GeoMateJr: I just bought it and the company is no more! Help!

[godzilla98]

My second post here!

 

I just purchased the GeoMateJr from L.L.Bean, along with an update kit.

 

Dh is retiring in March and we plan on doing a lot of travel. This looked perfect for us as we are just starting the geocaching bug and I didn't want to spend a lot of money if it turned out this wasn't the hobby for us!

 

They arrived yesterday. Today, when I went to the website, I can't access it. I found this forum (via Google) and the info that the company went under.

 

So, have I totally wasted my money on something I can't use??? I can't even get a user's manual on how to really understand the unit with the downed website. The fast-start user's guide is a joke.

 

Should I return the unit and update kit to L.L.Bean and buy some other type of geocaching unit?? Any suggestions?

 

Thanks, in advance!

 

godzilla

[+KPFound]

Personally I'd return that to L.L.Bean asap and get my money back. I'd recommend a regular gps unit, I'm using a Garmin Etrex 20 and love it. Paperless caching is the way to go, you can pull up everything during a cache hunt from the description of the cache to the last few logs of cachers who did or did not find the cache. I really enjoy getting caches that have not been found in awhile.

 

But, as for buying an expensive gps for a hobby you don't know if you'll like you can look at it like this. I bought my first gps for kayaking and hiking and started caching to practice with the unit. I then got hooked and love it. The best part about caching is that I get taken to places I never knew existed in my own home town. Well worth that alone.

 

Good luck on your decision.

[godzilla98]

KPFound, Thanks for your response!

 

I'll return the unit and update kit.

 

I have a Garmin Nuvi255 in each of our vehicles. Can I download (or, upload) coordinates to my nuvi?? We only use it for car travel (though we did have fun with it in pedestrian mode in Victoria, BC, just to see if it worked while walking).

 

I've not used it with actual coordinates of any kind (just regular addresses) (though I did enter our favorite secret Christmas tree-cutting source location!).

 

I sure appreciate insight from everyone and any suggestions!

 

godzilla

[+Max and 99]

Car GPS units are not the best for geocaching, but we use them more than most. One good thing about the Nuvi's is that they are extremely user friendly. Entering coordinates is a breeze. I don't remember if I've uploaded coords, but we enter them by hand quite often.

[+ngrrfan]

The Nuvi uses POI (points of interest) for mass loading of caches. You can enter caches by coordinates but it will be a time consuming thing to do. Also the battery life of a Nuvi isn't the best when out walking around hunting caches. I use my Nuvi to navigate me from one cache location to another when traveling.

 

When I start to hunt the actual cache I use an Etrex 20, which has been suggested to you, as it is very accurate and easy on batteries.

[+NicknPapa]

KPFound, Thanks for your response!

 

I'll return the unit and update kit.

 

I have a Garmin Nuvi255 in each of our vehicles. Can I download (or, upload) coordinates to my nuvi?? We only use it for car travel (though we did have fun with it in pedestrian mode in Victoria, BC, just to see if it worked while walking).

 

I've not used it with actual coordinates of any kind (just regular addresses) (though I did enter our favorite secret Christmas tree-cutting source location!).

 

I sure appreciate insight from everyone and any suggestions!

 

godzilla

 

We used our Nuvi 1300 for the first several caches we found and had pretty good luck with it. We used "off road" instead of pedestrian mode because pedestrian mode still wanted to us to take roads or trails that were on the maps. Don't know if that would be an issue with the 255 or not. As mentioned previously, battery life got to be our biggest issue. We were able to get through a day by turning the unit on and off when on longer hikes and connecting it to the car charger every time we drove from one point to another, even if it were only a mile or two.

[+briansnat]

You can use the Nuvi or other automotive unit, but I liken using one for geocaching to using a baseball bat to play tennis. It can be done, but it's easier if you have the proper tool.

 

Battery life is insufficient, they don't have a compass navigation screen which is a key tool for geocachers, they aren't waterproof or rugged and they just aren't designed to be held comfortably in the hand.

 

Something like the eTrex 10 is a no frills unit that won't cost much more than your Geomate Jr and upgrade kit did.

[+hukilaulau]

Wow, that didn't last long. Seems like such a short time ago that the Geomate Jr. first appeared. You can probably still search for forum threads where a rep from the company answered questions.

I got one to use on road trips when I didn't know where I'd be looking for caches. It actually worked pretty well for that. But then after a few months it just stopped working.

I think what really killed the concept, though, was advance in the technology of using a smartphone for geocaching.

I resisted for a long time, but I got a Blackberry with Trimble Geocaching Navigator and finally I got the iphonee 4s with the official app. I still use my old eXplorist 500 as my main gps (with my Nuvi 255 loaded with caches via Pilotsnipes' GSAK macro) but I use my iphone more and more.

By all means get yourself a dedicated GPS. It doesn't matter which one. Just read a lot and handle a few of them before you buy.

IMHO, you MUST learn to use the macro in GSAK if you're traveling by road a lot.

And to think, I started out by plugging every coordinate by hand into an eXplorist 200! Seldom printed out cache pages. Just flew blind with no maps, no hints, no cache pages. Yeah, I got a LOT of DNF's in those days!

