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Bluetooth transfer to gpsr? Android user


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I'm pretty much exclusively using android devices these days, (phone and tablet) but find much better accuracy when using a gpsr, especially when it come to the drunken bee dance. Is there a cost effective gpsr that can receive geocache uploads via Bluetooth? 

I know that I can type in coordinates manually but this is tedious. 

 

TIA :)

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1 hour ago, Atlas Cached said:

The Garmin Oregon 7x0, GPSMAP 66/86 series, and Montana 7x0 are all GCLive capable, which means they can download geocaches directly from geocaching.com using your phone as a Bluetooth modem.

 

 

The question was: "Is there a cost effective gpsr". :rolleyes:

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The answer is no. Garmin is really your only choice for a geocaching-friendly GPS and to date none of their handhelds connect to other devices via bluetooth for the purposes of file transfer. If your phone or tablet came with a USB-c to USB-A adapter (mine did for migration purposes), it will let you mount a Garmin GPS as file storage for which you can then download PQ files (remember to unzip them) to the GPS or SD card.

But as @Atlas Cached notes, the modern series can connect directly over wifi or a bluetooth tether and you can download your PQs as well as live API searches directly. You can even log your finds directly via an Oregon 700 or GPSMAP 66. 

That said, depending on how old your phone is, you might find that newer phones these days can compete with a handheld GPS just fine, especially since the the two series above don't offer multi-band support and the GPSMAP 65 series that does also lacks the GC Live support. The 66sr supports both, but comes with a hefty $500 price tag.

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31 minutes ago, HHL said:

The question was: "Is there a cost effective gpsr". :rolleyes:

 

That variable is subjective and varies from one person to the next.

 

The models I listed can commonly be purchased for as little as $200 USD.

 

The Oregon 7x0 series is beyond cost effective. It is quite a bargain and easily the best bang for your buck when it comes to GCLive equipped Garmin GPSr.

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36 minutes ago, Mineral2 said:

Garmin is really your only choice for a geocaching-friendly GPS and to date none of their handhelds connect to other devices via bluetooth for the purposes of file transfer.

 

Actually, Waypoints, Tracks and Routes can be transferred between many Garmin GPSr (GPSMAP 64, 65, 66, 86, Montana 7x0) and a Bluetooth equipped device with the Garmin Explore app. 

 

 

43 minutes ago, Mineral2 said:

If your phone or tablet came with a USB-c to USB-A adapter (mine did for migration purposes), it will let you mount a Garmin GPS as file storage for which you can then download PQ files (remember to unzip them) to the GPS or SD card.

 

I have seen many posts about users employing this method accidentally wiping the GPSr internal memory and bricking their GPSr, so proceed with caution here.

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4 hours ago, Dr Jeckyl and Mr Hide said:

 

I paid $300 Cd each for my two 66S units on Black Friday. They are back up to their regular price of $529 at Sail now, though.

 

Back in the day, I paid over $500 each for a 60CSx and a 76CSx. 

 

Exactly.

 

I don't understand why everyone likes to whine so much about the current pricing structure.

 

Back in 2004, the GPSMAP 60cs had a MSRP of $535.70 USD. That would be $737.98 USD today.

 

The current generation replacement for the GPSMAP 60 series is the GPSMAP 66s/st, which is superior to the older devices in every way imaginable with sixteen years of new technology and advanced features/functions never even dreamt of on the older series. All for substantially less money.

 

Todays Garmin devices are priced quite fairly, and are generally a bargain.

 

 

 

Edited by Atlas Cached
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53 minutes ago, Atlas Cached said:

Todays Garmin devices are priced quite fairly, and are generally a bargain.

 

I totally agree. My first gpsr was a blue eTrex Legend and I loved that thing until I got a 60C, then a 60CSx, but I would not waste time on any of those models at this point because the improvements in new models have been massive and impressive. I still like my Montana 650 a lot, but will eventually get a 700 series.

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4 hours ago, Atlas Cached said:

All for substantially less money.

That would be fine if wages/salaries weren't roughly the same as they were back then. While the price of a new GPSr may not have gone up, other living costs have while wages remain stagnant. In the US anyway, many of us have less disposable income to work with than we would have 15 years ago.

Additionally, my new $350 smartphone is arguably more powerful than my $400 (well, $220 when I bought it on sale) Oregon 600. And arguably more powerful than the current options on the market. Sure, there are a limited number of features that the some of latest GPS devices can do that my cell phone can't  - connect to more satellite systems, multi-band, and emergency satellite communication. Beyond my own personal philosophy of keeping devices simple and using specialized tools for different needs (my cell phone isn't my main camera, and I still use my gps for geocaching, backcountry navigation, and trip stats), it's becoming harder to sell the average geocacher on a dedicated GPS when they already have a phone that does the same thing. 

