fratermus
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Posts posted by fratermus
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With a .loc file, all you get is a point on a map
I'd say that's oversimplified to the point of inaccuracy*, but the general concept holds.
GPX is the richer format for holding geocaching waypoints.
frater mus
*A few moments with a text editor will reveal that there is more in the .loc XML than just the coordinates.
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Would you consider it "appropriate" for a prisoner on a road-side work detail to find in a cache?
That is truly bizarre logic; I assume it is not your idea and you are merely reporting it, so no personal offense intended.
I consider it no more inappropriate than for a road-side work detail to pick up a rock, a broken bottle, a tire iron, or a syringe. Or, for that matter, any trade swag in the cache that might be used in the blackmarket economy. There are protocols for prisoners who find dangerous things when on the chain gang.
If this is truly a valid concern (and I suggest it is not), then it would be far more rational for GC to stop accepting cache placements within X miles of a correctional institution. Problem solved.
(Just in case you're wondering why they were banned in the first place.)
I wasn't wondering at all. I was assuming (and still assume) it was to protect Groundspeak from real or imagined liability.
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As others have said, you really need to think about GSAK and pocket queries.
The learning curve is a little steep, especially if you are non-technical. (Luckily I am and it was still a learning process.)
"If you like Lotus Notes, you'll love GSAK!"
:-)
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I can only download a single cache into my Garmin 400T. I have selected the check all in a search but it willnot download i my garmin. I looked several places in it. once again it has no problem if i get a single cache and click on send to my gps.
Others have pointed you to the PQ, but I think what may be happening is you may be expecting the "Download Waypoints" button from a cache listing to work the same way as the "Send to GPS" button on an individual cache page. It does not do this.
Rather, it generates a .loc file for download to your PC, You then load the .loc into your GPS using your favorite utility. I use EasyGPS.
Note that even if you set up a PQ that you will still have to manually load the resulting file (.loc, .gpx, whatever) into your GPS; it doesn't work like the "send to my gps" functionality on the GC website.
I recently became a primo mimber.
That was my smile for the morning. :-)
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If it were mine I would open it and make sure that the ribbon cable is secure. I would see how easy it would be to replace the switch too.
Another vote for this approach.
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Tangent: as an ex-soldier, Eagle Scout, and human, I'll add that I would really to prefer to live in a world where a pocketknife was an appropriate tool for any kid old/capable enough to geocache on their own.
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Now, I want the old days back when I could plug my unit in, click on the geocaching.com caches I wanted to download, watch EasyGPS load it up and hit the road. Due to my lack of intelligence, I cant figure out if I can still use my existing EasyGPS to do this and I am scared to try.
EasyGPS will work fine.
When I plug in my new Legend HCx, the computer says to install CD.
My guess is the PC wants the driver software for the GPS, as another poster noted.
After I got done cringing in fear, the CD says it is a "trip & waypoint manager." I dont know what this is and if I want it on my unit.
This is worth talking about.
Garmin's generic map software platform is called MapSource. All their map products* use MapSource as their delivery and manipulation mechanism. In addition to map handling, MapSource also works with waypoints, routes, tracks, etc. This will become relevant in a moment.
MapSource + City Navigator mapsets = City Navigator retail package you see at the store
MapSource + Topo mapsets = topo retail package you see at the store
MapSource + minimal basemap = Trip & Waypoint manager
Effectively, T&WM is the MapSource platform without uploadable maps, but with a simple basemap that you can see as a background.
I may want detailed street maps to use for my motorcycle for traveling....lll deal with that later. But right now, I want the simplest way to get the caches on my unit, thats it. Can I skip the install when I first plug in my Legend HCx and have it still work with EasyGPS? Thanks everyone.
You will likely have to do the install in order to get the GPS to talk to the PC. It's no big deal, T&WM will not hurt anything, and you will end up using the MapSource platform later on anyhow when you buy mapsets for your motorcycle traveling.
Once you get the cd installed you can use EasyGPS to upload your caches to the GPS. Easy recognizes usb GPS units just fine.
* SD-based maps are an exception
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i just installed EASYGPS and i'm not impressed. it doesn't even have background maps, just a white screen,
EasyGPS is not intended to show background maps.
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I have an older GARMIN GPSmap 60CSx with America's Rec Basemap 4.00. Is this basemap upgradeable ?
If you mean "can I get a better map" then Star's post is spot on. I would add that MetroGuide maps also work on the 60 series.
If you mean, as it suggests, is the basemap itself upgradeable then no, not in any usual sense. The basemap appears to be written in Garmin GPSr hardware.
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hi i have found a garmin geko 201 on ebay (uk)
just wondered if this was any good to start geocaching with?????
Generally speaking, any handheld is good for geocaching. Your life will be a bit simpler if they are including the PC cable with the GPS. That way you can download the waypoints into the gps instead of entering them manually.
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how do I put the geocaching coordinates in it???
Mark a new waypoint then edit the waypoint to the geocache's coordinates.
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Starting last week caches downloaded from the geocaching website do not show up in my list of Geocaches on my Garmin GPS 60. The download window shows up and it indicates a successful download but when I try to pull the caches up in the unit they are not there. I have deleted all my found caches and many of the ones stored in there but they still do not show up. I am leaving on vacation Friday and need to get this resolved so I do not have to manually enter my caches. Any thoughts from the collective expertise out there?
This is a Frequently Asked Question.
