Help please to update technology

[+aitchebee]

Hi

 

I'm almost up to 300 caches and would like to make my caching life a bit easier! I started with a yellow etrex and printed out the cache pages and streetmap (where necessary). I then bought a Palm m505 off ebay, extremely cheaply and used cachemate and gsak to get the cache pages onto the palm. That worked relatively OK, but still needed to print off the map, especially if in an area where I don't possess an os map. The only other problem I encountered was that I was running out of hands to hold and look at all these things. Sadly the Palm appears to have given up the ghost, so I am now wondering what would be the best way forward. Ideally I would like a GPS, cache description and hints and OS map all in one unit. I have trawled through these boards and can't decide if a PDA or something like the Colorado/Oregon is the best way to go.

 

Any ideas please?

[+Team Balders]

A windows Mobile PDA with Bluetooth GPS or built-in can run Memory Map (OS maps on the unit) and cachemate. The main downside is that the unit needs protecting against the elements.

 

A Garmin Oregon / Colorado has maps (expensive and not as good as OS but they are coming soon) and cache details including the hint and past logs.

 

I used the PDA (iPAQ) with Pocket Navigator (the PDA part of Memory Map) with Cachemate. I bought a waterproof bag which protected the PDA from the rain. This worked very well.

 

My good lady wife, bought me an Oregon 200 on our anniversary and after a few teething problems wouldn't be without it. I can log the caches as I find them and, back home, upload my field notes to GC.com making the logging a lot easier. The maps (TOPO Great Britain) are not as good as Ordnance Survey but the unit does do routing so that I can follow driving instructions until close to the cache, then switch to Geocaching mode for closing in.

[+Bear and Ragged]

Or.

Hold on for a while and see if this works

 

Garmin Colorado 300, and memory map...

[+scottpa100]

Hi

 

I'm almost up to 300 caches and would like to make my caching life a bit easier! I started with a yellow etrex and printed out the cache pages and streetmap (where necessary). I then bought a Palm m505 off ebay, extremely cheaply and used cachemate and gsak to get the cache pages onto the palm. That worked relatively OK, but still needed to print off the map, especially if in an area where I don't possess an os map. The only other problem I encountered was that I was running out of hands to hold and look at all these things. Sadly the Palm appears to have given up the ghost, so I am now wondering what would be the best way forward. Ideally I would like a GPS, cache description and hints and OS map all in one unit. I have trawled through these boards and can't decide if a PDA or something like the Colorado/Oregon is the best way to go.

 

Any ideas please?

 

As it appears that you are happy to work from normal maps, I've said it before but I'll say it again for the benefit of people with sieve like memories (me included!!) and newbies.

 

I still think a good OS map is still relevant. I use Memory Map at home to plan my routes etc, but when out there I use the OS Active map series. The RRP for these approx £15.00 but you can get them from Tesco books direct for £9.30ish. I've only just had to replace my Snowdonia map (general wear tear depsite the Active laminate coating) after 8 years, (I used to go mountain walking a lot before geocaching) £1.20ish per year is a good return for not getting lost. So £50 - £60 you could get a large amount of your immediate home area covered in paper maps which are weatherproof and foldable (and you can sit on them, kneel on them, use them to cover sharp bits on barbed wire fences)

[+walkergeoff and wife]

Hi

 

I'm almost up to 300 caches and would like to make my caching life a bit easier! I started with a yellow etrex and printed out the cache pages and streetmap (where necessary). I then bought a Palm m505 off ebay, extremely cheaply and used cachemate and gsak to get the cache pages onto the palm. That worked relatively OK, but still needed to print off the map, especially if in an area where I don't possess an os map. The only other problem I encountered was that I was running out of hands to hold and look at all these things. Sadly the Palm appears to have given up the ghost, so I am now wondering what would be the best way forward. Ideally I would like a GPS, cache description and hints and OS map all in one unit. I have trawled through these boards and can't decide if a PDA or something like the Colorado/Oregon is the best way to go.

 

Any ideas please?

 

As it appears that you are happy to work from normal maps, I've said it before but I'll say it again for the benefit of people with sieve like memories (me included!!) and newbies.

 

I still think a good OS map is still relevant. I use Memory Map at home to plan my routes etc, but when out there I use the OS Active map series. The RRP for these approx £15.00 but you can get them from Tesco books direct for £9.30ish. I've only just had to replace my Snowdonia map (general wear tear depsite the Active laminate coating) after 8 years, (I used to go mountain walking a lot before geocaching) £1.20ish per year is a good return for not getting lost. So £50 - £60 you could get a large amount of your immediate home area covered in paper maps which are weatherproof and foldable (and you can sit on them, kneel on them, use them to cover sharp bits on barbed wire fences)

I have had a quick look on Tesco books and cannot find the maps mentioned, or much of a range of maps of the odinary kind. Can you post a link that I may have missed? At the risk of promoting a commercial site, here is where I get mine:

[+scottpa100]

I have had a quick look on Tesco books and cannot find the maps mentioned, or much of a range of maps of the odinary kind. Can you post a link that I may have missed? At the risk of promoting a commercial site, here is where I get mine:

 

Okay - this is how I do it. I hope fellow geocachers will appreciate the advice.