In response to the original post, the user only has 79 finds, most of which were made between 2009 and 2013. If cost is an issue, then I might consider that you play with the settings on your phone or consider upgrading if your phone is old. As I mentioned before, newer phones perform just as well as a modern cost-effective GPS. A Pixel 4a goes for $350 if it's not on sale and has worked just fine for me using the Groundspeak App. 

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I'm just going to add one additional note about one of the major differences between a Garmin GPSr and any modern smartphone that nobody has yet brought up...

 

If you disregard all remaining pros and cons between Garmin GPSr and modern mobile phones, just remember, the Garmin GPSr is NOT spying on you.

 

The Garmin GPSr is not recording your physical movement and saving it to a data farm server in an unknown location to be shared with anyone willing to pay for the information. Garmin GPSr are not listening to every word you speak so any number of third party vendors can analyze and compile your conversations for future reference. The Garmin GPSr is not capable of logging everything displayed on the screen, and for how long you look at it, to sell the information to advertisers. The Garmin GPSr does not treat you or your privacy like a product to be sold to the highest bidder....

 

Sure, modern smartphones are very capable electronic tools - but for whom?

 

 

 

 

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On 1/6/2021 at 2:38 PM, Atlas Cached said:

 

 

 

The current generation replacement for the GPSMAP 60 series is the GPSMAP 66s/st, which is superior to the older devices in every way imaginable with sixteen years of new technology and advanced features/functions never even dreamt of on the older series. All for substantially less money.

 

Actually I disagree. Garmin has been very slow to adopt to modern technology. They still haven't (on purpose I think) gotten bluetooth right. A $70 Iphone 6s I will argue is superior to the $500 GPSr in every possible way except battery life. Try typing a detailed log on any handheld GPSr unit versus that if even the Iphone 6s and it's no contest, the Iphone wins. You can even dictate a log using your voice on a smartphone. Can't on a GPSr. The camera of the 6s, superior in every possible way to even the Montana or Oregon 750 series. Accuracy for geocaching, exactly the same.  Play Wherigo??  No current Garmin plays it. Adventure Labs?? Nope with a GPSr. Screen size, screen resolution, $79 Iphone 6s easily beats any GPSr. Spoken directions??? Only the very most expensive handheld GPSr's do that, any cellphone does it easily. Routing and mapping, the cellphone wins very easily. 

 

Compare a cellphone from 16 years ago to those of today. No cellphone made 16 years ago will work. A Garmin GPSr from 16 years ago works just perfectly and will get you to ground zero as easily as any modern GPSr will today. 

 

Sorry, technology has changed and Garmin has not kept up. I think the Monterra series had the possibility but it never took off. 

 

Now in saying all of that, I still use a GPSr (Garmin 62 or Oregon 600) over a phone for geocaching. 

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On 1/5/2021 at 12:35 PM, johnjackie said:

I'm pretty much exclusively using android devices these days, (phone and tablet) but find much better accuracy when using a gpsr, especially when it come to the drunken bee dance. Is there a cost effective gpsr that can receive geocache uploads via Bluetooth? 

I know that I can type in coordinates manually but this is tedious. 

 

TIA :)


Does it need to be Bluetooth in particular?

 

If you’re willing to instead use WiFi, there are portable WiFi routers with USB ports, that can be used to send GPX files from a phone.  It requires appropriate software, and it’s extra work, especially if you need to unzip a PQ.  But I managed it a couple of times.  It was too annoying for me, and I hardly ever find myself far from home by surprise and then start Geocaching, so I load caches in advance. But the router idea would work with a reasonably inexpensive GPS.

 

Edited by kunarion
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2 hours ago, kunarion said:


Does it need to be Bluetooth in particular?

 

If you’re willing to instead use WiFi, there are portable WiFi routers with USB ports, that can be used to send GPX files from a phone.  It requires appropriate software, and it’s extra work, especially if you need to unzip a PQ.  But I managed it a couple of times.  It was too annoying for me, and I hardly ever find myself far from home by surprise and then start Geocaching, so I load caches in advance. But the router idea would work with a reasonably inexpensive GPS.

 

 

Sounds like a lot more work and trouble than just loading geocaches wirelessly via GCLive with an Oregon 7x0, which I am certain is less expensive and less complicated to use and less cumbersome to carry than all the equipment you just mentioned.

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22 minutes ago, Atlas Cached said:

 

Sounds like a lot more work and trouble than just loading geocaches wirelessly via GCLive with an Oregon 7x0, which I am certain is less expensive and less complicated to use and less cumbersome to carry than all the equipment you just mentioned.


It really is a lot of trouble.  The router needs a finicky App, and it’s not the one in the badly translated manual.  Weird.  Anyway, for $15 and the price of an additional file manager (one that can unzip files), it is an inexpensive way to have wireless loading of caches.  At a Hotspot, the router can operate two simultaneous WiFi connections, one for the Hotspot and one for the phone, which is pretty nice if you don’t have phone data.  But it can take a few minutes to hook it all up and then navigate around in the Apps.  So be sure you’re not in a hurry. :anicute:

 

Edited by kunarion
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