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What Do I Need To Go Paperless?


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Im trying to get an idea of what I will need to go paperless. I think a pda is the best way, but I know nothing about then. I want to find out what kind I should buy, what options I need(memory), do I have to enter the coordinantes from the handheld to the gps manually or can they be linked. Also what are the best units to buy.

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I use a Palm Zire 21, The only thing about it I don't like is lack of a backlight. This makes nightcaching a little awkward when I have a flashlight, palm and GPS in hand.

 

I use Cachemate. It is the easiest way I know to get the information into the Palm, you need premium membership to get GPX files. (They are the only ones that have all the information such as descriptions in them.)

 

Also Cachemate has GPS plug-ins that let you link the Palm and the GPS. I however still preload all the waypoints into my GPS using ExpertGPS.

 

So far I have over a 1000 waypoints on my Zire and I haven't run into the top of the memory yet.

 

I'm sure others have other recommendations but this is what I use. Being first to answer your question should give me some added weight. [:mad:]

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I also use the Palm OS. Currently I am using an m130, it has 8mb of ram, but has an SD card slot. I had a IIIxe a friend let me borrow, it is all I really needed for caching. It has maybe 2mb of memory, not really sure, but I never filled it up. Like the previous poster said, Cachemate is the best way to do it. It is only a $7 program and it is great. I use an iMac running OS X.3 to sync the PDA using maccmconvert to convert the GPX to a cachemate file. I use GSAK to convert the GPX files to a Mapsource freindly format to send to my Gpsmap 60c. So there is no need for a connection between the two. I just find the cache via the map on the 60, then find the name on the palm. Works just fine for me.

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Im trying to get an idea of what I will need to go paperless.  I think a pda is the best way, but I know nothing about then.

We have a cheap web-enabled cell phone (meaning it came free with the service). That and a GPSr is all you need.

 

On edit: I should mention we have a 60cs so that takes care of the maps. We use the cell phone for getting the cache description, hints and logs.

Edited by ahimsa
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Any PockePC can use a GPX file directly to view caches using GPXview and GPXsonar. Just copy the file over and you are done.

 

Used palms can do the job as well and get you paperless for a minimal investment.

 

The price wars between PocketPC and the Palm world haven't really materialized. The palms just added some features and raised their prices to match pocket PC's.

Edited by Renegade Knight
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I use a Palm Zire 21, The only thing about it I don't like is lack of a backlight. This makes nightcaching a little awkward when I have a flashlight, palm and GPS in hand.

Webscouter, i got Bravesfan a stylus with a light in it for her lightless palm. Works well, i got it at Sears for $5.99. As much as I LOVE CacheMate, I don't use it to upload waypoints to my Palm. I use GSAK for that. Has the whole spectrum of magellan icons.

.

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If you buy a PDA, get more than 2 MB of memory AND get one with a backlight and a better screen than an entry level ZIre. I have been using the entry level Zire (Pre Zire 21) for 6 months now and it only has 2 mb of memory. I use Plucker and Cache Log. I have to constatntly clean it up because I am always bumping the memory limit. I purged most of the Palm programs to free up memory. It got so bad I ordered a Tungsten last Friday which should be here tomorrow. I want color and memory. Good luck.

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I just finished my first paperless day using cachmate (after reading the posts here) and it is amazingly simple... No more fear of sheets flying through the wind (my Palm is a bit heavy to fly away)... - I already lost some of my sheets on two hikes and that was a bit unnerving...

So cachmate has my vote!

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well, I got my palmVII yesterday and plugged it all in and got Cachemate loaded.... I was disapointed that the cache logs were not included in the GPX file.... or am I doing something wrong? I do like the ebook feature from the pocket query though.... I think I will download Plucker tonight and try that.. cause I'm NOT paying $20 for Mobipocket! Plucker looks to be just as good or better(cause its free) and then there is cachelog... hmmmm so many programs to try... which one do I use????? :)

AZJAMMIN

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I use a Palm 515 (I chose Palm over some other PDAs because they appear so much more robust - I have certainly dropped mine on several occasions and it always comes up working). If you are not getting the logs with cachemate - make sure that you have requested the GPX file and not the LOC file. You should be able to obtain a specified number of logs (I usually get 5).

I tried Plucker, but it seems to take for ever to download from the Internet. Cachemate has been much better - well worth the $7.

Yorkstan

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Cachemate should have the logs. Look on the Past Logs page, not the Log page, which for you to enter your own log when you find the cache.

 

You don't have to pay for Mobipocket Reader, at least not the standard version, which works, but doesn't have all the features of the Pro version, which you do have to pay for. But truthfully, Mobipocket Reader is a lame product, and not worth the cost of even the free version. Plucker is much better, and you can use it to put any web page, html or text document on your Palm. With Plucker, you can have the entire internet on your Palm, if you have the time. I use it as an ebook reader - just get any ebook in either html or text, and Plucker will convert it for you, and it works better for me than any dedicated ebook reader I've tried. Like much open-source freeware, it takes some effort to set up, but once you get it working it's very, very good. [Edit for typos]

Edited by NightPilot
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Cachemate should have the logs.  Look on the Past Logs page, not the Log page, which for you to enter your own log when you find the cache.

