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Post by ladybugkids on Feb 26, 2007 18:45:56 GMT -9
Groundspeak has updated the Cache Listing Guidelines for the first time since November 2005. Go here for the summary or here for the whole enchilada. Happy reading!
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Post by oleruns on Feb 26, 2007 22:01:40 GMT -9
Well, there goes oleruns challenge #3 Dill a hole in an active train track to hide spike with a hole in it for a bison... (that was a joke) I didn't see any major changes but I did break a rule a long time ago on one of my active caches. ooops All the stages of a multi will now count in the 528' rule? Was it that way in the past?
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Post by Forum Admin on Oct 22, 2007 15:42:46 GMT -9
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Post by NorthWes on Oct 23, 2007 7:38:58 GMT -9
All the stages of a multi will now count in the 528' rule? Was it that way in the past? Here's the paragraph from the new guidelines specifically addressing that question. The answer is multifaceted, and requires the reader to carefully discern between several types of stages of a multicache: The cache saturation guideline applies to all physical stages of multicaches and mystery/puzzle caches, as well as any other stages entered as “stages of a multicache.” The guideline does NOT apply to event caches, earthcaches, grandfathered virtual and webcam caches, stages of multicaches or puzzle caches entered as “question to answer” or “reference point,” or to any “bogus” posted coordinates for a puzzle cache. Within a single multicache or mystery/puzzle cache, there is no minimum required distance between waypoints.I know of several puzzle/multistage caches here in Anchorage that cross over each others' stages (geez - "Stuck on Circles" winds all over the town!) and even end up with final locations under the .1 mile guideline... but they were usually coordinated by the reviewer with various cache owners to ensure the physical area provided decent separation. When building a 'tricky' or 'tricksy' multicache or puzzle, it's very valuable to enlist the help of another cacher to 'proof' your hide process. Of course, that means the 'proof tester' really shouldn't vie for the FTF honors either...
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Post by Forum Admin on Oct 23, 2007 8:04:28 GMT -9
All the stages of a multi will now count in the 528' rule? Was it that way in the past? When building a 'tricky' or 'tricksy' multicache or puzzle, it's very valuable to enlist the help of another cacher to 'proof' your hide process. Of course, that means the 'proof tester' really shouldn't vie for the FTF honors either... And make sure they are available to stay with you at the ER for 5 hours
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Post by NorthWes on Oct 23, 2007 8:25:43 GMT -9
When building a 'tricky' or 'tricksy' multicache or puzzle, it's very valuable to enlist the help of another cacher to 'proof' your hide process. Of course, that means the 'proof tester' really shouldn't vie for the FTF honors either... And make sure they are available to stay with you at the ER for 5 hours Yup - I mean, it's gotta be a true friend who'd give up FTF honors on an evil puzzle cache, or hang out with ER riff-raff for a looong 5 hours... (as long as they're not trying to meet Scobey's nurse friends...) But... to return to the original poster's intended thread of conversation... An emergency room would not qualify as a viable cache placement location under the 'new' geocaching.com guidelines...
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Post by ladybugkids on Oct 23, 2007 8:41:11 GMT -9
A key clarifying point to this is as long as there is not a physical container, starting points or stages for multis and puzzles can be within 528' of each other or nearby physical caches.
I spent a lot of time shoehorning in the bogus and final stages of "NorthWes Pushes One Into The Woods" so neither set of coordinates was within 528' of another cache and then found out that the reviewers "ignore" the bogus coordinates for puzzle caches.
SlatRat has a pair of multis that start of the NW side of Westchester lagoon within a couple hundred feet of each other and "Supersized." However, the information needed to find the next stage is on plaques or other signs in the area and the physical caches are more than 528' feet from the nearest cache container.
A reason for this is to avoid confusion between which container a cacher actually found when too many containers get into too small an area.
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Post by oleruns on Oct 24, 2007 11:22:24 GMT -9
In California, one of the DNFs that I had was due to that type of problem. I went to a spot where a container is but when I arrived there was a brick on the ground with coords on the underside. Dang, a multi! so I drive to the next spot only to find another brick so I go to the next location and nothing. This is part of an old multi that is long gone but parts are still around to make Alaskan geocachers go crazy. Anyway, it sucks. The old cacher for not picking up his or her cache and the new owner for not removing the brick after others had done the same thing I had done.
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Post by akglassfuser on Jan 7, 2008 9:47:16 GMT -9
Well...I guess this applies to my cache I placed yesterday. It is apparently within the 528 of a stage of a puzzle cache. How are you supposed to know that ahead of time? I don't even know which way to move it to correct it.
