+Team BowMint Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Hello Gang. Noob here, loving this activity more and more. I have been using my Droid HTC Incredible with the Groundspeak applications exclusively for my hunting. I have a couple of questions for fellow Droid cachers or anyone in the know. The Android Forum seems to be more of a place to post suggestions rather than ask questions. So.... 1. It would seem that there is the capability to enter lat and long coordinates by pressing the "Search By Location" button. Problem is, when I enter coords and hit search, the program just "thinks' for a minute and then simply goes back to the list of close caches. How does one enter the lat/long here??? What is the format I should be using? DO I have to enter N and W? Do I put minute and second characters in? I can't seem to get this feature to work, making it very hard to manually enter in lat/longs for multi-caches. Any ideas? 2. Is there any reason why I should need a standard GPS? The Droid seems to get us pretty dang close and we have only not found one cache. Also, I like that I can look up close caches anywhere I am on my phone without having to have a Laptop etc. No GPS can do this right? I would expect you could pre-load in coords for caches, but the Droid feature allows more spontaneity yes? Thanks for your help, and thanks for the community! Fun stuff! Quote Link to comment
+GeoKeeper Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Well, I'll respond even though I'm a n00b too I went caching this weekend with another person using a "standard GPS" and I have to say as an all around tool, my DroidX is very good for this activity. But it seems that when you get into woods or cloudy days, the GPS devices are much more accurate. But since I'm new, I don't mind because the caches I'm looking for aren't generally that tough ... yet I also like that I can look up information on the fly as well, as well as log my finds in real time instead of keeping track and doing them when I get home. Just make sure you do a good job at calibrating the compass on your phone. Quote Link to comment
+niraD Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Here's how I've entered coordinates for the final of a multi. From the cache summary: Navigate to Geocache > Map Menu > Add Waypoint (enter name and coordinates of the final waypoint) (on the map, tap the flag for the final waypoint) From there, you should be able to navigate to the flag. If you're in "compass" mode: Navigate to Geocache > Compass Menu > Destination > Add Waypoint... (enter name and coordinates of the final waypoint) (select the waypoint in the Select destination menu) A dedicated handheld GPS receiver will be more durable and have better battery life than a phone. Modern handheld devices will have high sensitivity receivers that get better satellite reception under heavy tree cover, or in other situations where the satellite signals are weak. It's a bit more work to load data from Pocket Queries onto a dedicated device, but you can use Pocket Query data in areas where you have no data connection, and still be pretty spontaneous. For more info on Pocket Queries, see: http://www.markwell.us/pq.htm Quote Link to comment
+Sol seaker Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 There are limitations to a phone for geocaching, as others have mentioned, but if you want to hide one it is vastly preferable to do it with a GPS rather than a phone. I had a friend who began caching with a phone. The first time we got out of the car to get the cache and both headed off in opposite directions I knew something was up. We went around to the caches she had hidden and I got new coordinates for her. One was well over 100 feet off. The phones aren't as accurate. If you've got one that's pretty close, you can use it for a while. After you've been caching a while, and want to find more in one day for instance, you may want to consider moving up. My friend's phone died half way through our run that day. We cached the rest of the day off of my GPS. It's a good thing to use to see if it's worth it to you to buy a better GPS, in other words, if you want to stick to the game. Check out the forum pages on GPS recommendations if you do decide to move up later. Many people suggest getting something that you will be happy with for a long time to begin with. Your caching for a while with your phone now can help you figure out what that is for you. Paperless is good for when your phone dies. But then again, if you only want to find a couple of caches at a time in good weather and not hide any, then the phone may be all you ever need. Quote Link to comment
+Team BowMint Posted February 1, 2011 Author Share Posted February 1, 2011 Great advice gang. I'm starting to see the bigger picture. Thank you! Quote Link to comment
+sidekeck Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 I have a Droid Incredible & a Garmin eTrex and geocache solely with the Droid. In a side-by-side the Droid wins hands-down each time. When out with caching buddies and their more sophisticated Garmins, it's a draw or their GPSr's may win out over the Droid. In very remote areas where you are likely to lose cell reception, paperless caching goes out the window without your data connection. That's something to keep in mind. And I usually bring my Garmin, loaded with a PQ, as a backup plan. I also have an additional extended battery for the Droid b/c as mentioned battery life is pretty short on the phones. Quote Link to comment
+Team BowMint Posted February 1, 2011 Author Share Posted February 1, 2011 I have a Droid Incredible & a Garmin eTrex and geocache solely with the Droid. In a side-by-side the Droid wins hands-down each time. When out with caching buddies and their more sophisticated Garmins, it's a draw or their GPSr's may win out over the Droid. In very remote areas where you are likely to lose cell reception, paperless caching goes out the window without your data connection. That's something to keep in mind. And I usually bring my Garmin, loaded with a PQ, as a backup plan. I also have an additional extended battery for the Droid b/c as mentioned battery life is pretty short on the phones. BUt if I am a Premium Member, can't I use PQs on the Droid as well? Quote Link to comment
