Using SATNAV for caching

[+Team Balders]

Probably a daft question, but as one of the few who hasn't got SatNav in the car and therefore a SatNav virgin I'd like to know if the unit for the car can be used out of the vehicle for tracking down caches?

 

Basically can you input long and lat and get the unit to point you in the right direction?

 

On a lighter note, could you get it to say things like "At the next oak tree, turn left" and "Your cache is in the ivy covered tree"?

[+Bear and Ragged]

Yes- link - but it gives the clues in ROT13!

 

not sure of the way to get POI files loaded on to it though...

 

G

Edited July 12, 2007 by KandG

[fraggle69]

What satnav system do you have? Some won't let you navigate using coords, others will. Also it's good to get you close to the cache(very close) but I prefer using a dedicated GPSr, or BT GPSr to palm.

Some satnavs are completely useless on foot.

[+Gushoneybun]

In a word yes! But there are problems with it, I have a Tomtom One so can not speak for other makes.

It is worth bearing in mind car satnavs are not waterproof do not have a great battery life and are designed for cars so are not as rugged, nor as easy to hold. The maps in satnavs are stripped down so not all the detail is present the programming snaps you onto a road so if you are looking for caches near to roads it is a pain, as the Satnav will keep placing you on a road when you are not on it. Away from roads its fine.

 

You can enter long and lats in a Tomtom. I download all unfound caches via POIedit from GCUK, and then type in the coords for stages of a multi or the answer to a puzzle, and save these as a seperate POI file.

 

The refresh rate is not great so you can appear to be some distance from the cache and when it then refreshes you have walked past. With a GPS you have an arrow pointing where the cache is, its a bit more hit and miss with satnav. Saying that we found our first 50-100 caches with just a Tomtom and I still use it from time to time.

My Tomtom keeps the signal better than my Vista so its much rare it looses its signal in trees but it you are moving slowly or stand still it can then swing you around so the cache appears to be behind you, so sometimes I have walked past a cache and had to walk back. All good fun!

 

Sorry a bit of a ramble I think it makes sense overall!

[+PopUpPirate]

A PDA can be a satnav and a cache finder all in one, my setup is :

 

Mio P350

 

running

 

TomTom Nav 6

for driving to the cache, and

Memory Map

for the walk.

 

As is quite a few peeps I think.

[+Pieman]

I've tried to use my TomTom One on a cache where my batteries died on my Legend. I found it quite difficult and had to use the hint on a cache I would probably otherwise found without the hint. I guess it depends on the cache- it's definitely easier than using an OS map which some people use successfully.

[+Gushoneybun]

I have found the best way when using a Tomtom is to get to GZ then cover it up, I adopt a strange hunched up position to loose the satellite signals. Then when it sorts it self out again you know exactly where you are! Normally in the middle of no where looking for a plastic box in the rain!

[+tteggod trackers]

I use my Garmin nuvi alot to do caching. Its great in cities and under tree cover where i find it better than my trusty legend as it has a sirf lll aerial.Iit is possible to put in co ordinates .As mentioned before though they aren't really designed for all weather use.

[+HazelS]

My parents have sat nav, and one thing to aware of...

 

They CAN put in coords, but they are in a different format, so they have to put them into the gps 1st, and then convert them, then type them into the car.

 

They cannot put POI's on.

 

I once found a cache using my tom tom, got me right there, but had to use the clue!

[+PopUpPirate]

The Garmin Satnavs let you put in co-ords, which default to the Geocache dd mm.mmmm format. However its then a bit of a faf to get it to go to pedestrian off-road mode. Better to run satnav on a PDA and then use a secondary application to do the caching bit, ie memory map as mentioned before, or Beeline or summat.

 

TomToms and Garmin Nuvis both can take POIs no problem if you use GSAK. Though the Nuvi only goes "bong" if the cache is a driveby, which is a pain.

[+Team Balders]

Thanks all,

 

I currently do not have a SatNav but recently I've been using my laptop, running Autoroute, connected to my Etrex Legend in the car - it's a long story!

