Dan_Edwards

Ya but the Palm software I have tried sucks for the most part. Geoniche is a great GPS, but I could not take the tracks into TopoUSA, and I would have to stop recording a track if I wanted to use XMap. Xmap was a ok mapping program, and could record a track you could bring to TopoUSA but it was slow, buggy, and sucked when you got close to the cache. Now this GPS with a Bluetooth phone could do everything a Treo could and probably be a lot more compatible with GPS software. I am just guessing there though. Maybe it does not even have NEMA output. Besides... It has a friken laser beam coming out of its forehead... How can you beat that

Found this article on Geekzone from a story on Slashdot. Anyway this sounds like a great Geocaching GPS. Projecting waypoints, no problem with laser guided assist. Pocket PC built in for Paperless cache reports. Compass, digital camera, and inclinometer all intergrated together. Now to find out if its a jack of all trades and master of none. The software is what will make or break this thing.

A little more comment on the user interface of GPS's. I see a trend to include features that don't relate to location retrieval such as games. These are ok as long as they don't get in the way of the GPS primary function. But I would really like to see more work on trying to make the GPS show what I want to know as quickly and easily as possible. Things like... Figure out that it is after sunset in location you’re at so by default turn on the backlight if any button is pressed. I am always an advocate of being to disable a feature by the way. Being able to add user customizable features. You can't predict everything a person is going to need. This could allow things like scripts. I would use one to change from a "Hiking" screen layout to a "Geocache" screen layout (both that I would have customized) if I came within 100ft of a Geocache. If your traveling faster then 10 mph, but less then 30, switch to "Bike mode" if faster then 30 but less then 150 go to car mode, if greater then 150 then "air" and if greater then 2000 then "Orbit/ISS" mode Like I said, customizable. I like that I talk about above, but it would be horrible to have a GPS do the above if all they ever did was horseback riding. Also allowing people to share setups/scripts would be great. Another thing. Out of the box have most extra stuff turned off. It takes a while before people even know what they want something as complex as a GPS to do. After they start to know what they want, make it easy for them to find out how to do it.

Oh I so have to second that! Even go further as to encourage people to upload trails they have mapped and make them available. It gives people even more reason to buy your GPS and costs you very little as your users willingly make your product more appealing.

Complete user interface redesign, and bluetooth standard. For the user interface side, I want something like a hockey puck, but with a screen in the middle and big clickable buttons on the outside. Something you could wear around your chest, pick it up one handed and click the buttons in thick gloves while snowshoeing. Color screen would be hi-res, color and very readable in bright sunlight and backlight for night. Rather then trying to type text with a new waypoint I would rather just speak a quick note. Waterproof and able to survive all but the most serious falls. Memory card with data storage (waypoints, tracks, voice notes) only limited by your pocketbook rather then the GPS. User interface customizable so you can choose what data is on the screen at one time. You could even store custom setups for Snowshoing, Geocaching, Exersise, Driving Etc. I tried the "I want it to do it all" route and found that it tends to do each thing poorly. I would prefer that more devices talk to each other. For instance, digital camera with bluetooth would see GPS with bluetooth and store the Lat/Long and Sat Time on each photo in the JPEG file (Not on the picture itself, but as a tag). Or have a PDA see the camera, and the GPS and do the job as well. Maybe storing a custom tracklog that notes where you took a picture. Well at least I know what I want anyway

Stay away from Color Maps. If you hike a lot in National Parks then Garmin offers the best topo maps on handhelds, if your outside of NP's then Magellan offers the best topo maps. If you snowshow a lot I like the big buttons on the Meridian models. If your going to be away from a PC for long periods of time I like the memory cards on the Meridian's for storing my tracks to the memory card for each hike I do. A = A

quote:Originally posted by Madd Trakker:I just started geocaching. We dug out our old Visor Handspring that had a Magellan GPS on it. My husband got it two Christmases ago, and it never really worked. Well, it was a beautiful sunny day on Sunday and after about 20 minutes, we got a fix and we went geocaching and found our first two caches--but they were in the suburbs--no big trees or buildings. The rain and clouds finally came (I'm 20 miles west of Seattle) this week and I have not been able to get a fix. The thing has been on for hours and DAYS. I've replaced batteries. I've driven to different places--nothing. So, I thought I probably needed a new GPS and narrowed it down to a Garmin etrax Legend. However, the more I read, the more I found that cloud cover and lots of trees would interfere with a signal. This is something I'll have alot of around here. Am I out of luck? What have you found? How long SHOULD it take to get a fix? Thanks for your help! A few things I learned while I was using the GPS module with my Visors. I used it with both a Deluxe and a Pro. Reception was pretty good with the Deluxe, but it was great with the Pro. First fix after resets take a while. The only time this GPS does a warm restart is if neither unit has had batteries changed, resets done, so first fix takes a while a lot of the time. A lot of the Deluxe Visors have bad RF problems and will not work well with Wireless devices, if your have poor reception with new batteries, I would suspect that first. Having a GPS on the PDA is pretty cool, but its a jack of all trades and master of few. The Topo Maps available on the PDA are much more detailed then GPS handhelds, but GPS handhelds are a lot more dependable in the woods. The combo of both is nice. A = A

