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cache notebooks


GeePierceS

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I'm a relative newbie to the geocaching game, with around 15 local caches found so far.

 

so in a search for something better than a letter sized clipboard to haul around with cache pages (and not being nerdy enough to carry around any sort of PDA), I found a day-timer on clearance at a local stationary store...

 

anyone else printing their cache pages on 5.5 x 8.5" 7-hole day-timer pages? for now, I've been hacking letter sheets in half and hand punching them, but I'm about to go ahead and bring a ream of inkjet paper to a local print shop who said they'd cut it in half and 7-hole drill it for $15, this will give me like 500 sheets to play with ;) Once i get the serial cable for my Geko 201, and don't have to enter coordinates by hand, I figure I'll be knocking off a lot more finds.

 

so... I'm curious what sort of field books others use...

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Way too much work. Find an inexpensive PDA and go paperless. Once you have figured it out you'll save tons of time and money. No ink to buy, no paper to buy, no stacks of cache page printouts all over the house. Trust me, I resisted for ages. Then my wife said I go paperless, she didn't care if that meant I got a PDA or went without the cache info. She was tossing all my printouts out with that weeks trash.

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...(and not being nerdy enough to carry around any sort of PDA)...

 

so... I'm curious what sort of field books others use...

 

Does anyone have anything to suggest that is in line with the OPs original request? Not everyone is willing to put a ton of money and effort into this to start. Yes you can get a cheap PDA from EBay... if you like that sort of thing. But then you have to figure out all the technology with that as well. And since the OP mentions SPECIFICALLY that he's not wanting to carry around a PDA....

 

I'm actually curious what people did BEFORE they went paperless, and I'm sure the OP was thinking along those lines too (although he can correct me if I'm wrong).

 

I know paperless is where everyone is going... but for some of us, we're not there yet. And we're looking for suggestions to help us out along the way.

 

~Ariel

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...(and not being nerdy enough to carry around any sort of PDA)...

 

so... I'm curious what sort of field books others use...

 

Does anyone have anything to suggest that is in line with the OPs original request? Not everyone is willing to put a ton of money and effort into this to start. Yes you can get a cheap PDA from EBay... if you like that sort of thing. But then you have to figure out all the technology with that as well. And since the OP mentions SPECIFICALLY that he's not wanting to carry around a PDA....

 

I'm actually curious what people did BEFORE they went paperless, and I'm sure the OP was thinking along those lines too (although he can correct me if I'm wrong).

 

I know paperless is where everyone is going... but for some of us, we're not there yet. And we're looking for suggestions to help us out along the way.

 

~Ariel

Before I went paperless, I printed out each separate page. As to not being nerdy enough - what's nerdy'er: a PDA or a handheld GPSr? My vote is for the GPSr!!

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...(and not being nerdy enough to carry around any sort of PDA)...

 

so... I'm curious what sort of field books others use...

 

Does anyone have anything to suggest that is in line with the OPs original request? Not everyone is willing to put a ton of money and effort into this to start. Yes you can get a cheap PDA from EBay... if you like that sort of thing. But then you have to figure out all the technology with that as well. And since the OP mentions SPECIFICALLY that he's not wanting to carry around a PDA....

 

I'm actually curious what people did BEFORE they went paperless, and I'm sure the OP was thinking along those lines too (although he can correct me if I'm wrong).

 

I know paperless is where everyone is going... but for some of us, we're not there yet. And we're looking for suggestions to help us out along the way.

 

~Ariel

I printed out the individual cache pages and carried them with me. But I was never nerdy enough to organize them or stuff them into a notebook.

 

...and - there really isn't much to "figure out" - there are plenty of easy instructions for getting those descriptions over to a PDA.

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OK... sorry for the snippiness of my previous reply. I was really interested in seeing what more experienced cachers had used before... so this topic was very interesting to me.

 

While I understand the value of paperless, I'm just getting into this game/sport/activity. I don't want to buy all the toys and then find that I'm just not going to be as involved as I was imagining. So I'm trying to buy as little as possible.

