why do they make things hard?

[theohioman]

why do they make things hard diffucalt or imposible because they HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DUE!!!

 

WHY DON'T THEY MAKE A GPS EASY TO USE? WHY DON'T THEY MAKE IT SIMPLE? ALL YOU NEED IS YOUR GPS AND THE DESTANATION QUARDANCES like n 29 35.697 w95 31.450 and make a gps with a key pad like your phone so you can input all the required information and what is ment by way point? why don't they tell you in plain english from ware you are and make it simple because NOT EVERY ONE WORKS FOR NASA and i personaly want to be a rocket man is a waypoint a place you step over or a spot you drive over?then i wouldn't want to be on a way point you could get killed it was in the middle of a road and that would not be a good place to be

Edited June 10, 2009 by theohioman

[+StarBrand]

You might be interested in this new product: http://www.geocaching.com/geomate/default.aspx

 

For Geocaching - things just don't get any simpler.

 

BTW - a waypoint is simply a place - the coordinates for that place stored in your GPS with a name.

 

However, your best bet may be to find a local group or event where friendly folks can help you learn to use all of the Geocaching tools out there. Lots of folks very willing to teach.

[+briansnat]

There are many brands and models of GPS. Some, like the Garmin Geko 201, are extremely easy to use. Some of the units with more advanced features take a little effort to learn.

 

As far as waypoints, you're on one right now. It's simply a place on earth that is referenced by coordinates, which means everywhere. Where you are sitting right now is a waypoint, where your car is parked is a waypoint, your house is a waypoint, the fire hydrant on your street is a waypoint.

[+Printess Caroline]

why do they make things hard diffucalt or imposible because they HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DUE!!!

 

WHY DON'T THEY MAKE A GPS EASY TO USE? WHY DON'T THEY MAKE IT SIMPLE? ALL YOU NEED IS YOUR GPS AND THE DESTANATION QUARDANCES like n 29 35.697 w95 31.450 and make a gps with a key pad like your phone so you can input all the required information and what is ment by way point? why don't they tell you in plain english from ware you are and make it simple because NOT EVERY ONE WORKS FOR NASA and i personaly want to be a rocket man is a waypoint a place you step over or a spot you drive over?then i wouldn't want to be on a way point you could get killed it was in the middle of a road and that would not be a good place to be

 

Hey, theohiosman, I can relate to your frustrations. Several years ago, I told my husband that I would like to try geocaching, so he bought me a GPSr and a video that was supposed to instruct me how to use it. Well, I watched about 15 minutes of that dern video and was so confused and overwhelmed that I packed the GPSr away for over a year!!! When I eventually dug it out of the deep, dark corner, I kept my first attempt at geocaching very simple and low tech. I approached it just the way that you suggest that it should be. I printed out the cache description, turned on the GPSr and tried to get the coordinates on the GPSr to match the ones on the paper. I still tend to cache this way. I did get a bit more technical with the addition of a hand held compass after a little while. My low tech approach may take a bit longer or seem silly to those who like their gadgets, but I'm comfortable and successful with it. Basicly, I think that you just need to find a method that works for you.

[+Zolgar]

Some GPSrs can be a little difficult to figure out how to use, but I assure you that if you had simply took the time you spent writing a ranting forum post and instead used it to read the instructions for your unit, you would probably have about 1/4 the problems.

 

And most of the ones I've seen anyways, were easy enough to use that a little intuition went a long ways, and I can assure you, I do not work for NASA nor any other like field where I would have to be that intelligent. I work manufacturing.

 

If you find you really need help with your GPSr, then you could try posting a calm, polite message and note what GPSr you have (the more specific the better "Garmin" no good, "Garmin Vista" decent, "Garmin Vista HCx" is ideal), and explaining what issues you are having.

I am sure someone on this form is familiar enough with your unit to be able to help you.

[+Entropy512]

why do they make things hard diffucalt or imposible because they HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DUE!!!

