What next? Paperless Caching

June 8, 2009

Hi yall, fairly new to this forum so.... HI!

Currently been using garmin gecko 201 for caching but wanted to take the next step and think about paperless caching. What device options are available to me? OK so I know that question is like asking how long is a piece of string..... so here are some options I've thought about so far.

1) Upgrade mobile to an iphone... not really wanting to go down this route but might consider an alternative unit (non apple) with built in GPS.

2) upgrade GPS to something like the Oregon. I would love this to include an OS map so i can navigate my way round public footpaths on my way to cache sites but as I understand, this is a) expensive and only available in national parks.

Also am i right in thinking that I would need to upgrade my membership to premium?

What is everyone else using?

Any advice on these or other options, from more experience cachers would be VERY much appreciated. Sorry for posting in this section but I'm mainly interested in the maps on GPS for UK.

Thanks in advance,

G.O.Cash

Edited June 8, 2009 by g.o.cash

3.3k · June 8, 2009

A lot will depend on your budget.

You could do something without upgrading to premium membership but, to be honest with you, compared to the cost of a newer GPS and/or a smartphone the $30 it costs is pretty trivial and makes caching so much easier. As a premium member you can download pocket queries which are the basis of a lot of the solutions you'll find.

A newer GPS will almost certainly make caching easier, not least because I've found the Geko to lose signal frequently in urban canyons and under tree cover. Something with a more modern chipset will help you retain a satellite lock in much denser forest and in narrow city streets, and something with a map usually makes things easier when trying to pinpoint urban caches. I've certainly found that having a map when caching in central London saves me huge numbers of trips down dead-ends only to come back out and try the next road along. If you've got one that also supports turn-by-turn routing you can navigate to the cache, or to the trail-head, by car/bike/etc and go from there.

If we're talking Garmin products you can get the UK Topo maps which are mostly good but are very hit-and-miss where paths are concerned. Sometimes you'll find a path that's little more than a dirt track a foot wide worn through a patch of grass that is shown, and other times you'll find an 8-foot wide compressed gravel path wide enough to take a Land Rover that isn't shown.

1.7k · June 8, 2009

Also consider Windows Mobile Pocket PCs with built in GPS - allows Memory Map to run, with full OS map support.

things like the Mio P550 and the HP IPAQ range.

No time to post more info just yet as in a rush - someone else will come along and help in a bit I'm sure!

Dave

9.2k · June 8, 2009

If you really want OS maps it's SatMap10, which seems to be better suited to caching after a recent updates, or go for a PDA with Memory Map.

Garmin's 60GPSMap60CSX will take POI's (Points of Interest) via a GSAK macro, that will put certain limited info on to you GPS. Cache name, description, D/T, hint etc.

Premium?

Yes, it's a lot easier in the long run to go paperless, if you're a paid up member.

If you're paying for the equipment, I think Premium is worth paying for.

(Also consider getting and paying for GSAK -free trial period, nags after 21 days, but is still usable.)

June 8, 2009

Thanks for all the ideas.... keep them coming.

I will defo have a look at the memory map option. I allready have a phone working on windows mobile but I'm concerned about the robustness of that... as it's a work phone I'd be worried about investing in an expensive map to find the hardware changed....

as for the garmin... does anyone have any experience of the GB topo series, how does the level of detail compare with the memory map outside of the national parks?

G.O.Cash

3.3k · June 8, 2009

I don't use Memory Map any more, primarily because the battery on my phone doesn't last very well when the backlight is constantly on, and the GPS is sufficiently slow to lock on if I turn the phone off to preserve the battery.

Then from the phone perspective you've got the usual issues of robustness, water resistance etc. So I use the Garmin GPSMap 60CSx to find the caches, and HTML files on a smartphone to read about the cache (and the hint, if necessary!)

My Topo maps are quite old now - I think it was 2006 when I bought them - and for the most part they are good but the inclusion of paths is very hit-and-miss. At the weekend I was hiking in the New Forest and had to give way to a Land Rover on a path that wasn't marked, while a dirt track that crossed the path was marked.

8.6k · June 9, 2009

Memory Map is the Ordnance Survey maps and are very detailed. The best for walking. They run on any device that uses Windows Mobile - such as a PDA or your phone. Available at 1:50,000 (the familiar Landranger series of paper maps) and 1:25,000 the Explorer series. These maps do not run on Garmin GPS devices.

