Return to Project-GC

Welcome to Project-GC Q&A. Ask questions and get answers from other Project-GC users.

If you get a good answer, click the checkbox on the left to select it as the best answer.

Upvote answers or questions that have helped you.

If you don't get clear answers, edit your question to make it clearer.

+1 vote
930 views
Hi, I currently have 2 TB's that I've found in caches. For some reason I can't log them (blocked by owner?). I can't even find them in the Groundspeak database. Since I'm only started caching this year, I expect this number to grow. So I was wondering what to do with those?

Maybe it's possible to make a reversed TB rescue or something?
in Miscellaneous by Sportilicious (1.9k points)

3 Answers

+2 votes
 
Best answer
There are a few different possibilities.  Kakuje provides one option, but there are other potential issues.  Bottom line, what is the exact response that you get when you put the 6-character TB code in to geocaching.com/track?

If it says that the trackable doesn't exist, then it could be an error with the code.  Some characters may be hard to read, and there are some character that are not used -- for example, unless it is part of a custom coin code, like "OC" for Oak Coins," the letter O is not used for TB codes -- try using the number 0 instead.  Similarly, I should almost never be used, try 1 instead.  Other letters can simply be hard to read because they are worn away or were not well printed in the first place -- a Z might look like 2 or vice versa, an 8 can be mistaken for a 3 or a B, a Q might look like an O.

Or, it may not be trackable on geocaching.com.  (If the code is more or less than six characters, it won't be.)  There are some competing websites that sell products that look similar to travel bugs, but are not trackable on geocaching.com, like pathtags or geokrety.  It should say something to the effect of "Log me on geocaching.com" -- if it does not, then you need to log it elsewhere.

If the trackable isn't activated, then it may be yours to keep and activate it under your account.

Finally, some travel bugs may have been moved into a cacher's collection and then released into the wild anyway.  You'll know this is the case if you only have the option to discover the trackable and not to grab it from the current holder.  If this happens, contact the trackable's owner, let them know you have it, and work with them to see if they will release it from their collection so you can move it along.
by hzoi (8.3k points)
selected by Sportilicious
Yes, 1 seems to be a GeoKret. The other seems to be locked (owner doesn't reply, doesn't unlock).
+1 vote
This problem usually happens if you copy/write the code wrongly or it is not the TB at all. There are various trackable items that are not trackable on geocaching.com. For example geokrety.org.

The best way to make sure you will minimize these cases is taking the pictures of them and making sure they are properly readable and they contain the text "Trackable at geocaching.com".

Once you copy the code wrongly, there is no way to find out what letter was wrong, unless you try quite much all the possibilities (with possibility to find out other codes, that is something what other owners do not like.
by Jakuje (Moderator) (117k points)
0 votes
I came across a TB with a seven character alpha-numeric code that I have tried every combination to log but I cant log it. I have hung onto it till I can work out what to do with it.
by DARKSIDEDAN (3.7k points)
Was the TB listed on the cache page? If so if you look at its details you will be able to contact the owner and ask them what the code is for it. When you do then release it perhaps be kind and put a sticker/label with it written on for the next discoverer!
The code on the tb is something that looks like the following code (not actual code)

As5&dn7
...