Communication and geocaching is like peanut butter and jelly, Martin and Lewis, Oreo cookies and milk. Take one away and it just doesn't work. A GPSr unit must have communication with enough satellites above to function correctly. A smart phone not only needs the satellite connection but a good Internet connection too. Well today we can thank AT&T for removing the communications part of my geocaching. All I was able to get was a fair GSM signal (Not the normal EDGE) which means my phone could work but you can forget Internet capabilities. It started late yesterday when I noticed my phone signal was actually at SOS. This meant the signal was so weak you might get a phone connection but may not even get out a text message because the signal is so weak - great. Guess they are doing maintenance or something nearby.
So I figured I would drive a round a tad to see if I could get a better signal. I finally did but by the time I was closer to a new tower it was time to go back and that was what I did. So no geocaching find this time and hopefully we can get a better signal tomorrow. This just goes to show you that you cannot rely completely on your Internet connection gizmos and having a backup GPS with a recent .GPX file is not a bad idea.
Thanks a bunch AT&T -NOT!
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2 comments:
I have the same issue with my phone. I want a good GPS to use besides my phone. Does anyone know of a good GPS model that is inexpensive? I heard that some do not have good signals while others do. I just do not know anyone who uses a GPS device that is not their phone.
Well, I rely on my BlackBerry and the Sprint network and sometimes that just flat-out lets me down. We cache as a family and the kids 'want to see' -- like I want to hand them a $600 cell phone.... I recently got all my kids (9, 6,6, & 2!) a GeoMate Jr. They have proven to be durable and accurate, they were not expensive and they are easy to use. On the CON side, you have to also buy the update cable and they do not locate all types of caches.
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