The Garmin Colorado and Oregon will run a version of these maps but at the moment it is selected areas only at 1:25,000 series, not whole country coverage (but I suspect that will come). Remember if you buy Memory Map you cannot load it onto the Garmin units, you have to buy the maps separately.

The Satmap is excellent and runs the full OS maps but again you cannot use Memory Map on it, you have to buy the maps specifically for the Satmap.

Garmin TOPO maps are OK but nowhere near as detailed as the OS maps. They are not too expensive. Talkytoaster has created a set of maps for the Garmin which are very similar to the TOPO in terms of detail and best of all are free!

Budget? Maps don't come cheap. One reason many geocachers don't use the Satmap or the Colorado/Oregon is they already have Memory Map and to use these devices means you have to buy the maps again - costly!

One downside to PDAs and phones is battery life. Running applications and GPS hammers the battery. I get about 3 hours from my pda so use an external battery pack. My trusty Garmin Etrex Vista runs for what seems like days!

For paperless any PDA/phone with Windows mobile lets you store all the caches with all details on the device using the gpx file you download (either individual or as a pocket query - you may need additional software to improve the experience but it is only a few US$ to buy). The Garmin Colorado and Oregon can take the gpx files directly from the geocaching.com website and display all the cache details on the device.

My setup is a Windows Mobile PDA - a Mio P550 with built in GPS running Memory Map on my laptop to connect the Mio to and transfer maps and geocaches.

Chris (MrB)

June 9, 2009

I use the combination Garmin 60cx and a PDA. My first try with a Z22 wasn't what I was hoping to achieve. See also

http://searchjaunt.idizaai.be/channel-rat/

http://searchjaunt.idizaai.be/big-spoiler/

Now I have an iPaq 214 with geoscout on it and it works fine.

See also

http://searchjaunt.idizaai.be/geoscout/

http://searchjaunt.idizaai.be/feel-the-alchemy/

3.8k · June 9, 2009

Talkytoaster has created a set of maps for the Garmin which are very similar to the TOPO in terms of detail and best of all are free!

While I applaud Talkytoaster's efforts in creating the map sets he has, with the greatest respect, they are not very similar to Topo in terms of detail. I've been using Topo for the last three years and get on very well with it so it was just out of interest that I bought another micro SD card and loaded the OSM that Talkytoaster had created onto my 60CSx. I've been using it for the last three weeks and I have to say that it just doesn't compare with Topo when it comes to detail. Very few of the paths I've travelled were shown, the road accuracy is very poor and when it comes to rivers and other waterways, it's so far out as to be laughable. I was walking beside the River Ouse in north Bedfordshire a couple of weeks ago and the my track on the OSM map was showing me walking at least 150 yards inland.... on the other side of the river. If I were to place a cache on the path I was walking, anyone using the OSM maps would quite likely approach it from the wrong side of the river with no way across. That's one of the 'plus points' for Topo, being based on OS maps, they are very accurate when it comes to details like roads, waterways, lakes, railway lines etc. It's true that not all paths are shown on Topo and some that are aren't public RoWs but I still think that they are in a whole different league to the OSM offering and well worth the cost.

June 9, 2009

Hi yall, fairly new to this forum so.... HI!

Currently been using garmin gecko 201 for caching but wanted to take the next step and think about paperless caching. What device options are available to me? OK so I know that question is like asking how long is a piece of string..... so here are some options I've thought about so far.

1) Upgrade mobile to an iphone... not really wanting to go down this route but might consider an alternative unit (non apple) with built in GPS.

2) upgrade GPS to something like the Oregon. I would love this to include an OS map so i can navigate my way round public footpaths on my way to cache sites but as I understand, this is a) expensive and only available in national parks.

Also am i right in thinking that I would need to upgrade my membership to premium?

What is everyone else using?

Any advice on these or other options, from more experience cachers would be VERY much appreciated. Sorry for posting in this section but I'm mainly interested in the maps on GPS for UK.

Thanks in advance,

G.O.Cash

Hi

lets see if this helps at all

I use a Garmin Colorado, with Garmin Topo Maps and thats it !

