Geomate Jr.

[IowaJuggalos]

My husband and I are new to Geocaching and bought one of those geomate jrs. Problem is most of the caches I've mapped out in our area dont show up on it. I've been within 10 feet of a supposed cache and my geomate said that I was 1300 ft away from the nearest cache!! Are we doing something wrong?? Getting so frustrated! ~Iowa Juggalos~

[sp1tf1re]

I looked into that specific GPSr and it seems to really be geared to kids. That being said did you get the data cable? While it is pre-loaded with caches it isn't necessarily loaded with any near you. You will still need to load caches from the site into the GPSr for those near you that will need the use of the data cable. It seems like it may be a separate purchase item.

[+Jojoking]

Hi,

 

IowaJuggalos, if you want to email me directly, i can explain the database that is included in the Geomate. Jo.vaughn@apisphere.com.

 

The database that come preloaded into the geomate has been pre-filtered to include caches that are, in our eyes, family friendly and have longevity.

 

As the other poster mentioned, getting the cable. Whilst it is not nessecary, it will give you access to a wider range of caches.

 

Again, i hate to see someone so fraustrated, so please email me and i will help you out!

 

Thanks!

Jo

[+Coldgears]

My husband and I are new to Geocaching and bought one of those geomate jrs. Problem is most of the caches I've mapped out in our area dont show up on it. I've been within 10 feet of a supposed cache and my geomate said that I was 1300 ft away from the nearest cache!! Are we doing something wrong?? Getting so frustrated! ~Iowa Juggalos~

I bet this is because only certain geocaches are put inside of it. That's why I would nevr buy one personally.

 

BTW, I hope you realize what a juggalo is before you gave yourself that username.

[+briansnat]

The Geomate Jr is only programed with a select group of caches.

[GOF and Bacall]

Hi,

 

IowaJuggalos, if you want to email me directly, i can explain the database that is included in the Geomate. Jo.vaughn@apisphere.com.

 

The database that come preloaded into the geomate has been pre-filtered to include caches that are, in our eyes, family friendly and have longevity.

 

As the other poster mentioned, getting the cable. Whilst it is not nessecary, it will give you access to a wider range of caches.

 

Again, i hate to see someone so fraustrated, so please email me and i will help you out!

 

Thanks!

Jo

 

If it isn't obvious to you Jojoking works for the company who makes the Geomate Jr.

[IowaJuggalos]

While I find it awesome that you choose to say that..we are a full time Juggalo family thanks! Dark Lotus 4 LIFE.

[+michigansnorkelers]

The Geomate Jr. is actually a great little unit, as long as you understand its limitations.

 

First of all, you HAVE to get the upgrade kit (cable) for it. This will get you a lot more geocaches than what ship with the unit. Then, you can download the traditional caches in the Eastern or Western US. Of course, you won't have access to Premium Member, Multis, Unknowns, etc. Just traditionals.

 

I own a Garmin 60cs as well as a Geomate Jr. I've used them together and they both seem to have the same caches, as long as they are traditional.

[+Brooklyn51]

I saw an ad in the paper this morning from Gander Mountain. Geomate Jr is going for about $50, with a rebate. The Dakota 10 was being advertised for $150, also after rebate.

[TheTinyMuffins]

We are also a new family to geocaching and bought the Geomate Jr. mainly because of the price, good reviews and ease of use. WE LOVE IT! We are having the best time and usually end up within 3 ft of the cache. Yesterday my husband was standing directly under a cache that was dangling over his head in a tree, lol. I bought it knowing it had some limitations, but I figured we'd get our feet wet with something simpler, then if we were all having a good time, it would be worth it to invest in something more. But so far, we as a family have logged several hours with the Geomate Jr. and are having a blast!

[+michigansnorkelers]

As I already mentioned, you really need the upgrade kit to load the most caches, especially the more recent ones. The upgrade kit is cheap and easy to use.

 

Do you realize that once you turn on the unit and it locates the nearest 20 geocaches, it will continue to point to those same 20 even if you drive 100 miles away! You have to turn the unit off/on to reset it to search for the 20 nearest to where you currently are.

 

I see you already found 2 geocaches, rather easily I might add. Great work! There will be a number of DNFs, but that number will decrease with time as your numbers go up.

 

Do you know that you can, with a bit of time and patience, look for just about ANY kind of cache with your unit? With the upgrade kit, it is possible to enter caches manually into your unit (via the Update Interface). It does wipe out the current memory though, so you'll only be able to go after those you enter manually. But, now you can solve a puzzle and plug in those coordinates and seek it out. Or, do an Earth Cache, or an Unknown, or a Virtual, or a Letterbox Hybrid, etc. Heck, you can even go after a FTF!

 

You CAN even do a multi ... one stage at a time, although I would stick to simple two stage ones at first. On day one, set up some manual caches, including stage one of a multi or two. On you next trip, you can manually set the coordinates for the next stage. A bit inconvenient, but it CAN be done.

 

So, keep it up and HAPPY GEOCACHING!