Nuvi 7 Series. Beginners guide to TRUE paperless caching

[+pilotsnipes]

The tutorial/macro that was originally here has now been moved.

 

Due to the fast changing nature of this project, it was easier to set up a new

website to keep everything up-to-date and provide an easy location for the user

to find everything they need in one location.

 

Please visit the website linked below to continue.

 

If you do have any further questions, please ask them in the support thread

which can be found

By ClickingHERE

 

http://pilotsnipes.googlepages.com

 

Enjoy the hunt

 

Pilotsnipes

 

 

[ Edited by mod, per request of author ]

Edited May 11, 2008 by robertlipe

[Motorcycle_Mama]

The only things that I would add are that since the number of Custom POIs you can load to the unit is virtually unlimited (limited only by the space available and you can get a bunch of data per megabyte) that you can load larger quantities of caches as Custom POIs. Several thousand can be loaded at the same time.

 

And for easier viewing on the map screen, you can create a BMP icon and load it with your Custom POI file by naming it the same as the Custom POI file (other than the file extension) and by placing it in the same folder as the Custom POI file.

[+pilotsnipes]

Absolutely. In fact of course that is exactly what I have.

 

For a beginner tutorial, I did decide to leave those sorts of details out, but as the topic progresses, I'm sure I'll attach those items in.

 

I myself have just over 3100 caches on my nuvi, I've alot of searching to do....

[+GCNJ]

Great info. Can a Nuvi 650 do this?

[+pilotsnipes]

It's untested on the 6xx series.

 

Wait until I get a chance to post the tutorial for the Nuvi 3xx series (hopefully tomorrow) because my gut tells me the macro required to do this will be more like the 3 series than the 7 series.

 

You can be the guinea pig.

[Motorcycle_Mama]

Yes, all the nuvis can accept Custom POIs. The 3xx series has some weird requirements in the GPX so you may find that not all the data shows the same way on that one. But they still work great.

Edited April 7, 2008 by Motorcycle_Mama

[+pilotsnipes]

That's an understatement!

 

Here is our adventure over the past few weeks...

 

http://gsak.net/board/index.php?showtopic=7732

[+pilotsnipes]

The Nuvi 3xx series tutorial can be found here:

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=190873

[+RogFel]

The 7xx series works on the 660! It looks just like on the pictures above! After selecting the cache, you still get all the html until you touch "More" Hopefully you can figure this out. Thanks!!!!

[+pilotsnipes]

RogFel - Thanks very much for testing this out for us!

 

I'm not at my home PC for a couple of days so I can't help as well I normally could, but could you try a few things out for us.

 

1) You need to find out how many characters the 6xx series can handle in the description field. The Nuvi 3xx series can only handle 250 characters (but we get around that by inserting all the data into the address field which can store over 20,000 (yes 20 thousand) characters), and the Nuvi 7xx series can cope with about 9000 characters.

 

Try to find a cache that has a very long description, take a look if it ALL displays in the 6xx series you have (including hints and logs).

 

2) If it doesn't, open the nuvi7DandH file, and at the bottom you'll see a figure of around 9000 in about 3 different lines, keep uping that number in all 3 locations until you discover the limit for the 6xx series. I suggest upping it 1000 characters at a time.

 

3) If you're kind enough please get back to us!

 

Also, there could be a chance that the 6xx series can show over 20,000 characters just like the 3xx series, but at the expense of not being able to show the pretty html colours.

 

It's up to you the users to decide whether or not you want the pretty colours with less characters or the "ugly" description with ALL the characters!

 

Let me know!

[+RogFel]

Ok, here is what I did. I loaded cache #GC12YMH into GSAK then I ran the POI loader. The cache showed up without the logs. I then tried increasing the limit number in the macro and I couldn't get the logs to show! I then rem'd with #'s the complete "If" statement so that it wouldn't check for length. The complete cache with 9 logs showed up! I will try boosting the number to 19000 or something tomorrow and see if the limiting thing works.

 

The 660 was real slow when paging through this cache description with all the logs. Even when you select it from the list, the Nuvi took around 5 seconds to come up with the "Go" page.

[+RogFel]

I had a couple of minutes before my tee time, so I gave 19000 as the limiting number. It worked! So the 660 must have the same limits as the 3xx series.

 

Now if you could get the first screen looking good!

[knowschad]

I'm doing essentially the same thing on my Nuvi200, although I found that I had to modify the macro to shorten the amount of data. Large logs would crash the Nuvi. Does anyone know if adding memory will take care of that?

 

Your tutorial still taught me a few things, even though I'm already using my Nuvi like that. I didn't know, for example, that pressing the "bars" icon would bring up the satellite page! Thanks!

[+pilotsnipes]

RogFel - Excellent news. I've created a few edits in the macros and settings now for the 660 if you want to try them.

 

Please move all 6xx series chat to the 3xx series tutorial as I think that's the best one to use. Thanks!

 

EDIT

 

Now that I review that statement I'm not so sure any more! It seems like the Nuvi 6xx series has the best of both worlds....large characters allowed in the description AND html parsing!

 

Can I just check with you RogFel, when you used the Nuvi 7 macro from above, did you also use the full Nuvi 7 method of putting it on the GPS, ie. did you use POILoader too?

Edited April 15, 2008 by pilotsnipes

[+RogFel]

RogFel - Excellent news. I've created a few edits in the macros and settings now for the 660 if you want to try them.

