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From BlackStar

BlackStar - Point-to-Point GPS Navigation for BlackBerry

Contents 1 Introduction 2 Installation and support 3 Adding/Managing Waypoints 3.1 Entering Directly 3.2 BCaching.com Import 4 The Hunt 4.1 Selecting a Waypoint 4.2 Navigating to the Waypoint 4.3 The Final Hunt 4.4 Found it! 5 Frequently Asked Questions 6 Specific Carrier/Phone Notes 7 MORE TO COME

Introduction

Blackstar is a free application that runs on most BlackBerry smartphones. It allows the user to use the built-in GPS (or an external Bluetooth GPS) to perform point-to-point navigation. It also has a series of Geocaching-specific enhancements that allow Premium Geocaching.com members to import Pocket Queries or extract data from bcaching.com.

Project page: http://www.blackstarnavigation.com

Installation and support

The software may be downloaded from the project page above, or can be installed from Blackberry App World.

Support is available at the project forums, which can also be found at the project page.

Adding/Managing Waypoints

Waypoints can generally be added in one of three ways:

Entering Directly

From the BlackStar main screen, hit the menu key and select "New Waypoint". Enter a waypoint name, your desired Lat/Lon, and a description.

BCaching.com Import

BCaching.com also allows you to store Pocket Queries from Geocaching.com on their site if you are a Premium Geocaching member. You can even set the Pocket Queries to email directly to your BCaching.com account, meaning you always have a reasonably current list of GeoCaches "on tap" at your BCaching.com account. This is pretty easy to set up, and you can just create a few automated Pocket Queries that run every day or two and always have lots of current caches ready for "on the spur of the moment" GeoCaching.

You have to set up an account with BCaching (see their site for full details) and enter your BCaching credentials into BlackStar (under "Options" / "bcaching").

Once this is set up, BlackStar can pull the 20 Geocaches that are closest to your current position from BCaching. The real beauty of doing it this way is that the distance calculations are done on the BCaching site and are very fast. So if you keep your BlackStar waypoints list empty, BCaching can have your "nearest 20" loaded up and ready to go very quickly.

You have to have a GPS lock to load the nearest caches from BCaching. Once you have a lock, go to the Waypoints List and select "Get closest BCaching GPX". Wait for the "x caches added, x caches updated" message, exit the Waypoints List and go back in to force BlackStar to sort the new waypoints by distance.

Note: When you cache this way, you may find it helpful to clear your waypoints list every now and then. If you're driving around loading more and more caches into BlackStar, you'll find the distance calculations take longer and longer. 20 waypoints load almost instantly. 200 can take a frustrating amount of time.

Tip: If your Pocket Queries are set to exclude caches you've found, BCaching will have no way of taking them off the list of caches to find. Be sure your PQ includes found caches so BCaching is aware you've found the cache. (Personally, I use weekly queries to get new caches, and I have a daily query set up centered at my home coordinates that uploads only "caches I've found" within a 500-mile radius, emailed directly to my BCaching account - this marks caches I've found overnight so they don't show up the next day on BCaching).

The Hunt

Now it's time to go find a GeoCache!

Selecting a Waypoint

When you open the "list waypoints" screen, it will sort the waypoints by distance from you (if you have a GPS lock). It will also indicate the approximate direction of each cache.

The direction is based on your current heading (the direction you are currently moving), and not what direction your BlackBerry happens to be pointed. So if you're standing still, there's a very good chance the directions are going to be pretty much random. For best results, walk a little distance and make sure the compass indicator is showing your approximate direction of movement before loading up the waypoints screen.

There are several ways to decide which waypoint you want to find next. Click on one and select "Waypoint Details" to see the description of the Cache. You can also select "Show all on BBMaps" and you'll see your nearest waypoints on a map (assuming you have BlackBerry Maps installed).

Once you've picked the waypoint you want to go to, click on it and select "Set as Destination".

Navigating to the Waypoint

The navigation screen will show you a compass rose with a red arrow pointing to the cache. As with all directional functions in BlackStar (and most GPS units, for that matter), this direction is interpolated from repeated readings of your location. In other words, if you stop moving, the BlackBerry has no way of knowing which way is "forward" and the arrow will likely start to spin around.

If you have to drive to the waypoint, or just prefer a map view, there are options on the main menu to see the waypoint in Google Maps or BlackBerry Maps.

The Final Hunt

Once you reach the vicinity of the waypoint, there are several hunting tips to keep in mind:

1. The arrow is (at the risk of sounding repetitive on this point) only accurate when you are moving in a straight line. If you stop or move in erratic directions, it becomes useless fast. You can counter this by using one of two techniques.
   1. Walk briskly in a straight line for at least 10 feet. This will calibrate the arrow for you.
   2. Ignore the arrow and look at the "distance to waypoint". If the number is getting smaller, you're headed in approximately the right direction.
2. The BlackBerry, like all GPS units, is only accurate to about 3 meters or approximately 9 feet under ideal conditions. Tree canopy, large buildings, and even a heavy cloud cover can interfere with GPS signal reception and increase that error considerably. Also, the original coordinates may be off due to the same issues. So once you get to within about 20 feet or so, don't depend on the GPS as much.

Found it!

Once you've found the cache, you can log it by selecting "Log Cache Online" from the menu. This will take you to the Geocaching.com mobile site with the log page for your cache preloaded. You may have to log in to Geocaching.com, of course.

This will not delete the cache from your GPX file or BCaching, so if you load your nearest from BCaching you'll see the same cache all over again. Keep track of what you've found for the day.  :)

Frequently Asked Questions

• Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

Specific Carrier/Phone Notes

As mentioned in the FAQ, most BlackBerry units can run BlackStar. However, BlackStar is really designed to be used with a GPS, and not all carriers will allow BlackStar to access the GPS.

Models

• Curve 83xx series:
  • Models 8300 and 8320 DO NOT have an internal GPS. BlackStar will work on these models with a bluetooth GPS.
  • Models 8310 and 8330 do have internal GPS. BlackStar availability will be dependent upon the carrier (see below)
• Pearl 81xx series:
  • Models 8100 and 8120 DO NOT have an internal GPS. BlackStar will work on these models with a bluetooth GPS.
  • Models 8110 and 8130 do have internal GPS. BlackStar availability will be dependent upon the carrier (see below)

Carriers

• AT&T (US)
  • All models should be supported. Some models like the Pearl do not have built-in GPS.

• Centennial Wireless (US)
  • All models should be supported.
  • Verified as working on 8300 with Bluetooth GPS with v4.5.0.55 OS.

• Verizon (US)
  • All models except the Storm the GPS locked out, so BlackStar would require the use of an external Bluetooth GPS.
  • The Blackberry Tour has now also been shown to work with third party gps tools.

• Bell Mobility (Canada)
  • Verified as working on 8830 with v4.5.0.127 OS.
  • Verified as working on 8130 with v4.5.0.127 OS.

• Rogers (Canada)
  • Working on all GPS enabled Blackberries

MORE TO COME

More will be added to this document and college papers. Hopefully very soon.