Verizon for geocaching?

[saacnmama]

I'd love to get my nephew involved in geocaching for several reasons. Unfortunately, most units are out of my price range. (Maybe I could afford an etrex, but there are lots of hills and trees in SE Ohio where he lives, so I think he might have problems with it.) He has a very fancy cell phone that I think has GPS capabilities. I'm thinking of paying for half a year of service and maybe another 6 months when that expires around his birthday in November (or maybe Mom and Dad will decide he likes it enough to get him a good unit for Christmas). I know nothing about geocaching, so have 2 questions for y'all:

 

1. How well does the Verizon GPS system work for geocaching? He can't use the Trimble system on his plan. It would have to be Verizon. I'm a bit nervous because their FAQs only talk about getting directions. Do you have experience geocaching with Verizon? He's just beginning, so it doesn't have to be an expert, advanced system, but it can't be so frustrating he never gets to the fun.

 

2. I'd like to give him something tangible. Would a logbook and a cache box from Trimble be an appropriate start? Of course, I'll make all the obvious puns about finding his way and making friends along the way, etc. What other little thing would you suggest that he could unwrap?

 

Thanks for your help!

 

j

Edited May 12, 2008 by saacnmama

[sanramonhunter]

I think verizon locks down the GPS portion of the phone pretty well. I'm not even sure if Lat/Lon. info shows up. You can get an etrex H at Wal-mart for $84 plus tax. That would take care of the hills and tree coverage. That would be what I would recommend.

[saacnmama]

That's what I was afraid of--$50 is pretty much my limit.

Have you used the Verizon system?

Thanks,

J

[+Suburban Hillbillies]

From what I've been told, Verizon's GPS that is on their regular phones is accurate enough for some car routing, but not for caching.

The reason is that it is not true GPS, but they use triangulation by distance from towers it picks a signal up on. That's why it doesn't work if you have no cell signal.

Now if you get a PDA phone, and add a real GPS receiver to it, that's a different story.

[+Autorita]

I have Verizon and started caching using my Treo 700WX...problem is it's a BS way to cache accurately.

 

It has no built in GPS but you can download google maps and input coords to find caches. It worked well for NYC since everything is a grid and streets anyhow. Once you get into the woods, you're screwed.

 

I just got the Garmin Etrex Vista HCX and it will be WAY more accurate. My friend has AT&T and a blackberry with some software to geocache on it and I guess it works pretty well, but I hate AT&T so I'm not doin that.

[+SparkyInCali]

Hey Saacnmama,

I got your email so I came to check the post.I haven't used any of verizons offerings but from wha i know about VZNavigator is it would really only be useful for driving directions.Unless he has one of the newer pdaphones with gps capabilities I don't think the solution would work very well.Do you happen to know what phone it is? If you can find a cheap hanheld it might be the better way since i dont think many uilt in phone gps chips are going to do any better in hills or trees than even a basic handheld unit

 

 

CrazyOn2Wheels

[saacnmama]

Thanks--hearing from folks who've been there really helps! The issue of triangulation vs real gps makes sense--I'll try to find out what kind of phone he has. All I've been able to get out of my sister so far is that he can store music on it.

I'll report back when I know.

j

[saacnmama]

Well, I found out. He has an ATT phone, which is not GPS capable

But I thank you all for your input.

What's the best GPS goodluck wish? Easy finding? Big caches? or just the thrill of the chase?

Whatever it is, I wish you all the best.

Thanks,

J

[kgcacher77]

Been using my verizon Navigator. It's horrible for geocaching. It works well in the car and for navigating the streets, but for the woods - the signal bounces all around and doesn't seem to be accurate at all. I am now going to shop for a handheld so I can stop logging in "did not finds" and log in Cache Found!!

[+Walts Hunting]

You said he has a very fancy phone. It probably uses actually GPS. The triangulation software was for older phones. I use a Storm and it has Satellite GPS. You might try Blackstar at http://www.blackstarnavigation.com or Cacheberry. Blackstar is free, not sure about Cacheberry.

[+DarkBeer]

Cacheberry is $14.95, but it does offer a free 30 day trial with full functionality. I started with Blackstar, then used the trial versions of GeocacheNavigator and Cacheberry, and purchased Cacheberry. I think it offers the best bang for the buck in features. I'd suggest trying all three programs and see which fits your needs the best.

[+tankman12]

Hey guys, sorry to resurrect an older thread but I had to switch from T-Mobile to Verizon because of where I'm living at now, T-Mobile coverage is hit or miss. I bought the Samsung Saga smartphone and was wondering if there are any good geocaching apps for it that ya'll know of? I have been looking and looking all day today and have come up blank except for one app that is 50 bucks to buy. I would just save the 50 bucks and put it towards a decent GPSr before buying that app. If thers not any apps for it, I may see if I can send it back in during the 30 day return period and get something else. Or just say screw it and buy a gpsr anyway. Ya'lls thought?

[Andronicus]

Hey guys, sorry to resurrect an older thread but I had to switch from T-Mobile to Verizon because of where I'm living at now, T-Mobile coverage is hit or miss. I bought the Samsung Saga smartphone and was wondering if there are any good geocaching apps for it that ya'll know of? I have been looking and looking all day today and have come up blank except for one app that is 50 bucks to buy. I would just save the 50 bucks and put it towards a decent GPSr before buying that app. If thers not any apps for it, I may see if I can send it back in during the 30 day return period and get something else. Or just say screw it and buy a gpsr anyway. Ya'lls thought?

 

I think that phone uses windows mobile (based on a quick google). Try using google maps mobile. If it will tell you something like "6 satalittes found" in the top right corner, you have an unlocked GPS chipset in there. Sweet. Now install GCzII. Done!!

[+tankman12]

Thanks for the response but it doesnt say anything about how many satellites in the upper right corner. It does say that it found my location (within 2400 meters..LOL) so I am assuming I dont have an unlocked chipset. Any other suggestions??

 

Update: I actually got Google Maps working with the GPS and it also shows all 500 caches from the gpx I uploaded to the phone.Now I just have to get outside and see what kind of sat strength I can get. Hopefully this will work until I can get a full fledged GPSr in the very near future.

Edited March 26, 2010 by tankman12