Hynr
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Posts posted by Hynr
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Hi all
Been using my (bought on ebay) etrex for a year or so now and finally got round to purchasing a data transfer cable thingie - HELP!!!! The garmin only records entries as 6 figures and the cache codes are all 7 figures so it knocks off the end digit - this means I have to check all the downloads against the co-ordinates to work out which ones are missing (cos alot of them have the same first 6 figures) and then manually enter them - this takes almost as long as entering the whole lot manually in the first place!!
I'm sure this is not a new problem - any ideas/help much appreciated.
Thanks
Elaine (Burton's are go!)
Elaine,
Maybe I can summarize in simple terms: the eTrex H is from an era where there was not a lot of room in GPS units for lots of text. So the Waypoint names are restricted to 6 characters. With newer models this has all changed; the newest models even have adequate memeory for descriptions, hints, and some logs.
My suggestion would be to get the data from the geocaching.com web page and feed that data first into your computer and there you use software (as discussed above, EasyGPS, GSAK, Mapsource or Basecamp, etc) to manage the data (not to edit it, but to filter or combine). Once you have the data that you want in the GPS reciever, use that software to load the data into the GPS unit. In your case you need to use software that can configure the waypoint name to be no longer than the number of letters it can accommodate. The best way for you to figure out what your unit's waypoint name length limit is, is to Mark a waypoint and then give it a name as long as possible. That will either be 6, 8, 10,... I have several models from that era and each has a different lenght limitation. Since you have been feeding this in by hand, you may already know the length limit. Your post suggests that the limit is 6.
A lot of us use GSAK (link to web page) for that because it is free (see link for more detail) and very powerful. If does not do what you want or need, then you have not lost anything. There is also a very helpful forum there where you can also find tutorials.
With GSAK you will have two options which you will probably find very useful with your eTrex H:
1. You can have it drop the "GC" from the code as it transmits it to the GPS.
2. You can use a "smartname" configured to exactly your situation (6 characters long). Instead of seeing a code when you are geocaching, you see an abbreviation that generally reminds you of which cache you are after.
With GSAK you can also print out tables or listings that show how the waypoint name in the GPS relates to the name of the cache, difficulty, terrain, etc.
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"Is it necessary"? - probably not for many users and particularly folks who have no trouble keeping track of how full each of their devices are with trash. I personally do not have that skill. Alas, for me it is necessary. I got stuck with my digital camera where I had previously filled the memory with images and then deleted those with my Mac to completely delete all the stuff and made sure the folder was empty. Went out on a field trip with my students and after the first three picture had the camera tell me that it was out of storage space.
It only takes one such catastrophe to get you thinking that it is necessary, particularly if you typically do not go into the trashbin to retrieve stuff. -
The operating system (OS/X) on the Mac has a “feature” that Apple forces you to have which mostly is just a nuisance for those of us that never reach into the trash to pull out stuff we have thrown away. Generally with tons of hard drive space this is not a serious problem but for cameras, gpsrs, phones, sd cards, etc it will invariably cause you trouble when you are away from the computer.
The problem is 3-fold: Trashes, fsevents, and Spotlight.
- Trashes is the trash bin. So unless you can always remember to empty the trash after you delete, you have crap you no longer want clogging up space.
- Fsevent is another bit of silliness that someone at Apple thinks is important.
- Spotlight is a tool that lets you rapidly find stuff. For it to work, Spotlight indexes your drives and writes files in which it stores information so it can rapidly find stuff. These files are hidden so you cannot tell that they are taking up space.
Here is how you fix this. (This is a bit tricky so you need to do it carefully).
1. Attach the device which the Mac will then see as a removable hard drive.
2. Among your Applications find Textedit and open it. Copy and paste the following 6 lines into the Textedit application:
mdutil -i off /Volumes/RemovableDriveName cd /Volumes/RemovableDriveName rm -rf .{,_.}{fseventsd,Spotlight-V*,Trashes} mkdir .fseventsd touch .fseventsd/no_log .metadata_never_index .Trashes cd -3. Now using Finder aim at the removable drive in the navigation pane and right-click, Get Info, under "Name & Extension", where it shows the name, copy its name to the clipboard. If you don’t see a name there, then type one in that makes sense (keep it short and simple), and then copy it to the clipboard.
