Paperless Caching

[+coach_g]

Hey,

 

I just got a PDA and have up graded my membership and am almost ready to begin paperless caching. Although I’m not sure which paperless caching program is best, I have only heard of CacheMate. Any suggestions as to what’s the best program?

 

Thanks Coach_g

[+IV_Warrior]

I don't have a Palm (got a PPC) but from what I've heard from people I know that do have Palm units, Cachemate is the best for that platform.

 

Edit to add:

 

Here are 2 articles on paperless caching with a Palm. The first with Cachemate, the second using the GPXSpinner/Plucker combo.

 

http://www.mdgps.org/modules.php?name=Cont...=showpage&pid=1

 

http://www.geocacher-u.com/resources/paperless.html

Edited June 3, 2006 by IV_Warrior

[+Team Dubbin]

Cachmate used along with GSAK is hard to beat.

[+Semper Questio]

Cachmate used along with GSAK is hard to beat.

 

Yeah, what he said.

[+Rick618]

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

 

After a brief search around the forums the combo of cachemate with GSAK and a premium membership to gc.com seems to be the way to go. I tried it out on a couple of caches this afternoon and it was great to have the info at my fingertips and not hunt through pages of paper.

[+Team Cotati]

Cachemate..........hands down, the best.

[+JDandDD]

What everyone else has said!! To add, if your Palm has Bluetooth capability and you can afford a Bluetooth GPS you can add the add-on Cachenav program from Smittyware (its free) and Cachemate will lead you to the cache on your Palm. You can also add software like Fugawi or TomTom for Palm mapping.

 

JDandDD

[+Buder]

Any suggestions on which bluetooth GPS units to use with a Palm?

[+Kacky]

I like Mobipocket for e-book format as an alternative to cachemate. The only thing it lacks is a place to mark that you found the cache.

Edited June 4, 2006 by Kacky

[+IV_Warrior]

I like Mobipocket for e-book format as an alternative to cachemate. The only thing it lacks is a place to mark that you found the cache.

 

I think you're part of a very small group. Most of the people I've heard comment on Mobi say how much of a useless piece of trash it is.

[+Kacky]

I like Mobipocket for e-book format as an alternative to cachemate. The only thing it lacks is a place to mark that you found the cache.

 

I think you're part of a very small group. Most of the people I've heard comment on Mobi say how much of a useless piece of trash it is.

 

Probably would be most useful to stick with one's own experience, especially when there is no specific compaint there.

[+IV_Warrior]

I like Mobipocket for e-book format as an alternative to cachemate. The only thing it lacks is a place to mark that you found the cache.

 

I think you're part of a very small group. Most of the people I've heard comment on Mobi say how much of a useless piece of trash it is.

 

Probably would be most useful to stick with one's own experience, especially when there is no specific compaint there.

 

Possibly, but you were suggesting it as an alternative, and I don't think its a very good one.

[+Miragee]

Count me in the group who uses GSAK (Geocaching Swiss Army Knife) on their PC and Cachemate on their Palm. I have an older Palm M500 and in more than a year have never had a problem with Cachemate . . . and it does give me a place to log my finds and jot down details of the cache including Travel Bug numbers and other important info.

 

There is other software available, some of which is free.

 

Here are a few more possiby-helpful links:

 

Create Pocket Queries

 

About Pocket Queries

 

Quick GSAK tutorial

[+TripsMom]

Question in the same general area. I have a Palm, have the premium membership, Cachemate and GSAK. I can download individual caches to my Palm but I can't get a pocket query to arrive in my e-mail. I've tried with and without a Firewall. It shows the query generated but it never arrives.

Any ideas?

Thanks~

[+Kacky]

I like Mobipocket for e-book format as an alternative to cachemate. The only thing it lacks is a place to mark that you found the cache.

 

I think you're part of a very small group. Most of the people I've heard comment on Mobi say how much of a useless piece of trash it is.

 

Probably would be most useful to stick with one's own experience, especially when there is no specific compaint there.

 

Possibly, but you were suggesting it as an alternative, and I don't think its a very good one.

 

The person asked us what we use. I think you're off base to shoot down another person's response. And in the first place, why not try it first before you give your opinion on it.

Edited June 4, 2006 by Kacky

[+IV_Warrior]

Question in the same general area. I have a Palm, have the premium membership, Cachemate and GSAK. I can download individual caches to my Palm but I can't get a pocket query to arrive in my e-mail. I've tried with and without a Firewall. It shows the query generated but it never arrives.