 

After this little experiment, I decided that a SatNav would be very useful getting to the cache areas then switch back to the Legend for the actual finding bit. I was hoping for a unit that I could use for both the road and off-road bits without having to duplicate a lot of the data inputing.

 

I've decided to follow Pop Up Pirate's advice and have ordered a Mio 350. I already have an XDA for work (no GPS though) so I'm familiar with the platform. Today,I've downloaded a trial of BeeLine to see how it looks on the Pocket PC and I'm impressed. I'll probably use TomTom for the road navigation.

 

If all else fails, I've still got my Legend and a book of maps!

[+Gushoneybun]

Just one thing to watch for when you drive to a cache, satnavs will normally take you to the part of the road nearest to the cache, it makes no allowance for rivers or lakes that are in the way, nor that it wants you to stop on the shoulder of the motorway. So do check where it is taking you!

[+Mr'D]

I have a Tomtom Go 300. Ever tried holding one of these on the trail? They are designed to slip/pop/slide out of ones hand!

Jon

[fraggle69]

TomTom riderOne satnav is supposed to be waterproof atleast to the same standard as your garmin handhelds anyway, the price may be a bit high if you're not planning on using it for motorcycling. No I don't own one, but I wouldn't say no when the price comes down

[+pauliesg]

pop up pirate

 

I bought a garmin gpsmap 60csx new from america and topo V2 to go with it about £350 total

 

I have looked at the screen shots of memory map and they look better than my small display on garmin unit.

 

Have I wasted my money when I could just have purchased a decent gps pocket pc and memory map like you?

 

Does the palm work well in tree cover, if it does i might aswell flog my gps and get a mio instead.

 

Or I could keep it as a back up

 

do you run cachemate on the ppc too?

 

thanks Paul

[fraggle69]

pop up pirate

 

I bought a garmin gpsmap 60csx new from america and topo V2 to go with it about £350 total

 

I have looked at the screen shots of memory map and they look better than my small display on garmin unit.

 

Have I wasted my money when I could just have purchased a decent gps pocket pc and memory map like you?

 

Does the palm work well in tree cover, if it does i might aswell flog my gps and get a mio instead.

 

Or I could keep it as a back up

 

do you run cachemate on the ppc too?

 

I know this is aimed at PuP, but I think I may be able to help too. Firstly the Mio is not a palm it is a pocket PC with sirf III chip, the same chip that lives and breathes in your Garmin60csx so yes it works well under tree cover?

No you haven't wasted your money, unless ofcourse you wanted a single unit to do all the jobs.

I should think PuP uses something like GPX sonar or maybe BeeLineGPS which are similar to cachemate.

The garmin topo is not the same kind of map as memory map, correct me if I am wrong somebody but I understand that the garmin topo only displays the contour lines/gradients of the surrounding landscape?

 

Anyway that's my two pence worth on the subject, I am sure you'll be able to buy a good secondhand PPC if you think you really need one. Sounds like you might be better off with a palm seeing as you have already spent a lot of money.

 

Aiii

[+Pharisee]

 

........correct me if I am wrong somebody but I understand that the garmin topo only displays the contour lines/gradients of the surrounding landscape?

 

 

Consider yourself corrected... The Garmin Topo maps also display most (but unfortunately not all) of the other public rights of way.. footpaths, bridleways etc.

 

It also displays waterways, lakes, rivers and railways to a much better accuracy that the other road navigation based Garmin stuff like City Navigator.

 

It's not the best mapping software in the world but currently, it's the best you can get for a Garmin handheld GPSr. I consider it well worth the wedge it cost me.

[+pauliesg]

Thanks Fraggle

 

Pharisee

a while ago you told me of a good PPC set up that had GPS aswell, please could you remind me what it was and do you think it is worth while having a good GPS enabled PPC which also manages waypoints and keeps cache lists to use alongside a dedicated GPS unit

 

thanks

Paul

[TheWeston's]

I have a Mio A701 which is a phone, Pocket PC and GPS receiver in one. I have bnoth TomTom navigator for road and Memory Map for caching. You can also download cache html from GSAK so you have everything you need in one gadget.

