Reverse Geocaching Christmas Gift Box

This is the reverse geocache box that [William Dillon] built as a Christmas gift this year. He started with an interestingly shaped wooden box from the craft store. The clasp to keep it shut uses a servo motor on the lid with a wooden arm that grasps a screw on the base. As with the original geocache box, the Frustratomatic, and the smaller geocache, the box is designed to open only when in the correct geographic location thanks to the GPS module inside. That was a problem for [William] when a bug in his firmware locked the box during development while the key location was 1000 miles away. Luckily the box uses hinges that are attached from the outside with screws. We wonder how feasible it would be to use the mounting screws from the LCD screen to implement a coded emergency entry, using one as ground and the others as paths to microcontroller pins.

12 thoughts on “Reverse Geocaching Christmas Gift Box

  1. So (what you are saying is) if William was a bit better at building boxes – he would have had to walk 1000 miles to debug this project?

    Funniest thing hackaday has ever posted (well, probably).

  2. Just add a key controlled switch to activate the servo in case of developer error, or one of a million different secret methods to bypass a security systems. Taking the hinges off is just a sign that no thought was put into securing the box. I’m not sure what this post is actually showing off.

  3. @Bob seriously? This is meant more for fun than military operations. If he had made the hinges more secure, what would stop the recipient from just smashing it with a hammer?

    The fun of this project is not so much getting what is inside, but the journey required to unlock it.

  4. @both of you

    My point is that he should have had some foresight and designed the box with a method to override the lock. Taking the hinges off your door because you locked yourself out of your house is nothing to be proud of. Honestly, what is the point of this? We’ve seen these boxes before. Had he implemented a cool bypass, it would be a different story.

    How about two or more thermistors near the surface of the box and close to each other. Place your hand on one but not the others, press the geocache button, the lock opens. I wouldn’t do what the author suggested with the screws because the box would be susceptible static shock and accidental opening.

  5. So Bob…if you’ve got all these great ideas, why don’t you do it and submit the project? Until then, don’t shit all over something neat that someone else built just because it’s not what you would have done.

  6. I love reverse geocache boxes, but I have to agree with others; test the code and hardware before you lock yourself out of the box! It would have been cool if he included details of the GPS module, I can’t seem to find inexpensive modules anywhere.

    @Patrick
    It’s good to see that you have something constructive to add… oh wait, all you did is whine in your comment. Take your own advice and quit posting useless crap. At least Bob’s post had ideas and insight, yours was just worthless angry babble.

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