quote:Originally posted by Alphawolf:Garmin has just started releasing 1:24,000 scale quads in MapSource. They are only of national parks and recreation areas for now. I have seen these, and by luck one of the main areas I go hiking in is Rocky Mountain National Park. While this would not solve 100% of my problems it would be a start. Ok, Garmin now just make waterproof, outdoor version of the iQue and I am SOOOOOO there. Dan A = A

quote:Originally posted by Clffhngr:Both National Geo and Delorme offer very detailed topo maps there are two problems. One, the cost, it ranges from $100 to $200 "PER STATE!!" National Geo has the ability to down load to a pda, don't know about Delorme." Well I used Delorme TopoUSA 4 with my PDA and it was more detailed current GPS handhelds. I looked into getting National Geographics program for the palm but I never could find any info about how well it ran on the Palm. After my disapointment in the reliability of Delorme's program, I was warry of NG's product. From the box it appeared kinda like a haphazard add on to a very powerful PC program (I have heard nothing but good things about the desktop version) but the box for the Palm version not only did not answer my questions, it left me with new ones. So I never did get it. A = A

quote:. The amount of data in a quad set is enormous! And, you won't get a very big quad map on the available memory of any current handheld Garmin model. I think your forgeting about the iQue... Unlimited memory expansion on that. Now Garmin just needs to make it a regular feature on most models. A = A

Ok I would also like to have some very detailed Topo maps. When I first started hiking outside with GPS I was using a Visor/GPS combo with maps downloaded from TopoUSA 4. I thought the maps were a little low on detail, but as I found out later, they are the most detailed I have seen on handheld units. After losing my GPS module I got a steal of a deal on a Magellan Meri-green with memory card and the mapsend Topo software. I was disapointed that the maps were not as detailed as TopoUSA on the Magellan and then just recently I got to play with a Garmin iQue. After looking at the topo with that I don't see why they bother with Topo at all. It's a true shame because the iQue would really have to horsepower to really play with it, I would love to see Garmin add 3D ploting to that... Anyway, my point is that all of the above are disapointing to me. I would really love to create my own maps to download and there are programs for the Garmin that do that and some for Magellan in works. So once I have to the software to do this is there some place that has detail topo data for download. Does anyone here have any expirence createing thier own maps who would like to talk about it? Dan A = A

quote:Originally posted by zoltig:It will be a very busy couple of weeks but I plan to get a few caches in. Hoping to get a TB or two to bring back. Well if you want one to take with you I plan on placing MoJo Sunday because I have failed to move for way, way too long. I will place it in my Epic Kids Cache Looking forward to seeing what you bring back. A = A

quote:Originally posted by wickedsprint:Not a big fan of color, wonder if the 51mb will also be for the grey screen. I have to wonder the same thing. I always have hopes that the next color screen to come out will be good, but I have yet to hold one in my hands I was happy with. I am really, really hoping this is real. I would like to have a reason to have my first Garmin :-) A = A

I used to think that convergance was a great idea, now I find that what I really want is just all my stuff to work together smoothly. I just want want my cell phone to be a cellphone and my GPS to be a GPS and my PDA to be a PDA, but I want them to all talk to each other without my thinking about it. I.E. if my PDA is near the GPS, then it could find out where I am at the moment. Bluetooth could allow this this, but I don't know if any of the current really support this concept. This all came about because I wanted to get wireless internet via 802.11 in a handheld. At first I thought about the new Treo 600 and just get a 802.11 card for it, but its 160X160 screen just sucks for web pages. So then I looked at HP or Dell Pocket PC units, but after playing with the PocketPC OS again I decided I really could not handle having MS run my handheld again (my first handheld was a PocketPC). I have already made up my mind that my next computer will be a Apple, just have not made up my mind if it will be a laptop or desktop model. So then I thought about just replacing the screen on my Handspring Visor Pro and getting a 802.11 springboard card. That would be about $150 and that is most of the way to a PDA with wireless, so that was out. Then I saw the Palm Tungsten C. It does have 802.11 built in and it has a card slot so I could add bluetooth or more memory. Fast processor so you can surf and word process quickly and it has a fold up keyboard available. If I got a bluetooth cell phone I should be able to get it to have internet access if 802.11 is not available. Although I would have went with the Treo600 if the screen had been high res, so maybe I am not moving away from convergance so much as finding convergence means making stuff for the lowest common denominator, and that is never me :-) A = A