 

WHY DON'T THEY MAKE A GPS EASY TO USE? WHY DON'T THEY MAKE IT SIMPLE? ALL YOU NEED IS YOUR GPS AND THE DESTANATION QUARDANCES like n 29 35.697 w95 31.450 and make a gps with a key pad like your phone so you can input all the required information and what is ment by way point? why don't they tell you in plain english from ware you are and make it simple because NOT EVERY ONE WORKS FOR NASA and i personaly want to be a rocket man is a waypoint a place you step over or a spot you drive over?then i wouldn't want to be on a way point you could get killed it was in the middle of a road and that would not be a good place to be

What you describe is how old GPS units worked.

 

It's actually a heck of a lot harder than how many modern units are.

 

With a Garmin Oregon:

Create a Pocket Query on geocaching.com (premium membership required)

Save the GPX from the PQ results that geocaching.com emails you

Connect the Oregon to the computer via USB

Copy the GPX file over

 

Boom, as many as 500 geocaches preloaded into your GPS, complete with cache descriptions, hints, and logs. Doing that by hand would take hours.

[+Chrysalides]

Try attending one of the (free, I think) classes at REI if there is one near you. If not, maybe some local geocaching organization? Sometimes nothing beats having it shown to you.

[+hitech squirrel]

why do they make things hard diffucalt or imposible because they HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DUE!!!

 

WHY DON'T THEY MAKE A GPS EASY TO USE? WHY DON'T THEY MAKE IT SIMPLE? ALL YOU NEED IS YOUR GPS AND THE DESTANATION QUARDANCES like n 29 35.697 w95 31.450 and make a gps with a key pad like your phone so you can input all the required information and what is ment by way point? why don't they tell you in plain english from ware you are and make it simple because NOT EVERY ONE WORKS FOR NASA and i personaly want to be a rocket man is a waypoint a place you step over or a spot you drive over?then i wouldn't want to be on a way point you could get killed it was in the middle of a road and that would not be a good place to be

 

GPS companies don't care. GPS companies are in bed with the multi-national corporations; they are using technology recovered from the Roswell, NM UFO to track your every movement. They could not care less about how easy a GPSr is for you to use. The real purpose of a GPSr is to track you!

 

But there is a simple solution: only use your GPSr when it is wrapped in tinfoil. That way, the gubment satellites can't reliably track you. Good luck and remember to backtrack using your own footprints. .

[+Nature Kids]

Here are some links that might help

Longitude and Latitude

More Longitude and Latitude

Technical Description

Latitude and Longitude of a Point .......cool Map

[+Harry Dolphin]

why do they make things hard diffucalt or imposible because they HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DUE!!!

 

Oh, boy! Can I relate to that! Add all those 'great' frills that I have no use for, and hide the basics where I cannot find them! Someone gave me a very nice camera. Far better than the one I use. The problem is that I have no idea how to use it! My old camera: Point. Adjust the zoom. Push button. Take photo. (Okay, sometimes I push the wrong button ,and get a bad video. I don't need that!) New camera has so many fangles that I don't know how to use it. Portrait Mode? Backlighting? Semiquaisfernangling? I just want to push the button, and take a photo!

The only solution is to find a sixth-grade girl to show you. They know everything! They rule the world!

[+Chris & Renee]

Can't get much easier than the Garmin Oregon series GPS, large touch screen, just push the number like your phone and hit the big green GO.

[+Maingray]

If the cost wasn't so high, I'd recommend the Oregon for sheer ease of use. No brainer interface, no brainer transfer of caches to the unit, large clear graphics. It's also a GREAT kid-friendly unit.

[+Wild Thing 73]

It appears that you picked a sport/game with all the bells and whisles that is way over your head....either that or you are just a complainer that wants to use a forum to express your short commings.

[+Arrow42]

why do they make things hard diffucalt or imposible because they HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DUE!!!

 

GPS equipment is very complex. The technology behind it is extraordinarily precise and technical. The consumer-level equipment does have some way to go in terms of interface design, but if you want an exact location then your never going to get away from the technical side of things.