 

I have access to a new Venture HC at work, so I don't even have to buy my own GPS for awhile.

 

Which means I'm VERY interested in organizing cache paperwork. Until such time as I'm ready to buy all the gadgets. Because, I AM a true geek... I love me my gadgets!! When the time comes, I'll be sporting all the gadgets and gear...

 

But I'm in grad school - so I'm trying to be prudent at the same time.

 

So... for now, let's assume I'm not going to be getting a PDA.

 

Are there any tricks-of-the-trade for reducing the sheer volume of paper spent on this activity?

 

~Ariel

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I'm sorry to say but the PDA is the best solution for paper management in this hobby. Before I went paperless I printed each page. Printer friendly version with 5 logs. Kept stacks of 'em all over the place so I didn't have to reprint them later. My first PDA cost me less than I had spent on ink and paper. The other option is to jot down notes. You can write the basic info for a lot of caches on a standard piece of printer paper. Problem is you loose the description, hints, and logs.

 

No, the PDA is the way to go. even if you are a sometimes cacher. Take the time to figure it out and go for it. You will save money over paying for ink cartridges and paper. It's a crime what they charge for ink, but they have the supply and we have the demand.

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I used MS Word and created a template with about 8 'cards' on one sheet of paper, used a real small font (like 8 point Tahoma) and copied the most relevant info (hints, description, useful log entries).

 

I never used it, because I AM a gadget geek... Nuvi 660 + GPSmap 60CSx + Moto Q's browser pointed to wap.geocaching.com

 

That's this week... next week will be the Colorado 400t + City Navigator NT.

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Honestly - what did I do before going paperless --- well, we brought a PDA after about 6 weeks, so prior to that I just printed out the printer-friendly version on the cache page on the back of other bits of paper that I'd used for other stuff. That got old and tired very very quickly.

 

We have saved ourselves time, money and trees and gone paperless.

I really do think if you are a student that paperless will be more economical of your time and money.

 

Possibly the reason that very few people have responded with what they did before getting a PDA is that alot of people find out very very quickly (within the first few weeks or months) that paperless is the most economical and efficient thing to do, and the others drop out of caching pretty quickly, so there are not too many (some, but not many) dedicated cachers printing stuff on paper.

 

Annie

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Thanks. I appreciate your posts. And I apologize if I inadvertently took piercejr's thread in a direction he was not intending... :)

 

I honestly didn't mean to get snippy... was just surprised at the first few answers that didn't really address the original question, just moved on to something different.

 

"We're eating bananas and were wondering how y'all store 'em?"

"Well... we eat plantains 'round these parts. No one eats bananas anymore."

;)

 

As for the paperless, clearly it's the way to go. And it sounds like most people just put up with the pages and pages of printout until they got a PDA. So.... I'll look into that. (and XopherN71's Word doc sounds like something I'd do.... thanks!)

 

Thanks all.

~Ariel

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I write. I got around 10 full sized note books for around a dollar so it's really cheap. I look up caches I want to find and write down the title, the size, the coordinates and any hits then go out caching.

I might keep the main page open on my laptop so I can still see it if I forget something.

I can't afford a PDA, I can't even afford a handheld GPS, we use our car GPS.

When someone decided to be really nice and gives me a cheap but usable PDA then I will look into using that, till then I can fit a dozen or more caches on one page of my notebook and that I can afford! ;)

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When I first started, I would print out cache pages, but very quickly I switched to just jotting down minimal information on a sheet of paper. I would decide which caches I was going for, and I would write the Waypoint code, the cache name, and perhaps the clue. In this way I could fit around 10 caches on one sheet of paper. Soon after this I realized I did not need to buy a PDA to go paperless since I could simply use the iPod I already had. Now I download cache info into my iPod as Notes (using .GPX files). I will still usually take a sheet of paper with me with the list of cache names in the order I want to do them, just to have an "agenda".

