day (9pm to midnight?). In an idol receiving state, the FRS radio I tested used 40mA. If you run for 3 hours a day, you should get a concervitive 73 days of use before it goes dead on you. All you need to do is purchase 2 batteries (about $20/Ea) and charge one up in your home while the other one is in use. Every other month or so when you are doing cache maintenance, just swap out the battery.

What do you think? will this work?

-LM :laughing:

August 27, 2005

Kit Fox said:

Dan-oh said:
How about a cache using black light? It seems you could lay out coords to a multi just about anywhere and have cachers use a battery powered black light to read the coords. It could be a cool variation for a night cache.

I'm sure the specialized equipment would keep the numbers down though.

That is in my plans for a future cache. Using invisible paint (only visible via UV light) to mark coords. Another handy use for the UV light is to mark your own caches. Suppose your cache turns up missing (overgrown vegetatio, etc), you can use the UV light to re-find your cache.

Does anyone have the schematics for making a blinking LED set-up for caches. I'm not talking about the sill party LEDS for your shirts, I want to make one using a 9 volt battery.

Wouldn't you be worried about the amount of UV light emitted from the sun exposing the paint?

Quote
Has anyone thought of using APRS for a cache hide? APRS=Automatic position Reporting System Of course this is a HAM radio thing but you do not need a license to recieve signals... I think you could adapt it somewhat

Someone has done this, they put a cache in the back of their truck and put a 2m APRS rig in it. The coordinates could be found at findu.com, but the cache was archived.

1.1k · August 29, 2005

Lone Monkey said:

What do you think? will this work?

-LM

A good caching buddy of mine was over this weekend and I showed him the bird house. He had the exact same recommendation. I think this is viable.

3.3k · August 29, 2005

BlueNinja said:

Kit Fox said:

Dan-oh said:
How about a cache using black light? It seems you could lay out coords to a multi just about anywhere and have cachers use a battery powered black light to read the coords. It could be a cool variation for a night cache.

I'm sure the specialized equipment would keep the numbers down though.

That is in my plans for a future cache. Using invisible paint (only visible via UV light) to mark coords. Another handy use for the UV light is to mark your own caches. Suppose your cache turns up missing (overgrown vegetatio, etc), you can use the UV light to re-find your cache.

Wouldn't you be worried about the amount of UV light emitted from the sun exposing the paint?

Not if you write the coordinates inside of a dark tunnel

For the caches that are hidden within thick vegetation, I'd assume an occasional "touch-up" paint job would do the trick.

September 7, 2005

CacheNCarryMA said:

Johnnie Stalkers said:
So does the need of an FRS radio to complete the cache qualify as special equipment? We don't have a 5/5 cache locally and this concept on the proper terrain could potentially be a 5/5.

How about making it a multicache and leave the other radio in the first stage, with instructions that it must be returned after the find.

I can hear it now.

"Oh, look I found the cache and somebody left a 2-way radio in it for me. Hey do you got a quarter I can leave?"

September 7, 2005

I dont think that it would be out of line for someone to purchase a FRS radio if they really want to find the cache. odds are they already dropped $200 for a hand held GPS, whats $19.99 for a PAIR of radioshack FRS radios? while they are there, they can pick up some neat-o trinkets for the cache!

Maxus 2-pack at Radio Shack

-WEC

September 7, 2005

teamguzbach.org said:
There're several caches where blinking LEDs are used e.g. Training Unit Six
Some of these caches have a IR-LED so you need to have a night vision device.

Other nightcaches use reactive lights: You need to hit them with a strong flashlight before they start to blink for a short while.

... did I mention they are all in Germeany?

I got the same idea about IR Leds, but you needn't night vision devices. Any digital camera with a LCD display or a video camera can see a 38 Khz IR LED signals. You can try it with your cam with your TV remote control.

I use to verify with camcoders if a remote control works after repairing it. You can see the LED is blinking.

