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Basic location help please iphone


kristo32

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Hello everyone,

 

I am very new to the geocaching community and have managed a few finds.

I am struggling with one hopefully small element which I hope you can help with. I only have the option of my iPhone 6s as a locating tool. I use the app, click start when I have chosen a cache to hunt for and off I go..... When I'm close the app pops up with 'you're getting close' etc etc which is fine. It's when I get within a few metres I struggle. I seem to be very close within a couple of metres and then the app will sometimes decide it's now to my left a few metres, I get here and then it's back where I came from, the to the right etc etc!! Its so frustrating!!!!

 

The problem the occurs that if the hint isn't too obvious I could be searching a very large area looking for something I have no clue about and I tend to give up!! Today for example I was looking in about a 15 metre circle before I used the hint and it was way off the exact point!!!

 

Is this normal??? Why doesn't it take me exactly to the spot?

 

Thank you in advance

 

Kris

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As you get closer, stop looking at the phone/GPS and start looking for a likely place a cache could be hidden.

:)

Yep.

As soon as we're 20 or so feet (still walking to the cache), we start looking.

 

Possible incorrect coordinates when placing a cache, may be fixed a bit with a waypoint-averaging app.

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Yes, jumping position markers are so normal, especially as most devices have higher accuracy when you move. And when you get close, you naturally slow down or stand still to look out for 'it'.

And there's one thing you need to be aware of, which is quite simple - though the iPhone may tell you you are there by the smallest digit of the position reading - the coordinates always have an uncertainty of at least around 6 meters/yards, in certain areas with less perfect reception of the satellite signals (especially in the woods) likely more. Despite the digital 'oh so exact' readout of the position from out devices, this has always be kept in mind. And same uncertainty did the owner have when hiding the cache, so you'll have to take an area around twice the uncertainty size in mind.

And after all, it's a good idea to lift your eyes off the display when getting close and become aware of the surroundings again :rolleyes: and let your imagination work - "Where could it be hidden?"

Often the hide is more obvious than any coordinates would tell you.

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As others have indicated, 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, and check out some geocaching videos on YouTube.

 

But with that said, 15m seems like a rather extreme search radius, if you're finding that caches are regularly that far from your ground zero under good conditions. I've found a few caches that far from my ground zero when the GPS reception was particularly bad (e.g., in narrow canyons, under heavy redwood tree cover). But when my phones have been off by that much, I usually start checking to make sure they're actually using GPS location services. Such location errors usually mean that the GPS antenna has been turned off, and the phone is using cell triangulation and wifi location services instead.

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