/ Eric Schudiske /

Help Save Our GPS! Geocachers Rally to Stop Potential GPS Signal Interference

Using your GPS device in the United States to find the latest geocache could end with nothing but signal interference. That’s if the current proposal before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by the multi-billion dollar communications giant LightSquared™ is approved. According to press reports, LightSquared’s current proposal could render tens of thousands and possibly hundreds of thousands of GPS receivers obsolete starting as early as next year. But there is something you can do about it.

The LightSquared proposal involves offering an open wireless broadband network in radio frequency bands adjacent to those used by GPS receivers. LightSquared plans to use both satellites and land-based towers to provide this service.

A report delivered to the FCC in June shows significant interference to GPS receivers from LightSquared’s operations.

Groundspeak has joined a group of those willing to raise their voices in objection to this current plan. The group is called A Coalition to Save Our GPS.  We ask that you add your voice to the conversation. Tell the FCC that the current proposal by LightSquared could affect the family friendly activity of geocaching. Here’s why.

The LightSquared cell towers reportedly cast a signal significantly more powerful than the distant GPS satellites. GPS devices cannot filter out the stronger signal, resulting in interference. Tests reported to the FCC using a simulated LightSquared network reportedly jammed GPS devices used for aviation, surveying, agriculture, the U.S. Coast Guard and personal GPS navigation devices. Tests also confirmed that ambulance and police cars lost their  GPS reception within 600 – 1,000 feet of a LightSquared tower.

The FCC has asked for feedback from the public on the report. Comments will be taken until Saturday, July 30.  The “reply to comments” period then lasts until August 15. After the public comment period is closed, the FCC can announce a decision at any time. We’re asking that geocachers, and anyone who cares about GPS, rally to make the voices of GPS device users heard.

What can I do?

Everyone who cares about GPS should let the FCC know about the threat that LightSquared poses.  In writing to the FCC, we encourage you to cover the following points in your own words:

  • How you use GPS technology in your business and/or personal life
  • What would happen to your business/personal life if GPS became unavailable or unreliable
  • While more capacity for wireless broadband services is important, it should not come at the expense of GPS, which is critical to the global economy
  • The results of the testing that was performed at the FCC’s request show that GPS reception on certain devices could be affected by LightSquared’s proposed service.
  • Now that the test results have shown interference to GPS, the FCC shouldn’t allow LightSquared to keep trying out modified versions of its plan to use the spectrum near the GPS band.  LightSquared’s operations and GPS are fundamentally incompatible and the FCC should order LightSquared out of that band.

How do I tell the FCC to save GPS?

The FCC has an easy-to-use portal on its website to submit feedback on the testing results:

(1)  Click on this link for the FCC’s Electronic Comments Filing System (ECFS):  http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs/upload/begin?procName=&filedFrom=X

(2)  In the box which says “Proceeding Number,” type:  11-109. It is important to include this docket number with your comments.

(3)  In the designated boxes, enter (a) your name or your company’s name, and (b) your mailing address/city/state/zip.

(4)  In the box which says “Type in or paste your brief comments,” do so.  Click “Continue.”

(5)  A review page will load listing all of the information entered.  If correct, click “Confirm.” (6)  If you have trouble, contact the FCC ECFS Helpdesk at 202-418-0193 or e-mail at ecfshelp@fcc.gov.

 

 

 

 

/ Eric Schudiske /

Eternity in Casablanca GC1P5G6 – GEOCACHE OF THE WEEK – July 25, 2011

Part of the mosque in Casablanca

Learn about history through the eyes of Hollywood legend Humphrey Bogart. The Eternity in Casablanca geocache will take you on a journey through Morocco. The country is the location for the 1942 film, Casablanca. In the opinion of the cache owner, Silvana, “there is something eternal in this whitewashed town.”

