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Geomate Jr. question...


ThomasFamily102

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At this point they do not filter out found caches, unless you mark them found on the unit, then they are found forever.

 

For me the beauty of having the GeomateJr is that I can travel anywhere in the US and have caches available to me without having to visit geocaching.com

 

I expect that when I start my overseas travel it will become even more important to me.

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The reason we were going to buy it was because they have caches in it and when you are at a certain location you can push the button and it will show you the closest caches. We already have a handheld gps.

 

After I posted it dawned on me that you probably already had a hand held. If you get one, post how it works for you.

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The reason we were going to buy it was because they have caches in it and when you are at a certain location you can push the button and it will show you the closest caches. We already have a handheld gps.

 

After I posted it dawned on me that you probably already had a hand held. If you get one, post how it works for you.

 

Haha no prob. Dad really wants one...for the nearest cache when we are traveling. If it doesn't work out then they go pretty fast on the GC forum classifieds. So it wouldn't hurt to try it. I will let ya'll know how it works

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The plan is to purchase one before our trip from auburn indiana to louisville kentucky. that way if we are traveling down i-69 and want to know if geotruckers put a cache at the rest station, or we get off the highway to eat we could push the button. so that will be our first real experiment with it.

 

I don't think there are many micros on the Geomate Jr. so many of those rest area caches might not be one it.

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I'm looking to buy my first gps as well and the $100-$140 range is the best I can do. The Geomate Jr with cable seemed to be very user-friendly and ready to go wherever you are. But I was originally thinking the Garmin eTrex Venture HC or Legend were options. I assume with those, you have to download the geocache sites before you go out. But are these Garmins relatively easy to use for geocaching?

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I don't think there are many micros on the Geomate Jr. so many of those rest area caches might not be one it.

 

G'day

 

Waz here - I work for the company that makes the Geomate.jr. Just thought I would jump in here and provide a bit of info. As it ships from the factory, the Geomate.jr contains about 250,000 tradition caches that have been selected using stuff like: only caches that have been in place for about 6 months (for staying power), nothing over a difficulty 3 (family friendliness) and only micros with a difficulty 1 (who would send a newbie after a difficulty 4 micro??). However, if you get access to an Update Kit, you can then load a US list that does not have the above filtering applied. So you can get all the micros, caches that have been placed up to about 24 hrs ago, etc.

 

I hope this helps! Anyone can email me direct at warren@apisphere.com - I'm happy to help with any questions or problems, and we always love hearing from users and anyone with any comments or suggestions! I'll also be watching these forums and will chime in when I think I can help.

 

Cheers

 

Waz

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The no micro thing might be cool. When we are traveling we don't even bother with micros. Mainly just regulars and larges

 

I hear ya, I'm not a huge fan of micros myself. Two comments on this front. First, the Geomate.jr always shows the size of the cache that is selected. If it shows micro, all you need to do is press the big NEXT button and it will show you the next cache. Keep doing this until you find a cache you like!

 

Another comment here is that we are thinking about placing a cache list option that a user can select and load onto their Geomate.jr that has no micros at all! We're thinking about calling it the "Micro free zone" or something...

 

Does anyone like the sound of this at all??

 

Cheers

 

Waz

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Warren, the two things I really want is the ability to filter out all the caches I have already found, maybe by uploading a list created out of GSAK?

 

The next thing and more importantly is the ability to use field notes. Because I travel world wide I am sometimes many miles away from a cache that I found in the morning. As it is I have to write down the GC code on a piece of paper in order to remember the cache number so I can log it.

 

Can you tell me what progress is being made on these abilities?

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You made me want it more!!!! Another question tho...does the geomate jr. tell you the name of the cache that way when you go to log it you know the name? what about the gc number?

 

It does not tell you the name of the cache, but it will tell you the GC number.

 

I have one myself and we use it whenever we go out. (Granted, one of the kids usually has it while im using my Garmin) But I have used just that unit and found geocaches with it.

 

I think it a nice little unit for the price.

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Warren, the two things I really want is the ability to filter out all the caches I have already found, maybe by uploading a list created out of GSAK?

 

There are two potential solutions for this that we are working on - short term and better (longer) term. Between you and me, in the short term, we are looking at support Pocket Queries. Even though not ideal, it will allow anyone to use a list of geocaches that they have tailored for them. In the 'better' term, we are looking at.... Ummm, I've already said to much. But at least it's just between you and me ;-)

 

The next thing and more importantly is the ability to use field notes. Because I travel world wide I am sometimes many miles away from a cache that I found in the morning. As it is I have to write down the GC code on a piece of paper in order to remember the cache number so I can log it.

 

Can you tell me what progress is being made on these abilities?

 

We won't have the ability to enter notes directly into the unit. Adding notes through the web site interface may be a possibility though. There I go again, saying too much... I'm not sure whether you are aware of it or not, but rather than having to write down the GC code, you can mark it as 'FOUND' by pressing and holding the small button on the right (under the smiley). Two things will happen - next time you view that cache, a smiley will be displayed so you know you've already found it, and it will also be added to the 'FOUND LIST'. You can then sit down in the comfort of your home and scroll through your found list, viewing the GC code of a found cache and the date you marked it as found.

 

I hope this helps!

