Geocaching Australia

Also in app news, Locus (which is free) now has a plugin available to hook in to your GSAK database if you copy it to your phone.
Works pretty well.

CraigRat wrote:

ving wrote:am using c:geo on a htc incredible s. seems pretty good to me but i havent tried anything else.
are there any that would work better for me (not that i can fault what i have) and how would it be better?

NeonGeo is probably one of the better ones out there, and it too can handle trackables and live data from GC and is under half the price of GC's over-priced app

CraigRat,

Can you tell me if you are using offline maps with Neongeo, and if so which ones and how do you apply them.

Cheers Fuddley

Fuddley wrote: CraigRat,

Can you tell me if you are using offline maps with Neongeo, and if so which ones and how do you apply them.

Cheers Fuddley

It caches map tiles you have viewed, it doesn't build a true offline map like Locus or similar apps do. It's probably the biggest missing feature.

I find I use Locus a lot more than NeonGeo.

I downloaded Locus Pro the other day and have been giving it a try. Excellent program. The only trouble is that the Garmin nuvifone A50 is a little underpowered for all the features. It can take a while for things to load etc. I would consider updating to a more modern Android phone if I knew I could get one with as a good an off-line gps as the A50. I already have an iPhone which I use for " smart phone" activities and just use the nuvifone for a gps. I would rather not have to bother with another sim card if it can be avoided. Also, I do find myself caching outside phone coverage areas quite often.
Should I be worried about this? Does anyone have any comments on the quality of the gps in their Android phones when out of phone range?

Most phones of thelast one or two generations have a perfectly ok GPS in them

a-gps is only used to get a quick, coarse fix for the purposes of getting a near-enough position fix, nearly all ohones out there nowadays have full gps on board

The general rule is you get what you pay for.... buy a $100 phone and it'll come with pretty ordinary components.

Not strictly a geocaching app but I installed the "Bluetooth GPS" app from appbrain, to my Motorola Flipout phone. The app's apparently good for most but not all Android phones.

It grabs NMEA strings from my paired bluetooth GPS receiver and means excellent GPS reception even with substandard phone GPS.

bshwckr wrote:I downloaded Locus Pro the other day and have been giving it a try. Excellent program. The only trouble is that the Garmin nuvifone A50 is a little underpowered for all the features. It can take a while for things to load etc. I would consider updating to a more modern Android phone if I knew I could get one with as a good an off-line gps as the A50. I already have an iPhone which I use for " smart phone" activities and just use the nuvifone for a gps. I would rather not have to bother with another sim card if it can be avoided. Also, I do find myself caching outside phone coverage areas quite often.
Should I be worried about this? Does anyone have any comments on the quality of the gps in their Android phones when out of phone range?

I recently purchased the same phone, and after reading your post thought I’d have a look at Locus. Just been trying the free version with the Geocaching addon.

Must admit it really is extremely slow to load, but as you say, maybe the phone is underpowered. I’ve searched the settings and the Locus Forum, but can’t find any way to increase the Logs font size. Can it be done with the Pro version?

I've been using NeonGeo for a few weeks, and it's not too bad, certainly extremely quick to load.

I was recently caching out of Optus coverage near the area where I live and had no problems with the phone’s GPS. All in all the phone/GPS combo is performing far better than I expected for the price I paid for it. In the field, it is performing better than my old dedicated Garmin Streetpilot which also has the identical PQ loaded.

Could not see any way to increase the log font size in the pro version. I wanted the proximity alerts hence buying the pro version. I have since found that this does not work the way I thought it would.It only alerts the active cache, not any cache you may come near.

bshwckr wrote:Could not see any way to increase the log font size in the pro version. I wanted the proximity alerts hence buying the pro version. I have since found that this does not work the way I thought it would.It only alerts the active cache, not any cache you may come near.

Much appreciate the feedback bshwckr!

I’ve now uninstalled Locus. Apart from the tedious load times on my phone, I found the app unnecessarily complicated in many ways. For example, looking up a cache involves 3 tabs on the cache pages – Info, Listing and Logs, and more button clutter at the bottom. I like the way Neongeo has it all this info together on one screen just needing a swipe to read thereby not wasting screen real estate.

The tiny logs page font in Locus is a real strain for me to read (especially on a sunny day) in contrast to the larger NeonGeo font. Neongeo is not perfect by any means but for the moment it more than satisfies my geocaching requirements.

With the last two updates to c:geo I am no longer able to use the app over 2G/3G, it only works when on WiFi. Which basically makes the app useless. I run a HTC Incredible S on Optus.

It will not find any caches with the 'nearby' function, and if I search with the 'live map' when I click on a cache and select 'more details' it always says something about not being able to retrieve it.

I only ever use the phone for the few occasions that I am caught without my Oregon and without a relevant pocket query, but I had just gotten into the habit of logging caches in the field and was really enjoying that.

Anyone have any suggestions on what the problem may be? I am considering paying for the Groundspeak App!!

Thanks.

Hoojar wrote:With the last two updates to c:geo I am no longer able to use the app over 2G/3G, it only works when on WiFi. Which basically makes the app useless. I run a HTC Incredible S on Optus.

It will not find any caches with the 'nearby' function, and if I search with the 'live map' when I click on a cache and select 'more details' it always says something about not being able to retrieve it.

I only ever use the phone for the few occasions that I am caught without my Oregon and without a relevant pocket query, but I had just gotten into the habit of logging caches in the field and was really enjoying that.

Anyone have any suggestions on what the problem may be? I am considering paying for the Groundspeak App!!

Thanks.

Is the GPS in the phone activated?

gmj3191 wrote:Is the GPS in the phone activated?

At times yes, at times no. But this makes no difference as in WiFi mode it will still work.

Hoojar wrote:

gmj3191 wrote:Is the GPS in the phone activated?

At times yes, at times no. But this makes no difference as in WiFi mode it will still work.

It can get location info from WiFi, if the WiFi location is registered with the location services. If the GPS is flaky, that could be a clue.
Can you load the Munzee app? It won't run without GPS.
I have tried running c:geo with location services turned off. It will run, but some functions such as Live Map and Nearest Caches will not work, as you'd expect.
Are you saying it won't start up at all, or some functions won't work?

gmj3191 wrote:It can get location info from WiFi, if the WiFi location is registered with the location services. If the GPS is flaky, that could be a clue.
Can you load the Munzee app? It won't run without GPS.
I have tried running c:geo with location services turned off. It will run, but some functions such as Live Map and Nearest Caches will not work, as you'd expect.
Are you saying it won't start up at all, or some functions won't work?

Good plug for munzees too!

Finding the ideal is difficult.

C:geo, cache details a bit small, no trackable or fav functionality. Live map good, template logging is great, can insert find number, date, time etc. into log.
Neongeo has a very nice, easy to read cache presentation, good functionality, live map, lacks the C;geo template log function.
GC.com app has good functionality, lacks the live map and log template.

They all excel in different areas, it's a pity none of them have it all.