Lots of Garmin’s GPS devices nowadays already contain built in gps maps, which can easily be used as geocaching maps as well. What many people don’t know is the fact that you can still have additional maps loaded to the device in addition to the already preinstalled gps map.  This brief „how-to” tutorial will show you how to get additional maps on your GPS unit.

Warning: If you have bought a micro-SD card, containing Garmin geocaching maps –  DO NOT attempt to overwrite these, use a different memorey card!

Loading Geocache Maps with „MapSource” geocaching software on a Computer:

1. Start Garmin’s MapSource software (screenshots: version 6.14.x –  but the process is the same for all software versions)
   If Garmin MapSource did not come by default with our device – check this short tutorial on howand where  todownload and install it .
2. Select the wanted geocaching map from the drop down chooser in the upper left corner.
3. Once your geocache map is selected – let the software load it into the main window.
4. Zoom out to a suitable detail level for you to see which parts you want to load. This works pretty much like a Google Map Search.

5. Click on the “Map Tool” icon
6. Choose the sections that you would like to load, by dragging selection boxes on the map.
7. The chosen sections will become pinkish:and then appear in the gps maps tab on the left hand side of the screen
8. Repeat the steps 2 to 7 for any additional geocache maps you wish to download at the same time (like a Topo map).
9. Plug your GPS device into your PC or slide a memory card from the GPS into your computer’s cardreader.
10. Click on the “Send to Device” icon
11. On the following screen prompt you will see your device. Make sure that the „maps” checkbox is ticked.
12. Press “Send” button
13. It will then first build the mapset. Attention: This can take hours depending on the maps you chose.then it is going to transfer the geocashing stuff to your GPS or memory card:
14. You receive a „success” message at the end of the whole procedure of installing geocaching maps to the gps device – equal to: “The data has been successfully sent”

Congratulations – you eventually have the GPS maps on the device with the help of a non geocaching software from Garmin J.

Let’s go geocaching!

A geocoin is not a coin in the common sense, but a trackable piece of geocaching supplies. You can often find one if you locate a geocache with the help of your geocaching maps. The point of these things is to travel. All of them have a unique tracking number and an own subsite on geocaching.com. The owner of the geocoin normally set a goal for his coin there (e.g. “travel around the world”).

I would like to show you some unique geocoins that I have come across.

LE Gold Baby Geocoin

This unique Baby coin has been made by  C H Quality Coins. and was released in 2006.  This cool piece of  “geocash” was designed from a photo of the designer´s son.

The family originates in Finland.  The Baby geocoin is limited to 250 coins. 100 were made of shiny gold and blue diapers, another 100 in Shiny Gold and Pink Diapers. The last 50 are from Satin Gold with white diapers.

The coin is trackable and has got it´s very own icon at www.geocaching.com (a stork).

Celtic Star Geocoin

A beauty from artist Lilly Sue, released in september 2008. This piece is also part of a limited geocaching supplies series – 50 pieces exist worldwide. It was sold out in november 2008 .

The Celtic Star Geocoins were made of Antique Silver, Gold and a limited Edition was minted in Copper.

Frozen Buns Geocoin

This is a personal Geocoin, made by  – guess what – Frozen Buns and released in 2007! The two moons and the part under the door of the outer house are made to glow in the dark. It is a 300 pieces limited edition. 125 in Shiny Nickel, another 125 in Shiny Gold, 25 in Antique Silver and the last 25 in shiny Copper.

If you check your geocaching maps exactly and look into the descriptions of the caches at geocaching.com (it always contains a listing of inventary, like travel bugs and other trackables), you also might find such beauties.

Hi folks – this is going to be a very brief post. Often you want to go out – find a geocach, but you don´t exactly know how the area will look like in real life. I am going to show you today how you “abuse” google maps as geocaching maps to plan your tour.

Login to www.geocaching .com – search for interesting geocaches – pick one.

After that:

• Open Google Maps

• Take the coordinates of the cache and copy-paste into the search field

• See the exact spot of Geocaches on Google Maps, without even leaving home

• Switch the GPS Maps view to Satellite or if available in your area – to Street View

You get a very good idea of the area that you`re going to enter. It won´t replace good geocaching maps on your GPS – but it is a very simple and handy method to check what´s waiting for you onsite

I have also uploaded a short video about this Google Maps Geocaching Map technique.

