Paperless caching with Pocket PC?

[+twinfly]

I am leaving on a trip to Oregon tomorrow and only have a few minutes at the computer right now. Am hoping someone can explain or point me to some good directions for paperless caching with a Pocket PC. I have seen several of the tutorials that have been written but the ones I've seen only talk about using Palm OS. What do I need to do to use an HP Jornada? Let me tell you what I have and maybe you can tell me what I need to get or do.

 

I Have:

Premium Membership at GC.com (on another profile)

Garmin Rhino 110 w/cable

GSAK installed on my desktop PC (and a list of GPX files in my database, already uploaded to my GPSr)

HP Jornada Pocket PC

 

I want to be able to read the cache description and hints. Don't really care about people's logs, but would like the descriptions etc. in case I get stumped. What program do I need for the pocket PC? Do I need another program for my desktop to convert it to a file that the Pocket PC can read? I have played around with GSAK some, enough to load coords onto my GPSr, but that is about it.

 

I'm short on time which is why I haven't spent much trying to search for the answers in the forums. Sorry for repeating a question that has probably been asked many times. Just hoping I can get some help before I have to leave. If not, I'll have to figure it out for next time. Thanks so much for anyone that can help me out!

 

twinfly

[+admo1972]

cachemate. I use it on the palm, but there is a PPC version as well. Cachemate is pretty much a requirement for paperless caching. You can use it free with a nag screen and some limitations. It's worth every penny (about $8)

[+Roland_oso]

GPX Sonar works great on a PPC.

[+twinfly]

I know that in one of the tutorials I read about they explained how to use cachemate but it was talking about using it with Palm so I wasn't sure. I'll look back and see if that will work. Thanks.

[+twinfly]

Can either of you go into any further explanation of the steps to take with each of these programs?

[+TotemLake]

Gpxsonar will read gpx files straight from GC or from GSAK. All you have to do is open the PPC and drag and drop the file into the device like an extra disk.

[+Team_CSG]

i'm using cachmate with a ipaq 3715x and GSAK on my laptop. The combination works great and I can log a large volume of caches in a short time.

[+Tervas]

Just generate HTML output with GSAK and use your PPC's web browser for viewing.

Works very well for me, no addititonal programs needed and you can easily filter out everything you don't need.

[+SimonC_Here]

If you fancy another little program for the PPC to help with Multi caches, there is this:

Multicalc

 

One for the palm as well:

 

Palm Coordinate

 

Simon

[+dk happy feet]

I have tried both GPXSonar and CacheMate on HP 2200.

GPXSonar cannot handle the 3000 caches we have in Denmark, it very slow even with 500 caches.

CacheMate takes some time to load the caches, however once inside the PDA it works fine.

You can have serveral database for CacheMate. Then install SpoilerSync and you acces to spoilerpictures.

My setup is:

GSAK on the laptop - to filter caches, generate the desired GPX-file, POI for TomTom and HTML (all logs etc)

The GSAK has more macro's installed.

HP 2200 with TT6, CacheMate (reg. ofcouse ;-) )2gb SD and 2gb CF (SD fits into laptop to transfer files)

Garmin Map60Csx

Work like this

From PQ to GSAK - filter - make files - transfer from laptop to SD -card and GPS - get in the car - use TT6 to locate parking - find cache with GPS or as near as possible - use HP to get the last "hints" . FOUND -

[+scameronde]

I have tried both GPXSonar and CacheMate on HP 2200.

GPXSonar cannot handle the 3000 caches we have in Denmark, it very slow even with 500 caches.

CacheMate takes some time to load the caches, however once inside the PDA it works fine.

 

I second that. I used to work with GPXSonar, but CacheMate is a lot better. It is worth the $8 USD.

 

Because my PPC does have a GPS build in, i also bought GPS Tuner. Turns your PPC into a great GPS device (waypoints, maps, tracks, routes, all the neccessary stuff). GPS Tuner does not work well with more than 200 POIs (gets very slow on startup) and does not display the cache description. Because of that, my workflow is

 

- identify a few caches (using filters) in CacheMate

- export them into a GPX file

- import the GPX file into GPS Tuner

- track the caches

 

it works very well. Only one device to carry, and you do not have to connect it to your PC/Mac every time you like to do a cache hunt.

[+kd4crs]

I use GeoScout on my PocketPC. Even downloads the logs if you want.

[+Wadcutter]

I've used both Cachmate and GPXSonar. Since using GPXSonar I won't be going back to Cachmate. Cachmate is OK but I prefer the layout of GPXSonar. While GPXSonar is slower if using a large file the trick is to break the caches down into groups and create separate files. If you create the files by geographic areas then all you have to do is click the area you're in.

GPXSonar is free. Cachmate is nearly free at $8 so the cost isn't a factor.

[+JeepStalker]

I have to second using GSAK and exporting the database to a html file (File|Export|HTML Files...) Then you copy the cache folder it creates onto your Pocket PC. I made the index.htm in the cache folder my home page for Internet Explorer on the Pocket PC.

 

The benefit is that this will even work with old pocket pc's as long as they can read HTML and you do not need any software for the pocket pc.

[+knottsav]

Hi there,

I am trying to work out this paperless concept. I have a pocketPC that runs 2003.

To access the files though do I need to be a premium member on geocaching.com?

 

thanks

[+kd4crs]

I use GeoScout and it does not require Premium membership in order to download the cache details.

[+GeoScooter1]

Hi there,

I am trying to work out this paperless concept. I have a pocketPC that runs 2003.

To access the files though do I need to be a premium member on geocaching.com?

 

thanks

 

I use GPXSonar with my IPAQ and I really like it. You can download it free by going to "Resources" then clicking on "Geocaching Software" and then "GPXSonar". Download it, and either use ActiveSync to get it to your PocketPC (I save mine to a separate storage card), or drag it to your PPC. I then created folders on the storage card for my hometown, another city where I vacation, and then if I am traveling, a folder for those cities/states. When I go to the cache page, I just send the cache in GPX eXchange file to my PPC.

 

Hope this helps.