Dan_Edwards

I hear that one of the future releases of GSAK will have direct download from POP3 email accounts. If so I will once again scream outload with joy when it becomes available (although the attachment extract extension for Thunderbird helps a lot). I am thinking of moving my primary email from Yahoo to Gmail. The more I use Gmail the more I like, but requirments for POP access are very demanding compared to other services. Had to get a upgraded email on my Palm just to be able to use it. Its the only email service with ads that I *like*. Almost fun to read a lot of geocaching/gps/outdoor ad's to the right of my email.

Sorry should have said that I knew what you ment, but it did give me the idea that if it has communication via serial or USB you could upload waypoints to it, even if did not support creation of new ones based on lat/long manually. Still overall it would be quite a pain and it would be a lot better to just get a cheap mapping handheld. On the plus side, they have no need for the handheld to have routing capabilities so I would lean to a cheap Meridian Gold and Memory Card with Topo maps for the states around you. Topo maps would be the one thing the roadmate would not have. Be a nice compliment.

Never having used the Roadmate series... Can you upload new POI's to it? Basicly using them as waypoints? If it has NEMA then even if you can't enter new waypoints by hand as coords you might be able to upload them.

Yes it will help. But if you really want to know how it will help, just do a simple cut and paste of the longitude and Latitude of a geocache that involves a hike or mountain roads. Go try and find that cache. This experiance while your on the trail/road you will teach you what information is important to you. Some people know the area around them so well that general maps are not needed, they just want detailed maps of the final location. Others like me need all the help they can get. Perferable someone else driving ;-) The main thing I use Topo USA for is weeding out park and grab caches. I want a cache that will involve a hike/adventure/hospital trip. Otherwise all I have to write is TNLNSL (Took Nothing, Left Nothing, Signed Log). Bleck.

Actually I would be interested to see the macro. One thing I really need to do is setup a batch file that would automate the process of downloading the .zip files from my email program (thunderbird) and then launch GSAK to automaticly update my SD card for my GPS and my Palm and Cachemate. In order to really make this work I would need two SD card readers, and four SD cards (two in PC and one in each unit) then swap them each weekend. Anouther thing that would be worth posting is arc/poly lines. I know I can generate them pretty easy with TopoUSA, but it still takes time to follow roads or encompass a park (I use it include or exclude cache within Rocky Mountain National Park)

Here is one "other" that thinks the same way. I like it all in one place, and I find that I learn a lot by reading others questions. I also get ideas for filters I would not have thought of. That said I would not mind having a disscussion on just "filters". I would love a download area for cool searchs people have made like "All traditional caches within three miles of I-5 from border to border" Maybe a "GASK usage/tips/tricks" and a true support group. I do think that Clyde and Robert should only be expected to support one message area. If the users responding in the other areas are stumped, have them move here. Heck, maybe you could use it as a filter to keep your time to the true "stumpers"

I will give you some tips for the way I like to do this. There are several methods and Clyde recently answered this question for me with a very good, but different method. It lead me to this one. Do get pocket queries from each person in GPX format for caches they have found. These will include a found log from each find the person has in the pocket query except for inactive caches, but since you won't be hunting them its not a issue. I would make a backup of your main database and do the following. Take your database and then import the GPX files from the other users telling it not to change your finds even if the GPX file marks it as found. That will just add the "found" logs from the GPX files of the fellow cachers, but not mess up your "Found" number. If you forget to tell GSAK to ignore the found data in the GPX file, it will mess up your found count and you will need to restore your database. Find out the Geocaching ID number for each member of your party, this can be found in the GPX files that you get and instructions on how to find it in the GSAK faq. Filter out caches with found logs from Geocaching ID numbers from all the members of your party. I use the Geocaching ID numbers because several of the people I cache with have changed their ID over time (including me), but the Geocaching ID number does not change.

A while ago I got a treo 300 and before that I had a Visorphone. When the 300's flip broke I needed a replacement. I dropped by the SpintPCS store and they had the 650 on sale for $499 but that was to much for me today. They also had the 600 just marked down to $299. But what caught my eye was was a small LG Model PM 325 with bluetooth built in and it was just marked down that day to $75 from $249. At that price I could get a Palm Tungsten T5 later for about the same price as the 600 and get a much, much better screen and link them to together. My dream is to get a bluetooth GPS, the T5, bluetooth headset, and my phone all working together. Can one device like the T5 connect to two (or more) bluetooth devices at once? If not can it switch between them quickly? I would like to be able to have Cachemate get its locaction from the GPS, and then listen to Audible.com books in the headset while hiking to the cache. Anyone have experiance with all or parts of this bluetooth situation?

Yep I agree. 14 hours is enough for me 99% of the time, but there had better be something available later for that 1%. Something like what I got for my cell phone/pda would work. It allows me to attach 4 AA's to the USB port and charge it that way. This the first GPS since I got my first one that has me this excited, I just hope the manager is as good as I am dreaming. Hmmm I wonder how much more I can do with GSAK and this thing.

Yes, you can do this. 1. Create a new database (Database=>New) 2. Load in PQ1 (select "always" for the database options) 3. Load in PQ2, but make sure you select the options as per the picture below 4. Now just set a filter on "User flag = set" and this subset will be just the caches that exist in both of the GPX files WOW, Not only you the man, but Clyde and FawverFamily were reading my mind just before I got here. I swear I just logged into the forums to ask nearly this exact question! I do have one addition. So if I wanted to do three (or more cachers) I would follow the above steps, but making sure the settings above were used for each cachers data I added after mine except the clear all user flags tag, correct? Dan

Mine recently died the other day on my Merigreen. It died before and started working after a complete reset, but that did not work this time. Sounds like a common issue to me.

