Psycada

FTF seems marginally more important than being First to Post on a blog. For competitive reasons alone, people feel the need to be first. I personally am not about the competition, I'm about the hunt and getting outside with my wife and daughter, so I don't worry about being FTF. Best advise I have seen on this site is to do it your way and have fun while doing it. TO EACH THEIR OWN.

Nope. They have to pay licensing fees to NAVTEQ for every card that goes out the door. IMHO. You're right, I forgot about license fees, but even so, Garmin should make this right. I can see where the confusion came into play regarding not considering the SD card as an accessory and if Garmin took the high road and gave the customer the benefit of the doubt, while making him aware they are doing so, they could make a loyal customer. I also see Garmin's point, but IMHO, Garmin would be better off if they fixed this for the customer. It would still cost Garmin less to keep him, than it would try getting him back after pushing him away.

<snip> At $6/month, Geocache Navigator is pretty steep. The iPhone app from Groundspeak is a great interface. Sadly though, iPhone is the only platform for which it is developed. $6/month versus a one-time $10? You be the judge. Meh, free is still better, and the attitude of B*'s developers towards Geocaching is much more noble than Geocaching.com or Trimble. Trimble seems in it for money, and Geocaching seems to be run by trendy ex-hippies with money who believe everyone else should put out the same amount of money and use the iPhone, the trendy user's trendy device. No where in anyplace does geocaching make mention of creating their software for devices other than the iPhone. If they at least hinted towards a desire to support Blackberry, Palm, Android, or Windows Mobile, I may not be so harsh in my assessment of the geocaching management. We should not be locked into one offering from the site who hosts the sport. I expect at least mention of future product support from the hosts.

Every time I post today, I time out and get double posts. Sorry.

Yes they can and yes they should if they care about their customers or long term profits for that matter. It's a dadgum SD card and cost them a few bucks. I'd rather lose a few dollars to make a customer ecstatic to have fixed their stupidity then to piss off the customer forcing them to return the product and buy a competitor's. Customer service is not rocket science. It cost far less to keep a customer then to attract new one. Don't make it cheaper for you competitors by pissing your already established customer off. You'll pay dearly to get that customer to give you a second chance. Fix his stupidity though, and he'll likely be loyal to your brand.

site f***ed up. please delete this post

site effed up. please delete this post

It is great to hear WebOS will be backward compatible. I am very excited to see Palm staging a comeback in the smartphone community. Palm and Blackberry are equals for the most part and it really boils down to what suits you better. I have beaten up my blackberry 7130 and my 8700 fairly bad and they both withstood massive punishment. I'm a little more careful with my Bold, but it is strong as well. The durability of the devices is why I choose Blackberry, that and it was my first smartphone. If I had a Palm first and provided the previous OS didn't piss me off, I would probably have gone with them as they have just as much software out there, if not more, and a massive community for support. Screw the iPhone though, I don't feel I should have to break the warranty to get the dadgum thing to work the way I want it. Happy Caching, please let us know how the Pre turns out.

The only thing lacking is the ability to download caches to your device directly - something you'd get with GeoCache Navigator, etc. but hey, for free you can't complain. I assess what cache(s) I'm going to, and download the info (via PC) to device as waypoints, and then I'm set. Keeps it (kinda) basic [] Blackstar can indeed look-up caches directly(almost directly), and can be done on the fly wherever you are. When you get Blackstar, you will to create a bcaching account. This account gives you a special e-mail address and wou will use this e-mail address to send your PQ's(Pocket Queries) to. Once you do that, you from Blackstar you can open the menu and select "list waypoints", then select "Get Closest bcaching GPX" from the waypoint list menu. Bam, in just a few seconds, you will have the 20 caches closest to you. Not exactly directly, but possible, and without the stupid subscription fee Trimble charges. What more can you ask for? You can also log into geocaching.com from your blackberry and setup new pocket queries on the fly any time you want, provided you have cell coverage of course. As soon as the pocket query generator runs and e-mails the PQ, you should be able to access it from your blackberry. Hope this helps.

They found out what it was and that it was legit, but decided that this person is not allowed to play a public game in a public park. Nice. Thanks for protecting us from ourselves. "Woodcox said police would not be leaving the object found by the Parkinson Rec sports fields in place for the game to continue."

I have not used cacheberry since last year, so I am unable to give you a good comparison. I remember deciding I would buy it if i didn't find a free alternative this year, but Blackstar came out right on time. I'm a supporter of open source software, so I am biased towards that.

You're right, it is 2000mAH. I edited the post. Thanks for catching, big diff between 200 and 2000.

Just to be safe, you may want to verify the Pre will work with Palm OS software. The Pre uses a new OS called Web OS. I would expect it to be backward compatible with Palm OS, but I would be very unhappy if I got the Pre and found it will not work with the already established Geocaching software. Besides, Blackberry is usually more reliable than Palm, but too each their own. Happy researching!

I am using a Blackberry Bold with the Blackstar Geocaching program from http://www.blackstarnavigation.com It is an entirely paperless/computerless solution for Blackberry users and is free, so it doesn't have that assanine monthly/annual subscription charge that Trimble's Geocache Navigator does. I have been out three times with it and found caches each time to far. I even logged each cache online as I walked toward the next cache. I have been waiting a long time to go paperless, and having the ability to go computerless as well is a very pleasant bonus. I am very excited about this software. Give it a shot. ps. remember to have a spare gps if you're going to en extended trip, just in case the battery goes in your phone. (6 hours or more) As long as you don't need Blackberry Maps, I thinks Blackstar can work without cell coverage using the compass. I will test on my lunch and report back.

