C.A.T.A

Looks OK but unfortunately it is not a stand alone solution and needs a GPX file to be loaded on the device. I'll give it a more indepth look though. Thanks. Just to add to the previous discussion relating to Symbian^3, Stephen Elop just reiterated that they would continue to update and support Symbian^3 devices until 2016!! Death's door seems a way off yet.

Out of interest, here are the numbers for you : http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/news/item/12858_IDC_smartphone_shipment_figure.php 24.2 million smart phones sold by Nokia in the 1st quarter of 2011. That is 24 million users being ignored by the geocaching programmers....

I will repeat again that Trimble already have an s60v3 and an s60v5 application so, once again I am not a programmer, I cannot imagine the changes required to get it working on S^3 would involve much effort. Further to this Nokia may well have stated that they will start to use WP7 in the years to come but recent sales figures for the 1st quarter still show that Nokia was the top selling phone brand (and these phones all still used Symbian software!). This equates to many millions of units. By all accounts these phones will be owned and used by these people for the next two years, if they are on contracts. And the first WP7 phone is meant to only see light of day towards the end of this year or early next, so what about all the S^3 phones sold in the interim? Just ignored? Surely this is a market that should not be getting sneezed at so soon. Besides this geocaching programmers seemed to ignore this platform prior to the announcement. Is it the usual American-centric attitude prevailing in an international game again? We all know Nokia is not big in the US but it is still big in many other countries.

I've just released the first test versions of CacheMe which is also available for Symbian^3 from the CacheMe homepage. Hi, I just took a look at your app and would like to provide some feedback using it on the Nokia N8. Not sure if you have a way of doing so on your website but if you did I missed it A few impressions in no particular order : * I was not able to immediately find a way to log a cache as found when looking through the application. I have come from using Geocache Navigator and I really liked their implementation. * It has become habit to scroll through things on my N8 by sliding my finger down the screen. When reading logs for a cache doing this highlights the text and does not scroll. This makes the app feel out of place on this device. * Data usage concerns me. Is there no way to get this app to use the maps already installed on the phone with Ovi Maps? I just got the feeling it was using a lot of data which will make me reluctant to use this on the road. Any idea of the sort of data usage? I know this might sound strange but perhaps an option could exist to not use any maps but just retrieve the cache information. This way I could read about the cache, get relevant information and use other means to find it's location. * What must my the phone orientation be to get the compass to work properly? I held it upright and then parallel to the ground but on both occasion the compass seemed to jump around more than I would like to make me confident in the direction shown. * What does the "actions" button do? I have pressed it and am unable to notice anything happening. Thanks for the efforts though. Wish Trimble would just get the Navigator working properly on the N8!

I agree. I find it rather frustrating that I paid for the Geocache Navigator application on my S60V3 Nokia N82 and now that I have a Nokai N8 it is unsupported. I paid for a few months use. I contacted Trimble and was told to try the latest S60V5 version. It partly works but you are stuck on the compass screen as the other buttons do not work on the Symbian^3 operating system it seems. Now I am not a coimputer programmer but surely the fact that it works, albeit a few buttons, would mean a simple tweak to get it working on an OS that, by all accounts, has sold millions already. I know S^3 is being phased out but the expectation is for millions more to be sold in the next few years. Surely the minimal effort involved will reap rewards?

My view is that the DNF log is as much for my records as it is for the other cachers out there. If I attempt a cache and when I get there I am unable to find it because of a locked gate, a raging river, a wild baboon, or whatever, then I log it as DNF... after all I DID NOT FIND it. I have effectively been looking for a cache from the very moment I first program my GPS with the cache co-ordinates and head off in it's direction. Logging a DNF allows me to see that I have attempted this cache before. I can then read the log and see what the issue was previously. With others it seems to be a matter of drawing a line and then only logging a DNF if you cross this line eg after searching ground zero for five minutes. It could just as easily be argued that this "limit" should be set at 10 minutes, or why not an hour of searching before being allowed to log a DNF? Who decides when enough effort has been put in? Why not jump over that locked gate? My line is that if I set off looking for a cache and cannot find it (or get to it), for whatever reason, then I will log it as a DNF. My logs always explain the reasoning for this, and I cannot be blamed for someone not reading these logs. Personally, I never allow one previous DNF to put me off searching for a cache. In fact I see a DNF, logged just prior to my search, as a challenge to then get out there and find it myself! Even if a cache has four previous DNFs I will give it a go if it is in the area I am searching for caches but I will keep in the back of my mind that it may in fact be missing... Anyway, just my opinion...

On a sphere...

Thanks for the official word there Fish Eagle. I was convinced I had seen somewhere when getting into this hobby that the log, and the signing thereof, was a crucial part of a cache but I could not find it when this discussion came up. I know we are all in this for the fun of the game but it is still ever so slightly irritating to think you may have spent over an hour searching for a cache so that you could "legally" log it, by signing the log sheet, and someone else may get to log it without this effort. It just seems to cheapen the whole find process in my eyes.... anyway I suppose the official word makes these opinions unimportant now.