 

Cheers

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Thanks. I appreciate your posts. And I apologize if I inadvertently took piercejr's thread in a direction he was not intending... :)

 

I honestly didn't mean to get snippy... was just surprised at the first few answers that didn't really address the original question, just moved on to something different.

 

"We're eating bananas and were wondering how y'all store 'em?"

"Well... we eat plantains 'round these parts. No one eats bananas anymore."

;)

 

As for the paperless, clearly it's the way to go. And it sounds like most people just put up with the pages and pages of printout until they got a PDA. So.... I'll look into that. (and XopherN71's Word doc sounds like something I'd do.... thanks!)

 

Thanks all.

~Ariel

 

No problem. I think we tried to give an honest answer to the question. It was just not what was expected. I know that in my experience paperless with a PDA was the way to go.

 

The Word doc sounds interesting, but lacks the volume that full paperless can handle. One of the great things about paperless is the freedom it give you to cache when you want at the drop of a hat. With a couple of careful PQs you can have all the caches in a couple of hundred miles and be ready to go at a moments notice.

 

The pen and paper rout is basically the same idea, only slower still. It'll get you by for a little while, but in the long run you'll want to gain some flexibility.

 

I still think that for 25-50 dollars you can get a cheap PDA and not worry about printing, or hand printing, all those caches. Skip a night out on the town and save the money for the PDA, it'll last longer. :)

 

In the end it is all about what works for you. I hope you find a system you are happy with.

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If anyone can make use of a Palm m100 I'll send it off to them. It's nothing special, but it's free and in great shape.

 

How does it connect with the computer/transfer the cache info? If it will work with my computer and/or I can figure out how to use it I could definatly make use of it. I have absolutly no clue how to do paperless caching having never owned a PDA.

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I used to do a search by zip code, then map it and decide which smaller area we wanted to cache in on a given day, print that map (instead of trying to piece together all the smaller maps from the cache pages) then turn that paper over and print on the other side the relevant information for those caches that I had copied and pasted into a word processing page. I could usually get about 20-25 caches on one page that way, plenty to look for in one day for us. After a couple of months we did go 'paperless' with a PalmM515, and that works great too. I still bring paper with me to write my notes about specific finds though, because I just can't seem to master that PDA shorthand well enough to put my notes on the Palm. ;)

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I can't find the m100 but I am configuring a PalmPilot to see if it will work or not with CacheMate.

 

Will let you know.

 

I put the Palm software on a CD already so you'd just install that.

 

Since it's free, I'll make sure it works but any support will have to be through Palm or the forums from people with experience with them, I haven's used it in years so I'm a little rusty.

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OK... sorry for the snippiness of my previous reply. I was really interested in seeing what more experienced cachers had used before... so this topic was very interesting to me.

 

While I understand the value of paperless, I'm just getting into this game/sport/activity. I don't want to buy all the toys and then find that I'm just not going to be as involved as I was imagining. So I'm trying to buy as little as possible.

So... for now, let's assume I'm not going to be getting a PDA.

Are there any tricks-of-the-trade for reducing the sheer volume of paper spent on this activity?

~Ariel

 

What a friend of mine still does (and he has 700 finds)... is use Word. He copies and pastes ONLY the stuff he needs. The coords, the hint, and the necessary parts of the description. He uses a small font (like 9 or 10), and can fit 10 or more caches on a page, depending on how long the description is. No need to print out the entire page for every cache. Theres lots of crap on the you dont need.

 

hope it helps.

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When I first started, I would print out cache pages, but very quickly I switched to just jotting down minimal information on a sheet of paper. I would decide which caches I was going for, and I would write the Waypoint code, the cache name, and perhaps the clue. In this way I could fit around 10 caches on one sheet of paper. Soon after this I realized I did not need to buy a PDA to go paperless since I could simply use the iPod I already had. Now I download cache info into my iPod as Notes (using .GPX files). I will still usually take a sheet of paper with me with the list of cache names in the order I want to do them, just to have an "agenda".

