New hide questions

[+Jinxer05]

I am all set to put out a new hide, just need to go and get the GPS coordinates. I plan on using Commander Compass. If I bring up the app at the exact location and record the coordinates, and then walk away and do it again from another direction, and then maybe again, do I then just use that coordinate if it seems to keep repeating, or use another app to average the waypoints after I get the coordinates?

 

Also, once hid and coordinates have been entered, how long does it take for a new hide to be approved? Does it just all happen on line, or does someone go out to actually find it in order to approve? Just curious.

 

Thanks!

[+ecanderson]

Hitting the location multiple times and observing any differences in coordinates is definitely a worthwhile approach. Not knowing if your iPhone is recent, hard to know how it will perform. Newer ones seem to do well. Some of the original ones, not so much. Wouldn't hurt to do it at a later time or on a second day, too. One of the things that can change the quality of the fix is the configuration of satellites at a given moment in time.

 

As for review time --- depends upon several things. If your reviewer is prompt, you may start getting communications within a day. But understand that if this is your first hide, you may find yourself answering questions you hadn't anticipated in some back and forth with your reviewer. It'll all likely be easier the second time you place one since you'll have a better idea of what's expected in the comments to your particular reviewer. No, your reviewer doesn't personally go to the site. That's why there may be some emailing back and forth before publication.

[+L0ne.R]

It's a good plan.

You can also use a couple of other apps and then compare and average the coordinates.

 

The iphone apps I use:

 

Free GPS

Coordinates

Easy GPS

Commander

(and my Garmin 62s -- which is a bit of a lemon, so I like to over check using multiple sources)

[+L0ne.R]

There's some good help in the Help Center

 

https://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=673

 

1.3. How to Get Accurate Coordinates

 

It talks about how to average your coordinates.

[+The A-Team]

You can also use a couple of other apps and then compare and average the coordinates.

I may be missing something, but why? Each app will just be reporting the location provided by the phone's location services, so the results should be the same regardless of the app you're using. Using multiple devices would make sense, but I'm not sure how multiple apps would help.

[+L0ne.R]

You can also use a couple of other apps and then compare and average the coordinates.

I may be missing something, but why? Each app will just be reporting the location provided by the phone's location services, so the results should be the same regardless of the app you're using. Using multiple devices would make sense, but I'm not sure how multiple apps would help.

 

My iphone 6s has a GPS chip. Location services uses GPS, Bluetooth, and crowd-sourced WiFi hotspot and cell tower locations to determine approximate location. Usually the coords I get are very close but not always exactly the same. Then again, taking multiple readings from the same app is not exactly the same each time.

 

I had assumed that somehow different apps might read slightly differently but since I'm using the same device, the iphone, it's like taking multiple readings from a handheld GPS, right? So one GPS app is enough, but take multiple readings and average.

[+BCandMsKitty]

You can also use a couple of other apps and then compare and average the coordinates.

I may be missing something, but why? Each app will just be reporting the location provided by the phone's location services, so the results should be the same regardless of the app you're using. Using multiple devices would make sense, but I'm not sure how multiple apps would help.

 

My iphone 6s has a GPS chip. Location services uses GPS, Bluetooth, and crowd-sourced WiFi hotspot and cell tower locations to determine approximate location. Usually the coords I get are very close but not always exactly the same. Then again, taking multiple readings from the same app is not exactly the same each time.

 

I had assumed that somehow different apps might read slightly differently but since I'm using the same device, the iphone, it's like taking multiple readings from a handheld GPS, right? So one GPS app is enough, but take multiple readings and average.

 

Bingo

[+Ben0w]

"GPS Averaging" is the App for iOS I use. It's designed exactly for that: averaging multiple GPS readings.

 

If you're unsure about accuracy try using more than one device and take GPS data on different days. That was the way I used to get coordinates before using "GPSAveraging" (I'm not in contact with the developer, just find the App cool and go geocaching with his other App "Looking4Cache", which perfectly meets my needs).