Hobbies And Interests
Geocaching
In the summer of 2000, the United States government removed then-current restrictions that made positioning satellite signals unavailable to the general public. With the restrictions lifted, any consumer with a GPS receiver could pinpoint his exact location on the planet. Geocaching emerged almost immediately and has steadily increased in popularity until, at the time of this publication, more than five million people around the world play the game. Using GPS devices, players, called geocachers, hide containers, called caches, of varying size and shape and upload the exact location coordinates to a website, where other players then attempt to find that same container with nothing more than the GPS coordinates and some other basic information. When found, the containers are not removed, but instead rehidden for other players to find. A logbook or sheet is always inside the cache, and if space permits many geocachers leave small toys or other trinkets for children. Marketed as a family-friendly activity, geocaching can be appropriate for families and small children, but can also appeal to the solo adventurist and thrill-seeker.
Global Positioning System
Geocaching could not exist without public access to the Global Positioning System. The United States government controls and maintains the 24 satellites orbiting the Earth that comprise the system. These satellites transmit signals to the planet that, when received by specialized devices, provide an accurate location. Unfortunately, despite the advanced technology and simplicity of the location-by-triangulation concept, several factors may interfere with the capability to acquire a near-perfect pinpoint location. The quality of the receiver, cloud cover and other atmospheric phenomenon disrupt satellite transmissions and degrade the signals, which lowers the accuracy of the reported position data. However, methods and devices have been invented to assist GPS receivers in ensuring their data is as accurate as possible.
Geobeacon
A geobeacon is one such invention, with the solitary purpose of providing additional location data to nearby GPS receivers. These beacons, traditionally located at a fixed point on the ground to maintain accuracy, transmit signals to GPS devices within range, which they in turn use to correct or adjust location data. However, recent improvements in hardware and software development have led to portable geobeacons like the one available from Trimble. These small, lightweight units continuously read data received from the satellites and resend that data back into the surrounding environment. The benefit to geocachers is that nearby geobeacons, or mobile beacon units like the Trimble, send accurate position information to their handheld GPS receivers faster than satellites, allowing for even more localized search efforts.
Colloquialism
Although the technical definition of a geobeacon leaves little room for interpretation, and even less for misunderstanding, an undeniable and likely unintentional secondary definition has been growing in acceptance in recent years and in certain areas of the country. Geocachers sometimes refer to a specific signal, hint, unnatural rock formation or other evidence of a cache as a geobeacon. Though not a formal definition, the colloqualized use of the word is logical and can be expected to persist.