Sigh no one really makes the GPS I really want... This one looks really good till I got to the part with the screen res. in the 150ish X 150ish range... I do like that it is grey scale though, color sucks too much power and is too hard to read outdoors for now. I really want something about double this res. I also like the memory card, after having that with my Meridian I would really hate to give that up. Not a bad GPS just does not have anything that jumps out says I need to dump what I have and get this. I miss the days when that would happen. A = A

quote:Originally posted by Whiskey Park Gang:We planted a cache which is just off a snowshow trail near Steamboat Springs. The cache is called Bruce's Box, and is on "Bruce's Trail" on Rabbit Ears Pass. I would suggest possibly planting one at Steamboat Lake, but you would need the park's permission, as I understand it. There are a lot of trails in the area, however. You know I have never made it to Steamboat Springs yet, and it has been on my "I need to do that someday" list for a long time. That sounds like something I need to do this winter. Maybe in January or Febuary after things with baby calm down a bit. A = A

Topo USA will do all that you listed and allow you to view your location in 3D as well. You would want a half powerful laptop to do this in realtime with your GPS hooked up to it though. A = A

If you own a Meridian, you have to join this Yahoo Group the FAQ's and message archive will answer this and just about any other question you might have about it. A extreamly active group. A = A

Snowshoe caching: It is going to soon be that time again when I stop hiking and start snowshoeing. I have wanted to plant a traditional cache for a while that was either a year-round cache that could be done even in the snow, or one specificly designed only to be done in snow. I plan to ask in a seperate section of the website about how the mechanics of such a cache might work, but where in Colorado to put it? I am up for anyplace legal, but any special places. I am thinking of someplace that would be best on snowshoes, but away from the trail enough that you would be able to easily do the cache without being seen. Probably pretty easy since even in Rocky Moutain Park it is easy to be by yourself in the winter. I would really love a snowshoe place that few people know of. A = A

quote:Originally posted by CdirtO:Morning All, I used the above term loosely, as it is 12:01 am as I type this! Had a good talk with some of my friends and met many new people at the picnic. Josh, again, you did an excellent job of setting up and hosting the event! Thanks very much for a great time. I will have to second that, it was a great event. My only wish is that I could have stayed longer. Well next year I will have a 11 month old with me and my wife and I will remember chairs... I remember noting that on the web page but when it came time to put them in car somehow that step was skipped. quote:On another note, there is an excellent possibility that we will have forums on the C.A.C.H.E. website in the next month! A member of Thieves in the Knight has offered us around 100MB on a server he hosts and will give us all the necessities required for forums and php productivity. Most cool! Huge thanks to Thieves of the Knight for stepping up and doing that! Dan A = A

Well I am off to todays event cache. As a bonus my wife is feeling pretty good today and will be joining me. Yea! Well I am off for the long drive with my wife. Dan A = A

I have only owned Magellan in the past, but I have no brand loyality whatsoever. Looking the three you listed, they are pretty much the same. I would go with the Magellan just because I like the form factor and the price better. If you can find a deal on one of the Garmin's causing them to be cheaper I would go with them. Since you won't be using the mapping software one big plus is that you won't be tied into buy one companies mapping software making future GPS buying more open as well. That said, after having a mapping GPS you would have to pry it from my cold dead hands to make me go back to the old way. Dan A = A

Just thought I would start a place in the forums to talk about what is happening in Geocaching and Colorado. Some cool Colorado Geocaching Links. C.A.C.H.E Home The Colorado Latest Caches & Event Caches Geocaching Colorado Map The Event Cache Calendar A = A

quote:if it matters I have: Handspring Visor Neo (8MB) Palm OS Using Plucker, gpx2.html, and easygps to download and view cache pages to my PDA & GPS unit. Actually you left off the most important part, what GPS are you using. Since the map is important to you, I am guessing that it is not a mapping model. Well I can say the routing from Delorme's XMap on the Palm is pretty much useless because it is so slow that you can drive there by the time it calc a route for you. A = A

Out of those I would go with the iQue. The battery life only sucks if the GPS is on. Since you have a GPS for the trail already, this means you will have power available from the car when your using the GPS for long periods of time. Away from the car, using the GPS only when needed, the iQue would provide a lot more useful functions like geocaching search query access when it's away from the car via the PDA which uses much less power. Dan A = A