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Post by ladybugkids on Jan 7, 2008 10:38:54 GMT -9
Well...I guess this applies to my cache I placed yesterday. It is apparently within the 528 of a stage of a puzzle cache. How are you supposed to know that ahead of time? I don't even know which way to move it to correct it. You can't know ahead of time if you are going to have a proximity problem with the final location of a puzzle or a stage of a multicache, so every once in awhile, you will run into that issue. I got "caught" last Fall and moved my cache. You can e-mail the approver who "rejected" your cache and ask for directional help for your cache to move it in the right direction. There should be a link to the approver's profile in the e-mail notification you received. Click on that link and it will take you to the approver's profile page where you can click to send the approver an e-mail with your request for help. The approver won't tell you exactly where the other cache is, but s/he can give you ideas on which direction to move your cache. Also, and this is a tip for everyone, after you load your cache page with your coordinates, you can click on the "all nearby caches" link on your new cache page to see if you will have proximity problems with any regular caches in the area. For those of you who are wondering and monitor these forums regularly, its the "quiet place to ponder" cache Crow T Robot published this morning and then had to retract which is why none of us can see it.
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Post by oleruns on Jan 7, 2008 12:26:08 GMT -9
Find all the caches, then you'll know Na, if you want to send me the coords, I can probably tell you where you need to move it and not go for the FTF - Thanks a million - Ole
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Post by omgcrew on Jan 7, 2008 13:15:19 GMT -9
Assuming by the direction and distance from my home coords this is in Linden Park? If it is there is no safe direction in that small park. I went by today trying to SWAG at it but a couple of moose chasing a dog kept me away.
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Post by Malcore on Jan 7, 2008 13:53:16 GMT -9
I saw that cache come up this morning and pulled up the google map on it. It was in the same area as another person placed a cache a while back and the same thing happened to him. They retracted his also, but not as fast as they did yours. As I was zooming in on the google map it just disapered . It was only up for a couple minutes before it got retracted so I didn't even get a chance to dl the coords. Looks like the approver forgot there was another cache there 'again' but cought it after he published it and took it back down. Those mistakes happen once in a while, don't let it bother you, they don't happen often. You almost had me heading out the door to chace the FTF. Luckly I hesatated because I wanted to check out the map.
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FLYRFN
Silver Cacher
Posts: 180
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Post by FLYRFN on Jan 7, 2008 14:22:20 GMT -9
What cache is in Linden park??
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Post by omgcrew on Jan 7, 2008 15:35:55 GMT -9
It's an unknown cache. ;D
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FLYRFN
Silver Cacher
Posts: 180
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Post by FLYRFN on Jan 7, 2008 17:40:05 GMT -9
It's an unknown cache. ;D Then how to you know about it? ;D
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Post by akglassfuser on Jan 7, 2008 20:55:25 GMT -9
Thanks....yes this morning I emailed T Crowe Robot...and asked if I could move it a different direction which he did tell me which direction...but you're also correct that Linden Park is too small to move it enough. He suggested that before placing a cache I should identify a spot and send him the coordinates first to check. Lesson learned....darn it all! Its a cute little park. Now I've got to get that big backhoe and dig it up............just kidding. It does explain why there hasn't been one put there.
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Post by akglassfuser on Jan 7, 2008 21:01:35 GMT -9
I can't just post those coords here and keep it in the family huh? Ok...I'll find another spot.
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Post by akglassfuser on May 28, 2008 0:20:00 GMT -9
I'm still catching up in the forum so I appologize if my answer is already posted in another thread. I've placed 3 caches...one in Conors Bog which many have found. 1 in SnowRiver which I rated more difficult because my GPS was bouncing all around with the mountains (it has 2 DNF and one FTF) and one in Hope which has 1 DNF and 1 FTF. The one in Hope was found and alternate Coordinates were emailed to me (very politely). The snow river one I posted that I rated it more difficult because of the bouncy Cords.
I posted a "note" for the Hope one with the alternate Cords....but am I supposed to change my cords to the FTF? Am I doing something wrong that my cords aren't matching? My Conors Bog one was okay. I hate cachers to drive so far at $4/gal and not find my cache. Feeling guilty in Anchortown
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Post by oleruns on May 28, 2008 5:59:30 GMT -9
I would change them. You had two cachers claim that the coords put them in the building. That should get the next cachers close enough to find it. No worries, this is just a game ;D Everyone who has put out caches after a while has a set of bad coords for somereason, even if you do everything right and double check.
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Post by ladybugkids on May 28, 2008 6:05:27 GMT -9
At least one of the two caches you have had difficulty with is in a location where getting good GPS readings could be difficult due to terrain and tree cover. The below is the approach I use to get a reading, though it doesn't always work because one evening, I placed four caches in Creamer's Refuge in Fairbanks and all four were exactly the same distance off in the same direction. Another time, I forgot to save the waypoint so I provided a Google Earth image and a cache site photo to another cacher heading down to Quartz Lake from Fairbanks who logged the FTF and provided the coordinates.
