This morning I wrote a post about how to avoid geocache placement density issues. In a follow-up exchange with a member of the Ontario Geocaching Association I was challenged on whether or not an API to check distances would actually work. That’s when I remembered that perhaps one already exists.
If you have a my.garmin.com account you can already search for geocaching.com caches. This means that Garmin already has access to to the Groundspeak data. Unlike other sites Garmin is in a position to check to see if a cache being listed on opencaching.com is too close to one already listed on geocaching.com. Not only could Garmin check if the geocache was too close they could also return caches that are listed on geocaching.com directly into the opencaching.com interface.
It will be a major advantage for Garmin over the other alternative listing sites if Groundspeak continues to let them access their database as they are now. Questions about number of available caches and density issues go away if Garmin can return the Groundspeak data into the opencaching.com website.
teamvoyagr
I have been writing the cachemania blog since 2008. I'm interested in the development of geocaching and the many ways that people play the game.
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2 Comments until now
If you searching only single caches show up. But when sended to a gps “premium data” will show up, even if you dont have a premium account.
In march I made a dutch article about it on http://www.gps-info.nl/geocache.php .
Opencaching is showing german text now
Where’s the scoop? You can do that for more than two years now. There’s a bunch of geocaching.com material at garmin’s website.
Navicache, Terracache, Opencache, all of them have links to search for geocaches in Geocaching.com from a pre-determined location. For example, you can see a cache listed on opencaching.* and follow the link “look for nearby caches listed in geocaching.com”.
It’s been like that for years.
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