JohnCNA

We have a power trail in my area where the CO put an ammo can loaded with pill bottles at each end of the trail. That way, cachers can take a handful and replace any of the missing pill bottles along the way. If you still have some left at the end of the trail, put them in the ammo can at the other end. That's about as obvious as it gets, regarding welcoming throw-downs.

I would assume they want your email address so they can verify that you don't take the survey more than once. The survey is written using Google Forms. I was not asked to log in to take the survey, since I am always logged into my Google account when I am using Chrome. It's not a very good survey platform if it requires a Google account login in order to take it. But there's nothing malevolent going on.

I do the same thing in the field. I record a field note immediately after finding a cache. It gets date stamped properly and I just save a super brief note; enough so I can remember later which cache this was, etc. Then flesh it out nicely when in front of my laptop and have a decent keyboard. I usually use the Speech to Text feature that's on all phones now to just dictate a quick field note. Later when I'm in front of the laptop, there's usually a little gobble-de-gook to correct, but the basics of the field note are all there and it saves typing in the field. One thing I have seen folks around here do is to switch from a stored field note to a Live log and post a Note to take care of a trackable drop or pickup so it adjusts the cache inventory and trackable status right away. Then switch back to field notes for the actual log. The Found log can come much later. They do the same with an FTF find. Other FTF chasers will see the note right away and the finder can take his time posting the actual Found log.

The first time you do an operation that leaves data no longer in a list, Basecamp will create that folder. The data in it can be deleted but not the folder itself. Think of it like the Windows Trashcan or Mac Trash.

I use a water-proof box for my phone. Less than $10 at Walmart and it floats. And for $20-$50 you can get a power brick that will run your phone with GPS on for days.

I'd say it's more of a misunderstanding of ad-supported media and apps. We saw the same arguments about having to pay for 'free TV' over cable years ago. The current business model of using in-app ad revenues instead of purchasing apps outright strikes me as the same mentality. With so many 'free' apps, where do they get off charging for others?

It never fails to amaze me how many people object to the membership fee or the one-time cost of a cool app to make it easier. They don't give a single thought to using a tank of gas on the weekend or stopping at $tarbuck$ or restaurants along the way. But pay $2.50 for a month's worth of subscription? Why, those dirty money-grubbing bastards!!

Garmin's BaseCamp software will do what you want. Import a PQ and it shows everything on a map. Note that BaseCamp has no online features, so you would download maps ahead of time. There are quite a few sources for offline maps.

Check the Location settings for your phone. If it's not set to 'High Accuracy' it will only be using WiFi and Cellular for location, which are not accurate enough for geocaching. High Accuracy is what turns on the GPS function.

Did a search before posting. Not a single instance of Smartphone in a title, 900+ in the text. Kind of hard to separate wheat from chaff. Added Locus Pro to my bookmarks, thanks. It sounds like you're looking to augment your GPS with a smartphone to get the best of both worlds. I do the same myself. Regarding recording/displaying tracks... There are standalone apps that will record tracks, but the only geocaching app that I'm aware of that will record and display tracks is Locus Pro. It makes an excellent companion to a GPS unit. If you purchase an Android phone, you can transfer GPX files (geocaches, waypoints, tracks and routes) to and from your phone and the GPS by buying a cheap OTG cable. Locus has the most extensive options for maps that I have seen in a geocaching app, both for offline maps and online maps. It takes a couple of downloads to get it all; the Locus Pro main program, Locus for Geocaching, a Field Notes app, and the Map Tweak app are what I use. They all fit together as a single integrated app. Very powerful.

The default zoom setting on the 64 series is set to require you to zoom in really close in order to have the geocache icons show on the map. To fix this, when you're on the map screen, hit the Menu button and change the zoom settings for geocaches to 'Auto' or some other high number.

I tried this once with a rare earth magnet and the magnet shattered when the drill bit broke through. I did notice on some of the supplier sites that you can order the magnets with pre-drilled and counter-sunk holes. That would be a lot safer and easier. The K&J site mentioned above supplies pre-drilled and counter-sunk magnets.

I noticed the same thing. After you post your log, it takes you to the cache page. Scroll down to your log and select Edit Log. Then select Edit Image. Then select Edit Image Details. The new log screen is nice and convenient, isn't it?

Thanks for the response. In addition to wanting to upload multiple photos, I also noticed that I was not able to add a description to the photo I uploaded. I had to edit the log later to be able to edit the photo and add a description. This functionality should be carried over to the new log form.

I bought a Garmin map on DVD 5 years ago and it has worked on 3 different Garmins with no requirement to transfer the license when I upgraded. I installed it on a personal SD card, not a Garmin card. They may have updated their licensing policy since then, but he might be in the same position where his card and map will be recognized in a new device.

