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caderoux

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Posts posted by caderoux

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  2. I have a new XV6700 pda/smartphone from Verizon and would like to get a bluetooth gps for it, definitely using the new sirf3 chipset. Anyone know a good one and some useable software for geocaching?

     

    Ditto - I had a Pocket Copilot I used with Mapopolis but it died on Saturday afternoon (Bluetooth connection but no serial connection - tried two different PDAs).

  3. This was a known problem and I thought it was fixed, but I got a new Axim and had the problem a lot on Sunday - but it was the first time using the Axim and I might not have loaded the right version. I haven't had time to check the website to see if it's updated. There are now two other competing programs which would be worth checking out - Cachemate and Smache.

  4. If it's just a backup unit, why not shop on EBay for a used Magellan Meridian? I just picked up a Meridian Yellow for $55. SD card support, quad helix antenna, nice big screen, etc. for 1/6th what you are planning to spend. Just tossing it out there for ya.

     

    I am worried about all the various software defects with the older units - and as they get older, updates are less and less likely. In fact, I'm really hoping to get a look at the new DeLorme before buying anything - it really sounds like they could be giving Garmin and Magellan a run for their money.

  5. And if you take Garmin's rebate into account (good until the end of the year), the final cost of the 60Cx from Amazon would be $304.99 plus maps. If autorouting is important to you, I would recommend going with the 60Cx. Check out this topic comparing Garmin and Magellan's autorouting implementations.

     

    I had to look up what you meant by PI/2 discount.

    Yes, I knew about the rebate. I'll check out the thread. I use routing all the time in Mapopolis.

  6. My system was fairly automated. The PQs arrived in GSAK automatically and export to a GPX which was converted to Mapopolis and loaded on SD. On hunts, the latest GPX and Mapopolis data were always available, so I would just head out the door. I used just the Pocket PC and a BlueTooth GPS with Mapopolis + GPXSonar to read the cache listings.

     

    However, after my Pocket PC died one night, and having to make do with my wife's ForeRunner (no manual coordinate entry) on a couple of caches, I'm thinking I need a spare full-featured GPS.

     

    My replacement Pocket PC arrives on Monday, so I can get my old system working again, but I don't want to have to go days or weeks without a "real" caching alternative.

     

    The spares I'm looking at are either the Garmin 60Cx or the Magellan eXplorist XL. Basically, these would be loaded the same way from GSAK's exports in as automatic a way as possible. Then these could be used instead of the PDA at any time - say if I was kayaking and preferred not to mess around with the otter box etc. Using one of these without the PDA, I know I will sacrifice the cache listings. (I know this is a stupid question, but with a GPS that powerful, it wouldn't take much to display a little XML...)

     

    I have never owned a regular GPS (unless you count the Garmin ForeRunner) - my interface to the GPS has always been through the Pocket PC - either CoPilot or Mapopolis.

     

    Both units are just over $300. Obviously the SD card is the main feature I need for easy data load.

     

    I know that both would also require the separate purchase of maps in order to do routing like I have with Mapopolis.

     

    Anyone who has used both extensively or have pointers to good comparisons?

     

    As far as pricing - Amazon.com seems lower than any other store with the Cx for 354.99 and the XL for 318.39 (this is before the PI/2 discount and obviously, shipping is almost always free there). All the bargain GPS sites I have looked at are significantly more expensive. Anybody have a store they absolutely love that has pricing that good?

  7. My HP 5555 died.

     

    I use Mapopolis exclusively for geocaching (street nav on the way, then on foot). I have a BT GPS (CoPilot).

     

    I'm looking for a replacement.

     

    My requirements:

     

    Mapopolis

    SD slot

    Screen reasonably viewable in daylight

    Reasonable battery life

     

    What are the best current PPC models, and does Mapopolis handle Windows Mobile 5?

  8. Geocaching.com does a far better job of handling free image uploads than flickr and photobucket do with handling geocache listings. :lol: The business buzzword is "core competencies."

     

    I would think the addition of as many compelling photos as possible does directly contribute to the user experience gc.com is aiming for - like the gallery feature. It may be a question of priorities rather than competencies. I find it painful to upload more than a couple to a log.

     

    I uploaded the photos to Flickr - I just wanted to know if this was considered bad form, since it cannot show up in the cache's gallery or contribute to the gc.com experience.

  9. This is related to adding images to a log. Part of the problem is that there is no way to upload more than one picture at a time, so you have to browse to each one and then wait for it to upload. Using Flickr Uploadr, I drag all the images to the window and then a few clicks and it starts uploading and I don't have to go back every couple minutes to upload the next photo. Even if you upload on Flickr's regular web-based page, you can upload more than one at a time.

