The4B's

Sure, I'm happy to share what I've come up with. This may or may not apply to what you're trying to accomplish but it works for me. I would suggest you visit the GSAK forums to get assitance with GSAK and all its power (which is really quite incredible). There are lots of friendly helpful people there. The basic premise behind all that I do is this: 1. gc.com and pocket queries are the data source 2. GSAK is for manipulating and organizing 3. The GSPr (Colorado) is for in the field, finding caches only. I don't attempt to use it to keep track of what I've found, not found, available, not available or anything like. If it's in the GPSr, it's a cache available to find. My databases are set up by geographic location. I have one additional database for Puzzle/Mystery caches in my area to keep track of them separately. Once I solve a puzzle I enter corrected coordinates for it. I have several pocket queries run each week and they are sent to a special email address solely for this purpose. Then I do something like this all from a macro: 1. use GSAK's getmail command to go get the PQ's from the mail server onto my computer 2. load PQ's zip files to the appropriate databases (some databases have several PQ's loaded due to the number of cache available; and my PQ's only include caches I've not found; once I've found a cache I delete it from GSAK) 3. delete any caches that haven't had a recent PQ update (probably archived caches) 4. copy caches to my "GPS Export" database from the appropriate geographic databases 5. filter out puzzle caches without corrected coordinates (if it's not been solved there is nothing to look for and it doesn't need to be in the GPSr) and copy the solved puzzle caches to the GPS Export database 6. from the "GPS Export" database, filter out any unavailable caches (again, nothing to look for so it doesn't need to be in the GPSr) and then export the caches to one GPX file. (I also do an export to a Mapsource file so I can see graphically what is going on) I use the Windows (XP Home) Scheduled Task to launch GSAK and run this macro once per week (just before the weekend when we tend to do most of our caching). So the pocket queries run and are emailed over the course of a few days, then Windows launches GSAK on it's own, runs the macro and spits out the GPX file. All I need to do is remember to connect the GPSr to copy the new GPX file. The macro takes only a few minutes to run. It took a bit to set up and test but now it all happens on it's own. Cheers.

I'll add my name to the list. Maybe we can get to some critical mass where the powers that be take notice and address the issue. Squeaky wheel and all of that. I've had the same problem, and I also load GPX files generated by GSAK. I copied 2 GSAK generated GPX files (both included child waypoints) and the caches from one did not appear. These were caches that we have placed and are close to our home. They should have been at the top of the list but were nowhere to be found. I came to the conclusion that since the Colorado can accept 2000 caches, and I always do preliminary work and sorting in GSAK, I should just export one large GPX file rather than several smaller ones. My old sorting and organizing system was built around the 500 waypoint limit of my now deceased Legend C. So I needed to retool a bit to better fit the Colorado's design (and apparent limitation) and make GSAK spit out a final product that was more Colorado friendly. I have a macro that does all the manipulating I desire and the pops out my GPX file. The setup took a bit of time but now it works like a charm. For the times I need a second or third GPX file (say, for when I travel) I know to be careful adding the second or third file and do a QA/QC check on what I loaded. Cheers.

I've seen this with loading 2 GPX files generated by GSAK. I had GPX file 'A' (+/- 600 caches) on the Colorado 300. I deleted it and added GPX files 'B' (+/- 650 caches) and 'C' (10 caches). The caches in file 'B' show up but not file 'C'. I regenerated file 'C' from GSAK, deleted the original file 'C' from the Colorado and replaced it with the new version. Then the caches from both files showed up. I subsequently deleted file 'C' and added file 'D' (+/- 200 caches) which was also generated by GSAK. The caches from 'D' seem to be there although I only spot checked a few. I have firmware 2.4 on a Colorado 300. I used GSAK (latest version) default GPX export settings to generate the GPX files so child waypoints are included in the export. I am accessing the GPX file from the Colorado's internal memory and not the SD card. I've seen this issue mentioned in the FAQ/Issues list related to PQ's being directly loaded, but have others seen this when loading multiple GSAK generated GPX files? I tried to find a thread that addresses this issue specifically but was not able to. If I understand correctly this is a random thing. Is that correct? Are there any updates or insights anyone can offer me? For now I guess I'll follow the advice of loading only one GPX file at a time. Thanks.