 

I go to the Ordnance Survey website on this link so I can get the EXACT OS map I want. Importantly - I get the ISBN number.

 

For this example, I click on number 17, Snowdonia. That will bring up this page.

 

On the right hand side you can see the correct ISBN number for the active map for that location. I copy the ISBN number and I paste it into a price searcher website. These include, but are not limited to Google Shopping, Kelkoo or Pricerunner.

 

So, the active map of Snowdonia, OS map 17, with a RRP of £13.99 from the OS has the following results (most prices exclude P&P, but with promotions, you can often get P&P free) from the different price comparison websites (click the sites below to get the results)

 

Google Shopping - £9.23

Kelkoo - I couldn't get it to work - their loss - not mine.

Price Runner - £8.73 (inc P&P!) from Asda

Tesco - £9.09 (I pasted in the ISBN number into the Tesco.com/books search.

 

It takes 40 seconds to do it, and you save yourself a few bob into the bargain. And you now know where the footpaths are!

[+Primitive Person]

Hi

 

I'm almost up to 300 caches and would like to make my caching life a bit easier! I started with a yellow etrex and printed out the cache pages and streetmap (where necessary). I then bought a Palm m505 off ebay, extremely cheaply and used cachemate and gsak to get the cache pages onto the palm. That worked relatively OK, but still needed to print off the map, especially if in an area where I don't possess an os map. The only other problem I encountered was that I was running out of hands to hold and look at all these things. Sadly the Palm appears to have given up the ghost, so I am now wondering what would be the best way forward. Ideally I would like a GPS, cache description and hints and OS map all in one unit. I have trawled through these boards and can't decide if a PDA or something like the Colorado/Oregon is the best way to go.

 

Any ideas please?

 

Do you have a contract mobile phone? If you do, look at getting a caching-friendly model when you're next entitled to an upgrade. This is what I did - I ended up with a T-Mobile MDA Vario III, aka the HTC Kaiser or TyTN II. It's sold under dozens of brand names, but is quite widely available as a contract phone on most networks. A number of other phones are suitable, anyway - what you want is something that runs Windows Mobile and has built-in GPS. Then you're ready to run CacheMate and Memory Map, which will give you all you want.

 

I've found my device to deliver everything I wanted and a whole heap more besides. I do all of my logging from it while I'm out in the field.

 

As mentioned elsewhere, though, they're no good in the rain, as dedicated GPS units are weatherproof and phones generally aren't. Also, battery life is often poor.

 

Lee

[+walkergeoff and wife]

I have had a quick look on Tesco books and cannot find the maps mentioned, or much of a range of maps of the odinary kind. Can you post a link that I may have missed? At the risk of promoting a commercial site, here is where I get mine:

 

Okay - this is how I do it. I hope fellow geocachers will appreciate the advice.

 

I go to the Ordnance Survey website on this link so I can get the EXACT OS map I want. Importantly - I get the ISBN number.

 

For this example, I click on number 17, Snowdonia. That will bring up this page.

 

On the right hand side you can see the correct ISBN number for the active map for that location. I copy the ISBN number and I paste it into a price searcher website. These include, but are not limited to Google Shopping, Kelkoo or Pricerunner.

 

So, the active map of Snowdonia, OS map 17, with a RRP of £13.99 from the OS has the following results (most prices exclude P&P, but with promotions, you can often get P&P free) from the different price comparison websites (click the sites below to get the results)

 

Google Shopping - £9.23

Kelkoo - I couldn't get it to work - their loss - not mine.

Price Runner - £8.73 (inc P&P!) from Asda

Tesco - £9.09 (I pasted in the ISBN number into the Tesco.com/books search.

 

It takes 40 seconds to do it, and you save yourself a few bob into the bargain. And you now know where the footpaths are!

And it was only £7.19 at Aqua Maps - post free!

[+scottpa100]

And it was only £7.19 at Aqua Maps - post free!

 

On the link you provided Geoff - it's £7.99 inc P&P for the paper map or £14.99 for the laminated one... Asda at £8.73 for the laminate (active map) still seems to be better value or have I missed a trick / something obvious?

[+walkergeoff and wife]

And it was only £7.19 at Aqua Maps - post free!

 

On the link you provided Geoff - it's £7.99 inc P&P for the paper map or £14.99 for the laminated one... Asda at £8.73 for the laminate (active map) still seems to be better value or have I missed a trick / something obvious?

No you haven't missed a trick - I am sure that it was £7.19 when I first looked, and I had missed that Asda was the laminated map. My excuse - a heavy cold!

[+walkergeoff and wife]

And it was only £7.19 at Aqua Maps - post free!

 

On the link you provided Geoff - it's £7.99 inc P&P for the paper map or £14.99 for the laminated one... Asda at £8.73 for the laminate (active map) still seems to be better value or have I missed a trick / something obvious?

No you haven't missed a trick - I am sure that it was £7.19 when I first looked, and I had missed that Asda was the laminated map. My excuse - a heavy cold!