  10. I've got a bunch of photos to upload for a single cache. I've uploaded them all to flickr with just a couple clicks, but it's very time consuming to re-upload them here, one at a time. Is it considered bad form to just tell people to look at the photos on flickr? Alternatively, are there going to be improvements to make uploading of photos easier?

     

    Well, I'll tell you what I think.

     

    Are you trying to tell a story of your geocaching adventure with you pictures? If not, then it probably would be bad form for a link and just post one or two relevant pictures (no giveaways). If you are telling a story, I don't see why you can't link to Flickr after a teaser picture or two on gc.com.

     

    Team Gamsci

    It's a cemetery, the cache is http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...ee-ac6008f82ca5 (I was FTF on this cache last year, but have returned a few times to check on the cache, and of course the location is compelling). I uploaded the first picture to gc.com with about the same effort it took to upload 26 to flickr. I would probably rather just link to flickr photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/caderoux/sets...57594254043657/ than spend an hour uploading the photos.

  11. I've got a bunch of photos to upload for a single cache. I've uploaded them all to flickr with just a couple clicks, but it's very time consuming to re-upload them here, one at a time. Is it considered bad form to just tell people to look at the photos on flickr? Alternatively, are there going to be improvements to make uploading of photos easier?

  12. This questions comes up so many times you'd think gc.com might offer it as a paid service!

     

    Luckily, GSAK has enough features to handle this - simply add a criteria to every filter in GSAK - updated in last day. Run your PQs every day so you'll never have stale data, and turn on notifies of archivings.

     

    Personally, I use a two week window in GSAK, get my PQs at a rate which doesn't strain the system (only updated last 7 days), and review notifies in case it's a cache on my watchlist.

     

    So many reasons have been given by gc.com and simply aren't easily defensible, and given the known workarounds using GSAK, it almost feels like a waste of breath:

     

    One previous answer was that if the cache were removed because of a land management issue (someone at a park got upset because it violated some unknown regulation), then all trace should be gone.

     

    Except that all trace is not gone, in your printed listings, nor in your GPS, nor on the website. Being able to get at least waypoint IDs and status of archived caches (not coordinates or even as much data as is in the my finds PQ) would facilitate people cleaning their other databases which don't have the date load filtering features of GSAK.

     

    The other reason is that GC.com has long looked at themselves as the first and only place to have the database of caches. The database is constantly live and updating. If you want to know what caches are active on GC.com, you should look on GC.com, not in a GSAK database that is a snapshot of the data, and stale the minute it goes out the door.

     

    As is the data in your GPS which you may be paranoid about losing or your printouts which you don't feel like checking through to remove each archive entry. As soon as you walk out the door it's stale. One could ask why they offer the site at all besides over mobile devices?

  13. The problem of longitude is linked with timekeeping in an intimate way.

     

    360 / 24 hours => each degree of longitude is equivalent to 4 minutes of time (for the sun to travel one degree of arc)

     

    For instance, when you are standing at 90 degrees west, this implies that the sun will take 6 hours to get from the prime meridian to you, which is why the central time zone is GMT -6 hours.

     

    For sailors, the problem of logitude was a matter of having an accurate clock so they knew what time it was at home. Then when the sun was directly overhead, they could determine their longitude by knowing the time on the clock they took from home (no relativistic effects, of course!).

     

    (There is a great book about it: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140258795/)

  14. But I think many of us know how frustrating it is to be out trying to save a tree by paperless caching and drive an extra mile or two out of the way only to find out that you don't have all the info you need to even begin to look for a cache.

     

    If you've got the coordinates, why don't you have the entire listing? I bring everything into GSAK and then only export my hitlist to Mapopolis and and GPXSonar. They both contain the same caches. The only difficulties are with puzzles which require special work, but those are clearly indicated in GSAK, Mapopolis and GPXSonar. If the puzzle can be solved at home, I enter the final coordinates as corrected coordinates in GSAK. If a multi remains unfinished, I also enter the next coordinates as corrected coordinates in GSAK.

     

    I was pointing out the issue because some people run PQ on an area, and if they exclude unknowns they might not pick up the final in the series.

     

    If I am working a series, I am always sure to add the entire series to my hitlist (but all the data is in GSAK, just not in my user-flagged list). For unfinished multis I often add extra entries in GSAK for each stage - especially on caches where the stages' coordinates are known from the original page - I usually convert these to multiple waypoints in GSAK (manually) so I don't have to enter them later in the field.

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