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IPAD and Geocaching

crapshooter
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Redfist

+Redfist

Posted
Posted

Do you really want to take your +800$ iPad into the wild?

 

If I spent the $$ on an iPad (not that I would - but that's a whole different unrelated story), I'd feel comfortable with P&Gs (LPCs, etc.) but NEVER NEVER up a peak or into a swampy area. I'd rather have a device that costs 1/2 to 1/3 of the amount, has way more geocaching features and is built to withstand shock and water.

 

I guess it depends on the type of cache you want to hunt.

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NattyBooshka

+NattyBooshka

Posted
Posted

Re-read the question... Yeah, the iPad can do it... But then what? Leave it in the car? I use the iPhone as it's truly portable and can slip in my pocket. For caching I use my 3Gs as I can replace it for a lot less if it gets dropped and smashed. The 4 stays home for any serious caches. I also use a garmin to do the finding

 

For random drivebys, I use the iPhone 4 on its own.

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Clan Riffster

Clan Riffster

Posted
Posted
Anyone ever use one and what's your opinion?

I have an iPad with the Geocaching app, as well as GeoSphere. I've cached side by side with friends who mostly use their iPhone, and found that the iPad would invariably place me closer to the cache than either the 3G or 4G version of the phone. The app works well. If I were a 'stranger in a strange land', so to speak, I would not hesitate to use the iPad to bring up the caches around me.

 

All that praise aside, it is a very cumbersome, delicate and expensive device. If you use the iPad to get the cache page, then punch the coords into your Garmin for the actual hunt, leaving the iPad in the car, you'll find it works well in unfamiliar territory. For caching close to home, a PQ dumped right into your GPSr works a lot better.

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usyoopers

+usyoopers

Posted
Posted

Do you really want to take your +800$ iPad into the wild?

 

It sounded like the OP was going to use their Garmin to find the caches and leave the iPad in their $30,000 SUV.

 

While on trips that is exactly what I do! If you end up in an area that you didn't realize you were going to be in, and your pq didn't work for that area the iPad saves the day! You can also log your caches from it much easier than the tiny area on the iPhone...that should make folks happy, better logs! Really, the gps, iPhone and iPad all have a part in our caching experiences, I wouldn't give up any of them.

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crapshooter

+crapshooter

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Do you really want to take your +800$ iPad into the wild?

 

It sounded like the OP was going to use their Garmin to find the caches and leave the iPad in their $30,000 SUV.

 

While on trips that is exactly what I do! If you end up in an area that you didn't realize you were going to be in, and your pq didn't work for that area the iPad saves the day! You can also log your caches from it much easier than the tiny area on the iPhone...that should make folks happy, better logs! Really, the gps, iPhone and iPad all have a part in our caching experiences, I wouldn't give up any of them.

That's what I was trying to say I was going to do. Say I drive from Texas to California I can't load every geocache. But if I had this and stop to rest somewhere I can look on the route to see if any are nearby. I won't be using it to actually go out in the woods and find the cache. I would not be spending the money on the ipad just for geocaching.

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vincenzosi

+vincenzosi

Posted
Posted

I use my iPad for two reasons:

 

1. Logging is MUCH easier and logs can be longer. It's a pain in the a** to write a long log on the iPhone.

 

2. Maps are much more useful at that size with that much screen real estate.

 

Sometimes I have it in my bag. Sometimes I leave it in the car. Sometimes I leave it at home if I know I'm going to be in some dodgy terrain. When I have it, though, I'm always glad I do.

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Sbh87

Sbh87

Posted
Posted

Thinking of buying an IPAD and taking with me when I travel to help find geocaches. Anyone ever use one and what's your opinion? I just want it to look on the site and see if any caches are nearby. I'll still use my garmin to find them.

 

Here is what I do. I leave my iPad in the car and use it to type out logs and use it to research geocacheing.com before the next find since the bigger screen allows this process to be easier. In the field I take my iPhone with the official geocaching app and my girlfriend has the gps. My iPhone is in a otter box so I really don't worry about it while caching or doing anything else that could risk damage. The iPad is just too big and too fragile (if not in s proper case) for field use. It's a great tool in the right setting which for me is my car. Hope this helps and happy caching!!

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CacheFreakTim

+CacheFreakTim

Posted
Posted

Thinking of buying an IPAD and taking with me when I travel to help find geocaches. Anyone ever use one and what's your opinion? I just want it to look on the site and see if any caches are nearby. I'll still use my garmin to find them.

 

I use my iPad for caching. Actually I use it in the car to navigate to the cache, read descriptions, and log the caches. Technically you can take it into the woods with you but one drop can mean the end of your iPad. I have used both the official app as well as Geosphere. Both work really well on the iPad.