 

On the other hand - check out the car-navigation GPS. You just type in the address (some auto-fill for you to make it easier). Some even have on-screen keyboards. After you do that it gives you an Icon where you at and carefully explains every step along your journey as you travel. "Turn left on main Street in one quarter mile" etc. About as simple as it gets, but quite useless for geocaching.

[+hukilaulau]

why do they make things hard diffucalt or imposible because they HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DUE!!!

 

Oh, boy! Can I relate to that! Add all those 'great' frills that I have no use for, and hide the basics where I cannot find them! Someone gave me a very nice camera. Far better than the one I use. The problem is that I have no idea how to use it! My old camera: Point. Adjust the zoom. Push button. Take photo. (Okay, sometimes I push the wrong button ,and get a bad video. I don't need that!) New camera has so many fangles that I don't know how to use it. Portrait Mode? Backlighting? Semiquaisfernangling? I just want to push the button, and take a photo!

The only solution is to find a sixth-grade girl to show you. They know everything! They rule the world!

A bit off topic, but I can relate to that too... my wife got me a new phone. I looked at the manual. It wasn't until page 19 that it told me how to make and receive phone calls! The first 18 pages? Fangles. And fangles that you had to pay extra for! Hate them fangles!

Back on topic: You should seriously consider the Geomate as linked above. Sounds perfect for getting started to see how you like the game.

[sharkman8810]

look at an etrex h, pretty easy to use with a good chipset to get good signal.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

why do they make things hard diffucalt or imposible because they HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DUE!!!

 

Oh, boy! Can I relate to that! Add all those 'great' frills that I have no use for, and hide the basics where I cannot find them! Someone gave me a very nice camera. Far better than the one I use. The problem is that I have no idea how to use it! My old camera: Point. Adjust the zoom. Push button. Take photo. (Okay, sometimes I push the wrong button ,and get a bad video. I don't need that!) New camera has so many fangles that I don't know how to use it. Portrait Mode? Backlighting? Semiquaisfernangling? I just want to push the button, and take a photo!

The only solution is to find a sixth-grade girl to show you. They know everything! They rule the world!

 

We also bought a new digital camera awhile back and gave our old one (an old Canon A30) to my son. Without reading a manual he figured out to take pictures, how to set it up to take black and white photos, how to shoot movies, how to set the auto-timer so that he can click a button then run in front of the camera and take a picture of himself. Even after figuring out how many of the functions on the camera, most of the pitures are closeups of his nose, or the inside of his mouth, or the dogs butt. After all, he's still only five years old.

[chephy]

Why do people feel so entitled to products meant to use in the "brains off" mode? Don't they realize they are cheating themselves?

 

There can be a fair bit of improvement as far as user interface is concerned, but here's the deal that applies not just to GPSrs and cameras, but essentially to everything in life: the more powerful systems the more complex it is and the longer it takes to figure out. If all you want is to take an occasional picture, a point-and-shoot might be the answer, but you will get pretty mediocre results with it. If you want great pictures, you need a lot more complexity, and you need to spend a bit of time learning how to harness the power that complex devices provide. The "fully idiot-proof mode" can only be achieved by a DRASTIC reduction in functionality.

 

GPS comes from extraordinary, amazingly complex technology. It has mind-boggling precision and capabilities. It took a ridiculous amount of work by extremely smart people to set it up and keep it running. It's complicated. And it's beautiful. So for God's sake, do a tiny bit of research, figure out a couple terms and a couple of buttons. It's good for you to wiggle your brain cells every once in a while. You're less likely to get Alzheimer's.

[chephy]

why do they make things hard diffucalt or imposible because they HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DUE!!!

