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Frustrated with Pocket Query Results


stampinrox

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I have tried four separate times to do a pocket query. Every time there are no results. I am filling in all the required parameters and believe I am doing it correctly. I have put in a day for delivery, set the maximum # of caches at 1000, selected any container & any type, left the attributes for what to include/exclude open, used my zip code for the starting point, entered a placement date of April 22, 1999. Yet, I get no results. I am extremely frustrated and am ready to throw in the towel on my new membership. Please help me get the caches in one batch for my local area.

 

Please advise me what else I need to do before I throw my Garmin eTrex 20 out the window and cancel my membership. Thanks.

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entered a placement date of April 22, 1999.

 

I'm going to speculate that this is your problem, as there are no caches with a placement date of April 22, 1999.

 

You don't have to fill in every pane of that form.

Unless you have a specific need for placed on specific dates, leave that alone

 

1. Days to generate - LEAVE THIS BLANK until you've checked your results - once you have good results THEN set the day.

 

2. Any type, leave it alone or pick some

 

3. Any container, leave it alone or pick some

 

4. That (And): select two: I haven't found & Is Enabled

 

5. And D/T leave this alone, or limit D/T to less than 3 perhaps

 

6. Within (countries or states) - you leave this as "none selected" or you can select your state, or if you live near a state boundary you can hold down the Control Key and select 2 (or more) states.

 

7. Origin - zip code or GC Code or "home location" assuming you've entered something on your profile.

I think it's been fixed, but at one time, using zip codes was buggy, so go with the GC Code of the first cache you found instead GC1QQF7 (or some other cache that's convenient to your location).

 

8. Within a Radius of - leave this alone, or limit it, if there's a probable limit to how far you're likely to drive.

If there are more than 1000 caches within 100 miles, it will sorta cut off by distance from center, but not quite.

A query centered on GC1QQF7 at 1000 caches goes out 10.3 miles ;-) - 20.6 miles across

 

9. Placed during - leave as None Selected

 

10. Attributes - leave as None Selected

 

NOW at the bottom (not having set a day to run!) click "Submit Information" - go to up to the top of the page, and you'll see this, "Thanks! Your pocket query has been saved and currently results in 1000 caches. You can preview the search on the nearest cache page" Preview the search is a clickable link - open it in another tab, you'll see the caches that this PQ will generate.

 

NOW pick a day to run. IF you select today, you'll get that PQ in under 3 minutes, generally.

Edited by Isonzo Karst
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Pocket Queries are tough. Truly they are... for the first few tries.

 

After that, they are a piece of cake.

 

Follow Isonzo Karst's instructions to the letter -- especially about using the preview (it doesn't eat up your five/day limit). Within a couple of days, you'll never look back.

 

 

You are trying to be too precise (date placed, etc.), but don't yet have the grasp of Pocket Queries. S-l-o-w d-o-w-n ... it makes learning them easier.

 

Keep stumbling? Quit and come back to it (hours or a day) later. Works wonders!

 

I know.... been there, done that! :)

 

 

Good luck.

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I do even less that Isonzo Karst, so I'd consider a lot of what he suggests as being advanced. Here's what I do:

 

  1. Set a "Query Name".
  2. (Optional) I increase the "Caches Total".
  3. Skip all the way down to "From Origin" and check "My Home Location". For caches somewhere else, I pick a cache at the center of where I want the PQ and put it in "GC Code".
  4. I always check "Include Pocket Query name in download file name" down at the bottom so when I get the PQs, I can still tell them apart.

Then I Submit Information, check the results (viewing it on the map), and see if I got what I wanted. Once I'm satisfied, I go to the PQ list to check the date in order to run it. I almost never set a day in the submit form.

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I have tried four separate times to do a pocket query. Every time there are no results. I am filling in all the required parameters and believe I am doing it correctly. I have put in a day for delivery, set the maximum # of caches at 1000, selected any container & any type, left the attributes for what to include/exclude open, used my zip code for the starting point, entered a placement date of April 22, 1999. Yet, I get no results. I am extremely frustrated and am ready to throw in the towel on my new membership. Please help me get the caches in one batch for my local area.

 

Please advise me what else I need to do before I throw my Garmin eTrex 20 out the window and cancel my membership. Thanks.

As Isonzo Karst suggested, you may want to check your "Placed During". I usually leave that as "None selected" (only exception is when a search criteria results in more than 1000 caches).

 

The moment you hit submit on the PQ page, the top of the page will contain a line that says "Thanks! Your pocket query has been modified and currently results in XXX caches. You can preview the search on the nearest cache page." If XXX is 0, there is something wrong with your query.

 

It is unfortunate that there is no easy way to share pocket query requests (not the GPX, but the criterions of the query). As a last resort, if you still can't figure out what's going on, do several screen caps or use a plug-in like ScreenGrab and capture the entire page as a JPEG and post here.

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It is unfortunate that there is no easy way to share pocket query requests (not the GPX, but the criterions of the query).

Actually, that's easy. Just share a link to the edit page of the PQ. For example, here is the PQ settings to get all the WebCam caches in California. If you click on it, you get a "new" PQ form pre-filled with my settings. If you submit that form, you'll save those settings as your own PQ.

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