TravelingViking
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Posts posted by TravelingViking
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I travel to Asia and Europe and I am looking for a good mapping GPS to use. It looks like none of them have good maps outside of the US but the Garmin allows you to make your own from JPEG files.
If you choose a Garmin device, consider any of these maps:
OSM or directly download from Web into your Garmin device from outdoornavigators.com.
These are your "lowest cost options".
For most European countries you can order topographical maps from Garmin, too. All of Europe will then cost you several thousands of $ or € - because you have to pay extra for each country, sometimes for states...
Olaf
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I just installed the Wherigo Player on my latest toy, a glofiish X800.
The display size is less than 3" but resolution is a whopping 640x480 pixel.
Icons and pictures are so small, barely recognizable...
The list of cartridges is not properly displayed - somehow a readable font size is selected (probably something like XL), but the row is not high enough to fit the font, so part of the letters are missing. And the little cartridge icons are far to small to recognize anything.
Its probably only a matter of time until larger resolution displays become more and more common, so better get started fixing this...
Olaf
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I would have problems with their hosting service - serverkompetenz dot net.
WAY TOO Many spamming IPs and Hackers on their servers for me.
Sorry, this is not "really" in our control - of course we have a choice in regards to hosting services - but moving is a lot of work (we already did this a few times). This particular one we use
http://www.strato-hosting.co.uk/
has won several awards and with 200 employees in customer service is "not a small one". So please understand that this one post does not immediately make us jump ship and look for another provider.
Olaf
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I'm a bit baffled by this concept as well, especially this:
The minimum "features" we would expect from an accommodation to qualify as "Geocacher-friendly":Links to local bookmark lists or recommended caches and preferably a local Geocacher as contact person.
What does that even mean? Do you expect a hotel to create bookmark lists?
Personally, I'd be more interested in knowing if, for example, they had WiFi available.
That is why Internet Access is one of the parameters of an entry to the data base.
And of course I would not expect a hotel to create a bookmark list. When I travel somewhere there are typically "too many" caches to do them all - so I would love to have recommendations from local cachers: what are the memorable caches in this area.
So preferably local cachers are behind entries to say "if you visit this area, this is a place I can recommend and here is my bookmark list with most memorable caches in the area". That's why we would prefer to have a local Geocaching contact in the listings - of course a recommendation from someone who caches for many years and has done lots of caches would mean more to me than a new pupsocket account...
Olaf
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Bump. I am bumping this thread because I notice it has gone without a single reply for over 5.5 hours.
I notice that you (the OP) are located in Europe. I suspect that your idea, while kinda neat on the surface, would be largely superfluous and irrelevant in the USA, due largely to the incredibly high cache density in most areas, and also due to the rather circumscribed and limited, and realistic, expectations that Americans tend to have about hotels and motels.
I also notice that you are located in Germany. Due to your proximity to Bavaria, I cannot help but be suspicious that perhaps your new "geo-friendly hotels" websites are nothing more than fronts for the nefarious Bavarian Illuminati and their New World Order conspiracy. In fact, I am gonna worry about that possibility for the rest of the day, until and unless I receive a notarized declaration from you in which you explicitly state that your new websites are totally free of Illuminati affiliations and agendas.
A man can't be too careful about the Illuminati and the New World Order conspiracy, you know.
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ROTFL
Thanks for bumping - at least some action for this thread.
I didn't know about the Bavarian New World Order conspiracy - our motive was much more simple, we wanted to start our OWN New World Order conspiracy...
Olaf
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When traveling or making vacation plans I would love to stay in/near Geocacher-friendly places. Searching for those on the Internet is quite some work so we simply started a new web page and linked multiple domains to it:
www.bedandcachefast.com - www.bedandcachefest.com - www.cachotel.com
So far we do not have many entries and we are hoping for your recommendations. If you have a favorite place to stay for caching, please consider posting an answer here and/or make it an entry. So far all services of this web page are free and we'll keep it that way as long as we can afford it...
The minimum "features" we would expect from an accommodation to qualify as "Geocacher-friendly":
Links to local bookmark lists or recommended caches and preferably a local Geocacher as contact person.
