› Forums › Geocaching in Wisconsin › General › Running your PQs

Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • 10/22/2008 at 3:09 pm #1727234
    Trekkin and Birdin

      After reading the thread in the EarthCache forum, I got to thinking…..when running a PQ for a caching trip, how much do you filter?

      We run an all inclusive PQ for the area we want to visit. Once it’s in GSAK, I’ll delete the disabled ones, check out the 5 terrain to see if we need the canoe and delete if we don’t want to haul it, and *maybe* scan for ones that haven’t been found in a long time (like many DNFs in the past few months). We generally don’t eliminate long time “no finds” if they simply haven’t been found in a long time. Seems those remote ones often become favorites if we look for and find them.

      The other thing I’ll check is whether any puzzles require advance work. Depending on time and motivation, I might solve them, or eliminate those. I don’t automatically throw out any “unknowns,” because often they can be solved once at the site. I have learned that I might miss a couple possibilities with just a quick scan, as there are puzzles that are a photo or picture, and those won’t come up on my Palm screen.

      So, what do others do?

      10/22/2008 at 6:13 pm #1897101
      DGDK

        Usually I’ll just filter out the disabled and webcams. If I don’t have time to pre-look at stuff, I’ll filter out the unknowns as well. Anything else goes.

        10/22/2008 at 6:42 pm #1897102
        Team Honeybunnies

          How you run your query is almost identical to mine, but I do check the “Is Active” box to do away with whatever is disabled. Everything else is kept in, and the final slicing and dicing is done in GSAK. I thought the observation that ECs were getting less traffic than co-located physicals was interesting too. Often, but not always, they’re some of the best caches we do. They certainly took us to some of the most memorable places on our fall trip.

          10/22/2008 at 7:06 pm #1897103
          GetMeOutdoors

            I’ve been sliding into this strategy as well lately as I ‘ve learned more about GSAK and how to use it. With my Explotist, I’m limited to 200 waypoints per file, but I can have as many files as I want (effectively). I usually bring down a wide pq then use the filter in GSAK to target the specific areas to fir on the Explorist.

            I also have a handy utility on my blackberry called Cacheberry that will accept a GPX file and load it into a GSAK like view where the details, hints, logs, etc can be displayed. This also allows me to type in field notes and track found caches. With the web browser, I can also access the live cache page if desired.

            This strategy has worked out fairly well on my last couple trips but what I still lack is an easy way to navigate a wide area, searching for caches while I’m in the filed. I’ve been learning how to use Street Atlas for this as it’s cumbersome to do on the explorist. But with the laptop and S.A. with the cache icons and a USB GPS, it makes it easier, but even the laptop is kind of bulky in the tiny geomobile.

            10/22/2008 at 8:01 pm #1897104
            LMcGisme

              It depends.

              Around my home area I include everything active & unfound by me with less than a 5 terrain rating (we have no boat/canoe/kayak) and unknown/mystery. For unknown/mystery I have a PQ that I’ve never actually submitted to get an email, but use that to list puzzles. Once I’ve solved a puzzle, it can be solved on site, or is just an ALR I add it to my solved bookmark list, and have a PQ of that bookmark list run weekly. I then slice & dice the caches in GSAK.

              If going with my nieces & nephew out of my home area then I run a PQ for that area, eliminating multis, mysteries, and micros, none of which they like.

              If just traveling through an area for some other reason (not a caching trip) I’ll limit it to traditional, virtual, and Earthcache with lower terrain rating, since I know I won’t have much time to cache. I tried to eliminate nanos, which I don’t like much, but lost the Earthcaches.

              If headed to a cache dense area for a while I’ll create a PQ like the home area, but try to eliminate nanos, which I don’t like much (again, losing the EarthCaches).

              I could get everything for everywhere and just use GSAK, but having a lot a caches in GSAK slows it down and it seemed to crash more often on me when I had tons of caches loaded. I’d also have to set up more PQs to cover the same amount of territory if I include pretty much everything.

              For me its easier to exclude the caches up front in the PQ that I know I’d eliminate in GSAK, rather than running lots of PQs, getting a big, slow database, and in the end not loading most of the caches to the GPS anyhow.

              10/22/2008 at 8:54 pm #1897105
              Astro_D

                Depends on whom I’m caching with. If it’s with the family I run PQ’s for anything I didn’t find, don’t own and is active omitting all event, unknown, webcam caches, and anything with a five star terrain. I also tend to eliminate the micros and unknown containers. Then I filter out the cemtery caches in GSAK.

                If I’m by myself or with a group, I tend to omit only the event and webcam caches. The only unknown caches I may keep are the ones where info needs to be gathered at the listed coords to find the final.

                I have a seperate GSAK just for all the puzzle/unknown caches. I run a PQ for new ones every other week. As I get a puzzle solved, I create a filter for it and upload the waypoint to Streets and Trips map of caches so it can be found on the next cache run if i’m in the area.

                I know by admitting to eliminating the unknowns from PQs I’ve been assualted by comments of “losing out finding a cache at a great location”. But from my perspective, if it’s such a great location, just give me the coords to the cache and just let me enjoy it.

                It’s interesting to see how people run thier PQs…….

                10/22/2008 at 11:55 pm #1897106
                PCFrog

                  When doing cache on a trip I’m very strict since there more than likely there won’t be a chance to return to look again and I don’t really want to waste my time looking around a tree for a cache that is not there so this what I do.

                  Once I get a full PQ from GC.com I use GSAK and filter out the following.
                  No Puzzles
                  No Multi (not risking missing stages)
                  Filter out any cache that have 2 DNF in the last 4 logs
                  Any already found
                  Any already not active
                  No web cams
                  No mystery caches

                • Author
                  Posts
                Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
                • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.