Premium memebership on GC and no other software.

I have found the colorado to be reasonably reliable, but would recomend going that little bit further and getting the Oregon. Price difference is only about £20, and makes some of the logging and use easier.

Both units will run the Garmin Topo, National parks and the super Talky toaster maps, Try the talky toaster maps first as they are FREE!! Then if they are not detailed enough i would contemplate by passing the Topo and go straight for the Garmin Explorer National Parks as i believe (please some one confirm) the this includes the garmin Topo Details.

The paper less side is vey good however you can loose some details such as pictures or bizarre text on puzzles caches. Although it say paperless you will need a notebook for puzzles/series caches and these can be a bit of a fag.

But having the availability via a pocket queiry to have 500 caches around a destination makes it great for breaks away from home.

This ease of use i think scores highly amongst the competition, when i tried the Satmap active 10 there was not the option of the paperless, but i believe this has now changed.

I Personaly think that the Oregon is the way to go, i will be heading that way soon myself.

hope this has helped

June 9, 2009

Hi

lets see if this helps at all

I use a Garmin Colorado, with Garmin Topo Maps and thats it !

Premium memebership on GC and no other software.

I have found the colorado to be reasonably reliable, but would recomend going that little bit further and getting the Oregon. Price difference is only about £20, and makes some of the logging and use easier.

Both units will run the Garmin Topo, National parks and the super Talky toaster maps, Try the talky toaster maps first as they are FREE!! Then if they are not detailed enough i would contemplate by passing the Topo and go straight for the Garmin Explorer National Parks as i believe (please some one confirm) the this includes the garmin Topo Details.

The paper less side is vey good however you can loose some details such as pictures or bizarre text on puzzles caches. Although it say paperless you will need a notebook for puzzles/series caches and these can be a bit of a fag.

But having the availability via a pocket queiry to have 500 caches around a destination makes it great for breaks away from home.

This ease of use i think scores highly amongst the competition, when i tried the Satmap active 10 there was not the option of the paperless, but i believe this has now changed.

I Personaly think that the Oregon is the way to go, i will be heading that way soon myself.

hope this has helped

Yes thanks for that. Yes I think I did here that the national park map comes with the entire topo map... it uses that for turn by turn directions to get you there.

I just wanted to check a couple of other things.

1) Does the oregon come with all the maps I need or are the GB topo maps more detailed than the built in?

2) Does the paperless caching option allow me to log my find in the field then upload a log once back at home? If not how does that bit work?

Many thanks again. I am trying my best not only to listen to the replies that lead me down the oregon route but all the answers are helping load in me weaving my way through this.

G.O.Cash.

June 9, 2009

Hi

lets see if this helps at all

I use a Garmin Colorado, with Garmin Topo Maps and thats it !

Premium memebership on GC and no other software.

I have found the colorado to be reasonably reliable, but would recomend going that little bit further and getting the Oregon. Price difference is only about £20, and makes some of the logging and use easier.

Both units will run the Garmin Topo, National parks and the super Talky toaster maps, Try the talky toaster maps first as they are FREE!! Then if they are not detailed enough i would contemplate by passing the Topo and go straight for the Garmin Explorer National Parks as i believe (please some one confirm) the this includes the garmin Topo Details.

The paper less side is vey good however you can loose some details such as pictures or bizarre text on puzzles caches. Although it say paperless you will need a notebook for puzzles/series caches and these can be a bit of a fag.

But having the availability via a pocket queiry to have 500 caches around a destination makes it great for breaks away from home.

This ease of use i think scores highly amongst the competition, when i tried the Satmap active 10 there was not the option of the paperless, but i believe this has now changed.

I Personaly think that the Oregon is the way to go, i will be heading that way soon myself.

hope this has helped

Yes thanks for that. Yes I think I did here that the national park map comes with the entire topo map... it uses that for turn by turn directions to get you there.

I just wanted to check a couple of other things.

1) Does the oregon come with all the maps I need or are the GB topo maps more detailed than the built in?

2) Does the paperless caching option allow me to log my find in the field then upload a log once back at home? If not how does that bit work?

Many thanks again. I am trying my best not only to listen to the replies that lead me down the oregon route but all the answers are helping load in me weaving my way through this.

