If you’re tired of hiking the same trail or picnicking at the same park, then Geocaching may be exactly what you’re looking for. Geocaching, pronounced gee-o-cashing, is the high tech version of a treasure hunt. Armed with nothing but a handheld GPS unit and a thirst for excitement, you’re off for new adventures and the likelihood of finding a hidden cache.
Here’s how it works. Geocachers seek out hidden treasures utilizing GPS coordinates posted on the Internet by those hiding the cache. So to geocache, you’ll need a handheld GPS receiver. GPS, which stands for Global Positioning System, is the only system today able to show you your exact position on the Earth anytime, in any weather, anywhere. GPS satellites, 24 in all, orbit at over 11,000 miles above the Earth. The satellites transmit signals that can be detected by anyone with a GPS receiver. Using the receiver, you can determine your location with great precision. But just as important, you’ll be able to locate other things too, such as a geocache. There are a variety of GPS receiver models to choose from starting at about $100.
Once you’ve got a GPS unit, you’ll need to know where the caches are hidden (hint: they’re everywhere). When a cache is hidden, the cache’s coordinates are submitted to a website for all to see (www.geocaching.com). Enter the coordinates into your GPS and you’re ready to go. Did I mention there are more than 100,000 caches in over 200 countries?
Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Armed with a GPS and the coordinates, how tough can it be? In an urban area, easy access is typically available in the way of roads and trails. But what about on a mountain? What if there aren’t roads nearby? It’s entirely possible to be a few hundred feet from something and not be able to reach it (across a river or two hundred feet below the cliff you’re on are good examples). After you try to find a few caches, you’ll understand a number of the nuances of actually finding the cache. That’s the fun part. Once you find the cache, there are a couple of simple rules. Sign the logbook and if you take something from the cache, be sure to leave something.
But what about placing a cache? That’s fun too. Just be sure to follow the rules as outlined at www.geocaching.com. Once you’re a seasoned geocacher, you’ll try your hand at travel bugs, geo-teaming and benchmark hunting.
If you have only a couple hours to search for a cache, try to find one that is close by. If you have a couple days, take a family trip and make an overnight adventure out of it. Using your GPS along with your sense of adventure, you are bound to spend more time out of doors with people you enjoy. What could be better? Get Outdoors!
The Author
chuck@backcountrytoys.com
Wednesday, 30 May 2007
Geocaching -- The New High--Tech Sport
Geocaching -- The New High--Tech Sport
by: James Chartwell
There are about 150,000 of them spread throughout 213 countries and you need satellites to help you find them. What are they? They're geocaches and geocaching is a sport that is quickly gaining popularity.
The geocaches come in all different sizes and shapes. Usually stored in a waterproof container, these caches are treasures of minimal value. The container is often a Tupperware container or ammo box. The "treasures" can be just about anything you can imagine: a mini-stapler; a toy soldier; foreign coins.
How do you find them? That's the satellite part. If you haven't been in a cave for the last five years, you've probably heard of the Global Positioning System, or GPS. Just in case you're one of the cave people, GPS is a system of 24 satellites orbiting the earth at an altitude of 11,000 miles. A small handheld receiver, a little larger than a cell phone, picks up signals from the satellites and can pinpoint your position anywhere on earth, sometimes as accurately as 3 meters.
If you go to Geocaching.com you can enter your location by ZIP Code, state, or country and get a list of caches in your area. Each listing has a log of who found the cache, when it was found, and usually what trinkets were taken and left.
You are given the coordinates of the cache in degrees of longitude and latitude. Enter those numbers in your GPS and start following that little handheld device. It may sound easy, but depending on the individual cache, it can be a challenge.
Some examples of hiding places are in holes at the base of large trees, holes in the face of a cliff, and some are even found in urban areas. One is under a bridge accessible only by rope. Another clever place was created when a cable company worker attached an empty cable connection box to the side of a building.
As you can imagine, public parks are popular places for hiding caches. However, they're not allowed in National Parks in the U.S. Geocachers, being outdoor sort of people, are mostly ecologically--minded, and there is even a "cache in trash out" program that promotes participants picking up trash that they may find while hunting treasure. Many places require permits for placing caches. Park authorities' main concern is damage to sensitive areas such as wetlands or locations of endangered flora or fauna.
GPS receivers start at about $75.00 US and can be purchased at some department stores, sporting goods stores, or ordered online. Amazon.com often has very good prices. Geocaching really is a lot of fun and it's a great way to get outdoors and get some exercise.
About The Author
J. Chartwell has developed Maps-GPS-Info.com
by: James Chartwell
There are about 150,000 of them spread throughout 213 countries and you need satellites to help you find them. What are they? They're geocaches and geocaching is a sport that is quickly gaining popularity.
The geocaches come in all different sizes and shapes. Usually stored in a waterproof container, these caches are treasures of minimal value. The container is often a Tupperware container or ammo box. The "treasures" can be just about anything you can imagine: a mini-stapler; a toy soldier; foreign coins.