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Signor Rosso

Signor Rosso

Posted
Posted

Seeing as the iPad is a little bit bulky for geocaching I would say stick to urban caches like others have said.

 

I think the iPad would be great for putting in hints and other key information into it, but as for taking it on long hiking trips through water, mud, etc. (even while in a backpack) I think that would be a bad idea.

 

Then again it is yours, but if I had a $500-$830 device to geocache with I would either leave it in my car or at home.

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Chrysalides

+Chrysalides

Posted
Posted

Do you really want to take your +800$ iPad into the wild?

Base iPad: $499 USD retail

iPad w/3G: $629 USD retail

Garmin 62st: $549 USD retail

 

Not much extra for the H U G E screen, but not as portable. Not $800, either.

If we're going to be nitpicking, the WiFi only version does not have a GPS receiver in it, and you should be comparing with the 62s not 62st. Or maybe the Oregon 550 or Montana 650.

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CacheFreakTim

+CacheFreakTim

Posted
Posted

Do you really want to take your +800$ iPad into the wild?

Base iPad: $499 USD retail

iPad w/3G: $629 USD retail

Garmin 62st: $549 USD retail

 

Not much extra for the H U G E screen, but not as portable. Not $800, either.

If we're going to be nitpicking, the WiFi only version does not have a GPS receiver in it, and you should be comparing with the 62s not 62st. Or maybe the Oregon 550 or Montana 650.

 

If you have an iPhone there is a way to share the GPS to the iPad via the personal hotspot feature. This way you can go with the wifi only version and still cache with it.

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dfx

+dfx

Posted
Posted
If you have an iPhone there is a way to share the GPS to the iPad via the personal hotspot feature. This way you can go with the wifi only version and still cache with it.

 

And how much is that iphone again? And the plan that comes with it?

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dave1939&Ms.Informed

+dave1939&Ms.Informed

Posted
Posted

I was about to buy an iPad to use in conjunction with my Oregon 450 for many of the reasons given in this forum. I would like to be able to send the cache information directly from geocaching,com to my Garmin usind the iPad but can not figure out how to do it. With my home computer I can "send to GPS" using the USB cord . The ipad does not have a USB socket. My question is how can one send caches to the IPad. I was in the local CityMac store and they could not figure it out, but several of the forum members seem to have.

Thanks

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CacheFreakTim

+CacheFreakTim

Posted
Posted

I was about to buy an iPad to use in conjunction with my Oregon 450 for many of the reasons given in this forum. I would like to be able to send the cache information directly from geocaching,com to my Garmin usind the iPad but can not figure out how to do it. With my home computer I can "send to GPS" using the USB cord . The ipad does not have a USB socket. My question is how can one send caches to the IPad. I was in the local CityMac store and they could not figure it out, but several of the forum members seem to have.

Thanks

 

You cannot communicate between the iPad and a standard handheld GPS. Maybe down the road but nothing exists to do this today.

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Carsti29

+Carsti29

Posted
Posted

The ipad does not have a USB socket. My question is how can one send caches to the IPad. I was in the local CityMac store and they could not figure it out, but several of the forum members seem to have.

 

I had the same questions some days ago: iPad and Oregon. Same negative answer, but some readers provided valueable technical details about the "why." I think that Apple, Garmin and Groundspeak couldn't care less about the user experiece they give us for a combined value of $1000. USB, Wireless and Bluetooth exist for more than a decade now, but both iPad and Oregon close their system one way or the other. Oregon has great USB support, but excludes WiFi and Bluetooth in favor of that dreaded ANT technology. iPad frowns on USB and file-system-acces, but would most likey to a great job on WiFi if Garmin or the community would provide an app. And on top of that Groundspeak/Garmin restricted the wireless on partial cache-information and excluded queries.

 

It's those 90th all over again, back when every vendor rolled it's own. Thought we grew out of this, but apperently: nope. Boy am I p#@%ed. :(

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dave1939&Ms.Informed

+dave1939&Ms.Informed

Posted
Posted

The ipad does not have a USB socket. My question is how can one send caches to the IPad. I was in the local CityMac store and they could not figure it out, but several of the forum members seem to have.

 

I had the same questions some days ago: iPad and Oregon. Same negative answer, but some readers provided valueable technical details about the "why." I think that Apple, Garmin and Groundspeak couldn't care less about the user experiece they give us for a combined value of $1000. USB, Wireless and Bluetooth exist for more than a decade now, but both iPad and Oregon close their system one way or the other. Oregon has great USB support, but excludes WiFi and Bluetooth in favor of that dreaded ANT technology. iPad frowns on USB and file-system-acces, but would most likey to a great job on WiFi if Garmin or the community would provide an app. And on top of that Groundspeak/Garmin restricted the wireless on partial cache-information and excluded queries.

