Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: grain.ben on 06 October 2013, 20:00:08
-
I'm thinking of having a go at this
treasure geocache hunting hobby ::) for fun and was wondering which Garmin GPS handheld would be good for doing this, and would have to accept GPX files downloaded from the tinterweb.
Any comment welcomed :)
-
My Daddy is professional Geocacher :y great fun too..
-
He is Daz. Your Daddy took me and the gang into the woods at the lakes.
Ask Entweod. ;D
-
He took us at the Lakes Meet too :y
Even tried it arund home, but convinced some moron had moved the Treasure Chest :D
-
We do quite a bit... I just use the iPhone app :y
-
I use the iphone app now, used to use the blackberry app....and i believe if you subscribe to geocaching.com (10 dollars a quarter) theres no need to go onto the site....everything can be done on the apps.
But any sat nav with 'off road' facility will work :y Just more fiddly and time consuming.
-
I think both iPhone and Android have usable apps to see if you like it before getting a better, more accurate GPS unit. Must be worth spending the £5 or £6 for the app first :).
I use a gayPhone 5, which in open air, has a GPS accuracy of approx 5m. 3GS has an approx accuracy of about 20m. Obviously, as soon as you're under tree cover, phones lose accuracy fast.
-
I think both iPhone and Android have usable apps to see if you like it before getting a better, more accurate GPS unit. Must be worth spending the £5 or £6 for the app first :).
I use a gayPhone 5, which in open air, has a GPS accuracy of approx 5m. 3GS has an approx accuracy of about 20m. Obviously, as soon as you're under tree cover, phones lose accuracy fast.
My BB 9000 had an amazing accuracy on gps and was rated as good as the accuracy on geocaching gps devices, if not better than some of the cheaper models. Something BB got right on the phone ;D
However, one thing to consider (accuracy is not that important, as you gain experience you will know what to look for.....) if someone has placed a cache with a not very accurate gps device, your super accurate expensive gps device could say your within 1 foot, but in reality your 10/20 feet away.
So if you have a smartphone, buy the app for geocaching, the BB one is about £6, as is the iphone one....ive found plenty of caches with my iphone4/BB :y
However as i said in previous post i subscribe to geocaching.com (bout 6 quid/quarter) and i believe the apps (certainly the BB one did) had limitations on what you could do if you didnt subscribe. For example i can just start the app on my phone, click get nearest caches and they download, go find a cache and then send a log of 'found it', without the need to mess about with gpx files or having to go onto geocaching.com to log the find :)
One other thing to note is some caches are set to 'premium members only' and unless you subscribe to GC.com you cannot view them.
So if you are just going to see if you like geocaching, spend £6 on an app, spend another £6 on subcribing to GC.com for 3 months (you can cancel anytime) and go for it :y
Enjoy :)
-
Wtf is geocaching ? :-\
-
www.geocaching.com
-
Mmm. Looks like a pastime for folk who have far too much time on their hands. ::)
-
Wtf is geocaching ? :-\
Hide and seek to you, Patrick ;)
-
Far cough Scouser.
I though of saying that,followed by "get a life",but it seemed a bit rude. ;D
I thought it might have had some connection with metal detecting,as that's also known as treasure hunting. I tried that a couple of times,as swmbos family are very involved in it. I decided to stick some pins in my eyes as it was slightly less tedious.
Now have a couple of very expensive detectors some where in the loft. Iirc one of them cost me a four figure sum about 10 years ago.
Those were the days when I had money to waste. ::) ;D
-
Mmm. Looks like a pastime for folk who have far too much time on their hands. ::)
It's actually quite clever, some of the puzzles set, can be quite ingenious, and cheaky. Depending on the setter.
I await a post from Entwood. :)
-
Ebay them. Someone must want them.
Although.....I believe the serious metal detectorist these days has a very advanced piece of kit. There was astory in thenews the other day about a woman who lost her wedding ring whilst picking spuds forty years ago. She sent one of these semi-pros out with his detector and he only found the bugger.
