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Will a GPS work without a map?


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This is probably a really stupid question but I am a newbie so please bear with me. 

We have a Garmin eTrex 30x  and will soon be spending just a day in both Dubai and Singapore, en-route to and from Australia from the UK.  During both stopovers we would like to clock up at least one Find, but do not want to go to the expense of buying maps just for one day.  We are buying them for Australia and New Zealand as we will be there longer.  An alternative would be to use our phones, but we would prefer to avoid expensive roaming charges as well as it is more than likely we will be wandering around for hours just killing time.  If I load all the relevant caches into our GPS will it still point us in the right direction, albeit without the on-screen map which is always a help when finding a route to a cache, but not essential?  We assume it will work but would be interested in any views from those more experienced than we are.  TIA

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3 hours ago, 2QuarterPints said:

This is probably a really stupid question...

  If I load all the relevant caches into our GPS will it still point us in the right direction, albeit without the on-screen map which is always a help when finding a route to a cache, but not essential?  We assume it will work but would be interested in any views from those more experienced than we are.  TIA

Not "stupid" at all, we all kinda depend on gizmos to do the most basic things these days.   :)   IIRC, the etrex 30 does come with a worldwide basemap. 

Like MartyBartfast, if we ever had time to vacation another country, I might use a free map option, or just rely on the basemap if I'm only gonna "clock at least one find"). 

These days though, similar to Viajero Perdido, the other 2/3rds would probably just use her phone to cache, preloading all needed, and offline.

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18 hours ago, 2QuarterPints said:

An alternative would be to use our phones, but we would prefer to avoid expensive roaming charges as well as it is more than likely we will be wandering around for hours just killing time.

Which app do you usually use when you cache via phone?

If you use the official Geocaching app, then you can download cache lists for offline use. I'd suggest creating separate lists for each country. One list for Dubai and another for Singapore, or even multiple lists within each country if desired. Then, when you are in Dubai and Singapore, you can put your phones in Airplane Mode and open the respective list. You won't have to worry about roaming, just battery usage.

When you download a list for offline use within the official app, then the app will also download the map tiles relevant to those areas. The map will be the "Trails" version seen in the app. See HERE and HERE for more info, or just ask in the forums. The Help Center screenshots are for iOS, so it won't completely match how Android screens look, but it's pretty close.

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Thanks for your input colleda.  After reading the advice earlier in this thread, I have done the same as you did and downloaded the free OSM maps for all the areas I am visiting in New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and Dubai and, having checked on my Etrex 30x they seem to be ideal for the short visits I will be making.  I have also downloaded my lists onto my mobile so, hopefully, I am ready for any eventuality.  Thanks for the warning about the hills in Singapore, which I wasn't aware of.  Although I haven't smoked for over 20 years, I did so for over 30 years, and have struggled with hills ever since!

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I use GSAK and download PQs for places we're likely to visit in UK, caches in close proximity to our accomodation. Last time (September last year) I bought an EE SIM at Heathrow as a backup and for local calls but quite a few places where we were (canals) had poor, or no, mobile reception. Perhaps you could do the same on arrival in Australia. I'm not able to recommend an Australian provider as I've never researched any here.

We will be back in Wales and Scotland in June but our priority is always the tour and grab some caches if readily available.

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