When you look up a geocache on geocaching.com, you might notice alternative coordinates buried in almost apologetically small type under the main coordinates. They look like this:

UTM: 19T E 300347 N 4684268

What the heck is that, [...]]]> In our weekly Tech Tuesday tip, we tell you how to use technology to help you geocache.

When you look up a geocache on geocaching.com, you might notice alternative coordinates buried in almost apologetically small type under the main coordinates. They look like this:

UTM: 19T E 300347 N 4684268

What the heck is that, you wonder? It’s the same coordinates in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM), an alternative to the WGS84 datum format that a lot of people think is better and more accurate.

UTM uses kilometers and meters instead of degrees, minutes and seconds. It also divides the world into 60 equal sections of 6° each. Each of these grids is then subdivided into kilometers, meaning that the numerical designations in a UTM coordinate are actually distances rather than degrees.

This is really important.. When you use absolute distances, there is no need to adjust for the  variances caused by the curvature of the earth. There are also no positive or negative designations to cause confusion. Also, square grids allow for more precise measurement than curved parallels.

To try to make it simpler (or more more complex, we’re not sure) understand that absolute distances are impossible to standardize using standard longitudes and latitudes because the Earth is spherical. That means that 1° of distance at the equator is completely different from 1° at the poles. Distance measurements based upon longitude and latitude are relative to one’s position on the Earth.

UTM was developed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in the 1940s to create an alternative view of the world in which distances were consistent. You can read all about it on Wikipedia . The net result is that UTM can make it somewhat easier to find a specific point on the planet because the distances are consistent regardless of where you are. The image below depicts the world as seen on a UTM grid.

Geocaching.com automatically downloads coordinates in UTM format if your GPS is ready for them. It might be worth a try, since several geocachers have sworn to us that it’s easier to search for a location using UTM than WGS84. Be sure you set up your GPSr to receive UTM, becauseif it doesn’t know what’s coming, it will flake out all over the place. Frankly, we haven’t had the time to stage a formal comparison ourselves, but we sure would appreciate your comments here.

Which do you use and why?

Trackdropper is an Android app that lets users “drop” songs from their phone’s music collection in physical locations. Then, other users can go on treasure hunts to find and play the dropped songs. The idea is to use geocaching to make music piracy more like [...]]]> Android app is like Foursquare meets Pirate Bay – CNet

Trackdropper is an Android app that lets users “drop” songs from their phone’s music collection in physical locations. Then, other users can go on treasure hunts to find and play the dropped songs. The idea is to use geocaching to make music piracy more like old-fashioned nautical piracy–a hunt for booty. I don’t have an Android handset so haven’t been able to test it myself, but the video demonstration looks fascinating.”

A Geocaching Manifesto – Unsigned

This cacher got pretty steamed about descriptions that he found to be misleading and deceptive, so he wrote a manifesto to cache owners that advocates for the seeker. He makes some good points, but he didn’t sign it and comments are disabled (unless you’re logged in to his WordPress account). Still needs work.

Cacher of the Month Interview:  Mud in the Face – The Maritime Geocaching Association

The association posts a Q&A interview with mud in the face, whose real names are Eric and Janet and who are about to pass the 3,000-find mark. They talk about how they got started, their unusual handle, favorite caches, unusual finds and more. Lots of photos.

Geocaching Family Adventure Day – SouthernPlate.com

Great tutorial by Christy Jordan about how to get started with geocaching. Veterans may not learn a lot here, but Christy covers the basics very well, including how to cache with an iPhone. Lots of photos and more than 300 comments from would-be cachers on SouthernPlate.com!

Voyager Class Participates In Biannual Geocaching Event – (Gig Harbor, WA) Gateline

A geocaching flash mob: “When a whistle blew at Jerisich, people who appeared to be Saturday park walkers convened at one spot near the fisherman’s memorial, signed logs met each other, had a drawing for prizes and then they all “froze” after another whistle and didn’t move for 30 seconds.”

With GPS In Hand, They Hunt For Hidden ‘Treasure’ – St. Louis Today

“The Lewis and Clark geocache was created in 2002 in New York with the instruction that it should be moved, when possible, along the route the explorers took in 1803-06. It was incumbent upon those who found it and moved it to enter the new GPS coordinates on the main geocaching website.

“In July, Roberts trekked 7½ miles, out-and-back, in Skagway, Alaska, to find the metal ammo box with ‘Lewis and Clark’ on its side. But the plush toys representing Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and Lewis’ dog Seaman were missing. According to the unofficial rules of geocaching, they should have been in the ammo box…”

Unique Geocaching Containers – More Creativity and Fun – TrailsOptional.com

“I love caching and I love finding new and innovative geocaching containers.  Here are some new and interesting caches I have fun across as well as the older list of interesting ideas!” This blog post has some great photos of unusual containers like this one.