 

WHY DON'T THEY MAKE A GPS EASY TO USE? WHY DON'T THEY MAKE IT SIMPLE? ALL YOU NEED IS YOUR GPS AND THE DESTANATION QUARDANCES like n 29 35.697 w95 31.450 and make a gps with a key pad like your phone so you can input all the required information and what is ment by way point? why don't they tell you in plain english from ware you are and make it simple because NOT EVERY ONE WORKS FOR NASA and i personaly want to be a rocket man is a waypoint a place you step over or a spot you drive over?then i wouldn't want to be on a way point you could get killed it was in the middle of a road and that would not be a good place to be

They should make English simpler too. Not everyone is a Shakespear and spelling words correctly and putting them together in coherent sentences is WAY TOO MUCH WORK.

[chephy]

why do they make things hard diffucalt or imposible because they HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DUE!!!

 

WHY DON'T THEY MAKE A GPS EASY TO USE? WHY DON'T THEY MAKE IT SIMPLE? ALL YOU NEED IS YOUR GPS AND THE DESTANATION QUARDANCES like n 29 35.697 w95 31.450 and make a gps with a key pad like your phone so you can input all the required information and what is ment by way point? why don't they tell you in plain english from ware you are and make it simple because NOT EVERY ONE WORKS FOR NASA and i personaly want to be a rocket man is a waypoint a place you step over or a spot you drive over?then i wouldn't want to be on a way point you could get killed it was in the middle of a road and that would not be a good place to be

They should make English simpler too. Not everyone is a Shakespear and spelling words correctly and putting them together in coherent sentences is WAY TOO MUCH WORK.

[+RonnieGeo]

They should make English simpler too. Not everyone is a Shakespear and spelling words correctly and putting them together in coherent sentences is WAY TOO MUCH WORK.

 

Just thought I'd let you know that in your statement above about spelling words correctly you spelled Shakespeare wrong (missed the 'e' at the end).

[+Arrow42]

Just thought I'd let you know that in your statement above about spelling words correctly you spelled Shakespeare wrong (missed the 'e' at the end).

 

Actually, your wrong(*). In Shakespeare's time spelling was fluid and was always phonetic. Shakespeare himself was known to spell his own name in many different ways. Shakespeer would almost be more correct in light of that .

 

 

*: I could just be remembering a fever dream... this all comes from along time ago I don't recall the source.

Edited June 14, 2009 by Arrow42

[+RonnieGeo]

Just thought I'd let you know that in your statement above about spelling words correctly you spelled Shakespeare wrong (missed the 'e' at the end).

 

Actually, your wrong(*). In Shakespeare's time spelling was fluid and was always phonetic. Shakespeare himself was known to spell his own name in many different ways. Shakespeer would almost be more correct in light of that .

 

 

*: I could just be remembering a fever dream... this all comes from along time ago I don't recall the source.

 

You are probably right (I am definitely not a Shakespearean scholar!), but I am pretty sure that when chephy was bashing the OP about spelling he was not aware of it so he still looks pretty silly.

[+coggins]

why do they make things hard diffucalt or imposible because they HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DUE!!!

They just make things. We make using them hard, difficult or impossible. And yes, they have better things to do that make our lives harder than they already are. Edited June 15, 2009 by coggins

[+mrbort]

Just thought I'd let you know that in your statement above about spelling words correctly you spelled Shakespeare wrong (missed the 'e' at the end).

 

Actually, your wrong(*). In Shakespeare's time spelling was fluid and was always phonetic. Shakespeare himself was known to spell his own name in many different ways. Shakespeer would almost be more correct in light of that .

 

 

*: I could just be remembering a fever dream... this all comes from along time ago I don't recall the source.

 

Just to pile on here... Arrow: you used the incorrect homophone for "you're" (you used the possessive pronoun rather than the contraction). Funny how people who criticize grammar and spelling often make mistakes in their own posts. I'm certain mine has at least one Or TEN!

 

Edit: see? I excised an extraneous "rather" that was left over from my editing

Edited June 15, 2009 by mrbort

[railroadertoo]

why do they make things hard diffucalt or imposible because they HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DUE!!!

 

GPS equipment is very complex. The technology behind it is extraordinarily precise and technical. The consumer-level equipment does have some way to go in terms of interface design, but if you want an exact location then your never going to get away from the technical side of things.