The short answer is Find By Name. For the longer answer, read the link I provided.
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After a few years in the field, the most obnoxious thing I've found in a cache was one of those "convert to my religion, which is of course the One True Religion" comic book tracts. I traded it out of the cache and drizzled chicken blood, rum spray and cigar smoke over it while dancing in the moonlight near the..... sorry, got sidetracked there for a moment.
As others have noted, I have found far worse in junkpiles in the forest. Needles, drug paraphenalia, used condoms, homeless encampments. This is a function of littering in general and not caching in particular. Indeed, cachers generally leave places better than they found it.
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Something like 1 time every 2 seconds vs several times per second. You get about 15 - 20% longer battery life. It isn't worth it.
Battery Saver is most useful when the course or location is steady/predictable, as when driving on the the road en route to a cache. Once the user starts more random movement on foot I would agree it is not useful. In an extreme case, I left my Foretrex 201 on my motorcycle accidentally turned on in the garage. It was still running (although nearly out of juice) several days later. The normal life is about 8hrs.
I think a good compromise would be an automatic mode:
* while autorouting the GPS would use battery saver
* when the last road point is reached (ie, no way to autoroute closer) the GPS would switch to off-road nav and Normal/WAAS mode.
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This is going to sound really newbish....
but whats the point of using a real compass if the arrow on the gps is pointing the way?
GPS units without e-compasses only point the way reliably when the unit is moving. If you stand still it knows where you are but not, to simplify a bit, which direction you are currently facing.
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{double post due to php timeout}
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but how do you see the direction to go using a legend if you have to be moving for the compass to work? (i very frequently stop and look at the gps, so i guess when i stopped it would point in the wrong direction?)
As with a "real" compass, one does not stare (or stop and stare) at it. Use the compass to get a visual bearing and start walking. Continue walking and spotcheck the gps every once in a while to see if you need a new visual bearing.
Count my vote in the "no electronic compass" column.
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but how do you see the direction to go using a legend if you have to be moving for the compass to work? (i very frequently stop and look at the gps, so i guess when i stopped it would point in the wrong direction?)
As with a "real" compass, one does not stare (or stop and stare) at it. Use the compass to get a visual bearing and start walking. Continue walking and spotcheck the gps every once in a while to see if you need a new visual bearing.
Count my vote in the "no electronic compass" column.
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nothing
The original question was "what does a 1 by 1 look like". For the sake of new onlookers, I will spiel on this topic a bit.
1x1 refers to the terrain and difficulty ratings. Both are rated from 1 (easiest) to 5 (hardest). So a 1x1 would be easy to get to in its physical enviroment, and easy to find once you got to it.
There is no set appearance for a 1x1. It is only a rating of the challenge level it presents to the cacher.
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Freeware EasyGPS can name the cache by name rather than GC*.
Edit | Preferences | Geocaching
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Spray paint/stencil of either a shade lighter or darker from the camo colors used on the can.
Yup, i stencil in black on the OD ammo can.
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I bought this to Geocache but I'm not going to do to well if I can't figure this thing out. I have a $2 compass and no matter how much I move it around the arrow always points north.
A GPS is not a $2 compass. Its job is not to point north. Having said that, I would imagine your GPS manual will tell you how to calibrate your electronic compass, and how often you have to do it.
I agree with the previous poster that considers the electronic compass near-worthless. The cardinal directions do not suddenly shift when one stops walking. If north was in that direction when you were walking then it is still in that direction now that you have stopped walking. How often are cardinal directions used in caching anyhow?
I giggle when I see cachers spinning in circles trying to calibrate their e-compass. "I'm going to pay extra money for this unit so I can stand in a field and spin while my buddies are hunting caches."
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I've been a member for a month now and i haven't had a gps so i couldn't find any caches.
But on ebay i just bought my first gps and am ready to get started! Any tips on geocaching or any reviews on that gps?I got a Garmin Geko 201 for $57.50 including shipping.
Did I get a good price on it? Is it really within about 10 feet of the coordinates?
Geko is just fine, and $57 shipped is well worth it, particularly given the small size and light weight of the geko. It'd be a great deal if you got the PC cable with it. If not, you'll probably want to start trolling for one on eBay. Makes loading coords much faster, easier, and more accurate.
I have a foretrex 201, which uses the same innards as the geko in a wristwatch configuration. It's my main GPS for bicycle/motorcycle/walking use.
The GPS itself will likely give you 10' accuracy sometimes, but in the geocaching world it is safest (for various reasons) to assume the GPS will get you within 50' or so. Once you get within 50' or so stop looking at the gps and start "feeling" the cache. :-)
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fratermus probably doesn't have experience with the Oregon series because this series does not have a menu option to delete gpx files. You have to do it manually like SamSpade47 said. When you connect the oregon to the computer it will show up as a drive. Navigate to that drive, then Garmin, then GPX and delete the gpx files.
Thanks for the correction. Glad someone chimed in.
but whats the point of using a real compass if the arrow on the gps is pointing the way?
But on ebay i just bought my first gps and am ready to get started! Any tips on geocaching or any reviews on that gps?
What exactly is a pocket querie?
in How do I...?
Posted
A PQ is a predefined, scheduled search against the geocaching database. It is not synonymous with "geocaches along a route", although a button to that effect does show up on the PQ main page and you can make a PQ out of it.
I will let others with personal experience chime in. I have done it in gpsbabel but not GC. I assume GC uses babel under the hood.