Please ensure that recommended caches / bookmarks should be "above average" - I know its difficult to find a common rule as to what is "above average" - just keep in mind that some Geocachers might travel really far for recommended places and a single magnetic film canister behind a sign might not "reach the desired satisfactory level"...
Olaf
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I finally posted my nuvi 500 review. It ain't pretty either.
I am not sure if the compass issue is so much of a canopy issue. It might also be related to the "automotive heritage" - with other automotive GPS systems I noticed before that they are not doing a good job when walking, their receivers/software/whatever only delivers good values for current speed and direction when traveling at a certain speed. I think this is the same effect as the "static navigation" issue discussed elsewhere, where some devices only report a new position when its "considerably different" from the previous.
So instead of a continuous flow of new positions such devices report the same position a few times, and then a bigger jump of 20-30 feet and again the same position multiple times.
For slow speeds - like walking - the speed reported by my nüvi 550 remains zero for me most of the time, sometimes just for a second or two a speed is reported before falling back to zero again.
If indeed the compass has to use the same data, showing no movement for a while, then a sudden jump, and again no movement, then I would say that "somewhere deep internally" this is still "in automotive mode", even if we set it to walking...
So with a bit of luck this is something that a software update could fix...
Olaf
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Can you change data fields?
I haven't seen an option to change the data fields on the compass page - that is a real bummer - such a nice feature on all the other outdoor units.
In case Garmin reads here: PLEASE SERIOUSLY CONSIDER: customization of data fields on the compass page.
THANK YOU!
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I don't own a Nuvi 5xx so you can take this with a grain of salt but I'm going to assume that this works like the Oregon and Colorado.
First thing I would do is delete all of the gpx files you can find on the device, particularly those in the Garmin\GPX directory. You'll want to copy them off to your computer first if you need them later.
Then reboot the Nuvi 500 without any GPX files. This should clean out the internal geocaching databases.
Next I would run a Pocket Query, extract the 2 gpx files and copy them over to Garmin\GPX, power on and see if things work any better.
There are some limits you need to take care not to break, the total number of gpx files (200) and the total number of geocaches (2000). If somehow you've loaded more than that you may see strange behavior like you did. Also make sure you are using pocket queries to start with to make sure that works.
The only other options is a master reset, assuming there is one for the Nuvi. Again, remove all of the gpx files, master reset and then reload.
If that doesn't work I'd call Garmin.
GO$Rs
It works "in general" but on some caches when selecting them and hitting the Go button - the unit switches itself of - on others it doesn't.
Here is one that causes a switch off: GC1622A
So hopefully this is something they can fix with a SW update...
Olaf
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Just got a nüvi 550 with Wherigo Player installed...
When loading the gwc generated for Garmin Colorado and using it:
the unit switches itself off...
When loading the gwc generated for Pocket PC and using it:
I can start using it, but the unit sometimes locks after a few clicks - unfortunately I cannot reproduce this consistently...
So is the Pocket PC file the right one to use or do I need some other format?
Olaf
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In the previous 500/550 threads I didn't find anything on this issue: did anyone actually use the Geocaching mode of this unit yet?
I of course ran Webupdater to make sure I have the latest software.
I am trying to use the Geocaching mode, so I copy GPX files (PQ or single) to the GPX directory. I tried both manual copy as well as communicator plug-in copy - both on internal memory as well as on card. That process works fine so far.
On the map, the cache symbols show up fine. So GPX files are there.
I can read the cache description OK too, as long as it does not contain too much HTML - cache descriptions with tables are unreadable.
The real issue: if I want to go to a cache and press the big green GO button - the device switches itself off...
Now that is a killer, as it happens every time.
When I type in the coordinates manually as a destination waypoint (not geocache) the GO button works fine.
What also annoys me "a bit" is that on the compass page the data fields are fixed - and do not contain the distance to the destination - duh - I think that's the most important field for caching...
I wish they would be configurable like on all the outdoor devices.
So, is this just my unit (in which case I would return it) or do others have the same problem (in which case I would wait for a software update)...
