JSWilson64

This isn't going to be much help, but the answer is probably, "it depends." It's hard to get a definitive answer (as you can see from the lack of response here). I'd say your best bet would be to find a few phone models that look promising, and then search specifically for those. (I had the same problem with HDTV receiver. I've got a "HDTV ready" TV, which means I need a tuner box. I want one that will work with my DirecTV and still work with over-the-air HDTV if I decide to ditch the dish. Some boxes will still work, others have to have an active smart card.)

Thanks, Eraseek! That was the page I was looking for!

Um, okay, I'm not sure if you're serious or not. But I did find some pages that show WAAS strength, or something. It's hard to tell what they're trying to tell me. This Page is a perfect example of why engineers need regular folks to check their work before they go public. Any layperson have a clue as to what this means? If someone's grandpa just got a GPS and wanted some WAAS info, would this page help him at all?!

Sorry for asking a FAQ - at one time I had a bookmark to a page that would show which WAAS satellites were visible in which parts of the world. Anybody got a link? Thanks.

There are dozens of choices that would fit your budget. Narrow it down: What are your "likes" and "dislikes" ?? Do you want a color screen? Do you want a device that does more than GPS? There are units with PDA functions, units built into walkie-talkies, you can even use GPS software a cell phone. Do you want to be able to hook it to a laptop and navigate with it? Are you willing to buy used equipment? Are you looking for a rugged, tough GPS that'll take being dropped into the water, or is it mostly going to sit on the dash of your car? Mostly, I'd say go to someplace that sells GPS receivers and try some. Once you hold a GPSr in your hand, you'll understand, for example, why some folks like the Garmin "click stick" and some hate it. Without trying it, you'll never know if you'd like it. REI has a good selection, so do other "outdoor" type stores. If you're not planning on buying one at that store, don't bother the sales folks with lots of questions. If you're looking for a simple answer, then send me the $300 and I'll send you a GPS that will work for Geocaching, hiking, and in the car.

Some Boost Mobile pre-pay phones also have GPS capability. If you're really interested in geocaching, you may soon regret it if you buy a GPSr without some sort of interface with your computer. I have a friend with a yellow Gecko, and it really chaps him to have to input each waypoint manually.

What is the resolution to this issue? Is the battery replaceable?

upon even more further research, I have been assured on another forum that "all Bluetooth GPS work with Palm OS." <sarcastic>Yeah, right!</sarcastic> But, there are some promising offerings: The Globalsat BT-338, for example. Bluetooth, SiRFstar III chipset. According to this review, it locks on quickly, and holds lock in challenging circumstances (like the middle of the reviewer's living room). I'm sure there are other capable Palm-compatible SiRFstar III GPS receivers, too.

And, upon further research, the manufacturer says it'll only work with Pocket PC. Which makes me curious, because I thought SDIO was a platform-independent protocol, sorta like USB.

Hmm. Good question. In this review I found, the reviewer installed the SD-502 onto an HP Pocket PC and used it with TomTom and Memory Map (I don't know what that one is). So, I guess you've gotta have a mapping program... -edit- here is a site with a list of Palm mapping programs...

It fits in an SD/MMC slot, uses the SDIO protocol (or whatever you call it) - it's basically something fancier than memory. I think the T3 is SDIO compatible...

I'm researching whether it's worthwhile to buy an SDIO, MMC, or Bluetooth GPSr to go with a Palm Tungsten E2 that I now have at my disposal. Globalsat makes some interesting-looking SDIO and Bluetooth units that use the SiRFStar III chipset. The SD 502 even includes 512 MB of RAM, so you could theoretically store cache info on the GPS so you're not using the Palm's onboard memory. But I have no idea whether this would have the same performance as a newer Garmin unit, for example, or even whether it'll perform better than my Etrex Legend. I'd like something with better performance in heavy tree cover, and that's the praise I keep hearing everyone sing about the new SiRF-equipped units. The Globalsat units have patch antennas (antennae?), not helical antennas, so that might play a role. -edit- Woops -- the SD-502 has a helical antenna, while their SiRF Bluetooth offerings have patch antennas. Does having the SiRFstar III chip necessarily mean better performance? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

I currently use an Etrex Legend when I have time to go Geocaching. I like it, but would like a larger, and/or color screen. And it's kinda "touchy" when under tree cover. I now have at my disposal a Palm Tungsten E2 and was wondering if any of the GPS antenna units I saw at Fry's are worth buying. i.e., will any add-on for the Palm work better than the Legend? I'm already working out how to do paperless caching, finding a weatherproof case and/or lanyard for the Palm, so it's going to be going caching. The Palm will take SD, SDIO, or MMC cards. I think it does Bluetooth, too, but I'm not 100% on that one... Just wondering, James Wilson, Dallas, TX

See my post right above yours -- it's possible, doable, and there's probably bad guys doing it right now. USB drives can have "autorun" files on 'em, too. Now, as you and others have pointed out, one would have to be pretty stupid to stick foreign media in their PC with Autorun enabled. And you can avoid all the hoo-ha by running Linux. Best advice yet.

