Geocaching in a Model S?

[rpc364]

I know this is soooo 2000s, but my work is having a geocaching "fun" event. Involves the use of cars. I thought there would be some advantage I could reap with my Model S nav system. My google searches on "geocaching" and "tesla model S" aren't providing much education. Does anyone know if the nav system accepts GPS coordinates? Anyone have any tricks that they can think of using to leverage the Model S nav system for a GPS coordinate-based navigation effort? Thanks.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

I doubt it would be of much help. It might be able to get you close to the geocache but probably 99.9% of geocaches aren't accessible from a car. Normally you have to get out and search around with your GPS.

 

[rpc364]

I doubt it would be of much help. It might be able to get you close to the geocache but probably 99.9% of geocaches aren't accessible from a car. Normally you have to get out and search around with your GPS.

Understood. Not looking to drive to the exact geocache location - just the spot where I park the car to switch to my phone gps. This is sort of a rally-like event, so getting there quick has an advantage - which I hope to exploit with my Model S...

 

[dflye]

Having been geocaching for a number of years, mostly in my P85 for the last few years, I almost always just rely upon either my handheld GPSr or smartphone for the entire trip, given that one can't readily upload a bunch of waypoints / POI into the S nav system.

For one geocaching event I attended perhaps similar to yours (where I had to drive between 24 different locations spread around a large area within a certain timeframe), I manually input the coordinates so that they were at least in my nav history to quickly switch between. That pre-dated the ability to tap to add a destination at an arbitrary point on the map, which would have greatly simplified things, as I was basically doing what you plan: Use the S nav system to get to parking, then switch to something more meant for going off-road.

edit to add: One gotcha I've encountered with passengers attempting to use their handheld or auto GPSr in my S; some of them apparently can't get a decent enough signal through the windshield shielding to be functional.

 

[RyanT]

Not sure if this will help but you can create a calendar entry with locations. It's a easy way to send locations between your phone and car.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Having been geocaching for a number of years, mostly in my P85 for the last few years, I almost always just rely upon either my handheld GPSr or smartphone for the entire trip, given that one can't readily upload a bunch of waypoints / POI into the S nav system.

For one geocaching event I attended perhaps similar to yours (where I had to drive between 24 different locations spread around a large area within a certain timeframe), I manually input the coordinates so that they were at least in my nav history to quickly switch between. That pre-dated the ability to tap to add a destination at an arbitrary point on the map, which would have greatly simplified things, as I was basically doing what you plan: Use the S nav system to get to parking, then switch to something more meant for going off-road.

edit to add: One gotcha I've encountered with passengers attempting to use their handheld or auto GPSr in my S; some of them apparently can't get a decent enough signal through the windshield shielding to be functional.

Good points. When I did some geocaching roadtrips in the years ago, I would program the coordinates into my car GPS. It would get me to the general area but then I would turn on my portable GPS to help me find the way once I left the car.

 

[ghost640]

Great thread - I didn't realize until today that you could enter Lat/Long coords into the Tesla Nav, very cool - be handy for getting to the parking areas!

Just for kicks, I'll let you in on a cache I'm working on, since few of you will probably be caching up here in northern Minnesota. It will be a multi - I've sanded the tip off a tire pressure gauge so you have to use your tire to expose the shaft, that's where the coordinates to the final are written. It's kind of a no-brainer (hmm, I found a tire gauge, what do I do with it?), but it should give folks a chuckle.

Good luck with the event RPC364, you'll have a distinct advantage!