How do you find them? That's the satellite part. If you haven't been in a cave for the last five years, you've probably heard of the Global Positioning System, or GPS. Just in case you're one of the cave people, GPS is a system of 24 satellites orbiting the earth at an altitude of 11,000 miles. A small handheld receiver, a little larger than a cell phone, picks up signals from the satellites and can pinpoint your position anywhere on earth, sometimes as accurately as 3 meters.
If you go to Geocaching.com you can enter your location by ZIP Code, state, or country and get a list of caches in your area. Each listing has a log of who found the cache, when it was found, and usually what trinkets were taken and left.
You are given the coordinates of the cache in degrees of longitude and latitude. Enter those numbers in your GPS and start following that little handheld device. It may sound easy, but depending on the individual cache, it can be a challenge.
Some examples of hiding places are in holes at the base of large trees, holes in the face of a cliff, and some are even found in urban areas. One is under a bridge accessible only by rope. Another clever place was created when a cable company worker attached an empty cable connection box to the side of a building.
As you can imagine, public parks are popular places for hiding caches. However, they're not allowed in National Parks in the U.S. Geocachers, being outdoor sort of people, are mostly ecologically--minded, and there is even a "cache in trash out" program that promotes participants picking up trash that they may find while hunting treasure. Many places require permits for placing caches. Park authorities' main concern is damage to sensitive areas such as wetlands or locations of endangered flora or fauna.
GPS receivers start at about $75.00 US and can be purchased at some department stores, sporting goods stores, or ordered online. Amazon.com often has very good prices. Geocaching really is a lot of fun and it's a great way to get outdoors and get some exercise.
About The Author
J. Chartwell has developed Maps-GPS-Info.com
Geocaching – The Technology Behind “The Hi-Tech Treasure Hunt”
Geocaching – The Technology Behind “The Hi-Tech Treasure Hunt”
by: Tonia Jordan
It all started on May 2, 2000 with the removal of selective availability by the White House. (Selective Availability is the intentional modification of GPS signal to degrade accuracy of readings) At that moment, the GPS receiver became 10 times more accurate.
GPS, or Global Positioning System is a navigational system which operates through the use of twenty-four satellites positioned around the globe in low Earth orbit. These sattelites were placed by the U.S. Department of Defense but are free for the world to use.
Each satellite above the Earth is solar-powered, with a battery back-up for times during eclipses. They send a signal that is extremely accurate, within 40 billionths of a second. GPS receivers take the signal from the satellites and use triangulation to calculate the exact location of the user, as well as speed, distance traveled, and elevation.
Triangulation works by the receiver using the signals of three or more satellites to determine location. It is a trigonometric process that identifies the position of a point using the bearings to it from two fixed points a known distance apart.
Before Selective Availability was removed, GPS units received a scrambled signal which affected their accuracy. After May 2, 2000, a new world of opportunity involving GPS opened up.
GPS units are popping up more and more these days as their particular usefulness is recognized by the general public. Many cars today offer a GPS navigational system to help guide you to your destination.
One day after the removal of selective availability, a computer consultant by the name of David Ulmer decided to test the new accuracy. He hid a container in a forest in Oregon and shared the coordinates with an online community. Within a week, several people found his container, and they started hiding their own. Thus, “Geocaching” was born.
The name of the hobby is simple enough – Geo meaning Earth and cache referring to hidden treasure. Taking part in the sport is also simple. The only tools required are the GPS unit and a love for adventure.
The seeker acquires coordinates to the hidden container through the hobby’s official website – www.geocaching.com. The GPS unit points the way, with an accuracy usually within 25 meters. Once at the location, the seeker must hunt for the hidden cache which may be in a tree stump, in between rocks or even hanging in the air!
The containers may also vary in size, from small keyholders or 35 mm film canisters to large buckets or ammo cans. Each container normally contains a log book for the finder to sign and also may hold various items and trinkets available for trading. Generally the finder takes an item and leaves another item in its place.
The removal of Selective Availability allows civilian use of GPS technology, which has led to many advantages. In addition to the hobby of geocaching, GPS is also used in surveying, exploration, mapping and various location and transportation systems, among many other uses. Geocaching is just one example of how GPS technology is used by civilians today. Technology at its finest offers a plethora of applications.
About The Author
Tonia Jordan is an author on http://www.Writing.Com/
by: Tonia Jordan
It all started on May 2, 2000 with the removal of selective availability by the White House. (Selective Availability is the intentional modification of GPS signal to degrade accuracy of readings) At that moment, the GPS receiver became 10 times more accurate.
GPS, or Global Positioning System is a navigational system which operates through the use of twenty-four satellites positioned around the globe in low Earth orbit. These sattelites were placed by the U.S. Department of Defense but are free for the world to use.
Each satellite above the Earth is solar-powered, with a battery back-up for times during eclipses. They send a signal that is extremely accurate, within 40 billionths of a second. GPS receivers take the signal from the satellites and use triangulation to calculate the exact location of the user, as well as speed, distance traveled, and elevation.
Triangulation works by the receiver using the signals of three or more satellites to determine location. It is a trigonometric process that identifies the position of a point using the bearings to it from two fixed points a known distance apart.
