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How to download actual title not number of cache


TNBOYS

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If you get the .gpx files by creating Pocket Queries, and you use GSAK (Geocaching Swiss Army Knife) to send the waypoints to your GPSr, you can use the "Smart Name" feature to get all sorts of info in the Waypoint name. For instance, I use this code for caches:

 

%smart=6 %con1%typ1%dif1%ter1

 

That gives me a short name, the Size of the container, the Type of cache, and then the Difficulty and Terrain based on a 10-point scale.

 

I can get the hint in the Comments section on my GPSr as well by using the Hint code, %hint.

 

There are many of these "tags" that you can configure to give you whatever you are most interested in having in your Waypoint name. :angry:

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Is there a way, when downloading caches to gps, to download the title of the cache instead of the number, which makes it confusing. :angry:

 

I think you actually mean to control how the caches are named, not whether or not the title/number is actually uploaded to the GPSr.

 

The short answer is "yes".

The longer answer is "yes, depending on what software you are using"

 

In EasyGPS one of the options is to set the cache naming scheme, choosing between title and GCxxxx sequence. Edit | Preferences | Geocaching.

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If you get the .gpx files by creating Pocket Queries, and you use GSAK (Geocaching Swiss Army Knife) to send the waypoints to your GPSr, you can use the "Smart Name" feature to get all sorts of info in the Waypoint name. For instance, I use this code for caches:

 

%smart=6 %con1%typ1%dif1%ter1

 

That gives me a short name, the Size of the container, the Type of cache, and then the Difficulty and Terrain based on a 10-point scale.

 

I can get the hint in the Comments section on my GPSr as well by using the Hint code, %hint.

 

There are many of these "tags" that you can configure to give you whatever you are most interested in having in your Waypoint name. :angry:

 

So being a noob who just downloaded GSAK yesterday, you are saying that I can get the hints and other things to show on my Garmin 60CX. I am awaiting a Palm in the mail but it would be cool to show it on the GPS.

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Yes, that is right. In the "Send to GPSr" dialogue box, use the code I included above (%smart=6 %con1%typ1%dif1%ter1) for the Waypoint name and in the "Waypoint Description Format (Comments)" blank, you can put %hint.

 

Check the Help section for "Smart Name" codes. You can customize that waypoint name anyway you want. For instance, maybe you don't need to know about the Terrain, but you do want to know at a glance if there is supposed to be a TB in the cache, you can do that (%bug). :angry:

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So being a noob who just downloaded GSAK yesterday, you are saying that I can get the hints and other things to show on my Garmin 60CX. I am awaiting a Palm in the mail but it would be cool to show it on the GPS.

 

Yes. But, there is a gotcha. With the Garmin there is a limit (44) to the number of characters that can be displayed as Waypoint Names and as Waypoint Descriptions/Comments. A technique that a lot of geocachers with the 'x' model Garmins use is to also load the caches as 'Custom POI'. Custom POI can be treated in the same manner as 'normal' waypoints - you can find, goto, show on maps etc. Normal waypoints are stored in the gps's internal memory and are subject to the 1000 waypoint limit. Custom POI are stored on the microSD card, where there is no limit (except for the size of the card). Each Custom POI has 2 x storage fields (44 + 88 characters) in which you can store cache information, i.e. far greater information than can be stored for a 'normal' waypoint. One can load all sorts of cache info and the majority of most cache's hints into Custom POI using GSAK (so the gps can act as a sort of backup if you were unfortunate to suffer a Palm unserviceability - as happened to me whilst out caching recently :angry: ).

 

Summing up: The Palm will allow you to store full cache info. Custom POI are waypoints stored on the microSD card and each can contain up to 132 characters of information. 'Normal' waypoints are stored in internal memory and can only contain a total of 44 characters (14=name, 30=description/comment).

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You will then make the discovery that many cache owners feel compelled to give you hundreds of characters of text in the hint and that only some of these will actually show up on the GPSr. There is at least one macro at the GSAK forum site macro library that will use custom POIs to show more of the hint.

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You will then make the discovery that many cache owners feel compelled to give you hundreds of characters of text in the hint and that only some of these will actually show up on the GPSr. There is at least one macro at the GSAK forum site macro library that will use custom POIs to show more of the hint.
Hints are for seesies... :angry:
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Thanks Hynr. I should have mentioned that.

