What counts/doesn't count??

General letterboxing discussion.

Moderator: Moderators

Nik - KOTM
Site Admin
Posts: 2615
Joined: Sat Mar 26, 2005 9:21 pm
Location: Somewhere over the rainbow

Post by Nik - KOTM »

When I am looking for a box I either do it properly with a compass - trip over it without a compass or if in a hurry - like a charity walk I use a GPS...does that answer your question?

Deciding upon which boxes count, is entirely up to you. As I said I might stamp up the kids boxes - make a note of the name - but they don't count towards my total.
It's like having 4999 boxes and trying to get the 5000 badge - you are only cheating yourself!
Nik 245 to go
Image
User avatar
Gemma
Trekker
Trekker
Posts: 239
Joined: Thu Jan 05, 2006 8:35 pm

Post by Gemma »

bog_baby wrote:Oh Nik are you a box snob :lol: I appreciate though that the large amounts of kids boxes can end up leading to a lot of plastic rubbish if they are placed and then forgotten about. I can also see that as an adult you wouldn't be interested in collecting stamps bought in Hobbycraft - it is such a great way to get the kids into it though!!!

Perhaps it would make sense that as you're not technically supposed to have the clue book till you get to 100 that the first 100 could be 'allowed' to be any stamps you find, then if you want the subsequent badges you have to find the proper boxes - oh look I've only been doing this 6 months and I'm already trying to make up the rules!!! :shock:

A big thankyou to everyone who explained naming the stamps, makes life a lot simpler then sending the books as proof!!!
sense that as you're not technically supposed to have the
clue book till you get to 100 that the first 100 could be 'allowed'


Not true: that "rule" was dumped many years ago

, then if you want the subsequent badges you have to find the proper boxes

Again NOT True any Letterbox stamp found on the Moor counts.

I guess there are more WOM boxes out there than Clue list. :) so not numbered..............
We seek them here, we seek them......
User avatar
moorland wizard
Adventurer
Adventurer
Posts: 768
Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2007 1:42 pm
Location: North Arabian Gulf

Post by moorland wizard »

you find out most WOM boxes are registered and end up n the catalogue after a couple of years, it helps keep the LTB from getting there hands on them and gives friends time to get the stamps.

as for the catalogue you dont have to get 100 stamps if you go to the meet as you dont need to prove you have them, just hand your money over.
Image
bog_baby
Hiker
Hiker
Posts: 156
Joined: Mon Sep 05, 2011 6:12 pm
Location: Wiltshire

Post by bog_baby »

Once we get to 100 might have ot invest in a GPS then, and try to hone my compass using skills at the same time......
Thank you everyone for your help with all my questions :D
brinbunny
Ambler
Ambler
Posts: 49
Joined: Fri Sep 04, 2009 11:56 am
Location: Basingstoke

Post by brinbunny »

We have a GPS which to be honest takes most of the fun out of diving under rocks (Which is my personal if slow favorite way of boxing)

I tend to use the GPS for Charity walks just because there is a time limit to how long they are available.

Tim is getting very good with compass after a brief lesson frm Richard one day on the moor.

As for what counts we stamp them all except the ones that are degraded beyond repair.

Here is a link to a compass reading website that I found useful

http://geographyfieldwork.com/UsingCompass.htm
The Basingstoke letterboxers - Tim and Ruth WE GOT 100 BOXES - WHOOP WHOOP - onwards and upwards . . . . .
Nik - KOTM
Site Admin
Posts: 2615
Joined: Sat Mar 26, 2005 9:21 pm
Location: Somewhere over the rainbow

Post by Nik - KOTM »

The GPS is essential for one thing as far as I am concerned, and that is finding my way back to the car quickly especially when the weather turns nasty.
Nik 245 to go
Image
Dartymoor
Hiker
Hiker
Posts: 199
Joined: Sun Aug 21, 2011 7:15 pm
Location: Hennock

Post by Dartymoor »

I actually resisted getting a GPS because I'm a bit of a tightwad, but what decided me was around May this year.

I went up to Okehampton camp for the first ever time, determined to get to Cranmere Pool. I didn't know about the roads going into the moor, although I now know they went even closer forming the north dartmoor loop.

Anyway, it was very very foggy. Unfamiliar area. I drove south as far as I could and parked up next to an observation post where a sign prevented further access. Consulting the OS map, there were 3 or 4 possible places I could be and I didn't know which one. (Turns out I was actually at another place and that OP wasn't on the map!)

I did go walking, and the fog lifted after a couple of hours and I did find Cranmere, but starting a walk without knowing where I was meant I had to stick to the roads. No reference points, no starting position. Map and compass aren't so useful at that point :(

There have also been many times in the past where the weather has got worse and finding the car again hasn't been easy. With a gps, provided you have batteries, these are worries that go away.
Kenton Kestrel
Hiker
Hiker
Posts: 104
Joined: Wed Nov 02, 2011 12:51 am
Location: Kenton, Devon

Post by Kenton Kestrel »

They are a very useful bit of kit to have with you when the weather turns nasty.

Only problem with them is their ability to win first prize in a battery eating contest!
User avatar
Box Hunter
Hiker
Hiker
Posts: 65
Joined: Sat Jun 18, 2011 10:00 pm
Location: London

Post by Box Hunter »

I too have recently succumbed to buying a GPS having started boxing long before such things existed. The GPS certainly came in handy on a couple of misty days last week, but I got more satisfaction out of tracking down boxes using a map and compass when the requisite 8/10 figure grids were not provided with the clues.

They do eat batteries, as Kenton Kestrel says, and for that reason I'm not sure we should suggest that they are "essential" for anything, least of all finding ones way back to the car if the weather turns bad. This could encourage too much reliance on fallible technology. For me, letterboxing the traditional way was an excellent way of honing micro-navigation skills using map and compass. With a bit of practice, these skills should certainly be good enough to find your way to something as large and poorly concealed as a car, even in a thick Dartmoor mist!
Patience helps....
kk
Hiker
Hiker
Posts: 129
Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2008 10:18 pm

Post by kk »

I use a GPS also and use recharchable batteries in mine. Do make suure that if you use recharchable ones they have a high mAh figure or they will not last long, mine are 2450.
bog_baby
Hiker
Hiker
Posts: 156
Joined: Mon Sep 05, 2011 6:12 pm
Location: Wiltshire

Post by bog_baby »

As I am always running out of batteries when using my camera I could certainly imagine the GPS having the same problem. It probably wouldn't be wise for me to be too reliant on it but at the same time I can see how it could be very useful!!!
Tamerton Chocolates
Hiker
Hiker
Posts: 87
Joined: Wed Jul 21, 2010 2:04 pm

Post by Tamerton Chocolates »

As long as you make sure the GPS has a lock (otherwise it will be forever desperately trying to find satellites) the batteries should easily last longer then the couple of hours spent on the moor in one day. If they don't then invest in a pair of new high powered (rechargeable) ones.
exeter bog hoppers
Hiker
Hiker
Posts: 79
Joined: Tue Sep 26, 2006 10:27 pm
Location: Exeter,Devon

Post by exeter bog hoppers »

I use the garmin etrex h (the yellow one) the batterys last for about 4 day and that is useing the the sony batterys from poundland
Image
User avatar
panomobile
Hiker
Hiker
Posts: 163
Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2008 8:11 pm
Contact:

Post by panomobile »

I also have a Garmin Etrex H and I must say it never drains my batteries. I use rechargeable batteries as well.

To the question of "what counts". They all count to me whether I get them on the moors at a meet or in a pub, in they go.
Post Reply