4. Now in first and second line of the text in Textedit replace RemovableDriveName with the name of the device by blocking and pasting (this should avoid typos).
5. Now block all 6 lines of text and copy them to the clipboard.
6. In your Applications folder find the Utilities and launch the Terminal application. With the cursor at the prompt, Paste those 6 lines. Inspect how it processes these lines; after the first one should be a response “Indexing and searching disabled”. The other lines will just do what they are supposed to without giving a response.
Now think about all the other sd cards, camcorders, mobile phones, cameras, and memory sticks that ought to get the same treatment and do the same for those.
- Trashes is the trash bin. So unless you can always remember to empty the trash after you delete, you have crap you no longer want clogging up space.
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...First price is not an issue. I just want something that will will not out grow ...
Get the Montana - this is the unit that he is least likely to out-grow.
As to which model Montana: the more you love the guy, the bigger the model number.
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To be clear on this: the text that Groundspeak is providing is misleading. The inaccuracy is only in the “Geocache Google Earth Viewer” which Groundspeak purposely built so that it would not show the exact location of geocaches. It is not a problem with Google Earth; just with Groundspeak’s viewer. The solution is very simple: don’t use the viewer. Instead:I would read that as the 100' error bring on GE's side not GC. I have seen this argument in the past and tested it by going out and getting coordinates from a few locations and piloting them on GE, some are close and some are pretty far off from where I am standing.Also how can an erroneous map display be protective when the correct coordinates are freely given out.
- If you send a gpx file (PQ results or export from software like GSAK) to Google Earth the position is not obfuscated.
- If you use the Google maps and turn on the satellite images, then you see essentially the same as you would with GE and also not encounter any obfuscation.
As to why: if you see a Google Earth display with items displayed on it, then it is possible to save that display as kml file. This file could then be decoded so that the coordinates could be obtained for a very large number of geocaches and that would circumvent the Pocket Query feature. In other words, non-premium members could then gain a benefit that is reserved for premium members, and the limits on data imposed on all members, including premium members, could be circumvented.
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Thanks for the replies, but neither affects what I'm seeing. I've attached a "screenshot" showing what I'm talking about. The box outlined in red is always behind the waypoint and contains the same text as the waypoint in a slightly larger font. This only occurs when navigating to a waypoint.
You can control the text label on either of the two types of map items with map setup (as I described above) but instead of third pane (the flag) select the next one (the T icon) - there you can control the text size or turn either or both off entirely. If you set Map points to "Small" and User Waypoints to "Medium" then the custom POI text box is completely hidden.
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Help,
My 60Cx is showing the waypoints I load with GSAK as both waypoints and POIs, superimposed on the map screen. I seem to remember changing a setting somewhere that caused it to display waypoints as POIs. That was sometime ago and I don't remember where it was. I've gone through every menu I can find on the GPSr looking for a setting. I've also used Garmin's POILoader to remove all custom POIs on the device. I also looked through GSAK and didn't see anything that seemed relevant.
Can anyone tell me how to undo this?
Thanks,
Mike
Go to map page in 60CSx, Press menu button, Setup Map.
The rocker button lets you select tabs side to side; select the flag (waypoint) icon (if it is not already set); then rocker button down
Map points include the maps POIs and the custom pois
User Points are the waypoints you loaded.
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In the map setup of the GPSr you may be able to find a setting like "lock on road" - try that to see if that helps.
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Woodstramp,
I don't understand how the manual does not list a DB9 connector if you are seeing one on your computer. Sounds like you either have the wrong manual or are not describing the connector to us correctly. Is it possible that the connector that is similar to the one on your homemade cable has 3 rows of 5 holes - (i.e. not 9 but 15) and looks like this:
as opposed to a DB9 serial connector as found on the end of the Garmin cable for the eTrex, which looks like this:
If this is the case then it is obvious that you have no physical port on your new computer that you can attach your old cable to. You need to buy a USB-serial adapter. It would not be surprising if you fried the communication circuits in your GPSr by sending the voltages of a VGA port to it; so do be sure to verify with your old computer that the eTrex is still healthy before investing in anything new for it.