 

Cheers

 

I'm with you. I use a Mac, and my caching software of choice is MacCaching, from which I export info I want to both the GPSr and my iPod. The only paper I carry is a map I may print out if the area I'm going to is a subdivision I've never been to, especially if the streets curve all around and come to dead ends.

 

http://www.maccaching.com

Edited by TheWaynesInAZ
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Actually what I use is a program called cachemagnet. I get a pocket query from Geocaching.com once a week. I load this file into Cachemagnet. This program has a button to "create report" I first gives you all the cache names and waypoints Then it provides the description of the cache on following pages. When I print out the report, in my print options I set the printer to print 2 to 1. So 2 pages are on one sheets. Also this program will load the same info into an iPod. which I also do. I leave the paper in my vehicle to read between caches and use the iPod while bushwacking.

 

I just upgraded to a smartphone. I have been looking for software for it but can't seem to find any. It runs on Windows Mobile. But I also just found the site wap.geocaching.com. So I really don't need anything else.

Edited by JPD252
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If anyone can make use of a Palm m100 I'll send it off to them. It's nothing special, but it's free and in great shape.

 

How does it connect with the computer/transfer the cache info? If it will work with my computer and/or I can figure out how to use it I could definatly make use of it. I have absolutly no clue how to do paperless caching having never owned a PDA.

 

Actually to make the most efficient use of a PDA you first need to buy a Premium Membership from Groundspeak for $30 a year (or $3 per month). Then you might want CacheMate for a one time payment of $8. There are other options, but I like CacheMate.

 

If you are not a power cacher, you could copy and hot sync cache page text into the Palm memo pad. Not elegant or efficient, but it is free. No paper or ink required, and much better than hand writing info.

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I've only been geocaching a few times, but each time I was with my 12-year old, and we kept passing the paper printout of the cache we were seeking back and forth constantly. I also put her in charge of de-coding the hints.

 

I have a Treo 650 and am trying out cachemate. But I'm not going to go completely paperless, because then that would make me the keeper of all knowledge, and I want HER to be involved as well. I don't like passing around my Treo! That's MY baby!! :P

 

So far, what's working for us is printing out each cache so that she-or whoever else is with us-can have the paper and decode the hint as needed.

 

I use plastic paper protectors for each page, to keep them clean and dry, and write little notes on each page too, like the dates, what we took/left, time, weather, etc. I had a binder lying aound, and just put the pages in, putting them in the order we found them and I'm going to try to organize them by location.

 

It's just easier to share the notebook with her and anyone else who wants to see what we've found. When we get to the general area of a cache, taking out the page protector with the printout inside is easier to share, and keeps her involved.

Edited by theduffster
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Before we went paperless, I just printed out the sheets and put them in a small 3 ring binder that we took in the car. If there was a hike involved than we took that sheet with us. I got tired of the ink costs and finally went with a cheap PDA .

I will still sometimes print out a section of Google Maps so my navigator has an idea as to where we are going :P

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As for the paperless, clearly it's the way to go. And it sounds like most people just put up with the pages and pages of printout until they got a PDA. So.... I'll look into that. (and XopherN71's Word doc sounds like something I'd do.... thanks!)

We didn't bother with reducing the pages, it took too long. We just printed them out and put them in a large zippered binder. We only took the cache page on the hike instead of the bulky binder.

 

Then one day we forgot the cache page and hiked a couple of miles to the cache spot. Took us two hours to find the cache because we thought it was a traditional and it was an offset. Found the cache over 500' feet away from the posted coordinates.

 

We went paperless right after that. We've not ever forgotten the PDA.

 

So, we never did really refine our system of paper cache pages, but rather abandoned it.