 

It's those 90th all over again, back when every vendor rolled it's own. Thought we grew out of this, but apperently: nope. Boy am I p#@%ed. :(

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dave1939&Ms.Informed

+dave1939&Ms.Informed

Posted
Posted (edited)

OK. Thanks for your responses. It seems that to use the iPad for terrains with a high degree of difficulty, it's either carry the thing with you, which i believe many of us are reluctant to do or manually load the coordinates which could be a major pain. For example, the other day I was doing a cache series which involved a number of caches along a fairly rugged route. It would be a matter of not only loading the coordinates but also hints and other helpful information. I'm not going to spend several hundred dollars to go through a process like that.

My thought now is why not buy a basic laptop or netbook and be able to find and load caches into the Garmin and forget about the iPad.. Commrnts appreciated

Edited by dave1939
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CacheFreakTim

+CacheFreakTim

Posted
Posted

My thought now is why not buy a basic laptop and be able to find and load caches into the Garmin and forget about the iPad.. Commrnts appreciated

 

Personally I load my GPS before I leave the house but also carry the iPad in the car. The passenger can use the iPad to navigate in the car to the parking site. The iPad works great for this. Once there I then use a GPS and iPhone to walk to the cache, and when I get back to the car use the iPad to log the cache. Personally I would never carry the iPad out on foot to the cache. The problem is not accuracy as the iPad 3G's GPS is actually very good, but it is just not a comfortable unit to walk with. It is kind of bulky and pretty much requires to hands to use. Also if you drop it you are out $500-$800 (depending on the model you own.)

 

I think a cheap netbook is also a great solution for Geocaching. For starters they only cost a faction of what an iPad does (mine was $250 but I have seen them cheaper as well.) You can usually get a car power adapter and use you cell phone to tether internet to it while on the go. This is a great solution for the car but the downside over the iPad is that it does not have a GPS built in. There are several add-on USB/Bluetooth GPS units for laptops that cost around $100 if you do require this functionality.

 

Both the iPad and a netbook are great solutions. Each has its advantages, and disadvantages so the decision is up to you.

 

iPad Advantages:

  • Has built in GPS (3G only; however you if you also have an iPhone you can tether the GPS signal over to the wifi only iPad.)
  • Battery life (10 hours with wireless on)
  • Many ready to use Geocaching apps

 

iPad Disadvantages:

  • Expensive!
  • Cannot connect to GPS to load caches

 

 

Netbook Advantages:

  • Inexpensive
  • Can connect to GPS and load caches at any time
  • Can run any app you want for Geocaching (GSAK, Basecamp, Easy GPS, etc...)
     

Netbook Disadvantages:

  • Battery life is horrible (if I hit 2 hours on mine I am surprised.)
  • No built in GPS

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dave1939&Ms.Informed

+dave1939&Ms.Informed

Posted
Posted

My thought now is why not buy a basic laptop and be able to find and load caches into the Garmin and forget about the iPad.. Commrnts appreciated

 

Personally I load my GPS before I leave the house but also carry the iPad in the car. The passenger can use the iPad to navigate in the car to the parking site. The iPad works great for this. Once there I then use a GPS and iPhone to walk to the cache, and when I get back to the car use the iPad to log the cache. Personally I would never carry the iPad out on foot to the cache. The problem is not accuracy as the iPad 3G's GPS is actually very good, but it is just not a comfortable unit to walk with. It is kind of bulky and pretty much requires to hands to use. Also if you drop it you are out $500-$800 (depending on the model you own.)

 

I think a cheap netbook is also a great solution for Geocaching. For starters they only cost a faction of what an iPad does (mine was $250 but I have seen them cheaper as well.) You can usually get a car power adapter and use you cell phone to tether internet to it while on the go. This is a great solution for the car but the downside over the iPad is that it does not have a GPS built in. There are several add-on USB/Bluetooth GPS units for laptops that cost around $100 if you do require this functionality.

 

Both the iPad and a netbook are great solutions. Each has its advantages, and disadvantages so the decision is up to you.

 

iPad Advantages:

  • Has built in GPS (3G only; however you if you also have an iPhone you can tether the GPS signal over to the wifi only iPad.)
  • Battery life (10 hours with wireless on)
  • Many ready to use Geocaching apps

 

iPad Disadvantages:

  • Expensive!
  • Cannot connect to GPS to load caches

 

 

Netbook Advantages:

  • Inexpensive
  • Can connect to GPS and load caches at any time
  • Can run any app you want for Geocaching (GSAK, Basecamp, Easy GPS, etc...)
     