This three-stage Puzzle Cache was hidden in 2009 and has since logged twelve favorites and 75 finds. According to a geocacher who logged a smiley on Eternity in Casablanca, “Each Station shows a nice area and gives you a good impression of Casablanca.”

The search for the cache begins by touring you through the majestic Hassan II Mosque. This one of a kind religious site is an intricate and beautifully crafted Arab-Muslim piece of architecture. Because of  its location near the sea, it is often described as  “The throne of god on the water”- and it is just the first stop on your hunt.

Your second set of coordinates will lead you to an unnamed cafe. Here you will have to discover the name of the site and a bit about its significance. Here is a hint from the cache owner you may find to be helpful, “Time passes ….. But every moment is recorded for eternity.” In order to log a smiley, once you figure out the name of the cafe and the other information from the puzzle, you must email Silvana with your answers.

Another un-named site in this 3-stage Puzzle Cache

The final destination of Eternity in Casablanca will take you to the top of an old military fortress tower with a view of the sea. According to Silvana, it “is the perfect place to say goodbye to Casablanca.” And don’t forget to snap a photo and ask for Mr. Taha.

A location to be discovered in this difficulty 3 Puzzle Cache

Before heading out on this historical, cinematic adventure, make sure to pack a camera and a pen. Because this is a difficulty three, terrain 2.5 Puzzle Cache, you may want to pay close attention to the name of the man at the third point and the details found in the additional hint.

Continue your exploration of some of the most engaging geocaches from around the world. Explore all the Geocaches of the Week on our blog or view the Bookmark List on Geocaching.com.

/ Eric Schudiske /

Double-Oh-Mega-Event: On a (not so) Secret Mission

Editor’s note: Groundspeak Lackeys are traveling thousands of miles from H.Q. this year to share smiles, shake hands and make geocaching memories at more than a dozen Mega-Events worldwide. Jenn Seva, aka MissJenn, attended the COG (Central Ontario Geocachers) Spring Fling Zero-Zero-Seven Mega-Event (GC1MGER) outside of Barrie, Ontario, Canada. Jenn has been a Lackey since 2007. She was a volunteer reviewer between 2004 t0 2007, a geocacher since 2001, and she says, ‘a geek since forever’. This is Jenn’s account of her trip.

By Jenn Seva (MissJenn)

MissJenn attending the Zero-Zero-Seven Mega at the cache, "Diamonds are for Decryption"

On June 11th, my not-so-secret mission was to infiltrate the Canadian province of Ontario and attend the Spring Fling hosted by the Central Ontario Geocachers. It wasn’t their first Mega. These people are pros. In fact, it was their Double-Oh-Seventh iteration and they pulled it off with nary a stray bullet.

I arrived early enough on Friday to help the organizers prepare registration packets the day before the event. Well, they thought I was helping prepare registration packets. Really, I was studying their organization, getting to know the masterminds and taking notes. 😉 [My report back to HQ: What a dedicated – and nice – group of people who created very engaging activities!  Must see them again in future missions.]

One the day of the event, I hitched a ride into the location to be greeted by uniformed Russian guards marching in lockstep. I felt like I had traveled back in time to the Cold War era. After showing our credentials (my expired driver’s license was no good but my trackable name badge worked), we were allowed past the gate and then were welcomed by the OctoBeaver. Allow me to explain that this was the mascot for the event complete with a yellow felt tail. He gave everyone a tiny piece of that tail as a gift! How nice of him. Beavers are an important and industrious part of Ontario’s ecosystem, and hold a special place in the heart of the locals.

Mega Mascot OctoBeaver

Mission dossiers (because a mere “schedule of events” is too boring) handed to the geocachers contained instructions such as directions to Central Intelligence, finding certain individuals in the crowd with suspicious characteristics or Bond-ish connections, and also how to find the Debriefing Sessions later in the evening. The names of the caches specially prepared for the event were so much fun: Ammo Cans Never Die, Diamonds are for Decryption, The Giving Daylights, Don’t Cut the Red Wire, Gold Drinker, Moneypenny’s Diaries, The Spy Who Quizzed Me, etc.

