Oreb

I've tried to get a MyFinds PQ multiple times today with no luck. I thought perhaps it might be on my end so I tried in three different browsers. It acts as though it is requested but never changes the date last submitted to today's date and I never see the PQ in my email. I guess it is a general problem at this point.

It has been awhile, but I think the following worked: I uninstalled my Magellan software, rebooted, went into Device Manager and deleted all my usb devices, rebooted, reinstalled my Magellan software.

My son and I used our PN-40 today to find 15 caches which was pretty good for us as it was a 5+ mile walk. I had downloaded the caches into the PN-40 both using the geocaching.com send to gps as well as by exporting from my GSAK db. When we started, I found the closest geocache, routed to that, viewed the 15,000 character cache description and previous logs, and then found the cache. I marked it as found which allowed me to enter my log for the find, and then I could either find the next closest, view the list of caches sorted by distance from my current location (or alphabetically) or indicate that I was done geocaching. I used the log to record TBs picked up and TBs dropped. Once I got home, I used the Upload Field Notes feature of geocaching.com as well as the PN-40 to upload the field notes for my 15 finds and after doing some editing they were logged on geocaching.com. There is a wiki on the PN-40 at: http://delormepn40.wikispaces.com/ but I'm not sure if it has the geocaching stuff on it yet. This entry is a few months old but might give a glimpse: http://blog.delorme.com/2009/01/31/paperless-caching-update/ I don't know if that helps or not. Oreb [embra beat me to it! ]

One of these caches I've logged 4 times, all DNFs...but when I went back in history I found that one of them had been marked as a Find so I flipped that to a DNF. On my profile the count shows the correct number and the little icon with the stats is still off, but I'm guessing that will eventually catch up. So it was operator error! Thanks for the good suggestions in any case.

I've now by mistake marked two logs as "Found it" when logging a cache search rather than "Didn't find it". I'm not sure how that happened other than clumsiness. Even though I've gone back and edited the log and changed the log to "Didn't find it" gc.com still believes that I found the cache and it shows up with a smiley on the map and a checkmark on the Hide and Seek listing page. I suspect that my found cache totals might be off as well. How do I make this cache be "Not Found" for me? Thanks!

FWIW I have a PN-40 and use GSAK to manage my PQs. I can "Send to GPS" for brand new caches. For all others I generate GPX files out of GSAK (maintained using nightly PQs that are retrieved by GSAK from custom email addresses) and transfer them to my PN-40 using some tools that folks (Tigerz above among them) developed pending the DeLorme Cache Register being released. Works fine for my uses and lets me continue to manage things with GSAK. I get the long logs, the extra GSAK data (user fields, etc.).

I made the switch from a Magellan 500 LE to the PN-40 earlier this year. I was trying to decide between the PN-40 and the Garmin 60CSX. I'm happy so far and use both the "Send to GPS" functionality on www.geocaching.com as well as the "hack" and the GSAK macro as well.

You'll want to factor in map cost as well to any decision depending upon whether the included base maps in a unit are sufficient for you, or whether you want topo maps or want to do auto-routing with the unit. I recently went through a similar decision process with a similar price point and once into it realized I needed to include map cost into the price to get a full picture of what I would need to spend. I don't think any unit is perfect, you'll need to figure out what priorities are most important to you and you've made a start with the requirements you listed which is a good start. I had a Magellan eXplorist 500 LE and was deciding between a Garmin 60 csx or a DeLorme PN-40. I ended up going with the DeLorme but going with the DeLorme for me was predicated on DeLorme delivering 3 things after I bought the unit: 1) Download to GPS at gc.com, 2) new firmware for geocaching, 3) cache register to be able to do bulk download and log upload. So far DeLorme has delivered on #1 this week, and #2 is expected within the next week (possibly later today ).

I had similar criteria to the original poster. I was moving from an Magellan eXplorist 500 and wanted a GPSr I could use for geocaching and simple auto-routing for under $350. I use GSAK and carry a PDA with me but was hoping to be able to do some paperless caching without having to juggle a GPSr, a PDA, reading glasses and a pen. From what I saw the Garmin Oregon 400t was out of my price range and I had some concerns about the screen in sunlight, I was also concerned about having to shell out additional $ for more maps although I didn't investigate this carefully as the pricepoint was already too high out of the box for me. I looked at the Garmin 60csx and the DeLorme PN-40. I have friends that swear by the 60csx so that was my first choice but they suggested I get City Navigator which would add another $100 to the price and push me up close to $400. The 60csx had a good and tested chip and that appealed to me. The PN-40 is much newer but DeLorme seems to be responsive and I felt like there was a good chance they would continue to improve the PN-40 (as the 60csx has been improved over time). Mac support wasn't an issue for me. The all-you-can-eat map subscription of $30 for the PN-40 was attractive to me because I think the different types of maps provide different answers depending upon the question (how to avoid excessive bushwhacking for example ) I lurked on the DeLorme forums for awhile and after seeing screen shots of the new geocaching features and reading posts by the DeLorme support team, I decided to take a leap of faith and get the PN-40. I'm quite happy with it so far but I've only had it a couple of weeks. I have cached with it and it seems more accurate to me than the eXplorist 500. To be honest, I don't believe that there is a perfect GPSr out there for under $500, you have to decide which features are important to you, how much you want to spend, look at the trade-offs and go from there. As you can tell from the impassioned responses people feel strongly about their preferences. Good luck!