3.3k · October 16, 2005

I found a good source for "ready made" blinking LEDs, Radioshack. The only challenge is to create waterproof housing. I'll post pictures when I come up with a reliable housing unit.

Edited October 16, 2005 by Kit Fox

January 25, 2006

as far as using FRS radios if you could isolate just the receiver portion of the radio and get rid of everything else that drains power it may be viable. Quite often schematics can be found somewhere online and there are all sorrts of electronic help forums online as well

February 10, 2006

Here's a place for beeping key chains... CHEAP !!!!!!!!!!!

http://store.yahoo.com/4onlinevalues/sonickeyfinder.html

February 12, 2006

I have two electronic caches that are in operation all the time and one that I use only at event caches. The event cache produces a loud brief chirp at infrequent but regular intervals. The coord I give is just close enough to the chirping device so that a person can hear it. One guy said he followed a woodpecker around for a while before he realized he was on a wild goose chase or should that be “wild woodpecker chase” :anicute: then went back to the original coord and managed to discern which chirp was the right one. Another guy said he argued with his granddaughter about which chirp was the right one to walk toward but found out that she was right after all. :cool: That cache was very difficult to design and make. It has a variable frequency between the chirps and has a variable length chirp. It also only chirps during the day.

Here is a URL for my blinking LED cache and here's the URL to my voice recorder cache.

-it

3.9k · February 19, 2006

Crazy Aaron said:

One of my caches uses a geiger counter:

One Of These Things (GCNMV3)

Members Only to view the listing.

Very cute cache idea! Fun! Thanks for sharing this one! In light of this, you may be a bit interested in taking a look at Psycho Urban Cache #9 - Hot Glowing Tribulations, waypoint ID GCTA5E

Thanks for the neat cache idea!

3.9k · February 19, 2006

donbadabon said:

Crazy Aaron said:
One of my caches uses a geiger counter:

Looking at the cache page, it sounds pretty cool.

Care to share any info on how you created this?

Don, I am not sure if you have yet received any reply to your question from the cache owner. If you need info on how to do create such sticks or where to pick up cheap small radiation meters, please contact me off-list. You probably have my e-mail address, but if not, use PM or send an email to vinny111@mindspring.com

February 23, 2006

I recently hid one that requires the use of a cell phone:

VOCAL

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...57-9025e1a421fd

July 27, 2006

BadAndy said:

Has anyone encountered caches that use electronics or photo-voltaics in the cache, or waypoints? Webcams aside, I'd like to hear some ideas.

Check out

GCG88H FRS Activated Prototype

I also had

GCHMF1 Escape the Matrix

Until is was plundered - still looking for a good home for it.

I also have 4 more completely different tech caches ready to be planted, but I have not found a good place yet that might not get plundered and has easy access for GeoCachers. Maybe there are some GeoCachers that would like to have one of these new tech caches hidden at their residents? The main problem is they need to be plugged in with a wall wart for 24/7 power and two need some small wires run to a hiding location in their front yard or wherever.

August 18, 2006

there's a cache south of las vegas that you go to coords at night with a good flashlight and follow the reflectors to the cache. :anitongue:

April 21, 2007

Anyone else come across any new or interesting electronic caches?

Edited April 21, 2007 by greywynd

April 22, 2007

greywynd said:

Anyone else come across any new or interesting electronic caches?

I'm in the beginning stages of planning a new one which will involve some electronics... but it remains to be seen just how much I can get away with doing practically.

April 23, 2007

Last month I found a night cache where you use a remote control (either your own or one in the hidden start box). You use your flashlight only to keep from tripping over the sagebrush, rocks etc.

You find the coords to the next "blinker" somewhere on the tree that blinks when you push any of the buttons on the remote. The cache site itself doesn't have a blinker.

The cache is "Remotely Controlled Night Cache" (GC115QX) by Shotgun & Peashooter.

It seems to work in an arid environment. I can't guess whether it will work in more humid areas.