1. Let your GPS average for several minutes at the cache location. Some GPSs give better results when held horizontally and others when held vertically, so check your owners manual or online information. While the GPS is averaging, I'll watch the EPE and satellite coverage screens and snag a waypoint when the EPE is lowest and the satellite coverage (number is satellites) is hightest.
2. Save the waypoint. Walk 50-100 yards away, select the waypoint, and see if your GPS brings you back to ground zero. If it does, great! If not, repeat Step 1.
3. Back at home, enter your saved waypoint into a blank cache page, save the page, and then go back to it. Click on the "Google Maps" page and choose satellite or street view (depending on where the cache is) and verify the cache location (if I had done that for Potter Valley Power Path, I could have saved FrostG1anT a lot of pain on his FTF). You can tune up the coordinates a bit using the Google photo if necessary.
4. If you know reception is going to be tough, you can provide a bomb proof hint. It was a real treat to cache in Washington a couple of weeks ago, be in a ravine narrow ravine with HEAVY tree cover, have EPEs of 60 or more feet, and have a hint that let me find the cache without tearing up the forest.
It's your call on whether to use subsequent finders' coordinates. If a cacher provides me with alternate coordinates, I'll Google Map them and compare them with mine and make a decision. If the cache is relatively close, I'll run out and average another set of coordinates.
Alternatively, since both FTFers provided the alternate coordinates in their logs, you can wait and see what the next finders come up with. Oftentimes, people will log "found with kmags coordinates" or "found with akglassfusers coordinates." Then you can decide which set of coordinates people are being successful with.
Thanks for being conscientious!
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Post by akglassfuser on Jun 1, 2008 5:53:54 GMT -9
Thanks very much LBK....that's a lot of helpful advice. Lots to learn in this game. Frost1 suggested to me "find 50 caches before placing one"....now I see why.
I'm currently down in Arizona and when in Prescott and Flagstaff my GPS was bouncing all around in wide open treeless areas. I would have thought it would be great reception...are there other factors that affect the GPS like metal deposits or anything? At 6 and 7,000 elevation I figured I'd get great accuracy on finding caches. I can't see why anything in the ground would affect the GPS ....guess I should research it more. We'll see how it does in Phoenix.....how people can cache with 100 temps, scorpions and snakes is beyond me.
Anyway...thanks for the advice. I think I'll go back to Frost1's advice before placing anymore. At $4/gallon on gas I feel terrible when cachers can't find my far away ones.
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Post by oleruns on Jun 1, 2008 7:34:14 GMT -9
If your GPS is a model that you have to calibrate the compass and elevation, then that may have been bouncing you around a bit. What was your accuracy and how many satellites were you able to receive? Malcore and I have played around with a calibrated vs uncalibrated GPS and it really seems to make a difference. Don’t worry about the $4 a gallon gas. It’s a bummer not to find the cache but it’s still about the adventure and not the numbers…. Right Scobey? How many are you ahead of me now
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Post by akglassfuser on Jun 10, 2008 23:19:05 GMT -9
I'm guessing its uncalibrated....its the most basic simple least expensive Garmen Etrex there is I think. ...and I sure don't have a clue how to calibrate it if its calibratable (is that a word?)
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Post by oleruns on Jun 11, 2008 8:02:33 GMT -9
I have one of those (Yellow) and this can work pretty good: Turn it on and let it sit there for a while, then take about 10 marks, then walk away and come back take 10 marks. Then write down all 20 marks and average that by hand. Enter the average and see if it takes you to gound zero. If not, do it again and as LBK said put in a bomb proof hint. Those don't get that great of signal (+- 18' on a good day) so it is hard but it can be done.
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FLYRFN
Silver Cacher
Posts: 180
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Post by FLYRFN on Jun 11, 2008 16:52:41 GMT -9
I'm guessing its uncalibrated....its the most basic simple least expensive Garmen Etrex there is I think. ...and I sure don't have a clue how to calibrate it if its calibratable (is that a word?) Next time you hide a cache, you can give me the coords and I can check them to make sure they are good. While I'm there I might as well sign the log for a FTF, and I'll let you know if the coords are good then you can submit the cache for publishing. ;D
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Post by akglassfuser on Jun 12, 2008 7:45:20 GMT -9
I'm guessing its uncalibrated....its the most basic simple least expensive Garmen Etrex there is I think. ...and I sure don't have a clue how to calibrate it if its calibratable (is that a word?) Next time you hide a cache, you can give me the coords and I can check them to make sure they are good. While I'm there I might as well sign the log for a FTF, and I'll let you know if the coords are good then you can submit the cache for publishing. ;D :-) uh huh....nice idea Flyrn. you're a clever cacher...explains all those FTFs you have!
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