Difference between revisions of "Cache alerts"

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== GCA Cache Alerts ==
 
== GCA Cache Alerts ==
  
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GCA Cache Alerts will alert you to the status of selected caches within a selected radius* from your home co-ordinates. For each cache type that is available at Geocaching Australia you can set a radius and alternative email address to be notified.
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GCA Cache Alerts will alert you to the status of selected caches within a selected radius from your home co-ordinates. For each cache type that is available at Geocaching Australia you can set a radius and alternative email address to be notified.
  
 
You can set your preferences via your My Alert page.
 
You can set your preferences via your My Alert page.
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* Tick the type of cache you are interested in.
 
* Tick the type of cache you are interested in.
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* Tick the published or retracted log type (for moving caches, new co-ordinates will be treated as a published log).
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* Tick the published or retracted log type. For moving caches, new co-ordinates will be treated as a published log.
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* Set the radius (see below) that you are interested in.
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* Set the radius that you are interested in. Locationless caches will disregard the radius criteria.
 
* If you want to use an email address OTHER than your current email address, enter your email address in the space provided otherwise leave it blank and your current email address will be used.
 
* If you want to use an email address OTHER than your current email address, enter your email address in the space provided otherwise leave it blank and your current email address will be used.
  
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For the purposes of GCA Cache Alerts, a moveable cache that has moved within your designated radius and has a new set of co-ordinates will be assumed to be a type of published log and you will be alerted.
 
For the purposes of GCA Cache Alerts, a moveable cache that has moved within your designated radius and has a new set of co-ordinates will be assumed to be a type of published log and you will be alerted.
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For the purposes of GCA Cache Alerts locationless caches will disregard the radius criteria. This is due to locationless caches all having co-ordinates of 0/0 and will be some 10,000+km from your location.
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GCA Cache Alerts are only provided if you have set your home co-odinates in your settings page. http://geocaching.com.au/my/settings/
  
 
GCA Alerts are generated in 5 minute intervals after the published, moved / found on moveable caches or a retracted log is saved. This means your alert will not be instantaneous, but is very likely to occur in the normal polling time of your email program, which is generally set to every 10 minutes or so.
 
GCA Alerts are generated in 5 minute intervals after the published, moved / found on moveable caches or a retracted log is saved. This means your alert will not be instantaneous, but is very likely to occur in the normal polling time of your email program, which is generally set to every 10 minutes or so.
  
 
GCA tries to include as much information as is feasible in the alert email including the cache description. For some complex formatted HTML cache descriptions, the format of the cache description in the email you receive may not look like it does on the cache page. GCA recommends you always check the cache page prior to running out the door for a quick FTF opportunity. Other information that should be contained in the email are the name, description, who hid it, when it was hidden, the difficulty and terrain, the locale and state, co-ordinates and cache type / container size. We do not currently provided a GPX file attachment option.
 
GCA tries to include as much information as is feasible in the alert email including the cache description. For some complex formatted HTML cache descriptions, the format of the cache description in the email you receive may not look like it does on the cache page. GCA recommends you always check the cache page prior to running out the door for a quick FTF opportunity. Other information that should be contained in the email are the name, description, who hid it, when it was hidden, the difficulty and terrain, the locale and state, co-ordinates and cache type / container size. We do not currently provided a GPX file attachment option.
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[[Image:Radius_boundingbox.png|left|250px]]*Radius is not actually a true radius.
 
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The individual calculation of a multi pointed co-ordinate radius for each cacher based on their home co-ordinates at the time of a log occurring is very taxing on the webserver.
 
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For performance reasons we establish a bounding box based on your radius distance. i.e. Rather than being a circle of (say) 50km from your home co-ordinates, we establish a co-ordinate point 50km north and south and 50km east and west. This creates a box around your home location aka a bounding box.
 
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Any cache that falls into that bounding box, even if it is greater than 50km from your home location will cause an alert to be issued. In many cases this will mean you will receive a cache alert for a distance slightly larger than your radius. If you check the image to the left, the radius would be the inner circle area. For GCA Alerts, caches that are within the overall image from edge to edge are included.
 

Revision as of 20:23, 24 March 2010

Geocaching Australia
 This page contains information specific to Geocaching Australia.

GCA Cache Alerts

GCA Cache Alerts will alert you to the status of selected caches within a selected radius from your home co-ordinates. For each cache type that is available at Geocaching Australia you can set a radius and alternative email address to be notified.

You can set your preferences via your My Alert page. http://geocaching.com.au/my/alert/

  • Tick the type of cache you are interested in.
  • Tick the published or retracted log type. For moving caches, new co-ordinates will be treated as a published log.
  • Set the radius that you are interested in. Locationless caches will disregard the radius criteria.
  • If you want to use an email address OTHER than your current email address, enter your email address in the space provided otherwise leave it blank and your current email address will be used.

Currently only published and retracted log types are available. This may be extended over time to include other log types like temporarily disabled or reactivated.

For the purposes of GCA Cache Alerts, a moveable cache that has moved within your designated radius and has a new set of co-ordinates will be assumed to be a type of published log and you will be alerted.

For the purposes of GCA Cache Alerts locationless caches will disregard the radius criteria. This is due to locationless caches all having co-ordinates of 0/0 and will be some 10,000+km from your location.

GCA Cache Alerts are only provided if you have set your home co-odinates in your settings page. http://geocaching.com.au/my/settings/

GCA Alerts are generated in 5 minute intervals after the published, moved / found on moveable caches or a retracted log is saved. This means your alert will not be instantaneous, but is very likely to occur in the normal polling time of your email program, which is generally set to every 10 minutes or so.

GCA tries to include as much information as is feasible in the alert email including the cache description. For some complex formatted HTML cache descriptions, the format of the cache description in the email you receive may not look like it does on the cache page. GCA recommends you always check the cache page prior to running out the door for a quick FTF opportunity. Other information that should be contained in the email are the name, description, who hid it, when it was hidden, the difficulty and terrain, the locale and state, co-ordinates and cache type / container size. We do not currently provided a GPX file attachment option.

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