 

On the other hand - check out the car-navigation GPS. You just type in the address (some auto-fill for you to make it easier). Some even have on-screen keyboards. After you do that it gives you an Icon where you at and carefully explains every step along your journey as you travel. "Turn left on main Street in one quarter mile" etc. About as simple as it gets, but quite useless for geocaching.

 

Man I can identify with that comment....we just started hunting over the weekend and I'm using an Icom IWay 250S. It works great for automobiles, but even though it says it is reading 12 sats, I don't get a decent update on position as I move. It takes a long time to update and then it is sporadic.

 

I bought a Garmin ETrex Vista on Ebay yesterday and CAN'T WAIT for it to arrive....it's espeically frustrating to go out 4 or 5 times, visit 10 or 12 caches and find only ONE!!!!

Edited June 15, 2009 by railroadertoo

[+Arrow42]

 

Actually, your wrong(*). In Shakespeare's time spelling was fluid and was always phonetic. Shakespeare himself was known to spell his own name in many different ways. Shakespeer would almost be more correct in light of that .

 

 

*: I could just be remembering a fever dream... this all comes from along time ago I don't recall the source.

 

Just to pile on here... Arrow: you used the incorrect homophone for "you're" (you used the possessive pronoun rather than the contraction). Funny how people who criticize grammar and spelling often make mistakes in their own posts. I'm certain mine has at least one Or TEN!

 

Edit: see? I excised an extraneous "rather" that was left over from my editing

 

But... but... I wasn't correcting grammar - I was correcting historical inaccuracies!

[+mrbort]

But... but... I wasn't correcting grammar - I was correcting historical inaccuracies!

 

Fair enough Mine still had an error in it!

[gillespie555]

I have to agree. I have been struggling with a magellan explorist gps receiver and it is really beginning to drive me crazy. cannot figure out how to use the thing!

[+Geomate.jr]

Confessions up front - I work for the company. Normally I stay away from plugs, but given the topic, I just had to say something. The question of "why does it have to be so hard" is the exact question we were asking ourselves when we were thinking about the Geomate.jr. Sure, the technology behind the scenes is awfully complex, but that doesn't mean the user experience needs to be the same.

 

The entire User Guide for the Geomate.jr can be summed up in 3 steps:

 

1. Go outside

2. Switch it on

3. Follow the arrow and distance to your closest geocache.

 

In fact, these are the first steps in the Quick Start Guide - the rest are just details.

 

Check it out for yourself: www.mygeomate.com

 

My name is Warren and I'll be watching the forums to field any questions anyone may have.

 

Cheers

 

Warren

[chephy]

They should make English simpler too. Not everyone is a Shakespear and spelling words correctly and putting them together in coherent sentences is WAY TOO MUCH WORK.

 

Just thought I'd let you know that in your statement above about spelling words correctly you spelled Shakespeare wrong (missed the 'e' at the end).

I also missed a comma. But I couldn't correct the post after submission since the forum has gone unresponsive and I wasn't gonna sit there for an hour and waiting for the page to load. Why do they make internet so difficult, eh?

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Confessions up front - I work for the company. Normally I stay away from plugs, but given the topic, I just had to say something. The question of "why does it have to be so hard" is the exact question we were asking ourselves when we were thinking about the Geomate.jr. Sure, the technology behind the scenes is awfully complex, but that doesn't mean the user experience needs to be the same.

 

The entire User Guide for the Geomate.jr can be summed up in 3 steps:

 

1. Go outside

2. Switch it on

3. Follow the arrow and distance to your closest geocache.

 

In fact, these are the first steps in the Quick Start Guide - the rest are just details.

 

Check it out for yourself: www.mygeomate.com

 

My name is Warren and I'll be watching the forums to field any questions anyone may have.

 

Cheers

 

Warren

 

Okay, I'll bite.

 

How much experience do you, or those in your company have actually finding geocaches with either the Geomate or one of the other handhelp gps units on the market?

