N00b With an iPad and Some Questions

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Amadeus
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N00b With an iPad and Some Questions

Post by Amadeus » 26 June 12 7:27 pm

I am a little overwhelmed by what exactly is needed to get into geocaching. I read about GPX files and GSAK and various apps and so on and so forth and I am not 100% sure exactly what I need? :?:

I'd prefer to just use my iPad for starters rather than buy a proper GPS like a Garmin. Does an iPad have limitations compared to specialised devices?

Can someone tell me the most appropriate app (I don't mind paying for it) for an iPad to find GC and GCA caches and will I need to periodically download anything else after I buy the app? Will new and removed caches get updated automatically?

One last general question.

I love travelling to the bush in country NSW up to 3-4 hours from Sydney.

Are most caches in towns and close to roads? I like hiking and I would like to go on bushwalks that take you a bit off the beaten track to more remote caches. Are these rare or quite common?

Thanks in advance for any feeedback.

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akkatracker
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Re: N00b With an iPad and Some Questions

Post by akkatracker » 26 June 12 9:07 pm

Amadeus wrote:I am a little overwhelmed by what exactly is needed to get into geocaching. I read about GPX files and GSAK and various apps and so on and so forth and I am not 100% sure exactly what I need? :?:

I'd prefer to just use my iPad for starters rather than buy a proper GPS like a Garmin. Does an iPad have limitations compared to specialised devices?

Can someone tell me the most appropriate app (I don't mind paying for it) for an iPad to find GC and GCA caches and will I need to periodically download anything else after I buy the app? Will new and removed caches get updated automatically?

One last general question.

I love travelling to the bush in country NSW up to 3-4 hours from Sydney.

Are most caches in towns and close to roads? I like hiking and I would like to go on bushwalks that take you a bit off the beaten track to more remote caches. Are these rare or quite common?

Thanks in advance for any feeedback.
Being quite anti apple I would need someone to clarify but apparently Geosphere is a good iPad app. Apparently you download the GPX files straight into it.

The limitiations of the ipad are GPS in only 3G areas??? (I'm not fully sure). This would mean that you can't go for walks and to places where you don't have 3G. Again I would need a user to clarify.

You will have limited battery life on the iPad which would limit some hikes.


About your second question : Are most caches in towns and close to roads? I like hiking and I would like to go on bushwalks that take you a bit off the beaten track to more remote caches. Are these rare or quite common?

Caches are found anywhere and there are certainly many geocaches that require long, adventurous bushwalks. Just search around the area you are going to and look for
a) High terrain
b) High Favourite point count

Hope this helps

juc_cacher
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Re: N00b With an iPad and Some Questions

Post by juc_cacher » 26 June 12 9:18 pm

Amadeus wrote:I am a little overwhelmed by what exactly is needed to get into geocaching. I read about GPX files and GSAK and various apps and so on and so forth and I am not 100% sure exactly what I need? :?:

I'd prefer to just use my iPad for starters rather than buy a proper GPS like a Garmin. Does an iPad have limitations compared to specialised devices?
You will find the GPS in the iPad is probably not as accurate as a GPSr, especially in marginal conditions, but other than that and the fact it's not as robust, or as compact, you shouldn't have too many problems. The 3G data connection can come in handy for those spontaneous caching expeditions.
Amadeus wrote: Can someone tell me the most appropriate app (I don't mind paying for it) for an iPad to find GC and GCA caches and will I need to periodically download anything else after I buy the app? Will new and removed caches get updated automatically?
First off, I am an Android user, so not full bottle on the Apple side.

GPX files are downloaded lists of caches, including logs, hints etc. Both GCA and GC sites allow you to create lists and download them as GPX files. They are used for offline caching and can be loaded into a GPSr, or into an app running on the phone/iPad.

GSAK is a Windows application that can translate various file formats, store lists, log finds and generally do pretty much anything geocaching (hence the name, which stands for Geocaching Swiss Army Knife)

To the best of my knowledge, there's not one app that does both GC and GCA in terms of live, online access. There is a pay for Official GC app and a free GCA one. I believe there are some apps though which will read in GPX files and display both, although I couldn't find one that liked both GC and GCA GPX files and being a Mac person, I don't have access to GSAK which can apparently do the necessary transformation.
Amadeus wrote: One last general question.

I love travelling to the bush in country NSW up to 3-4 hours from Sydney.

Are most caches in towns and close to roads? I like hiking and I would like to go on bushwalks that take you a bit off the beaten track to more remote caches. Are these rare or quite common?