Last year I bought a Solar powered USB charger with an internal 2000mAH battery. I can get almost 2.5 charges to my GPS without recharging it. It can recharge via ac-adapter or the sun while hiking. I usually attach it to my bag so it is soaking up the sun while I hike. The best part is not having to worry about AA batteries, rechargeable or not. You can find them from $35 and up. Mine cost me $5 last year(first link) and is the same price this year, and is well worth it for what you get. I included some links below to get you started, but do your research and get one that suits you. You will not be sorry, especially the greenies. What I have: http://www.atbatt.com/product/20807.asp?ut..._campaign=frog1 Similar product for less: http://www.chinavasion.com/product_info.ph...ble-electronics More expensive, but longer battery: http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-Intelligent-Solar-...93%3A4|294%3A50

I didn't see an answer for this, and I hope you still have time left in your trial to consider my post. Considering that Palm has scrapped their old OS in favor of Web OS in the up an coming Palm devices, I would not care for an OS that will not be updated, and would instead opt for a device that will be maintained. If you like Palm devices, then check out the Palm Pre, their Web OS device with touch screen. I personally would recommend a Blackberry. They are rock solid in construction and support, and there is a massive community waiting to help you with any questions. If you do choose to get a Blackberry for geocaching, remember Verizon Blackberries, except the Storm, lock the GPS for third party apps (crackberry.com has a post on how to fix thisP). If you choose ATT, the GPS in unlocked, but Blackberry Maps are not, but again, you can get around this. Just install Blackberry maps with the included desktop manager. Google JerryD's Blackberry software tracker to find the link to his post which contains the Blackberry Maps for ATT link. I have a Blackberry Bold and I use the free, open source Blackstar paperless geocaching solution. With this app, I need no others and can Geocache entirely paperless and COMPUTERLESS! Hope this helps. Good luck

The only subscription fee I pay is for Groundspeak ($3/mo) and my normal Blackberry charges ($30 for data and $40 for voice). I have ATT and they are nice enough to not cripple the GPS, but they do block Blackberry Maps by default, but you can install it yourself (google Jerryd's Blackberry software tracker for a list of BB software which will contain the ATT Blackberry Maps link.) Verizon I am told has unlocked the GPS for the Storm, but has it locked for the other models unless you pay for their services. (there are other ways around, but you need a but of tech knowledge and hacking confidence.) As far as I know, most other Blackberry providers have the GPS unlocked and allow access to Blackberry Maps.

Here is a link to the bcaching forum with a brief explanation of the license agreement with Geocaching.com http://www.bcaching.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7

bah, double post.

Walts Hunting: To save on the load time your bCaching account has an e-mail address associated with it. If you have the gpx files sent to that e-mail address instead of your main address, you should be able to use the "Get Closest bCaching GPX" function from the List Waypoint screen's menu to import the closest 20 on demand. I too got very annoyed with the long load time for the Pocket Queries. At first I wished for an option to have multiple databases so I didn't have to rebuild gpx data each time I load a different PQ. Having them all run at once was very slow to update distances when switching to the list waypoint screen. I was very happy when I found I could send my PQ's to the bCaching address and only add the closest at a time. The application responds much better. Only downside it attempting to add the closest 20 without cell coverage. I have not run into this YET, but I haven't been to the Adirondacks this year either. Hope this helps. Happy Caching!

I am also an avid Geocacher, but I prefer to go completely paperless, and now, COMPUTERLESS! At this time, I am paperless and computerless since I started using by Blackberry Bold along with the Blackstar Geocaching solution. It is free, open source and very nice. Takes a little getting used to, but you can Geocache start to finish without paper or a computer, wherever, whenever. Only cost is the $3/month fee to Groundspeak for the pocket query capability. If you're adventurous and up for some easy hacking to get a device to work great, check out the iLoox device. If you don't want a phone, I recommend an unlocked Look n100 running the iLooks desktop (haven't tried a n110 or n120 yet but I'm going to soon). I use noniGPSplot as the mapping program, GPXsonar to track my caches, and I create a mobibook from the GSAK mobibook creator macro to view the details of a cache, the hints (GPX sonar shows hints too), and the comments. Works very well. Takes a little practice, but I was able to teach my wife and she is getting the hang of it after a few times out while I'm learning the Blackberry software. I was using a Navigon 2100, but the screen is bigger and a massive battery hog and is better for navigation. The n100 is small enough to be comfortable in my hand (although too small for dash mounted navigation), big enough to read adequately, has a great battery life, (I've gone all day without a recharge, 2100 gets me 4-6 hours), AND COMES WITH A STYLUS!!! With the ilooks desktop, it is very simple, clean and easy. gpspassion.com has all the help you could possibly want to get the loox working right, as well as info on any gps out there. I hope my suggestions help, but if not, gpspassion should.

Verizon's policies have changed at least with the Storm the GPS works fine. I was wondering does it work on the Storm which has a full size screen. I tried cacheberry but it only uses half the screen since it is configured for the small screen BB's Not sure if you found your answer, but as of November it did. Check here: http://forums.crackberry.com/f86/blackstar...g-storm-112184/