And also have Direct Routing turned ON.

BaseCamp supports multi-selecting GPX files. When the file selector dialog opens up, browse to the folder where the GPX files were downloaded. Select the first GPX file in the list, press and hold the Shift key, and select the last file in the list. The entire file list will be selected and downloaded in one operation.

Caching in a large preserve with my 70 lb dog. Completed an 18 cache series, each with clues that point you to a final 19th cache. There is a creek running through the preserve and of course the 19th final cache is on the other side. Creek looks like it's about 2 feet deep. Probing with a hiking stick shows it has more than a foot deep of soft sucking mud below that. So wading while carrying the dog is out of the question. I find a small 8" diameter log in one spot and was thinking about crossing on it. While testing the log for stability and thinking about how to maintain balance with the hiking stick sinking in the soft mud while carrying the dog, an older fella out hiking walked up and we started talking. He was intrigued and impressed with my GPS. "That thing tells you exactly where you are within about 30 feet?" "It can point you in the direction you need to go?" "And it has a little map on the screen there?" "You spent a couple hundred bucks for that?" "Does your little map there show the bridge that's just around the bend there, about 200 feet away?"

The default zoom setting on the 64 series requires zooming in really really close before geocaches show up on the map. To change this, press the menu button while you're on the map screen. Use Set up Map option and find the zoom options. Change the zoom option for geocaches to Auto or a much higher setting, like 10 miles. Auto works fine for me. See the steps above to get to Set up Map. Turn on/off the maps that you want to use. With the 64st connected via USB cable, go to your profile on geocaching.com. Scroll down until you see "Access your Drafts" in the right hand menu. It will take you to another page that allows you to upload the field notes from the 64st to the web site and you change them from Field Notes to Logs that way.

Just clicking the "download GPX" button is enough to have your browser let you "open with GSAK" just like PQ's (zip) can be opened with GSAK. Only if you have *.gpx files associated with GSAK in Windows folder setup. That would save a couple steps for those who only use GSAK, though.

That's on Garmin's end to add that to the next update of Garmin Express. I'm pretty sure Express allows you to send a map update to the SD card instead of internal memory. So it wouldn't be a big deal to add that. I've only tried it a handful of times as my script for unzipping pocket query files and loading them on the GPS is much more efficient for me. I've yet to experience this problem (running Chrome on a Mac). The problem here could be anywhere from Groundspeak, your choice of browser, your OS, or your Garmin Express installation. Could well be something local. Just seems like it's not waiting long enough to decide if Express is there and running. Again, hard to tell where the problem is. There is a known issue with the UTF-8 encoding in the GPX file not creating some special characters. But I doubt that's the source of data corruption in your case. Anyway, the point is that there are some improvements that Groundspeak can make, many that Garmin needs to make, and some that may be out of both hands. I"d love to see a "Send to BaseCamp" option and let you select a list to put it in. Now THAT would be pretty cool. Actually, so would "Send to GSAK". Anyway, it's a start that has possibilities to get even better. Now if they would just do something useful with the "Send to my GPS" button on the cache page, it would cut down on a lot of questions here.

GCDroid and Locus on Android both have indicators for solved/corrected coordinates. And of course, when you view the caches on a map, the icons show in the corrected/solved positions.

https://www.geocaching.com/blog/2017/04/new-a-magic-button-for-your-garmin-gps/ So this sounded like it might be nice, but I'm somewhat underwhelmed.. If you don't already have it, you have to install Garmin Express. That's actually OK, since GE will check your firmware version and prompt you if there is updated firmware for your device when you run it. There's a new List page, with an option to "Send to Garmin" for the lists. Select that, and it runs Garmin Express and asks if you want to allow the download. Then it sends a GPX file to the internal memory/GPX directory of the device. What I don't like: Appends a random generated extension to the list filename each time, so the less technically inclined will eventually find the internal memory filling up. It does not give any options to clear out previous list(s). It does not give the option to download to a memory card if you have one installed. It does not reliably start Garmin Express. I have to select the option several times before GE starts. Even if GE is already running, it does not reliably 'find' it. GE often gives an error message that the content is corrupt. Decent enough idea, just needs more work, IMHO.

There's no need to convert coordinates on a Garmin auto GPS. When you go to enter coordinates, there's a button at the bottom of the screen labelled "Format". Use that, and select Degrees, Decimal Minutes to match the coordinates used on the Geocaching web site. Going forward, your Nuvi will remember this setting.

I believe that those who only use a phone app do not get their "last logged in" status updated when they use the app. It only gets updated when you access the web site with a web browser.