Paperless caching and PDAS

[+kaoss kanpers]

Really want to start paperless caching but totally lost on whats what in pdas. can anyone help?

[+sbell111]

Any old Palm will work for you. If you are just going to use it for geocaching, I would recommend that you buy the cheapest used palm that you can find on ebay. That way, if you destroy it on trail you will not be too pained by the replacement cost.

 

A few years ago, I bought my dad an old Palm V with accessories for less than $20 on ebay. It was perfect for his use.

[+Wayfinders]

This thread may be of help. Good luck!

[+traildad]

Really want to start paperless caching but totally lost on whats what in pdas. can anyone help?

I have read that the Palm pda's with 8 megs are a good choice. You can get by if they only have 2 megs but you can get 8 megs often for less than $30. I have also read that the used Palm's with rechargeable batteries can be a problem. If the rechargeable is weak it may not hold a charge long enough or at all. I got a Palm IIIxe with 8 megs of memory plus some accessories for $29 shipped to my door. It uses AA batteries and they last a long time. Ebay has lots of them and there are some for sale here in the Garage Sale area.

[+sbell111]

... I have also read that the used Palm's with rechargeable batteries can be a problem. If the rechargeable is weak it may not hold a charge long enough or at all. I got a Palm IIIxe with 8 megs of memory plus some accessories for $29 shipped to my door. It uses AA batteries and they last a long time. Ebay has lots of them and there are some for sale here in the Garage Sale area.

That has not been my experience. In fact, many people prefer the non-AA palms because they don't have to worry about losing data when the batteries are replaced.

[The Royles]

That has not been my experience. In fact, many people prefer the non-AA palms because they don't have to worry about losing data when the batteries are replaced.

 

I thought palms did not lose data when the battery was flat. My IIIc doesnt.

[+sbell111]

That has not been my experience. In fact, many people prefer the non-AA palms because they don't have to worry about losing data when the batteries are replaced.

I thought palms did not lose data when the battery was flat. My IIIc doesnt.

The 3c uses an internal battery, not AAs. It will not lose data unless you let the battery go all the way to dead. They are designed to shut down before this happens to force you to recharge the battery. Edited January 9, 2007 by sbell111

[+Lord Elwood]

I use a Palm m105. I use it for Geocaching, my address book, my datebook and I use it for work. I have had it for more years than I can remember. They go on Ebay (with the cradle) for around $25. It has meg of memory, a black and white screen and a backlight. It runs off 2 AAA batteries and I LOVE IT!!!

 

The batteries last a long time (I can usually go about a month before I have to replace them and considering I sync it with my home and work computers, that's pretty good). When I do change the batteries, I do NOT lose any data.

 

If you are looking for something just to Geocache with, I HIGHLY recommend against the rechargeable PDAs. If you're out in the field and the batteries dies, you're SOL. With me, I already carry spare batteries for my GPSr, so I carry a couple of extras for the PDA. So I just replace them as needed and keep going.

 

Another nice feature with this Palm is the IR port (I know that most have them). I can easily beam cache pages (using CacheMate) to other Palm users. This is very nice when group hunting and someone forgets to download the caches or misses a couple.

 

Bottom line, go cheap for now until you decide if you like it. Chances are you will. Then just use the cheap PDA until the thing dies and buy another cheap PDA. Keep in mind that you will be carrying this thing while Geocaching so it is likely to suffer the same downfalls that you might, such as falling into a river. It's a lot easier to replace the $30 PDA than it is the $300 PDA!!!

[+PlaidPirate]

The m105 and a lot of other AA palms actually have two batteries. The second is not normally user replacable. It is a battery that will not run the palm, but will keep you data from dissappearing while you change the AA batteries. If you leave the AA's out for too long you will loose your data. Or in the case of old palms, that battery might have died completely, in which case just removing the AA's will kill you data. Some palms (actually the m105 is one of them) are notorious for having a defective backup battery, and so you loose you data anytime you change the AA's.

[+PerfectPair]

I use an HP iPAQ. And I use GPX Sonar. I like the paperless, but I haven't completly figured out GPX Sonar. Its a lot better than printing out the cache pages. Because we never carried the book of caches with us, and often had to go back to vehicle to look up info, now we just pull out the iPAQ and find out what we need.