[+Dancing_Duo]

Wow, so glad that when my kids asked what I wanted for birthday gift & I said "just a simple GeoMateJr will do" that they went on & got me the Magellan Explorist GC instead. Before that I'd only spent time looking at google maps & taking notes on paper. Didn't do too bad that way, but absolutely love this unit

[+kayak-cowboy]

I copied this from the GeomateJR website:

 

Dear Geomate.jr Community

 

What can we say - this good thing has come to an end. We are no longer able to offer the Geomate.jr for sale or continue the Update Zone service. We do hope you've had as much fun geocaching as we've had working with everyone.

 

To help keep the adventures happening however, we have made some software available here that will allow anyone with an Update Kit and a PC to load a Pocket Query from Geocaching.com to a Geomate.jr.

 

Regrettably,

 

The Geomate.jr Team

 

So obviously they have thought ahead and developed a download software program to use with a PQ from Geocaching. Go to their website to download the program.

[+Team Batpony]

I copied this from the GeomateJR website:

 

Dear Geomate.jr Community

 

What can we say - this good thing has come to an end. We are no longer able to offer the Geomate.jr for sale or continue the Update Zone service. We do hope you've had as much fun geocaching as we've had working with everyone.

 

To help keep the adventures happening however, we have made some software available here that will allow anyone with an Update Kit and a PC to load a Pocket Query from Geocaching.com to a Geomate.jr.

 

Regrettably,

 

The Geomate.jr Team

 

So obviously they have thought ahead and developed a download software program to use with a PQ from Geocaching. Go to their website to download the program.

 

The only problem is, the OP isn't a PM, so no PQ's. (That was too many acronyms...)

[+Hynr]

The OP indicates that the download is triggering his Anitvirus software to reject the downloaded file - the suspicion is that it is a "false-positive", but is it? Without further information: when I balance the product of a company that has just gone to fly-by-night status, against a well established computer software company that has been around for 30 years and is widely trusted to keep malware off all sorts of computers, then I generally trust the latter.

 

So the solution here is a two-step process. Note that Symantec is a major software company and addresses many platforms with continual updates of virus information and also with tightening up their procedures to avoid false-positives.

 

So Step 1: force your AV software to do a complete update of both its core software and the data (virus definition files) on your computer. Now try the download again, if this solves the problem then someone reported the issue and it was found to be a false-positive and the adjustment was made by Symantec.

 

If this does not resolve it, then Step 2 is to submit the file itself to the support folks at Symantec (or send them the link and let them pull the file down). If your installed software does not have a mechanisms for this, then you will need to browse the Symantec site to find the link that corresponds to the specific product.

[+The A-Team]

The OP indicates that the download is triggering his Anitvirus software to reject the downloaded file - the suspicion is that it is a "false-positive", but is it? Without further information: when I balance the product of a company that has just gone to fly-by-night status, against a well established computer software company that has been around for 30 years and is widely trusted to keep malware off all sorts of computers, then I generally trust the latter.

 

So the solution here is a two-step process. Note that Symantec is a major software company and addresses many platforms with continual updates of virus information and also with tightening up their procedures to avoid false-positives.

 

So Step 1: force your AV software to do a complete update of both its core software and the data (virus definition files) on your computer. Now try the download again, if this solves the problem then someone reported the issue and it was found to be a false-positive and the adjustment was made by Symantec.

 

If this does not resolve it, then Step 2 is to submit the file itself to the support folks at Symantec (or send them the link and let them pull the file down). If your installed software does not have a mechanisms for this, then you will need to browse the Symantec site to find the link that corresponds to the specific product.

I think you replied to the wrong topic. The OP in this one never mentioned anything about anti-virus or downloading files.

[louruns]

I'm another one who just received my GeoMateJr the day after the website was no more. I understand that the User's Manual was posted on the website as a PDF download. If anyone has it on their computer, I'd sure appreciate it if you could email it to me as a forward. Let me know.

 

Thanks,

Lou

[Mr.Yuck]

The Nuvi uses POI (points of interest) for mass loading of caches. You can enter caches by coordinates but it will be a time consuming thing to do. Also the battery life of a Nuvi isn't the best when out walking around hunting caches. I use my Nuvi to navigate me from one cache location to another when traveling.

 

When I start to hunt the actual cache I use an Etrex 20, which has been suggested to you, as it is very accurate and easy on batteries.

 

There is a guy from Scotland I believe, who was a hardcore find caches with a Nuvi guy, and wrote a GSAK macro that basically allows you to do paperless caching with Nuvi's, and from what I'm told, it works excellent. Of course the downsides are no compass navigation screen, not waterproof, poor battery life, and not very ergonomic. In other words, it's like walking around carrying a picture frame in the woods. I personally can't believe they have antenna's that are very good under tree cover in the woods, as they're designed to be used on the open road, but that is disputable.

 

Looks like both the Garmin Etrex 10, and Magellan Explorist GC are cheaper than a Garmin Etrex 20, and they both do paperless caching as well as the 20. Those range from $110-$150, quite a bit more than the Geomate JR. if you're on a budget, or just don't want to spend that much on the unit.

[louruns]

Thanks to all of you who offered to email me the GeoMateJr user manual. I appreciate receiving it.

 

Lou

[+Shelle518]

Their site is back up and I just updated my geomate jr.

[+STEMmom]

I did the same thing. I returned mine and got a Garmin Dakota 20.

 

Happy Hunting

STEMmom