Thanks in advance for any feeedback.
Caches are all over the place, including some out-of-the-way hides, but most are close to roads, towns or other features. The main reason is that most Cache owners like people to visit their caches, so they tend to be placed where most people go. That said, there are also people who like placing them way out in the sticks, there's just fewer of them compared with the other types ;-)

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Re: N00b With an iPad and Some Questions

Post by juc_cacher » 26 June 12 9:23 pm

akkatracker wrote: The limitiations of the ipad are GPS in only 3G areas??? (I'm not fully sure). This would mean that you can't go for walks and to places where you don't have 3G. Again I would need a user to clarify.

You will have limited battery life on the iPad which would limit some hikes.
The bit about the GPS only in 3G areas is wrong. Like iPhones and many Android phones, the iPads use a cell-phone assisted GPSr, which means they use info from the nearest cell-tower to give a rough location rapidly, while the GPS acquires enough satellites to give an accurate fix.

The battery issue would definitely limit your use unless you only turned it on when you got close to a cache location

Amadeus
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Re: N00b With an iPad and Some Questions

Post by Amadeus » 26 June 12 9:26 pm

Thanks for the feedback. Looks like I better get myself a proper GPS since my iPad will be limited in some areas.

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Re: N00b With an iPad and Some Questions

Post by juc_cacher » 26 June 12 9:40 pm

Amadeus wrote:Thanks for the feedback. Looks like I better get myself a proper GPS since my iPad will be limited in some areas.
While in Seattle for a conference last year, I went out for a night's caching with someone else from the conference who used an iPad as his GPS and maps. In the urban setting with a good 3G signal, it was awesome. It would certainly give you a good enough taste of caching for you to decide if you wanted to make the financial commitment of a GPSr.

It may also be worth considering investing the small amount to become a Premium Member at GC, which gives access to some nifty stuff as well as a few more caches (those that have been set as Premium-only access)

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Re: N00b With an iPad and Some Questions

Post by Team Pathfinder » 27 June 12 9:42 am

I am no expert when it comes to the ins and outs of GPS but will add my 2 cents worth here if thats OK.

I have an IPad 3g into which I have loaded the paid version of Geobucket. We are currently travelling around Oz an going into remote areas well away from any 3G signal, eg last week we were up on the dirt near the Gulf (Butterfly Springs cache). The Ipad could very accurately pin point our location every time and had I wanted to use it instead of a GPS I am sure we would have been close enough to find caches. As for battery life - I am always doing something with the Ipad even when out of range of a signal, just turn the wifi off etc, but even with wifi running I can get many hours of service, perhaps not 10 with everything going but very close.

Cheers

Sue

PS I also have the GSAK (Ipad version) loaded but that requires me to sync to my laptop. Good app though if you are better versed at GSAK than me, and that is just about everyone else :D

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Re: N00b With an iPad and Some Questions

Post by Amadeus » 27 June 12 10:22 pm

Team Pathfinder wrote:I am no expert when it comes to the ins and outs of GPS but will add my 2 cents worth here if thats OK.

I have an IPad 3g into which I have loaded the paid version of Geobucket. We are currently travelling around Oz an going into remote areas well away from any 3G signal, eg last week we were up on the dirt near the Gulf (Butterfly Springs cache). The Ipad could very accurately pin point our location every time and had I wanted to use it instead of a GPS I am sure we would have been close enough to find caches. As for battery life - I am always doing something with the Ipad even when out of range of a signal, just turn the wifi off etc, but even with wifi running I can get many hours of service, perhaps not 10 with everything going but very close.

Cheers

Sue

PS I also have the GSAK (Ipad version) loaded but that requires me to sync to my laptop. Good app though if you are better versed at GSAK than me, and that is just about everyone else :D
Thanks for the reply Sue.

See, this is where I get confused. Now we have GSAK back in the mix along with Geobucket. There seems to be a mix of apps available and as a simple sort of guy I'd like to keep all this minimal yet functional. In your opinion do I need both or only one of these?

Basically to geocache I will need:

1. IPad
2. preferably a membership to geocache.com if I want GPX files for premium caches? which download to 3.
3. GSAK or Geobucket?

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Re: N00b With an iPad and Some Questions

Post by juc_cacher » 27 June 12 11:29 pm

Amadeus wrote:
See, this is where I get confused. Now we have GSAK back in the mix along with Geobucket. There seems to be a mix of apps available and as a simple sort of guy I'd like to keep all this minimal yet functional. In your opinion do I need both or only one of these?

Basically to geocache I will need:

1. IPad
2. preferably a membership to geocache.com if I want GPX files for premium caches? which download to 3.
3. GSAK or Geobucket?
I don't know anything about Geobucket, but from my understanding GSAK isn't a "field" app for locating and finding caches, it's more of a management/admin/stats type program.