Not by default, though. You need to set the option in CMConvert to import the logs... in the Windows GUI version, that's in the Import Options dialog box, which comes up every time you load a file into it.

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Cachemate should have the logs.  Look on the Past Logs page, not the Log page, which for you to enter your own log when you find the cache. 

 

You don't have to pay for Mobipocket Reader, at least not the standard version, which works, but doesn't have all the features of the Pro version, which you do have to pay for.  But truthfully, Mobipocket Reader is a lame product, and not worth the cost of even the free version.  Plucker is much better, and you can use it to put any web page, html or text document on your Palm.  With Plucker, you can have the entire internet on your Palm, if you have the time.  I use it as an ebook reader - just get any ebook in either html or text, and Plucker will convert it for you, and it works better for me than any dedicated ebook reader I've tried.  Like much open-source freeware, it takes some effort to set up, but once you get it working it's very, very good.  [Edit for typos]

I can't get plucker to read the ebook file that is sent from geocaching.com. it won't even show up in the plucker library list. any ideas why?

Edited by azjammin
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Paperless is the only way to go. I have a Pocket PC and have been using GPXView for a year now. I just load the .gpx files on the storage card on my Pocket PC and I can store 1000's of caches with the last 3-4 logs and the hints. Works great!

 

GANKS

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I can't get plucker to read the ebook file that is sent from geocaching.com.  it won't even show up in the plucker library list. any ideas why?

Because it's not a Plucker file.

 

MobiPocket (the standard version of which is apparently free) reads MobiPocket files. Plucker reads Plucker files. There's no crossover there. The ebook file that can be sent as part of a pocket query is a MobiPocket file.

 

If you want to use Plucker, you'll need something that generates HTML files from GPX files, like GSAK or GPX Spinner (both on the software links page on this site).

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I can't get plucker to read the ebook file that is sent from geocaching.com.  it won't even show up in the plucker library list. any ideas why?

Because it's not a Plucker file.

 

MobiPocket (the standard version of which is apparently free) reads MobiPocket files. Plucker reads Plucker files. There's no crossover there. The ebook file that can be sent as part of a pocket query is a MobiPocket file.

 

If you want to use Plucker, you'll need something that generates HTML files from GPX files, like GSAK or GPX Spinner (both on the software links page on this site).

:D well, I reinstalled Plucker last night.. and followed the instructions according to www.geocacher-u.com. I think it worked, but when I compared the gpx file with EasyGPS to the index on Plucker it seemed like there were a few caches that didn't show up. at least I couldn't find them by doing a search. :D

so, I wonder how many caches out of the 450 that were in the GPX, didn't get plucked. :rolleyes:

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Paperless caching...

 

My setup and recommendations...

 

A PDR (I suggest a ppc)

GSAK (latest version 3.0) or GPX spinner

Isilo X and Isilo

(there are other ways... can use Clayjar or other similar proggies)

and of course a GPS unit.

 

There are multiple (and confusing) ways to do this, but I download a pocket query (GPX format) from GC.com and load it into GSAK. Output to HTML and compile using IsiloX. Then transfer into the PPC and use Isilo to read the file. WORKS GREAT!

 

DrBC

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I use a an Ipaq 3955 with a 128 meg SD card. This gives me plenty of room for files. I used GPX view for the waypoint files that I download using pocket query. The one additional item is Pocket Streets and Trips. Since you can export from GPX view to Pocket Streets and Trips you are able to see where these caches are on your maps. This makes planning a geocaching trip much easier and you will truly be paperless. :D

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Night Stalker...

 

you can export from GPX view to Pocket Streets and Trips you are able to see where these caches are on your maps. This makes planning a geocaching trip much easier and you will truly be paperless.

 

FYI... GpxSonar will now do the same thing for you.

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Night Stalker...

 

you can export from GPX view to Pocket Streets and Trips you are able to see where these caches are on your maps. This makes planning a geocaching trip much easier and you will truly be paperless.

 

FYI... GpxSonar will now do the same thing for you.

Are there simple step by step instructions for how to import many cache locations to mapopolis? Would make my life even more wonderful! :ph34r:

Edited by Scienceteacher&Fam
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Are there simple step by step instructions  for how to import many cache locations to mapopolis? Would make my life even more wonderful! :ph34r:

There is a conversion program that takes your .gpx file and converts it for Mapopolis to use.

 

If you want a copy go to: http://www.mdgps.org/pocketcaching/gpxtomaplet.zip

 

It is a no brainer to use.

I'll give it a try tonight.... should be within my capabilitles since I have no brain :o

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