new and confused

[maxemoss]

I apologise, this is such a boring post to those of you who know what you are doing....

 

Family with two middle ages kids ;-). Want to try geocaching - sounds cool. I have an iphone 3g (this doesn't have gps right?). I got the app, wandered out with them and wasn't even sure how to use the app. It found my location indoors and off I went, thinking stupidly that the app would 'follow' my location. Not so of course. woodland/countryside/rural. At one point when I tried to get it to find my currant location, it accused me of being nearly 2 miles away. We all ended up growling at snapping at each other and storming back home. What fun!

 

I know my husband has gps on his phone. I think so anyway. Not sure whether that will be enough or better. actually it's sat nav on his phone. it uses a gp satellite to provide sat nav to tell him where he is. same thing no?

 

Or do we need to buy a gps device. And they seem to be very expensive and we don't want to spend lots of money/was hoping this would be pretty free...

[Pup Patrol]

The first thing I would suggest is that you learn to use your device without the hubby and the kids and the dog and any other distractions. It puts a lot of pressure on you to "succeed" when you are learning. Take some time to figure things out by yourself first. Once you have a few finds under your belt, and are feeling more confident, then bring the other folks with you.

 

Even then, it should be made clear to all involved that a "find" isn't a guaranteed result. That even with teamwork, not all caches searched for will be discovered. That's just part of the game.

 

I don't have an iphone, or any other kind of phone, so I have no idea if this is helpful or not, but maybe this section in the Knowledge Books might help you:

 

http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php

 

over on the left is the link to "GPS and Mobile Devices":

 

http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.book&id=12

 

I'm always curious when someone with an iphone, or some such, says that a dedicated, handheld gps is "too expensive". Do you mean that after paying for the iphone and then paying for monthly service charges and whatall, that a $100 to $200 one-time cost to purchase a gps is too expensive?

 

gpscity's prices, in Canadian dollars:

http://www.gpscity.com/search/q=garmin/&p=1&c=1&t=Outdoor+GPS

 

I'm guessing that finding good deals on ebay and in US dollars, shouldn't be that difficult.

[+Bear and Ragged]

Welcome!

 

Some idea of your location (Geocaching -and these forums- are worldwide)

Knowing where in the world you are, may mean we give you different answers, which are location specific to you.

[ritey]

I started with my girlfriend on holiday in Devon, UK with just a 3G iPhone, we missed the first few nano caches we were looking for but once we'd looked up some of the cache containers and looked at some of the better described caches we got the hang of it and then invested in a Garmin E Trex H, you'll soon get to grips with it and start guessing the places as you approach once you've done a few hundred

[+KristenSh]

Don't know if this is what happened to you, but on my Galaxy tablet I found out my app had a little button that made the screen stay with my location, or not ... and I kept bumping without even knowing it. Finally figured it out.

 

Definitely worth practicing on your own for a bit. My kids get irked too when we don't even come close to what we want to find. Been there!

[+Ambient_Skater]

I would purchase a good, high quality GPS. Using smartphone GPS receivers can be hit or miss, and geocaching will be a lot less frustrating for you and your family if the GPS works correctly.

[+spdrbob]

Forget the iPhone bashers you might find on the fOrums, it great way to get started. I tried with my boys 11 and 9 and then decided it would be best to go it alone for the first few and then bring them back to the first few I found tO them aquatinted. I ended up getting a gps hut only after seeing the boys were into the game. Even so I find my iPhone is spot on with my gps. Btw ingot my gps from a fellOw cacher

[Pup Patrol]

Don't really see any "iPhone bashers" in this thread. In fact, people who cache with their phones will try to help new phone-cachers.

 

Suggesting that getting a gps isn't necessarily "bashing" iPhones. It's simply suggesting an "alternative", which is funny to call it that since the game was based on gps use.

[+humboldt flier]

Welcome to the fold and the fun ahead.

 

I can relate to your frustrations. As an earlier poster suggested play in a distraction free environment until you get the kinks worked out. For me it was a couple of weeks skulking around before things began to gel.

 

Best wishes to you.

[+Stoka]

I too started with my iPhone and have done 18 cache's with it, not a problem. The only time you'll find it difficult is when it looses reception. This can be solved by saving the maps / pictures on the main cache page on the app. However i've recently got a GPSr for £67 via eBay and love the way it locks onto a signal and keeps hold of it.

[Lularib]

Iphone will never loose reception of gps signal, regardless of the absence of wifi or 3g signal, if you attach it to a gps receptor. There are some of those available in the market, some of them fully compatible, others working only with jailbroken phones. I use the Dual Craddle, officially recognized by Apple, which not only make gps signal reliable but also works as a second battery. Do your research and decide if any of these devices are suitable for you.

[+Ambient_Skater]

Iphone will never loose reception of gps signal, regardless of the absence of wifi or 3g signal, if you attach it to a gps receptor.

No external GPS receiver can make you NEVER loose the GPS signal. The Dual Craddle has a high sensitivity GPS receiver, which lets you get a signal in most buildings (albeit with slightly reduced accuracy) but in the right (or wrong, rather) conditions it WILL lose its signal.

[Lularib]

You are right. I expressed myself inadequately. I wanted to say that he would no be wifi or g3 signal dependent. Thanks.

[+enola05]

I have an iphone 3g (this doesn't have gps right?). I got the app, wandered out with them and wasn't even sure how to use the app. It found my location indoors and off I went, thinking stupidly that the app would 'follow' my location. Not so of course.

 

I'm not certain about the iPhone 3g as I cache with an iPhone 4 but I know that in order to get the geocaching app to 'follow' my location I had to go into phone 'settings', then 'location services' and make sure that the slider next to the geocaching app was set to 'on'.

 

Hope that helps

[+mcrow]

As far as I know iPhon 3 and 4G both have GPS capability. I don't own an iphone, but I know on my android phone I have to activate the GPS. Some apps activate it automatically.

 

I would see if you need to turn on the GPS function or not. Explaining how to use a GPSr or an App over forums is pretty difficult. I would have your hubby or someone who knows how the app works show you in person.

[WhitneyWagon]

My family and I just started Geocaching this past weekend. We used my Iphone 4 and it worked pretty well. The bad part is that the battery runs down after a bit so we used the car charger between caches. We wanted to try it to see if it is something we might enjoy before we go buy a GPSr. Needless to say we are now looking for a good GPSr. This way my phone will have a charge in case we need to call someone while we are out there. We spent a total of 8 hours over the span of 2 days geocaching and we found 11. The best part is we were outdoors enjoying time with eachother and only spent about 20 bucks in gas. Hard to find something this fun for the family for less than 20 bucks nowadays.

[+popokiiti]

One thing to remember is that your iPhone is not waterproof - dedicated handheld GPS units are. Play around with your phone, check out the "caching with a mobile device" threads, and I think this is also covered in the KnowledgeBooks? Sheesh - is that the word I want or is it Knowledgebase? Should not have cracked my head in the car unloading after Saturday's caching trip.....