Decided to give geochacheing a try with a local one on Balgay Hill and keyed in the grid reference and of I went with the Wee Bear. We got close, but failed in the final few meters homing in where the Final Cache Clue and the ground in question compared to the "easy" description didn't make much sense at all.
Got back to base, checked the co-ords and yes, I'd put them in okay (working on British Grid/OS GB on a Garmin eTrex). Changed units to Lat/Long, and then the ones for the waypoint came out as different to the ones given on the web, out by about 15m or so when I put in the Lat/Long from the site and changed back to OS grid.
I go geocaching with a buddy regularly (he has now got a tick list of 400).
He always uses grid references.
Observations gained from experience.
GPS receivers can wobble a bit anyway - and, even where they seem to be spot on, personally I presume they are never closer than 3 metres and can be a lot further. He uses a Magellan, I use an Etrex and they often disagree even when we are stood side by side.
The coordinates given for a geocache can vary wildly from what seems to be on the ground - and from what I set the coordinates as based on map, roamer and compass. RIRO perhaps?
We always work in pairs (especially in Scotland) referencing back and forwards between his GPS and my map. Between the two of us we are spot on 99% of the time.
Clues and descriptions...ummm...now we have been out a few times, we have developed a "nose" for likely looking spots -but spending 10 or 15 minutes scurrying about looking under stones etc isnt that unusual. Then there is always the possibility that the cache has actually been removed...moved..?
All co-ordinates are initially entered into the system as lat/long, if in doubt use that system.
Make sure that your GPS is (if possible) WAAS enabled, which makes it more accurate. Conversely, bear in mind that the cache setter may not have WAAS enabled.
Accuracy is generally shown as +/- Xm, which means that whatever happens you are likely to arrive to within a reasonable distance (a few metres hopefully) and unlikely to go straight to it.
If it is a new cache remember that the cache setter may have inadvertantly put a wrong digit in...
Finally, remember that the cache may have been 'muggled' and could be missing.
Thanks GOF. The web site had someone said they found it last week so I think it's still there, and I'm aware that the positional accuracy isn't spot on...
... but the conversion the geochache site does between Lat/Long and OS National Grid and the conversion the eTrex does end it up in different places. And 10m north/south on the top of Balgay Hill can make the difference between where I was sort-of expecting in advance and off the side to a steep and overgrown place rather unfriendly for caches!
I'll head back with the Lat/Long based co-ords and see if they lead me somewhere within obvious reach of The Final Clue.
We're thinking it's a good way to encourage the sproggen to get Out and About. One doesn't need encouragement but the other does. "Other" is also a bit resistant to maps because he doesn't really "get" them so anything that helps move things on is good (aside from the outdoor fun aspect of maps, we think if he understood them better he'd get a better sense of place and direction for just general life use).
