Hultis-

I would like to find such a way too, but I don't see why they would introduce such a limit in POI Loader. Unfortunately, the .gpi file format is closed and when I wrote the program I couldn't find any documentation of it. Now I see that the writers of GPSBabel apparently reverse engineered the format, and it's open source. Looking at their code, my guess is that a Custom POI is split into two 128 byte parts - one for metadata and one for text (44 characters title, 88 characters description). In other words, the 88 character limit isn't arbitrary at all and wouldn't be easy to circumvent.

I don't have a 60CSx myself, but from what I've read it can handle a much larger amount of custom POI's. This means you can just use POI Loader to add the caches like that instead, circumventing the limit of 1000. I do this on my eTrex Legend HCx.

Through some creative use of POI's you can get most information on a 60CSX, but reading long description and logs is awful. I find myself sometimes using my smartphone to look up some descriptions and logs out of interest, but in general it works fine for paperless caching.

To you and others who have asked, here is the newest version. Me and my friends have used it for years so it's well tested. I included a very old PQ anyway so you can easily test it without having to do anything but click the program.

Thanks for your answer. The idea is that geocachers might know locals who could place and maintain the cache for them, even if those locals aren't geocachers. This could also be an excellent way to introduce geocaching to areas which have no geocaching community.

I don't usually hang around on the forums, but I got this idea and felt like I had to share it with you. I discuss lots of ideas with a geocacher friend of mine and we have a couple of finished caches, and about 30 pretty assorted cache ideas that are gathering dust. I felt like this idea could use some air, as it would be incredibly cool if it was actually done. So, the idea is to follow Phileas Fogg in the famous book Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne. 80 caches would be placed along his path close to where he was on the corresponding day. When he was on a boat we would either need to place caches along the coast, near the start/end or improvise. There's also the problem that geocaching hasn't spread much to China and India, where he spent a fair deal of time. We could of course change the cache density along the trip to coincide more with the parts of the world where there are actual geocachers, i.e. the western part, but that simply isn't all that fun. So, what do you fellow geocachers think - is this even remotely possible?

First, make sure you unzip the program somewhere. Then you place the unzipped pocket queries (ending with .gpx) in the same folder as pq2csv.jar and double click pq2csv.jar. It will show the popup even if there are no pocket queries in the folder. You will however need java to run it, so if you don't have it (if you don't get a popup when you run the program unzipped you probably don't) download it here. You should see .csv files in the csv folder if the program ran successfully.

I use my Legend HCx (pretty much the same as 60CSx, and in this question exactly the same) for paperless caching and have done it since I started. I find that it works very well with a few limitations, i.e. reading and storing full descriptions and logs as it gets annoying to read. Sometimes I want those logs or that long description, so if I were to choose a GPS and had one with a larger screen capable of showing lots of text that only cost a little bit more than the equivalent without that function, I would choose the sooner (unless it had bad cons). When logs or description is wanted one can of course use a phone or computer, but it's a bit more work. So in short: built-in paperless functions can be convenient and useful, and is worth a bit extra (but IMO not twice the price), but can be recreated almost fully using only a cheaper GPS, or fully using a cheap PDA or modern phone along with the GPS.

Woodstramp: Unfortunately I don't have a Nüvi and haven't found the character limit yet, but the program should work out of the box (although you may be able to stuff more information into a single POI, making it a little easier to read). Try doing this: 1. Download one or several pocket queries and put them in the same folder as pq2csv.jar. 2. Run pq2csv.jar 3. Run Garmin POI Loader and make sure to set "choose the folder where the data files are" (free translation from my non-english POI Loader) to the csv folder in the program folder. 4. Finished - start GPS and see if it worked. And if it worked you may want to change a few settings in "config.txt" to suit your taste. Also: I couldn't agree more with TotemLake, paperless caching is paperless as long as you don't need a paper with cache information, it's that simple. We don't need any more consumerism than we already have...

I'm not sure if this has been covered, but here's an idea (if your GPS works with POI Loader): 1. Set up as many PQ:s as you need to cover the entire area (at least 24) and run them on a specific day of the week. Max 5 per day so this will take most of the week. Make sure to filter out caches that are disabled and archived. 2. When you want to update your database download the last weeks' worth of PQ:s to a folder, and run the program mentioned in this thread with whatever settings you want (considering its 12000 caches and that you can use your phone you might not want to include hint and such). 3. Run POI Loader to get the results to your GPS in Custom POI form, as mentioned earlier. This will allow you to load as many caches as you want. Alternatively you can obtain the same result using GSAK as well as several other programs, but this is the fastest and easiest method I can think of. Also, it is a piece of shameless self-promotion .