Any ideas?

Thanks~

 

Your ISP or e-mail provider is likely blocking it. That, or it's ending up in a "junk" folder locally. Some of the free e-mail services seem to block legit e-mails from gc.com (yet allow tons of spam to come through). If you've checked your junk settings, perhaps try a different e-mail address. I've been using gmail without trouble, and I'm sure a ton of others work fine, too.

 

Kacky, I don't need to try it. One, as I stated above I don't have a Palm, and two, enough people have told me it's junk that I'm not wasting my time. I've never used Cachemate, either, but enough people have told me it's good that I recommend it when a Palm owner asks about caching software.

[+Miragee]

Question in the same general area. I have a Palm, have the premium membership, Cachemate and GSAK. I can download individual caches to my Palm but I can't get a pocket query to arrive in my e-mail. I've tried with and without a Firewall. It shows the query generated but it never arrives.

Any ideas?

Thanks~

As mentioned, your ISP might be blocking the .zip files, or they area going into a Bulk or Spam folder.

 

You could get either a Gmail account (if you need an invite, PM me) or you can create a Yahoo! account for the PQs. I had no problem getting my PQs through Yahoo!, but now I receive them through my regular ISP account, www.intergate.com, with no problems.

[+EScout]

GSAK to Plucker. Plucker is a very useful tool for Palm OS. It works very well for paperless caching, and yes, it easy to date stamp your find and make notes. I can't see having a Palm OS and not having Plucker. I use it for business and other personal things.

[+ixrayu22]

I can't get my "cmconvert.exe" file to run as it says it can't find the zziplib.dll file. Any ideas?

 

I don't have a Palm (got a PPC) but from what I've heard from people I know that do have Palm units, Cachemate is the best for that platform.

 

Edit to add:

 

Here are 2 articles on paperless caching with a Palm. The first with Cachemate, the second using the GPXSpinner/Plucker combo.

 

http://www.mdgps.org/modules.php?name=Cont...=showpage&pid=1

 

http://www.geocacher-u.com/resources/paperless.html

[+Team Cotati]

There is someting in the PC industry known as "Best Practice". These are guidelines pertaining to hardware, software and procedures that are known to work properly, efficiently, consistiently and with the lowest associated risk.

 

In my opinion, if you apply that same criteria to paperless caching, you become a premium member, use PQ's do download GSX files that you feed into GSAK. Then you use GSAK to create a file in CacheMate format for import into a PDA known to work with Cachemate. At the same time you use GSAK to load waypoints into your GPSr and perhaps print cache info if you are using paper.

 

No doubt there are other means to accomplish essentially the same result. You can use them if you so choose.

Edited June 5, 2006 by Team Cotati

[+Wild Thing 73]

Wow, after reading all the above, I think I will stick to my method: How about one (1) piece of paper with all information needed for a daily hunt for caches.

 

I use “Bookmark Lists” with: >name>GCxxx>Hints>Type of container>any info I think is necessary. All this on one (1) printed sheet of paper ...If info is long, then maybe two (2) pages...to me it beats carrying: PDA > GPSr > and maybe,>Camera, handheld compass, > etc. of course this list is negotiable. To me, this saves cost of a PDA + all the extras needed to operate the Computer, GPSr and PDA. Cost analysts favor the Bookmark list. However, I know it is the challenge of the gimmick "toys". So Good luck and Good caching []

[+Kacky]

Wow, after reading all the above, I think I will stick to my method: How about one (1) piece of paper with all information needed for a daily hunt for caches.

 

I use “Bookmark Lists” with: >name>GCxxx>Hints>Type of container>any info I think is necessary. All this on one (1) printed sheet of paper ...If info is long, then maybe two (2) pages...to me it beats carrying: PDA > GPSr > and maybe,>Camera, handheld compass, > etc. of course this list is negotiable. To me, this saves cost of a PDA + all the extras needed to operate the Computer, GPSr and PDA. Cost analysts favor the Bookmark list. However, I know it is the challenge of the gimmick "toys". So Good luck and Good caching []

 

I'm still new, but I travel a lot. When I went to Minnesota recently I was downloading in batches of anywhere from 100 to 500. That would be pretty time consuming to make notes on, especially not knowing which few I would actually be able to go for. But everyone's free to use the method that works best for them!