Thanks,
TravelingViking
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...Venture? Can you tell us which firmware it has?
2.70
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Were your tracks made with EGNOS/WAAS enabled in the Garmins?
Approximately how old is your Venture? Can you tell us which chipset and firmware it has?
I had EGNOS/WAAS disabled, if I do a test run with it it would probably only make sense under a free horizon as the correctionsignal seems to be easy to loose.
The Venture HC was bought beginning this year - how do I know which chipset it has without opening it? I ran web updater about 2 weeks ago, so assume its the current firmware.
Olaf
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I would be very interested in testing my gpsr's to determine their accuracy. I went to the Geodrift website, but I am not sure how to run the test or upload the findings. From what I gather, you set the gpsr to track mode, then let it sit an hour in the same position. From that point I am not sure where to go to upload the data or how to upload the data. I have the Garmin Etrex Legend Hcx. Hopefully, you can help me and I can get the data for two gpsr's that I have. Thanks for the interesting data!
The latest measurements have not much to do with the Geodrift web site other than I found it the right platform to host such data.
To run your own test: make the the track recording - make sure to set record mode to a fixed time, like every 4s. Record at least 1h, don't move the GPS in that time. Save the track as GPX file.
Upload the GPX file to www.gpsvisualizer.com and as output format choose PNG graphic.
If you have no place to host the graphic file, just send it to me, if there is enough interest I'll add it to the Geodrift web pages.
Olaf
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In various forums one discussion point that keeps popping back up is the accuracy and reliabilty of various GPS devices. Out of curiosity I would like to collect more "hard data" on that topic and am asking for your participation.
A quite simple test that can probably be done with "almost any device" is a continous track recording - of a device laying still in one spot for an hour or so. Then visualize the track to see if and what kind of jumps are in there - a good receiver should have all measurements close to each other.
I set three Garmin devices - Venture HC, GPSMAP 60CSx and Colorado 300 to continous track recording, every 4 seconds, and made two measurement runs, one with free horizons, and one under more "Geocacher like conditions" - in thewoods, leaf covered trees all around.
To my own surprize the Venture HC showed the best performance - I guess I'll carry that around again more often now...
You can see the visualizations of hese tests at GeoDrift.com.
I would be very interested in seeing how other GPS devices perform for this test - so please go ahead, make recordings and publish your findings.
Thanks,
Olaf
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Thank you very much for the clarification. So my interpretation was close - and of course as always there are additonal common sense rules that apply - making the start coordinates of one cache the exact final of another would indeed be weird, but not needing to keep the saturation distance either surly makes things easier.
Thanks again,
Olaf
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It looks like there are different viewpoints/translations in regards to the Guideline interpretation, pls. share your local experiences or can someone "with authority clearify"?
For Wherigo it says "Cache saturation applies only to physical containers, and not virtual elements."
A Wherigo consists of
1) Start location (as published)
2) Multiple "on-the-way" zones
3) Final, physical container and log book
Assume there is a multi-cache in the vicinity, with
A) Start location
Virtual elements (question to answer)C) Stages of a multi (which can be anything)
D) Final
May the Wherigo (1) start location be anywhere? If not, to which A-D does it need to keep a distance?
I assume (which I have learned is bad) that for (2) there are no limits, could be anywhere near to A-D as it is a virtual element.
For the Wherigo final (3) the distance needs to be kept to D, but how about A-C? Can be near any of those?
Thanks,
Olaf
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You're able to upload zip files to this section of the forum. Look in the "Add Reply" section.
Always something new to learn, and this one is so obvious...
So here it comes as attachment...
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I keep getting an error message "Can't log in to database"
Just tried it, works fine here. Can anyone recommend another file sharing service? Would be nice to have one location for shared audio and graphic files...
Olaf
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I just uploaded pictures of our own TravelingViking Poker Run / Cachathon Poker Chips to:
www.filedropper.com/ttvwherigomediapokerchips
10 chips/colors, each picture as icon (32x32) and as larger version (128x128).
Please feel free to use in Wherigo cartridges.