Thanks for the reply. Can we consider this a feature request then?

Is there a place to store some owner contact information like name, address, and phone number? On my Legend C I entered this owner information and it became the start up splash screen. I can't find this in the Colorado 300. I would like this in case I drop or forget the thing somewhere. If someone finds it and turns it on they could find my name and contact information to return it. Cheers.

Ditto. Friday's PQ's have still not run as of 9:00 AM Saturday accoring to my list of pocket queries and the time they were last run. This has been happening more and more frequently with my PQ's over about the last month or so. I've had them a long time so maybe they're at the end of the list. I have to run the queries a day early to make sure I get them on time. I've also found that when they do run, the time between when they run and when I get the email is also quite long. Sometimes it takes a day. I've checked with my ISP and they don't block anything from geocaching.com

Thank you all!!

That sounds great. That would make a great day. Now to find a ferry schedule. Thanks!!

We're going to being vacationing in Seattle in a few weeks time and want to do some geocaching. Can anyone recommend any caches that sort of fit these guidelines: in a nice large park or green space or outside the city, relatively easy hike/walk, maybe several along one walk, nice views or cool area a visitor normally wouldn't get to, and preferably not micros (nothing to trade so the kids aren't so interested). We'e looking for 1 or 2 trips of a few hours long each. Transportation is not a problem so only serious 4x4 off roading would be a problem. Last year we did a few in Lincoln Park so we would like something different than that. Thank you.

Ahhhhh..... Success!! To get the mileage correct I deleted all my log entries except for the one where I placed it in the first cache (in Ireland). Everything looks good and even kind of makes sense now. Thanks to all for your help!!

Who's that? Thanks for the advice. I'll try these suggestions.

I did as you suggested. But now it looks like it has travelled too far. Canada - Sweden - Ireland - Sweden. Rather than Canada - Ireland - Sweden. Is this as good as it gets or can anything else be done. Do I need to delete other log entries? I would rather not if possible since the folks made the effort to move and log the TB and also to post some pictures.

I have a travel bug that left Canada and was placed in a cache in Ireland by cacher 'A'. Before cacher 'A' had a chance to log his entry on-line, cacher 'B' grabbed it and took it to Sweden and placed it in a cache there. When cacher 'B' logged his entry he "grabbed it" from cacher 'A' and then dropped it in the Swedish cache (it's current position) - effectively skipping the Ireland cache. Cacher 'A' subsequently logged his activity as a note, saying he dropped it in the cache in Ireland. How do I go about getting this TB logged in and out of the cache in Ireland so that the distance is caculated correctly? This question must have been asked a thousand times so if someone would be so kind as to direct me to a valid post or resource, I would greatly appreciate it. The travel bug info is here: Travel Bug - Cowtown Cruiser

Groundspeak allow some caches to have multiple founds on a cache (event cache for example). GSAK calculates your found count by adding up all your found logs. What this means is that there is at least one cache in your database where you have logged more than one find (intentional or not). You can track these down using the "Log" filter. Thanks!

I have a database for the caches in my area. It is simply the .gpx file from a pocket query loaded with no other waypoints entered. It shows my caches found as I have logged them at gc.com. In the bottom right corner in the counts it shows (after today's .gpx import) 161 found. Yet when I run a filter on my found caches (GSAK default) it shows 141 waypoints. I know it can't be 161, that's too high. 141 sounds right (I have found caches that are not in this particular database and my total cache finds are 151). Any ideas why the discrepancy? Do the .gpx/zip files from gc.com ever arrived corrupted?

Every waypoint in GSAK allows for an associated URL. When you take the option "Show online in browser" GSAK opens your browser at that URL If you are loading GPX or LOC files from geocaching.com this URL field in GSAK is automatically populated witht he corresponding link to the cache at gc.com However, it your waypoint is from another source (manual addition for example) this field may be blank (right mouse click, select edit to check). When the URL is blank, GSAK defaults to showing the waypoint position using MapQuest You learn something new everyday. Thanks.

