taylor999

I've been looking for GPS files of walks on the internet, to upload to my GPS and use as caching routes. Many of the walks are in the format of tables of map / grid references, like this: click here. My question is: is there an easy (or easyish) way to convert these to GPS data (e.g. a GPX file) without having to manually enter each coordinate into my mapping software? I'd like to be able to copy and paste the table of map / grid references (from the webpage itself) and quickly convert this into a set of waypoints / routes to upload to my GPS. So far the only way I have found to do this is to manually enter each waypoint, which is no use when there are many. I also don't want to have to manually edit each waypoint e.g. as I enter it into a csv file, as again this would take far too long. Does anyone have any ideas? For info, I has a Garmin eTrex and use Mapsource but am obviously happy to add any other software I need to achieve this. Thanks!

Many thanks to everyone for the very quick replies! UK Geocachers and Geotees (especially the latter) seem to be universally recommended so I will give one/both of them a go. Thanks again!

Hi, I know that many similar topics have been posted in these forums, but none of them seem to get at exactly what I am looking for, so I am hoping people might be able to help me. I am looking for a basic - and most importantly cheap - GPS unit. The only real criterion I have for it is that I want it to be accurate in the areas where my smartphone fails, mainly in wooded areas. So essentially I want the cheapest GPS unit available which has a good, accurate sensor. A subsidiary concern is the time it takes to get a decent reading, again with particular emphasis on weak signal wooded areas. I do not need any additional features, such as maps, memory, interfaces etc. I will be using the GPS unit with my smartphone and only need the GPS unit to home in on caches more accurately than my phone does. I know that many people recommend 'going big' with a GPS unit to allow paperless caching, but I really am only interested in accuracy without any additional features. I'm even happy to type in the coords manually. Does anyone have any recommendations, and in particular can anyone vouch for the accuracy - especially in wooded areas - of the unit they recommend? In particular I have spotted good prices on the Garmin eTrex range (e.g. the cheapest is I think the eTrex H) so comments on the accuracy of these would be much appreciated as well as any other recommendations. My budget is low, hopefully less than (or not much more than) £100 / $160. If it makes any difference, I am buying in the United Kingdom. Many thanks!

Good morning, I apologise if a similar post has been made before, but I have had a quick look and can't find anything recent. I am looking for a good online Geocaching shop. There is a long list at http://shop.geocaching.com/default/international-retailers/#united-kingdom, and I was wondering whether anyone has had any particularly good/bad experiences with any of these (or any others)? Essentially I'd like to get a couple of good reviews for any of the shops before sending them my money! At first I just want a few travel bugs (so cost isn't really an issue, and the sites all charge basically the same price), but in future I might want to branch out into other items such as a GPS unit. Any tips would be much appreciated!

If your only issue is battery life, then it is probably cheaper to look for spare batteries for your phone. For example, for my HTC Desire S, I have found a set of 3 spare batteries plus charger on eBay for around £10 (admittedly they are non-official batteries but they seem to be fine). The charger they come with allows recharging of the battery without it needing to be in the phone, so I can take a set of 4 full batteries out with me and they will last all day easily. But if you want some of the benefits StarBrand sets out, such as increased accuracy especially in trees, it might be worth forking out. FInally, as EdrickV says, you could try to manage your phone's battery life. The two main ways I do this are by downloading all the cache info before I head off (saving data connection battery) and by turning the screen brightness down (on my phone, the screen accounts for 80% of battery usage). Hope that helps!