 

The reason I ask is that, in my experience (which isn't that much) following the arrow and distance to the closest geocache is likely going to lead to a lot of frustrastion.

 

First, the closest geocache may be a four star difficulty nano cache, especially if one lives in a more urban environment. If there are several very difficult hides close to ones home coordinates someone new to the game is likely going to get pretty discouraged when they're not finding anything.

 

Secondly, having followed the forums for a couple of years, and based on my own experience, following the arrow and distance to the waypoint only gets you so far. Since the accuracy of a GPS for those that place the cache and those seeking can typically be off 20-30' it's not uncommon to find a geocache 30-50' from where your GPS is telling you the cache is located. One of the most frequent bits of advice offered here is to only follow the arrow/distance until you get with 25-30' of where your GPS is telling you to go, the start looking for a spot where you might hide a cache in that area. I typically start looking for potential hiding spots when my GPS is telling me that I'm with 100' or sometimes even further away. After all, the object of geocaching is not to see you close you can get to a waypoint, it's to find geocaches.

[+Crow-T-Robot]

Confessions up front - I work for the company. Normally I stay away from plugs, but given the topic, I just had to say something. The question of "why does it have to be so hard" is the exact question we were asking ourselves when we were thinking about the Geomate.jr. Sure, the technology behind the scenes is awfully complex, but that doesn't mean the user experience needs to be the same.

 

The entire User Guide for the Geomate.jr can be summed up in 3 steps:

 

1. Go outside

2. Switch it on

3. Follow the arrow and distance to your closest geocache.

 

In fact, these are the first steps in the Quick Start Guide - the rest are just details.

 

Check it out for yourself: www.mygeomate.com

 

My name is Warren and I'll be watching the forums to field any questions anyone may have.

 

Cheers

 

Warren

 

Okay, I'll bite.

 

How much experience do you, or those in your company have actually finding geocaches with either the Geomate or one of the other handhelp gps units on the market?

 

The reason I ask is that, in my experience (which isn't that much) following the arrow and distance to the closest geocache is likely going to lead to a lot of frustrastion.

 

First, the closest geocache may be a four star difficulty nano cache, especially if one lives in a more urban environment. If there are several very difficult hides close to ones home coordinates someone new to the game is likely going to get pretty discouraged when they're not finding anything.

 

Secondly, having followed the forums for a couple of years, and based on my own experience, following the arrow and distance to the waypoint only gets you so far. Since the accuracy of a GPS for those that place the cache and those seeking can typically be off 20-30' it's not uncommon to find a geocache 30-50' from where your GPS is telling you the cache is located. One of the most frequent bits of advice offered here is to only follow the arrow/distance until you get with 25-30' of where your GPS is telling you to go, the start looking for a spot where you might hide a cache in that area. I typically start looking for potential hiding spots when my GPS is telling me that I'm with 100' or sometimes even further away. After all, the object of geocaching is not to see you close you can get to a waypoint, it's to find geocaches.

 

From what I understand of the Geomate Jr., the caches you'll be looking for are screened for D/T. Too high on either scale and it probably won't be included in the caches pre-loaded onto the GPS. That's my understanding...but there is a dedicated thread for the Geomate Jr. in the technology forum (Here) which has much more info.

 

Bruce

Edited June 16, 2009 by Bassanio

[+Geomate.jr]

Hi NYPaddleCacher

 

You bring up some very good points and interesting questions to say the least. Here are some thoughts / answers...

 

 

How much experience do you, or those in your company have actually finding geocaches with either the Geomate or one of the other handhelp gps units on the market?

 

 

To answer this question in a nutshell, actually quite a lot! Personally I have been geocaching for about 4 years, have introduced others to the sport, have taken school groups and other youth clubs geocaching, and have geocached in over 5 countries. Having worked in the GPS industry for the last 10 years or so, I've had the good fortune of having experience with almost every handheld GPS unit on the market - many of which I've used for Geocaching. But now I use the Geomate.jr almost exclusively. Why? No planning needed and it does all I need it to. Because it is already preloaded with about 250,000 geocaches, all I need to do is switch it on and it doesn't matter where I am!