In my own cartridge I use them as a reward when answering questions right and one of the tasks is collecting a series of these.
Olaf
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I'm looking to play some local cartridges. The first thing I want to do is navigate to the starting location of the cartridge. The only thing I can see on the Colorado which helps is a distance and bearing pointer on the cartridge. Given I have an autorouting unit is there be a way I can goto the cartridge start just like I would a waypoint or a geocache?
Similarly once I get into a cartridge and locations become available I would like to use all of the nifty features (maps, compass, etc) of my Colorado to navigate to them. I don't see a way once I'm in the cartridge to simply navigate to a location (again like a waypoint) other than distance and mini-red arrow.
We added this as a feature request to Garmin after our initial release but I don't know whether they will implement this in the near term. It's definitely something they would need to support since we don't have direct access to the device. By default this isn't a standard feature in the Wherigo Player since our original reference design was for a standard Pocket PC device. Of course Garmin has a nice set of tools already available on the Garmin Colorado that could be shared. It just depends on developer resources since there are other projects, like improving on the geocaching features, that may take a higher priority.
Just to show that more users care...
In order to make the Wherigo experience more "navigatable" a map should be integrated to the player, this way you are independent from HW and have the same look and feel on all devices.
The map could be a bitmap image that the owner/author provides - this would allow custom treasure maps or hand drawn maps or openstreetmap.org maps being integrated.
Visible zones should be shown, just like on the emulator, a nice track line showing where one has been.
Olaf
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Does anybody have a hint on the following scenario?:
We are using the latest builder...
When reaching a zone we display a message and switch a new task active.
Works nicely in Emulator.
Going outside, works nicely on a Pocket PC player.
But does not work on Colorado 300 V2.51.
Message is displayed (so code in same action block is executed), but task lists remains empty.
Again, works in Emulator and on Pocket PC, but not on Colorado...
Olaf
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What is the deal with this? I understand they are still saying this is all a work in progress and such but why is it that it seems with almost each upgrade to the builder the cartridges built in the previous version no longer work and you need to go back to an older builder. I hate to have different builders on different machines just so I can continuing working on some of the new things but need a machine ready to make changes to the old ones. I think one thing for future builds is to work on his issue. Just my opinion.
In regards to a site with old versions here is a link I found on one of Ranger Fox's posts on another thread.
The latest builder on the web site is and should be %100 backward compatible. Sometimes, when installing the builder it doesn't replace the ZonesEngine.dll and this causes the errors I've been seeing with others. The latest install on the Wherigo web site is what we call a release version (the executable and dll's are all "release" versions of the codebase). So, I would suggest a complete uninstall of the builder via the Control Panel, remove programs and then an install of the builder from the web site.
David
I did a complete update of Windows XP, installing seveal things - too many to list, including an update of .NET - now it works: using .NET 2.0 service pack 1 - wich I thought I had before...
So I am back running and am now back to a task not firing on Colorado (but in Emulator and on Pocket PC), more about that in extra post...
Olaf
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What is the deal with this? I understand they are still saying this is all a work in progress and such but why is it that it seems with almost each upgrade to the builder the cartridges built in the previous version no longer work and you need to go back to an older builder. I hate to have different builders on different machines just so I can continuing working on some of the new things but need a machine ready to make changes to the old ones. I think one thing for future builds is to work on his issue. Just my opinion.
In regards to a site with old versions here is a link I found on one of Ranger Fox's posts on another thread.
Looks like I am now in this situation:
And I have this even with the older version, so has nothing to do with the version/release. Somehow my PC came into this state.
Weird thing is even if I create a new catridge, save it, and try to justload it again, it can't load it.
Here is the error:
Translation of the German part: Application not started, wrong config, try a re-install
Olaf
Virtual elements (question to answer)
Couldn't go to Scotland...
in United Kingdom and Ireland
Posted
Thanks again to all organizers/owners for showing us great places while we were up there, all the way from Germany.
I am one of those who enjoys hiding caches more then hunting them, so I left something behind for you to find.
MANY THANKS to local Geocacher Cateran for helping with placing and maintenance!
Olaf aka TravelingViking
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