[+awshaw]

 

........correct me if I am wrong somebody but I understand that the garmin topo only displays the contour lines/gradients of the surrounding landscape?

 

 

Consider yourself corrected... The Garmin Topo maps also display most (but unfortunately not all) of the other public rights of way.. footpaths, bridleways etc.

 

It also displays waterways, lakes, rivers and railways to a much better accuracy that the other road navigation based Garmin stuff like City Navigator.

 

It's not the best mapping software in the world but currently, it's the best you can get for a Garmin handheld GPSr. I consider it well worth the wedge it cost me.

[+awshaw]

 

........correct me if I am wrong somebody but I understand that the garmin topo only displays the contour lines/gradients of the surrounding landscape?

 

 

Consider yourself corrected... The Garmin Topo maps also display most (but unfortunately not all) of the other public rights of way.. footpaths, bridleways etc.

 

It also displays waterways, lakes, rivers and railways to a much better accuracy that the other road navigation based Garmin stuff like City Navigator.

 

It's not the best mapping software in the world but currently, it's the best you can get for a Garmin handheld GPSr. I consider it well worth the wedge it cost me.

 

I also have a Garmin GPS60CX with Garmin Topo GB maps. I find them utterly unreadable on the screen, especially if there are a lot of contours around. (Yes I have turned declutter on). I use Fugawi UK V2 to get my geocache co-ords into my GPS, I find this mapping software excellent. I also have a Dell Axim x50V PDA. I downloaded Fugawi maps into it and they are far easier on the eye. I would like to know if I could connect my Garmin to my PDA thus using the bigger screen and clearer maps on my PDA.

 

[+Pharisee]

Pharisee

a while ago you told me of a good PPC set up that had GPS aswell, please could you remind me what it was and do you think it is worth while having a good GPS enabled PPC which also manages waypoints and keeps cache lists to use alongside a dedicated GPS unit

 

 

I use a Garmin iQue 3600 which is a Palm PDA with a built in GPS receiver for road navigation. I also have CacheNav installed on it so that if all else fails I can use it to hunt for tupperware but it's far from ideal for that particular job and I'll only use it as a last resort.

 

 

As an engineer, I'm a firm believer in having and using a tool that's designed for the job it's supposed to do. If you start multi-tasking stuff you end up with a compromise that barely adequate for ANY of the jobs.

 

My 60CSx is robust, waterproof and has a battery life measured in days. The PDA isn't waterproof, will not stand any rough handling and has a battery life measured in hours (and not may of 'em) so it needs an Otterbox or something similar and and a battery extender. All extra weight to carry about. Start adding mobile phones into the equation and you end up with a real 'dogs dinner'. I know there are a lot who'll disagree with my view but for me, it's the iQue for street navigation and as a cache database, the 60CSx for hunting the cache and a simple mobile phone for use as... a phone

 

 

I also have a Garmin GPS60CX with Garmin Topo GB maps. I find them utterly unreadable on the screen, especially if there are a lot of contours around. (Yes I have turned declutter on).

 

 

Strange... I have no problem at all. The roads, paths and other features are all clearly defined in different colours and as far as I'm concerned, very readable.

[+Delta68]

Like many others, have a Mio P550 running TomTom 6,Memory Map 5 and Beeline.

 

TomTom is great for getting to a parking location as co-ords can be entered directly.

MM is good for seeing where you are but I am still having teething troubles with showing waypoints.

 

We still normally use the good ol' etrex for the final leg as it is rubust, waterproof, clear and batteries last for ages.

Not only that, son and/or daughter can run on ahead with the etrex whereas I wouldn't want to risk the mio getting dropped or argued over etc...

 

Being able to set cache locations as tomtom point of interest is really handy and enables us to spot caches which we would otherwise have driven straight past.

Edited July 16, 2007 by Delta68

[+Stokesy]

Probably a daft question, but as one of the few who hasn't got SatNav in the car and therefore a SatNav virgin I'd like to know if the unit for the car can be used out of the vehicle for tracking down caches?