April 29, 2007

There are 2 (relatively) new electronic caches in my area. They require a 9-volt battery, and are very different from each other. The owner has a vision to create a whole cache series you can do with a 9-volt battery, kind of a signature of his.

They are:

GC11CZN - Christmas Cache (night cache)

GC11AT1 - Bear Proof (has electro-mechanical design. Very nice)

July 31, 2009

Thanks everyone for the ideas. I have combined a few ideas and come up with two reliable, low-cost, electronic geocache gizmos.

One cache involves the infrared LED that was mentioned earlier. Take a cheap solar-powered walkway light ($3, available at Target), and remove the LED. Then solder two wires onto the contacts where the LED was, effectively making a 1.5 volt power source.

Then take an infra red LED ($4, Radio Shack) and solder this to the ends of these wires. Next, you need a reflector. I used one from a broken flashlight, but one can be made easily from aluminum foil. Position it around the infra-red LED. Finally, to water-proof the whole thing, glue it into an upside-down glass jar with the solar panel up at the top (the base of the jar). The LED and reflector are glued against a side pointing out. Then, put the lid on tightly and duct-tape it shut.

End result: an infra-red beacon that charges during the day and glows all night. Because it is infra-red, you can only see it through night-vision goggles, or through the screen on a digital camera or camcorder. It shows up as a glowing white orb, and can be seen (through the camera screen) from over 70 feet away, without zoom. Total cost: $7 to $8. Time: 45 minutes.

The second cache is a little more expensive to build, but makes up for that in coolness. The first step requires a cheap 2-way radio or walkie-talkie ($15 for a pair, Radio Shack). Unscrew the casing and locate the two wires that go to the speaker. Clip these wires and solder on a pair of longer wires. To the ends of these wires, solder an LED or two or three ($0.40 each, Radio Shack), or even an infra-red LED (explained above). Or, you can wait until you have removed the LEDs in the lamps, then use these, which happens in the next paragraph. Now, turn on the radio and turn the volume up all the way. Using your other radio, talk or press call. When you are transmitting noise, the LED should light up.

The next part uses more solar pannels. The reason for this is that your batteries in the radio will only last a few days. Of course, you could go to the cache and change the batteries every three days, but that has no finesse. So instead, you can hack solar-powered walkway lights ($3 each, Target). Use one light for each battery in the radio. Remove the LED from each one. Then solder two wires onto the contacts where the LED was. When you have done this for all lights, wire them in series. (positive wire on #1 to negative wire on #2, positive wire on #2 to negative wire on #3, etc.)

Remove the batteries from the radio. Now, you will make your radio solar-powered. Open up the casing of the radio again, and locate the two wires going to the battery compartment. Clip them off and solder the loose solar panel wires to these wires. Make sure you solder the positive to positive and negative to negative.

Now you are finished. Turn the radio on, then waterproof this cache by putting it into a lock-n-lock or clear Tupperware container, or a glass jar if it will fit. Tape all seals shut, and make sure the solar pannels are facing up.

End result: When a cacher broadcasts on a specified channel, the LEDs will light up. And, best of all, this will charge every day and should run for a few hours every night after sundown. No batteries required. Total cost: about $30. Time: 90 minutes.

Enjoy these small projects, and feel free to use them in your own geocaches. Thanks to everyone for the fantastic ideas.

~The Rudolphs

July 31, 2009

Wow, this lock n lock with camo duct tape sitting on my shelf right now just looks pathetic....

I want lights! I want sirens! I want explosions!...well, maybe not explosions but it's made me think a little...

July 31, 2009

Dan-oh said:

A local cache uses a digital voice recorder (Radio Shack kit) that speaks the coords when you turn a switch. The single 9v battery seems to hold up over a long time. It fits in quite well with the rest of the theme.

I used the same thing with an ammo can. When you open the can (pressure switch) the ammo can starts talking to you.

3.3k · July 31, 2009

This is a great thread to bring back to the top. My solution for the blinking LEDs was an owl decoy used to scare birds away.

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