Geocaching History and how to choose a GPS…

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So, just how do we go about getting addicted to this “high tech scavenger hunt?”

First we will need to find a GPS unit that not only fits our level of “techy” expertise, but also fits our budget, while still allowing us to, hopefully, at least get us close to where we need to be in relation to where the “goodies” are hidden.

Let’s look at the wonderful world of GPSr’s (Global Positioning System receiver’s) Just what are these things anyway?

In short, a GPSr is a small hand held device that receives a signal from any number of 24 visible satellites (the actual Global Positioning System) that constantly orbit the earth. The satellites where originally launched by the US Department of Defense and were to be used to help our military pin point themselves, as well as other targets, in relation to where on earth they were or wanted to be. Thus enabling them to project more accurate “lines of site” for missile deployment, troop deployment, equipment positioning, and other military and national defense operations.

In the beginning, there were 2 levels of signal sent out by the satellites. One for military purposes and one for anybody else. The military signal was quite a bit more accurate than the “anybody else” one. This was supposedly done so the general public could not infringe on the military operations. That is why the early consumer GPSr’s were pretty much worthless when it came to “finding” anything. By design, they only had an accuracy of 100+ feet and were totally useless in any kind of overhead cover, such as trees, in cities with tall buildings, etc.

On the other hand, the military signal had a “best use” accuracy of 3-6 feet!

Then on May 1, 2000, President Clinton signed a Bill (no pun intended) that removed “Selective Availability” from the orbiting military satellites, thus removing the “consumer signal” and allowing anyone with a GPSr to get the same signal as had previously only been available to the military.

I don’t know exactly what brought all this about, but by turning off the inferior signal, the world of GPSr use immediately became something all the rest of us non-military users could take advantage of.

On May 2, 2000, a fellow by the name of Dave Uhlmer went and hid a 5 gal bucket, filled with “stuff” somewhere in the Portland, OR area. He then posted the latitude and longitude on an GPS Internet User group and told anyone that wanted to, to “come get it”. By May 3, the “stash” (as Geocaching was originally refered to) had been found. Things just kind of steam rolled from there.

The original name was changed from “Geostash” to “Geocache” because it was felt the word “stash” has a negative conotation to it.

By Sept of 2000, a fellow by the name of Jeremy Irish had convinced Dave Uhlmer to sell him the rights to the then very crude Geocaching website. Jeremy along with his other partners in the new venture (Bryan Roth and “Elias”) have taken the website and the game to where it is today.

Things are still growing and evolving. As of this posting, there are currently 505,723 active caches in more than 200 countries worldwide!

There is now a plaque at the location of the first cache commemorating the “Original Stash”. It is located at the exact same spot as where Dave hid the original 5 gal. bucket. There is a cache there too, although it is not the original container. The original one was run over by a flail mower when the county road crew came through mowing the road right-of-way.

In a future blog, we will do something on the subject of “can’t miss” caches. The “original Stash”will definitely be part of that list.

Now, how do we choose the GPSr that is right for us? (and doesn’t break the bank)

Although there are several GPS units available on the market, there are 2 main Global Positioning System Receiver manufacturers. (here after referred to as GPSr) We have nothing against the other manufacturers. Their units work just fine. But for Geocaching, one needs to get themselves a GPSr manufactured by Garmin or Magellan. The reason being, these 2 companies make GPSr’s with specific Geocaching features not found on most any other manufacturer’s units.

Some cellphone manufacturer’s have GPS enable phones you can use to cache with, but you really need a honest to goodness GPSr if you are going to do much caching at all.

When I talk to people about getting into Geocaching, one of the first things they say is , “aren’t those GPS things expensive?” The answer to that is “yes” and “no”. You can find a good used GPSr on eBay or Amazon for around $50. These are the basic units but even a fancier unit can be found used for less than $100.

The basic units will allow you to upload the GPS coordinates for Geocaching.com into the unit. Then all you do is “follow the arrow”, so to speak, to where the cache is located. These basic units only have a compass that points the way for you. No base maps are included. You have a limited number of caching waypoints (coordinates) that can be entered due to limited memory in the GPS unit itself.

There is nothing wrong with using a very basic unit . One of the top cache finders in the world still uses a Garmin Gecko, which is about as basic as one can get. The Gecko is basically a glorified compass, nothing fancy at all.

But, if you want to save yourself a lot of head scratching, I would recommend you at least get a GPSr that has base maps and routing that you can see to navigate with. (I have a very funny story about how routing can be very important if you are out of your home area. I’ll tell that story in a later blog) Anything in the Garmin Vista line will do fine and these can be found used for very reasonable prices.

Magellan has GPSr’s in comparable models to the Garmin ones. I have never used a Magellan, so I am not familiar with the actual models, but most all GPSr’s work in the same manner because the base electronics are manufactured in the same way. You will just need to pick which one you like the best.

So here is a list of things to look for when buying a GPS unit for the purpose of Geocaching:

• Ease of use. Another reason to get a basic unit. There aren’t many buttons to push thus the learning curve is greatly reduced.
• Get a unit that already has Geocaching features built into it. Both Garmin and Magellan have units like this. Just ask the person selling it to you if there are Geocaching features on the unit. You can use a unit that doesn’t have these features too. It’s just a little easier to have them than not.
• You need to be able to download caching waypoints into the unit. Preferably it needs to have a USB port for the downloading. Serial port downloading is slow as molasses.
• Get what your budget will allow. No need to get some high dollar unit in the beginning. Get a lower priced unit (preferably used) and see if you like the sport first. If you decide the sport is not for you, then you aren’t out much.
• Seek out other Geocacher’s in your area. They will be more than willing to help you learn to use the “hardware”. They may even have an old unit for sale cheap. All Geocaching Events are listed on a calendar on the Home page of the website. Just scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Upcoming Events” and a calendar for all the Events in the world will pop up. These Events are a great place to meet other cachers and learn what you need to know to have fun playing the game.
• To start out with, you don’t need anything more than a GPSr that will point you to where you want to go. You don’t need the thing to wash your laundry and tie your shoes. It just needs to be able to help you get to your intended destination (hidden geocache), hopefully by the shortest legal route possible.
• Get a unit that has the largest screen your budget can afford. Trust me, this is very handy if you forgot your reading glasses and are out in the middle of nowhere trying to see where you are supposed to be going!

Once you decide you are totally addicted to the sport, then you can move up to a GPS unit that has all the bells and whistles.

If anyone has specific questions about how to choose a GPSr, email me and I’ll be happy to help answer any questions you have.

Next time we will go into the procedure of hiding and seeking a Geocache container…

Happy Caching!