newbie sanity check: published coord vs reality

[mhorowit]

Recently went out to look for my first cache. Looking for a sanity check. When the person who established the cache took their location, the coordinates could be off from 6-50 feet, correct? When I follow my GPS and it says "you're there", I could be off by 6-50 feet, correct? That means worse case, I could be 100 feet from where I think I am, right? Thanks in advance - Mike

[+wmpastor]

Recently went out to look for my first cache. Looking for a sanity check. When the person who established the cache took their location, the coordinates could be off from 6-50 feet, correct? When I follow my GPS and it says "you're there", I could be off by 6-50 feet, correct? That means worse case, I could be 100 feet from where I think I am, right? Thanks in advance - Mike

The maximum combined error *should* be far less than 100 feet - ideally no more than 30 feet. Focus on the easier hides at first for best odds of success.

[+Touchstone]

I could believe it if there were lots of tree cover and/or deep canyon walls that obscure a clear sky signal, but under normal circumstances, with all satellites showing and good signal strength, I'd agree with wmpastor's estimate. 30 feet max for a handheld gpsr.

[mhorowit]

Thanks for the reply. Since we were going to Panera's for breakfast and "Seven Rays" was in the common area, i took the opportunity to look around. I DNF the cache, but did take away some logic: a) raised flowerbeds are maintained (weeded, cigar butts removed) so they are not a good location. b)collapsible signs are not a good location. That sort of limited places to search to something more permanent. When the weather improves (June?) I'll go back. Meanwhile I'll take your advice and look for an easy one. -Mike

[+NanCycle]

Thanks for the reply. Since we were going to Panera's for breakfast and "Seven Rays" was in the common area, i took the opportunity to look around. I DNF the cache, but did take away some logic: a) raised flowerbeds are maintained (weeded, cigar butts removed) so they are not a good location. b)collapsible signs are not a good location. That sort of limited places to search to something more permanent. When the weather improves (June?) I'll go back. Meanwhile I'll take your advice and look for an easy one. -Mike

 

From looking at the pictures in the gallery, I'd search for something very tiny (say the size of the tip of my little finger) and magnetic.

 

I'd repeat the advice to look for something easier first.

[mhorowit]

Thanks for the reply. Since we were going to Panera's for breakfast and "Seven Rays" was in the common area, i took the opportunity to look around. I DNF the cache, but did take away some logic: a) raised flowerbeds are maintained (weeded, cigar butts removed) so they are not a good location. b)collapsible signs are not a good location. That sort of limited places to search to something more permanent. When the weather improves (June?) I'll go back. Meanwhile I'll take your advice and look for an easy one. -Mike

 

From looking at the pictures in the gallery, I'd search for something very tiny (say the size of the tip of my little finger) and magnetic.

 

I'd repeat the advice to look for something easier first.

 

Love to hear your logic. it is built up, highly trafficked and fairly sterile. is that it? - Mike

[+wmpastor]

...we were going to Panera's for breakfast...

Let us know how the wifi is - people have been discussing Taco Bell.

[Pup Patrol]

Thanks for the reply. Since we were going to Panera's for breakfast and "Seven Rays" was in the common area, i took the opportunity to look around. I DNF the cache, but did take away some logic: a) raised flowerbeds are maintained (weeded, cigar butts removed) so they are not a good location. b)collapsible signs are not a good location. That sort of limited places to search to something more permanent. When the weather improves (June?) I'll go back. Meanwhile I'll take your advice and look for an easy one. -Mike

 

Read all the previous logs, and check out the Photo Gallery. The cache owner posted a photo that should help immensely.

 

Take note of mentions of a tool.

 

http://coord.info/GC2B7CX

 

Difficulty rating of 2.

 

B.

[+niraD]

I have been in areas where the Estimated Position Error (EPE) of the owners device was 50+ feet, and the EPE of my device was 50+ feet, and so I couldn't assume accuracy any better than 70+ feet. But those were steep canyons with heavy tree cover. That doesn't seem to be your problem.

 

Anyway, here is some advice for beginners that I've posted before. Some of it has already been covered in this thread; it's good advice.

 

 

A common recommendation for beginners is to stick with small size, regular size, and large size caches. Until you're more experienced, avoid micro size caches, some of which are smaller than most beginners can imagine (sometimes called "nanos"). Save those for later, after you have some experience.

 

Also, stick with caches that have a difficulty rating of no more than 2 stars . Save the more difficult ones for later. You may also want to choose caches with easy terrain ratings. (The difficulty rating tells you how hard it is to find the cache once you get there. The terrain rating tells you how hard it is to get there.) And it is often best to start with traditional caches, which will be at the published coordinates. Multi-caches or mystery/puzzle caches or other cache types can require more work just to figure out where the container is located.

 

Under ideal conditions, a consumer GPSr will be accurate to about 3m (10ft). That applies both to your device, and to the cache owner’s device, so you may find the container 5-6m (16-20ft) from ground zero under ideal conditions. Under less than ideal conditions, both GPSr readings can be much less accurate. Once you get within that distance of ground zero, put your device away and look around for places where a container could be hidden.

