Zire71

[eggman7360]

Would I be able to go paperless with the zire 71 being connected to wi-fi ? There is an sd card adapter to connect but in order to use e-mail a third party app is needed. If someone could give info about how to set this up (in simple terms) I would (and probably others) greatly appreciate the help.

[+Torry]

Notebooks: 3 for a dollar all over the country; Pens and pencils: free for the taking all over the place or buy them by the bag. Leave the computer and other expensive toys out of harm's way at home.

 

Sorry, I just can't see putting your good stuff at risk running around the woods or visiting parks and streetlights.

[+Sputnik 57]

I'm not sure whether this is what you're talking about, but there is a discussion of a related topic here.

[+TresOkies]

Eggman,

 

You might have better luck if you ask this question in the "GPS Units and Software" forum (at the top level). A lot of Palm users hang out there.

 

You probably could use the wi-fi in the Z71, but my experience (using a Tungsten C with built in wifi) has been less than ideal. I now use CacheMate to log my caches and then I log them all when I get home. There is even a bulk logger available that will take your CacheMate database and export the records directly to geocaching.com.

 

-E

[+NightPilot]

Why do you want to use Wifi? You won't get a wifi signal in the woods, it will only work near a wireless network, and how do you propose to convert the gpx files to Palm format? Wifi is basically useless for geocaching, and it's not that wonderful for anything related to a Palm.

[+Imajika]

Cachemate turns .gpx files into Palm format but you need to use it at your home PC. Wifi does seem kind of useless in the woods. Perhaps you should check out Cachemate instead or if you have a cell phone with a web browser, you can use the gc.com WAP site when you are out on the road. Keep in mind that if you are way out in the middle of nowhere, a cell phone browser might not work either.

[+bobbyfrass]

Use Cachemate! The program works great--especially for spontaneous caching. Personally I use Cachemate for my Sony Clie PDA and Geocaching Swiss Army Knife (GSAK) for my PC. The two interface together. First you must become a Premium member to take advantage of pocket queries, which will allow you to perform a detailed search of caches--the results of which can be zipped and emailed to you. These can be imported into GSAK for maintenance--then selected to be HotSync'd with Cachemate on your PDA. Both of these are very user friendly--GSAK has an icon for Cachemate which makes the download a snap. I like to keep a list of the "100 closest caches that I haven't found" on my PDA at all times. If I am out and about I can pick whichever one is closest and grab it. Cachemate allows you to organize all the caches by distance from a certain point, so if you have your rcvr with you then just plug in the coords. Cachemate provides all of the info that the website does (Info, Description, Hints, Past Logs, etc.) except for the maps--those are actually linked from the website (i.e. to Mapquest). Cachemate can be purchased online for a whopping $7 and GSAK is available for free if you want to re-load it every 30 days (you can purchase it for an astounding $15). If interested...http://www.smittyware.com/palm/cachemate/ and www.gsak.net.

 

A final note: this may not be THE most efficient way of doing this--I am still new. But I began using this setup after reading the forum. I hope this helps because PAPERLESS IS THE WAY TO GO!!!!!!

[+writer]

NightPilot is correct that wi-fi only works within proximity of an 802.11 network. However, if you have cellular service, you might find that it's possible to get a wireless card that will operate off the associated data network, giving you Internet access in a wider range of places (though if you can't get a cell signal, you can forget the data connection).

[eggman7360]

NightPilot is correct that wi-fi only works within proximity of an 802.11 network. However, if you have cellular service, you might find that it's possible to get a wireless card that will operate off the associated data network, giving you Internet access in a wider range of places (though if you can't get a cell signal, you can forget the data connection).

I wanted to post in getting started because Im on the road alot and am starting to use my handheld more. My current handheld will not go wireless. Would the info be easier to obtain with this? My ideal situation would be using both handhelds ( if I get the 71). Then I could have access to the fourums on the road.

[+RokMartian]

I have a Zire 71 and I am paperless.

 

My recommendations:

Become a premium member so you can get .gpx format and run a Pocket Query (PQ) for your caches.

Use GSAK (Geocaching Swiss Army Knife) --- this program can upload all the waypoints to your GPSr and can also create an export of the caches for your palm to either

1) html files - then you can use Plucker to "read" the html files

Or

2) use Cachemate (my recommendation). This is only a $7 dollar program for your palm that takes little memory. GSAK can also create a .pdb file for Cachemate to read that is much smaller and faster than exporting to html for plucker. (Though Plucker is free). Cachemate can read the .pdb file from either ram or from the memory card.

 

I have a pocket query that runs for me early on saturday mornings - in less than 5 minutes, I have over 100 waypoints in my GPSr and in Cachemate.

[+hammerjane]

I have a Zire 71 and I am paperless.

 

My recommendations:

Become a premium member so you can get .gpx format and run a Pocket Query (PQ) for your caches.

Use GSAK (Geocaching Swiss Army Knife) --- this program can upload all the waypoints to your GPSr and can also create an export of the caches for your palm to either

1) html files - then you can use Plucker to "read" the html files

Or

2) use Cachemate (my recommendation).  This is only a $7 dollar program for your palm that takes little memory.  GSAK can also create a .pdb file for Cachemate to read that is much smaller and faster than exporting to html for plucker.  (Though Plucker is free).  Cachemate can read the .pdb file from either ram or from the memory card.

 

I have a pocket query that runs for me early on saturday mornings - in less than 5 minutes, I have over 100 waypoints in my GPSr and in Cachemate.

This is my setup. My Zire71 together with GSAK and Cachemate saves me a lot of time and paper.

[+mrmnjewel]

I just ordered a Zire 71. I am excited about going paperless and also the digital camera feature. Are the pics at least adequate?

[+RokMartian]

I just ordered a Zire 71. I am excited about going paperless and also the digital camera feature. Are the pics at least adequate?

The pictures are okay -- I have a few pictures in my gallery that were taken with a Zire 71. The resolution is not great - only 640 x 480. I have seen some pretty decent pictures taken with it.

 

The Zire 72 has much better resolution (1.2), but for posting a quick photo on a web log, I think it is fine.

[+The Leprechauns]

Up until a few weeks ago, I used a Zire71 and was marginally happy with it. The photos were OK for "forgettable" photos like verifying a virtual cache or preserving clues to a multicache in case I doubted whether I copied down the info. correctly. They weren't generally of sufficient quality for posting here on the site with my logs, especially outdoors shots with panoramic views in the distance.

 

My other gripe was that the Zire71 would mysteriously re-set itself and lose all of its data. Invariably this would occur near the end of a long geocaching trip and I would lose all my notes of the caches I had visited. Quite frustrating.

 

And, I say that I used this PDA "up until a few weeks ago." My hot sync cradle has refused to talk to my PC. I push the button and absolutely nothing happens. In prior threads in this forum discussing the Zire71, others have reported similar problems with the poor design of the cradle.

[+NightPilot]

I've had a Zire 71 for about a year and a half, and have had no problems with it at all. The cradle works, the Palm works, everything works. The camera isn't the greatest, but it's handy for quick shots when you have nothing else. I don't use it very often, but when I need to take a picture it's always in my pocket and ready. I've had some resets caused by installing poorly-written software, but regular backups to an SD card make this only a minor annoyance. I can do a restore and have everything working as before in less than a minute.