+quidditchfan073 Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 I tried to search this out before i asked but to no avail. I know with the Premium Membership it seems the big thing that is being pushed is being able to do paperless. WHat interests me is the part about the maps and finding caches that are together. I noticed on just the basic membership they have a button that says find caches that are close or something to that effect. when i pushed the buttons it seemed just find to find caches that were close and showed ona map how close. What is the differance between say the basic membership and Premium Membership in finding caches close by and on maps. The other thing i dont understand is the map thing. why would i need maps on geocaching when i have both top and city select maps to begin with. Are most of the Premium Members using a Premium Membership mostly for paperless? Quote Link to comment
+sept1c_tank Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 I'm not rich enough to go paperless. One of the nice things about the geo-maps is that you can see the relative physical locations of nearby caches. This sometimes helps me locating caches that may be on the same trail, route or highway. It's my non-geeky way of planning cache hunts enroute to a general destination. Quote Link to comment
ImpalaBob Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 There are many advantages to being a Premium Member .... The best of which is that you feel good about supporting geocaching.com ! There are caches that are only available to PMs. PMs can download both .loc and .gpx files. PMs have more options such as zooming in and out on the displayed Maps. Pocket queries are a very useful tool used to filter your searches with more options..... the least of which is "That I have not found". PQs are the easiest way to start going paperless with the many free and inexpensive support programs available. I must say that having recently gone paperless, it has added a lot more flexibility to geocaching and I wish I had started paperless sooner! My suggestion is that you pay $3 and try it for a month if you are unsure of the benefits. ImpalaBob Quote Link to comment
+budd-rdc Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 The query feature for searching the nearest caches is very simple with basic membership. You can only filter out the ones you've already found. With Premium Membership, you can customize the filtering using the Pocket Query, a feature you can't see or use as a basic member. You can create up to 20 unique queries with filters based on many variables, like type (traditional, mystery), container size (regular, micro) and center the search radius at a location of YOUR choosing. It'd take too long to explain all the variables. The map feature is nice if you aren't paperless caching with a simple, non-mapping GPSr. It does take some time and effort to scroll around and identify the caches you want to visit (plus making a printout for each one), but it's better than just doing it blind with waypoint and descriptions only. If you have a more expensive GPSr with built-in mapping, you really don't need GC.com's map feature. And I haven't even mentioned the tremendous benefits offered by paperless caching in terms of convenience and time savings. You can go paperless with a low initial cost: Old PDA < $30 (Palm III or newer - look for friends who'll donate one to you) PDA software (I used CacheMate, $8 + tax) PC to PDA utility to transfer GPX files (I use GSAK, $20) Others will tell you the entry cost is even lower, depending on which software you use. This is a recurring topic, so I recommend taking some time to browse the older threads. Once you filter out the extracurricular discussions, the general conclusion is that Premium Membership is a great value and benefit. Quote Link to comment
+Team Cotati Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 There are many advantages to being a Premium Member .... The best of which is that you feel good about supporting geocaching.com ! There are caches that are only available to PMs. PMs can download both .loc and .gpx files. PMs have more options such as zooming in and out on the displayed Maps. Pocket queries are a very useful tool used to filter your searches with more options..... the least of which is "That I have not found". PQs are the easiest way to start going paperless with the many free and inexpensive support programs available. I must say that having recently gone paperless, it has added a lot more flexibility to geocaching and I wish I had started paperless sooner! My suggestion is that you pay $3 and try it for a month if you are unsure of the benefits. ImpalaBob There are pitiful few caches that are only available to PMs. Quote Link to comment
+Langner91 Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 There are many advantages to being a Premium Member .... The best of which is that you feel good about supporting geocaching.com ! There are caches that are only available to PMs. PMs can download both .loc and .gpx files. PMs have more options such as zooming in and out on the displayed Maps. Pocket queries are a very useful tool used to filter your searches with more options..... the least of which is "That I have not found". PQs are the easiest way to start going paperless with the many free and inexpensive support programs available. I must say that having recently gone paperless, it has added a lot more flexibility to geocaching and I wish I had started paperless sooner! My suggestion is that you pay $3 and try it for a month if you are unsure of the benefits. ImpalaBob You forgot one important one, ImpalaBob. Premium members can have avatars with catchy phrases under them... That's what finally convinced me. Quote Link to comment
+Happy Bubbles Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 when i pushed the buttons it seemed just find to find caches that were close and showed ona map how close. What is the differance between say the basic membership and Premium Membership in finding caches close by and on maps. The other thing i dont understand is the map thing. why would i need maps on geocaching when i have both top and city select maps to begin with. When you hit the "Map it!" button without a premium membership, you'll see a map of your search, but only premium members get to zoom in and out and pan around the map. I'm not sure what you mean by "top and city select maps," but I like the geocaching maps because they have all the caches marked on them, allowing one to say, scroll along a freeway and see what nearby caches you could get without much deviation from your planned road trip. Quote Link to comment
ImpalaBob Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 There are pitiful few caches that are only available to PMs. Here in S.E. PA we have some good ones .... Polite suggestion .... Maybe you need to do something about the lack of Member Only caches in your area of CA. Being part of the solution is always more fun than complaining about the problem. Our SEPAG group is a great group of people who regularly meet and get together for fun outtings. SEPAG Membera are very creative and helpful. We have a lot of FUN together. There were probably 40 of us at our last Miss Jenn's Third Wednasday event/outting and night geocahing afterwards was a blast! ImpalaBob Quote Link to comment
+Team GPSaxophone Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 I'm not rich enough to go paperless. Are you kidding? The paper solution: Ream of paper to print out 500 caches $5 Ink cartridges $70 Time it takes to pick and choose caches to print (and to print them) $5-25/hour (depending on your education and/or work experience) Cost: A whole lot The paperless solution: GC.com membership for PQ's $3 Cheap color PDA on EBay $60 Cost: much cheaper Quote Link to comment
+sept1c_tank Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 I'm not rich enough to go paperless. Are you kidding? The paper solution: Ream of paper to print out 500 caches $5 Ink cartridges $70 Time it takes to pick and choose caches to print (and to print them) $5-25/hour (depending on your education and/or work experience) Cost: A whole lot The paperless solution: GC.com membership for PQ's $3 Cheap color PDA on EBay $60 Cost: much cheaper But I can't think of any time, even extended period of time, that I would want or need information on 500 caches. I'm usually somewhat selective about what I search; usually, even over a period of days, I might select 20 or so caches, and usually not even search for all of them. I will admit, though; sometimes I find myself in a place where I instinctively know there must be a nearby cache. And it would be fun to know one is there even if I am not inclined to find it. Maybe someday I'll grow up, but for now, paper is fine. Besides, then I always have a cache page to show inquiring muggles, LE, etc. And I always have plenty of paper for any other emergencies that may arise! Quote Link to comment
+BlueDeuce Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 Premium members can have avatars with catchy phrases under them... That's what finally convinced me. A Hawkeye fan and never cached in Iowa. (tsk, tsk) Quote Link to comment
+Langner91 Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 Premium members can have avatars with catchy phrases under them... That's what finally convinced me. A Hawkeye fan and never cached in Iowa. (tsk, tsk) I started to today. We had just arrived here when my wife called me because she needed her work keys... Didn't count it as a DNF because the GPS hadn't found the third bird yet.... There are fourteen caches just across the river. One of these days I will get some! Quote Link to comment
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