Sorry for not answering, it seems the auto-notice system had been turned off for this thread. Knight2000: Yes, you can use it on your Nüvi. Most Nüvis have a higher description length though, so check what the max length is for yours and set it in the config file (I changed the program slightly to allow different description lengths) or just use the original length if you're not sure. NickParker: Yes, it will work for Etrex Legend H. HC Venturer: As answered by others: Yes it will work. The memory will be more than enough, if you don't use it for anything else than caches you should be able to fit about 200 000 caches in it. I'm sorry if the description isn't clear enough, but there is so little to write! If you haven't already done it, read "README.txt". All you do is put the PQ:s in the same folder, run pq2csv.jar, wait a moment, and run POI Loader, choosing to take the data files from the csv folder. I've also added another mirror, aside from the horrible one I used earlier. Yes, the title is slightly deceiving, but it's as close as you can get to paperless caching with a non-paperless GPS. You CAN have all the information on a cache if you really want to, which in my opinion is what paperless caching is all about, but it's not really a viable option. I tried it once, I got 20000 caches from a 500 cache PQ. The new version is available here (no uptime guaranteed) as well as on the old mirror: here. Just wait 30 seconds then click the download link if you use the second mirror.

Sorry, I didn't know the name was already taken, neighter did I consider the fact that this was a reproduction of their artwork and that it was prohibited. The artwork is now removed so if someone wants to have specialized icons they will have to create/get them by themselves. Instructions are available in the readme. The program also has a different name now, one that didn't yield a single Google result. I have no interest in gaining anything from the program or messing with those who want to gain something from theirs, I just wanted to share something I thought the community might have use for, just like me and my friends have.

Ever since I started geocaching I have used a GSAK script to make it possible to do more or less paperless caching on my Legend HCx, and it has worked well. However, that is the only thing I use GSAK for, so I don't feel like buying it. Also, even without the nag screens it would take unecessarily long time to create the caches. So I created a program which does pretty much the same thing but without GSAK, aiming to make it fast and simple. Also, the program is portable to other operating systems than Windows (since it's Java you might even be able to run it on your cell phone, whatever good that would do). Using the program is simple: just put the pocket queries you want to export in the same folder as the program and run it. After a few seconds you can find the results in the csv folder, just run POI Loader (or similar) on that folder and you're done. This will create several caches for each real cache, containing the information you deem necessary (this can be changed using the config.txt file): difficulty/terrain, last found, logs, hint, short description, long description and some more. It also has support for some non-english characters, and I will add more if you want it. Compatibility: I created the program for Garmin eTrex Legend HCx (and for personal use, but sharing is caring ), but it should work for all models that use the same format: Garmin 60Cx, 60CSx, 76Cx, 76CSx, eTrex Venture Cx, eTrex Venture HCx, eTrex Legend Cx, eTrex Legend HCx, eTrex Vista Cx and eTrex Vista HCx. The program is available here. Feel free to download and use the program however you wish, it is open source (BSD license). Feedback and suggestions are more than welcome.

Thanks a lot for the help guys, I have ordered the Legend HCx now. See you in the cache logs!

Also, do they take the same maps?

One final thing: I found the Magellan Explorist 500 (used) cheaper than the Legend HCx. I read up on it, and it seems to have gotten mixed reviews, but it retails for a much higher price than the Legend, so which is better?

The two GPS:es mentioned earlier were used, but they cost a bit more than you said you would pay for them. Therefore, and because of the seemingly awesome sensitivity and reception (two major selling points) of the Venture HC, I'm leaning towards a new GPS. I also stumbled across the Legend HCx (retails for the same price) which seems to be even better, so I think I will buy it. Good choice?

I have a really old GPS (Garmin GPS 45 XL) but it's meant for naval use, also it is slow, doesn't have maps, has a bad reception and it doesn't seem to be very accurate, especially not with the bad reception. Anyway, long story short, which is better, Garmin GPS 12 MAP och Garmin eTrex Legend (the original)? Main priorities: getting halfway decent maps and good accuracy at a low price. Are they good enough and will it be possible to get cables for interfacing with a computer or should I aim for some newer GPS? BTW, the 12 MAP costs half of what the eTrex Legend costs.