+BigChowder Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Thought I would throw a question out to the brain trust here. Is there a GPSr unit that has the ability to view caches in an area (that you didn't previously upload) like the iphone app will do? Probably a dumb question, but I just thought I would ask. I realize the iphone is cellular technology and the GPSr is slightly different, but no harm in asking, right? I searched the forums for a while and didn't see anything, but I might be searching using the incorrect keywords. Anyway, sorry if it was mentioned elsewhere and sorry if it is a dumb question. I currently use my iphone to find caches when I am out on a drive in a new area and then my GPS to get accurate directions, but it would be really nice to have it all in one unit. Any thoughts are appreciated! Thank you! Quote Link to comment
+mpilchfamily Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 No there are not! If you give a GPSr access to the internet it would have to be tied to a cell carriers 3g/4g service. First the cost of the unit would go up then it would require a monthly data plan. If you give it internet access then you need to allow regular surfing of the internet. Hell you already gave it data, and web surfing so you may as well add a phone. Then you have yourself a very rugged smart phone that will burn through a set of AA batteries in about an hour. In the end it just isn't worth it. Your better off asking the smart phone makers to make a smart phone that is more rugged/water resistant and give it the ability to use standard batteries as well as having an on board rechargeable battery. The it will have the battery life everyone wants with the ability to replace the battery on the fly for more caching. Quote Link to comment
+CacheFreakTim Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Not yet. This is my number one request. I would just like an Oregon with 3G support, or at the very least wifi so I can use it via the hotspot feature from my phone. Hopefully one day, but the iPhone 4 with an extended battery is very accurate and does a great job....just gotta be sure not to drop it Quote Link to comment
+Berta Nick Zoey Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Beware!! If you drop the money for a smart phone to help with caching, you may end up just as frustrated as I am. Since I wasnt elegible for an upgrade with my cell provider, I bit the bullet and paid hard earned money for a smart phone. I had seen how handy the Geocaching app had been when out hunting caches. The opportunity to be able to bring up ANY cache on a phone sure beats having to be limited to the amount of caches that the average GPS'r holds. In my case, it would be 1000. So, I bought the smart phone, I bought the Geocaching app and I've been fighting the app every since. Oh yea, I almost forgot. If you really want it all, you need to pay Groundspeak 30 a year for a premium membership. I have absoluty no qualms in paying th 30 dollars. It is well worth it for what you get. The main reason I am a premium member is so that I can use the pocket query function. Once you have created a pocket query, you can transfer that over to your smart phone. Be prepared that it will take a long, long, long time for that transfer to take place. That in itself is something I cant figure out. If 3G is as fast as they say it is, and 4G is much much faster, then it should not take so long to transfer a query to a phone. 3G ranges around 1.2 to 3 mbps. Using that, if a query is 1000 caches (about 900K) you would think that at 1.4 meg a sec, you should get this query fairly quickly. Yet, I've downloaded several of these to my phone and I'm averaging close to an hour for the download. I've even had the download run for an hour only to get a failed download message at the end. The thing that bugs me the most, is that the only way GS seems to address issues is if they gather enough votes through the geocaching forum feedback program. I've monitored all of the android discussions on the forums and very rarely will you see anyone from GS reply to anything that people bring up. But, they didnt hesitate to charge 10 dollars for something that is totally useless to some people. Lesson learned? Dont waste your money on a smart phone if you are buying it to use as an aid when caching. Its not worth the headaches Quote Link to comment
+kunarion Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 (edited) Beware!! If you drop the money for a smart phone to help with caching, you may end up just as frustrated as I am. Since I wasnt elegible for an upgrade with my cell provider, I bit the bullet and paid hard earned money for a smart phone. I had seen how handy the Geocaching app had been when out hunting caches. The opportunity to be able to bring up ANY cache on a phone sure beats having to be limited to the amount of caches that the average GPS'r holds. In my case, it would be 1000. So, I bought the smart phone, I bought the Geocaching app and I've been fighting the app every since. Oh yea, I almost forgot. If you really want it all, you need to pay Groundspeak 30 a year for a premium membership. I have absoluty no qualms in paying th 30 dollars. It is well worth it for what you get. The main reason I am a premium member is so that I can use the pocket query function. Once you have created a pocket query, you can transfer that over to your smart phone. Be prepared that it will take a long, long, long time for that transfer to take place. That in itself is something I cant figure out. If 3G is as fast as they say it is, and 4G is much much faster, then it should not take so long to transfer a query to a phone. 3G ranges around 1.2 to 3 mbps. Using that, if a query is 1000 caches (about 900K) you would think that at 1.4 meg a sec, you should get this query fairly quickly. Yet, I've downloaded several of these to my phone and I'm averaging close to an hour for the download. I've even had the download run for an hour only to get a failed download message at the end. The thing that bugs me the most, is that the only way GS seems to address issues is if they gather enough votes through the geocaching forum feedback program. I've monitored all of the android discussions on the forums and very rarely will you see anyone from GS reply to anything that people bring up. But, they didnt hesitate to charge 10 dollars for something that is totally useless to some people. Lesson learned? Dont waste your money on a smart phone if you are buying it to use as an aid when caching. Its not worth the headaches Good points. One way to speed up the PQ file (even over wifi, the transfer to the App is super slow) is to copy it to the Android's memory card (pull out the SD card and plug it into the PC), or via USB cable from a PC. So there's another option if you want "live" maps and paperless caching: An Android tablet. Not a phone, if you've already got a phone. I have a wifi-only tablet that runs the Geocaching App, and I have a Garmin GPSr. Most of the time, the GPSr is all I need, but if I have to look up a particularly tricky cache, I can, if I can get to a wifi Hotspot. You may find a suitable low-end (small) Android tablet for a rather reasonable price. Be sure it has GPS and maybe a compass. The tablet has a phone's problems -- not waterproof, not as durable as a dedicated hiking GPSr, and definitely not as good with GPS reception, and when the battery's dead, you're done for the day. It may be a little disappointing (compared to a good GPSr), due to reception issues, and glitchy Apps (there are several to choose). But if you want a GPS that downloads and shows maps, that's one idea. Edited July 19, 2011 by kunarion Quote Link to comment
+BigChowder Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 There is a lot of good input here, I really appreciate the thoughts. I'm still holding out that Garmin or DeLorme or someone will put out a GPSr that has 3G or 4G. I mean, they can do it for the Kindle, so it would be nice to have it on a GPSr so you can carry around one device rather than two. I already had an iphone and downloaded the app, but at times it is cumbersome to use - the compass often "sticks" in one direction, the accuracy is not great, it only looks up a few of the caches in the immediate area, etc. However, it IS much more convenient than the alternative. I definitely enjoy being in an area and just looking up caches rather than having to decide where I am going and having to download those caches ahead of time. Anyway, thanks again for the thoughts. I'll still cross my fingers that my dream will come true. Until then, it's the iphone and my Garmin GPSr! Quote Link to comment
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