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Help and FAQ

This page answers the questions players ask most, in a line or two each. Each answer links to the page that covers it in full.

Finds and logging

My find shows Logged. Why? Nothing independent placed you at the cache: your phone's location was off, too far away or not allowed, and no receiving station heard your beacon. A cache that needs Radio-verified keeps your Location-verified badge but does not count it as verified; the result card says so. See How finds are verified.

The app asks for my location. What is it used for? When you log a find, the app reads your phone's location once and sends it with the find. That reading makes the find Location-verified. The map also uses it to show where you are and how far a cache is. If you refuse, the find is still logged, as Logged. See Log a find.

I logged the same cache twice. Each cache takes one find from each person. Logging it again with the same callsign shows You already logged this and keeps the first find. See Log a find.

I have no signal at the cache. Log the find as usual. The app saves it, signs it with the time you made it, and sends it when the signal returns. Make an offline pack of the area before you go. See Hunting without signal.

My radio log was not acknowledged. Your radio gets an acknowledgement only when it numbers the message; check that setting on your radio. The instance accepts at most ten commands per hour from one callsign and ignores the rest. A message that reached the instance only over the internet waits under You → Logs sent over the air until you tap Confirm. See Log from your radio.

My radio log was refused. Your callsign must be verified on your account before radio logs count. Verify it under Settings → Account. See Verify your callsign.

The map and caches

Why don't I see a cache my friend sees? Your friend may use another instance, which links up with other instances than yours. Caches from instances your sysop has not vetted stay hidden until you turn on Include unvetted network data under Search & filter. Check the Cache type filter there as well. See Getting to your instance.

A cache says "mirrored from" another instance, and I can't log it. That cache lives on another instance. Log your find there; it shows on your map once that instance publishes it. See Getting to your instance.

The "you're near" banner never appears. The app must be open. Either the app has your phone's location (the locate button on the map, Nearby or Find) with a reading accurate to 100 m or better, or the instance hears your APRS beacon from the callsign you are signed in with. Each cache prompts once a session, and your own, archived or disabled caches never prompt. See Find a cache.

Your account

I have no amateur radio licence. Can I play? You can browse the map, the caches and the leaderboard without an account. Signing in needs a callsign, which a licence gives you. See No licence yet.

I can't sign in with a passkey on my club's instance. Passkeys work only on an https:// address. On a plain http:// instance, sign in with the email link, or ask your sysop for a one-time sign-in link. See Getting to your instance.

I have a new phone or computer. How do I sign in there? If Apple or Google syncs your passkeys, Sign in with passkey works on it at once. Otherwise sign in once with your phone's passkey by QR code or with the email link, then tap Add a passkey on this device under Settings → Account. See Use more than one device.

I have a new callsign. Add it under Settings → Account → Add a callsign, verify it, and tap Set active. Your past finds stay with the call you logged them under. See Several callsigns.

How do I delete my data? Settings → Your data → Erase my account removes your account, keys and personal data and anonymises your finds. Export my data gives you a full copy first. See Your data.

I lost my phone. Sign in on another device and tap Settings → Account → Sign out everywhere. Every session of your account ends. See Sign out.

The instance

Who runs this instance? A ham, a club or a group: its sysop. Settings → Help & credits → About this instance names the sysop's callsign when the instance publishes it; otherwise ask the person or club that gave you the address. See Getting to your instance.

Something on a cache page is wrong or offensive. Tap More (⋯) beside it, then Report…. The sysop gets your report; the person you report never learns who sent it. See Report a problem.

Where do I report a bug? First search the manual and the project's existing issues. Then ask in GitHub Discussions, or open an issue with the bug template on the same project. A problem with one instance, such as your account or a missing cache, goes to its sysop.

Still stuck?

Ask your sysop. Say which instance you use, what you tried, and what the app showed. A screenshot of the message helps.

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