Edited June 5, 2006 by Kacky

[+Marbig's Woodenheads]

I've been following this thread and am all set up with 'Cachemate' on my Palm IIIxe PDA (just got it from Ebay) and GSAK on the PC. Did a PQ and all that is now on the PDA. Took me a while to sort it all out. But should get used to it very quickly.

One other thing I need to know though. My GPSr is a little Etrex yellow. No mapping on it. Still it works well and we have no trouble with it.

Can I convert google maps to use on my PDA? Thanks for any info on this.

[+Wild Thing 73]

Wow, after reading all the above, I think I will stick to my method: How about one (1) piece of paper with all information needed for a daily hunt for caches.

 

I use “Bookmark Lists” with: >name>GCxxx>Hints>Type of container>any info I think is necessary. All this on one (1) printed sheet of paper ...If info is long, then maybe two (2) pages...to me it beats carrying: PDA > GPSr > and maybe,>Camera, handheld compass, > etc. of course this list is negotiable. To me, this saves cost of a PDA + all the extras needed to operate the Computer, GPSr and PDA. Cost analysts favor the Bookmark list. However, I know it is the challenge of the gimmick "toys". So Good luck and Good caching []

 

I'm still new, but I travel a lot. When I went to Minnesota recently I was downloading in batches of anywhere from 100 to 500. That would be pretty time consuming to make notes on, especially not knowing which few I would actually be able to go for. But everyone's free to use the method that works best for them!

"But everyone's free to use the method that works best for them!" I agree on that, but your example is not my every day caching event:) What ever works for you.

[+Clothahump]

Hey,

 

I just got a PDA and have up graded my membership and am almost ready to begin paperless caching. Although I’m not sure which paperless caching program is best, I have only heard of CacheMate. Any suggestions as to what’s the best program?

 

 

IMNSHO, you can't go wrong with Cachemate.

["Paws"itraction]

I can't get my "cmconvert.exe" file to run as it says it can't find the zziplib.dll file. Any ideas?

 

I don't have a Palm (got a PPC) but from what I've heard from people I know that do have Palm units, Cachemate is the best for that platform.

 

Edit to add:

 

Here are 2 articles on paperless caching with a Palm. The first with Cachemate, the second using the GPXSpinner/Plucker combo.

 

http://www.mdgps.org/modules.php?name=Cont...=showpage&pid=1

 

http://www.geocacher-u.com/resources/paperless.html

Is the dll file in the same directory / folder as the cmconvert.exe file? I know mine won't run if they're not in the same folder.

[+sbell111]

GSAK to Plucker. Plucker is a very useful tool for Palm OS. It works very well for paperless caching, and yes, it easy to date stamp your find and make notes. I can't see having a Palm OS and not having Plucker. I use it for business and other personal things.

I second Plucker. It is a great program.

 

I use Sunrise instead of Plucker's desktop application, however. It runs faster and makes it easier to get pictures from the cache pages to the cache pages on your pda.

 

I also use Cache Log Book. Its a great little palm database to keep track of all your cache hunts.

[+SeaKing]

Another GSAK and Cachemate user here!

[+lindsychris]

I like Mobipocket for e-book format as an alternative to cachemate. The only thing it lacks is a place to mark that you found the cache.

 

Have you tried CacheMate? When we started paperless caching I used MobiPocket because it was free and simple to use. The problem was, all 500 caches that I had in the Palm were all just in one big long list. It was very hard for me to navigate through the caches without scrolling. It took more time than it would have to print the pages and sort through them. Once we switched to Cachemate we've been out with my cousin who uses MobiPocket. I can get the info in half of the time that it takes him.

 

I can't believe how easy Cachemate is to use and it was only $8!

[+cowboy1629]

I've used Plucker and CacheMate, I prefer CacheMate.

 

I also use CacheMate with GSAK and have just recently started using a macro in GSAK to pull the found information from my Palm database and load it into GSAK. The macro will then open the cache in GC.com and with the press of a button transfer the log information that I originally recorded into CacheMate when I was out in the field to the log on GC.com. Talk about a BIG time saver!

[+Recdiver]

GSAK to Plucker. Plucker is a very useful tool for Palm OS. It works very well for paperless caching, and yes, it easy to date stamp your find and make notes. I can't see having a Palm OS and not having Plucker. I use it for business and other personal things.

Have had a couple of palm pilots. Have tried Plucker and didn't like it. For caching I use Cachemate and GSAK, it is also what almost all of my caching buddies use so it just makes it more convenient that way.