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Don't have the manual, but I looked at the 9 pin connector on the side of the laptop and I think it is a monitor output. It is right next to a HDMI output and the 9 pin port has a tiny symbol beside it. The symbol looks like a small rectangle inside another rectangle.
If this computer has an HDMI connector then this is not an old clunker with an EGA port. 9-pin male (DB9) is serial. The Garmin cable for the serial eTrex has a female counterpart with 9 holes. If your old cable worked before, then a gender-changer is all you need. If you are going to buy one, then note that you might pay less for the USB-to-serial converter as that is a more popular item.
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I have not done this in a while, so I am working from old memories. One thing I recall is that if the data is traveling through a serial port, then that can take a very long time (hours). But I thought that Sendmap showed the progress indicator clicking along slowly as it was sending. Are you seeing that. If you are not seeing the black window that says "Sendmap20 Pro rev 6.7 by Stanislaw Kozicki - cgpsmapper@gmail.com" then it is hiding behind the main screen. Move it to the side to see if you can see both the white window and the black one.
Also, when you click "Connect" do you see right below that button the name of the GPS. If not then Sendmap is not seeing the GPS. If Auto does not get you there and you know that a serial port is involved then select that serial port. For example, I just now hooked up my old blue Legend using a Prolific USB to Serial connector on my MacBook running Parallels Virtual machine (so this is about as complicated as it can get). Step-by step what works for me: I attach the GPSr and turn it on. I tell the Virtual Machine to let Windows see the Prolific device. I start Mapsource under Windows and select Transfer, Receive which shows me that the GPSr is on com3. I shut down Mapsource and with Windwos Explorer double click on Sendmap20.exe. I move the Sendmap interface window to the side to expose the window that indicates what is going on behind the scenes. At Device I select com3 and click connect. Are you getting to where Sendmap is telling you that it sees the Venture HC? You may need to try slower speeds if it seems to choke after it get started sending. My guess is that 19200 should work but 9600 is a sure bet (but it will take even longer to load maps).
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Another suggestion, perhaps simpler. (I have not done this in a while).
From http://cgpsmapper.com/buy.htm get the Windows version (free) of Sendmap20.exe
Perhaps after you read this and before you jump in, look at this page for guidance:
http://www.ptygps.com/Support/Wiki/tabid/791/topic/Sendmap20/language/en-US/Default.aspx
Copy the img file from the HCx into your computer in a spot where you can easily access it (Desktop is fine).
Attach the HC to the computer and verify that Mapsource sees it. Note the port settings that Mapsource finds. Shut Mapsource down.
Note that the Sendmap20.exe file is an executable file; no fancy installers, no registry settings etc. You find the file name and double click on it and a window opens up. Now follow this order:
1. Under Region Name: type a name that makes sense to you - perhaps: "Costa Rica" or "Central America"
2. Under Mapset: Something like "Costa Rica Roadmap" - I think this is the name you see in the GPS when you select map sets.
3. Click on Add Maps and direct it to the img file. A list or map tiles (perhaps as cryptic img names) should appear; perhaps just one.
If you have other img files you want to combined into this work, then do that now. Give each one a different mapset names so you can turn them on or off in the GPSr. Note that size of the maps: if that is more than the HC can hold (look it up in its specs at the Garmin site), then delete items (with the Remove button) until the total map size fits the GPSr.
4. Once done, configure the Device. Perhaps auto will work; if not then configure it manually using what you learned from Mapsource (above).
5. Click Connect; then click the button to erase the maps in the GPSr (this should be quick), then click to load ( with several magabytes this takes a long time through a serial port - I believe there will be status indication). Leave NT unchecked. The list of items will be combined into one img file and uploaded to the unit.
All this assumes an img file that is known to work in the GPSr.
