fw_ord
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Posts posted by fw_ord
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Has anyone found the use of Delorme or National Geogrphic topo (others) sufficient to work with GPS units to justify the purchase?
I use DeLorme Street Atlas 2004 USA and Topo USA 5.0 and really like them. I use a program from this webpage to put geocache locations on the maps and create reports. From the DeLorme software I then load the locations to my Garmin GPS reciever as Waypoints. Once done with my trip, I reopen the DeLorme map and click the icons to get to the web pages to log my finds.
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I use Topo USA 5 with my Garmin ETrex Legend. Here is what I do.
Hook up the reciever to the computer's serial port.
Go to the GPS tab and click Settings.
In the Edit Settings box, click Device.
Set GPS Device to Garmin/Garmin.
My Port is COM1. This may vary by how many serial ports your computer has and which one you hook up to.
Settings is 9600,8,N,1.
Press DONE.
Then click the Exchange button to transfer information to or from the reciever. I usually transfer draw files that contain waypoints (cache locations) to the receiver. Sometimes I retrieve tracks from the receiver to view on the map.
I use an easy to use program from this website to convert downloaded cache locations to draw files for importing into the Delorme software and create reports.
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For DeLorme Users: There is a program that translates Groundspeak downloads to DeLorme draw files for import to mapping software. It works on .loc, .gpx or .zip gpx files and is very simple to use. It can create reports of cache descriptions in MS Word or .txt files. It even allows for selectable hyperlinks from the DeLorme map symbol to the Groundspeak web page for that cache. Try the program at The Webpage.
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I have done a lot of wilderness treking and some geocaching. In the wilderness I only use good paper maps (USGS Quads or better), pencil, and a Silva compass. Decent orienteering skills allow easier route planning on the fly and you have no dependence on heavy battery powered equipment. In many cases it easier to orient a map, take a bearing, and select a landmark than it is to figure out the exact lat/lon of your next waypoint, punch it into your GPS device and hope for enough satellites to compute a bearing. Once the bearing is determined by the receiver, you still need (I do) a compass to shoot the bearing and select a landmark to travel to. Backup equipment weighs nothing. I don't know as much about sailing, but GPS seems to make a lot of sense, still with good paper maps and a very good compass.
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To Six Dog Team:
Don't worry about too many caches. I have many days of fun following you around the trails at Salamonie and Huntington reservoirs. You have made a huge contribution in leading me to some spectacular scenery. My one DNF, you got on right away.
To Team Tigger:
Your observations about the DNR personalities at each park seem correct. After disappointing queries and reading the logs for Shades and Turkey Run; Chain O Lakes, Pokagon, McCormicks's Creek all showed recent finds and happy geocachers.
fw_ord
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Hi Indiana Cachers,
I was querying for caches at Turkey Run and Shades State Parks. It looks like the Indiana DNR has recently removed nearly all of the geocaches in those parks. Does anyone know if this is a widespread DNR policy or limited to these two parks?
fw_ord
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There is a program that creates reports from Pocket Queries (.gpx) in the form of text or Microsoft Word documents. It can be found at this webpage. Though designed for importing cache locations into Delorme software, it will create documents that you may find useful.
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I use DeLorme Topo USA Version 5.0 to provide maps. It also exports waypoints to my Garmin GPS receiver.
I convert downloaded cache locations to Draw files for importing to Topo USA with a free program from this Webpage.
It works on .LOC, .GPX or zipped .GPX files as downloaded from geocaching.com. It also outputs very nice indexed reports in text or MS Word documents. It can also put hyperlinks to the cache description on the Topo map icon.
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My son, who is an Eagle with Troop 460 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, introduced me to Geocaching last year. I was a scout leader for 9 years. He is a senior in college now and we still do a lot of geocaching, hiking, backpacking and orienteering.