 

I also have DeLorme for handhelds and a Earthmate Blue Logger GPS that I use with the iPAQ

[+sbell111]

... If you are looking for something just to Geocache with, I HIGHLY recommend against the rechargeable PDAs. If you're out in the field and the batteries dies, you're SOL. With me, I already carry spare batteries for my GPSr, so I carry a couple of extras for the PDA. So I just replace them as needed and keep going. ...

On the other hand, I just toss my pda in the charger every couple of days and never have a battery problem. If I was paranoid about it, I would just charge it nightly just like my phone.

 

On a few occasions, I went out of town, played games on the plane, and immediately went geocaching. The battery was pretty low, so I just put it on auto power between caches and it charged it up enough that I didn't have any problems.

 

Edited to add that I just realized that my pda has been hanging out in my briefcase for a good week and a half without a charge. I checked it and its still good to go.

Edited January 9, 2007 by sbell111

[+Driver Carries Cache]

I just got a letter from my cell phone provider telling me that I could upgrade my phone. I bought a Palm Treo Smartphone (it's basicly a Palm/Cell Phone combined). I love the idea of this tool being a multi-tasker and I don't look like Batman with the stupid utility belt (palm, cell phone, flashlight, knife, GPSr etc.).

 

I haven't even got the paperless caching totally set up yet, but I can already see it's the way to go!

 

Driver Carries Cache

(madmike)

[+sbell111]

I just got a letter from my cell phone provider telling me that I could upgrade my phone. I bought a Palm Treo Smartphone (it's basicly a Palm/Cell Phone combined). I love the idea of this tool being a multi-tasker and I don't look like Batman with the stupid utility belt (palm, cell phone, flashlight, knife, GPSr etc.).

 

I haven't even got the paperless caching totally set up yet, but I can already see it's the way to go!

 

Driver Carries Cache

(madmike)

Make sure that you buy the insurance.

[+Driver Carries Cache]

I just got a letter from my cell phone provider telling me that I could upgrade my phone. I bought a Palm Treo Smartphone (it's basicly a Palm/Cell Phone combined). I love the idea of this tool being a multi-tasker and I don't look like Batman with the stupid utility belt (palm, cell phone, flashlight, knife, GPSr etc.).

 

I haven't even got the paperless caching totally set up yet, but I can already see it's the way to go!

 

Driver Carries Cache

(madmike)

Make sure that you buy the insurance.

 

It hasn't even left my desk yet, but thanks for making me paranoid (LOL)

 

With me I'd have to say that it's greatest fear shouldn't be a getting wet crossing a river or being dropped off a mountain, more likely it'll get put in the washer with my pants!

 

Sad but true,

 

D

[+sbell111]

I just got a letter from my cell phone provider telling me that I could upgrade my phone. I bought a Palm Treo Smartphone (it's basicly a Palm/Cell Phone combined). I love the idea of this tool being a multi-tasker and I don't look like Batman with the stupid utility belt (palm, cell phone, flashlight, knife, GPSr etc.).

 

I haven't even got the paperless caching totally set up yet, but I can already see it's the way to go!

 

Driver Carries Cache

(madmike)

Make sure that you buy the insurance.

 

It hasn't even left my desk yet, but thanks for making me paranoid (LOL)

 

With me I'd have to say that it's greatest fear shouldn't be a getting wet crossing a river or being dropped off a mountain, more likely it'll get put in the washer with my pants!

 

Sad but true,

 

D

Me, too. Unfortunately.

 

Make sure that any insurance includes water damage. One year, my wife and I were in DC on the 4th and it was raining like crazy. Her phone got soaked and died. The wireless company wouldn't honor the insurance and we had to buy a new one.

[+TetrAmigos]

One of the best investments I ever made in my PDA was a solid aluminum case from eBay I bought for $5. About a week later I dropped my axim so hard that the SD card flew out, but the case took most of the brunt and she lived to see another day.

[+Lord Elwood]

I just got a letter from my cell phone provider telling me that I could upgrade my phone. I bought a Palm Treo Smartphone (it's basicly a Palm/Cell Phone combined). I love the idea of this tool being a multi-tasker and I don't look like Batman with the stupid utility belt (palm, cell phone, flashlight, knife, GPSr etc.).

 

I haven't even got the paperless caching totally set up yet, but I can already see it's the way to go!

