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Newbie needs help !


Katiecol

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You are all going to wonder from what rock I crawled out from. I have never done this , I don't know anyone who does it (geocaching that is).

 

I have pretty much made up my mind to buy the Geomate Jr. I tend to gravitate to new hobbies and then quickly abandon them, so i don't want to invest much $$$.

 

I've read Geomate Jr user manual (online) and have read numerous forums. I just don't understand how you can possibly get to a cache if it just points arrows and only works when you walking. It has distance and direction but the arrow points by the way a crow flies, so if roads don't go that way........ do you keep getting out of your car and walk so it can redirect you ???

 

I'm really not a stupid person (usually) but I really don't get it!! Please help, and no laughing !!

 

Thanks, Katie

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You are all going to wonder from what rock I crawled out from. I have never done this , I don't know anyone who does it (geocaching that is).

 

I have pretty much made up my mind to buy the Geomate Jr. I tend to gravitate to new hobbies and then quickly abandon them, so i don't want to invest much $$$.

 

I've read Geomate Jr user manual (online) and have read numerous forums. I just don't understand how you can possibly get to a cache if it just points arrows and only works when you walking. It has distance and direction but the arrow points by the way a crow flies, so if roads don't go that way........ do you keep getting out of your car and walk so it can redirect you ???

 

I'm really not a stupid person (usually) but I really don't get it!! Please help, and no laughing !!

 

Thanks, Katie

 

The arrow will rotate while you are driving too. I don't know if the geomate Jr has a map on it but if I had to guess, I would say it does. That will help with urban caches.

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do you keep getting out of your car and walk so it can redirect you ???

 

I don't own a Geomate, but I'll assume that you don't have to be walking, just as long as you're moving. Somebody who understands the whole satellite and GPS receiver relationship can explain it, because I don't understand it, but the GPS gets confused if it's standing still. So, it should still point toward the cache while you drive. It's up to you to figure out the driving route, which may involve looking at road maps, or just driving up this road and driving down that road until you get close enough.

 

I only laughed a little. :unsure:

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Hi Katie. Well the previous responders did a good job of answering your question so I won't use much time answering that except to correct one minor detail in a previous response. There are not any maps on the Geomate Jr..

 

Congrats on your upcoming purchase of the Geomate Jr.! It really is quite an amazing little caching machine and I absolutely love mine. You see when it comes to geocaching I have 2 GPSr's that I love equally. One is a Delorme PN-40 with all the bells and whistles I could ever want which is my number one GPSr for caching around my home area and then I have the Geomate Jr. as my go to device for while I'm out of my home area. Each has a very specific role in my caching adventures and they compliment each other very nicely. For such a reasonably priced unit you'll find it just as accurate as other much more expensive units.

 

The Geomate Jr. comes with a very small instruction manual. If you would like get the online owners manual which is much more detailed then contact me and I'll be happy to send you a copy of it. It really is an easy thing to learn so I'm sure you'll learn it just fine.

 

You mentioned you have a tendancy to like to try new hobbies and then drop them after your initial intrigue wanes. If you're interested in trying to stick with this great game longer than you might normally do so then I'd recommend that you attend a local geocaching event near you. You'll find geocachers to be a very friendly group of people who love to "talk shop". If you go to the 1st page of the Groundspeak Forum and look quite a ways down the page you'll find the regional forums. Then all you'd neeed to do is post an inquiry there asking when there will be a Meet and Greet in your area.

 

Lastly if you are wanting to increase the chances that you stick with this hobby then I'd recommend that you get some of your family and friends hooked on the sport too. I really do enjoy myself when I'm caching alone, but it's much more fun when I'm caching with my nephews.

 

Welcome to the addiction we call Geocaching!!!! :D

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It's common knowledge that the geomate has no maps and I knew that when I got my nephew his. And like you, for $69, I thought the geomatejr was especially suited for someone who may/may not stick with it.

 

Now, how do you overcome the "no maps on the geomatejr" issue? It's just a matter of jotting down a few geomatejr GC's, and looking them up on this site. You will have clickable maps to guide you nearly to the GZ.

 

I know it's confusing at first, and I know because I just started also. But after one cache find, you will have the basic procedure down, then it's just a matter of refinement.

 

I look forward to borrowing his geomate to try it myself. In fact, there are a number of glowing reports on this forum, that it is fun, cheap, way to geocache.

 

Good luck.

Steve.

Edited by gpsgeology
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