 

Cheers

 

Waz

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You made me want it more!!!! Another question tho...does the geomate jr. tell you the name of the cache that way when you go to log it you know the name? what about the gc number?

 

Just like Shaner316 said, no name, but you can view the GC code. This comes in handy in two ways: to see which cache you are at so you know which one to log, and to scroll through the different GC codes if you are out to find a particular cache.

 

Another little side note is that you can mark any cache as found. A found cache will have a smiley with it, and it will also be added to a found list that you can take your sweet time reviewing at a later date. Check out my last post on this thread about that one.

 

Cheers

 

Waz

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You made me want it more!!!! Another question tho...does the geomate jr. tell you the name of the cache that way when you go to log it you know the name? what about the gc number?

 

Just like Shaner316 said, no name, but you can view the GC code. This comes in handy in two ways: to see which cache you are at so you know which one to log, and to scroll through the different GC codes if you are out to find a particular cache.

 

Another little side note is that you can mark any cache as found. A found cache will have a smiley with it, and it will also be added to a found list that you can take your sweet time reviewing at a later date. Check out my last post on this thread about that one.

 

Cheers

 

Waz

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Waz,

 

I don't ever use the notes part of the field notes, not on my Colorado and not on the Blackberry app.

 

What I would like is the ability to upload the list of found caches to the field note upload and get a list of cache ID's. When you have found a lot of caches going through the list of found caches on the Geomate can be a long process.

 

Even if I could just upload the list of GID to a text file with the GID and date then I could sort in Excel and know what caches I found that day or two

 

Something like this

 

GC30 20100202

GC1R35 20100202

GCA4E 20100202

GC678E 20100131

GCMOHO 20100129

 

Then I would know that I needed to log GC30, GC1R35 and GCA4E

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Waz,

 

I don't ever use the notes part of the field notes, not on my Colorado and not on the Blackberry app.

 

What I would like is the ability to upload the list of found caches to the field note upload and get a list of cache ID's. When you have found a lot of caches going through the list of found caches on the Geomate can be a long process.

 

Even if I could just upload the list of GID to a text file with the GID and date then I could sort in Excel and know what caches I found that day or two

 

Something like this

 

GC30 20100202

GC1R35 20100202

GCA4E 20100202

GC678E 20100131

GCMOHO 20100129

 

Then I would know that I needed to log GC30, GC1R35 and GCA4E

 

Yep, that would be an awesome little feature. Perhaps we should think about getting to work on it? :laughing:

Edited by Geomate.jr
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ok so if i select a cache on the geomate what does it provide? just the coords and gc number? or does it provide the clues and such?

 

Yep, Webscouter is correct. It does display the distance and direction to the current cache. You also get to see the terrain, difficulty, and size of the cache you're after. (And the GC code of course).

 

Cheers

 

Waz

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I don't think there are many micros on the Geomate Jr. so many of those rest area caches might not be one it.

FWIW, most of the rest area caches I have found across the country have NOT been micros.

They have mostly been near the back or side of the rest area in woods or under rocks.

 

I am one of those "veterans" who got a geomate jr. specifically for traveling. It has been great for random rest area caches! For me it was worth the price if I never use it for anything else.

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Just got the Geomate Jr. for my son for his 11th birthday. We are having a few challenges with it, although I like the unit. First, we were using Firefox, and having been warned on the Update page of the website that this does not play nice with Firefox, I followed the instructions for the "fix" - well, the extension or setting change has completely prevented my Firefox from loading. I disabled the extensions for the Geomate and the Update kit and Firefox now loads fine. But, am I now prevented from getting updates?

 

Also, how do you know if you have successfully marked a cache as "found"? We pressed and held the button, and it said "Found" on the screen, but my son could not see a "list" of how many he had found or a way to verify that it recorded it. I know I'm missing something obvious here....

 

Thanks for any help y'all can provide!!

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Just got the Geomate Jr. for my son for his 11th birthday. We are having a few challenges with it, although I like the unit. First, we were using Firefox, and having been warned on the Update page of the website that this does not play nice with Firefox, I followed the instructions for the "fix" - well, the extension or setting change has completely prevented my Firefox from loading. I disabled the extensions for the Geomate and the Update kit and Firefox now loads fine. But, am I now prevented from getting updates?

 

Also, how do you know if you have successfully marked a cache as "found"? We pressed and held the button, and it said "Found" on the screen, but my son could not see a "list" of how many he had found or a way to verify that it recorded it. I know I'm missing something obvious here....

 

Thanks for any help y'all can provide!!

There are posts above from Geomate.Jr (Waz)

Post 19 may be what you are after regarding 'Found' caches.

Edited by Bear and Ragged
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We took out Geomates out today for the first time, and they are a little tricky at times, but are a great complimentary device if you have several people, especially kids in the party. We found that even with the update there were some micros that the Geomates did not have and it had two caches I did not have on my GPS from a pocket querry. Well worth the money we paid for them and very fun. I'd like to see where these go as far as software upgrades in the future.

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Any help on the update software question? Should I uninstall the "software kit" in downloaded through Firefox and reinstall it through Internet Explorer?

 

G'day WebiG

 

Waz here, I work for the company that makes the Geomate.jr and I'm happy to help! Rather than turn the forums into a support channel, feel free to email directly at warren@apisphere.com and we'll get you up and running.

 

Cheers

 

Waz

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