 

P.S. I have tried the macro but it didn't suit the way my databases are arranged. I'd rather see my Custom POI grouped by region eg North Island, South Island, Hawaii, New South Wales, Queensland etc and not all lumped together by cache type.

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The macro I wrote (Hynr's Garmin POI CSV file export) is designed to create one huge POI file of everything that is currently selected in the GSAK display grid. (I use it with 20000 waypoints). You can use it on each of your databases, just be sure that the filenames are all different (and even that could be customized for your needs). These all go in the folder where the POI Loader expects to find POI files and that will create, on your GPSr, a separate file for each. When you power up the GPSr and select Find, Custom POI, it will give you a choice as to which dataset of POIs to work with at that moment.

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Since you are a Premium Member, you can get pocket queries -- up to 500 caches in a single file that is emailed to you. If GSAK is too hard to figure out, you can use EasyGPS. You can get 500 caches in your GPSr in the time it will take you to put five in your GPSr from the individual cache pages . . . :angry:

 

If you want to start slowly with GSAK, here is a rudimentary GSAK tutorial that might help. :angry:

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I have enjoyed reading these logs. I was wondering if I could go solo with my new 60csx or go and research a new PDA to go with it. It sounds like I might want the PDA after all. (it would give my husband something to play with). Any suggestons on what kind of PDA would be best? The cheaper the better for now. Thanks for any help on this. :angry:

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I have enjoyed reading these logs. I was wondering if I could go solo with my new 60csx or go and research a new PDA to go with it. It sounds like I might want the PDA after all. (it would give my husband something to play with). Any suggestons on what kind of PDA would be best? The cheaper the better for now. Thanks for any help on this. :angry:

 

I got help in another thread on this question. I just bought a Zier 22 or Z22 from ebay for 65 bucks shipped. Unit is brand new. This unit is color, has a USB and can hold something like 4000 caches. I have yet to recieve my Palm but will put it to good use when I do. Just check ebay for prices.

Edited by Vegas Gamblers
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I have enjoyed reading these logs. I was wondering if I could go solo with my new 60csx or go and research a new PDA to go with it. It sounds like I might want the PDA after all. (it would give my husband something to play with). Any suggestons on what kind of PDA would be best? The cheaper the better for now. Thanks for any help on this. :angry:
You can get a decent PDA pretty cheap on Ebay. :angry:
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I have enjoyed reading these logs. I was wondering if I could go solo with my new 60csx or go and research a new PDA to go with it. It sounds like I might want the PDA after all. (it would give my husband something to play with). Any suggestons on what kind of PDA would be best? The cheaper the better for now. Thanks for any help on this. :angry:

You don't need an expensive PDA. An old second-hand unit is which most cachers start out with. They are usually available quite cheaply on ebay, garage sales etc. My suggestion would be to get one with at least 8MB of memory - this will store info on about 2500 - 3000 caches. You will need a cable to connect it to your PC - either serial or USB depending on the PDA. Premium membership of Geocaching.com ($30 pa) enables one to request lists of caches (called PQ's) be sent direct to your email address. These PQ .gpx files are then loaded into a program on your PC and from there are sent on to your gps at the press of a button.

 

A couple of programs that can send cache waypoints from your PC to your gps are Easygps(free) and GSAK($25). GSAK is the more versatile in that it can export cache data to PDAs and many mapping products as well. To go 'paperless' you will also need a program in your PDA to read the cache data. Cachemate ($8) is one a lot of cachers use, others use HTML readers.

 

Research this forum for recommended PDAs and how to go paperless. Happy caching.

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To be honest, nothing you guys said made sense. All I do is download straight from the website to my gps. I don't use a program. I downloaded gsak and i couldn't figure that out either. Anything simple?

 

I did mention freeware easygps by name up there, and gave click-by-click instructions on how to find the relevant settings for naming the caches in your gps. Combine that with teh Pocket Queries that folks are talking about and you're home free.

 

If you haven't already done so, you may want to visit geocaching.com's general page on downloading waypoints.