You see the theme coming together here? Not just the names but also the actual cache designs either tickled my fancy or really challenged the noggin. Some did both. Groundspeak and I had some fun too with a cache called From Seattle with Love, containing the best-dressed logbook of all time. You’ll have to go find it and see. All of the caches were published by the European reviewer James Bond, on behalf of Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Nice touch.

From Seattle with Love - Groundspeak's contribution with the best dressed log book

 

This theme was beautifully carried throughout. The kids had their own activities as “Agents in Training.” Thanks to the GeoFreakZ for making it so much fun! The adult Agents were encouraged to solve a 5-part mystery called For Your Eyes Only: Guess Who? The event volunteers (mostly humans plus one bird) were all in tuxedos, of course, much like James Bond usually wears. In order for us attendees to find them easily, though, these were orange tuxedos. Geocachers doing it with style. As the event drew to a close, the biggest prizes were awarded to 7 lucky people: each prize was inside of a (what else?) briefcase so none of us knew what was inside of them. After a brief bout of stealing and horse-trading briefcases from one another, 6 of the winners got to open them and claim their gifts.  The final grand prize was in a briefcase that had a combination lock! How to get in? Well, a three-digit code was needed and soon enough, the clever geocacher figured out the numbers she needed. Double-Oh-Smart!

Have you seen a theme carried out as nicely as was done here? Bet you haven’t.

Zero-Zero-Seven Mega-Event

A final thought: Mega-events are usually characterized by the fact that there are so many people around. That’s the hallmark of a mega, after all. Somehow, the COG Spring Fling managed to keep it feeling small – in a good way. This event utilizes land of the beautiful Nottasawaga Valley Conservation Authority. Because the activities and special caches are all within this lovely forested area, and because the trails are set up to crisscross, geocachers were able to see one another several times throughout the day as one group went hither and another group went thither. It felt neighborly. Maybe it wasn’t the location that did that; maybe it was the genuine friendliness of the people. Maybe it was both.

 

 

See MissJenn’s pictures from the Mega-Event here. For those that attended, The souvenir icon for this event is currently being revised. You can also find a Lackey at one of these upcoming Mega-Events:

Ohio, USA – Midwest Geobash

Wales, UK – Mega Wales 2011

Wisconsin, USA – West Bend $1000 Cache Ba$h

HQ in Washington State, USA – Groundspeak Block Party

Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany – Geocoinfest Europa

Catalunya, Spain – Mega Event Catalunya

South Carolina, USA – Geocoinfest

 

/ Adela B /

18-Years-Old and 1800 Finds – A Teen Geocacher’s Journey

By Kara Bonilla

Jeffrey with Geocaching.com Co-Founder and CEO Jeremy Irish at GeoWoodstock VI .

Geocaching teenagers are becoming easier and easier to find as geocaching gains popularity. Harder to find are teenage cachers who  have found nearly two thousand geocaches. Jeffrey Bushnell, 18, from Utah, USA is better known in the caching community as tico jeffrey. He started geocaching when he was 14. Jeffrey has found 1853 caches to date. He’s also discovered a true passion for the high-tech treasure hunt of geocaching.

It all started for Jeffrey as a young Boy Scout, when he won a GPS device after selling tickets at a Boy Scout expo. “I went home after the expo, looked it [geocaching] up online and made an account. Then, less than less than five minutes after creating my account, I got on my bike, grabbed my new GPS, and headed out to find the cache closest to my house.”

Jeffrey loves geocaching because he explores new places he has never seen before, gets to spend time outdoors, and relishes the thrill of finding a cache.

Now a seasoned geocacher, Jeffrey owns 92 caches. He  has gone geocaching in twelve states and two other countries besides the US: Canada and Costa Rica. Jeffery owns 70 Trackables and has moved over 800 Trackables throughout his many geocaching adventures.

