Guest Author

Guest Author: Intro to GPS

This is a guest article about how a GPS works. It was written by RJ Stapell, of High Trail Expeditions, who I met at the Overland Expo 2012.

The GPS System

In General

The GPS navigation system currently maintained by the U.S. Department of Defense consists of:

  • 24 satellites (together with spares)
  • The satellites maintain six orbital planes approximately 12 miles above the earth
  • Each satellite orbits the earth twice every 24 hours
  • The system is designed so that at least 4 satellite are visible at any time of the day – anywhere in the world

The GPS system is based on line of site transmission from the satellite to the GPS receiver.  A GPS handheld or vehicle-mounted receiver requires a strong signal from a minimum of 4 satellites in order to accurately report the receiver’s position, speed and direction of travel.  The GPS signal from the satellite can be adversely affected by:

  • Canyon walls, tall buildings or other large objects or structures
  • Dense foliage or tree canopies
  • Antenna blockage by metal from cars or trucks
  • Low batteries

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11 years ago • , • Tags: ,

Guest Author: The Top Geocaching Apps of 2012

Geocaching is a great way to discover hidden gems right in the wall of your city. It’s also a great excuse to get outside and explore the terrain.  A Geocaching challenge is similar to a real-world treasure hunt, where teams or individuals use GPS tracking to locate “caches” or trinkets that contain lists of who has found them as well as details about the find—including notes about the terrain, hiding spot, and trinkets found within the cache. There are literally thousands of hidden caches all over the world, so you can geocache in any city you visit.  Simply, access the official database of caches at geocaching.com, and use your iPhone or Android to locate caches in any area that offers T-Mobile wireless internet  or  Wi-Fi coverage.

There are thousands of geocaching applications to choose from. However, veteran geocachers will tell you that these apps offer the best quality for the price you pay…

1. Geocaching by Groundspeak Inc. ($9.99 – for Android & iPhone)

The official geocaching (GC) app from Groundspeak offers direct access to the official and ever-growing cache database that I listed above so it makes sense that this app would be first on the list! This app allows users to find nearby caches by address or by GC code, and you can choose specifically where you want your street, topographic, and/or satellite maps to come from. The friendly user interface offers four tabs for caches— search, saved, logs, and trackables—as well as an export button for instant login to geocaching.com so you can sync your saved caches to the master database.

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11 years ago • • Tags:

Guest Author: Pony Express Trail

Geocaching via the Pony Express Trail

By Steve Allen aka MO PIRATE

Pony Express Coins
By now, I believe most folks know about the worldwide treasure hunting game called geocaching.

Using a GPS receiver and the satellites that transmit the signals to them, geocachers can get a “fix” on the location of over 1.3 million hidden containers around the world.

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12 years ago • , • Tags: ,

Guest Author: Review of Magellan eXplorist

My friend, Kris, was lucky enough to pick up a new GPS a few weeks ago: a Magellan eXplorist. Since I’m a die-hard Garmin fan, I asked her if she would write up a review of the eXplorist for the Find Your Geocache blog.

If you’re ready to buy, or want more info, here’s a link to Magellan eXplorist on Amazon.com.

Here it in, in Kris’ own words:

 

Paperless Geocaching

 

I have been talking for years about geocaching and my family. Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting that my girlfriend Kim of TheOutdoorPrincess.com introduced us to many years ago. With geocaching, you use a GPS, enter in the coordinates and search for a hidden treasure.

 

Mazy Fullmer Family Stats

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12 years ago • , • Tags: ,

Best Types of Geocache Containers

I’m an “honorary” member of about a dozen geocaching groups and organizations across the country. One of the most active groups is Central Florida Area Geocachers (CFLAG) on Facebook.

CFLAG Logo

This week, one of their wonderful members, trippy1976, posted a compiliation of the group’s recommended containers for Florida. But, this is a FANTASTIC list and I wanted to share it with all my geocaching friends. It’s a good guideline for containers no matter where you live!

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12 years ago • , • Tags: ,

Guest Author: GEO*Trailblazer 1 & the Secret Service

A few weeks ago, I was asking my Facebook friends for some help coming up with ideas for the FindYourGeocache.com blog. GEO*Trailblazer 1 said that I should be stopped and questioned by the Secret Service and then write about it. But, since HE’S had that experience, I thought it would just be easier to ask him to share his story with us.

Here’s the story of meeting the Secret Service while out geocaching. Now THAT’S hard-core!

Secret Service Agent

Let’s turn on the Way Back Machine, which by the way you Ole Time Cachers will remember. Back to a time when Geocaching did not exist and SA did, that’s “Selective Availability” for those of you who do not know.

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12 years ago • , • Tags: ,