Explorist 500 le and Geocache hints

[murja]

I've uploaded a bunch of geocache points and that went fine, but I can't see the "hint" on my unit. Any suggestions?

[+T F T C]

Go paperless using a PDA of some sort. Unfortunately, Magellan hasn't expanded much on their geocaching system and when a hint is viewed, only a small fraction of it is.

[+FamilyDNA]

Without a premium membership, the points you download won't contain hints.

[+jpatterson]

I'm a premium member and I don't see the hints on my 500LE either... what am I doing wrong?

[+hukilaulau]

Are you already doing this?

While you are in the "goto" mode click menu. then select "geocache info" then select "hint"

 

To say that the hint only provides a fraction of the information is misleading. I can't remember how many characters it provides but t's been enough for about 90% of the caches I've found since I got my 500.

I hardly ever use the pda anymore. In fact I don't use GSAK to upload caches anymore either. Geocache manager does a fine job of that...

[+monahmat]

Make sure you are using either PQs or the .GPX files. I'm pretty sure even with premium membership the hints will not show up in the .loc files.

[+monahmat]

..

Edited April 19, 2007 by monahmat

[+jpatterson]

Thanks. it works just fine as a .gpx file.

[+hukilaulau]

Make sure you are using either PQs or the .GPX files. I'm pretty sure even with premium membership the hints will not show up in the .loc files.

Yes, I think that's right. Here's a slight correction from my previous response: When you're on a "goto", click "goto" again to get a list of options. Then select "geocache info." For some reason this doesn't always work, and from the "goto" I get a dfferent screen where I have to select "Points of interest" ---> "geocache" again before I can get to the info screen. I don't know why this happens...

[+jpred1]

Not sure what your doing wrong exactely.But,I always open the file on mapsend topo or lite,select a cache and it should have hints up to 30 or so characters and previous logs.If so,save the file to gps.I belive I always check the e-book format also when creating the querry.

[+WanderingAus]

Not sure what your doing wrong exactely.But,I always open the file on mapsend topo or lite,select a cache and it should have hints up to 30 or so characters and previous logs.If so,save the file to gps.I belive I always check the e-book format also when creating the querry.

Is the hint and previous logs only available in downloads created by 'query'? I note that jpred1 is a premium member. I just opened a downloaded file in mapsend lite, and it does not include the hint or logs.

 

I opened my downloads in Magellan Geocache Manager, and modified each entry by adding the Date Placed, Date Last Found, Difficulty, Terrain, and Hint, before uploading to the Explorist 500. I edit the hint to make the most meaningful and helpful use of the 50 characters that the 500 displays. I also copy ALL the cache information from the web page into a text file. With some editing I was able to fit all the info about 60 caches onto 12 pages. It took a bit of work (about 8 hours for the 60 caches) but I now have the info in the GPS and a printout to help me.

[+jpatterson]

All fixed, working great thank you everyone!

[+Fish Below The Ice]

To say that the hint only provides a fraction of the information is misleading. I can't remember how many characters it provides but t's been enough for about 90% of the caches I've found since I got my 500.

It's that last 10% where the problems are. Some people like super-wordy hints, which means that I'm able to read only the preamble. Sometimes I can only read the hint for the first stage of a multi. I've verified that the entire hint has uploaded to the .gs file, but for some reason Magellan has decided I only need the first 50 characters.

 

It's super-aggravating when I really really need the hint and all I get is (and this is a real one I encountered after 45 minutes last weekend) "Look for the old fence line, and then search tree". I'd have liked to have also seen the part that said "roots to the north."

 

dave

[+Jhwk]

Not sure what your doing wrong exactely.But,I always open the file on mapsend topo or lite,select a cache and it should have hints up to 30 or so characters and previous logs.If so,save the file to gps.I belive I always check the e-book format also when creating the querry.

Is the hint and previous logs only available in downloads created by 'query'? I note that jpred1 is a premium member. I just opened a downloaded file in mapsend lite, and it does not include the hint or logs.

 

I opened my downloads in Magellan Geocache Manager, and modified each entry by adding the Date Placed, Date Last Found, Difficulty, Terrain, and Hint, before uploading to the Explorist 500. I edit the hint to make the most meaningful and helpful use of the 50 characters that the 500 displays. I also copy ALL the cache information from the web page into a text file. With some editing I was able to fit all the info about 60 caches onto 12 pages. It took a bit of work (about 8 hours for the 60 caches) but I now have the info in the GPS and a printout to help me.

way too much work

 

GSAK...

[+jpred1]

I have GSAK also,I use it for conversion purposes only,on mapsend ,I can see exactely what will be loaded to gps.

 

Jpatterson-what exactely fixed your problem?Just for future reference.

 

If I plan on really spending a few hours caching,I either take palm,or laptop with me for the previous logs, very rarely though.The 500 has usually has enough info to get 90% of the hides.

