Geocaching CITO Event a Huge Success!

April 21, 2008

On behalf of DeLorme, I’d like to pass along a big “thank you!” to all of the geocachers who attended our Geocaching Cache-In Trash-Out event this past weekend.

Rough tallies show that we had 28 teams in attendance, with many more individual cachers taking part. We had several first time cachers and many seasoned veterans there to share great stories about geocaching, cache events, and special challenges. There were lots of travel bugs on display and some exciting prizes to reward the clean-up crew for their efforts!

We enjoyed a sunny day with mild temperatures — perfect for grilling and visiting with people as they brought in their trash contributions.

I did not get an official measurement on the amount of trash that was collected, but I know that we had to empty our trash storage cart into the main dumpster twice! I was very impressed with how much effort everyone put into cleaning up around the caches in the greater Portland area. We had a large map on hand and encouraged everyone to mark the caches they found with a push-pin.

The map looked great at the end of the day — a nice representation of where the group helped with a little environmental spring cleaning!

Check out the event photos on our Team DeLorme Flickr site…

There are some great shots of some Event Travel Bugs that hung out with us for the day!

Thanks again to everyone that made it out for the Cash-In Trash-Out weekend; we look forward to seeing you all at the next Team DeLorme geocaching event!

-Chip

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Posted by Chip Noble - Design

Averaging a Cache Location for Better Accuracy

April 18, 2008

Since we’re one day away from the Cache-In Trash-Out Geocaching Event I wanted to write another post about geocaching with your PN-20. While seeking a cache is a lot of fun, my experience with the Bears In The Bushes cache has taught me that hiding a cache can be even more exciting!

Since, arguably, the most valuable clue for a geocache is the cache coordinates, it is important to post a reading that is as accurate as possible. The waypoint averaging feature available on the PN-20 will help you increase your cache coordinate accuracy by calculating a rolling average as you gather GPS readings for a given location.

When you create your geocache waypoint, you will see an Avg (average) button at the bottom right corner of the page.

Press this button to display the Average Page showing GPS information, including the number of readings and the estimated accuracy for the location. Allow the waypoint to average until the change in estimated accuracy slows down. I don’t have a firm number but try to average for at least 100 readings.

The key to getting your best location coordinate is in returning to the same location over several days and at different times of day to update your GPS average. Returning over several days increases the random nature of your readings… Since your GPS device is influenced by the location of the satellites sending signals and by the atmosphere those signals travel through, it’s best to repeat your readings to average the environmental conditions with the readings on any given day.

To continue averaging when you return to your cache location press the Menu button and then choose Average Waypoint…

This will display the Averaging Page and continue to gather GPS readings to include with the values gathered during your previous visit.

Don’t worry if your estimated accuracy goes up when you first start. The device is averaging readings for the same location but with different environmental influences… that’s why we need to average over multiple visits. When you view your waypoints in Topo USA, you’ll be able to see the benefits of averaging over multiple days. The location of your cache will move with each update. If the cache location doesn’t move or moves only a little, you’ve averaged well and are ready to complete your listing!

Here is a link to some very informative GPS accuracy and averaging research by David Wilson, a mathematician from Kent State University.

Let me know if you have any questions about getting the best location information for your geocaches…

-Chip

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Posted by Chip Noble - Design

Geocaching Tips for Topo USA and PN-20 Owners

April 14, 2008

In preparation for the upcoming Cache-In Trash-Out Geocaching Event at DeLorme, I wanted to share how I geocache with Topo USA and the PN-20. I think it might help some of you increase your Cache Found stats on the 19th!

In case you aren’t familiar with geocaching, think of it as a treasure hunt driven by GPS. You can get more details at the Geocaching.com Getting Started page. My recommendations below assume that you have a basic understanding of how to download a cache description from the geocaching.com site.

Get a Premium Membership with Geocaching.com.
There are two types of downloadable files from Geocaching.com, a .LOC file available to everyone, and a more detailed .GPX file that is available only to premium members. Since we’ve put a good deal of effort into displaying extended cache descriptions and hints from .GPX files in the comment field of a PN-20 waypoint I think it’s worth the membership fee.

Use Pocket Queries to get a .GPX file.
Pocket queries allow you to create detailed filters so that only the caches you’re interested in appear in your .GPX file and on your PN-20. I filter out micro caches and 5/5 (very difficult) caches along with caches that don’t have travel bugs or geocoins in them.

Use Draw\File\Import… to open your pocket query.
Once your pocket query is emailed to you, use the Draw tab in Topo USA to open it. Draw will display all of the caches on the map and give you a good feel for cache distribution.

Send the Pocket Query to your PN-20.

Use the Find button to search for the nearest geocache.
Set the Show: option to Waypoint and the Symbol: option to Geocache to filter your waypoint list to only show caches you haven’t found yet.

View the cache waypoint then press Menu and View Details.
This displays a page with details and hints for the cache. Keep in mind that only 800 characters can be stored in the comment field. Consider editing the comment in Topo USA if it has lots of additional information that isn’t necessary for finding the cache.

Use Direct Routes when navigating to geocaches.
Create a direct route to the cache you are looking for. This will display a route line from your current location and always point you in the direction of the cache.

Change your Info Fields to show GPS Accuracy and Distance to Finish.
These are two important fields when geocaching. You want to know how accurate your GPS signal is so you know how far off you might be from the cache. Knowing the distance to the cache is also very helpful.

Change the cache symbol to Geocache Found after you’ve found it.
Select the symbol and change it to Geocache Found so that it won’t appear in your Find list. Now you can use the Find button to locate the next closest geocache!

Use Delete by Symbol to delete only the Geocache Found symbol.
This allows you to quickly delete the caches you’ve found while retaining those that you still need to locate.

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Posted by Chip Noble - Design

Running Around Green Bay, WI

April 11, 2008

Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers, was home to the annual Mills Fleet Farm Spring Sports and Outdoors Show last weekend. I was on hand to represent DeLorme and answer questions about the PN-20 and our ever-popular Atlas and Gazetteer.

It was a great show full of friendly people and the weather in Green Bay was gorgeous, something only a Mainer can say this time of year.

I travel a fair amount in support of DeLorme and the PN-20, and I enjoy talking to people in different parts of the country. I meet a lot of very nice people everywhere I go, but Green Bay was about the friendliest city I’ve been to yet. Maybe it had something to do with the excellent selection of in-house microbrews on tap and cask at Title Town Brewing Company. This place was a true find. If you are headed to Green Bay and appreciate good beer it is not to be missed.

I also realized while in Green Bay that I have a 5K race to run in about a month and that I need to start running more. I take the PN-20 with me on runs so that I can use it to track my distance, speed, and time, and to ensure that I actually arrive back at the hotel. Here is the run I went on in Green Bay, with the track transferred into Topo USA and the profile displayed, and then shared using the Mapshare feature.

My Run in Green Bay

Next week I’m in Denver, CO. Running there will be training at altitude for me. More posts from the road soon!

-Brian

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