I doubt that you can load the POI file; that feature came with the HCx generation of Garmin units. It might be possible to get POIs into img file as a mapset but I don't recall how to do that.
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Note that c:geo approximates locations for various parts of its interface; from their website:
I believe it gets more-accurate coordinates when it needs it. So two different devices with slight different settings and uses, might show the approximate coordinates on one unit and more accurate on another.Approximated coords due to limitations on the GC-websiteBe aware: If navigation is started directly from live map it may also use the approximated coords!
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We live in England uk, and we're due to go to California in August and we will be travelling around taking in the wonderful sites like the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canon etc, but we also want to go geocaching and we're not sure what is the cheapest option to access the internet to load up our Garmin. Hopefully the Garmin will work in America, another thing we're not sure about.
Can anyone give us some advice on what we will need or the cheapest options available to us.
Those places you mention are not near California (which is where I live). If that is news, then by all means study the maps and note the huge distances. Note also that California is like two different worlds: north and south - you might need to identify which you are planning to visit.
You asked for advice, and economics seems to be the core of your request. So here are a few pointers:
Your Garmin GPSr will certainly work here in the US. When you first get here it will need about 15 minutes to adjust to the new satellite constellation, but after that it will be fine.
If you see a Fastrack lane where you seemingly can avoid tolls, do NOT use those - this is America: carry cash, lots of it; no pounds or euros; just dollars
Smile at anyone who complains about the high price of gas (petrol). It will make you smile when you fill up the tank.
Americans love the way you talk. Trust me on this. You will be able to talk your way out of trouble in ways that at home would simply not work. Except law enforcement, and Homeland Security at the airport - do not count on any sense of humor there.
Visit geocaching events. Lot's of friendly folks. Some give recognitions for geocachers from furthest away; you stand a good chance of winning that one.
The simplest way to deal with internet is to use hotels that advertize free Wi-Fi. The expensive hotels charge you for it; some low-end establishments also charge, but the mid-range hotels generally have it at no cost. When you make a reservation, check on this, even if they say they have it, add a comment in the reservation that you need a room where the wireless internet does indeed work. There are quite a few hotels where they have it, but not all rooms have good reception.
It may be a shock for you that the pricing of anything you need to pay for always seems to require more money than the state price. You never get to pay the price on the price tag; tax is always added on when you pay. For hotels that can be 11% or higher. On the other hand, the hotel rate is negotiable. In fact, in my travel experience, it is the only price that is negotiable.
Food in restaurants is going seem cheap and is generally pretty good (depends on your standards); it seems cheap because tax and gratuity are not in the price. Once you add that in (~22% total) it will seem more like home, but it will generally still seem like a good deal.
Your rental car: rent it and prepay it in the UK if you can get it with insurance included. If you rent it here, the insurance will cost you much more. Remember: you are geocachers and the rental agent won't know what that means. When you return that car with a new set of "pinstripes" you will want the insurance to cover that.
If you drive from the Grand Canyon to California, you will be driving through some of the finest deserts in the world. DO NOT TAKE THE RENTAL CAR OFF-ROAD to go caching no matter how tempting, unless you specifically rented a vehicle that is designed for that. Even if your rental is an AWD, that's generally just designed for snow on pavement, not Mojave desert sand. And if you drive through Death Valley as part of that: respect the place or it will kill you.
August in the places you mention can be seriously "hot", but in all the places you indicate it will be a "dry heat". You will see numbers on a thermometer that you have never seen before. Carry bottled drinking water and drink much more than you would in the UK - the dry heat will take it out of you. Over here it is actually cheaper than beer
It sounds like you will be visiting the National Parks. That is an excellent choice, but will generally limit your geocaching because only Virtual caches are accommodated there. But you will not have any geocache shortage in other places.
And do drive on the right side of the road!
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sleepysnails, the comments by Two Ton Whale won't work for you because your 60CSx does not take gpx files directly. You need to use some other software to take the gpx files and then transmit the relevant info to the gps.
Will a 60CSx show up as a USB device on the desktop? If so, then "sleepysnails" could just draft the GPX files over to the GPSr, no program required.
