Geocaching with Fenix 3

Former Member over 10 years ago

Hey guys, anybody else finding it annoying that you cannot use the Fenix 3 for geocaching at all? Ok, you can put the exportet .gpx files in the GARMIN\NEWFILES folder, but that will only give you the position and no additional info. So I still have to use my smartphone.

Has anyone yet started programming a geocaching app for the Fenix 3? If not I might give it a try...

@ the experienced monkey c programmers, would you start with an app or a widget? Are there any major restraints that make a usable geocaching app impossible right now? Like parsing gpx files from internal memory...

travis.vitek over 10 years ago

would you start with an app or a widget?

For geocaching, it seems you'd want an app. The widgets have a timeout where they will automatically go away if you don't interact with them for a set period of time.

Are there any major restraints that make a usable geocaching app impossible right now? Like parsing gpx files from internal memory...

You have no access to the underlying filesystem at all. You have access to the persistence system which is a simple associative container that allows you store and access data given a key. Additionally, you may be able to access the internet for additional data via makeJsonRequest().

I looked into this a bit previously, and the thing that killed it for me is that there don't appear to be any free services that store geocache information. Garmin has one, but they no longer allow access to new developers.

Travis

jim_m_58 over 10 years ago

For less than $80(US) I picked up a Garmin Etrex 10, that handles geo-caching quite well. You can download caches from basecamp and pick one. On top of that it has a much larger display, and will show you more detail than you can see on a watch. And while using it, I just use my watch to record it as a walk.

And there are Etrex models that have more features (but also cost more!) if you want more info on this kind of stuff (like background maps).

Former Member over 10 years ago

For geocaching, it seems you'd want an app. The widgets have a timeout where they will automatically go away if you don't interact with them for a set period of time.
Travis

Thanks for the info, I'll keep that in mind for any future projects.

You have no access to the underlying filesystem at all. You have access to the persistence system which is a simple associative container that allows you store and access data given a key. Additionally, you may be able to access the internet for additional data via makeJsonRequest().
Travis

Thats a bummer! Is it gonna stay like that or is the garmin team working on making file system access available? We would just need access to one folder. It would open lots of new possibilities :cool:

I looked into this a bit previously, and the thing that killed it for me is that there don't appear to be any free services that store geocache information. Garmin has one, but they no longer allow access to new developers.

Ok, so that's not an option as well. Too bad, but good to know. Thank you!

Former Member over 10 years ago

For less than $80(US) I picked up a Garmin Etrex 10, that handles geo-caching quite well. You can download caches from basecamp and pick one. On top of that it has a much larger display, and will show you more detail than you can see on a watch. And while using it, I just use my watch to record it as a walk.

And there are Etrex models that have more features (but also cost more!) if you want more info on this kind of stuff (like background maps).

Thanks for the advice but I'm not in the mood to buy more gear right now. I guess I'll just stay with my mobile then. I use an app called L4C Pro. It's really good work, worth the money. Lots of options and doesn't drain the battery like the groundspeak app. But I still kinda hate to look at my phone all the time when being outside...

Former Member over 6 years ago

I know this post is old but I am here to mention that I am currently developing a Geocaching app.

It uses the Persistent Storage system to store caches and allows the user to add new caches and navigate to them. As mentioned before, there are still no free webservices that provide you with data so the user ist restricted to input caches directly in the App or via the settings menu on Garmin connect. I plan to create a companion app that scrapes geocaching.com if that is not illegal.

Also there are some major problems with storage space (device like fenix 3 only have 64kb per app) so you need to expect that it might not be possible to save more than ~20 caches.

Probably there is no mucht demand on such an app left, I created the app for personal use with my fenix 3 only. When I release the app I might look in adding support for more devices.

Former Member over 6 years ago

I know this post is old but I am here to mention that I am currently developing a Geocaching app.

It uses the Persistent Storage system to store caches and allows the user to add new caches and navigate to them. As mentioned before, there are still no free webservices that provide you with data so the user ist restricted to Input caches directly in the App or via the settings menu on Garmin connect. I plan to create a companion app that scrapes geocaching.com if that is not illegal.

Also there are some major problems with storage space (device like fenix 3 only have 64kb per app) so you need to expect that it might not be possible to save more than ~20 caches.

Probably there is not demand on such an app anymore, I created the app for personal use with my fenix 3 only. When I release the app I might look in adding support for more devices.

jim_m_58 over 6 years ago in reply to Former Member

Actually on an f3, the app and data is limited to 64kb (60kb if you are recording a .fit file) Storage (the Object store or settings data) is 8kb at most

peterdedecker over 6 years ago in reply to Former Member

60k is actually quite big. If you want a challenge you could try to implement it as a datafield within 16k :)

I can't imagine that storing the caches can be large, do you need anything besides latitude and longitude? this should take less than 1k....