+Team BowMint Posted February 3, 2011 Author Share Posted February 3, 2011 OK, ran in to a new situation with Driod today. I was looking for a Cache and couldn't find it. I read the last 5 logs, (which I could do in the field because I was using a Droid and NOT a traditional GPS>>> . One fella stated he found the cache about 30 feet away at a different lat/long than was provided, he then gave the correct number as such: "we found it at 929, 928. He was clearly changing the last couple of digits in the original coords which were: 037 22.977' 077 29.929' So, using the Geocache software feature on the Droid to add a waypoint, I added the new lat/long and the waypoint ended up in Eurpoe!! Why? I entered it 2ce to make sure and it did it 2ce. ay ideas why this happened? Quote Link to comment
+dfx Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 I read the last 5 logs, (which I could do in the field because I was using a Droid and NOT a traditional GPS>>> . I do that all the time on my GPS. So, using the Geocache software feature on the Droid to add a waypoint, I added the new lat/long and the waypoint ended up in Eurpoe!! Why? I entered it 2ce to make sure and it did it 2ce. ay ideas why this happened? Maybe entered the longitude as "east" instead of "west"? That would put it in China. Quote Link to comment
+Team BowMint Posted February 6, 2011 Author Share Posted February 6, 2011 I read the last 5 logs, (which I could do in the field because I was using a Droid and NOT a traditional GPS>>> . I do that all the time on my GPS. What GPSr do you use please? How do you read/access the internet from a GPS? You may be selling me... Quote Link to comment
+TXHooligans Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 a pocket query on a gpsr that supports paperless caching will give you the last 5 log... a dedicated gpsr will always be the best too... same as a wrench is better than an adjustable wrench.. but if that adjustable wrench is all you have, it will surely get the job done most of the time.. but not all the time. same with caching with a phone.. we use a droidx and a droid2 just about exclusivly.. on trips i load up the nuvi 500 with pocket queries as a backup.. but use the phone 99% of the time. the opinions vary as much as hairlines.. get educated and be happy.. there is software for droids anyway that will average coords to place a cache.. the 2 i have tried work great. not all gpsr's will do this.. all the droids will.. with enough points averaged... a smart phone smartly used will get the job done. anything wreckless done will consternate most.. gpsr or smartphone. Quote Link to comment
+dfx Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 (edited) What GPSr do you use please? How do you read/access the internet from a GPS? You may be selling me... Oregon 450. I don't need the internet, I just upload the data I want, using PQs (see above). In fact I have it set up so I get up to 20 logs if I have the data available (it's not vanilla PQs I use). Edited February 9, 2011 by dfx Quote Link to comment
+LukeTrocity Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 What GPSr do you use please? How do you read/access the internet from a GPS? You may be selling me... Oregon 450. I don't need the internet, I just upload the data I want, using PQs (see above). In fact I have it set up so I get up to 20 logs if I have the data available (it's not vanilla PQs I use). What pq's do you use? Quote Link to comment
+dfx Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 What pq's do you use? Well the data source is PQs of course, but I'm not loading them straight into the Oregon. Think if what I'm using as a self-made light variant of GSAK. Quote Link to comment
+LukeTrocity Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 What pq's do you use? Well the data source is PQs of course, but I'm not loading them straight into the Oregon. Think if what I'm using as a self-made light variant of GSAK. Don't be cryptic! Sharing is caring! Quote Link to comment
+niraD Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 For more information about PQs (Pocket Queries), see: http://www.markwell.us/pq.htm Quote Link to comment
+Team BowMint Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 But my point, kinda, was say I am flying into some FBO or small airport one day, get out for lunch and to strectch my legs. I want to spontaneously see if there are any caches nearby. I whip out the Droid and open the app and see yes, there are 2 cahes nearby in walking distance. I could not do this with a traditional GPSr right? I would have had to load PQs in advance right? This feature alone makes the droid more attractive to me at this time. Quote Link to comment
+LukeTrocity Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 But my point, kinda, was say I am flying into some FBO or small airport one day, get out for lunch and to strectch my legs. I want to spontaneously see if there are any caches nearby. I whip out the Droid and open the app and see yes, there are 2 cahes nearby in walking distance. I could not do this with a traditional GPSr right? I would have had to load PQs in advance right? This feature alone makes the droid more attractive to me at this time. Correct Quote Link to comment
+dfx Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Don't be cryptic! Sharing is caring! It's a collection of Perl and PHP scripts with MySQL as a backend. I wrote it all myself, so sorry, no sharing Quote Link to comment
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