+AckerAce Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 Before anyone yells at me, I searched for "opencaching" and "paperless" in the forums and did not find the information I want, so I'm posting a new topic. Please don't yell at me. We are tired of creating manual notes when we want to Geocache, but find the information necessary. It's actually a deterrent to us getting out to cache. We'd like to upgrade from our Garmin Legend HCX eTrex to a GPS unit that can go paperless. But the research I've done leads me to believe this can only be done at opencaching.com. We want to stick with geocaching.com. I only looked at Garmin units, since we already have a Garmin.....is Garmin just directing me to THEIR site when in reality, we could use a Garmin at geocaching.com and still go paperless? If we use our premium membership, can we use any device to go paperless? And what EXACTLY do we get with paperless? Logs? Descriptions? Maps? Can we log our find on the spot?? We'd be willing to spend anywhere between $200 and $400 for a new unit. Can someone make this more clear please? I just don't "get it." Thanks, Paula Quote Link to comment
+AckerAce Posted October 9, 2011 Author Share Posted October 9, 2011 And another question.....do we have to have a PDA in addition to the GPS in order to go paperless??? Thanks!! Quote Link to comment
+ecanderson Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 "Paperless" means a few different things, but many of the more recent devices sold by several companies accomplish the following for a member who can run a PQ: Displays description information Displays hints Displays last 4 logs Allows you to add 'notes' when logging the find on your unit that can be transferred to gc.com when logging caches (aka "Field Notes") If that's what you want to do, there are quite a few units that will do this. My own personal choice of the moment is my Garmin Oregon 450. Quote Link to comment
+ecanderson Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 And another question.....do we have to have a PDA in addition to the GPS in order to go paperless??? Thanks!! No. See above. What are you using now??? Quote Link to comment
+Bear and Ragged Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 A paperless unit will give you 'most' of what you see on the cache page. The unitcan be connected to you computer and then connected to: http://www.geocaching.com/my/fieldnotes.aspx and any Found, DNF logs will be able to be loaded to the site. It is best to add something to the log -it's easier to do it at a computer, rather than on the GPS while out in the field- and not just have "Found" or "DNF" or worse, a blank log. Supported devices: * Magellan - eXplorist GC, 510, 610 or 710 * Garmin - Colorado, Dakota and Oregon * DeLorme - Earthmate PN-Series * Lowrance - Endura * TwoNav - Aventura and Sportiva It's also possible to log with a phone, but there are drawbacks to caching with a phone! Quote Link to comment
+Bear and Ragged Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 ...is Garmin just directing me to THEIR site when in reality, we could use a Garmin at geocaching.com and still go paperless? Thanks, Paula You might think that, we couldn't possibly comment! Quote Link to comment
+ecanderson Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 It is best to add something to the log -it's easier to do it at a computer, rather than on the GPS while out in the field- and not just have "Found" or "DNF" or worse, a blank log. The real advantage of the ability to add notes directly on one of these units is that, especially on a LONG day of caching, you can add memory joggers for when you finally sit down at the computer to do the logging. Which one was it where the log was full? Which one was it where the camo was so good? etc etc Quote Link to comment
+ecanderson Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 But the research I've done leads me to believe this can only be done at opencaching.com. We want to stick with geocaching.com. I only looked at Garmin units, since we already have a Garmin.....is Garmin just directing me to THEIR site when in reality, we could use a Garmin at geocaching.com and still go paperless? Garmin is working VERY hard to try to get some business on their opencaching site. They're holding contests and all the rest. I think our metro area has something on the order of half a dozen caches listed on opencaching. In reality, we have many thousands. Take anything you see about opencaching with a grain of salt. The original "paperless" concept was created for and used by geocaching.com, and still works here just fine on these units. Quote Link to comment
+DsrtMtnRox Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 "Paperless" means a few different things, but many of the more recent devices sold by several companies accomplish the following for a member who can run a PQ: Displays description information Displays hints Displays last 4 logs Allows you to add 'notes' when logging the find on your unit that can be transferred to gc.com when logging caches (aka "Field Notes") If that's what you want to do, there are quite a few units that will do this. My own personal choice of the moment is my Garmin Oregon 450. I love My Garmin Oregon 450t. Tried two other GPS's by other makers and ended up returning them. Perfectly happy paperless caching with my Oregon. Quote Link to comment
Wintertime Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 Paula, with that price range, you'll be able to choose from a number of models that support paperless caching. Garmin actually calls out that feature on the Specs tabs of each model's information page; look for "Geocaching-friendly: yes (paperless)". I'll let owners of other brands of GPS receivers tell you how to find the information on those manufacturers' sites. As others have pointed out, you can do paperless caching just fine on Geocaching.com; Garmin is just trying to nudge people toward their own OpenCaching.com site, but it isn't mandatory. If you only want to download a few specific caches, as I did yesterday, you can connect the GPSr to your computer and use the Send to GPS button on each cache's page. If you're doing a bunch of caches, it's more efficient to set up a Pocket Query and download that all at once. (You'll have to download a browser plug-in first, but that's easy; in the case of Garmin, it's called Communicator.) "ecanderson" and "bear and ragged," how does one know whether a certain Garmin device allows one to enter field notes? I don't see any feature by that name on Garmin's website. I looked at the info for the Oregon 450, which was called out as a specific model with that feature, but couldn't find any references on the Overview or Specs pages. Patty Quote Link to comment
