brenham00 Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Greetings! I'm new to this geocaching thing but have been lurking aound the forums for some time now. This week I ordered a Garmin Venture eTrex Venture HC. I want to try paperless caching and just won a Palm Pilot IIIxe off of eBay for $12.00- shipping included. I feel confident that the gps will be fine but wonder if the pda will work OK. I have to work on a tight budget since I went back to school to finish my degrees. I need some down time and a diversion from school though and geocaching looks like the ticket! I can hardly wait to get everything and get going on what looks like will be a fun and exciting time. Any comments or suggestions will be most appreciated. Quote Link to comment
jholly Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Greetings! I'm new to this geocaching thing but have been lurking aound the forums for some time now. This week I ordered a Garmin Venture eTrex Venture HC. I want to try paperless caching and just won a Palm Pilot IIIxe off of eBay for $12.00- shipping included. I feel confident that the gps will be fine but wonder if the pda will work OK. I have to work on a tight budget since I went back to school to finish my degrees. I need some down time and a diversion from school though and geocaching looks like the ticket! I can hardly wait to get everything and get going on what looks like will be a fun and exciting time. Any comments or suggestions will be most appreciated. The only possible problem with the IIIxe is the serial interface. If you don't have a serial port on your computer your going to need a usb-serial converter. Other than that the IIIxe will work fine for paperless. It might be a few more bucks up front, but consider rechargeable batteries for the eTrex and palm, they will be the last batteries you need to buy. Jim Quote Link to comment
TermiteHunter Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Like myself you are also a regular member. To take advantage of the cache page information being loaded onto the palm you will need to upgrade to Premium membership. It's a fair price and well worth it though I have chosen not to take advantage of it as yet. There is some information you could use without the Premium membership if your willing. I occassionaly download selected pages using programs like sunrise, vademecum or avantgo in order to get discriptions but they are all rather cumbersome. You could also create your own personal log of cache finds. Some units will also accept a GPS if you are able to find one. I use a Dell Axim Pocket PC but have not seen the CF gps around recently except on sites like Ebay. Quote Link to comment
brenham00 Posted October 20, 2008 Author Share Posted October 20, 2008 Thanks for the advice. I was considering going with rechargeable batteries, want to do my part to be "green" you know. I will also consider the Premium Membership too. Quote Link to comment
+Wild Thing 73 Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 Greetings! I'm new to this geocaching thing but have been lurking around the forums for some time now. This week I ordered a Garmin Venture eTrex Venture HC. I want to try paperless caching and just won a Palm Pilot IIIxe off of eBay for $12.00- shipping included. I feel confident that the gps will be fine but wonder if the pda will work OK. I have to work on a tight budget since I went back to school to finish my degrees. I need some down time and a diversion from school though and geocaching looks like the ticket! I can hardly wait to get everything and get going on what looks like will be a fun and exciting time. Any comments or suggestions will be most appreciated. But you need the 15 minute charger....rechargeable batteries are a pain in the "neck"...The rechargeable will just drop dead without warning and if you are in the field....well not a good scenario. I have the complete setup for the rechargeables, but I don''t use them, I use the alkaline because they are more dependable, you will get a warning beep before they totally discharge, that is good. The alkaline batteries only discharge when using them....Think about it you buy them off the shelf were they have been for months... read the life of the battery...good until 2012....I carry extra batteries in my pockets or jacket, in my car, in my geopak. I will never be without my batteries. Can you image being within 50 to a hundred yards and your batteries go dead...bang. But not to worry if you have alkaline batteries. Happy caching and good luck. And just read everything you can on geocaching, if you get stuck on something, you can just "google" it. that will work...try it. Quote Link to comment
+Prime Suspect Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 Thanks for the advice. I was considering going with rechargeable batteries, want to do my part to be "green" you know. I will also consider the Premium Membership too. Rechargeables work great. I can get at least a solid 9 hours continuous use out of 2500mAh NiMH batteries. If you're worried about them running out, throw a pair of pair of alkalines in your pocket. You'll probably never use 'em. Quote Link to comment
+m.austin Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 I always carry 6 extra rechargeables with me - 4 for my digital camera, 2 for my Garmin. I can go an entire day caching on freshly charged batteries. The extra set is because I never change my batteries until they die. I couldn't afford to purchase alkaline batteries for my digital camera - they last less than 2 hours with normal use. You can purchase 4 rechargeable batteries + charger for about $12. 4 alkaline batteries cost about $6. I replace my rechargeable batteries about 1 time a year, because they do eventually wear out, and I use them a LOT! Quote Link to comment
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