Before Selective Availability was removed, GPS units received a scrambled signal which affected their accuracy. After May 2, 2000, a new world of opportunity involving GPS opened up.
GPS units are popping up more and more these days as their particular usefulness is recognized by the general public. Many cars today offer a GPS navigational system to help guide you to your destination.
One day after the removal of selective availability, a computer consultant by the name of David Ulmer decided to test the new accuracy. He hid a container in a forest in Oregon and shared the coordinates with an online community. Within a week, several people found his container, and they started hiding their own. Thus, “Geocaching” was born.
The name of the hobby is simple enough – Geo meaning Earth and cache referring to hidden treasure. Taking part in the sport is also simple. The only tools required are the GPS unit and a love for adventure.
The seeker acquires coordinates to the hidden container through the hobby’s official website – www.geocaching.com. The GPS unit points the way, with an accuracy usually within 25 meters. Once at the location, the seeker must hunt for the hidden cache which may be in a tree stump, in between rocks or even hanging in the air!
The containers may also vary in size, from small keyholders or 35 mm film canisters to large buckets or ammo cans. Each container normally contains a log book for the finder to sign and also may hold various items and trinkets available for trading. Generally the finder takes an item and leaves another item in its place.
The removal of Selective Availability allows civilian use of GPS technology, which has led to many advantages. In addition to the hobby of geocaching, GPS is also used in surveying, exploration, mapping and various location and transportation systems, among many other uses. Geocaching is just one example of how GPS technology is used by civilians today. Technology at its finest offers a plethora of applications.
About The Author
Tonia Jordan is an author on http://www.Writing.Com/
Tuesday, 15 May 2007
Geocaching is like a very large (world wide) treasure hunt. containers ranging from micro caches (very small) to macro caches (very large plastic buckets) all over the world. Each of these caches holds some sort of "treasure". The fun comes from both the traveling to the cache and then trying to find the cache once you are at the location. Once you have found a cache, you can log your find into the log book and trade something out of the cache for something they have brought with them.you could leave (L) a rubber duck (T) a figurine.
If you would like me to include details of your cashe send me an email. Here are some of the ones I have visited,
Westport Lake
N 53° 02.817 W 002° 13.062
The cache is located at Westport Lake a very popular location for the locals of Northern Stoke-on-Trent.
It is at ground level near to a fallen tree
-------------------------------------------------------------
Apedale Country Park. Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Enter park from Loomer Road, Chesterton, passing Speedway stadium. This is a replacement cache in a new location following the trashing of the original.
The co-ordinates are for the car park, not the cache.
1. From the carpark go to the front of the visitor centre.2. Chris Cadman was born 19C9.Follow paths to N53 01.864, W002 16.3C8
3. After going round in circles, find distance to Shutingsloe, XY km.
4. Follow paths to N53 01.9X(Y-1), W002 16.764What is the name of the wood:- - T - R M - - - - 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 8
5. Follow paths to N53 01.SSW, W002 16.WETThe cache is beneath the wooden sleepers.( Your feet may get wet!)It is by a footpath, please take care when replacing cache.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lakeside Bathpool
Use Car parking co-ordinates, N53 04.704 W002 14.415, take either path, although the muddy path has many trees and could affect GPS signal,
THE COORDINATES HAVE CHANGED DUE TO CACHE GOING MISSING N53.04.398 W002.14.815Yet another cache at Bathpool. Take a leisurely stroll around the lake and find this cache up off the beaten track but is easily accesssible. This cache can be easily linked to Bathpool Micro and Lakeside Bloodpool. Within this cache there is a 2 keyrings, a superman toy, a girls ring, logbook and pencil.
Westport Lake
N 53° 02.817 W 002° 13.062
The cache is located at Westport Lake a very popular location for the locals of Northern Stoke-on-Trent.
It is at ground level near to a fallen tree
-------------------------------------------------------------
Apedale Country Park. Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Enter park from Loomer Road, Chesterton, passing Speedway stadium. This is a replacement cache in a new location following the trashing of the original.
The co-ordinates are for the car park, not the cache.
1. From the carpark go to the front of the visitor centre.2. Chris Cadman was born 19C9.Follow paths to N53 01.864, W002 16.3C8
3. After going round in circles, find distance to Shutingsloe, XY km.
4. Follow paths to N53 01.9X(Y-1), W002 16.764What is the name of the wood:- - T - R M - - - - 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 8
5. Follow paths to N53 01.SSW, W002 16.WETThe cache is beneath the wooden sleepers.( Your feet may get wet!)It is by a footpath, please take care when replacing cache.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lakeside Bathpool
Use Car parking co-ordinates, N53 04.704 W002 14.415, take either path, although the muddy path has many trees and could affect GPS signal,
THE COORDINATES HAVE CHANGED DUE TO CACHE GOING MISSING N53.04.398 W002.14.815Yet another cache at Bathpool. Take a leisurely stroll around the lake and find this cache up off the beaten track but is easily accesssible. This cache can be easily linked to Bathpool Micro and Lakeside Bloodpool. Within this cache there is a 2 keyrings, a superman toy, a girls ring, logbook and pencil.
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