Make The Garmin GPS 76 Your Geocaching Companion – Best GPS For GeoCaching Guide

“While the Garmin GPS 76 is aimed at the serious fisherman, hunter, and wasteland trekker, it should also be considered one of the top choices for hard core geocachers.”

For security reasons, the U.S. government won’t let the civilian GPS network be too accurate. That means that even the best GPS receivers give you no better than 3-meter (10-foot) precision. A little high school [...]]]> In this week’s Tech Tuesday tip, we’ll give you a clue on how to use technology to help you geocache.

For security reasons, the U.S. government won’t let the civilian GPS network be too accurate. That means that even the best GPS receivers give you no better than 3-meter (10-foot) precision. A little high school geometry will tell that means that even when you’re standing at ground zero, your search radius is still about 315 feet. That’s why many veterans put away their GPSr and start looking for clues 20 or 30 feet before they reach their target.

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Reference: Using GPS for Survival Geocaching

If you’re a premium member of Geocaching.com, you’re no doubt familiar with GPX files, which are the files you can download from the site and use in many GPS receivers and PC programs. But have [...]]]> In this week’s Tech Tuesday tip, we’ll give you a clue on how to use technology to help you geocache.

If you’re a premium member of Geocaching.com, you’re no doubt familiar with GPX files, which are the files you can download from the site and use in many GPS receivers and PC programs. But have you ever wondered what’s actually in a GPX file?

If you want to see, try opening a GPX document in a text editor like Windows Notepad. You’ll see that the information inside is quite readable, but everything is surrounded by signs like <, > and / like the sample below. What’s with all that?

<groundspeak:container>Virtual</groundspeak:container>
<groundspeak:difficulty>2</groundspeak:difficulty>
<groundspeak:terrain>2</groundspeak:terrain>
<groundspeak:country>United States</groundspeak:country>
<groundspeak:state>Massachusetts</groundspeak:state>
<groundspeak:short_description html=”True”>The site where you’ll find the Angelfield virtual cache can be accessed by paved roads or you can park at the entrance and enjoy a spectacular walk of about .75 miles.</groundspeak:short_description>

If you’re familiar with the HTML syntax that’s used to create web pages, you already have an idea. GPX format uses a data description language called XML that’s very popular on the Web. XML is similar to HTML. It can be used to “tag” information for reading by other programs. Tags are simply standard strings of text that programs know how to understand. For example, if we were to describe our home town as <city>Boston</city> in an XML document, any program that reads XML would understand that Boston is a city.

A GPX file is basically a database. All of the information in the document, such as location coordinates, name, description, difficulty, size and the like, is stored and tagged separately, which means that data can be mixed and matched however you like. That’s why databases are cool. Once you break information down into its component parts, you can mix it up again in interesting ways.

What’s makes XML so powerful is that you can use it to describe anything. You can make up your own tags and use them to sort and extract information that’s important to you. For example, if you wanted to say what phase the moon was in when you logged a find, you could do that with an XML tag like <moonphase>. Or you could add the names of other cachers who were with you at the time. Third-party software programs like Geocaching Swiss Army Knife make it possible for your to modify GPX files for your own use.

Now aren’t you sorry you asked?

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Have you ever needed to find the geographic coordinates of an address and didn’t know where to start? You can actually enter the address on Google Maps and extract the coordinates from the site’s embedded [...]]]> For our second Tech Tuesday Tip, we’ll give you a clue on how to use technology to help you geocache.

Have you ever needed to find the geographic coordinates of an address and didn’t know where to start? You can actually enter the address on Google Maps and extract the coordinates from the site’s embedded link option, but there’s an easier way.

Just go to Geocaching.com and select the “Hide & Seek a Cache” option. In the “by Address” field, type the address and click “Go.” At the top of the results page, you’ll see the words “By Waypoint – From Origin:.” The numbers that follow are the precise geographic coordinates of the address you entered!

Now here’s a bonus question for you: What is the significance of the coordinates in the sample image above?

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What useful geocaching websites have you found? Comment on this post to share!

Alamogul is still in [...]]]> We look up at and to stars, in the galaxy and in geocaching. We thought it’d be nice to share the list we worked from when we were looking for the top geocachers (by the number of caches found) to interview for the book. This list is kept up to date.

Alamogul is still in the undisputed lead with 39,783 as of this writing. Knowing Lee, though, he’s got some in his back pocket he hasn’t logged yet. I wonder what his tally will be by 7/3/10 (GeoWoodstock)?