Statistics from Geocaching.com: Jeffrey's Cumulative Finds, as of July 20, 2011.

Besides his aunt, Auzzie Dogs, Jeffery’s family is full of muggles. For Jeffrey, geocaching on family outings takes planning  and convincing  his parents to let him find a cache. He has to promise not to take a long time. Having a muggle family often makes the game a bit difficult for him, but Jeffrey never lets this slow him down.

Jeffrey has found so many geocaches that he can’t even pick a favorite. He loves the thrill of a good find and always enjoys finding caches hidden by some geocachers in his area: “Both of my favorite users (Baad Daata and Billionj) have many caches that I have looked right at and even touched without finding it at first, these caches require a lot of thinking and strategy to find the exact cache container.”

Jeffrey at GC10FB, Magic Kingdom, one of many Virtual Caches in Disney World.

Jeffrey  became an Eagle Scout and graduated high school this year. He will be attending Brigham Young University this fall where he plans to major in civil engineering and minor in graphic design and production. He loves to cache in his local area of Southern Utah, where he has many friends who always go out geocaching with him. Jeffrey also loves to take his grandma and other relatives out on geocaching adventures.

One of Jeffrey’s favorite geocaching memories is when he received GeoWoodstock VI 2008 tickets for Christmas and went to the event in Wheatland, California with his aunt, Auzzie Dogs. “We had a great time and enjoyed meeting Jeremy Irish, also meeting a lot of old and new friends.”

As some advice from Jeffrey for new teen geocachers, he suggests taking on one cache at a time, and to have fun with it.  To learn more about Jeffrey’s geocaching career and to see his incredible geocaching stats, check out his user page, tico jeffrey. It is easy for teens to become outstanding geocachers, like Jeffrey. It is as simple as creating an account, getting a GPS, grabbing a group of friends, and heading out to find the first of many geocaches.

 

DISCLAIMER: Underage geocachers should always geocache using the buddy-system! Take a parent, relative, or friend along and remember to tell a responsible adult the exact caches you plan on finding and the routes you plan on taking. Safe geocaching is fun geocaching!

/ Eric Schudiske /

Announcing: Geocacher of the Month Award

You could be the Geocacher of the Month

Groundspeak needs your help acknowledging a geocacher each month that stands out by inspiring other geocachers with their innovation, creative hides and/or logs, respect for the environment, and geocaching etiquette. This person can be your best geocaching buddy, a geocacher you know as a local legend, or a long time geocacher who invites newbies to the geocaching community.

The Geocacher of the Month celebrates geocachers for their contributions and diversity. Geocachers are outdoorsy, technically apt, young, old, parents, single, athletic, intelligent, travelers, grandparents, and more. They are a uniquely eclectic group, unified by their passion for the activity of geocaching.

If you know an outstanding geocacher who should be the Geocachers of the Month, send an email to geocacherofthemonth@groundspeak.com.

Every nomination must meet the following requirements. Please include your name, the name of your nominee, their username, at least one picture of the nominee and description (in 500 or fewer words) explaining why he or she deserves to be the Geocacher of the Month. Please inform your nominee that you’ve submitted them for the award. Nominations for the first Geocacher of the Month must be received by August 4th.

Once we have received all of the nominations, we will choose the top three candidates and post them on the blog. You will then get a chance to vote for your favorite.

We’ll name the Geocacher of the Month on August 20th at the Geocaching Block Party in Seattle, Washington, USA. Each Geocacher of the Month will receive an exclusive special edition ”Geocacher of the Month” Geocoin along with a Geocacher of the Month hat and certificate acknowledging their contributions signed by the founders of Geocaching.com: Jeremy Irish, Bryan Roth and Elias Alvord.

Our goal is to involve the entire geocaching community in this process so as to learn from each other. Let the nominations begin!