Palm PDA with USB - which models?

[+Chazhenry]

I've never fooled with the Palm Pilots or other PDA's, but I'm seriously thinking about picking up a used one for paperless caching. Unfortunately my notebook does not have a serial port and I believe the ones I often see recommended (Palm IIIxe and Palm Vx) have serial connectors. I've looked on eBay, but there are so many different models it's been pretty overwhelming. So I'm hoping for some suggestions as to which models have USB connectors and would be adequate for caching. And any other "issues" I should be aware of in terms of the OS, etc? Any models that don't work very well for caching that I should avoid?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Chazhenry.

[+geognerd]

The cheapest new Palm with USB is the Z22, which costs around $100. Not sure which older Palms connect via USB. As for the OS, you shouldn't have any problems there either. CacheMate runs on the version of PalmOS that the IIIxe uses, and my IIIxe syncs without a hitch on my WinXP PC (with serial port).

 

Have you thought about using a serial to USB adapter? Sometimes they can be fussy to get working right, but it might be worthwhile if you can get a good deal on one of the serial Palms. I don't recommend spending a ton of money on a Palm just for geocaching because they can break and aren't waterproof. I looked at one of those metal cases for my IIIxe, but it cost several times more than the Palm itself, which was only $10.50.

[+rscotth]

I use a Dell Axim X3. The Dell's are USB and this unit operates flawlessly. This would be a bit overkill for a cache only PDA as mine has built in wireless so I can text message and I also use it as an MP3 player when travleing. I bought mine used from a guy here in this forum. At the time he had several of these items. The members screen name is: Scott-N8ZUS and he had some good deals on several different types of units. I suggest an e-mail or PM to this gentleman. The last I can remember he had some Dell axim x5 32MB 300 MHz models for $85.00 shipped.

Here is the post where I bought mine. http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=143484

RSH

Edited October 15, 2006 by rscotth

[+Scott-N8ZUS]

Hey! Thanks for the kind words there!

 

Anyways! To answer your Question look to E-bay for any Palm m500 series. The m500 has just the Gray scale LCD screen. While the m505, & m515 has the color screen. They major differances between the m505, & the m515 is the m505 has 8MB of memory, & has one backlight setting. The m515 has 16MB of memory, & has Three backlight settings for the color screen. The m500 has 8MB of memory too, and has a SD memory card slot for expansion if needed.

 

You should find a m500 rather cheap now days on E-bay. The m505 will be a little more. The m515 are still going a little more than both the m500, & m505.

 

I'm not really sure about the newer Palms. But for sure they should have USB connectivity, and should go rather cheap for the models with less options.

 

Also sorry to say my Well is going dry to what I have! Pretty much to what I have left is spoken for as of right now! But I will post a update if anything changes.

 

Well good luck, & feel free to E-mail me with any Questions!

[+av8ndv8]

We bought a Z22 and couldn't read it outside! Going back in technology a few years I bought a brand new Handspring Neo for $8 on eBay. It's a IIIxe clone with USB cradle. AFAIK, all Handsprings were USB.

[+Scott-N8ZUS]

Hey! You are correct! Forgot about the Handspring models! They all had USB connectivity. Also you should find them rather cheap for sale. Like av8ndv8 said.

[+Chazhenry]

Thanks for all the replies. I've made some notes, so now I'll go back to Ebay and keep watching.

There were so many different models I was getting lost.

Thanks again.

Chazhenry

[+Scott-N8ZUS]

Hey! Look for Handspring Visor- Deluxe, Neo, Edge, Platinum, Pro, and Prism.

 

They all have 8MB of memory exept the Pro it had 16MB of memory.

The Prism came in color, and has 8MB of memory.

Edited October 17, 2006 by Scott-N8ZUS

[+hybridgeek]

Although the Palm m505 has a weak backlight, both the Palm m505 and m515 have a superiorly reflective screen that makes it readable without backlight under even flourescent light conditions, but especially under the sun. The backlight comes in handy when in a dark shadow or no light indoors. I highly recommend the m505 or m515 as a cheap pda that is pretty decent. As mentioned above, the m505 lacks some features that would be nice for someone getting it to be more than just a caching PDA, but if all you want is a caching PDA, the m505 will give you that and more for a decent price on ebay.

 

Good luck!

Hybridgeek

[+yakimacacher]

does the Palm Z22 work for caching?

[+TheBattons]

does the Palm Z22 work for caching?

 

I've been doing a lot of refurbishing of PalmOS PDAs lately, and decided to see just how many cache listing would fit onto a PDA with 2 megs of RAM. With CacheMate installed and nothing other than the basic operating system, I was able to get 1642 caches loaded. Each cache entry was converted with 10 logs, and ALL info that CacheMate will convert. My test was run on a PalmIII, wich runs PAlmOS 3.0, the bare minimums for CacheMate.

 

With that being said, the long answer to your question would be, "Any PalmOS PDA running version 3.o or better would work for caching, assuming that you used the PDA for caching only, OR limited the amount of caches loaded to 1000 or so.

 

"The Z22 handheld features a 200MHz processor and 32MB of built-in memory—more than enough room to manage your calendar, contacts, to-do lists and even take along your favorite photos." And that means LOTS of room for caches.

 

Or, the short answer would be "Yes".

[Not So Lost Puppies]

I routinely use a Palm m500 for paperless caching. I also use a SD card for being able to load caches in various DBs and still use the PDA for other purposes as well.

 

Ebay is also a good source for replacement batteries (very easy to replace) for the units, since many used ones may not have good battery life.

[+team5150]

does the Palm Z22 work for caching?

Yes, the Z22 will work very well for caching, although as mentioned earlier, its a bit hard to see in direct sunlight. You can adjust the contrast to overcome this, and/or just find a shady spot to look at it... Its a great little PDA for less than $100...but thats just my humble opinion....