Garmin Ique M5

[Nudecacher]

I have had a Magellan SporTrakPro and a Garmin Legend for some time now. I can add geocaches as waypoints from GSAK or EasyGPS, drive to the general area where there is a cache I want to find, search for nearest caches and choose the one I'm going to and have the GPS show me the direction and distance to the cache as a destination. I also use GSAK to generate html files for plucker to load to my palm IIIxe for reference material on the caches.

 

With my new Garmin iQue M5, I've used GSAK to generate gpx files (or use the gpx files from my pocket query) for the Mapsource program which can load them as waypoints into the M5 for the QueMap program. I also can copy the gpx files to the M5 and use GpxSonar to display the information about geocaches, very similar to GSAK on the pc.

 

Here's what I haven't figured out how to do, and what makes the M5 useless for geocaching:

 

(1) After panning around the map to look at possible geocaches and roads on the QueMap, then try to return to your current location on the map. You can do the flag with the '?', which gives you your current coordinates, but no way to zoom there. That's just plain stupid. What am I missing here? How do I get the QueMap back to display my current location? [ Ok, I just stumbled onto the answer. You exit the Pan Toolbar by pressing the left pointing arrow. I didn't find that obvious. ]

 

(2) When I find a cache in QueMap that looks interesting, how do I copy/paste the gcxxxx code into GpxSonar to find the details and recent logs? It seems silly to write the code down on a piece of paper to remember it, and then shift to GpxSonar and scroll down until I find it.

 

(3) When I find a cache that looks interesting in GpxSonar, how do I find it on the QueMap to establish a route? GpxSonar seems to have been built for pocketpc's without builtin GPS and QueMap for finding nearby restaurants.

 

(4) Ok, say GpxSonar isn't the right software to use for geocaching with the M5, does CacheMate or any other program have the linkage to and from the QueMap for going back and forth between the cache map location and the cache description and for adding caches in the database to vias on a route?

 

Does anyone use the GPS in the iQue M5 to geocache and could we have a discussion on how to figure this out so caching with the M5 is as easy as with the SporTrak or Legend? We could make a list of the things we do with regular GPSr's and then figure out the most efficient way to accomplish them. This could be kind of an FAQ for geocaching with the Garmin iQue M5 and similar machines.

 

Nudecacher

[+ve6dave]

I have an ipaq which has the garmin que software installed. The software gives me great tracking, routing etc., but what I have started to use is Cachemate for pocket PC. In fact I have taken off GPXSonar the unit. It was great software, but the Cachemate allows me to select a cache by distance etc. and then brings up the go to window for me to follow the arrow to the cache. Neat software worth the $8.00. Also you might find that when you down load your waypoints from GSAK that you should change how the unit labels them to %smart from %code. It makes it a lot easier to find the log pages.