 

Basically can you input long and lat and get the unit to point you in the right direction?

 

On a lighter note, could you get it to say things like "At the next oak tree, turn left" and "Your cache is in the ivy covered tree"?

 

Until recently I was using a Road Angel 7000 (they sell it as a Navigator for the car, and as Adventurer for car and trail). The difference is that you get a Memory Map OS map with the Adventurer, as the unit is the same. You can use it to creat waypoints and rotes and the unit has a version of the Memory Map software on it, so you can use it like a trad GPSr. However, it runs on a rechargable battery so if it expires while you're out and about, you're scuppered.

 

I now have a Garmin eTrex for homing in on the cache, but still use the Road Angel as it gives me far better detail for public footpaths etc than the eTrex does.

 

Hope this helps.

[+welshmike]

I was using a Road Angel 7000 (they sell it as a Navigator for the car, and as Adventurer for car and trail). The difference is that you get a Memory Map OS map with the Adventurer, as the unit is the same.

 

Hi, I'm new to cacheing and found my first caches using Google Earth and measuring distances with local knowledge I was able to find them but seeking further afield would be a problem without some sort of navigaton aid. I've looked at the Road Angel Adventurer 7000 and at £320 it's pretty expensive but being able to use it as a SatNav sweetens the cost as a GPS only unit would solely be used or caching. Are the Road Angel Navigator 7000 and Adventurer 7000 exactly the same units apart from Memory Map software? What battery life do get from your Road Angel 7000 and has battery life decreased with age?

 

cheers

 

Mike

Edited August 15, 2007 by welshmike

[+Bear and Ragged]

I was using a Road Angel 7000 (they sell it as a Navigator for the car, and as Adventurer for car and trail). The difference is that you get a Memory Map OS map with the Adventurer, as the unit is the same.

 

Hi, I'm new to cacheing and found my first caches using Google Earth and measuring distances with local knowledge I was able to find them but seeking further afield would be a problem without some sort of navigaton aid. I've looked at the Road Angel Adventurer 7000 and at £320 it's pretty expensive but being able to use it as a SatNav sweetens the cost as a GPS only unit would solely be used or caching. Are the Road Angel Navigator 7000 and Adventurer 7000 exactly the same units apart from Memory Map software? What battery life do get from your Road Angel 7000 and has battery life decreased with age?

 

cheers

 

Mike

 

http://www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk/...venturer-7000np

 

G

[+welshmike]

Thanks G,

 

I've also found this review, they give the RoadAngel Nav 7000 the thumbs up.

 

RA Nav 7000 review

 

Mike

 

Update, I've done a bit more research on the RA Nav/Advent 7000 and I've read mixed reviews, some are raving over it others are slating it as a SatNav, the negative reviews have put me off so I'm going to get a basic hand held GPS instead, this one.

Edited August 18, 2007 by welshmike

[+Bear and Ragged]

I'm going to get a basic hand held GPS instead, this one.

 

Can't knock it, we found 300+ before I upgraded to a Legend. K still uses the yellow!

We're 50/50 in who finds the cache...

 

Satmap

Looks interesting -but works out rather pricey- has double figures for battery life. But I've read (think here on the forums) that it's not possible to load info to it. OR it may be possible via their website.??

 

Forums link -see last post

 

More Satmap info

 

G (Still filling in the Lottery tickets!)

[+Sue and Bernie]

We have been long time Garmin users - our current solution is to have two units - a Garmin 510 for the car and a Vista Cx for caching.

 

Garmin sell "De Luxe" versions of their car units, these are supplied with a DVD of City Navigator NT software that can be installed and used on your PC. Garmin indicate this by appending a "D" to the title (Garmin C510D).

 

This software can be "unlocked" to work with two separate Garmin units. Naturally, we use the software with the C510 and in the Vista.

 

The end result of this is that we use the 510 when driving (just completed a trip to Germany and Holland) and the Vista Cx for caching, including the driving direction part. The Vista, with CN software installed, will do the car routing thing to get you to the location, then can be set to direct-line, off-road direction when doing the walking bit.