palm pilot

[derider]

hi everyone I am pretty new to geocaching and this site and was reading around and see a lot of people saving cache data on a palm pilot and this makes a lot of sense to me. To this point I have been writing all the info in a little note book and have found this to be a pain. I was just wondering what brand and kind of pda lends itself to geocaching the best. thanks in advance.

[+admo1972]

Almost any Palm (hasn't been called Pilot since Palm was sued by Pilot Pen Company many years ago) will work well for storing cache information. I use a Palm TX, in a very sturdy case, but that is overkill solely for caching. If you want a unit that you will only use for caching, get a older, used one on ebay. The m500 is quite popular.

 

A program many recommend is called CacheMate. It stores all the cache info in handy tabs. Cache info on one tab, a log of your hunt on another, logs by previous cachers on another, hints on another. I think it costs $7 and is quite worth it. There is an additional free program that you use to convert the gpx file from geocaching.com to a palm database file which cachemate reads.

 

You should also consider becoming a premium member. It's $3/month or $30/year. It's the only way to get the gpx files that contain all the info you need like the hints and description.

 

You can also buy GSAK, which is a program that sits on your computer. I'd stay away until you get the knack of downloading files and getting them on your PDA. It is a very powerful program that does things you can only dream of. Something to keep in the back of your mind.

 

I hope this helps!

[+Prime Suspect]

hi everyone I am pretty new to geocaching and this site and was reading around and see a lot of people saving cache data on a palm pilot and this makes a lot of sense to me. To this point I have been writing all the info in a little note book and have found this to be a pain. I was just wondering what brand and kind of pda lends itself to geocaching the best. thanks in advance.

If you're planning on using this outdoors, either get one with the old black & white (or gray levels) screen, or if you want color, make sure it has a Transreflective screen. These screens don't wash-out in direct sunlight, like non-Transreflective screens do.

[+briansnat]

hi everyone I am pretty new to geocaching and this site and was reading around and see a lot of people saving cache data on a palm pilot and this makes a lot of sense to me. To this point I have been writing all the info in a little note book and have found this to be a pain. I was just wondering what brand and kind of pda lends itself to geocaching the best. thanks in advance.

If you're planning on using this outdoors, either get one with the old black & white (or gray levels) screen, or if you want color, make sure it has a Transreflective screen. These screens don't wash-out in direct sunlight, like non-Transreflective screens do.

 

True. I "upgraded" from an M500 to a Z22 and can't read the thing in sunlight.

[+Photographer Jim]

I have the same problem with the Zire22, but for the price I paid on ebay ($40 for a reconditioned one a year ago) I don't mind shading it with my hat once in a while. I use it for other things as well and, with the exception of the direct sunlight issue, it has proven to be quite useful. And even with the sunlight issue it is WAY better than printing out and carrying along a stack of cache pages.

 

Edit: topo

Edited June 4, 2008 by Photographer Jim

[derider]

thanks for all the replies, I actually signed up for premium membership just have to wait for the pay pal payment to go through. Now all I have to do is get a palm and figure out how to load this stuff in and start hunting.