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I have enjoyed reading these logs. I was wondering if I could go solo with my new 60csx or go and research a new PDA to go with it. It sounds like I might want the PDA after all. (it would give my husband something to play with). Any suggestons on what kind of PDA would be best? The cheaper the better for now. Thanks for any help on this. :)

 

I just purchased a refurbished Palm IIIxe for $28 from TigerDirect (through Amazon). I've only had it three days but it seems to be fine. I've put over 200 waypoints on it and just used a small fraction of the 8mb memory. Battery life seems to be good, readibility is good even in direct sunlight and overall I'm very pleased. This is my first Palm unit and learning how to use it was very simple.

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I have enjoyed reading these logs. I was wondering if I could go solo with my new 60csx or go and research a new PDA to go with it. It sounds like I might want the PDA after all. (it would give my husband something to play with). Any suggestons on what kind of PDA would be best? The cheaper the better for now. Thanks for any help on this. :angry:

I have a Palm M500 that connect to a computer with USB (recommended). You should be able to get one of those on eBay for $30.00 including the shipping. A friend got two PDAs, a Palm M505 and M515 on eBay for $50.00. Those have more internal memory and a bit faster processor than the M500 which is monochrome, and which is very easy to read, even in bright sunlight. :angry:

 

Add an inexpensive hard case, and Cachemate for $8.00, and you are all set.

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;) OK...so I just started geocaching and I just bought a GPSMAP 60CSx. I've heard about pocket queries so I created a pocket query....but I didn't want it to run on a particular day. I want to be able to run it right before I head out the door so that I have the most up-to-date info. So I 'Preview' the PQs....and in this 'Running Pocket Query' page I can only select 1-20 (of my 500) returned records to put into a gpx file. But I want to load all 500! So I started fooling around with GSAK.....and I seem to get some results but I haven't yet been able to get them onto my GPSr. Actually....I saw my results on the GPSr but then I hit the road only to discover later on that I didn't save them. Gotta figure that step out.

 

So I'm confused. I don't need to do anything on geocaching.com as far as creating gpx files to be able to use GSAK right? Why/when would you want to create gpx files on geocaching.com vs GSAK and visa versa? Just trying to figure out where one tool ends and the next begins!

 

How to seasoned geocachers do this? I'd like to always get the latest info. Do I wipe everything out before I'm going to go caching (ie all the 'old' data) and then reload the newest 500 caches every time?

 

I'm working on getting the PDA....but for now I'd just like to be able to load the cache information so I can get away from the manual entry that I have with my Garmin foretrex 101.

 

Also, I saw someone looking at cache locations where streets were shown and you could have the tool determine the driving route to take to get to the caches most efficiently (gas is expensive!). I didn't get the name of that tool/product. Does anyone know what this product is?

 

Thanks in advance for your help! mhjlyle@yahoo.com

 

John

 

I have enjoyed reading these logs. I was wondering if I could go solo with my new 60csx or go and research a new PDA to go with it. It sounds like I might want the PDA after all. (it would give my husband something to play with). Any suggestons on what kind of PDA would be best? The cheaper the better for now. Thanks for any help on this. :D

You don't need an expensive PDA. An old second-hand unit is which most cachers start out with. They are usually available quite cheaply on ebay, garage sales etc. My suggestion would be to get one with at least 8MB of memory - this will store info on about 2500 - 3000 caches. You will need a cable to connect it to your PC - either serial or USB depending on the PDA. Premium membership of Geocaching.com ($30 pa) enables one to request lists of caches (called PQ's) be sent direct to your email address. These PQ .gpx files are then loaded into a program on your PC and from there are sent on to your gps at the press of a button.

 

A couple of programs that can send cache waypoints from your PC to your gps are Easygps(free) and GSAK($25). GSAK is the more versatile in that it can export cache data to PDAs and many mapping products as well. To go 'paperless' you will also need a program in your PDA to read the cache data. Cachemate ($8) is one a lot of cachers use, others use HTML readers.

 

Research this forum for recommended PDAs and how to go paperless. Happy caching.

