Playing with a cell-phone

[+ar_kayaker]

For those who want to try this out and don't want to spring for a new $500 toy before trying it there is a slightly cluncky work around that takes two people and a cell-phone.

 

One person stays home and awaits a call while the other goes to the starting area. Once in the area and with cell-phone in one hand and GPSr in the other you get the Wherigo Builder up and running and load the cartridge into the Emulator.

 

This sounds easy, but one problem with the Emulator it trying to figure out where to lead the player to when zones might or might not be visable. The player in the field will need to be using the degrees-decimal degree format on the GPSr and read off coordinates when they get to landmarks and the person running the Emulator will have to drag the person icon around the map and read the message logs to see if the two match up.

 

The one cartridge I've published so far has some stages where the player will have to find a visual landmark rather than following the arrows to the right spot and other stages where the person at home will need to drag the icon around following the arrows and read the coordinates back to the person in the field.

 

Most cartridges should be playable this way unless the builder has intentionally included code to prevent it.

 

For now I am making all of my cartridges "Emulator Friendly" since there are only three PDA's and one GPSr that have been officially vetted to run the player software.

 

AK

[Jeremy]

For those who want to try this out and don't want to spring for a new $500 toy before trying it there is a slightly cluncky work around that takes two people and a cell-phone.

 

One person stays home and awaits a call while the other goes to the starting area. Once in the area and with cell-phone in one hand and GPSr in the other you get the Wherigo Builder up and running and load the cartridge into the Emulator.

 

 

I have to say that this is pretty ingenious. I guess you could bring a laptop along but you'd need an internet connection to use the maps. We are looking into providing an emulator that you can use with a connected GPS device to a laptop, so UMPCs can have fun too.

[+tands]

So what would the consensus be towards using the current emulator on an Internet-connected mobile PC to make a Wherigo find? The honor system would have to be in full force, but that's caching in a nutshell anyways, isn't it? This question is assuming that seekers actually go to all the locations in the cartridge.

 

We're asking this because our PocketPC's battery has ceased to be... And each time it does so, poof goes our game.

 

- T of TandS

[geos715]

For those who want to try this out and don't want to spring for a new $500 toy before trying it there is a slightly cluncky work around that takes two people and a cell-phone.

 

One person stays home and awaits a call while the other goes to the starting area. Once in the area and with cell-phone in one hand and GPSr in the other you get the Wherigo Builder up and running and load the cartridge into the Emulator.

 

This sounds easy, but one problem with the Emulator it trying to figure out where to lead the player to when zones might or might not be visable. The player in the field will need to be using the degrees-decimal degree format on the GPSr and read off coordinates when they get to landmarks and the person running the Emulator will have to drag the person icon around the map and read the message logs to see if the two match up.

 

The one cartridge I've published so far has some stages where the player will have to find a visual landmark rather than following the arrows to the right spot and other stages where the person at home will need to drag the icon around following the arrows and read the coordinates back to the person in the field.

 

Most cartridges should be playable this way unless the builder has intentionally included code to prevent it.

 

For now I am making all of my cartridges "Emulator Friendly" since there are only three PDA's and one GPSr that have been officially vetted to run the player software.

 

AK

Hi:

I rewrote my "Highland Fling" Wherigo to a IPhone web enabled cache. Just point your IPhone or web enabled portable to http://gpsmancer.com and you and your GPS can work the cache. For more info on the development process than you might want try http://thomasofneedham.com Regards, Tom Birchmire

[+MickEMT]

Both of my Wherigo caches can be done via the "phone a friend who runs the emulator" method. I haven't put that on the cache or cartridge page, but I've let a few people know about the option.

The reason I did that is that there just are not enough people with the hardware to play in the field in my area ( 2 CO units, one of which is mine and 2 OR units).

I think it's a good way to get the cache type some exposure, and let cachers see if they like the tyype before they spend 500 bucks for a new GPS.

[+af_juicy]

How could this be done with a GPS enabled smart phone such as a blackberry. I cache with it with Trimble navigator is it possible?

[matejcik]

you can try installing OpenWIG, some people had success with blackberries

[+Geo-Sarge]

I download the iPhone app for this today. At the final I received the "Thank you screen" for playing the cartridge and it also reminded me to upload the results to the site. It seems the iPhone app did not create the required file for uploading. Any suggestions?

Edited June 3, 2012 by Geo-Sarge

[Ranger Fox]

I download the iPhone app for this today. At the final I received the "Thank you screen" for playing the cartridge and it also reminded me to upload the results to the site. It seems the iPhone app did not create the required file for uploading. Any suggestions?

To my knowledge, only Garmin's (Colorado/Oregon) and Groundspeak's (Pocket PC) Wherigo Players create the correct save file for the site to consume. Instead, you'll have to use the cartridge's unlock code. From your response, it seems the cartridge might not have an unlock code. I'll PM you with an unlock code for you to use.