G.O.Cash.

Hi

As standard unless you choose the 400t model you only get a base map which is useless!

the 400t comes with topo maps, but as i understand it these are not as good as the TOPO GB so i think the Explorer would be bettet, for me anyway.

Both the colorado and the oregon offer Field notes, when you find the cache you select Found and then the GPSr allows you to write a field note. This is much easier on the oregon as it displays a keyboard to type from whereas on the colorado you have to turn the "rock'n'roller" wheel selecting 1 letter at a time.

when you get back home plug the GPSr in to your pc, log on to GC and access you field notes, upload them and then just work through the list amending anything as you go.

All quite easy.

It Really works well.

June 9, 2009

Hi

As standard unless you choose the 400t model you only get a base map which is useless!

the 400t comes with topo maps, but as i understand it these are not as good as the TOPO GB so i think the Explorer would be bettet, for me anyway.

Both the colorado and the oregon offer Field notes, when you find the cache you select Found and then the GPSr allows you to write a field note. This is much easier on the oregon as it displays a keyboard to type from whereas on the colorado you have to turn the "rock'n'roller" wheel selecting 1 letter at a time.

when you get back home plug the GPSr in to your pc, log on to GC and access you field notes, upload them and then just work through the list amending anything as you go.

All quite easy.

It Really works well.

Thanks for that... i think I'm getting somewhere now.

Just come off the phone to Garmin, there are SO MANY user reveiws out there.

Regarding the mapping for the Oregon Units, there are about 4 options.

1) City Navigator NT will give all the on road turn by turn stuff you'd expect from an auto sat nav, (without audible instructions)

2) 1:25k OS map of A national park area... this also comes with turn by turn for entire GB but not quite as advanced as option 1.

3) 1:50k OS map of ALL national park areas

4) Topo GB mapping, includes major geological features, water features, contours, SOME tracks. (but apparently will not differentiate between path and bridle ways etc)

5) Oh yes there is another option... go for the 400T version which comes with a topo map of EUROPE but this is NOT AS DETAILED as option 4.

All of the prices vary and for each option you can get either a DVD or SD card. If i do decide to splash the cash, (which I think will be unlikely), I will wait before adding any maps as Garmin did say they were working on releasing other areas of OS mapping. Although I did push them they would not comment on when these might be available.

Would definitely look at the free alternatives for maps that people talked about, where are these available?

G.O.Cash

June 9, 2009

Hi

As standard unless you choose the 400t model you only get a base map which is useless!

the 400t comes with topo maps, but as i understand it these are not as good as the TOPO GB so i think the Explorer would be bettet, for me anyway.

Both the colorado and the oregon offer Field notes, when you find the cache you select Found and then the GPSr allows you to write a field note. This is much easier on the oregon as it displays a keyboard to type from whereas on the colorado you have to turn the "rock'n'roller" wheel selecting 1 letter at a time.

when you get back home plug the GPSr in to your pc, log on to GC and access you field notes, upload them and then just work through the list amending anything as you go.

All quite easy.

It Really works well.

Thanks for that... i think I'm getting somewhere now.

Just come off the phone to Garmin, there are SO MANY user reveiws out there.

Regarding the mapping for the Oregon Units, there are about 4 options.

1) City Navigator NT will give all the on road turn by turn stuff you'd expect from an auto sat nav, (without audible instructions)

2) 1:25k OS map of A national park area... this also comes with turn by turn for entire GB but not quite as advanced as option 1.

3) 1:50k OS map of ALL national park areas

4) Topo GB mapping, includes major geological features, water features, contours, SOME tracks. (but apparently will not differentiate between path and bridle ways etc)

5) Oh yes there is another option... go for the 400T version which comes with a topo map of EUROPE but this is NOT AS DETAILED as option 4.

All of the prices vary and for each option you can get either a DVD or SD card. If i do decide to splash the cash, (which I think will be unlikely), I will wait before adding any maps as Garmin did say they were working on releasing other areas of OS mapping. Although I did push them they would not comment on when these might be available.

Would definitely look at the free alternatives for maps that people talked about, where are these available?

G.O.Cash

If you are quick, the next one down the list

Open street mapping

Edited June 9, 2009 by burtsbodgers

9.2k · June 9, 2009

IF you decide to buy maps, I suggest you go for the DVD option, rather than on a card.

