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Advice about hardware for getting started


james2b2

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Unless you're doing some pretty simple urban caching, you'll find a tablet a bit awkward to manage in the field. While there are arguments to be had regarding cell phone use vs. purpose built handhelds, I don't think the tablet is really practical... especially with the need to attach external GPS hardware to it.

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Am I better off with a dedicated GPS unit with a display (like a Garmin 64 series), or an external GPS unit that can attach to my tablet (like a Garmin Glo)?

Does your tablet have no built-in GPS receiver? If not, you can test things anyway. Load the free Official Geocaching App, have location services on, and wander outside for a while, especially in bright sunlight. Now imagine you had to carry another device and keep it paired and charged, and then decide. Location services without GPS will likely not be suitable for pinpointing a cache, this is just to get a feel for carrying it around, (approximate) navigation to a cache, and viewing it in various lighting conditions. My iPad display (and my other tablets) washes out in sunlight.

 

I have a Bad Elf GPS dongle for my wifi-only iPad, and it's barely tolerable. It's also Bad :blink: (sometimes the iPad doesn't see it). I have a DUAL brand external Bluetooth GPS device, and that's not good for very long, due to Bluetooth draining the battery faster.

 

But give it a shot before a purchase. If you load and hunt a nearby cache once in a while, the tablet may be just fine.

Edited by kunarion
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If I am doing some easy caching (e.g. in-town park-n-grabs), I usually just use my phone (or tablet).

 

The main reason I have a dedicated GPS (Garmin GPSMAP 60Csx) is that it is A LOT more durable for those long and or difficult hikes. It can be thrown in a pocket or backpack, dropped, banged around, or otherwise get abused without any lasting damage. It's even waterproof. I bet your tablet isn't. The battery is also a factor. The AAs in my GPS last longer than my phone battery, and if I'm in the woods and they die, I can just pop in 2 more AAs.

Edited by Pork King
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If I am doing some easy caching (e.g. in-town park-n-grabs), I usually just use my phone (or tablet).

 

The main reason I have a dedicated GPS (Garmin GPSMAP 60Csx) is that it is A LOT more durable for those long and or difficult hikes. It can be thrown in a pocket or backpack, dropped, banged around, or otherwise get abused without any lasting damage. It's even waterproof. I bet your tablet isn't. The battery is also a factor. The AAs in my GPS last longer than my phone battery, and if I'm in the woods and they die, I can just pop in 2 more AAs.

 

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I guess if I am going off the beaten track where the GPS signal on my phone is weak and reliability is important I probably want a standalone unit. I just thought there might be more versatility using an external GPS like the Garmin Glo with a tablet and an app, as i have read people complaining about the clunky software on the 64, 62 ,60 etc. Also, I was reading about the Garmin 64 but it is just frustrating that you don´t seem to be able to tether it with a tablet as you can with the Glo. Can anyone confirm this?

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Everything depends upon whether a given tablet can act as a USB host. The recent Garmin handhelds (apart from one) all look like mass storage devices (akin to a thumb drive), and that's a good way of describing what's needed. If the device you carry along with your Garmin will accept a thumb drive, and you can change its content, then it will be capable of sending files to your Garmin. But most of us just use our desktop / laptop / netbook for that.

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The main reason I have a dedicated GPS (Garmin GPSMAP 60Csx) is that it is A LOT more durable for those long and or difficult hikes. It can be thrown in a pocket or backpack, dropped, banged around, or otherwise get abused without any lasting damage. It's even waterproof. I bet your tablet isn't. The battery is also a factor. The AAs in my GPS last longer than my phone battery, and if I'm in the woods and they die, I can just pop in 2 more AAs.

 

 

esixsigma

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