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Paperless Caching - What do you use?

Too Tall John

By Too Tall John
in GPS technology and devices

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knowschad

knowschad

Posted
Posted

I've only recently learned that I can load almost everything I need into my new Garmin Nuvi, by using GSAK (with a couple of macros) and them importing to the Nuvi with Garmin's POILoader. Of course, I'll still be using my Legend HCx for the actual hunt.

 

The only things the Nuvi is missing are the actual text of the recent logs (although I can get the status of the last four logs), and a means for writing field notes. Otherwise, its almost perfect. Plus it helps get me on the roads! A friend uses a Palm, but whenever he has to use it, it takes him a while to look up the cache page. With the Nuvi, the cache page will be the first one listed, since it'll be the nearest one.

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HaricotVert_52

+HaricotVert_52

Posted
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:anibad: I sadly must budget both my Caching time and money. I bought a reconditioned Garmim 60cs to get started. :blink: But I recently found a neglected Palm m10 left behind in a closet when my son moved out. So I loaded up CacheMate and now I'm off and running paperless and affordably.

 

:unsure: Hmmmm... was gifted an iPod that I just don't listen to, so it has LOTS of empty memory .... must look into that.

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Too Tall John

+Too Tall John

Posted
  • Author
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And the beat goes on...

  • Palm - 42 (This includes Palm-based cells, ie Treos)
  • PPC - 19 (including PPC phones)
  • iPhone - 2
  • Cellphone - 6
  • i-pod - 8
  • Colorado - 4
  • Other - 2 (Nuvi, Triton 500)

I'm going to take a final total midweek next week. Seems that most anyone interested in participating in this informal poll will have chimed in after a month's time.

 

Thanks to all who've chimed in so far!

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Thrak

+Thrak

Posted
Posted

I've mostly used an old Palm Vx. I've broken two in the field and they are really cheap to replace. I recently got a Palm M515 - also very cheap - and like it better due to the backlight and color. Unlike everybody else, I use Plucker and Spinner. I like having the entire cache page on my unit just as it shows online. I tried cachemate and, since I was already used to the other way of doing things, didn't care for it much. Granted, I didn't give it much of a chance but my quick and dirty trial didn't excite me much even after I had paid for it.

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B+L

+B+L

Posted
Posted

I use an iPod. I didn't like the way the notes were formatted by the Mac software I looked at, so I wrote my own little app that parses and formats Pocket Queries and other GPX files, such as Terracaching files.

 

IPods are limited to 4096 bytes per note, 1K for link files, and 1000 notes total. The per note limit means wordy cache pages will get truncated by default and that is a big part of why I wrote my own solution. The iPod only has rudimentary HTML support, but it does a fine job displaying pictures.

 

I have a couple of Palms laying around. So far I have avoided them because I am not excited about dragging another gizmo around with me.

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yurn

+yurn

Posted
Posted

N95-1 with SmartGPX (freeware) and Geocaching Navigator (free as well but needs data rate plan to get cache information - with UMTS in Germany it works fine). If someone wants to use offline maps you can use MGMaps (freeware) and works great.

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Coyote Raven

+Coyote Raven

Posted
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UPDATE:

 

Still using T/X. Went from Plucker to iSilo to Cachemate. I've decided on and satisfied with Cachemate. :D

 

I'm having a trouble viewing the T/X screen outside on a bright day :). I've been playing with color schemes and contrast for that.

 

I just began using my Palm T/X with Spinner and Plucker.

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TMDMom

+TMDMom

Posted
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I'm trying to go paperless and not having much success, so I'm really glad you started this thread. I have an ancient palm, and it's having connection problems, so I haven't been able to successfully load any data onto it.

 

I am planning on upgrading to a more accurate GPSr, so I was wondering, is the Colorado the only GPSr that allows for paperless caching without a second device?

 

Sorry for getting OT, anyone who has any info could pm me instead of derailing the thread...

 

:huh::)

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Too Tall John

+Too Tall John

Posted
  • Author
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The final tally!

  • Palm - 44 (This includes Palm-based cells, ie Treos)
  • PPC - 21 (including PPC phones)
  • iPhone - 3
  • Cellphone - 8
  • i-pod - 11
  • Colorado - 5
  • Other - 3

So, for this little sample of users (95 participants) here in the forums, we see that PPC and Colorado users, who have a player for Wherigo, are vastly outnumbered by the rest of the groups together. Palm users alone make up almost half of the respondents.

 

Thank you to all who participated in this little experiment. If it isn't useful to those deciding where to work on developing the next Wherigo platform, it was at least informative to me.

 

I have posted the results in the Wherigo Forum, for anyone interested in following up...

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btgeocacher

+btgeocacher

Posted
Posted (edited)

The final tally!

  • Palm - 44 (This includes Palm-based cells, ie Treos)
  • PPC - 21 (including PPC phones)
  • iPhone - 3
  • Cellphone - 8
  • i-pod - 11
  • Colorado - 5
  • Other - 3

So, for this little sample of users (95 participants) here in the forums, we see that PPC and Colorado users, who have a player for Wherigo, are vastly outnumbered by the rest of the groups together. Palm users alone make up almost half of the respondents.

 

Thank you to all who participated in this little experiment. If it isn't useful to those deciding where to work on developing the next Wherigo platform, it was at least informative to me.

 

I have posted the results in the Wherigo Forum, for anyone interested in following up...

