September 4, 2010

Why A Blinky?

Often times you'll run across a cache description or hint that states something like, "you're looking for a well-camouflaged blinky". Okay, fine. What does that mean? Am I looking for something that lights up, a reflector, or a traffic signal? 


Well, after finding enough of these things, I finally figured out that a blinky is another name for a nano cache (I tend to be a little slow on the uptake). But I've always been bothered as to why that is. Well, I finally found a decent definition from GeoLex that satisfied my curiosity: 


Blinky – Often used as another word for Nano. In reality, a “blinky” is a small light, using a button battery and micro LEDs. They are intended to be attached to clothing, or even as earrings. They come with a powerful base magnet, and a similar removable magnet, to allow it to be attached to clothing without the need of puncturing the fabric. The electronics and battery can be removed in order to create a Nano cache with a magnetic base.


Sounds like the perfect accessory from the 1980's. Glad to see they've found new life in the geocaching world.


Cache On!


(image courtesy of http://saminc.ca/tradingco/) 

3 comments:

Erika Jean said...

I've found plenty of nano caches, but never have heard the term.

Thanks for the info!

Anonymous said...

Ohhh that's what they are! :) Thanks for sharing! Ive heard them mentioned on some of the Geocaching podcasts. Sometimes I like a good nano. I remember the time before we'd found any and we tried to find a couple but had to DNF as we were thinking of something much bigger. When we managed to find one it was like "WOW! They come this small???" Good fun!

Unknown said...

I have always wondered what that term meant, and now I can add it to my list of common geocaching jargon! It is difficult to keep up with so many acronyms in geocaching, but it is important to keep up with the terms because they can be very helpful in your search. Thanks!