Patty
There is a way to set the 60CSx up so your computer sees it as a removable drive, but that GPSr's firmware has no code for dealing with gpx waypoint files that you might load to that drive. That innovation came with later Garmin models.
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sleepysnails, the comments by Two Ton Whale won't work for you because your 60CSx does not take gpx files directly. You need to use some other software to take the gpx files and then transmit the relevant info to the gps. Garmin probably has software for the Mac that would work, but I use GSAK on my Mac within Virtual Machine software (Parallels) - (link to more info on that).
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I note in your original post that you have GSAK. It can accumulate PQ information from various PQs and other sources to create databases of caches for any area that you might be interested in. Drag the PQ zip files into it (it will know what do to with those). Once you have a database set up, you can filter the display to just show the caches that you want to go geocaching for (the PN-30 can only accept 1000; so use a smaller number than that) - for testing purposes set the userflag on the 100 caches closest to your house and then filter on that. Now in GSAK on the GPS menu, select Send Wqypoints and on the setup button configure GSAK for your PN-30. Plug the cable in and make sure the PN notices that you are now plugged into the computer (if it asks which connection method you want, use GPSr, not SD card or internal drive). With the GSAk display filtered to show only the selected caches (function key F8), have it send to the PN. After a few seconds a dialog should show up showing you progress of the load. There are other ways depending on which firmware your PN has, but this method should work on any of them.
Some things to note: Topo will hog the connection to the PN, so shut if off while doing the above.
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My husband always did the pq's,loaded our gps, and off we went. He passed away and I'm trying to learn how to do what he did in minutes. I made the pocket query in a zip file, found the GSAK program on his computer, and now stuck on how to unzip the file with the gsak and get the caches loaded into the gps. Can someone please help with "in a nut shell instructions"? We're at 947 and would like to get to 1000 in his honor. Thanks in advance for the help.
Debill,
Your solution might be at http://coord.info/GC3MW4R or some other nearby event. Post a note at the web page that you are coming and that you are hoping to get some help with GSAK and PQs. Take as much of your equipment to that event (cables, GPS, computer if laptop); get there at least 15 minutes early and set yourself up at a table; make sure your name tag is clear and visible; turn your equipment on (that's like a magnet in this crowd). If someone asks if they could join you, ask them if they know something about GSAK (be sure to pronounce it like a pro "G-sak"). If they ask “what’s that” then tell them that you are expecting others. In this crowd it will be very straightforward; there will be dozens who can give you tips and will be grateful to have been able to be helpful (I know many of these folks). Even if you are not getting any help right away, there will be a time when there won’t be enough tables (this group is big, no restaurant is big enough) that someone will pretty much have to sit down next to you, particularly if you chose a table close to where the event host has set up the TBs and log. Don’t be shy, because many of them are. Have fun
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The message we got on the log was 'Mr XX was filling up a the nearby petrol station, quick check of the Garmin - a cache within 300ft.
Out of the car, cache found, log signed and back in the car before he'd finished!'
We can't do this on our Etrex H model and we were wondering what we would need to get this facility?
sandz
Since there is no such thing as “Etrex H model” I wonder if you might actually have one of the H versions of the eTrex models that gives you the ability to load custom POIs. Note that all eTrex models except the first yellow one have a model name (Legend, Vista, etc); some have the H designation (high-sensitivity GPSr circuitry), some have a C (color screen) designation and some also have an “x” (expandable memory using SD card). The more recent eTrex models with numbers (20/30) are completely different and can do much more. If you go to the Garmin website and inspect your model’s spec, you can see whether it can load custom POIs.
So, for example, the eTrex Legend HCx allows you to load custom POIs (but the Legend H does not). With that feature you can load tens of thousands of POIs. Thus if you maintain off-line data (e.g. with GSAK) you can load all the geocaches for many miles around you into the GPS as custom POIs. The way I have it set up is to also give me the hint. Also POIs in Garmin GPSrs can be configured to actually give an audible signal when you get close. So perhaps that is relevant to the observation.
