Automotive GPS for Caching

[+turtle280z]

I travel a bit for work and love caching when I travel. My hand held garmin is great in the field, not so much when I'm driving. Does anyone know of an automotive gps I can plug into the computer and download caches from this site like is done with the hand held units? I know there are apps for the iphone and android, but not what I'm looking for.

 

Thanks fellow cachers!

 

turtle280z

[+Red90]

There are...but the automotive ones are better for driving and the handheld ones are better for caching. Get a 5" Nuvi for driving and keep the handheld for the caching. You can simply copy the caches to the Nuvi so you can navigate to the parking spot with it, then switch to the handheld.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

I travel a bit for work and love caching when I travel. My hand held garmin is great in the field, not so much when I'm driving. Does anyone know of an automotive gps I can plug into the computer and download caches from this site like is done with the hand held units? I know there are apps for the iphone and android, but not what I'm looking for.

 

Thanks fellow cachers!

 

turtle280z

Because of the wording used, I am guessing that you want to replace your hand-held and use just the automotive unit.

If such is the case... I can only say, "bad move" on your part.

 

Red90 is absolutely correct. Use the automotive unit for driving (your eyes really belong on the road) and the hand-held (that you already own) for caching. Using one in conjunction with the other is the best way to go.

 

As far as acquiring an automotive unit that you can plug into the computer... well, just go to the respective manufacturers' websites, check all their units available. The specs usually say whether or not it has a USB port -- if it does not say so, then it probably doesn't. Another clue is that they may say that a USB cord is included in the package. Some units -- not that many, though -- will use geocaching icons. Some are fully adaptable to use for geocaching, again not that many, as their battery life is abysmal. Most do not have replaceable batteries. Only recently have units with replaceable batteries came on the market.

 

Outside of that, all automotive units that I am aware of, allow for the manual addition of POI's (Points Of Interest). Most generally, they allow for coordinates to be entered. So... just enter the coords of the cache you are seeking manually into the auto-unit and tell it to go to that POI. Once you park the vehicle, fire up the hand-held and do your thing.

[+Lieblweb]

Some (?) Garmin Nuvi models will accept Geocaches to be uploaded into them, but this generally requires GSAK and a macro. You'll may want to do more research on that. I think there are more ways of doing it without GSAK but you are limited with amount, details, etc

 

Don't put down your handheld.

 

Use the Nuvi to get you to within parking distance and use the handheld to find the cache.

 

I have Nuvi 2450LM loaded with 5,000 Geocaches as POI's. I can search for them thru the Extras tab and hit GO.

Edited April 12, 2013 by Lieblweb

[alandb]

If you changed your request to "Caching GPS that is good for automotive navigation", then I think the Garmin Montana with the automotive mount and City Navigator map would fit the criteria. It is an expensive solution ... $600 or more.

[+Red90]

Some (?) Garmin Nuvi models will accept Geocaches to be uploaded into them, but this generally requires GSAK and a macro. You'll may want to do more research on that. I think there are more ways of doing it without GSAK but you are limited with amount, details, etc

 

 

You can simply put the GPX file on the Nuvi and they show up as Favourites. Simple and works well.

[jakesnake27]

Some (?) Garmin Nuvi models will accept Geocaches to be uploaded into them, but this generally requires GSAK and a macro. You'll may want to do more research on that. I think there are more ways of doing it without GSAK but you are limited with amount, details, etc

 

 

You can simply put the GPX file on the Nuvi and they show up as Favourites. Simple and works well.

 

Yep, I was just about to say this.

Just hit send to my gps, and the caches will be put into favorites. They even have a little treasure box symbol!

I think you can do this with almost all Nuvis.

[+Walts Hunting]

If you changed your request to "Caching GPS that is good for automotive navigation", then I think the Garmin Montana with the automotive mount and City Navigator map would fit the criteria. It is an expensive solution ... $600 or more.

 

I have one and it works great for both although I have switched to using my phone for non cache driving since it has traffic info and it is my music player (both from the music on the phone and Pandora). One piece of advice if you are using it make sure the profile you use does not have stick to road checked.

 

I generally use an automotive mode to drive as close as I can then switch to Geocaching profile to find it.