 

Driver Carries Cache

(madmike)

 

Or cache in cargo shorts in the summer and big coats in the winter. The key is LOTS of pockets!!! That's how I do it. ANd if I'm going on a long Geocaching trip, like hiking throught the woods, just use a backpack.

[+sbell111]

One of the best investments I ever made in my PDA was a solid aluminum case from eBay I bought for $5. About a week later I dropped my axim so hard that the SD card flew out, but the case took most of the brunt and she lived to see another day.

I dropped my TE and now the power button doesn't work. I have to turn it on using the other buttons. My understanding is that this is common with TEs. I hope to come up with a good excuse to buy a TX soon.

[+NightPilot]

The M105 doesn't have a battery to prevent loss of data when the batteries are changed, it has a capacitor (although it looks like a disk battery). The capacitor stores enough juice to last for a minute or so when new, but it steadily deteriorates, and eventually will die. Almost all M100 series Palms have this happen eventually. It has happened to mine twice, and I gave up after the second one died. They're not really replaceable, but you can buy a new motherboard with cap in place fairly cheaply. I don't need it badly enough to buy the new motherboard, so I now have a standby power solution, involving batteries and a blown automobile fuse. I can wedge the fuse into the battery compartment and keep voltage on the unit while I change the batteries, but it's not always worth the effort. Not much on that Palm I need other than Cachemate and its database. My main Palm is much newer and faster, and has a rechargeable battery. If your capacitor is still working, consider yourself lucky. They all die eventually, though.

[+TetrAmigos]

One of the best investments I ever made in my PDA was a solid aluminum case from eBay I bought for $5. About a week later I dropped my axim so hard that the SD card flew out, but the case took most of the brunt and she lived to see another day.

I dropped my TE and now the power button doesn't work. I have to turn it on using the other buttons. My understanding is that this is common with TEs. I hope to come up with a good excuse to buy a TX soon.

 

At least it still works!!

[+sbell111]

One of the best investments I ever made in my PDA was a solid aluminum case from eBay I bought for $5. About a week later I dropped my axim so hard that the SD card flew out, but the case took most of the brunt and she lived to see another day.

I dropped my TE and now the power button doesn't work. I have to turn it on using the other buttons. My understanding is that this is common with TEs. I hope to come up with a good excuse to buy a TX soon.

At least it still works!!

Part of me wishes that it didn't . Then I could upgrade. Alas, a quick setting change allowed me to turn it on with the other buttons and have it go off automagically.

[+gof1]

One of the best investments I ever made in my PDA was a solid aluminum case from eBay I bought for $5. About a week later I dropped my axim so hard that the SD card flew out, but the case took most of the brunt and she lived to see another day.

I dropped my TE and now the power button doesn't work. I have to turn it on using the other buttons. My understanding is that this is common with TEs. I hope to come up with a good excuse to buy a TX soon.

At least it still works!!

Part of me wishes that it didn't . Then I could upgrade. Alas, a quick setting change allowed me to turn it on with the other buttons and have it go off automagically.

 

You could...drop it again? Strictly by accident of corse.

[+sbell111]

One of the best investments I ever made in my PDA was a solid aluminum case from eBay I bought for $5. About a week later I dropped my axim so hard that the SD card flew out, but the case took most of the brunt and she lived to see another day.

I dropped my TE and now the power button doesn't work. I have to turn it on using the other buttons. My understanding is that this is common with TEs. I hope to come up with a good excuse to buy a TX soon.

At least it still works!!

Part of me wishes that it didn't . Then I could upgrade. Alas, a quick setting change allowed me to turn it on with the other buttons and have it go off automagically.

 

You could...drop it again? Strictly by accident of corse.

... and accidently run it over with the Jeep three or four times.

[+NightPilot]

Just don't let anybody videotape you doing it. A woman down here did that to her husband, with her Mercedes. She swore it was all a tragic accident, but she's in prison now, because the jury saw the video of her running over him over, and over, and......

[+Spot check]

I use a t-mobile Sidekick II and it has always worked really well for me caching.

 

I export html from gsak and host it myself because it's a little faster and only contains the ones in my gps, but I can search and log from the geocaching.com website fine on it too.

 

Also handy because it's a phone and camera and aim and email.

Edited January 10, 2007 by Team Cyberlove