 

Where would you hide something? Do you notice anything unusual? Is anything too new, too old, too organized (e.g., UPS: an Unnatural Pile of Sticks/Stones), too symmetrical, not quite the right color or shape, etc.? Don’t look only on the ground; the cache may be knee-level, waist-level, eye-level, or overhead. How might the container be secured in place? With magnets? With a hook? With string? With fishing line? With something else? Does anything move when you touch it? (Be careful when touching things though.)

 

Go ahead and read the cache's additional hints (if provided), and read the past logs and look at any photos in the cache's image gallery. They may help you understand what you're looking for, and how/where it may be hidden. It may also help to look at some of the cache containers available online. For example, check out the cache containers sold by Groundspeak. Also, take a look at the Pictures - Cool Cache Containers (CCC's) thread in the forums.

[+BCandMsKitty]

Thanks for the reply. Since we were going to Panera's for breakfast and "Seven Rays" was in the common area, i took the opportunity to look around. I DNF the cache, but did take away some logic: a) raised flowerbeds are maintained (weeded, cigar butts removed) so they are not a good location. b)collapsible signs are not a good location. That sort of limited places to search to something more permanent. When the weather improves (June?) I'll go back. Meanwhile I'll take your advice and look for an easy one. -Mike

 

From looking at the pictures in the gallery, I'd search for something very tiny (say the size of the tip of my little finger) and magnetic.

 

I'd repeat the advice to look for something easier first.

 

Love to hear your logic. it is built up, highly trafficked and fairly sterile. is that it? - Mike

 

The logic is most likely from the pic of someone signing the tiny log sheet. That's a log fit for a magnetic "nano" which is smaller than a bison tube and which fits NanCycle's description of what you should look for.

[Pup Patrol]

Thanks for the reply. Since we were going to Panera's for breakfast and "Seven Rays" was in the common area, i took the opportunity to look around. I DNF the cache, but did take away some logic: a) raised flowerbeds are maintained (weeded, cigar butts removed) so they are not a good location. b)collapsible signs are not a good location. That sort of limited places to search to something more permanent. When the weather improves (June?) I'll go back. Meanwhile I'll take your advice and look for an easy one. -Mike

 

From looking at the pictures in the gallery, I'd search for something very tiny (say the size of the tip of my little finger) and magnetic.

 

I'd repeat the advice to look for something easier first.

 

Love to hear your logic. it is built up, highly trafficked and fairly sterile. is that it? - Mike

 

The logic is most likely from the pic of someone signing the tiny log sheet. That's a log fit for a magnetic "nano" which is smaller than a bison tube and which fits NanCycle's description of what you should look for.

 

Not to mention that it's listed as a "micro" and that there are photos posted that give it away, including one posted by the cache owner.

 

And the cache page:

You are looking for a standard nano-type container. If you've run across these before you should have no trouble locating this one. Remember to bring a pen!

 

Decrypt the hint.

 

See post # 8 above.

 

 

 

B.

Edited January 5, 2015 by Pup Patrol

[JASTA 11]

This is a newbie log on a multi of ours. It made me chuckle.

 

 

"This was the most difficult cache I've found to date!" (Their second find)

"...the coordinates for location 2 may be about 10 feet off target."

 

They seem to have given up on caching after this.

[+Blue_Ranger]

Is the OP using a proper GPS, or his phone? Because sitting in my living room, my phone's GPS has difficulty placing me on my property, and sometimes on the right block.

[+T.D.M.22]

Is the OP using a proper GPS, or his phone? Because sitting in my living room, my phone's GPS has difficulty placing me on my property, and sometimes on the right block.

 

So I'm assuming you're looking at a map. You don't know if the GPS is off, your phone is off, or the map is off. The maps aren't made to be that accurate. They may be ot on in one place, and 2 blocks off in another. Even different maps from the same provider can show different results. One provider has the street, and satellite views off by a block to the east/west and half a block north/south.

[+Blue_Ranger]

Is the OP using a proper GPS, or his phone? Because sitting in my living room, my phone's GPS has difficulty placing me on my property, and sometimes on the right block.

 

So I'm assuming you're looking at a map. You don't know if the GPS is off, your phone is off, or the map is off. The maps aren't made to be that accurate. They may be ot on in one place, and 2 blocks off in another. Even different maps from the same provider can show different results. One provider has the street, and satellite views off by a block to the east/west and half a block north/south.

 

Map and or satellite view open on the geocaching app. Just looking at it for a minute or two, I'll jump from just outside the side door to the house, over to the neighbor's garage, in my driveway... all the while, with the grey accuracy circle changing size from 9 feet all the way up to 140 feet sometimes.

[+derektiffany]

Thanks for the reply. Since we were going to Panera's for breakfast and "Seven Rays" was in the common area (...)

If you've got questions about a specific cache or location in the area, feel free to check out the NoVAGO forums (Northern Virginia Geocaching Organization). You may get more responses from people who have been to the actual cache and / or location in question.

 

As noted on the cache page: "You are looking for a standard nano-type container. If you've run across these before you should have no trouble locating this one." This implies (accurately) that if you've not run across these before, you may have trouble locating this one.

 

FWIW, my GPS led me within 5 ft. of this cache. Hopefully the picture on the cache page looks familiar?

 

niraD's post contains excellent advice.

[+TheHarleyRebel]

To be honest most caches I find are no more than 15 out. But at the very most 30 feet out.