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New Geocachers - How to find with GPS (Samsung Galaxy S2)


Jammy_dodgers

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Hi Everyone

 

We're new to geocaching and just found our first two locally at the weekend.

 

I tried lots of different things but I really struggled to use GPS, and we just guessed them from the descriptions.

 

I have an old tom tom and a new samsung galaxy s2 smartphone which has GPS - I'm hoping the phone will be up to the job, does anyone else use the same? I downloaded about 6 GPS apps but couldnt figure any of them out!

 

Can anyone recommend me the best (Android) app to use?

 

I would like something where I just tap in the coordinates, and it then gives me some kind of '50 meters this way' type directions, if such a thing exists.

 

I also saw the official Groundspeak app, but I balked at the cost - I will buy it if it really is the best, but I wanted to see what you pro's advise first

 

Thanks!

Chris

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I'm kind of biased, but I think the Groundspeak apps are the best way to go. There's no need to plug in coordinates, you just pull up the Listing page, and hit Navigate, and you're all set to go. Keep in mind that the smartphone's are not going to be as accurate as a handheld GPSr, but they can get you reasonably close.

 

Good luck!

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I like c:geo opensource :) It me a few minutes to figure out how to work it, but now it's alright.

 

You should be able to open that one, then it will have a menu screen with some icons says "search" and you can search by lat/long, address, GC code, and so on. It also has a live map, which I really like :) Those are the ones I use the most (when I've used it). You can also save caches to the device, which I think is kinda nice.

 

Anyways, using "search" you type in whatever and after it does some thinking, it will pop up with a list of caches in order of nearest to farthest with an arrow pointing what direction it is in. The units on mine are metric and I can filter things by type, size, or trackables (I found this out just now! :o ) I certainly don't know what all this does, but the more I mess with the fancier it seems!

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Hi guys

 

Well I have purchased the Groundspeak app, and also have c:geo installed now.

 

A local cache is not at the published coordinates, I solved a puzzle and now have the correct coordinates(hooray!)

 

But now I am not sure what to do with the coordinates.

 

Do either of the above apps have the facility to input coordinates and then guide me to the location?

 

I've tried a few things in c:geo but it might as well be written in hieroglyphics for all the progress I've made!

 

Thanks

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Hi jammy dodgers.

 

Other ways are:

 

In c:geo on the cache listing page between the description and hint fields you will see waypoints - hit this and you can add the new co-ordinates here.

 

In the GS app from NiraD's advice in another thread 'When viewing the cache description, select either of the following:

Navigate to Geocache > Map > Menu > Add Waypoint

Navigate to Geocache > Compass > Menu > Destination > Add Waypoint... '

 

It took me a little while to work my way around cgeo to start with but then preferred it to GS app but recently have enjoyed using geobeagle especially for its preservation of battery life - but only since I got premium membership - I found it was pretty cumbersome to use without pocket queries, although now thinking about it I haven't tried to put new waypoints in that one and can't see a way to do so - Mmm anyone know?

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I'm also new to geocaching and I downloaded the GeoBeagle app from the Android market. I downloaded the LOC Waypoint file to my pc then transfered the files to my phone. I then opened the GeoBeagle app in my phone and synced the files. I now have about 15-20 geocache locations stored that I'm going to work through. It's so easy to follow the arrow and it took my directly to my first ever geocache find this morning.

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Thanks eusty :)

 

I see, luckily I only used it to manually tap in coordinates and navigate - For choosing caches I connect straight to geocaching.com through google on my phone.

 

I have bought the (expensive) official app, but I couldnt see an option to manually tap in coordinates, which is why I was looking for advice - the cache I was searching for wasnt at the published coordinates I had to solve a puzzle to obtain them.

 

I only chose c:geo as it was recommended to me by several people here, if it goes against the terms of service, would it not be worth posting a sticky at the top of the forum effectively banning it? Or is this a bit of a political hot potato?!

 

Thanks again, if anyone can inform me whether the official app can indeed navigate me to multi/manual caches I'd be very grateful!

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One thing you might want to try is CacheSense for Android. This one used to just be for Blackberry (I have used it for years on a Blackberry) but now is available for Android. I have never tried the Android version, but the developer is very responsive. It is just out of Beta for Android so you can get it for just $5 until the end of February. You can also just download the thirty day fully functioning demo to see if you like it enough to spend the 5 bucks. You can get it here: http://www.cachesense.com/android/default.aspx. Click purchase or 30 day trial and it will take you to the Android market.

 

Edit to add: CacheSense uses the LiveAPI that eusty mentioned to connect directly to the website so it is totally legal.

Edited by GeePa
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I too have just started and I used a few apps on my Samsung Galaxy S II as well... I found 3 out of 6 chache. I found that my GPS had me going back and forth without pinpointing the exact location. My question is, does the app from GEOCACHING work better?

eusty is correct. It isn't the app, or the phone (or [any] GPSr, for that matter).

 

It is the nature of the beast. If you want to be "spot delivered" somewhere, you will have to spring for some state-of-the-art military-type enhanced unit. There is no consumer-level device that is going to put of spot-on all the time. In fact, when close to target, it is going to make you wander about.

 

So... in essence, it is you, not the unit or the app. You just need to recognize and know its' limitations. :)

 

Practice is a wunnerful thing. When it starts you wandering and you are close, stop looking at the device and start looking for the cache, or more properly, it's hiding spot!

 

If you is busy lookin' at the device, you isn't looking for the cache. It is as simple as that.

 

Good Luck.

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If c:geo violates the TOS for this site, why hasn't it been removed from the Android Market?

I'm pretty sure the Market TOS for developers clearly states that an app distributed through the Market cannot violate any other involved party's TOS... All Groundspeak would need to do is inquire with Google and get the app removed.

 

I'd like to note here that I would NOT like to see that happen ;) c:geo is a really well made application and works very well. My preference would be that the makers of c:geo would correct the app to connect using the GC.com API instead of scraping.

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I have found that c:geo is personally the best app. I have purchased and used the Groundspeak app and I do not like it. It seems to me, to be lacking in quite a few features that are very useful.

 

Another app worth mentioning/trying would be Neongeo. This app does not break Groundspeak TOS, and is actually built using the API from Geocaching.com. I do like this, but I have not spent a lot of time with it. In the small amount I spent I still like it better than Groundspeak's.

 

The nice thing about all three of the apps is that they will all do the job, are easy to use/setup, and will be functional within minutes of installing. Get one, try it. If you don't like it then get one of the other ones, a one time fee of $10 isn't unreasonable.

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