Edited by Geokashers
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Just adding the question emoticon since I didn't do that last night. I'd like to add an additional question. If I'm travelling down the road and glancing over at the 60 CSx once on awhile....and see that a cache is near (from the basic map function that comes with the unit)....do I have to push the FIND button to then go locate the cache or is there a way to do a 'GO TO' from that map page?

 

Thanks!

 

John

 

;) OK...so I just started geocaching and I just bought a GPSMAP 60CSx. I've heard about pocket queries so I created a pocket query....but I didn't want it to run on a particular day. I want to be able to run it right before I head out the door so that I have the most up-to-date info. So I 'Preview' the PQs....and in this 'Running Pocket Query' page I can only select 1-20 (of my 500) returned records to put into a gpx file. But I want to load all 500! So I started fooling around with GSAK.....and I seem to get some results but I haven't yet been able to get them onto my GPSr. Actually....I saw my results on the GPSr but then I hit the road only to discover later on that I didn't save them. Gotta figure that step out.

 

So I'm confused. I don't need to do anything on geocaching.com as far as creating gpx files to be able to use GSAK right? Why/when would you want to create gpx files on geocaching.com vs GSAK and visa versa? Just trying to figure out where one tool ends and the next begins!

 

How to seasoned geocachers do this? I'd like to always get the latest info. Do I wipe everything out before I'm going to go caching (ie all the 'old' data) and then reload the newest 500 caches every time?

 

I'm working on getting the PDA....but for now I'd just like to be able to load the cache information so I can get away from the manual entry that I have with my Garmin foretrex 101.

 

Also, I saw someone looking at cache locations where streets were shown and you could have the tool determine the driving route to take to get to the caches most efficiently (gas is expensive!). I didn't get the name of that tool/product. Does anyone know what this product is?

 

Thanks in advance for your help! mhjlyle@yahoo.com

 

John

 

I have enjoyed reading these logs. I was wondering if I could go solo with my new 60csx or go and research a new PDA to go with it. It sounds like I might want the PDA after all. (it would give my husband something to play with). Any suggestons on what kind of PDA would be best? The cheaper the better for now. Thanks for any help on this. :D

You don't need an expensive PDA. An old second-hand unit is which most cachers start out with. They are usually available quite cheaply on ebay, garage sales etc. My suggestion would be to get one with at least 8MB of memory - this will store info on about 2500 - 3000 caches. You will need a cable to connect it to your PC - either serial or USB depending on the PDA. Premium membership of Geocaching.com ($30 pa) enables one to request lists of caches (called PQ's) be sent direct to your email address. These PQ .gpx files are then loaded into a program on your PC and from there are sent on to your gps at the press of a button.

 

A couple of programs that can send cache waypoints from your PC to your gps are Easygps(free) and GSAK($25). GSAK is the more versatile in that it can export cache data to PDAs and many mapping products as well. To go 'paperless' you will also need a program in your PDA to read the cache data. Cachemate ($8) is one a lot of cachers use, others use HTML readers.

 

Research this forum for recommended PDAs and how to go paperless. Happy caching.

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Welcome to the Forums! :D

 

I'll give all this a stab. Last question first. If you see a cache on the map screen, the best way to get to it is to, first, pull off the road. :D Then, push the "Find" button. In the list of Geocaches, that cache should be at the top. Select it and hit "Go To." If you have the City Navigator maps installed (purchased separately), the GPSr should give you an option to "Follow Road" or "Off Road." With the maps installed, when you choose "Follow Road," the GPSr witll calculate and then give you Turn-by-Turn directions.

 

I use GSAK and have more than 1000 caches in my database. I request PQs before heading out, but I generally only request the one or two that cover the direction I am heading. I open the PQs in GSAK. It updates the data for all those caches, adding Past Logs for the caches that have been found since the last .gpx update.

 

I do a "Last .gpx Update" to make sure I delete any caches that have been recently Archived and therefore didn't update. You don't want "stale" data in your GPSr. Then, I Export from GSAK in the correct format for Cachemate on my Palm M500. Then, after deleting the Geocache waypoints on my Garmin Vista C, I send the new waypoints to it.

 

If the PQ hasn't been run in several days, or if it is brand new, it should arrive a few minutes after it has been requested.

 

From ordering the PQ to getting the caches in my GPSr, the entire process takes less than 10 minutes. :D

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