sktqch

There seems to be a concensus with only a couple of dissenters that the Nexus 7 can do this, one person has also said it doesn't have to have the operating system twiddled with (rooted, they call it). I've yet to see a posting by someone that has actually done it, and how they did it, most have said they think it can be done. I do know you have to have a mini usb to regular usb physical adapter, but that's not a problem. What I'd like to know is if the gsak clone program (gsab?) can handle downloading .gpx files down to the gps'. One disturbing post suggests that the android gmail app won't allow downloading or saving of .zip files which is how geocaching.com wants to download pocket queries. That would be a bummer. Stan

OK Good! It sounds like rooting is simple enough. I read through the instructions and it looks like a go then. Stan

I then if I buy a Nexus with the latest android version on it, I can plug my gps into it and download a gdak .gps file onto the gps. Correct? Stan

OK, all good information. The burning questions to me are these two. 1.) Is there an App like GSAK that can import data from a geocache pocket query when in wifi range? 2.) Can a Nexus 7 export a GSAK .gpx file to the Garmin 60 and 20 series gps' (even if a full size usb adapter is needed)? Stan

I love my 60 CX, which is basically the same as the "S" model without the active compass. I didn't get that feature because I suspected, and subsequently found out that you have to constantly reset the compass for it to be active. With my cx all I have to do is wave it about and the compass comes alive.. Stan btw....to answer your question yes it has been replaced with the 62 series which is somewhat more complex but does have "paperless" caching (meaning you can get a readout on the gps about the cache, description, logs, etc..) It does mean you have to constantly switch from reading about the cache, to the screen that shows you where it is though.

One of the great things about using GSAK is the ability to do a mass upgrade of your cache listings with the "Attrib_to_UserNote.Gsk" Macro, which converts the attribute icons into text so they will be exported into gps' like the Etrex 20..series. Then when you are in the field you can read on your gps that the cache is, for example, "Available during winter" or "requires swimming" (??) etc. Stan

The only caveat about the Etrex 20 is, on ours, when driving in a car and then stopping to walk the last few meters to a cache, it gets very confused and inaccurate. It usually takes a shut down and restart to make it behave. Maybe we need to upgrade the software in it, we haven't yet. Stan

OK, how about the new Nexus 7? Is there anyone out there using it for geocaching or storing geocaching data, or better yet, loading up gps's with data using GSAK? Stan

Also if you don't use GSAK you can't insert the attributes of the caches into the file so your gps can read them. Without attributes, you are hampered in your search. You use the Attrib_to_UserNoteLog.gsk macro to insert the attributes into the .gpx file. Sktqch

I use GSAK to load geocaches into my Etrex 20 because I can run the "Attrib_to_ UserNoteLog.gsk" macro which does a superb job of changing attribute icons into text which will then load onto the Etrex 20. I don't consider any gps completely "paperless" unless it will load attributes as well as descriptions and logs. The problem I am having, (and I'm sure it's only because there isn't any decent documentation, or I'm just stupid) is that when I load a bunch of geocaches onto the Etrex from GSAK, the "old" geocaches disappear! I figure they are still on there because when I go to a special place (can't remember where) it shows 109 caches. I load a dozen or so on at once and have done that a few times, but the last time I loaded 5 caches on it and that is all that shows. Does anyone know how I can access the "older" caches that I haven't found, but suspect are still lurking in the background of the Etrex 20? Stan

First they need to work on getting out a manual that includes all the features and how to use them!!!! SKTQCH

I've just run through a large list of geocaches containing attributes. I ran the macro and every one of the "NOT...." attributes has been changed so the "NOT..." is missing, leading people to believe the opposite of what is true, in the text version placed just above the logs by the macro. Has anyone else found this out also? SKTQCH

I am not sure what you mean by checking off Yes and No on the attribute list? What I did was import a "bookmark" list into GSAK ver. 7.xxx via a downloaded email .gpx file, then ran the attr.....macro on the GSAK database. I then went into each cache and looked at the attribute list icons and compared them with the attribute list in it's text format down at the beginning of the logs. This is where the discrepancy between the "NOT" and the "AVAILABLE" showed up. SKTQCH

I just ran this macro on a series of geocaches in GSAK under version 7.xxxxx and it listed the first two caches which had attributes as NOT available during winter as "available during winter". Something's amiss. Maybe it only works with version 8? It doesn't seem to recognize the "NOT" in not available at night as well. SKTQCH

Now that is interesting! I will look into that! SKTQCH

OK Wintertime, you get the prize! That's the solution, dark text on a light background. I was wondering why the cache description had big gaps in it with no text. The text was really there, it was just black text on a black background. So now the real question is........Why the &@#% doesn't Garmin document these things and include them in a manual????????????? SKTQCH

I hadn't thought of pre filtering the pocket query. Hmmmmm, I'll look into that, tnx. SKTQCH

Yes, mainly interested in "Winter accessible" etc.. Since we get up to 4 feet of snow here, that's a critical factor in whether to go and search out the cache or not. SKTQCH

Has anyone come up with a way to load attributes on to the new Etrex line? I know the .gpx file contains them because they show up on our iTouch when we use it for paperless geocaching. SKTQCH

I've found that Garmin's altitude engine is much less accurate than Magellan's. I've both and when I'm at the coast, walking along the ocean shore, my Magellan will be right on, but quite often my Garmins will show me several meters below sea level. I contacted Garmin about this some time ago and was told I was right, their engine doesn't fix altitude very well. SKTQCH

OK, where do you put the .gpx file when you drag it over to the etrex 20. What directory? Also I just had a thought, do you have a memory card in your gps? Also I'm still running software version 2.10, would that make a difference? SKTQCH

Sadly, stripHTML is no longer working as it was. It seems to strip not only the HTML codes, but everything written between the codes now. It didn't do that this afternoon so I'm still working on what might have happened. I went back into the gps and deleted every .gpx file I could find (and I looked in all the directories) and then re-downloaded the bookmark list with that pesky file in it, and then re-ran the striphtml macro on it and it now seems to be creating a small file with the same name and then -nohtml.gpx tacked onto it, that cannot be downloaded into GSAK. The cache description in the gps now contains one line of what is regular text in the cache description, but none of the coloured text in the description. Very disappointing as it worked well this afternoon. SKTQCH OH, and how can I get the Etrex 20 to download the attributes as a part of the .gpx file, or is that gsak that has to be changed?

SUCCESS! The stripHTML macro in GSAK worked like a charm. Fast, clean and now that I've stripped the .gpx file even the ones that had html in them load into the little Etrex 20 perfectly. Thank you for the "hint" Jholly, I wish you'd been with us a couple of days ago we could have used a few "hints" to pare down the dnfs. SKTQCH

Actually I've been having a lot of trouble just "dropping" the file into the gps. I've tried dropping gpx files into the gpx folder and every other folder I can see on the gps and nothing comes up when I try to find them on the gps. So I went back to GSAK and that worked for 90% of the caches, it didn't take much detective work to figure out that it was the "fancy" ones (eg: using html codes) that weren't behaving properly on the little etrex. SKTQCH

Here's one of the caches that is causing the problem. SKTQCH http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GC24D74