Garmin Colorado geocache files

[+Styk]

I have seen this comment a few times now. What file format is the Colorado using for paperless geocaching? Could someone elaborate on this. Why would Garmin use something other then GPX? Does Garmin know something more then the rest of the geocaching community?

[+TexasGringo]

You may look at their BLOG....(I have not yet...maybe this afternoon)

 

http://www.garmin.blogs.com/

[+apersson850]

First, I'd like to point out that to the Colorado, a waypoint is not the same as a geocache. Geocaches are (supposed to be) listed separately from ordinary waypoints.

 

I've now had the time to try it with a pocket query, the kind you need to be a premium member to make.

Then it works. The structure of that GPX file is correct for the Colorado to understand that it's all geocaches.

 

But if you use the Send to GPS function, with Garmin's latest plugin, it does not become a geocache, but a waypoint.

 

Also if you go to the "Go Geocaching" at myGarmin, to get a listing of geocaches from there, they don't show up as geocaches, but as waypoints.

 

Obviously, this now do work if you are a premium member, and make pocket queries, at Groundspeak. Equally obvious, it should also work if you just download the basic description a non-paying member gets. On the Colorado, it should show up as a geocache, just like the others, but without the full description, logs and hints.

[+Blind Avocado]

Does that mean that there is no limit on the amount of geocaches stored on the device? The specs say that there is a 1000 waypoint limit on the Colorado, but if geocaches are not stored as waypoints then can geocaches exceed that amount? That would be great as my database of geocaches numbers over ten thousand.

[+sTeamTraen]

Does that mean that there is no limit on the amount of geocaches stored on the device? The specs say that there is a 1000 waypoint limit on the Colorado, but if geocaches are not stored as waypoints then can geocaches exceed that amount? That would be great as my database of geocaches numbers over ten thousand.

 

Whenever you create an offline cache database, you create the issue of knowing when a cache has been archived. That's already no picnic in GSAK (you have to sort by last GPX date and then go through the older ones to see if they've been archived or dropped off your PQ for some other reason), so I imagine it will be a nightmare down a USB cable.

[+apersson850]

Yes, that may be a problem, but theoretically, I think it works.

The file I tried with has 500 geocaches and is 2.7 MB large. That gives you some kind of idea about how much space it takes, with all these hints, descriptions and logs in the file as well.

[+Miragee]

Does that mean that there is no limit on the amount of geocaches stored on the device? The specs say that there is a 1000 waypoint limit on the Colorado, but if geocaches are not stored as waypoints then can geocaches exceed that amount? That would be great as my database of geocaches numbers over ten thousand.

If they are doing it similarly to the "Custom POIs" on the Garmin 'x' versions, where using the Garmin POI Loader, you can send thousands of caches to those GPS units as Custom POIs. To keep those Custom POIs up-to-date, every time you refresh your GSAK database with new data, and cull the Disabled and Archived caches, you will remove the previous set of Custom POIs for those caches and resend the data from the fresh database.

[+Blind Avocado]

Does that mean that there is no limit on the amount of geocaches stored on the device? The specs say that there is a 1000 waypoint limit on the Colorado, but if geocaches are not stored as waypoints then can geocaches exceed that amount? That would be great as my database of geocaches numbers over ten thousand.

 

Whenever you create an offline cache database, you create the issue of knowing when a cache has been archived. That's already no picnic in GSAK (you have to sort by last GPX date and then go through the older ones to see if they've been archived or dropped off your PQ for some other reason), so I imagine it will be a nightmare down a USB cable.

 

This is not a problem. Pocket queries only have active caches listed. I have a separate GSAK database titled "all new" and I clear it completely before loading the PQ's that are generated over the coarse of the week.

[+Blind Avocado]

Does that mean that there is no limit on the amount of geocaches stored on the device? The specs say that there is a 1000 waypoint limit on the Colorado, but if geocaches are not stored as waypoints then can geocaches exceed that amount? That would be great as my database of geocaches numbers over ten thousand.

If they are doing it similarly to the "Custom POIs" on the Garmin 'x' versions, where using the Garmin POI Loader, you can send thousands of caches to those GPS units as Custom POIs. To keep those Custom POIs up-to-date, every time you refresh your GSAK database with new data, and cull the Disabled and Archived caches, you will remove the previous set of Custom POIs for those caches and resend the data from the fresh database.

 

This is what I do now with my 60cx. I have them all loaded as custom POI's with custom icons for different cache types.