The FAQ in the Yahoo Magellan group has all that and a lot more.

Nightpilot is right. You need to change the map view in SA. No mater what format you input the waypoints as, it always displays them in the current format. I am at work so I can't remeber off the top of my head, but it's the rightmost tab in SA. and then "Data" or something. I love Delorme software for the power but these guys have the worst user interfaces. Dan

Oh my god this is fun! I just did a quick export to TopoUSA 5 of my GSAK database and let out a squeal like a girl! Moving Geocaches around in 3D was cool before but it took so much effort I would only do it every couple of months then I just used a generic icon for everthing. Now I can do it in seconds and a direct link to the web page if I click on the cache... I tell you this program is Geek Heaven! Thanks for a great program! Dan

Yes, If GPSBabel can do it then you can duplicate this process by setting up a custom export for GPSBabel in GSAK If my reading of the above is correct (and it seems to jive with GPSBabel's own doc) it looks like the Lowrance mapping thingy can accept the format we cleverly call "CSV" which I'm sure GSAK already has options for, though probably under the names of Delorme Street Atlas or even just plain CSV. Excellent. The wonders of GPSBabel and GSAK continue to impress me.

Despite the name, the Lowrance "MapCreate" just lets you define which map areas to download to the GPS unit. It does not let you create real new maps from scratch or use scanned images of maps, etc. Thats good info to know... What I could not give to be able to take the updates I have have done with the the maps in TopoUSA and export them to my GPS. Maybe I will upgrade to the Treo 650 when it comes out and start using that with a bluetooth GPS and Street Atlas Mobile for routing. and then get a iFinder for its high res screen.... I swear Geocachers need to create a GPS company

Since GSAK uses GPSBabel as it's engine would it be possible to create a custom export for the iFinder?

Ok I am interested. I had not known about the iFinder but it really appears to have what I want most in a GPS. External memory, hi-res screen, and the ability to create your own maps. I did not think that anybody made this, sounds like its time to move up from my Meri-green. Sounds like the best kept secret in Geocaching. Heck of a lot better then the Explorist series from Magellan. That something from the "what were they thinking" file.

Delorme uses some custom formats so its a bit of a pain. Using GPSBabel thier are a couple of different methods of getting waypoints in. If you have XMap or Streets and Trips mobile for your Palm added to Topo USA you can have GPSBabel create a file that looks like the file your palm would generate when it syncs waypoints. Its really just a CSV file with "Begin and End" inserted at the begining and ending for no apparent reason. I did see some more direct methods available in the latest version of GPSBabel but I have not tried them. Another way would be to load the waypoints onto your GPS with GSAK and then import them with TopoUSA from the GPS. As to why you would want to go to the trouble, one advantage to having them available with the TopoUSA display is a real 3D View of the routes you plan to take to Geocaches. If your in heavy mountain area like me, the closest Geocache to your current location if often on of the furthest away if you consider drive time, something you won't see on the GSAK view. If your just going after "park & grabs" in a flat urban area I would not consider it worth the trouble except for road routing. TopoUSA 4 is ok (not great) at road routing, TopoUSA 5 is much better though still not quite as good as other dedicated routing programs for urban areas.

I agree with the following exception. If you were thinking of getting Rhino's for the family so that you could transmit locations to each other, then that would be compelling (if expensive) reason for the rhino. Other then that I would go with the standalone.

Rick from GeoSpatial Experts planted some of the coolest caches here in Northern Colorado when Geocaching was just getting started. He had a lot of time on his hands because he had just gotten laid off from a .com with about 10 minutes notice. The only severence he got was a box of "leatherman like" promotional items from the failed .com that he used as trade items in his caches. So I am pretty happy to see him be able to do work that he enjoys again and maybe do something nice for his family. I always like a story of someone who takes lemons and makes lemonade

It has me thinking about ways to make Geocaching more mulitplayer. I would love it if my GPS could show me geocachers who are out and about looking to do some group geocaching. Heck you could even have a pretty good game of "Marko - Polo"

Found out about a game called Mogi on Slashdot. It sounds interesting. Basicly you collect items based on your location and time. Kinda like real-time virtual caches. I like the idea. I wonder if we could incorporate something like that into the Geocaching web site.

Delorme has posted the details for Topo USA 5 here Some of the things that have caught my eye. Ability to share tracks and trail updates online with others (something Topo! has been able to do for a while) View in 3D as if you were standing somewhere (old view mode is now called "orbit") Free 50 square miles of aerial images, and you can buy more. Looks like the price is $1/ Sq Kilometer Campground info updated online. I saw a quick reference that you can upload tracks to the GPS, not just waypoints. Not sure on this. I will have to admidt having a 3D view with aerial images sounds interesting. Wonder how well it works with SA Handheld edition.

I was updating my log for Aragon in Johnstown and saw note that billzjeep had a heart attack and died. I know its the Geocaching in me, but I saw that he was sooooo close to 1K caches I almost feel like pulling a stunt I saw in a movie where they keep up the appearences a guy is alive because he is only a few days away from full retirement benefits. Anyway, no matter what way you look at it, its a sad day for Geocachers in the west. Dan