For finding them with the iPad, you need an app like the paid Official GC app, which uses your GC credentials to log into the GC site and gives you access to your Pocket Queries etc online and allows you to "find nearby caches", but can also download and store GPX files of your queries for offline use.

There are a variety of free apps too, which vary in quality, stability and features. I used to use C: Geo regularly on the Android phone, but it got a bit flaky for a while and I ended up buying the GC app, which by and large, does a great job.

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Re: N00b With an iPad and Some Questions

Post by Earthbound Chief » 27 June 12 11:57 pm

On our iPad we use Geosphere which can link with navigon for routing and can use dropbox to import gpx files from friends. We also use the GC app.
With a premium GC membership you can set up Geosphere to download your pocket queries straight into your iPad. We recently had a month in Nth America and travelled to east to west. I still have some 20000 caches from there on my iPad (which I must get round to removing). I was able to update each time I found a fast free wifi.

We started with the GC app on an iPhone and also have that on our iPad which my wife prefers for immediate logging (using 3G)
I find the iPad brilliant for getting us almost there and then our gpsr to finish. My wife though, would quite happily find the caches with just the iPad, particularly when we are stuck, she pulls up satellite maps on either GC app or Geosphere
So to sum up we use:

a Premier membership :D

1. GC app - great but simple geoapp. Works very well. =D>
or
2.Geosphere =D>

You don't need GSAK just yet, in time, you may find you want to play with it . We do use it for loading caches onto our gpsr's and iPhones / iPads when we're at home and for managing all our finds, solved puzzles etc, etc. It is bloody fantastic and I have only just scratched the surface of its capabilities

Good luck and happy caching

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Team Pathfinder
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Re: N00b With an iPad and Some Questions

Post by Team Pathfinder » 28 June 12 8:53 am

Amadeus wrote:
Team Pathfinder wrote: :D
Thanks for the reply Sue.

See, this is where I get confused. Now we have GSAK back in the mix along with Geobucket. There seems to be a mix of apps available and as a simple sort of guy I'd like to keep all this minimal yet functional. In your opinion do I need both or only one of these?

Basically to geocache I will need:

1. IPad
2. preferably a membership to geocache.com if I want GPX files for premium caches? which download to 3.
3. GSAK or Geobucket?

For me I would choose Geobucket (the paid version), it isn't expensive - it is easy to operate and is continually having new features added. It works where-ever I am and without the need for the internet once I have downloaded a PQ, if I have the internet available I can update the caches through the app. I can log finds and DNF's etc off-line and send them when I have internet access. A nice simple app for this little blonde duck =D>

I needed something really simple as I had never mastered GSAK - I only downloaded the app as I had GSAK on my Laptop for the last 10 years. Once I load caches on it, it works OK but loading it can be a bit hit or miss for me.

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Re: N00b With an iPad and Some Questions

Post by FelixII » 28 June 12 1:27 pm

I know everyone uses different and not to confuse you but we use different again.

But to see if you like the game and want to continue all you need is 1 app whichever you choose and your ipad.

Go and find 50-100 caches and see what you think before spending more than $10. you should only
need to spend around that for any app be it Geocaching.com or any other.

Most will only find gc.com caches, but there are few gc.com.au caches anyways.

Once you have decided you are 'into it' then you can work on it from there.

We certainly cache both gc.com and gc.com.au and love both.


Good Luck :lol:

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Re: N00b With an iPad and Some Questions

Post by Earthbound Chief » 28 June 12 3:19 pm

But to see if you like the game and want to continue all you need is 1 app whichever you choose and your ipad.

Go and find 50-100 caches and see what you think before spending more than $10. you should only
need to spend around that for any app be it Geocaching.com or any other.

Most will only find gc.com caches, but there are few gc.com.au caches anyways.

Once you have decided you are 'into it' then you can work on it from there.

We certainly cache both gc.com and gc.com.au and love both.


Good Luck
I couldn't agree more

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Re: N00b With an iPad and Some Questions

Post by juc_cacher » 28 June 12 5:20 pm

Earthbound Chief wrote:
I couldn't agree more
+1 on not investing more than you need to until you're sure

Although I do consider the $30 for Premium Membership a worthwhile investment simply because it unlocks some nifty ways of querying the GC database. If you decide caching isn't something you want to pursue any longer, it's a manageable amount to sacrifice for most people.

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Re: N00b With an iPad and Some Questions

Post by Amadeus » 28 June 12 10:41 pm

Thanks again for replies.

So what % of caches are premium? I'm not looking at subscribing to GC yet but I'm curious how many more would be revealed. Also do the contents of premium caches tend to be dfferent in some ways compared to regular caches?

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