-
My F.I.L. has been called on to do that many times,and more often than not is successful. They can be very advanced,complex pieces of kit,for those sad enough to have an interest in them. :y ;D
-
Wtf is geocaching ? :-\
;D ;D ;D its also something to keep the kids occupied when we go out, instead of them sitting in all day playing bloody Xbox's and ds's, t.v's ect ect. It looks fun ::)
Thanks for the input guys, but the reason why I mentioned a stand alone GPS unit is because I want to get back out doing what I like best, walking, hill/mountain climbing ect ect (obviously it wont be used as a sole navigation device), so therefore I would like to have a stand alone device used for both things.
Using a mobile phone for this is not viable for me, due to weather conditions, risk of dropping it, breaking it, losing it, mobile signal problems, GPS accuracy problems ect ect. I don't have the privilege of owning such an inferior, overpriced crApple gayPhone or IMO, a crappy Gaydroid device, Im still using my far far superior Nokia E6-00 running the now defunct Symbian OS, and has a far far superior battery life than any phone out there at the moment, even though it made it's debut back in 2007/08.
I've been looking at the new series of Garmin Etrex, the 10, 20 and 30, its the 10 that's caught my eye at the moment, it has all the features that I need for doing both things, but with a price tag of around 100sheets, I would certainly pay that as I know I would get my money's worth.
I know it's easier all round with a smartphone but it's just not viable for me, for the reasons above :-\
-
However as i said in previous post i subscribe to geocaching.com (bout 6 quid/quarter) and i believe the apps (certainly the BB one did) had limitations on what you could do if you didnt subscribe. For example i can just start the app on my phone, click get nearest caches and they download, go find a cache and then send a log of 'found it', without the need to mess about with gpx files or having to go onto geocaching.com to log the find :)
gayPhone paid app almost fully functional without subscription. You can certainly just get it out, find ones nearby, and log them.
-
Still don't understand why anyone would want to.Its a bit like golf - if you want to walk,just go for a bloody walk. :D ;D
-
However as i said in previous post i subscribe to geocaching.com (bout 6 quid/quarter) and i believe the apps (certainly the BB one did) had limitations on what you could do if you didnt subscribe. For example i can just start the app on my phone, click get nearest caches and they download, go find a cache and then send a log of 'found it', without the need to mess about with gpx files or having to go onto geocaching.com to log the find :)
gayPhone paid app almost fully functional without subscription. You can certainly just get it out, find ones nearby, and log them.
Ah ok :y not really sure what you can and cannot do without subscription apart from the 'premium members caches only' . But as OP doesnt have smartphone this convo is irrelevant :)
-
Still don't understand why anyone would want to.Its a bit like golf - if you want to walk,just go for a bloody walk. :D ;D
And I do, but can't help being a little over enthusiastic about it, im sure your enthusiastic over some things Albitz, each to their own ;)
However as i said in previous post i subscribe to geocaching.com (bout 6 quid/quarter) and i believe the apps (certainly the BB one did) had limitations on what you could do if you didnt subscribe. For example i can just start the app on my phone, click get nearest caches and they download, go find a cache and then send a log of 'found it', without the need to mess about with gpx files or having to go onto geocaching.com to log the find :)
gayPhone paid app almost fully functional without subscription. You can certainly just get it out, find ones nearby, and log them.
Ah ok :y not really sure what you can and cannot do without subscription apart from the 'premium members caches only' . But as OP doesnt have smartphone this convo is irrelevant :)
Original question was about Geocaching with a standalone Garmin GPS.
As above though, I know a smartphone app would do me, but it's not viable for what I want to do.
-
For out and about in a strange area I use my iphone and the GC.com app. It gives you the cords, compass with distance remaining, description, clue and container size and description, as well as access to previous logs in case its gone awol or is a particularly sneaky/off the wall container. I also use memory map on my phone. That's true OS maps and gives your precise location. Not cheap but worthwhile. Also available on android, as I understand it.
