Loading Geocache's Into My Gps????

[+Ah_ciD]

k here goes

 

i have just gotten a magellan explorist 500 this is my first gps and i cannot for the life of me figure the PC interface out....

do i have to pay to get more detailed maps of canada?

what program do i need to transfer the files on and off the gps?

does the gps NEED a sd card to hold maps?

geocache sites... how do i use the pc to get them onto the eXplorist.... and what file format?

my gps uses USB to connect and all the programs seem to want to use a comm port .... WTF???

 

I know trhis is alot to ask but i can only hope that i get at least a few answers

[+Cherokeecacher]

k here goes

 

i have just gotten a magellan explorist 500 this is my first gps and i cannot for the life of me figure the PC interface out....

1)do i have to pay to get more detailed maps of canada?

2)what program do i need to transfer the files on and off the gps?

3)does the gps NEED a sd card to hold maps?

geocache sites... how do i use the pc to get them onto the eXplorist.... and what file format?

my gps uses USB to connect and all the programs seem to want to use a comm port .... WTF???

 

I know trhis is alot to ask but i can only hope that i get at least a few answers

1) yes. If you want/need more detail than the base maps that cam on the unit, you will need to buy them from Magellan.

 

2) There are a few programs that will allow you to do this. GSAK is one of them.

 

3) If I remember correctly....Yes you need an SD card to hold additional maps.

 

Exactly how much "research" did you do before you bought such unit???

 

I will let others answer the rest of your Q's.

[+CYBret]

This would probably be better suited for the GPS Units and Software forum.

 

Moving it there.

 

Bret

[+embra]

You can find some useful general information about the 4/5/600 here.

[+sarhound]

I'm using an Explorist 500 now-- it took me a few tries to get everything working properly.

 

The easiest way that I found to get waypoints onto the Explorist is to use GSAK. Run a pocket query to get a file of GPX points that you want to use, and import that file into GSAK. You'll end up with several caches loaded into that database.

 

Go up to the File menu, and export the database-- look down the export list until you find the Magellan SD card format. Select it. It will open a dialog box that has a dropdown menu that asks you if you want to save it as a POI or as geocache; I've used both, and they've both worked out just fine. The advantage of saving as POIs is that you will be able to delete the POI when you don't want it any longer. If it's in a geocache file, the entire file has to be deleted-- you can't individually dump or alter the waypoint.

 

GSAK will generate a file and deposit it wherever you elected to save it. Plug your USB cable into your computer and turn the Explorist on. It will start up and go into file transfer mode. My computer throws up a screen that lists all the folders that already exist on my Explorist. Drag the file that GSAK generated into the POI folder (if you saved POIs) or the geocache folder (if you saved geocaches.) Turn off the Explorist, let it save the data, and let it shut down. Unplug from the computer, turn on the Explorist, and hit GOTO.

 

It took me awhile to figure out that the file I uploaded was living on my SD card. When you hit GOTO, it'll ask if you want nearest to your position. I select position, then you have to keep selecting to go up one level (I think it's 3 times) until you get to the screen that asks if you want internal memory or SD card. Pick the SD card (this is all assuming that you have an SD card in the unit) then run down the list until you find the name of the file you uploaded. Select it, and all your waypoints should be there.

 

Once you figure it out, it's a little cumbersome, but it does work well. I've got sets of waypoints for various regions, so I just select whatever region I'm going to be in at the time. I haven't even begun to scratch the surface of my SD card yet.

 

Hope this helps,

sarhound

[+Ah_ciD]

sarhound.... thanx for the how to, i need to get an sd card before i try.

i copy and pasted it to note pad do u mind if i keep it to distribute?

 

Cherokeecacher

thanx for the straight forward answers!

 

embra

Very good site!

 

thanx guys im gonna see what happens here as soon as i get the sd

[+sarhound]

Not a problem. Feel free to keep what you need--I sometimes forget how I did something, so I usually write stuff down myself.

 

Even a small SD card will keep a bunch of files. I usually download 100 GPX points at a time and export them out; the file size averages about 10 KB apiece. I've got 5 or 6 separate areas loaded now, and I'm fixin' to put more in as I find them.

 

Good luck,

sarhound