+TeamTwisted Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 At an event cache I noticed a lot of cachers use a palm pilot to load their info into and it seems like a really handy idea. I've been looking on ebay but am wondering if there are any particular models that are better suited to geocaching and some that won't be what I need? Are there any featurs that I should be looking for in particular? I have no experience with these devices so any info would be appreciated. Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment
+Team Teague Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 At an event cache I noticed a lot of cachers use a palm pilot to load their info into and it seems like a really handy idea. I've been looking on ebay but am wondering if there are any particular models that are better suited to geocaching and some that won't be what I need? Are there any featurs that I should be looking for in particular? I have no experience with these devices so any info would be appreciated. Thanks in advance We bought a Palm M505 on ebay for about $20 including shipping, and cable. It is great. It is color, but you really don't need that so search for M500 as well. You then download the palm software from the Palm website, and we use GSAK and then Cachemate for getting them on our GPS' and the PDA. It is so HELPFUL!!! Good luck in your search. Quote Link to comment
+Outspoken1 Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 Having 'Older Eyes', I have found that a color screen helps (I have the etrex Legend Cx because it is color). I have purchased two used Palm Tungsten T for around $50 each. I had an older Palm M130, but it was really slow and the text was not as easy to read (Tungsten T has a higher resolution screen and 'collapses' to a smaller size--handy for your Geocache bag). The Tungsten T can also act as an MP3 player and you can expand the storage with a SD card. Both of these Palms (T or M130) take a maximum of a 1 gig SD card. I use Cachemate to read the Pocket Queries from Geocaching.com Premium Membership. I use GSAK to create the Palm database that Cachemate can read. One criteria I would look for in any Palm is the ability to increase the memory with an SD card. Currently, my Cachemate database is 6.98 megs. The total memory of the Tungsten T is 8 megs, hence the need for the SD card. I do also keep a few MP3s on the card for my pleasure when bored at work (oops! I didn't say that out loud, did I?). Why two, you ask? Well, when I was on a long trip, my Palm M130 had to be hard reset (hard rest bring the Palm bak to the out-of-the-box status--no software). That fixed the problem, but the Palm no longer had Cachemate on it, so I could not read my Cachemate database. That kinda killed my Geocaching. I found some caches just with the GPSr, but I had no way to know if I was looking for a puzzle geocache (hence the coords were not correct) or the difficulty level, etc. So now I carry a backup Palm in the truck. The main problem with older PDAs is the battery not holding a charge. There are many replacement batteries offered on ebay. Make sure the battery you are buying meets the minimum charge spec for your model of PDA. It is a bit of fine work to replace a battery--but not impossible if you are careful. Then you need to recharge the battery FULLY before loading up your Palm with software and data. Always check the Palm website for the most current software and patches for the Palm you decide to purchase. Good luck, Outspoken1 Quote Link to comment
+CelticButterfly Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 I use a Garmin iQue 3600 which is a gps and palm all in one, and for double accuracy I use my Garmin eTrex Legend. There's a handy plug-in for the iQue called CacheNav that works with cachemate. They're not made anymore but you can find them on ebay pretty frequently. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment
+aronnie Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 (edited) I use GSAK to manage all My Waypoints and convert them to Cachemate PDB file then sync to My Palm Z22 The Z22 is around a $100.00 bucks, got mine at Office Depot Edited November 25, 2007 by aronnie Quote Link to comment
+lexmano Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 I use GSAK to manage all My Waypoints and convert them to Cachemate PDB file then sync to My Palm Z22 The Z22 is around a $100.00 bucks, got mine at Office Depot I second the use of the Z22, very compact and a ton of memory. I download about 2500 caches into it using GSAK and Cachemate Quote Link to comment
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