I noticed something new and odd today. I am using version 5.1.4. I right clicked on a waypoint and selected "Show Online - In Browser" and I get taken to the Mapquest page for that cache and not the geocaching.com page. Is it me and my settings or ... Thanks.

I've set up a macro to: select a database, load the gpx/zip file(s) (pocket query file) for that database, export the html files, export Mapsource mps files. It then repeats the process for for all 10 of my databases. It works great and saves me a ton of time compared to doing it manually. Is there anyway to evaluate the gpx file for a particular load to see if it has changed since the last time the macro was run and, if not, skip that file and move on to the next? I know I can set up a filter to compare if a waypoint has changed but is there a way to evaluate the gpx file so it doesn't even start the loading procedure? My pocket queries arrive on different days of the week due to groundspeaks 5 PQ/day limitation. So sometimes I run the macro and only some of the gpx files are new since I last ran the macro. It would be nice to skip the files that have not changed.

Hmmm..... That's the way it's set up. A little more exploring is in order, I guess. Thanks again for your help. Much appreciated.

Holy Cow! Is it ever faster! No comparison. Thanks for the tip. So now I'm set up with GSAK for exporting html, Sunrise for PDA file generation, and Plucker on the PDA for the viewer. Two questions: 1. Does anyone know if you need to clear out the folder that GSAK exports all the html files to everytime you do an export? Or does it do whatever it needs to do so that Sunrise will work properly. 2. Sunrise does not automatically place the output file in the necessary spot for the Hotsync. I need to track it down and "install" it with the Palm desktop installation tool. Can Sunrise place it whereever it needs to be so it is ready right away for the Hotisync. Not a big deal but one less step would be nice. Thanks.

Thank you. I will try all of the above. Experience is a wonderful thing to tap into, isn't it.

I've just started using Plucker as a PDA browser. I've experimented with GPXSpinner and exporting HTML files from GSAK to use as the input into Plucker desktop. Plucker takes the output files from GPXSPinner no problem and is reasonably fast in creating the file to load to the PDA no matter the size of the GPX file. With GSAK the html export seems to work okay for small databases (< 50 waypoints) but for a larger one (~400) I run into trouble. Just to be clear, the GSAK export works well for every database. It is quick and appears to finish fine and the generated html pages work on the computer. But for the larger database the Plucker desktop can't seem to deal with the output files from GSAK. Plucker starts up okay but then seems to go in fits and starts. It then gets REALLY slow and finally after 30 - 60 minutes I shut it down. I've tried changing the settings from GSAK so it only indexes by name and code and puts the hint on the same page. Again, to be clear, If I take the GPX file that I used to create/load into the GSAK database and run it through GPXSpinner, Plucker has no trouble with it. But the power of GSAK over GPX Spinner appears to be the ability to generate all kinds of search criteria and I would prefer to use GSAK (since I use it for everything else). Any suggestions on what I may be doing wrong with my GSAK html export that this is so slow?

This is where you need to tell GSAK to match you by geocaching.com ID number rather than name (via Tools=>Options=>General). When you change your name, your Geochaing.com number does not alter and is the best choice for matching in this situation. For more information refer to the help file or online here http://www.gsak.net/help/hs7690.htm Thank you!

We have placed some caches but we have changed the name of who they are placed by, so they don't all say by "The4B's". How can I get these other caches to show up as ours (with green background) in GSAK? I've changed the owner's name myself so it appears fine until I do the next GPX upload. Then it gets overwritten with the new information and looks like someone else's cache that I have not found. I do like to get the updates so I get the up to date off-line view updated. Thanks.

You know when you look at (for example) the travel bug history for a certain cache you can see all the travel bugs, who owns them, and where they currently are located. I've noticed there are different colors in the background of the little square pictures/icons showing where the bug is or who currently is holding it. Some are blue, some are green. Is there a significance to this coloring scheme?