Captain Chaoss Posted November 29, 2003 Share Posted November 29, 2003 i see PDA's mentioned occasionally, and I'm just curious as to the usefullness of these. I know you can download cache page info, but what exactly does it copy ? The page exactly as its seen on the site ? Can a PDA be hooked to your GPS like a laptop, giving you a larger screen with real-time tracking in your vehicle? What exactly is worth paying for ? I see some used for sale, and a number of them on sale now, but I have no clue really what is needed. I won't be making a purchase for QUITE a while, but I want to start learning now. Link to comment
+bons Posted November 29, 2003 Share Posted November 29, 2003 (edited) I use a Sharp Zaurus. This is probably more than you want to pay for. On the other hand it's a small Linux palmtop that does more than a palm can dream of. For Geocaching I run pocket queries through GPXSpinner and that creates nicely indexed HTML pages I can store on a CF card. Basicly this means that my Sharp Zaurus contains all the local caches, nicely indexed. All it's really missing is travel bug information. At higher end usage, you can add a CF wireless card to surf geocaching.com remotely or you could add a CF GPS card. ------------------ If you go for the palm solution (mucho cheaper) you may want to check out the following: http://home.mchsi.com/~b.hammond/paperless.html http://www.palmgear.com/index.cfm?fuseacti...re&prodid=39342 http://www.ggaonline.org/resources/paperle...ss_caching.html ------------------ If you go for a Windows Palmtop, in addition to GPX Spinner take a look at: http://strandberg.org/gpxview/ Edited November 29, 2003 by bons Link to comment
+woodsters Posted November 29, 2003 Share Posted November 29, 2003 I was skeptical in the beginning of using PDA's. Many were insisting it was a necessity which actually depends on your style of caching. I decided to give it a try with my wife's pocket pc. I use free software. When I get the queries I upload them to both the pcoket pc and the gps. The nice thing about it all is it's a compact source of cache pages. The cache pages don't look exactly liek the website, but pretty darn close. Nearly all the info except the maps or any pictures are there. All the text, the hint(which is automatically decrpyted), the type (micro, regular, etc), the ratings, coordinates and a few of the latest logs. It saves on not having to print out cache pages and I can have them all downloaded pretty quick. I can also organize them differently (cache name, waypoint name, owner name, distance, etc). If you are going after one a week or so, then it really has no bearing. If you do several at a time or like to do them on the spur of the moment, then it's awesome. Also if you are traveling, you can set up a pocket query for the area you are going to and have it available without ahving to carry a notebook full of cache pages. Feel free to email me or pm me if you have any more questions... Link to comment
+brad.32 Posted November 29, 2003 Share Posted November 29, 2003 Shouldn't this thread be under GPS units and software? Link to comment
+The Frantic Cachers Posted November 29, 2003 Share Posted November 29, 2003 (edited) i use my Ipaq 3835 and can't wait til I buy the cable to connect my etrex venture to it. For now I use it with GPX view. Edited November 29, 2003 by The Frantic Cachers Link to comment
Captain Chaoss Posted November 29, 2003 Author Share Posted November 29, 2003 QUOTE: i use my Ipaq 3835 and can't wait til I buy the cable to connect my etrex venture to it. So, a gps can be connected to it and used as a larger screen display as well? Link to comment
+The Frantic Cachers Posted November 29, 2003 Share Posted November 29, 2003 (edited) yes but, i believe that it does not show the exaxt screen of your GPS unit. There are programs need to support the data sent by the GPS. The screen shots are similar. My main use for it would be to use the mapopolis software, especial when going on multpiple cache hunts and then disconnecting it while hiking. You coould get a better answer in the other Software forum. Edited November 29, 2003 by The Frantic Cachers Link to comment
Captain Chaoss Posted November 29, 2003 Author Share Posted November 29, 2003 Thank you for that info. We have a laptop we use with Mapsend software while cache-hunting. The larger area view and auto-routing are great for unfamiliar territory, but the laptop is too bulky for my Wrangler, or when solo. Hope to maybe get aPDA next year. Too little cash flow right now, but want to start learning bout them now, so I can make an informed buy. What are minimum requirements for a good PDA ? Link to comment
Captain Chaoss Posted November 29, 2003 Author Share Posted November 29, 2003 ok guys. I went to the other category for equipment, and it looks like a wealth of info. sorry for being so lazy Thanks for all the helpful posts here, but I'm gonna close this and head for the other catagory. I seem to forget there is anything besides GENERAL. LOL Link to comment
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