Geocaching w/my TomTom One

[+The Cache Checkers]

Hi all,

 

I accidently came across Geocaching while researching my GPS unit. I love scavenger hunts and am so glad I came across this group. My 10 year old has teamed up with me.

 

Anyway - My GPS got us to our first cache w/o a problem, however, on our second one we entered the coordinates and followed the voice, even though it was going a different way from which I thought it would go. I followed it anyway and it told me I had reached my destination and we were on a residential street, nothing but private property all around.

 

We double checked our entry and it was correct. This cache was recently found on Oct. 25, so the coordinates on the info page must be right.

 

Any explanation why this happened?

 

My husband told me my unit has driving and walking options. When should I switch to the walking feature? Our first cache was right off the road. I've seen some caches that give coordinates to parking lots and then coordinates to the cache. If there isn't a parking lot, how can I tell when to park and start walking?

 

I appreciate any help you offer us. We were very excited to start Geocaching that we went out today, even in the rain! We didn't find our first one, but I blame that on being newbies and not knowing what to watch for.

 

Thanks again,

 

Yolanda

[+sportside]

The TomTom is going to try to stick to roads closest to the coords you entered. If, for instance, the cache is in a park, but near a road that borders the park, it will direct you to that road - not the park's parking lot or the road that it is actually on.

 

Obviously, a TT isn't the best for finding caches (I had attempted with a TT One 3rd edition before getting a handheld). But, if you do some research using Google Maps, etc.. you can get an idea of where you should be going and avoid some problems. Even for my first few finds with a handheld, I went to parks I knew so I could avoid some of the guesswork.

 

I don't know about the walking mode, I don't think mine has that. I used the 'Where am I' feature, which gives you satellite coordinates.

[+NOV8TR]

First, welcome to geocaching!

Second, yes, your Tomtom can be used to geocache quite successfully. There are limitations, but not ones that should keep you from having all the fun you can stand if you do a little planning and research. The 3 biggest things to keep in mind when "Tomtom caching" are these

1. Battery life. My Tomtom will only last for about 1 1/2 hour unplugged from the car. As long as you plan your outings so that you have plenty of time to get to the cache site and back, no problem. As you are just starting, there should be plenty of cache locations near your local roads that make this limitation relatively insignificant. In time you will need a solution for battery life. Here is a link to My Webpage where you can see what I did about it.

2. The Tomtom was not designed to operate in your hand or away from roads. The antenna is on the top and will be partially blocked if you hold it horizontally (a natural thing to do while holding it in your hand). All the navigation instructions (verbal and visually prompted) are only valid on known roads. There are no "built in" navigation features that will guide you when away from (or even close to) roads. The Tomtom navigation is "road locked" and will always try to put you on the nearest road. When you are cache hunting, you will have to switch over to the satellite signal strength page to see real time grid coordinates. These coordinates are not road locked (snapped). You have already figured out how to set your Tomtom up to use "degrees, decimal minutes", so now all you have to do is get close to the cache and then move around until the displayed coordinates match the cache you are hunting. It takes a little practice, but it works quite well!

3. The Tomtom is not ruggedized, water proof, or easy to hold in your hand while crawling around in the bushes. Get a lanyard and attach it to the unit ASAP! Loop the lanyard around your neck and make sure that the lanyard is short enough so that if you just let it hang, it does not drop much lower than your waste. There is a place on the back to attach a strap (upper right corner on my ONE XL), and there is no more important thing you can do to protect your pricey car nav system from getting dropped and broken.

 

Almost everyone that posts a reply to your question is going to recommend that you get a dedicated hand held unit for geocaching. They are correct, but you will come to that conclusion in your own time, and when your need matches your financial ability to feed this addiction. For me it took just over 50 caches and almost loosing my Tomtom forever (dropped near the edge of a bridge ). I still use my Tomtom as a "paperless" resource and a backup for checking coordinates for those really tough to find caches. Take your time and learn about the game before you start throwing money at something that might be short lived. Kids (and adults) seem to change interests pretty often, so my advise is to get your feet wet and see how you and your daughter are enjoying the game maybe 20 or 30 caches down the road. If geocaching is "in your stars", you will find about 1,000 opinions here in the forums to help you choose the "perfect unit"!

Edited November 16, 2008 by 1XL-on-XR650L

[dotpotamus]

I used a tomtom 930t for my first 2 weeks of cacheing some times it was within half a metre and other times 10 metres.It was also very hard to keep a hold of and when i searched i had to turn it off and put it away in case it got wet and you soon get fedup with that.So i brought a handheld gps and it makes the whole game better.