jholly Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 * Garmin - Colorado, Dakota and Oregon and also the etrex 10,20,30's Added new units. Also they all work fine with geocaching.com. Opencaching.com is trying hard to introduce new cachers to their site so they think that is the only one. Quote Link to comment
+Bear and Ragged Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 (edited) Garmin's site allows you to filter 'Paperless Geocaching' under the Features, in the box on the left. https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=143&ra=true (Have to say it is bad site design, not to include the fact the unit can do 'field notes' in Tech/Spec details!) Edited October 9, 2011 by Bear and Ragged Quote Link to comment
+Styk Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 A paperless unit will give you 'most' of what you see on the cache page. The unitcan be connected to you computer and then connected to: http://www.geocaching.com/my/fieldnotes.aspx and any Found, DNF logs will be able to be loaded to the site. It is best to add something to the log -it's easier to do it at a computer, rather than on the GPS while out in the field- and not just have "Found" or "DNF" or worse, a blank log. Supported devices: * Magellan - eXplorist GC, 510, 610 or 710 * Garmin - Colorado, Dakota and Oregon * DeLorme - Earthmate PN-Series * Lowrance - Endura * TwoNav - Aventura and Sportiva It's also possible to log with a phone, but there are drawbacks to caching with a phone! Don't forget the new Montana, it is paperless and with the larger screen, easier to read plus i find the display is brighter also. I got my 600 for $380 Quote Link to comment
+taeke Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 Don't forget the new Montana, it is paperless and with the larger screen, easier to read plus i find the display is brighter also. I use the Montana for paperless caching, but it has a few annoying drawbacks for geocaching. First I have to mention a great improvement, as with version 3.60 of the software, Garmin has introduced larger cache descriptions. Before that it was quite easy a cache-description could be chopped off as it was too long. But, when viewing the description, the biggest issue I have is that the page of the cache's description, *always* jumps back to the start of the page. So when you do a multi-cache, you *always* have to scroll down to where you were (instead of the device remembering this). So if you have a long cache descriptions, bad eyesight, and the text is all jammed together (due to bad HTML-coding), it's quite a hassle to find back where you were I have been poking Garmin to change this, but the question is of course if they are open to this, and if so, when they will introduce it. Quote Link to comment
+ventura_kids Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 I use a Garmin 62S. It is totally paperless. You can see the entire cache page with the description, the hint, and some logs. I use a program called GSAK. It makes the loading and logging easier on geocaching.com . The only thing it lacks as of today, is the ability to see the attached pictures. You could use an android phone and just load an application called CGEO or geocaching.com for paperless caching, and you will get the pictures. I have 5 gps units now. I will probably get a Montana next, but for now I prefer the Garmin 62S. Quote Link to comment
+AckerAce Posted October 9, 2011 Author Share Posted October 9, 2011 And another question.....do we have to have a PDA in addition to the GPS in order to go paperless??? Thanks!! No. See above. What are you using now??? We are using the Garmin eTrex Legend HCX, but we aren't paperless geocaching right now. Some of my research lead me to believe we needed a GPS AND a PDA in order to be paperless. If that's the case, we wouldn't be interested. Quote Link to comment
jholly Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 And another question.....do we have to have a PDA in addition to the GPS in order to go paperless??? Thanks!! No. See above. What are you using now??? We are using the Garmin eTrex Legend HCX, but we aren't paperless geocaching right now. Some of my research lead me to believe we needed a GPS AND a PDA in order to be paperless. If that's the case, we wouldn't be interested. With that particular model the answer would be yes, you need a PDA. With the paperless models mentioned the answer is no. Quote Link to comment
+AckerAce Posted October 9, 2011 Author Share Posted October 9, 2011 (edited) Wow! Thank you so much for all these responses- VERY helpful. You've all cleared up the facts for us: NO, we don't need a PDA. YES, we can see the entire cache (or close enough) on the GPS while we're out in the field. YES, geocaching.com supports paperless. And you've given us a number of models for us to research. We welcome any other information any one wants to add, but at least now we can move forward with some confidence about what we're trying to do. THANK YOU! Paula & Charlie PS Edit: One more question: what does having the SD card do for a person?? :-) Edited October 9, 2011 by AckerAce Quote Link to comment
+ventura_kids Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 The SD card is usually for storing additional maps. I buy the city street map and load it. That's all I ever need. So...for me.... the sd card is not required. Quote Link to comment
+ventura_kids Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 I suggest you attend a group event, or go on a group geocaching hunt. You can see how everyone does it. My friend likes to use her android phone....that's it. She is paperless. Quote Link to comment
Wintertime Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 * Garmin - Colorado, Dakota and Oregon and also the etrex 10,20,30's Added new units. Super! What buttons do I press to add field notes on an eTrex 20? I can't find any mention of it in the manual. Patty Quote Link to comment
+ecanderson Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 Super! What buttons do I press to add field notes on an eTrex 20? I can't find any mention of it in the manual. Right after you press the button for "Found", take a look at what your options are from there. "Add comments" would be the ticket. Quote Link to comment
Wintertime Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Ah, I see it now. Thanks, ecanderson! Quote Link to comment
+ecanderson Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Ah, I see it now. Thanks, ecanderson! Couple of things. Unless something has very recently changed, you'll be limited to 50 characters (including spaces, etc.) so you'll learn to abbreviate. Concrete = ccrete, LNL = Lock N Lock, etc! Also, avoid using the " character anywhere in your notes. It messes with the parsing of your notes at geocaching.com. None will appear after an entry with a quote, including the one with the quote. Quote Link to comment
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