I think logging the find with the correct date is extremely important! When battling to find a cache I often take a look at the logs to see when it was last found to give me an indication of whether it is still there or perhaps been muggled. If it was found the day before I am there looking for it I'd usually assume it must still be there and persist. If, however, the last find was over a year ago I may be more likely to assume it could now be missing. I'll use today as an example... we found a cache location pretty easily but it was a micro that was extremely well hidden (Thanks Noddy "Scout Bowl"). Of course we would only really be cheating ourselves but if a photo of us near the cache was sufficient proof of a find we may never have persisted and spent the 30 minutes we did spend looking for the actual cache. Of course, as it was, we had to find it so that we could sign the log.

For what it is worth, here is my fairly new to caching opinion - if you do not find the actual cache and do not sign the log then you have not found the cache and it should not be logged as such. It should not matter if the cache is missing, has been swallowed by an earthquake crater or whatever the reason! Maybe I have not been around long enough to fully understand the other arguments and discussions but it seems pretty simple to me. I have a number of DNFs (including some multiple DNFs) and I am as proud of them as my finds. The hunt is the fun part! Some people just seem very reluctant to log DNFs... it's a mentality I don't really understand. I have stumbled across a number of (mainly micro) caches where I know for a fact that I am at the right place but have been unable to find them... does this mean I should be allowed to take a photo and then log it as a find? Of course not... finding the actual micro, and signing the log, is part of the game. On this note, and at risk of going off topic slightly, another gripe of mine is cachers who seem insistent on always logging the find as a really simple find! This will of course be the case sometimes but the problem is some people seem to post this for every cache they find. Either they are really, really, really good or they feel that saying this makes them so much better than those of us who have logged a DNF... If you had difficulty finding it say so, if you could not find it log it as a DNF. Doing so will prove a lot more useful to people who later try to find the same cache and read the logs.

Yeah, I was going to recommend the use of a zip lock plastic bag too! I do not have a blackberry but a Nokia and I have a silicon cover on mine which is good enough in the fairly rain free climate of South Africa but I know of many mountain bikers who use sandwich bags to protect their phones while participating in races etc, and it works. EDIT : It appears this method is even popular with photographers : http://www.instructables.com/id/Camera-Zip-lock/

I posted this on another query about geocaching apps on cellphones. I realise a lot of people will only read their own posts, so I thought it would not be amiss to post it here again as assistance to the original poster. "I am using the Nokia N82 together with Geocache Navigator (which is free on Nokia phones) for geocaching. I also have Garmin XT loaded for day to day satellite navigation while driving (as well as the preloaded Nokia Maps). I find this setup works perfectly for paperless caching. When we are in an area and get the urge to cache I load up the app and have access to all the nearest caches together with previous logs, hints and everything else I may need. It also allows you to log caches but you will need to log onto geocaching.com later to add a "story" to this log. I do not doubt everyone has their favourite but I just thought I'd add another option for you to consider " I'll add to this that this application allows true PAPERLESS caching.... there is no need to create pocket queries, or waypoints, and load them onto your phone! Just start up the application and it searches for all caches based on your search criteria. You can then choose the one that interests you and immediately start navigating towards it. And to answer the OPs question... it works perfectly! 38 finds so far, with only 3 "did not finds", with only the phone in hand! Just something else to consider....

Just to throw in a bit of a curveball and some ooptions for the OP to consider.... you mention a total dislike for a Windows Mobile phone but say nothing about Symbian... have you considered a Nokia GPS phone? I am using the Nokia N82 together with Geocache Navigator (which is free on Nokia phones) for geocaching. I also have Garmin XT loaded for day to day satellite navigation while driving (as well as the preloaded Nokia Maps). I find this setup works perfectly for paperless caching. When we are in an area and get the urge to cache I load up the app and have access to all the nearest caches together with previous logs, hints and everything else I may need. It also allows you to log caches but you will need to log onto geocaching.com later to add a "story" to this log. I do not doubt everyone has their favourite but I just thought I'd add another option for you to consider

Aha, ok I forgot about the fact that you can choose the date found when logging on geocaching.com... I usually log the cache as found on my cellphone so I do not bother with the date at all. I just go in later and add the story. If he dates the log with the original find date then I can see no problem at all.

Well here I was searching through the forums (searching for things seems to have become a habit since this geocaching bug bit! ha ha) and stumbled upon this KZN thread so thought it would be rude not to pop in and say hi! You'll hopefully be seeing our name pop up in a lot more log books in the near future. Thanks to all those who have taken the effort to hide caches - we have found some great ones already. Hopefully in the not too distant future we can return the favour. Cheers C.A.T.A

As someone fairly new to caching (a few weeks now...) I would just like to add my little voice to this discussion. Perhaps a "new view" may add another perspective to this. I think for sure he should be able to log his caches if he did them. My personal view is that I want my name in that log book... which he will not have but rather his family name but that is his choice. The one thing I did want to add is that being new, and therefore not being totally clued up on how frequently caches get checked by the owners and archived if missing, I often have a look to see when a cache was last found to be sure that it is still there and has not been stolen etc. If, for instance, it was last logged 6 months ago and I have immense difficulty finding it I may question whether it is still there. If, however, it was found the day before I can be pretty certain it is still there. This may just be me but in this case Ding Bat's logs would lead me to believe the cache has recently been found.... So as other's have stated perhaps a little explanation on each log explaining that this is the logging of an old find would be better. On that note I think a lot of people could put a lot more interesting logs and tell the story of their find (without giving too much away of course!). I enjoy reading about other's adventures!