Pda Help Required

[+gingerbreadmen]

I am getting a tad fed up of spending hours in front of the 'puter printing off loads of pages that will be thrown away as soon as I find a tupperware box, and was thinking of going paperless, however, as somebody who is hopeless with all this new fangled gadgetry (clothes pegs are about my limit, Heaven alone knows how I cope with a gps) what should I be looking for in a PDA?

 

I want something simple that will (I think)

a, list every known cache in the universe or at least all the ones in a (say) 75 mile radius of any holiday destinations.

b, have a battery life that will last as long as it takes to drive from eg Lancashire to the north of Scotland whilst stopping off en route to actually look for any caches on the way.

c, be relatively simple to operate.

d, not cost an arm and a leg (The MOST important bit, this).

 

d, Is there anything else I should be looking for?

 

Are any capable of being charged in the car?

 

I don't think I need an all dancing, whistling one that tells me the colour of my socks, and it probably won't be used for anything bar storing information on caches but perhaps a web search facility may help?

 

So, basically I want to know what I should be looking for as opposed to any particular models ('though that too would help).

 

Cheers.

[+stora]

As I have said in other threads. I got a palm visor off ebay for £10

 

8 meg of memory and another 8meg add on

2aaa batteries last about 2 weeks.

I use GSAK on the PC to convert the PQ's for the PDA

I use cachemate on the PDA to search and view caches.

What more do you need and all for a tenner.

 

It is mono but thats better for me I can see the screen outside where as my colour ppc is useless in daylight.

 

Oh and did I mention that it only cost me a tenner

[+Malpas Wanderer]

Although I use a lot of gadgetry I also like to have a print out which I do from GSAK rather than Geocaching.com.

 

I use the print out for several reasons a) because of failing eyesight often the gadgetry dosent show all images without tweaking c) you often need to record information evaluate formula and solve puzzles, d) I lacked enough hands to use GPS and PPC/Stylus simultaneously e) often had to write down co-ordinates from one program on the PPC to input to another program so may as well have the printout anyway.

 

Software I use for PC and/or PPC and which I'm happy with.

 

GSAK (a deffinate must)

TomTom navigator

Memory Map

GPX Sonar

OSGB Converter

 

I had some of these programs before taking up geocaching and have spent oddles of cash over time, I also mostly have with me a rugged laptop which holds my complete GSAK database and I compose my logs as I go ready for uploading on return home.

 

It's all a matter of you pays your money and takes your choice.

 

Report back what you decide.

 

But certainly get GSAK if you haven't already and give Clyde some cash to develop it further.

 

Colin

[+housefamily]

Excellent! Welcome to the world of paperless caching.

I use an hp ipaq pocketpc - but that's because work gave it to me. It really depends on whether you want to do anything else with it. Palms are great if all you want to do is geocache. IMHO the pocketPC (windows) is better for any other sort of activity. I use mine to listen to music, surf the web, check email - and it's handy to keep all my contacts and calendar to hand - I've got a memory like a sieve!

Certainly in-car chargers are available for almost all pdas - but if you like the sound of a palm then all you have to do is replace the AA batteries.

Have fun!

[+Learned Gerbil]

Personaly I find a Palm better or all of those as they are cheaper, faster and have loads more battery life. Where PPCs win in my view is in mapping due to much better software.

 

If what you want is cache details Cachemate is the answer and the Palm version is much superior to the PPC - although that will improve as the PPC version is developed. I would recommend a cheap Palm for a beginning cacher and then they can transfer their Cachemate license to a PPC for free later if they want to upgrade. I wouldn't recommend spending £200 on a PPC and then find it wasn't for them.

 

Edited to clarify that when I said "faster" I wasn't refering to the hardware - but to the ease of use.

Edited April 13, 2006 by Learned Gerbil

[+gingerbreadmen]

Dear all, thankyou for your time and advice.

I think I know what to do now. I'm going to let the PDA route follow "The old girlfriend method" ie start off cheap & simple and go more expensive when I work out what I'm doing! I think that's a compliment to the missus...

I'll be back for advice on how to turn it on in a month or so (the pda that is, not the missus).

[markandlynn]

You may find the guides on our website of some use

Link in signature line below

[+gingerbreadmen]

You may find the guides on our website of some use

Link in signature line below

 

Done and printed off!

Very useful information that would have taken me from now to eternity to work out on my own and will be put into practice as soon as my abacus arrives.

Many thanks,

Andy

[+stora]

Dear all, thankyou for your time and advice.

I think I know what to do now. I'm going to let the PDA route follow "The old girlfriend method" ie start off cheap & simple and go more expensive when I work out what I'm doing! I think that's a compliment to the missus...

I'll be back for advice on how to turn it on in a month or so (the pda that is, not the missus).

 

Good idea.

 

One thing I would add is to try and get one that syncronises with your PC via a USB cable/cradle.

[+Learned Gerbil]

USB is faster and easier to configure, but many older PDAs use the COM port serial connection which is just as effective - just takes a little longer.

[+Pengy&Tigger]

USB is faster and easier to configure, but many older PDAs use the COM port serial connection which is just as effective - just takes a little longer.

 

If your computer has a COM port, otherwise you`ll need a USB to Com port adaptor.

 

Pengy

[+HazelS]

I must admit... I have both a Palm and an IPAQ...I love the IPAQ as I use it in the car coupled with a bluetooth GPS for Tom Tom, and then I take the palm out into the field with me.

 

I was given the IPAQ (yep given!!) and so just had a fiddle with it, and like GPX sonar, but find it slow and quite cumbersome. I also struggled to learn how to get the caches on ther ein a format I could use etc...

 

However, the palm (dead cheap - fantastically cheerful) was a piece of cake... get Cachemate on and bob's yer uncle - no frills for caching...

 

PLUS... if you drop the IPAQ you're likely to break it, drop a Palm and it's likely it'll bounce! I know I'd rather have a broken palm that cost me buttons than a broken IPAQ worth much more!!

[+Learned Gerbil]

Like Hazel I have both and agree with her in what she says. I find myself using both devices now as they are both good at different things.