I am going crazy - I have just checked the Aqua site again, and it is £7.19 again - but for the paper map, not the laminated. But the Asda paper map is a lot cheaper too!

Edited October 14, 2008 by walkergeoff

[+scottpa100]

No you haven't missed a trick - I am sure that it was £7.19 when I first looked, and I had missed that Asda was the laminated map. My excuse - a heavy cold!

 

Get well soon - my man flu has nearly gone now. I've had it a week!

Anyhow - best get this back on topic!

 

Is money no object but don't like running costs? Go waterproof windows PDA. Still flush with money and don't mind running costs? Buy mobile phone with GPS. Like technology, but don't like running costs and not flush with money - go cheap windows PDA. Like technology, but don't like running costs, not flush with money and don't need/want electronic mapping and like decent battery life? - go Palm PDA.

 

That is what I see the various options are - its just what you want. Others will know as I prattle on far too much on these here forums, but I use the Palm PDA, separate GPSr and paper (laminated!!) map solution.

[+walkergeoff and wife]

No you haven't missed a trick - I am sure that it was £7.19 when I first looked, and I had missed that Asda was the laminated map. My excuse - a heavy cold!

 

Get well soon - my man flu has nearly gone now. I've had it a week!

Anyhow - best get this back on topic!

 

Is money no object but don't like running costs? Go waterproof windows PDA. Still flush with money and don't mind running costs? Buy mobile phone with GPS. Like technology, but don't like running costs and not flush with money - go cheap windows PDA. Like technology, but don't like running costs, not flush with money and don't need/want electronic mapping and like decent battery life? - go Palm PDA.

 

That is what I see the various options are - its just what you want. Others will know as I prattle on far too much on these here forums, but I use the Palm PDA, separate GPSr and paper (laminated!!) map solution.

I do exactly the same! Maps have several big advantages:

 

You get the big picture; they don't have batteries to run down, and they never crash or need rebooting!

[+SidAndBob]

No you haven't missed a trick - I am sure that it was £7.19 when I first looked, and I had missed that Asda was the laminated map. My excuse - a heavy cold!

 

Get well soon - my man flu has nearly gone now. I've had it a week!

Anyhow - best get this back on topic!

 

Is money no object but don't like running costs? Go waterproof windows PDA. Still flush with money and don't mind running costs? Buy mobile phone with GPS. Like technology, but don't like running costs and not flush with money - go cheap windows PDA. Like technology, but don't like running costs, not flush with money and don't need/want electronic mapping and like decent battery life? - go Palm PDA.

 

That is what I see the various options are - its just what you want. Others will know as I prattle on far too much on these here forums, but I use the Palm PDA, separate GPSr and paper (laminated!!) map solution.

I do exactly the same! Maps have several big advantages:

 

You get the big picture; they don't have batteries to run down, and they never crash or need rebooting!

Amazingly they're not quite flawless.

[+walkergeoff and wife]

No you haven't missed a trick - I am sure that it was £7.19 when I first looked, and I had missed that Asda was the laminated map. My excuse - a heavy cold!

 

Get well soon - my man flu has nearly gone now. I've had it a week!

Anyhow - best get this back on topic!

 

Is money no object but don't like running costs? Go waterproof windows PDA. Still flush with money and don't mind running costs? Buy mobile phone with GPS. Like technology, but don't like running costs and not flush with money - go cheap windows PDA. Like technology, but don't like running costs, not flush with money and don't need/want electronic mapping and like decent battery life? - go Palm PDA.

 

That is what I see the various options are - its just what you want. Others will know as I prattle on far too much on these here forums, but I use the Palm PDA, separate GPSr and paper (laminated!!) map solution.

I do exactly the same! Maps have several big advantages:

 

You get the big picture; they don't have batteries to run down, and they never crash or need rebooting!

Amazingly they're not quite flawless.

[+aitchebee]

hi

 

Thank you all for your very interesting replies to my original post. I definately do not wish to go down the mobile phone route, what seems most attractive is the Oregon, especially with the promise of the Discoverer which will include OS maps. I think I will hang on until this is released and I can see how much it is really going to cost.

 

What I really like about the streetmap which you can print off from the cache site, is the arrow giving approx position of the cache, so you can instantly see which footpath it is on or near and the nearest or most appropriate parking position. I hope I am right in assuming that this facility would be delivered to the Oregon.

 

OK, I realise that if you are only doing urban or one or two caches, it is relatively easy to store that info in your head, but we like to go to a new area for a few days and use geocaching as a means to explore. I find it very frustrating not to have all the cache info in front of me

 

Hope all that makes sense

[+Bear and Ragged]

The other possibility is... GPSvisualizer.

 

www.gpsvisualizer.com/map_input?form=google].

 

Download GPX or loc files onto one map... However it doesn't show footpaths etc. But does show where the caches are in relation to each other, that, with Streetmap print outs of specifics is a big help.

Edited October 15, 2008 by Bear and Ragged

[+Bear and Ragged]

Oh ***!

Linky bit not working.

Edited October 15, 2008 by Bear and Ragged