Netbook Disadvantages:

  • Battery life is horrible (if I hit 2 hours on mine I am surprised.)
  • No built in GPS

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dfx

+dfx

Posted
Posted (edited)
Netbook Disadvantages:

  • Battery life is horrible (if I hit 2 hours on mine I am surprised.)
  • No built in GPS

Not sure what kind of netbook you have, but some of them have quite excellent battery life. Adding a GPS (either via USB or bluetooth, or might even be able to use the GPSr) is also easy, but integration with applications might be difficult/pointless.

Edited by dfx
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CacheFreakTim

+CacheFreakTim

Posted
Posted
Netbook Disadvantages:

  • Battery life is horrible (if I hit 2 hours on mine I am surprised.)
  • No built in GPS

Not sure what kind of netbook you have, but some of them have quite excellent battery life. Adding a GPS (either via USB or bluetooth, or might even be able to use the GPSr) is also easy, but integration with applications might be difficult/pointless.

 

Ya I should have been more clear. Some of them do, but in my experience they are more expensive. The cheap ones seem to be pretty poor when it comes to the battery. Mine happens to be a Acer Aspire (which works very well just poor battery.) Also many units come with a standard battery and have an extended battery you can buy 3rd party or from the manufacturer. This is also an option if one were considering a netbook.

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legonuts

+legonuts

Posted
Posted

Hi we are new to these ipads and have recently purchased one and also the app for geocaching. Just wondering do you have any information on how to use it and its whole features we think its awesome in just what we have seen it do we do have laptops and gps devices but this would be more fun. If you could help us with some information or a step by step link that would be very much appreciated.

 

Legonuts

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CacheFreakTim

+CacheFreakTim

Posted
Posted

Hi we are new to these ipads and have recently purchased one and also the app for geocaching. Just wondering do you have any information on how to use it and its whole features we think its awesome in just what we have seen it do we do have laptops and gps devices but this would be more fun. If you could help us with some information or a step by step link that would be very much appreciated.

 

Legonuts

 

Check out this site. There is a also a link to the tutorial which has a ton of screen shots and will tell you everything you need to know.

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theosus

+theosus

Posted
Posted

I know the OP will leave their iPad in the car. For those considering bringing it along on the trail, consider one of these : http://www.gearzap.com/blog/2010/08/top-5-tough-ipad-cases/

 

I can vouch for those otterbox cases. I had one for my old iPhone and it was amazing. I could throw my phone against a brick wall and it wouldn't break (not that I recommend trying.)

 

Otter box is good. I have I rubbery case for mine, but I also have a lowepro compuday photo 250 backpack that holds my dslr and my iPad if I want to take it somewhere. For caching I like the iPhone or my ten year old sportrak map from Magellan, generally the iPad is better in the car, for pre cache work and post find logging.

Alternatively you could take the iPhone, and buy the $69 Bluetooth keyboard, and use the full sized keyboard for logs. I use it for the phone and the pad. It's worth it.

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dave1939&Ms.Informed

+dave1939&Ms.Informed

Posted
Posted

I know the OP will leave their iPad in the car. For those considering bringing it along on the trail, consider one of these : http://www.gearzap.com/blog/2010/08/top-5-tough-ipad-cases/

 

I can vouch for those otterbox cases. I had one for my old iPhone and it was amazing. I could throw my phone against a brick wall and it wouldn't break (not that I recommend trying.)

 

Otter box is good. I have I rubbery case for mine, but I also have a lowepro compuday photo 250 backpack that holds my dslr and my iPad if I want to take it somewhere. For caching I like the iPhone or my ten year old sportrak map from Magellan, generally the iPad is better in the car, for pre cache work and post find logging.

Alternatively you could take the iPhone, and buy the $69 Bluetooth keyboard, and use the full sized keyboard for logs. I use it for the phone and the pad. It's worth it.

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hike4familyfun

+hike4familyfun

Posted
Posted

Turns out that I cannot use the USB to enable the "send to GPS' function, as I was hoping I could. Perhaps someone will figure it out. Think I would have done better to get a netbook.

 

Have you been able to copy a gpx file to your gps? Don't really have to use the "Send to GPS" function if we can save to internal memory / copy over....

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Chrysalides

+Chrysalides

Posted
Posted
Have you been able to copy a gpx file to your gps? Don't really have to use the "Send to GPS" function if we can save to internal memory / copy over....

If we can associate a GPX file with an app (that will need to be written) that automatically copies the GPX over to the GPS, it'll save one step.

 

I believe it will work, but I have not tried it with my Asus Transformer (with keyboard dock and USB ports).

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