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quote:
Originally posted by LightningBugs Mum:
MB – I guess we should get to that shopping trip we’ve been talking about so I can pick one out.Call me and we can do that next week
I use a Palm M500. While that model is a couple years old, is uses USB to sync and supports SD cards for expansion, and has an available hard case to protect it from drops
I’ve been watching on ebay recently and they have been going for up to $50, I personally wouldn’t spend more than $50 for one from ebay.
I would stay away from any of the earlier Palm Pilot Pro, or Palm III, etc. there are a couple auctions I saw with an old Palm III that didn’t specify that was the model, very misleading, the picture showed it though.For Geocaching you would want to be able to use an SD/MMC card to store your cache info on, or else get one with at least 16mb available memory.
I have about 7000 caches which uses about 22MB on my 128MB card right now. (some of those are duplicates in different databases for trips)
If you are looking at new ones from Palm, something like the Tungsten. Some of the Zire screens can be hard to read in the sun.
Looks like all the new palms have available hard shell cases which I think is a must for geocaching.
Check out the palm store factory outlet for some deals as well: http://store.palm.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=1179667
also the regular store and special offer links on that page.
Mike of team: Not So Lost PuppiesPDA Recommendations:
For caching I would recommend a PALM. Why, they are cheaper and crash less.I use the PALM IIIxe, an old dinosaur with only 8mb, but it holds 1,200 caches in 3mb of ram using CacheMate.
Another factor is that it runs on real replaceable batteries, not rechargable ones. I average 1 month on 2 AAA with daily use, and sometimes caching. If you get a rechargable unit, make sure to find a field charger that uses a 9v or car charger.
Now if I have the change to get a new one, it will probably be a PALM TX for about $300. Lots of ram, large color screen, Wi-Fi, an Bluetooth. You can find any Wi-Fi spot and connect to http://www.geocaching.com, or the reduced interface of wap.geocaching.com and log your finds. Get a compatable Bluetooth phone and surf the web from your car or cache site. Great for looking at last 5 logs for the latest updates on a cache when you can not find it.
Check for free memory about count on about 400 caches per meg. Then think how large of an area you cache in, and how many are left in that area. The 32mb models with about 20mb user memory left will give about 12,000 caches to choose from. Get ones with removable memory slots and this will never be a problem.
Looking for a cheaper one, most of the Z (Zire) series will work, with some at $99. Even cheaper pick up a used one. I believe ebay has already been mentioned.
Hope some of this helps
– Michael
Thanks Mike and Michael. That’s a great start for me. Anyone else?
John
BQ, Ecorangers & I use a Palm Zire 31. We purchased them the day after Thanksgiving last year. We use the Spinner – Plunker software.
When I started with paperless geocaching, I followed to a T the advice at this website: http://www.geocacher-u.com/resources/paperless.html
I even bought a Palm IIIex on eBay, just as they recommended. I started with Plucker and Spinner software, but now I’m transitioning to GSAK and so far it looks like it will be quite a bit easier to load caches into my Palm and GPSr.I had tried plucker but not spinner, and just didn’t find it very convenient for loading caches into the palm. I have found GSAK and CacheMate to be worth their costs in terms of time saved and ease of use.
But would be glad to have anyone that uses these be part of the event.
Mike of team: Not So Lost PuppiesA possible meeting place in Madison could be the Culvers on the beltline at Todd drive. They have a newly expanded meeting room with Wi-Fi. I do not know their policy for reserving the room, but I bet they would welcome a group with this purpose.
this is slightly off topic but figured someone who posted here may be able to help me. i have only ever used a pocket pc for paperless caching, but sold my pocket pc a few months back. i was looking on ebay for some of the cheap palm solutions and found that palm sells the Z22 for $99 new so this got me thinking. do i really want to buy a older used unit or just buy a new one?
my question is, can i use this palm for paperless caching? by the looks of it yes but i just wasn’t sure. http://www.palm.com/us/products/handhelds/z22/Check with PurpleArtichoke or Russell_53040. I know they both use older palm pilots. Russell got his for $30 (ebay I think) and it is an older one.
B.Q.to “hogrod” ….
The unit your looking at should work fine for loading cache pages, with software such as “Cache Mate”.
But one issue to consider … if you bought an older Black/White unit off ebay or something, you will have better ability to see the screen while outside in the sun … I’m betting that the color screen on the unit your considering will be difficult to see in the sun. I bought a Zire 31 and it was difficult in the sun.
Another option .. the one I went with … is to go with a higher end unit, such as the Tungsten E2, which uses a “transreflective” screen technology, that does much better in sunny conditions (not perfect, but better).
So basically … buy cheaper, buy higher, or get a hat with a large brim.
thanks for the all the replies, ya the screen is the problem i had with the pocket pc i had, you could read it out in the sun but not very easily.
I plan on having a couple palm m500 series (m500, maybe m515) available for purchase after the class. Costs will be very comparable to what they are going for on ebay now, but you will be able to see its actual condition
Mike of team: Not So Lost PuppiesHey Puppies!
Have you given thought as to a date yet? Some of us need to schedule an event and don’t want to conflict.
Team LightningBugs
* * * * * * * * * *No, no date yet. I know that I need to start working on that though, as well as location. currently I’m thinking one of the Madison Libraries on a Saturday in late Jan or in Feb.
The Madison public libraries have wireless access, so that will it much easier to show the entire process. Plus as I stated before I’ll have some palms available for hands on use (and later sale) I’m currently testing some of them out to make sure they are fully functional.
Mike of team: Not So Lost Puppies
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