So – what are you waiting for? Let´s go Geocaching.

For Geocaching you will need some kind of GPS system, which can be an expensive piece of hardware, if you want to get your hands on a dedicated device (e.g. Garmin Geocaching – especially if you require the additional download of GPS maps). But in most households the necessary hardware is already existing: smartphones.

I am going through a short review of the geocaching app that I personally use on my Android phone, called C:Geo.

C:GEO - geocaching app

You can download it for FREE at Google Play. This is for sure the easiest way to start off your geocaching adventures if you’re new to the subject. The big advantage of the c:geo app is that once you installed it, you’re ready to go. No need for any additional geocaching maps, messing with the geocaches on Google Maps first or any offline preparation.

There are certainly dozens of Android geocaching apps freely available, but c:geo is my personal favourite – and I am going to outline why:

c:geo exclusively uses the database of www.geocaching.com for the cache search (which is by the way the original geocaching site the game started off with and biggest of it’s kind worldwide). So – to be able to use this app at all you will need:

• Android Smartphone with 3G or some kind of Internet connectivity
• Account with www.geocaching.com

The website offers 2 kinds of accounts – a free version and a premium version. As an owner of a premium account you have exclusive access to certain features and gimmicks. For example you can regularly import up to date geocache data from a geocache map in gpx-format into your device and will this way have all data readily available on your GPS device or GPS map. While free account users can only use the website itself for searching geocaches on google maps (update: as of 1st of february 2012 geocaching.com utilizes geocaching maps beta, based on OpenStreetMap) or one of the other search options. So that pictures, cache-description, hints etc. can only be viewed online. That is exactly the point where the geocaching software c:geo joins the game J, because eventually it kind of emulates the website functionality. This way you have all up to date cache data always with you from the comfort of our smartphone, but without the need of even opening a browser.

All search options of the website are also available in c:geo:

• caches nearby
• search by coordinates
• search by address
• search by geocode
• search by keyword
• search by user
• search by owner

I personally prefer the „Live map” option, which is the best geocaching maps option I’ve seen in such apps so far.

geocaching maps on C:geo (right) -- Homescreen (left)

It is just so handy that you can be anywhere, you have some minutes for caching and all you need to do is: turn on the internet connection of your phone, turn on location reporting (via gps or wireless network), launch c:geo and click on „Live map”. Within a few seconds you will be presented with all the geocaches around you. Pick one – you get all the info, that would normally appear on www.geocaching.com as well – and go J. It’s that simple. Of course locating the geocaching containers themselves is where the fun really starts.

Overall, there are a lot of ways to choose caches to search for, but the geocache map option is definitely the easiest and quickest if you just want to get going without preparation.

In case you don’t want to be online during your whole treasure hunt, c:geo let’s you save offline versions of the caches as well.

The downsides are: Your phone’s battery will suffer intensively, the app tends to crash sometimes (common it’s free and open source…) and – at least for me – the included compass does not always point into the right direction.

But the distance to the targeted geocash is shown very precisely due to the app using a kind of cross validation of your GPS position and wireless networks. This way you don’t even necessarily need the compass function. With the included geocaching maps free version you always see where you are compared to the cache.

Once you’ve found your treasure (and potentially some geocoins J ), you can log your visit instantly and on the spot. This is possible because the app is logged into geocaching.com all the time, if you have turned your network connection on. No more printing of cache descriptions required, no more manual marking of found caches on any paper geocache maps and no more asking yourself after a long caching tour „Did I find exactly this box – or not?”.

Conclusion:
All in all an absolutely great application:

+ It gives you all the functionality that normally only a Premium geocaching.com account would get

+ no need for preparation – very good for spontaneous trips

+ paperless caching

+ The built in Live geocache maps make searching a child’s play

- geocaching app reduces battery life of your Android

- Sometimes application crashes

- Compass is often upside down

+ It’s free!!! – It gives you geocaching maps free of any charge

What are you waiting for – turn off that computer – let’s go geocaching!