Your mention of tools caught my ear. I've just ordered a PN-40 which is on its way. I was trying to decide between a 60 csx or the PN-40 and ended up going for the PN-40 despite some concerns about it being able to get and maintain a lock and how I'm going to have to change my existing GSAK>GPSr process to work with Topo and the PN-40. If you have tools that help manage waypoints I'd be interested in hearing more if you're willing to share more information. Thanks! Being a geek doesn't help when you have to select and move waypoints one at a time between layers... But you do have a point. I have already written a few perl tools that help overcome some of TOPO's deficiencies. But about accuracy: I have the distinct feeling that my unit is actually using WAAS data a lot more often than it is telling me, because it is so stable and repeatable. I just wish the EPE were more in line with what I am seeing...

I don't think what you're seeing is normal. I have an eXplorist 500 LE and I don't see that behavior. Make sure you have the correct firmware as suggested by the previous poster.

Thanks for the suggestion of getting the individual gpx file. On this cache I might be able to retrieve the log as it might be within the last 20 logs. Thanks!

Someone pointed me to the GSAK macro AddLogs.gsk that should do the job one cache at a time. Is there a geocaching.com way to get those owned logs? Thanks!

I have some caches that I have placed. I set up a Pocket Query for caches that I own. I load the Pocket Queries into GSAK. Looking at my GSAK db I noticed for one cache that it has a log from October 30th for person A, it is missing a log for person B, and has a log for person C. I'm not sure why one log from that day is missing, especially since it is between two logs that I have. I'd like to be able to retrieve that missing log for person B so that when I generate stats for the cache (so-and-so has found 5 of 7 caches using FindStatGen) so that they will get credit for a find but if I do a pocket query I'll only get the last 5 logs and we're well past October 30th. Is there: 1) a way for an owner to get a Pocket Query for their owned caches containing all logs? 2) or a way for me to recover that log and somehow construct a pocket query that I can load into GSAK with just that one log? Thanks!

My eXplorist 500 just started doing this. I've been connecting it to my computer with no problems for 6 or 7 months. The cable is down. I deinstalled and reinstalled the drivers...no luck. I get the "USB Device Not Recognized" error. Maybe I'll try buying a new cable.

Larry, Ok, that seems plausible...I don't remember running 5 in the last 24 hours but I might have. It does seems strange that it wouldn't let me add queries to Monday without causing that notice to pop up since Monday is already past. Do you know of a post that clearly lays out the rules of Pocket Query limits? It seems a bit confusing. Thanks!

So, I removed all the Tuesday queries and attempted to add another query to Monday and got the same notice showing "Sorry. You have exceeded the maximum limit of 5 queries per day for Tuesday". is there a maximum queries per week? I'm at 17 and I have that error notice.

Hmmm...I unset the two pocket queries that were set up for Tuesday and the notice disappeared. I can add two back in, but when I attempt to add a third pocket query for Tuesday the notice pops up again. It seems as though geocaching.com thinks some of the unselected pocket queries are selected.

On My Pocket Queries page I have the following notice in red: Sorry. You have exceeded the maximum limit of 5 queries per day for Tuesday However, I only have 2 pocket queries set for Tuesday. I received pocket queries yesterday but not today. Is there a way to reset that message? Will it cause problems? I'm concerned as I'm planning a trip this weekend and was hoping to have pocket queries for the trip. Thanks!

Hi, and I have just bought an eXplorist 600 (US model) which has the 5.2.17 firmware. I have tried to update mine, and like your post, it looks like it is going to work, but when the unit restarts, version 5.2.17 is still there. I was using 5.2.57 from the Australian site (maybe this is the problem). Did you get a workaround? Thanks. Sean I've got the same issue.

Yeah, you are running 2.17. I have communicated with another fellow who was trying to upgrade from that version and he had difficulty. He assumed it was because the European 2.57 release is actually dated after the 2.17 and appears newer. Could be. When I say difficulty, I mean that the unit simply didn't perform the upgrade. It stayed at 2.17. I suppose you could do a "95" in the service menu and then run the upgrade, but you need jumbo cajones for that! I tried upgrading and it happily got to 100% and told me the upload was complete. However when I powered it off and on it still shows as 2.17.

If I turn on my Magellan Explorist 500 LE and select Menu> About it tells me it is running Rev 5.2.17. How do I figure out if that is equivalent to the posted 2.03 or the European 2.57? Does that mean I'm running a 2.17?

If your local store has it, Wal-Mart has the Magellan Explorist 500 LE for $149.99. Some stores have them in stock and some don't. I found one store that had 5 and 3-4 others that didn't have any.