As someone else said, your accuracy isn't perhaps the best but its probably the same for whoever set the cache and thus the combined error could be quite substantial. It then requires you to resort to the clue and the mark one eyeball, using the concept of 'where would I put it then'. That generally works.
If I'm out and about for a day on the hills with wife and dog and caching then I use a Garmin Colorado 300. Not currently the mutts nuts but was when I bought it. Does paperless as well as OS style maps rather than the limited Garmin ones. paperless is definitely the preferred option for me but I normally print out an A4 map of the area with cache locations flagged on it as well. I like to keep my eye in when on the hills!
Also recommend getting/paying for something called GSAK (google it). Its a database tool that imports your search query terms from geocaching.com and allows you to directly import them onto whatever device you are using, be that iphone, tomtom, dedicated GPS or whatever. Worth the few dollars licence fee.
Lots of info on the GC forum but they can be a bit stuck up and knowall-ish towards newbies in my experience. best go to an event and meet cachers face to face and introduce yourself. Once you swap geocaching names you can pick up some good hints and tips. Generally good folks but the pastime, by its 'techy' sort of background, does attract some of the geeks of society..... ;)
-
Still don't understand why anyone would want to.Its a bit like golf - if you want to walk,just go for a bloody walk. :D ;D
I like walking, but I found I was walking the same paths and routes over and over, and only near home. It almost forces you to walk in different areas. Thats why it works for me.
-
And as to your etrex, more than ample for what you want it to do. I know quite a few folks who use a yellow etrex. ;) :y
-
Still don't understand why anyone would want to.Its a bit like golf - if you want to walk,just go for a bloody walk. :D ;D
If you always use the same golf course then its the change of play on the round that makes it interesting.
If you always walk the dog or whatever on the same path time after time it gets boring as well and can become a trudge. If theres a new cache or series of caches been placed on your route it, in my opinion, makes the same walk a little different and interesting.
f we were all the same, the world would be a boring place. :y
-
And as to your etrex, more than ample for what you want it to do. I know quite a few folks who use a yellow etrex. ;) :y
Yellow one is the eTrex H, old unit and doesn't support paperless caching/GPX files, the new yellow one does, eTrex 10 this is the one im eyeing up. I have Memory Map, but only on PC and only use it when im planning routes ect ect, and then I can only print it out.
I shall look into all this a little further before I decide :y
-
And as to your etrex, more than ample for what you want it to do. I know quite a few folks who use a yellow etrex. ;) :y
Yellow one is the eTrex H, old unit and doesn't support paperless caching/GPX files, the new yellow one does, eTrex 10 this is the one im eyeing up. I have Memory Map, but only on PC and only use it when im planning routes ect ect, and then I can only print it out.
I shall look into all this a little further before I decide :y
Yup, that was my point. Elderly yellow etrex and a couple of A4 sheets of clues etc and a map printout from memmap and they still rack up the numbers....
I heartily recommend GSAK. It does help out a lot especially when planning routes etc. as well as feeding into devices. Good for TomTom if you want to do the driveby in the country type roadside caches. :y
-
And as to your etrex, more than ample for what you want it to do. I know quite a few folks who use a yellow etrex. ;) :y
Yellow one is the eTrex H, old unit and doesn't support paperless caching/GPX files, the new yellow one does, eTrex 10 this is the one im eyeing up. I have Memory Map, but only on PC and only use it when im planning routes ect ect, and then I can only print it out.
I shall look into all this a little further before I decide :y
Yup, that was my point. Elderly yellow etrex and a couple of A4 sheets of clues etc and a map printout from memmap and they still rack up the numbers....
I heartily recommend GSAK. It does help out a lot especially when planning routes etc. as well as feeding into devices. Good for TomTom if you want to do the driveby in the country type roadside caches. :y
Yeah I see your point now, a cheaper way to start off or do it that way completely :y Ive just had look at GSAK, looks very good, so ill try bag myself a GPS and have a crack at it :y :y