 

 

The reason I ask is that, in my experience (which isn't that much) following the arrow and distance to the closest geocache is likely going to lead to a lot of frustrastion.

 

First, the closest geocache may be a four star difficulty nano cache, especially if one lives in a more urban environment. If there are several very difficult hides close to ones home coordinates someone new to the game is likely going to get pretty discouraged when they're not finding anything.

 

You bring up some excellent points here! First, we do actually provide some additional information when we display the cache such as terrain, difficulty, and size; so you know what you are getting yourself into. But keeping the first time user experience in mind, we actually filter the default database to only include geocaches that have been around for at least 4 to 6 months (to give it a bit of staying power) and we don't include anything above a difficulty of 3.

 

But if you want the harder or the latest geocaches, soon we will be releasing an Update Kit that will enable you to refresh this default filtered database or select an unfiltered version and have access to every traditional geocache location in the US (and other countries for that matter).

 

Secondly, having followed the forums for a couple of years, and based on my own experience, following the arrow and distance to the waypoint only gets you so far. Since the accuracy of a GPS for those that place the cache and those seeking can typically be off 20-30' it's not uncommon to find a geocache 30-50' from where your GPS is telling you the cache is located. One of the most frequent bits of advice offered here is to only follow the arrow/distance until you get with 25-30' of where your GPS is telling you to go, the start looking for a spot where you might hide a cache in that area. I typically start looking for potential hiding spots when my GPS is telling me that I'm with 100' or sometimes even further away. After all, the object of geocaching is not to see you close you can get to a waypoint, it's to find geocaches.

 

Yep, another good point. Even though we use the SiRFstarIII GPS engine (arguably the best performing GPS solution on the market and is what most of the high-end GPS receivers use), just like any other GPS receiver, the Geomate.jr is still only your navigation tool to get you close but then it is up to you. Nothing really changes here except for the fact that you didn't have to download anything, plan in advance, take out a small loan to buy it, or read a small novel to work out how to use the thing - perfect for a bit of casual spontaneous geocaching for you or your family. Our goal is only to make the technology easier to use and more convenient, not to eliminate the need to get down and dirty and search for the geocache.

 

I hope this has given you a little more insight into our thinking!

 

Cheers

 

Warren

[+The Blorenges]

Unfortunately the OP, theohioman, doesn't seem to have come back to read all the varied comments and respond to them...

 

He doesn't seem to have found any caches yet either... at least, not under that username.

 

Perhaps Warren could send him a "free sample" of the geomate.jnr It looks like he'd be an ideal candidate to trial it.

 

MrsB

[+JustJackMN]

Arrows? Waypoints? All I do is print out the Cache I am interested in, carry the hard copy, GPSr, and a compass sometimes to make sure where North is, and read the numbers. So far the caches have been only a few digits off, (ie .456 instead of .459 and usually only one either the Longitude or Latitude but one is right on.) This works just great for me.

[+DiamondDaveG]

Arrows? Waypoints? All I do is print out the Cache I am interested in, carry the hard copy, GPSr, and a compass sometimes to make sure where North is, and read the numbers. So far the caches have been only a few digits off, (ie .456 instead of .459 and usually only one either the Longitude or Latitude but one is right on.) This works just great for me.

 

That's almost the exact way I have been doing it for over 100 finds (I don't print every cache, I just jot down pertinent info) and I am yet to figure out how this is 'wrong.' Everyone is running around saying you have to get GSAK or similar and you have to download the cache info and you have to follow the GPS. What ever happened to using the GPSr as a tool instead of the GPSr being the leader?

 

Just my $0.02

[+GEO*Trailblazer 1]

You can do anything you put your mind to.

 

We only use 10% of our brain function.

 

I too had to learn from scratch and the more you do it the easy way the easier you find it will be.

 

I have a GPS now that has more bells and whistles than I can ever figure out.