Thanks! I wonder how that paper can accept ink if it's waterproof? :-)

As others have said, I wouldn't attach the drive to my PC, but I'd move it on. Here's a story about why one shouldn't mount a USB drive one doesn't know.

I searched the forums but didn't come across any mention of this nifty tool. www.pocketmod.com has a free app that makes a small 8-page booklet out of one page of 8-1/2 x 11 paper. There are standard pages - shopping lists, addresses, that sort of thing. But there's also a downloadable PDF-to-Pocketmod converter that turns any PDF file into a Pocketmod. I just made a log for a TB I'm about to release in Word, saved it as a PDF and converted it, and it works great. Print, fold, and cut, and it's done! Some guidelines: Since each page has to be scaled-down to 1/8 page, think BIG. I used 36 and 48 point text. My table borders and lines were 4.5 and 6 points. Blank lines in my tables (for writing in) were 42 points high. I used a sans-serif font, Trebuchet, so it'll be legible. I made a "passport" with a line for each state in the US and a column for date and geocacher name. Look at this TB page in a few days for a pic of the final product. There are several free PDF converters, too ( PDFCreator is one), so you don't have to pay for Adobe Acrobat to do it. Now if I could just come up with some waterproof paper to print it on...

OK, dumb question time. If my GPSr is only accurate to 30 feet, for example, how can it peg my speed within 1 mph at 60 mph? I think the answer is that the "Accurate to: 30 feet" display is relative to the displayed coordinates. The GPSr says, "You are within a 30 foot radius of point X on the globe." But two positional measurements taken within a relatively short period of time will be VERY accurate with respect to distance and bearing from one point to the other. It's saying, "I'm VERY certain that point X is 88 feet from point Y, I'm just not exactly sure where on the globe either one of those points is." Is that a reasonable explanation? Because I get asked this question by someone whenever we have the GPS in the car.

If you didn't have the permission of the property owner, yes, there's something wrong! p.s. - get the tetanus shot!

You can make your own to put on your Garmin GPSr for free: http://home.cinci.rr.com/creek/garmin.htm Or are you talking about printed maps?

If I build a model airplane, it's a hobby. If I enter it in an IPMS contest, with required membership in the club, rules and judges and so on, what is it? Point being, centralized rules and membership requirements alone don't make a sport.

Here are my rough definitions (that I reserve the right to modify on a whim!): Hobby: something you do to occupy your time, such as collecting, whittling, birdwatching; Game: competitive activity not involving much in the way of athleticism. Poker, Bridge, Chinese Checkers, Clue, Croquet, there's plenty of others you could lump in here Sport: competitive activity requiring athleticism. Here's where the arguments start, but I break it down thusly: anything that can be won by a professional player while they're smoking or drinking, isn't a sport. :-) I don't consider Geocaching either a sport or a game. It's more of a hobby to me. There are others who are very competitive at it, so it becomes a game. They define the competitive benchmark, not me, because I'm not playing their game. It might be logged finds, it might be "race you to it," whatever. Whatever floats your boat. Alternative definition for the conspiricy theorist: Geocaching is a recreational activity invented by the military-industrial complex to perfect GPS navigation and sell consumer electronics.

I'm not sure I understand the question, but this is what I think you mean: You have a zip code, like 75221. You want lat/lon for that ZIP. If this is the case, here's what I would do. Go to maps.google.com and search for that ZIP code. You'll be somewhere in the middle of that ZIP. Zoom in and browse around until you find an intersection you can identify. Now use Google Earth to find that intersection. Hover the mouse pointer over that spot, and write down the coords displayed. You might be able to do it all in Google Earth, but I'm not sure. I just reinstalled Windows, and haven't reinstalled Google Earth yet. You can also google search for ZIP Code Maps to find a map to verify your spot is in that ZIP.

Please define "hacking" - what are you trying to accomplish, or what is your interest? I have a Legend, too, so I'd be curious as well. Google doesn't turn up much when I've looked. p.s. - your ASCII graphic is messed up - use a fixed-width font like Courier New to fix.

This username (SquirrelsWillRule) actually represents two people. Me and my son. The name was picked by the kid, in keeping with my his theory that "squirrels will someday rule the world." Don't ask... Anyway, I was thinking it might be a good time to distance myself from his radical beliefs. Also, I'm the one ponying up the 3 bucks a month, not him. I figure I've got a few options: 1) keep it the way it is. By the time he's old enough to want his own ID, one of us will have lost interest, or there will be an entirely different way of doing this stuff anyway. 2) create a new username for me, let him keep this one. So, do I go and log all the finds we did together (if I care about that sort of thing?), not that there's that many. Also, I would want the Premium membership to go with me, since it's my money. 3) create a new username for him, and I keep this one. Well, that's not good, because I don't really want to be associated with squirrels forever. So that means changing this name and creating a new one. Wait, can the new one be the same as this if I change this one first? Prolly way over thinking it... It's just geocaching, after all. Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions of what they'd do under the circumstances, please post 'em.