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Many who hike frequently are familiar with "The ten essentials" those items you should always have with you when you venture away from the parking lot for even a day hike. If this is new to you here is a basic list:
1. Map
2. Compass
3. Flashlight / Headlamp
4. Extra Food
5. Extra Clothes
6. First-Aid Kit
7. Pocket Knife
8. Waterproof Matches
9. Water / Filter / Bottles
10. Whistle
That is an excellent list. In addition I carry:
Rain gear (I live in Indiana)
Fire starting kit of small pieces of wood, cotton balls and a Boy Scout hot spark (I don't trust matches always)
Insect Repellent (I live in Indiana)
Paper and pencil
Hunter orange vest for Fall
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We seek out geocaches off of the easy path, so rain or shine, winter or summer, I wear my Gortex Gaiters. They keep me free of mud, thorns, poison ivy, and are mostly water proof when quickly crossing small streams that are over ankle deep. I use and recommend the OR Crocodiles as do most of my friends.
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This Webpage has a program that imports GPX files and exports all relevant data to a text file or MS Word document. It also tabulates and indexes the waypoints into a very useful table.
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Hello friends. This is a serious note. My son and some friends who are students at Purdue went caching today near Winamac and came across a meth lab at the cache. They were confronted by a couple of local men who urged them to move on. The cache is Step-in-step-out by The M-Team (GCH4T1). They called the authorities when they got home.
They are lucky that this did not turn into a serious incident. Please be careful out there!
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Here is my planning routiine. I rely on DeLorme Street Atlas 2004 or DeLorme Topo USA 5 depending on where I'm going.
1. Perform a Lat/Lon search on geocaching.com to get .LOC or .GPX files of caches near my destination. I get Lat/Lon from mouse positions on the mapping software.
2. I have a program that does a couple of things.
a. it loads one or more .LOC files and .GPX files into one list and formats the list for importing into my DeLorme software as waypoints. This a .TXT file. There is an option to output waypoint hyperlinks to the cache descriptions on geocaching.com. When I get home, it allows me to use the DeLorme software to go directly to each waypoint's web page for logging.
b. it outputs cache data to a Microsoft Word document with a table of cache type, Lat/Lon, ID and name. If the input files are GPX, indexed cache descriptions are also output to the Word document. Output of hints is an option.
3. I then print the Word document
4. Then the .TXT file is imported into the DeLorme software using Draw import functions.
5. I then export the waypoints to my Garmin GPSr
6. Print applicable maps at various scales and views to declutter the maps.
So, armed with my maps, descriptions, compass, GPSr, I'm ready to go. Nearly all of the caches I visit require a lot of hiking, so I minimize the amount of electronics and batteries that I carry. I have a laptop computer that I run the DeLorme SW on, but it stays in the car.
For a weekend outing, this takes about 30 minutes.
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(1) Can waypoints be downloaded onto the maps from Internet?
(4) Assuming that waypoints can be downloaded from the Net onto the maps, can I select waypoints on that software to move into my Magellan?
I use DeLorme Street Atlas 2004 and DeLorme Topo USA 5.0 and can add to the response for questions 1 and 4.
1. Yes. They are imported as draw files. I wrote a simple to use program that converts .LOC and .GPX files downloaded from geocaching.com searches into CSV formatted .TXT files for importing into either program. If you want to try it you can download it at My Webpage. I have received some nice feedback on how easy it is to use.
4. With the DeLorme software, yes. I do it this way. Waypoints imported as draw files are loaded into one draw Layer. Waypoints can be edited, added, deleted within in the active draw layer and exported to the GPSr as one draw file.
I hope this helps.
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I don't post often, but it appears that this forum has gone to the dogs. Just kidding. In late December a friend and I hit most of Patrick's waterfalls caches below the dam at Salomonie. It was a great trip with fantasitic frozen waterfalls and fine hiking. Patrick seems to pick out very scenic spots off the beaten path. If he is like my terrier, that is because he chasing some rodent or large bird.
Soon I'm heading to Owen-Putnam State Forest. It appears that there are several caches around. Are there some that are must visit from a scenery or pleasant hiking standpoint? I live in Fort Wayne, so I'm somewhat unfamiliar with that part of Indiana.
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I use Topo USA 5.0 a lot. I'm like Dan who previously responded. I sort out "urban" caches and go for caches that require trails, hiking and bush whacking. Displaying them on a map like DeLorme Topo USA makes the filtering very simple.I wrote a very easy to use program that converts the .LOC files downloaded from the geocaching.com web site into files that can be imported into Topo USA as Draw files. These show up in Topo as symbols with the waypoint ID and name.