 

When I first read your post I thought you were going to be talking about a field notebook to record your adventures. That's something different. We use store-bought 3x5 notebooks and now have several filled. (Though I need to have an organized spot for them as they are scattered all over my room.) They represent a chronological record of our adventures and use it when we get back to log online. It also holds private thoughts on the cache we've found--not something you post online--and solutions to puzzles, etc.

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If you are not a power cacher, you could copy and hot sync cache page text into the Palm memo pad. Not elegant or efficient, but it is free. No paper or ink required, and much better than hand writing info.

This is what I was doing, now I have cachemate. I just need my PM and I'll be caching like there's no tomorrow.

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Before I went paperless, I printed out the 'printer friendly' cache pages and kept them in a notebook. It became pretty cumbersome very quickly and this was back when there were much, much fewer caches to look for.

 

If I were a new cacher, and I was certain that I wanted to continue in the game that I had purchased a premium membership, but needed to mind my pennies, I would buy a very inexpensive used pda off ebay. For twenty dollars or so, I could pick up an old palm.

 

The pda would quickly pay for itself through the savings on paper and ink. It's also sooooo much easier.

 

Like CR, I initially thought this thread was about recording each cache search. Prior to going paperless, I did this via notes written on each cache page in my notebook. Now I use a little bit of freeware on my palm called Cache Log Book.

Edited by sbell111
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I'd like to second the person who suggested using an ipod. I don't mean to be stereotypical, but if you are a grad student there is probably a good chance that you already have an ipod. I found out about using an ipod on the forum a few weeks ago, and it works flawlessly. Of course it helps if you have a premium membership, and then you also need to download cachemagnet or something similiar.

 

Hope this helps,

 

George

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About the only thing to do if you don't want to go paperless is print out reams and reams of paper! Drag those around the woods with you, shuffling through till you find the one you need, drop it on the ground a few times, the wind can get wicked and take them right away from you....and if it starts to rain! Oh my, I've had wet soggy messes more than once!

I didn't realize I was being nerdy with my palm. Mine keeps all the caching info organized, has the kids phone numbers and addresses in it, has pictures of the grandbaby in it, can play music and can even connect to the internet. I don't call that nerdy, I call it convenient!

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we have went all directions with this, and still at times the easy way for us is to have a 60 cents 3x5 notecards with a spiral binding, and copy down the basic cache we need, we have never printed out the whole page, and then once we find the cache, we can write a quick note (with a pencil even!) what we T/L, and any other tidbits. We did this for some of our bigger outings and then it's nice to have a little separate 'notebook' to look at. don't think you need 8 x10.5, 3x5 or 4x6 spiral bound works great. Yes, i did buy a PDA tried it some, it's OK, but at times i think still quicker/easier the 'old fashion' way. And i will recycle these cards at soem point, so not so worried about the tree thing. what about all the emissions from our cars while we are finding these caches?

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When I first started, I would print out cache pages, but very quickly I switched to just jotting down minimal information on a sheet of paper. I would decide which caches I was going for, and I would write the Waypoint code, the cache name, and perhaps the clue. In this way I could fit around 10 caches on one sheet of paper. Soon after this I realized I did not need to buy a PDA to go paperless since I could simply use the iPod I already had. Now I download cache info into my iPod as Notes (using .GPX files). I will still usually take a sheet of paper with me with the list of cache names in the order I want to do them, just to have an "agenda".

 

Cheers

I have only used my ipod for music, can you give me a little guidance on how to go "paperless with it?

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When I first started, I would print out cache pages, but very quickly I switched to just jotting down minimal information on a sheet of paper. I would decide which caches I was going for, and I would write the Waypoint code, the cache name, and perhaps the clue. In this way I could fit around 10 caches on one sheet of paper. Soon after this I realized I did not need to buy a PDA to go paperless since I could simply use the iPod I already had. Now I download cache info into my iPod as Notes (using .GPX files). I will still usually take a sheet of paper with me with the list of cache names in the order I want to do them, just to have an "agenda".

 

Cheers

I have only used my ipod for music, can you give me a little guidance on how to go "paperless with it?

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