[+jpatterson]

My problem was that I wasn't getting any hint info, cache type nor difficulty ratings. Turns out I was loading .loc files instead of .gpx files. Now I do PQ's and load them, however, I still have the 50 character limitation on the hint but it's ok for now.

[+WanderingAus]

To say that the hint only provides a fraction of the information is misleading. I can't remember how many characters it provides but t's been enough for about 90% of the caches I've found since I got my 500.

It's that last 10% where the problems are. Some people like super-wordy hints, which means that I'm able to read only the preamble. Sometimes I can only read the hint for the first stage of a multi. I've verified that the entire hint has uploaded to the .gs file, but for some reason Magellan has decided I only need the first 50 characters.

 

It's super-aggravating when I really really need the hint and all I get is (and this is a real one I encountered after 45 minutes last weekend) "Look for the old fence line, and then search tree". I'd have liked to have also seen the part that said "roots to the north."

 

dave

You can always massage the info and the hint to be useful within the 50 characters. The full hint should be understood by this" "Look for old fence line - search tree roots to Nth"

keith

[+WanderingAus]

I opened my downloads in Magellan Geocache Manager, and modified each entry by adding the Date Placed, Date Last Found, Difficulty, Terrain, and Hint, before uploading to the Explorist 500. I edit the hint to make the most meaningful and helpful use of the 50 characters that the 500 displays. I also copy ALL the cache information from the web page into a text file. With some editing I was able to fit all the info about 60 caches onto 12 pages. It took a bit of work (about 8 hours for the 60 caches) but I now have the info in the GPS and a printout to help me.

way too much work

 

GSAK...

The text file takes an average of 3 minutes per cache. Adding the info in Geocache Manager takes an average of 1.5 minutes per cache. Reading and interpreting/digesting the info takes an average of 3.5 minutes per cache.

 

I'm a firm believer in the "Seven Ps Principle". That 4.5 minutes per cache extra work will probably save me between 10 and 20 minutes per cache. The average cache seems to be between 45 minutes and 3 hours. A 10% or less investment in preparation seems worthwhile to me.

 

I should add that I only have one lung, so any work I can do sitting down that saves me a bit of walking/hunting/searching on foot is a good thing - those of you with two lungs are welcome to do the extra beating around the bush

Keith

[+WanderingAus]

GSAK...

GSAK certainly looks useful. I understand a Premium Membership will give me access to Pocket Queries. Do these Pocket Queries populate the diff/terrain/hint fields?

 

I also saw mention somewhere of "the last few logs", but the sample file in GSAK doesn't seem to have any logs - am I mixing up programs maybe?

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Keith

[+jpatterson]

"My problem was that I wasn't getting any hint info, cache type nor difficulty ratings. Turns out I was loading .loc files instead of .gpx files. Now I do PQ's and load them, however, I still have the 50 character limitation on the hint but it's ok for now."

 

Yes, that's what I was mentioning above... now I do Pocket Querys and those fields are populated.

[+embra]

GSAK certainly looks useful. I understand a Premium Membership will give me access to Pocket Queries. Do these Pocket Queries populate the diff/terrain/hint fields?

 

I also saw mention somewhere of "the last few logs", but the sample file in GSAK doesn't seem to have any logs - am I mixing up programs maybe?

Yes, the gpx files you obtain through pocket queries have all those fields plus descriptions and recent logs. If you download PQs on a regular basis, GSAK allows you to accumulate lots of logs.

 

When Jhwk opined that your system was too much work, I don't think he meant in regards to your product, but rather the process. GSAK would automate much of what you are doing manually. You should give it a spin. You can get a premium membership to get some PQs for just a few bucks if you go month to month.

[+WanderingAus]

... GSAK would automate much of what you are doing manually. You should give it a spin. You can get a premium membership to get some PQs for just a few bucks if you go month to month.

Can I upgrade to premium membership for just a month or two, and revert to non-premium membership if I decide I don't like it?

As a pensioner I have to watch my spending.

Keith

[+embra]

Can I upgrade to premium membership for just a month or two, and revert to non-premium membership if I decide I don't like it?

Sure! You can cancel premium membership at anytime, or allow your membership to lapse (although depending on how you set things up, you might be billed/debited automatically unless you intervene in some way). I think they just don't do refunds...so, while you can save a few bucks over the long haul with an annual membership, the month-to-month is the least expensive way to try it out and cut your losses if you don't think it's worthwhile. More than likely you'll see within a few weeks what your best course of action is.

[+WanderingAus]

Can I upgrade to premium membership for just a month or two, and revert to non-premium membership if I decide I don't like it?

Sure! You can cancel premium membership at anytime, or allow your membership to lapse (although depending on how you set things up, you might be billed/debited automatically unless you intervene in some way). I think they just don't do refunds...so, while you can save a few bucks over the long haul with an annual membership, the month-to-month is the least expensive way to try it out and cut your losses if you don't think it's worthwhile. More than likely you'll see within a few weeks what your best course of action is.

Thanks for that - I decided to go for the whole year anyway. Have already done my first couple of pocket queries, waiting for the results