A CDouple of Cachemate/GSAK Questions

[+Geckolovers]

Hope this is the right forum to post in. My last question about Cachemate/PDA was moved here, where Wrench and Landrover kindly set me straight and I actually got to use my PDA caching yesterday!!! Thank you!

 

I have had two questions for a while:

 

1) I have PQ's set up for a 100 mile radius of my L/L. They arrive, but they do not include all the caches---there are some missing---will the PQ ignore them if I have DNF'd? Although some I have not. Also, some of the caches are 200 miles from my homepoint. Why, if my directed perimeter was 100 miles?

 

2) In order to get the "missing" caches loaded into my gps (and now my PDA), I "hand-load" them by going to each cache, downloading the GPX file to my desktop, then dragging the file to GSAK. This can be time-consuming if I have 10 or 20 to do, especially because you go thru a couple of screens on GSAK for each cache. I have tried dropping them all into a folder and then dragging the folder to GSAK, but it hasn't worked. I know there must be an easier way! Is there? And if there is, can someone explain to me in simple language suitable for a third grader. (Mmmm---better make it a first grader---they had my kid doing Power Point in 3rd grade!)

 

Thank you!

Edited September 11, 2006 by Geckolovers

[+jon & miki]

Hope this is the right forum to post in. My last question about Cachemate/PDA was moved here, where Wrench and Landrover kindly set me straight and I actually got to use my PDA caching yesterday!!! Thank you!

 

I have had two questions for a while:

 

1) I have PQ's set up for a 100 mile radius of my L/L. They arrive, but they do not include all the caches---there are some missing---will the PQ ignore them if I have DNF'd? Although some I have not. Also, some of the caches are 200 miles from my homepoint. Why, if my directed perimeter was 100 miles?

 

2) In order to get the "missing" caches loaded into my gps (and now my PDA), I "hand-load" them by going to each cache, downloading the GPX file to my desktop, then dragging the file to GSAK. This can be time-consuming if I have 10 or 20 to do, especially because you go thru a couple of screens on GSAK for each cache. I have tried dropping them all into a folder and then dragging the folder to GSAK, but it hasn't worked. I know there must be an easier way! Is there? And if there is, can someone explain to me in simple language suitable for a third grader. (Mmmm---better make it a first grader---they had my kid doing Power Point in 3rd grade!)

 

Thank you!

Well, one or maybe two things seem to be wrong with you PQ, but then you already knew that.

 

The first thing I'd suggest looking at would to get to the PQ page and run/preview the PQ manually. Are the "extra" "long distance" caches showing up in the preview run? Are the "missing" caches still missing? Are you at the maximum 500 caches that the PQ can include? If the problems persist in the manual run, the problem is in the query and you need to post the settings (you may be able to provide just the URL of the query - I think I read somewhere that anyone can see the query terms if they have the URL).

 

The GSAK problem may become irrelevant if you can solve the PQ problem.

 

Still, if you want to tackle the GSAK problem now, I can tell you that I've used the approach of loading GPX files into a folder then importing them into GSAK with good success before, so what you're doing should have worked. Instead of dragging the folder onto GSAK , you might try importing the GPX files from within GSAK via the menu. Don't forget to check the box to download all files in the folder. Also I'd check on my import settings (I believe they'll be used as the default if you drag a folder in) - some settings will clear the database before loading a new file or disregard some data or overwrite it, so check those settings carefully and (make sure you're set to import a folder when you start the import).

[+Geckolovers]

Well, one or maybe two things seem to be wrong with you PQ, but then you already knew that.

 

The first thing I'd suggest looking at would to get to the PQ page and run/preview the PQ manually. Are the "extra" "long distance" caches showing up in the preview run? Are the "missing" caches still missing? Are you at the maximum 500 caches that the PQ can include? If the problems persist in the manual run, the problem is in the query and you need to post the settings (you may be able to provide just the URL of the query - I think I read somewhere that anyone can see the query terms if they have the URL).

 

The GSAK problem may become irrelevant if you can solve the PQ problem.

 

Still, if you want to tackle the GSAK problem now, I can tell you that I've used the approach of loading GPX files into a folder then importing them into GSAK with good success before, so what you're doing should have worked. Instead of dragging the folder onto GSAK , you might try importing the GPX files from within GSAK via the menu. Don't forget to check the box to download all files in the folder. Also I'd check on my import settings (I believe they'll be used as the default if you drag a folder in) - some settings will clear the database before loading a new file or disregard some data or overwrite it, so check those settings carefully and (make sure you're set to import a folder when you start the import).

 

Well, I'll try to figure out about the PQ's. Maybe I'll submit another one and see what happens. As for your suggestion about dragging and importing and all that good stuff---I have no idea what most of that is, but I have found sometimes by trying to following kindly instructions, dumb luck leads me down the right path. I surely would like to reduce the time I spend "hand-loading" lost caches. Thanks for your response!

[+jon & miki]

The best place to start is on the GSAK forums - I'd repost your question there. The folks hanging around the GSAK forum are very knowledgeable and usually respond very quickly to questions. Besides the advice, you'll also find some tutorials and helpful macros on the website.

[+jon & miki]

Well, I'll try to figure out about the PQ's. Maybe I'll submit another one and see what happens. As for your suggestion about dragging and importing and all that good stuff---I have no idea what most of that is, but I have found sometimes by trying to following kindly instructions, dumb luck leads me down the right path. I surely would like to reduce the time I spend "hand-loading" lost caches. Thanks for your response!

 

No need to submit another query. Go to your pocket query summary page The leftmost icon on the line with the problem PQ will trigger a preview of your query right in your web browser (no waiting for email or working within the scheduling constraints). Then you can test and debug your PQ as much as you need to before you finalize it and schedule your email.

 

Once you've got the PQ working the way you want it to, then schedule an email of the query and see what happens with the file you get then.