Geocache Navigator

Summerville, South Carolina, December 25, 2006—I spent a fun-filled, if damp, day here, in moderate to heavy rain with my wife and daughter. The weather, needless to say, bestowed little amusement, but new mobile software—really more of a game—delivered plenty. Geocache Navigator from Trimble Outdoors is the first application I've used that melds the GPS receiver included in a number of models of mobile phones with the Web for use in geocaching. The software works with the very popular (and hardware-neutral) Groundspeak Inc. Web site, www.geocaching.com—a recent Web site of the week.

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Geocaching, if you haven't heard of it, is an outdoor pursuit considered a sport by some. The goal is the same as that of a treasure hunt, but in addition to clues, you get GPS coordinates that help you navigate to the general location of a cache hidden by a person who has posted the information on the Web.

That drizzly Christmas day, we were on the trail of goodies concealed in the quaint little Azalea Park, about 20 miles north of Charleston. Members of "Sissy-n-CR," an all-volunteer geocaching hobbyist community, had created a "container cache," a camouflage-painted plastic Rubbermaid container carefully covered with Spanish moss and secreted under some trees.

I pulled the cache site down automatically

Geocache Navigator : Logo

This mobile geocaching application from Trimble Navigation Limited is highly addictive.

Geocache Navigator : Digital Compass

Let's take a little tour of the interface. One screen on the interface displays a digital compass. It's not always very accurate, unless you’re moving at a fairly good clip.

Geocache Navigator : Could it be in the bird feeder?

Is it in the Birdfeeder?: Turns out that the Azalea Park Cache (north of Charleston South Carolina) was not in the birdfeeder, despite my nearly zeroing out the Motorola i855 mobile phone's GPS receiver within a few feet of it. It was nearby though.

Geocache Navigator : Details page

Cache Creators: Cache creators often put some creativity into their descriptions—it’s obvious that they enjoy the sport.

Geocache Navigator : Eureka!

My supervisor on the Azalea Park Cache hunt and I finally locate the cache.

Geocache Navigator : Radar View

This view provides you a general perspective on your location relative to the cache and provides your distance from it.

What’s inside Dad?

My daughter was quite intrigued with the whole thing, despite the inclement weather.

Geocache Navigator : Gotta get the maps

As you toggle down to this screen, you’ll find an empty map. When you click the menu button, you get a pop up list of map types to choose from

Geocache Navigator : Logbook, goodies, and the i855

This cache happened to be in an airtight, watertight, and camouflaged Rubber Maid container. Etiquette dictates that you must sign the log, replace whatever you take with something equally as good as what you find, and re-hide the cache the way you found it, preferably without anyone else seeing you (not hard that day).

Geocache Navigator : Your choice

Map Choices: Here you’ll pick the map type that makes the most sense(ie a road map for driving or a topical map for hiking).

Geocache Navigator : Micro cache by Johnny DingoMicro cache by Johnny Dingo

Later that same day I sought out the Micro Cache by Johnny Dingo located somewhere in Charleston's historic downtown battery (The opening shots of the American Civil War were fired on Fort Sumter from here). It took me quite a while to find this tiny cache ingeniously hidden by the talented cache creator, Johnny Dingo. It consisted of a waterproof magnetic key container, with just enough room for a rolled up log and some smiley face dots.

Geocache Navigator : Road view

Even though Geocache Navigator is not also a turn-by-turn navigation system, you can at least see where you are when you are driving, simply by searching nearby caches (as noted before, you’ll have to be able to connect to your carrier’s network). Once you’ve selected a cache and loaded it, skip down the icon menu to the maps icon and page. A red triangle represents your location, and a red square represents the cache —the mapping background will not be visible. Click the menu button and download a map. Within a few seconds, the red markers will be surrounded by a map of the area.

About Our Expert

Davis D. Janowski

davis_janowski@ziffdavis.com

Davis D. Janowski is Lead Analyst for Web Applications and Software, charged with covering the likes of Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, and millions of other Internet and Web companies. Prior to this, he served as Section Editor for Consumer Networking, GPS Products, Phones & PDAs (Mobile and VoIP); Associate Editor for Networking Infrastructure; and Associate Editor for Internet Infrastructure. Before joining PC Magazine, Janowski worked as a medical editor, covering epidemiology and infectious diseases, receiving training at the Centers for Disease Control. At one point, he acted as guide for a CDC team, collecting ticks for a study on the origins of human ehrlichiosis in the Florida bush. Before that he made a very modest living as a freelance writer and photographer, covering scuba diving and nautical archaeology.

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