App advise

[DeMarcusFamily]

I recently started geocaching with my two kids. We have found three easy caches. My problem is the app I'm using is not accurate. In one case it took me to the opposite end of a park from where the clues finally took us to the cache. What am I doing wrong? Do I need a different app? The one I use now is just a basic compass app with coordinates on the bottom. So far it has taken me to two caches accurately and steered me wrong on three. I was actually able to find one of the three with no help from the app. I am willing to pay for this hobby but I can find no useful info on what to buy.

[+huskydays]

Hello and welcome! Geocaching is a great family activity and I think I can speak for the community when I say that we're glad you found us!

 

Unfortunately, your questions are pretty hard to answer without knowing which:

• 
   
  
• OS you are using?
  
• App you are using?
  
• Caches you tried to find?
  

 

But I will try anyway (that's the cacher's spirit!)

 

OS & App:

There are various geocaching apps available. Groundspeak (the lovely folks who own this website) have published their own apps for Android, Windows and iOS. If you're looking for accuracy, apps by Groundspeak are the way forward. Unfortunately, said apps are geared towards those who have paid for premium membership - not that there's anything wrong with premium of course (I have paid for it with no regrets).

 

Caches

There are various different types of caches and some are located pretty far away from where their 'dot' shows up on the map.

Traditional caches should be exactly where the app says they are.

Mystery Caches show up on the map close to the final location, but you have to figure out a puzzle to find the actual location.

Multi Stage Caches will start at the point shown at the map, but you then have to travel to other places and follow the clues. The final location will be further away from the point shown on the map.

If you did a multi or a mystery, that would explain why you were pointed so far away from the original location(?)

[ohgood]

I recently started geocaching with my two kids. We have found three easy caches. My problem is the app I'm using is not accurate. In one case it took me to the opposite end of a park from where the clues finally took us to the cache. What am I doing wrong? Do I need a different app? The one I use now is just a basic compass app with coordinates on the bottom. So far it has taken me to two caches accurately and steered me wrong on three. I was actually able to find one of the three with no help from the app. I am willing to pay for this hobby but I can find no useful info on what to buy.

 

lots of caches have bad coordinates.

lots of caches get moved by people, animals, lawnmowers.

lots of caches are just plain missing.

 

before you blame your app, your phone, your standalone, consider the logs of recent finders.

 

the app i like to use for navigation, tracking (live and offline), planning, plotting, caching, and sharing of all the above, is locus. there are LOTS of good apps to choose from, pic one or two, try them out, and when you're happy, take the kids along.

 

psssst, if your settings for location include "wifi and cellular" or "battery saving" it's incorrectly setup. set it to "gps only" and you'll have a much better time.

[+TriciaG]

If you're looking for accuracy, apps by Groundspeak are the way forward

Umm, no. Accuracy is determined by the device, its location services, etc. - not by the app.

 

I'd stay away from the official apps because they severely limit which caches you can search for (you only get to see traditional caches with low terrain and difficulty ratings). Approved apps that use the Groundspeak API limit basic members to 3 caches per day, but otherwise don't restrict the non-PMO caches that are displayed.

 

For iPhone, I hear that Cachly is good.

For Android, I use a non-approved app, so I'm not sure what's best for that.

[+huskydays]

If you're looking for accuracy, apps by Groundspeak are the way forward

Umm, no. Accuracy is determined by the device, its location services, etc. - not by the app.

 

I'd stay away from the official apps because they severely limit which caches you can search for (you only get to see traditional caches with low terrain and difficulty ratings). Approved apps that use the Groundspeak API limit basic members to 3 caches per day, but otherwise don't restrict the non-PMO caches that are displayed.

 

For iPhone, I hear that Cachly is good.

For Android, I use a non-approved app, so I'm not sure what's best for that.

 

I meant accuracy as in up to date information, not GPS location. Should have specified!

Edited July 5, 2016 by huskydays

[+GeoTrekker26]

I meant accuracy as in up to date information, not GPS location. Should have specified!

I don't know what you are talking about. All the apps get the information from the same database. What makes you think there is a difference?

[+cerberus1]

There are various geocaching apps available. Groundspeak (the lovely folks who own this website) have published their own apps for Android, Windows and iOS.

Battin' a thousand today...

Groundspeak hasn't had the Geocaching app for Windows since June 6th.

[+niraD]

When the location reported by my phone has been really wrong, as in "opposite end of a park" wrong, I've always found that the GPS antenna had been turned off, and the phone was using only cellular triangulation and wifi hotspots to determine its location. And some companies ship new phones with the GPS antenna turned off, because it saves power.

 

So my first step would be to verify that the GPS antenna is really on, and that the app(s) I'm using will get the location from the GPS antenna, and not from less accurate location services.

[+huskydays]

Battin' a thousand today...

Groundspeak hasn't had the Geocaching app for Windows since June 6th.

I'm good at helping

[ohgood]

When the location reported by my phone has been really wrong, as in "opposite end of a park" wrong, I've always found that the GPS antenna had been turned off, and the phone was using only cellular triangulation and wifi hotspots to determine its location. And some companies ship new phones with the GPS antenna turned off, because it saves power.

 

So my first step would be to verify that the GPS antenna is really on, and that the app(s) I'm using will get the location from the GPS antenna, and not from less accurate location services.

 

exactly what i assumed was the case. what's funny is that wifi and cellular use a lot more energy than just the GPS antenna, when in the fringe of cellular service. always thought it was odd that manufacturers call wifi+ cellular more efficient than one goes calculation per second

[+TeamRabbitRun]

 

<...>

what's funny is that wifi and cellular use a lot more energy than just the GPS antenna, when in the fringe of cellular service.

<...>

 

Passive/Active.

 

The GPS method just uses a radio receiver and some computing power, while the Wi-Fi and cellular methods also involve two-way transactions, and radio transmissions are much more power-consumptive.