Premium Membership Without Advanced GPS

[+malamute-5]

I have a basic garmin etrex gps and I am considering a premium membership but I am not sure how useful pocket queries etc will be without being able to upload them to my GPS. Also the feature that allows you to find caches along routes, is that done on a PC? I am happy to upload each cache manually for the time being.

[+Chief301]

I used to use an Etrex Legend and I could do pocket queries and download them to the GPS. However, without a paperless unit all you'll get is the cache name, GC number and coordinates, IIRC. No hints, descriptions, recent logs, etc. So yes, PQ's would still be very handy for sending a whole bunch of waypoints to the device at once vs. entering the coordinates manually, so that would be one advantage for you.

 

Although PQ's are one of the biggest advantages of Premium membership, there are others of course, such as access to PMO caches, Favorite points, and the ability to create Bookmark lists....all very handy features.

 

Caches along a route is just a special type of Pocket Query where you define the beginning and ending points of a route and how far off that route you want to search (say, a mile on either side) and generate a PQ of the results.

Edited August 6, 2013 by Chief301

[+malamute-5]

I only have the standard etrex (the yellow one). With Pocket queries can you look at them on the computer?

 

In the future I will be looking at getting another GPS which supports all this fancy stuff but for the time being this is what I have to work with.

[+Cardinal Red]

I only have the standard etrex (the yellow one). With Pocket queries can you look at them on the computer?

 

In the future I will be looking at getting another GPS which supports all this fancy stuff but for the time being this is what I have to work with.

 

There is a computer based program available named GSAK. It is supposedly a great program when you have figured out how to use it. It is quite involved with a bit of a steep learning curve. I hear it is FREE to try, and not all that expensive to buy if you want to eliminate the acompnying free user 'nag screens'.

 

There is another totally free program (EasyGPS) with fewer features, and less complexity. There is still a bit of a learning curve, and there is a pay version upgrade available (ExpertGPS). Try the free one first to get your feet wet, and keep an open mind on the other options. You can use EasyGPS to load the PQ to your GPS, and you can view quite a lot of PQ information on a Laptop (Windows) via EasyGPS. With the Garmin and EasyGPS/Laptop combo on your road trip, you will have a wealth of information available. Fairly close to having all the information a paperless GPS will hold.

[+OZ2CPU]

Caches along a route is the coolest feature !!!

I use it all the time,

the PQ file can be transfered to phones, running geocaching software even some apps are free,

and then you are fine, no need to get one of them fancy expensive GPS..

BUT they last alot longer on the battery

and got a bit better GPS antenna, and is also a bit better when it come to dirt and hard outdor usage,

a phone is designed to indoor office use, and will suck up the battery fast when in use constantly

[+TriciaG]

With Pocket queries can you look at them on the computer?

I got my premium membership a couple days ago. We have a smartphone - no fancy GPS here.

 

I don't run PQ's at all, but I do have a few set up. I can look at my PQ results at any time on my laptop using the preview. I can preview them on a list or a map. From there I can pick and choose what I want and upload them individually to my smart phone app.

 

Hope this helps.

[+geodarts]

I became a premium member long before there were "paperless" gpsr units. I had a cheap PDA that I used to keep the cache information. You can still find inexpensive PDAs on EBay, but if you have a phone that supports caching apps it makes it even easier (one less gadget to carry). I like the way that my phone displays cache information much better than my paperless handhelds, so I tend to use it a lot even if I have a handheld gpsr with me.