Craynerd's GeoCache Containers and Hides

[raynerd]

Hello Guys
I`ve been busy with family stuff (unfortunately) and work recently, too busy to work on the clock but I managed to get my first few hours in my workshop yesterday evening for about two weeks. I decided not to work with the clock, that needs a clear mind, time and thought and so I decided to do a random little project.

I`ve been getting well into GeoCaching for the last few months. It is a perfect excuse to take the dog and family on a walk and my daughter loves running around in the fields looking for treasure! For those that don`t know much about geocaching, visit www.geocaching.com To sum it up in a few sentences, it is basically a worldwide game in which normal people hide a container (of some sort, the more creative the better!), find the GPS co-ordinates and log them on geocaching.com   As a user, you can then find local caches and go hunting for them. It is great running around in fields looking for a little hidden container but recently I upgraded to a premium user and started doing some harder ones on my own. Yesterday I came across, what they call a magnetic nano. A tiny container which contains the normal log book (this is so small is it just a rolled up strip of paper) but is hidden in a more urban area, magnetically attached to something. The ones I`ve found were quite small black ones attached to park benches. It gave me an idea to make my own but this time, I thought I`d paint it red and stick it onto a local small post box.

I was limited to what I had lying around so the magnet is a bit bigger than would be ideal:









I did make a nice job of the paint but it looked too perfect a job when sat on the postbox so I removed it and did a thick second coat which I let half dry and then added some black and rouged up the surface.




I`m not going to lie, I`ve still stuck it on the back of the box half hidden, but in a top corner in looks part of the box! There were too many people about to take a picture in situ but I`ll try and snap one in a few days.

Anyone else into Geocaching?

Chris

[kvom]

I've been a cacher for the past 7 years (same nick as here).  Not done much lately as machining takes up the time.

[andyf]

.... it is basically a worldwide game in which normal people hide a container (of some sort, the more creative the better!), find the GPS co-ordinates and log them on geocaching.com   As a user, you can then find local caches and go hunting for them... Anyone else into Geocaching?

No, Chris. Obviously, I'm less normal than you and kvom 

Andy

[-steves-]

Yup, also a cacher, and thats a right "sneaky" one 

I have one out in the world somewhere, its a branch from a tree about 2.5 inches round and about 3 feet long, with about 2 inches cut off the top of it, drilled out, a small testube inside with the cache in it, and then the original 2 inches contain magnets along with the branch that line up so its real tough to see the join. Thats then strategically placed at the bottom of a tree that has lots of very similar shaped trunks coming up. Bit of a sneaky too, i had to put lots of hints on it before people could find it, but it gets good reviews from those that manage to find it in the end, lol 

[raynerd]

Andy, lol, obviously your not allowed to play then     What I meant by that, is that your average Joe public is hiding the treasure/cache!

Steve, that sounds a really tricky one!!! 

[Brass_Machine]

I have heard of geocaching and have thought about trying it out sometime. Can a normal car GPS be used for this? What kind of stuff do you cache? I would be interested in doing this because I can be sneaky B* at times.


Eric

[-steves-]

I have heard of geocaching and have thought about trying it out sometime. Can a normal car GPS be used for this? What kind of stuff do you cache? I would be interested in doing this because I can be sneaky B* at times.


Eric

A car GPS is generally not used as there is an application to go with it. Most people I know either use a dedicated GPS device like a Garmin, but more and more people these days are using mobile phones with built in GPS, be it Apple, Blackberry or some form of Android device, most smart phones can be used and are pretty good.

As for the "cache", its definately more about the fun of finding and signing the log than whats in the cache container. There seem to be fewer and fewer caches that can "trade" items as people seem to be going more for nano's at the moment. Its also a really good excuse to find things in places you have walked by everyday, as well as explore lots of new places that you never even knew existed

If you take it up, then enjoy.

Oh, for the application, there is a free one called "C:GEO" which can be downloaded from most mobile stores. If you do try a fwe and enjoy its definately worth becoming a premium member as there are quite a few caches which only premium members can see and log.

[raynerd]

I`m only half repeating what Steve said, but I`m currently using my HTC Wildfire mobile phone and a couple of friends have found hundreds of caches using their Iphone 3G. From reading the forums, the new iPhone 4 apparently has an excellent GPSr chip which equals some of the dedicated units. The only problem I have with my phone is that if I`m under trees I normally can only get to with 10 meters away and if it is a tricky hide then that requires a lot of searching but normally the "Hint" gives it away. There have only been about 2 I couldn`t find so far which I put down to using a phone rather than dedicated unit.  I am considering getting a Garmin eTrax model but the Garmin H is tempting at only £40.

The FANTASTIC thing about using a mobile phone app is that it is connected to the internet and so on a spur of the moment you can select "Find local cahes" and they pop up and you simply pick one! Like today, we are going for a trip to York as a family and I`m sure at some point, I`ll take out my phone and find the near by caches and have a hunt for some. Unfortunately, with the dedicated unit (or certainly ones <£300!!!) you have to load the co-ord and info from the geocaching.com website from your computer prior to going on your trip. The other option is to take your mobile and your GPSr, using the mobile to find the location data of the cache and the GPSr to get you there.

Eric, if you visit   www.geocaching.com and put in your postcode (or zip code?!) then when the list comes up, click "Map this Location" at the top and you get a map of your local geocaches.

