What Software Tools to use?

[+PaulThBrit]

I have a Vista HCX, Mapsource, Topo 2008, City Navigator, GSAK, GPSBabel , Premium Groundspeak membership etc. This allows me to generate PQs and upload them.

 

I would now like to be able to plan a caching hike and also to be able to go paperless. What software should I be looking at? I have looked into the Delorme Topo and NG Map products. I have read good things here about ExpertGPS. What tools do the more experienced cachers use to plan their trips?

 

From reading the forum, the way to go paperless is to load caches as POIs so the all the cache details can be seen without the ridiculous 14 character limit. That or use another device suck as a Palm or Blackberry.

 

Thanks,

 

Paul

[topografix]

Instead of ExpertGPS, you should look at GeoBuddy, which is a specialized version of ExpertGPS specifically for Geocaching.

 

Most of the cachers that I've talked to are using GeoBuddy or GSAK to output paperless data in a format ready to be used by CacheMate on the Palm. A GeoBuddy->POI solution is coming soon.

[+Miragee]

I have an inexpensive Palm M500 with Cachemate installed on it. That works great for having the entire cache description, the Hint, and the Past Logs. For planning prior to a hike, looking at the caches and the trails to them in Google Earth is a good idea. Taking a printout might also be a good idea, depending on how "tangled" the trails are.

[+SidAndBob]

We generate all data files from GSAK.

GPSr

Main : We load waypoints for the area we plan to cache in. Custom icons identifying cache type, TB's and micros and descriptions denoting difficulty, terrain, owner, hint....etc

Backup : We always keep a huge number of POI loaded, though only for traditional caches. This is handy if plans change on a big scale.

 

Palm

Main : We load the same dataset into Cachemate.

Backup : We used to also use eBooks, but since they've disappeared we've used Plucker to view HTML listings. This can be useful when a multi listing has it's instructions in the additional waypoint section, as Cachemate (and printed PDF's) doesn't show this vital information. It's also handy for viewing Spoilers generated from SpoilerSync.

 

Mapping

It's different in the UK, but we use Topo UK on the CSx and Memory Map on the PC. This is the digital version of the most detailed UK maps available to the public. If we're on a serious hike I will plot a route on the PC and download it to the GPSr, sometimes just print out a section of the map (again with customized geocaching icons), other times just rely on Topo. It depends where we're going.

[+PaulThBrit]

Instead of ExpertGPS, you should look at GeoBuddy, which is a specialized version of ExpertGPS specifically for Geocaching.

 

Most of the cachers that I've talked to are using GeoBuddy or GSAK to output paperless data in a format ready to be used by CacheMate on the Palm. A GeoBuddy->POI solution is coming soon.

Thanks for the help. Does GeoBuddy us aerial photos or trail maps? What scale trail maps and from what source? I am not impressed with the trails shown on the Garmin Topo 2008 database since a lot of the local trails are missing.

 

Paul