GCZC77 Magellan ON (Traditional Cache) in Massachusetts, United States created by emmett

This cache has been archived.

emmett: It is time to finish with archiving my caches. I don’t want them listed on GC.com any longer. Very nice site, but very terrible treatment of cache owners. When time allows, I may publish this on another site some day.

GCZC77 ▼

A cache by emmett Message this owner

Hidden : 11/25/2006

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: not chosen (not chosen)

Join now to view geocache location details. It's free!

Watch

How Geocaching Works

Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions in our disclaimer.

Geocache Description:

This cache takes the concept advanced by Selective Availability ON (visit link) and adapts it to the Magellan caching experience.

Selective Availability references a change in policy that opened the door for precise satellite technology to be used for such things as geocaching. With Selective Availability "on," accuracy was limited to approximately one hundred meters. Once it was turned off, accuracy of ten meters was possible and geocaching was born.

The Selective Availability ON cache utilizes a reading taken somewhere within one hundred meters of the actual cache location and gives cachers a little taste of what geocaching might be like if the technology had not been made available.

For those who use a Magellen "Sport Track Map" unit like mine, we often "enjoy" a caching experience that makes it seem that Selective Availability is still ON.

When it comes to searching for caches, the unit routinely takes me one hundred feet or more away before eventually fixing in on the right spot. Sometimes the fix is slow in coming.

When it comes to placement of caches, the task can be time consuming. I generally take many readings over many days for every cache I hide. The obvious goal is to provide visiting cachers with reliable coordinates. Nevertheless, as some of you will testify, my use of multiple readings does not always yield a good result.

For this cache I made no such effort. I hid the cache, took a reading and was done.

So for those who are interested, you might now experience just a little taste of what it might be like if you used a Magellan "Sport Track Map" whenever you went out geocaching. Notice, I say might experience - who knows, maybe the coords are dead on.

When you log a find make sure to note how long the search took and what your unit read when you were at the cache site.

If you are not familiar with this section of Callahan State Park and have time to take a tour, there are two excellent options.

You can park on Millwood Street at N 42° 19.230, W 71° 27.800 and start with Callahan Cache, then take a detour for Magellen ON when you get nearby. Later, when you are done with Callahan Cache, you can grab the Traveling Cache Resurrection and Go Fetch on your way back to the parking lot.

You could also park on Edmunds Road at N 42° 19.872 W 071° 28.528 where you can log Callahan South Supply Station, then begin EWA-1: Callahan Bypass which will give you a very nice tour of the south section of Callahan Park. Along the way, EWA-1 will take you right by Magellan ON.

.

Additional Hints (No hints available.)