Regarding what you cache, it is definately just about finding it. My daughter is 3 and of course she loves finding the large plastic boxes filled with toys, trinkets and "treasure" which she loves to swap one of her toys for another in the box. I do it a lot on my own now and for me it is about finding the nanos or something a lot harder to find and signing the log like in my little red cache above.... ohh, but I enjoyed the little yo-yo I picked up on my last visit 
 

[kvom]

Tree cover (or anything else containing water or vapor) absorbs GPS signals regardless of the type of receiver, so whether a dedicated unit will be better than your phone is debatable.

A good technique in some cases is using a compass to triangulate, assuming that your GPS will indicate magnetic bearing. 

The best signals I've ever gotten have been in deserts. 

[Brass_Machine]

Ahhh. I have a Garmin GPS.

I also have a few smart phones (didn't think of using one those with the GPS)

I may get involved in a few months.

[jim]

first i've heard of this!

i've joined!!

got an old Garmin Etrex in the cupboard!!!

thats my weekend filled, cheers

[-steves-]

Be careful, this can get very addictive, especially in the warmer months, and mind you dont go hiding too many containers to be able to look after them all.

I can just imagine the weird and wonderful caches that people from this site could come up with, the mind boggles at the thought of them all 

[raynerd]

Great to see this has introduced a few others into the wonderful world of geocaching! I know my geocache was only a simple magnetic screw container above, but I do have some nice "mad modder" ideas for future caches. I was hoping that others on here would have ideas and get involved. My cache was found for the first time this morning and a good review was given commenting on the container so I`m pretty chuffed about that.

It is very addictive, I went out to York today and there were loads around the city centre...I was dragging my family around to find them all. They enjoyed the first couple but by number 20 they had sore feet 

 

[kvom]

I'm not a huge fan of nano-containers or micros for that matter.  After a while, the charm of geocaching is that it leads you to interesting places you'd never go otherwise.  Finding the cache then is rather unimportant, although a "did not find" can be irritating.  My favorite caches are those hidden in the woods that one accesses after a nice hike, or a drive in the country.

[raynerd]

After a while, the charm of geocaching is that it leads you to interesting places you'd never go otherwise.

I`ve heard a few people come out with this on the forums but as many people have said, there are also lots of interesting places in towns and city centres you wouldn`t otherwise see.

We went to York yesterday and did several geocaches around the centre. We found a new park with swings and slide for my daughter, we got taken to large mansion house with lots of history, a bridge over the river that we wouldn`t have normally visited as well as a whole row of shops for my wife that we have never seen before (and we must have visited York 20-30 times now in our life together).

The two that I have planted with my daughter are larger caches in the woodland, but it is unfair to say there are not interesting places to see in villages etc. My third hide, this red micro is placed on a postbox in Ramsbottom which is a lovely interesting and unusual walk through to the park and might push people to walk this way rather than just using the normal car park.

[DaveH]

Chris,

The two that I have planted with my daughter are larger caches in the woodland,

What!!! ......... just thought I would mention doesn't seem a nice thing to do! 
 
DaveH

[raynerd]

DaveH - I`m not with you?

[kvom]

In the "old days" of geocaching the standard micro cache was a 35mm film canister.  With film going out of fashion you don't see as many of these any more.  For forest-type caches military ammo boxes are ideal.  Here in Georgia we have bears in the woods, and bears can't get an ammo box open.

[DaveH]

Chris,

Just my strange sence of humour

"The two I have planted with my daughter" - I can read that as your daughter is also planted.

Told you - just me being strange
 
DaveH

[Marauder]

Hi i have also just got into the geocaching craze,,I bought a Garmin Origon 450T best price i could find for this one was £275.I bought it from a place up North.EBay reasonable,Amazon better still, Then i found this place called i think paragon..Joined the Geocachers,And became a premium member i use Allen G0CRB Ham Call sn.Found a few over the last few days one being a micro which had me baffled needed a torch to see it, "should of gone to specsave" !!!!

[-steves-]

I have also found some right "nasties" in my finds so far. One of them was a "TINY" little box, hidden in a VERY LARGE OLD tree, you had to lierally delve your hand into holes in the tree, having no idea what may be in there, and evetually i found it, and that was with the help of a friend who had found it before and told me it was hidden in a large tree there. That was proper nasty as you could not see it, tree cover meant no proper GPS readings, and what else was in those folds of the tree, i would hate to imagine

[BiggerHammer]

Hello all, resurrecting a thread here. Just thought I would show you what I have made. You might have a use for something like this.

I know what you are going to think.... Brilliant Sean you have made AN BOLT! Congratulations lad well done. (sorry lacking sleep and having a bit of fun.)

The fun bit comes in the second picture.



Now for the interesting bit.



I imagine you could just make one from a standard bolt. I made mine from some brass I had laying around (love that shiny brass look) and a purchased nut.

I imagine that could make for a quite evil Hide.

Got the idea from someone who made something similar on youtube for a GeoCache Hide. Hope this gives you some ideas.

(also hope I got the pictures right  )

[-steves-]

Thats nasty, remind me not to go looking for that one, lol 

[Tony Wells]

I've been using the Multi-Billion Dollar Satellite System to hunt Tuperware in the woods for 4 or 5 years. Lots of fun for the family, and yes, you are taken to a lot of places that are interesting that you otherwise would not be aware of. That's where the hiders help make it interesting. i have only a few hundred finds over 5 states, and own I think 25 currently. I don't jump out of bed for the FTF race any more. That was fun, at first.

[Brass_Machine]

That hide bolt is very cool!


Eric


**edited your post to have the pictures show a little bigger