I like the NOAA Weather Radio,14 mile 5W radio,Range Finder,auto compass and well I think you get it.

[+sTeamTraen]

We only use 10% of our brain function.

Do you have some evidence for that statement? I thought that the only people who actually believe that are the Scientologists. Google any hoax busting site...

 

Of course, if you mean that most of us go round acting like we're not using 90% of our brains, I'm right with you. Or I will be when I can find my car keys.

[+Zolgar]

Nothing really changes here except for the fact that you didn't have to download anything, plan in advance, take out a small loan to buy it, or read a small novel to work out how to use the thing - perfect for a bit of casual spontaneous geocaching for you or your family. Our goal is only to make the technology easier to use and more convenient, not to eliminate the need to get down and dirty and search for the geocache.

 

I dunno.

 

I think by 'undercomplicating' it, you're actually doing everyone involved a bit of a disservice.

 

First of all, while the Geomate Jr. is "cheap", it's actually a $70 toy with ONE use. And I doubt the 'update kit' will be free. It may let you do 'spontaneous geocaching' a little easier.. But honestly? What is that going to introduce MOST people to?

Urban micros. LPCs, Magnadots, etc.* 1: These are a bad thing for most people to start out by looking for, as they can be very hard to find, and .. newbie cachers don't expect something the size of their pinky tip. 2: Most of these are .. very poor representations of caching.

It also doesn't give you information like the last logs (so that you can tell if this cache hasn't been found and was maybe muggled)

 

And by what I have read (at its core), it doesn't let you say "This new cache looks interesting, I want to go do it!"

 

So you spend .. half the price of a 'basic' GPS, get an ultrabasic GPS that only serves one single function and offers comparatively limited access to geocaching..

 

... It's almost like the "Demo" version of geocaching (like a lot of video games release demos).. Except for the fact that you have to pay for it, and it doesn't showcase the good parts of the game.

 

I understand what you're trying to do with this product. But I honestly feel that a good number of the people who get this without prior geocaching experience, will not continue to cache.

And for experienced cachers, I would say most of us will stick to our real GPSs.

 

*Looking at caches from my home coordinates: (Please note that if you happen to know me and/or know the caches I'm talking about, I do not intend to bash anyone or their caches. I'm commenting on these caches from a "new cacher" viewpoint, basically)

Closest: 1.5/1.5 micro. An envelope made from camo tape, tucked in to a guard rail, over a dull wash, with a bit of a view of the rail yard.

Second: 1/1 Magnadot in a small community garden. Garden is cool, but someone not experienced with looking for caches of the like probably wouldn't find it.

Third: 1.5/1 Micro on a busy, steep and thin overpass that over looks the rail yard. Okay, a bit of a view, but otherwise the area is s***. (I avoid this overpass like the plague)

Fourth: 3/2 'small', hidden off a local bike path, in an exceptionally filthy that is full of beer bottles and other trash. The trash is actually used to camo the hide.

Fifth: 1/1 altoids Tin LPC.

Sixths: 1/1.5 micro multi. Decent cache, but would likely not be included in the Geomate, or if it was it wouldn't be doable (offset, coords are obtained from information at the base coords)

Seventh: 1.5/1.5 magnadot micro on a fence in a large park. It's part of a decent series, but once again, it's not a great example of caching for a newbie.

Eighth: 2/1 Magnadot micro at a memorial in a park. Once again, it's a cache that brings you to a decent area, but a newbie cacher will have a hell of a time finding it.

Ninth: 1.5/1 "Regular" multi. Might be a good one for a starting cacher! Although, the park is very crowded on the weekends and when I've been by it, I've found that people seem to be hanging out near GZ for the first stage.

Tenth: 1/1 cigar tube. this is actually a decent cache for a beginner, slightly challenging to find, but not too bad, and it takes you to a really nice location in town.

 

So the closest five, none are great examples caching that would really get someone hooked. Of the closest 10, two maybe three might....

 

sorry for the major derailment here >.>