iPhone app question

[Chessie81]

Hi Everybody!!! We had a great weekend caching and working on completing the CAM caches. Zepp914 and I are both phone cachers. He uses an app exclusive to android. I have the ground speak app for my iPhone 6. I have the $9.99 version and love it for regular caches. However, I am at a definite disadvantage when we complete multi-caches, puzzles, and the unpublished CAM hides. I have tried to pull up a cache and then create a new waypoint from there. However, it never works. I end up with either a waypoint where I've parked the car or waypoint at the cache I'm using to create the new waypoint. I've followed the directions I found on the ground speak forums and Google. Yesterday I ended up entering coordinates for a CAM cache into google maps. I ended up sort of there and then fellow cachers pointed me in the right direction. Zepp914's android app not sure what it is called allows him just to type in coordinates and go. He doesn't need to open up an existing cache and create a new waypoint Is there an app for iPhone that allows me just to type in coordinates? I also tried to download the coordinates on the forum for CAM and could not get them to open up on my phone using the app. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!! Thank you

[eissak]

Try Geosphere. It can open up .gpx files, I believe.

[Death Wish Dave]

I'll let you know how my iPhone geocaching.com app works with CAM caches. I don't use it much for caching but forgot my handheld Oregon today so plan to attempt the enter new waypoint feature. It looked straightforward this morning when I checked out how to do it but I didn't actually try to navigate to any new points.

[Death Wish Dave]

I was successful putting in a new waypoint and using the geocaching.com app with my iPhone 6 today. This is what I did:
1. Select a cache (doesn't matter which one).
2. Select "Navigate to Geocache"
3. Making sure you are on the Map page (not Compass), click the three white buttons on the upper right.
4. Click Add Waypoint.
5. Click on Name if you want to change it
6. Click on latitude and longitude and set it to what you want.
7. Click done.
8. Back on the Map page, you should see a new orange flag.
9. If you touch the orange flag, you will now be navigating to the new waypoint.
10. You can switch to Compass if you want to and you will still be going to your new waypoint.

It worked for me today! Hope it works for you too!

[lpaulriddle]

That method has always worked for me, too. I generally use my Garmin for caching, but I've always liked the way the iPhone app handles waypoints. When you navigate to a cache, all of the associated waypoints (parking, trailheads, etc) show up on the map as flags, and you can also add your own waypoints manually. However, the Groundspeak iPhone app is limited in that you can only search for and navigate to published, enabled caches. That makes it a pain to use with the CAM caches, because they haven't yet been published. So the only way to get around that is to pick an existing nearby cache, and add the CAM cache coordinates as a waypoint to the existing cache (as DWD describes). You could also try using a different app altogether. "Commander Compass Lite" is a free app that will let you navigate to arbitrary GPS coordinates. I've used it a few times, and it's worked well. I'm sure there are lots of others out there, too.

Paul

[Chessie81]

Thanks to you all!!! We just finished CAM today. I have mastered using waypoints on my phone. Now if I can only figure out how to download gps files....

[zekester]

The majority (well all) of the iPhone users we know use the Geosphere app. It may have a somewhat steeper learning curve but it has a tremendously greater level of capability than Groundspeak's app.

[TheLoneBaker]

I hadn't heard of the geosphere app until very recently and haven't had a chance to look at it yet. I've been using the groundspeak exclusively for a few years now and haven't really had any problems.

[Msmit002]

I figured I would chime in here...

So, I loaded the Geospehere app on my iPhone 6 about a month ago because I was a bit annoyed with the inability to get GPX files into the Groundspeak app. So, that was the impetus for purchasing and getting to know the app. I'm just throwing out my thoughts on the app in case others have been wondering if it really is worth spending another $10 on a geocaching app.

There was a little bit of a learning curve with the app. The most apparent is how Geosphere allows you use Offline Caches. If you are like me who was only used to being plugged into 'the grid' all the time, this took a little getting used to. At first I couldn't figure out what exactly was an offline cache versus an online cache. Now I get it: if you are wondering what is around you and you haven't downloaded any caches via a GPX file etc. then you go to the online caches tab to search and then you can go from there. However, once you have launched a query and it is in the list of caches that match, it becomes an 'offline cache' for you to see as well. Confused? So was I! But it makes sense and is actually pretty cool. Basically, it's the querry the database once for finds, then you can reference the list over and over again without constantly querying the database. This, in turn, translates to less strain on the phone battery, which is a big plus to me.

But, of course you can load those GPX files! I have been able to take files form GSAK, PocketQueries from other users, GPX files for geoart trails etc. and load them. It is a little quirky (to me) but not too bad. If you already have a DropBox account, it is actually pretty easy. Personally, this is how I do it.

I like how you can see, at a glance, the type of the last 5 log entries (Found, DNF, Maintenance, disabled, etc.) without getting too invested in the cache details itself.

I also really like the Navigate screen (your compass). No more flipping back and forth to the description and details screen to see quick details like D/T, cache size it is all right there with the rest of the information you expect to see such as the coords, GPS accuracy, etc.

Overall, I am finding that I am preferring this app over the Groundspeak app, thought I still have not yet cut the umbilical cord to the Groundspeak app just yet. I'm sure it will come soon.