Hand Held Geocaching

[+KINGANDI]

I am trying to find an inexpensive way to use a handheld unit so I can walk in the woods and have the geocache waypoint sheet at my fingertips. I carry around the printouts and want to save paper. Any ideas about a palm or combo unit. Anything will help. Thanks

[+Red90]

Just pick up any cheap used Palm on eBay. Hold the cache pages on it and use a low gost GPS for findingthe sites. This is what most people do.

[+Renegade Knight]

Just pick up any cheap used Palm on eBay. Hold the cache pages on it and use a low gost GPS for findingthe sites. This is what most people do.

 

That's the cheapest way to go. The old palms work fine with Cachemate or using Spinner and Plucker.

[+IVxIV]

Yup an older Palm is your most cost effective entry into "paperless caching", and if you want a suggestion for a particular model I would recommend the Palm Vx. When new, it used to be the high-end executive crem-de-la-crem gadget, but can be had now for around $30-40. And 8mb builtin memory is enough to store thousands of cache site pages!

[+Miragee]

I concur. I have a Palm M500, with an additional data card. With Cachemate installed on it, it holds the data for thousands of caches, which was helpful for a recent multi-state trip I took.

 

The monochrome units are much easier to read in bright sunlight than the color units . . . and they are cheaper.

 

I also got an inexpensive metal case to protect my PDA from the rigors of Geocaching.

[+Groovy Cachin' Dude!]

Yes...an inexpensive Palm OS device is the way to go. My Dad just gave me a Handspring Visor Deluxe with 8MB of RAM and it works great with Cachemate. Its memory is upgradeable via the springboard expansion slot (they also have Magellan GPSr units that plug into this port selling on E-bay for about $40.00 with maps. Before my Dad gave me this unit, I was watching Visor's on E-bay sell for ~$20.00 with shipping (used, but perfect) with a leather case and USB docking station.

 

Just be sure that your Palm OS is at least 3.0 or greater. The new version of Cachemate won't work with anything less. BTW, spend the $8.00 to register Cachemate, it is WELL worth the investment. You may also consider giving GSAK a try. It is a fantastic database program for sorting caches before you go for them. Ask anyone in the forums...everyone raves about GSAK!

 

Good luck and enjoy your addiction.

Edited May 19, 2006 by Dude/Sweet

[+5thwheelfinders]

I use a palm iiiX. Only 4M of memory and works great. 500 waypoints use up approximately 1M of memory.

I use GSAK and Cachmate to make it work!

[+IronmOn]

I am trying to find an inexpensive way to use a handheld unit so I can walk in the woods and have the geocache waypoint sheet at my fingertips. I carry around the printouts and want to save paper. Any ideas about a palm or combo unit. Anything will help. Thanks

 

Once you get a cheap Palm Pilot, check out this web page by Clan_Barron, for and easy explaination on paperless Caching:

 

http://65.34.18.106/content.php?article.15

[+Red Sky]

Okay, when looking at these older Palm PDAs, how do you know if the OS is 3.0 or better? Also, which is preferred, a Vx or a m500? My guess is the 500 is the newer model, but that doesn't always mean it's better.

[+briansnat]

Okay, when looking at these older Palm PDAs, how do you know if the OS is 3.0 or better? Also, which is preferred, a Vx or a m500? My guess is the 500 is the newer model, but that doesn't always mean it's better.

 

I have an M500 and it does the job. Its a good little handheld. The thing sold for over $300 new.

[+Team Cotati]

Got m505. It is 'better'. And surprisingly it also gets the job done. Not for sure positive certain but believe that it sold for over $300 when new.

Edited May 20, 2006 by Team Cotati

[+Bzzliteyr]

Okay guys, Ihave been wondering for a while, what do you need GSAK for?

 

I create a pocket query (or if not premium, dload all the gpx files) then I open them with my (still unregistered) cachemate. I can then hit the cache with no paper at all and my CF gps takes me right to it!

 

Conversely, if you already have a GPS then get GPXview and load the gpx files into it. It gives you the cache page with the hint. no images but you don't want to make it too easy...

[+Miragee]

If you live in an area like mine, where there are 4000 caches within a 50-mile radius, GSAK is essential.

 

I get the data for several areas around this large county, and GSAK allows me to filter by a route, or filter a 15- or 20-mile circle around a particular cache.

 

GSAK is absolutely essential for my caching experience.

 

I also used it for a recent trip where I created new databases for each State I was traveling through. Then I created new databases in Cachemate, so I wasn't searching through 4000 caches to find the one I had as "nearest" on my GPSr.

[+RayDar_]

I am trying to find an inexpensive way to use a handheld unit so I can walk in the woods and have the geocache waypoint sheet at my fingertips. I carry around the printouts and want to save paper. Any ideas about a palm or combo unit. Anything will help. Thanks

 

GeoNiche is a complete paperless solution. It runs on PalmsOS as old as 3.5. You could get something like old Palm Vx on ebay and attach a GPS receiver, if you like.

 

Of course, the newer the model you get, the more features and better performance you will see.

[+CiscoHiker]

Any ideas what the differences are between the Palm Vx, the m500, the M505, the IIIxe and the palm iiiX

Edited May 26, 2006 by CiscoHiker

[+CiscoHiker]

GeoNiche is a complete paperless solution. It runs on PalmsOS as old as 3.5. You could get something like old Palm Vx on ebay and attach a GPS receiver, if you like.

 

Of course, the newer the model you get, the more features and better performance you will see.

 

I took a look at the geoniche site but I didnt understand how the GPSr and the Palm would be linked. Can you explain that?