I share the program and it can be found at My Webpage.
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I care about weight and performance. This equates to battery life. My assessment led me to the the Garmin eTrex Legend. For the features, performance and low power consumption, it wins hands down.
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Flooder,
I also do all of my stuff on Windows XP Professional with SP2.
I browsed the internet and found that your problem is not a rare one. Here are some links to forums discussing your problem. They say to make sure that the two files AUTOEXEC.NT and CONFIG.NT are in the directory c:\windows\system32\. I checked my computer and both files are there.
I copied the two files to another directory and deleted them from c:\windows\system32\. When I ran my setup program as you did I received the same error. When I restored the files to c:\windows\system32\, then setup ran fine.
One of the postings said that a virus, spyware, or even Adaware spyware remover may be causing the problem. I hope this helps you. Please let me know how this turns out.
fw_ord
http://www.anetforums.com/posts.aspx?ThreadIndex=30339
http://www.anetforums.com/posts.aspx?ThreadIndex=30734
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If you get a GPS with a built-in magnetic compass you can get rid of your friend.
Since our wives won't hike and camp with us and our sons have grown and moved on, I'm kind of stuck with him unless I find a way to enjoy sittting around a campfire grilling steaks and drinking beer by myself.
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Would a compass present a better solution? How? thanks.
Most of the geocaching I do is in rugged outdoors terrain. I believe that a compass is essential under these conditions. Typically I go with a friend where one of us uses the compass and one of us manages the GPS receiver.
There are several reasons for this, the simplest being that often the terrain does not allow us to easily walk a straight line far enough for the GPSr to create a reliable track heading. Sometimes because of satellite blockage by terrain or foliage it takes several minutes for the GPS derived position to settle down and as soon as the receiver starts to move the position accuracy is lost. Another reason is that often in thick forests in the summer, we find that we only get good position fixes in nearby open locations, but not at the cache. (Though you have to ask how the cache provider got the coordinates, winter?). In this case we determine the waypoint bearing and then pace off distances from our known position to the cache. Recently we came upon a cache in a ravine and the GPS receiver was not working well. I went to a nearby hill top and got a bearing and distance to the cache from there. We then went directly to the cache about 30 yards away.
We also move faster cross country by navigating with a compass. By sighting landmarks with a compass based on the bearing to a cache, we get accurate points to hike to. The bearing and compass are far more accurate than trying to read the simulated compass needle on the receiver. When trying to cover a lot of ground, rotating the receiver even a little bit and trying to use it as a compass results in very large errors over long distances.
Though, there can be some problems. My buddy had a beautiful new compass given to him by a German colleague. We were really struggling with our navigation that day until we realized the compass bezel was marked in units of radians and the GPS receiver was giving waypoint bearing in degrees. After setting the GPS receiver to output bearing in milliradians everything worked better.
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Due to interest from Buzzard 777, I created a version of the LOC to DeLorme Waypoint conversion software for Street Atlas Version 7. SA v7 uses Lat/Lon import instead of Draw file import. I don't own SA v7, so I don't know the mapping from Symbol to Symbol Number, so the program has symbol number entry. Buzzard777 ran the new program through its paces and gave it a good review.
Just for fun, I also added the capability to import a cache's web page along with its location, ID, and name. This allows a person to click a cache's symbol on the SA 2004 or Topo USA 5.0 display to open up the cache's web page. This is enabled by a simple check box on the conversion software's menu form.
The new version for LOC to SA v7 and the updated version of my original program to include web page hyperlink can be found at My Webpage
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I received e-mail that the download for the LOC to DeLorme waypoint conversion software was not working. I apologize for the error. I fixed the problem, so if you tried to get the program, please try again. Press Reload to refresh the page when you get there to make sure you get the updated page. It is at My Webpage
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I wrote a Winodws program specifically for putting .LOC files into DeLorme Street Atlas as waypoints. I then send the waypoints to my GPS receiver using the Exchange utility of Street Atlas. The conversion program can be found at My Webpage.
Street Atlas
in How do I...?
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I use a program from this web site to create waypoints for Street Atlas and creating reports.