[+ricstone]

i have cachmate an plucker an i like plucker the best. i also use sunrise desktop instead of plucker desktop. like Sbell111 said sunrise is faster than plucker. by using plucker your pages will look like the real cache page.

good luck

[+WalruZ]

Cachemate and GSAK.

 

If your palm is capable, try Mapopolis. Maps of the US for $40, it's like having a bunch of map books in your palm, particularly if the palm will handle an SD card. You can get a mapopolis export plug-in for cachemate that will take cachemate caches and plot them on the mapopolis map. You can then see what caches are around you and where they are.

[+muchado]

i have cachmate an plucker an i like plucker the best. i also use sunrise desktop instead of plucker desktop. like Sbell111 said sunrise is faster than plucker. by using plucker your pages will look like the real cache page.

good luck

 

Ooooo. I currently use the "best practice" - PQs => GSAK => cachemate. When I first got my PDA (cheap Palm Vx off e-bay), I started using Plucker and liked what I saw on the Palm, but HATED the desktop application - too slow and needed lots of babysitting. So, I switched to cachemate. But, I did like the Plucker pages on the PDA. This is the first I've heard of Sunrise. I'm going to try it - if it is faster and doesn't rquire the babysitting, I may think seriously of going back to Plucker.

[+cary1952]

Question in the same general area. I have a Palm, have the premium membership, Cachemate and GSAK. I can download individual caches to my Palm but I can't get a pocket query to arrive in my e-mail. I've tried with and without a Firewall. It shows the query generated but it never arrives.

Any ideas?

Thanks~

 

Ive used mobipocket for almost 400 caches and I think it is useful, not a piece of trash.

[+cary1952]

I like Mobipocket for e-book format as an alternative to cachemate. The only thing it lacks is a place to mark that you found the cache.

 

I think you're part of a very small group. Most of the people I've heard comment on Mobi say how much of a useless piece of trash it is.

 

Probably would be most useful to stick with one's own experience, especially when there is no specific compaint there.

 

Possibly, but you were suggesting it as an alternative, and I don't think its a very good one.

 

The person asked us what we use. I think you're off base to shoot down another person's response. And in the first place, why not try it first before you give your opinion on it.

 

Ive used mobipocket for almost 400 caches and I dont think it is a piece of trash!

[+Kacky]

I like Mobipocket for e-book format as an alternative to cachemate. The only thing it lacks is a place to mark that you found the cache.

 

Have you tried CacheMate? When we started paperless caching I used MobiPocket because it was free and simple to use. The problem was, all 500 caches that I had in the Palm were all just in one big long list. It was very hard for me to navigate through the caches without scrolling. It took more time than it would have to print the pages and sort through them. Once we switched to Cachemate we've been out with my cousin who uses MobiPocket. I can get the info in half of the time that it takes him.

 

I can't believe how easy Cachemate is to use and it was only $8!

 

I did pay the 8 bucks for Cachemate but I still prefer the Mobi. Are you sure you did it right? I just use the search function, once for the description and once again for the hint if I need it. When there are a lot of listings, I start the hint search backwards from the last page because the hints are last. It never takes more than a few seconds. I don't take the time to change my home co-ords, so Mobi always has it listed starting with the closest to my house. So when I'm away from home, I ask the GPSr for the closest cache, then punch the GC name into the Mobi and decide whether I want to go for that cache, or the next one and so on. If you read my logs you can see I do a lot of touring and only get around to grabbing a few caches, so it's important to be able to sort through and pick & choose. But I'm glad you like cachemate. The end result is the same!

[+Wild Thing 73]

There is a place for paperless caching and paper caching

Edited June 8, 2006 by Wild Thing 73

[+ejnewman]

Basically, using Mobipocket is like flipping through a copy of your paper printouts on a handheld device, except you aren't allowed to write on them. Cachemate is more like having access to the geocaching.com website on your handheld because you can browse a list of cache titles, see all or part of the record (hints, descriptions, logs, etc.) for each one, add notes, mark them as "found", etc.

Edited June 9, 2006 by ejnewman

[+naviguesser74]

If you have a BT Palm and a BT GPSr, I can't imagine any software better than GeoCache. Keeps track of your geocaches and a whole lot more. Easy to customize.

[+naviguesser74]

I'm sorry, not GeoCache. Rather, GeoNiche!! great Palm software. and I am not affiliated with the author in any way.

[+kayak-cowboy]

Premium member to GC.com. PQ's to GSAK then to Cachemate.

Only program I have used, and I like it alot.

Edited June 9, 2006 by kayak-cowboy