 

Well, for what it's worth regarding the tally, In not quite 3 weeks since I released it, I have over thirty customers that have purchased iGeoCacher so I'd have to say that there are at least that many of us using the iPhone for paperless caching. That would put it at the number two spot in your list behind the Palms and Treos. I'm averaging two sales/day lately, so I think that number two spot may be temporary ;-)

 

The iPhone makes a superb paperless caching platform. It will be even better once I get the native app done under the new 2.0 iPhone OS because that will bring the iPod Touch users into the fold. I've had all sorts of inquiries about that device since this project's inception.

 

-dB

www.ayefon.com - iGeocacher - Paperless caching for your iPhone.

Edited by btgeocacher
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Too Tall John

+Too Tall John

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Well, for what it's worth regarding the tally, In not quite 3 weeks since I released it, I have over thirty customers that have purchased iGeoCacher so I'd have to say that there are at least that many of us using the iPhone for paperless caching. That would put it at the number two spot in your list behind the Palms and Treos. I'm averaging two sales/day lately, so I think that number two spot may be temporary ;-)
I suspect if we were to go to developers and get a count of customers, iPhone users would be dwarfed, once again, by Palm & PPC.

 

If either Apple offers the iPhone for non-AT&T customers or AT&T expands coverage to where I live, I'll be a customer, but until then.... :o

 

As far as being in the "Number Two Spot," like I said, going to the developers and asking for numbers and asking users in the forums will give you completely different amounts of votes. Not really a fair comparison.

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SidAndBob

+SidAndBob

Posted
Posted

I've had 3 Palm's for geocaching. The first (Sony Clie) smashed in action, second (M515) stopped working very quickly, third (M505) still working. All were cheap and second hand, mainly eBay.

 

I upgraded to the TyTN II PPC / phone a few weeks ago. I did consider the Colorado - for about 1 millisecond.

I've always run Cachemate, but keep a large HTML extract from GSAK as a backup.

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flyezrc

+flyezrc

Posted
Posted (edited)

I use a Palm Z22, GSAK and Plucker.

Pocket Query -> GSAK export to HTML -> Plucker format for Palm.

 

Is there anyone who has used both Plucker and CacheMate that could compare them?

 

Things I like about Plucker:

I can group the caches. All the caches for a trip or area together.

It includes some of the log entries

It shows nearby caches

Is a Free software project

Can use to store other web pages for use on the Palm

 

Things I don't like about Plucker:

Large list of caches can take a long time to convert

Is an extra step

Have to get the settings right or won't get all you wanted.

Can not record caching results

 

All in all I am hooked on paperless caching and like how this is working for me.

 

-------------------------------------

QUESTION:

 

Would like to be able to view maps (pictures captured from Google Maps) on my Z22.

Any ideas??

Edited by flyezrc
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mrdalliard

+mrdalliard

Posted
Posted

I use cachemate on my Palm Z22. It's probably one of the cheapest Palms you can get, so I don't feel too bad if it has a watery encounter. That said, I've got one of those "jelly" skins around it and the unit has performed brilliantly. The investment has saved me a fair bit of money when I think of how much I would have spent on printer cartridges to print the clues out.

 

M.

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GA H2OBUG

+GA H2OBUG

Posted
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I have an old Sony Clie' so the best I can do is cut and paste but it is great to not carry tons of paper anymore. I am jealous of Stargranny though she just uses her BB. Started using the Sony since it didn't sync with my Outlook calendar for work I figured if I lost in the woods I would upgrade. Still haven't lost it. :mad:

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WookieTravs

+WookieTravs

Posted
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I use my iPhone for paperless caching. I just print the pages from geocaching.com as PDFs and send them to emails as myself. After that I open the PDFs before I leave to "save" them locally in the Mail program.

 

Thanks, DanTheMan, for sharing this easy and elegant solution. I've been calling up cache pages via Safari on my iPhone when necessary which takes longer than a slow boat to Hades. I like this approach and will use it next time I go caching.

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wandering4cache

+wandering4cache

Posted
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I have an old Sony Clie' so the best I can do is cut and paste but it is great to not carry tons of paper anymore. I am jealous of Stargranny though she just uses her BB. Started using the Sony since it didn't sync with my Outlook calendar for work I figured if I lost in the woods I would upgrade. Still haven't lost it. :laughing:

 

???

 

I use an old Sony Clie NX73V/U for paperless caching thanks to ebay. Pocket Queries to GSAK (in PC) to Cachemate (on Sony Clie). Its just like seeing the cache page. You can do Pocket Queries to Cachemate if you want & bypass using GSAK, but not sure exactly what you end up seeing on the Sony then.

 

Works like a charm. We can even record our logs in cachemate on the Sony, use GSAK to upload the log to gc.com. I only use that method for heavy caching days though.

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Pisgah Pounders

+Pisgah Pounders

Posted
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We were just using a Palm Z22 for cachemate, but recently we upgraded to a Palm Treo 755p, put cachemate on it for emergencies, but have internet and also a broadband access connect with verizon to get internet on the laptop on the go for travel. We got tired of hunting wifi connections in transit. Great option. We love it. By the way, the cachemate on Z22 was slow, but on the treo it is speedy.

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xplorer7

+xplorer7

Posted
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GPX Spinner, Plucker, and a couple of scripts I wrote over time to add amenities and tweak and customize things to my liking, all controlled by a lowly batch file to make it almost one-click easy--and a Palm IIIe which serves its purpose remarkably well, antique that it is.

 

I've only recently started evaluating GSAK in earnest, but it looks like a really promising app. On the other hand, what I'm doing now works so well for paperless caching that I'd need a good reason to change it, even if I start using GSAK for other stuff.

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