I am frequently on the road for purposes other than geocaching and do experience occasionally, after lunch or a meeting, where, "just out of curiosity", I will turn the GPSr on, to look at the custom POIs nearby and if it is a simple drive-by, will make a quick detour to grab it. I do also carry all my data with me in a smartphone, so if I need more than the hint, I can get more information.
If you upgrade so as to get more data, then do skip that generation of gpsr and go to the ones that let you load descriptions and logs into the gps.
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I have been trying to get the "my finds" pocket query to run for the last few hours with no luck.
I get the message "Your 'My Finds' Pocket Query has been scheduled to run" but when I click on the download tab it has the old query on it -
"My Finds Pocket Query 417.72 KB 943 31/03/2012 (last day available)"
I last ran a my finds on 31/03/2012 at 11:31:48.
I have also not received a email saying it has run.
Is anyone else having this problem?
This issue has been resolved as of 15:45 PDT. Please check the status page for more updates.
Looks like the Status page is broken too. It reports the PQ generator is "operating normally", but I too find that my "My Finds" PQ is not running. A PQ scheduled long after I requested the My Finds PQ has run.
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For your Windows 7 computer, don't trust the words of Garmin that there is no solution for your particular USB-serial converter (unless you got if from them); if the manufacturer of your USB-serial converter is in business, they probably have a 64-bit driver that you can download from their website.
The older Garmin serial GPSrs (like the GPSMAP76) did not have drivers. To move data into that GPSr through a serial port, you will need software that knows the Garmin protocol (e.g. GSAK, Easygps, Mapsource, GPSbabel, etc). If you have Mapsource, then try to get it to talk to your GPSr because that is Garmin software and it should work if you got the USB-serial converter to give our OS a serial port.
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Moun10bike, is there a link that you and the developers consider the place to post specific suggestions about this feature. I am concerned that if the API implementation will be the same as the PQs that this will cause some serious issues with nearly all legacy challenge caches. I believe I made a comment (as have others) before, but I am not sure if this information has gotten lost.
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This is not a bug report, so I'm moving this thread to the feature discussion forum.
Since the release notes mention exactly this text:
it would seem that the expected behavior would be to still have what was there before but that now you can also just see the PQs individually. Perhaps it is just a matter of semantics so perhaps it does not matter, as long as the information is out there.• Added the ability to filter the map by only those caches found within the Pocket Query you are viewingAlso, it would seem from all that can be read about it, that it was not an explicit design choice to remove the ability to visualize the data in a PQ against all the data. I too would like to see that feature come back because I found it very useful. I think it would be great if it could be implemented as a check-box in the navigation frame to show all other caches.
I think that perhaps the issue here is that there used to be a map beta and what we now see is a different map beta with the unfortunate situation that there was no time to first do a beta release. Clearly all the software was/is being re-written, but many users probably do not appreciate the massive amount of work that this has required. Maybe they ought to show the words BETA so everyone understands that it is a work-in-progress.
I am very appreciative of all the work that has gone into this new mapping software. I can tell how much work this has been and the pain that programmers have had to deal with, to get this to work as a productions system with nearly no lead time.
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With regard to the OP, the fact that the cache mentioned by the OP is on public land is irrelevant; what is relevant is where he and his group were while searching for the cache. Is it possible that during the search he or others in his group may have strayed onto private property? That’s pretty likely if you have kids in tow and are staring at that brand new toy in your hands with one eye while looking for the tupperware with the other, all the while being fairly oblivious to other things going on around you.
I have seen quite a few caches where the cache placement was perfectly legal, but where the environment around the cache was such that folks really ought not be brought there. Being legal does not make it right.
It only takes one such catastrophe to get you thinking that it 
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in GPS technology and devices
Posted
You might suggest to your friend to look at page 15 of the manual and direct his attention to the bullet "Compass" in the section that refers to "Compass Setup Options". If this setting is causing the unit to use what Garmin calls "GPS compass" (which is an emulation which only works when the GPSr is moving) at the time when he is standing still, then the pointer will bounce. The ideal condition is for him to have the compass calibrated, turned ON, and to have it active whenever the overall motion is less than a typical walking pace.