(Cards are easily damaged, at least if you have a DVD you can reload it to a new card. And -I think- if its on a card, you computer wont read it, DVD's are usable on computer)

3.3k · June 9, 2009

IF you decide to buy maps, I suggest you go for the DVD option, rather than on a card.

(Cards are easily damaged, at least if you have a DVD you can reload it to a new card. And -I think- if its on a card, you computer wont read it, DVD's are usable on computer)

At risk of derailing, if you buy the card can you use it in multiple GPS units? If so that might be something to consider, if upgrading is a likely future thing to happen.

June 9, 2009

IF you decide to buy maps, I suggest you go for the DVD option, rather than on a card.

(Cards are easily damaged, at least if you have a DVD you can reload it to a new card. And -I think- if its on a card, you computer wont read it, DVD's are usable on computer)

At risk of derailing, if you buy the card can you use it in multiple GPS units? If so that might be something to consider, if upgrading is a likely future thing to happen.

This is true, if you buy on DVD the map an only be used on 2 GPSrs then you have to throw it away and buy another! Garmin just seem to want the money!

3.3k · June 9, 2009

IF you decide to buy maps, I suggest you go for the DVD option, rather than on a card.

(Cards are easily damaged, at least if you have a DVD you can reload it to a new card. And -I think- if its on a card, you computer wont read it, DVD's are usable on computer)

At risk of derailing, if you buy the card can you use it in multiple GPS units? If so that might be something to consider, if upgrading is a likely future thing to happen.

This is true, if you buy on DVD the map an only be used on 2 GPSrs then you have to throw it away and buy another! Garmin just seem to want the money!

Or, once you've used the two GPSr unlock codes, keep the maps on the PC and buy a memory card if you need a third unlock. Then you can keep moving the card from unit to unit, while being able to view maps (albeit old maps) on the PC.

When I'm looking at caches on a PC map all I want is a general idea of what's where so I can plan an outline route. Then the GPSr helps determine the specific route from cache to cache.

June 10, 2009

Well! I'm now certain of what is and is not available in the map department. I had a look at a physical device yesterday and I'm so impressed by what an upgrade it is from my gecko that I..... I.... splashed the cash and it is on order.

I'm taking a bit of a gamble I guess but I reckon it is only a matter of time before the maps are available.

I'll let you know how i get on with it.

G.O.Cash

3.3k · June 10, 2009

Well! I'm now certain of what is and is not available in the map department. I had a look at a physical device yesterday and I'm so impressed by what an upgrade it is from my gecko that I..... I.... splashed the cash and it is on order.

I'm taking a bit of a gamble I guess but I reckon it is only a matter of time before the maps are available.

I'll let you know how i get on with it.

G.O.Cash

Come on, you can't leave us hanging with "a physical device"!

We gadget freaks want to know WHICH physical device!

June 10, 2009

There is a useful free application called "Geoshrine" for java based mobile phones.You can then load a pocket query on your phone and view the cache page on the move.

This gives you the cache page but won't help with the maps.Brilliant application though and easy to use.

June 10, 2009

Well! I'm now certain of what is and is not available in the map department. I had a look at a physical device yesterday and I'm so impressed by what an upgrade it is from my gecko that I..... I.... splashed the cash and it is on order.

I'm taking a bit of a gamble I guess but I reckon it is only a matter of time before the maps are available.

I'll let you know how i get on with it.

G.O.Cash

Come on, you can't leave us hanging with "a physical device"!

We gadget freaks want to know WHICH physical device!

Sorry it's the Oregon 300.

June 10, 2009

Sorry it's the Oregon 300.

In that case and you did ask about the FREE UK maps that are available and they work just fine on an Oregon too. The maps can be found by following the link in my sig below.

Regards,

Martin

June 13, 2009

Sorry it's the Oregon 300.

In that case and you did ask about the FREE UK maps that are available and they work just fine on an Oregon too. The maps can be found by following the link in my sig below.

Regards,

Martin

Thanks for that martin. Looks really good. Can't wait to try it but will be away from a decent internet connection for a week or so.

G.O. Cash

What next? Paperless Caching

Recommended Posts

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Join the conversation