 

Please move all 6xx series chat to the 3xx series tutorial as I think that's the best one to use. Thanks!

 

EDIT

 

Now that I review that statement I'm not so sure any more! It seems like the Nuvi 6xx series has the best of both worlds....large characters allowed in the description AND html parsing!

 

Can I just check with you RogFel, when you used the Nuvi 7 macro from above, did you also use the full Nuvi 7 method of putting it on the GPS, ie. did you use POILoader too?

 

Yes!

 

And everything looks just like your screen captures from the 7xxx series! It seems like the 660 can do the 20K characters plus the colors! I think the 660 has more features of the 7xx series than the 3xx series.

 

I only modified the macro to allow 19000 characters. I used Garmins POI loader to load the Tour Guide.gpx file into the Nuvi660.

[+pilotsnipes]

New Nuvi 7xx Macro file. - Bug fixes.

 

I have discovered a fairly large bug in the Nuvi 7xx macro file.

 

If the cache description contains commented html , eg this:

<!--Hi this is an html comment that doesn't show when rendered with a browser-->

 

The nuvi crashes, only a few caches have this type of code in them so i didn't discover this until I found my machine crashing at a particular cache yesterday.

 

So I've modified the macro to search for this type of string and to remove it like it does for other html code.

 

Please download the new nuvi7dandh.gsk file and REPLACE it over the old one in the Macros directory.

 

Thanks for the support.

 

Download Nuvi7DandH.gsk

[+mojedo]

Quote:

"Now we have to help squeeze all that good data into a format that our Nuvi 7xx can read. Here is a file that helps in this process click and download this file:

 

Download Nuvi 7 Series Description and Log macro

 

Now once downloaded, move this file to the MACRO folder which is a sub folder where you installed GSAK. For the majority of people, you will move this file to C:\Program Files\gsak\Macros."

 

I'm probably not as knowledgeable as I should be on this but, I can't figure out how to get the above file to download to my computer. I would appreciate some help.

Thanks

Jerry

 

PS: I just got the file to download.. I must have overlooked something before but when I saw you posted a new file I tried once more and it worked.

I also want to thank you for this info, it's already helped me get more out of my nuvi 750.

Edited April 20, 2008 by mojedo

[+Delthius]

I have been trying to decide between a Nuvi and the Colorado 400t, this may have just sealed the deal. I wanted an automotive gps but just got into geocaching and wanted to be able to do more of this. This appears to have melded the two together.

[Motorcycle_Mama]

Now, if we could get Garmin to reprogram the firmware so that you could select a POI and get the information screen directly from the map. Then this would be perfect.

[+RogFel]

I have been trying to decide between a Nuvi and the Colorado 400t, this may have just sealed the deal. I wanted an automotive gps but just got into geocaching and wanted to be able to do more of this. This appears to have melded the two together.

 

I wouldn't dream of actually leaving the car with the Nuvi in hand. The CO 300 gets you to the site easier and you don't have to worry about water etc. You will probably need a handheld unit down the road.

[+pilotsnipes]

I wouldn't dream of actually leaving the car with the Nuvi in hand.

 

Really!? I do all the time - no problems!

[+CCrew]

I wouldn't dream of actually leaving the car with the Nuvi in hand.

 

Really!? I do all the time - no problems!

 

I'd agree. Nuvi really doesn't have some features that help with "close in" GZ stuff, and thinks it's at GZ 120 feet out. That's a pretty big circle. We use the Nuvi to route close in and a 60Csx for handheld. Even have a handlebar RAM mount for the 60 on our mountain bikes :-)

 

BTW, thanks for the work. Also works as you designed on the Nuvi 680. Would like to tweak the display name to reverse the GC waypoint and the 7 digit descriptor, looks like that requires some tweaks. The bug=* also breaks the trailing / if there's a bug present.

 

Roger

[+JetSkier]

When geocaching with the Nuvi, do you have a compass screen that guides you to a geocache (distance and bearing) or are you relying on the coordinate display? I would think relying on the coordinate screen would be unacceptable for geocacing.

 

JetSkier

[+mojedo]

Can anyone give me some help? I am am trying to setup the program to maximize the info I can get on my nuvi 750 but I have not been able to setup the gsak to download the info to my nuvi. When I get to the following steps in setting up this program I cannot setup the "Export GPX/LOC File" page.

 

"Finally lets export some data so we can put it on our GPS.

 

Click this icon:

 

(the Export GPX/LOC File page appears here)

 

 

And then for sake of quickness, just copy EVERYTHING you see here: (Create the poiloader sub folder under GSAK if it doesn't exist on your computer)"

[+pilotsnipes]

What happens when you click on this icon?

 

[+mojedo]

What happens when you click on this icon?

 

 

It opens the Export GPX/LOC File page. When that happens I can change the File Name to Create but I can't change the window on the right that says (Select from the most recent)

[+MassCache]

What happens when you click on this icon?

 

 

It opens the Export GPX/LOC File page. When that happens I can change the File Name to Create but I can't change the window on the right that says (Select from the most recent)

 

You don't enter this info - it is read from the last time you created & exported. Once you create & export your file for the first time, this window will show that information.

[+MassCache]

dupe

Edited April 22, 2008 by MassCache

[+MassCache]

When geocaching with the Nuvi, do you have a compass screen that guides you to a geocache (distance and bearing) or are you relying on the coordinate display? I would think relying on the coordinate screen would be unacceptable for geocacing.

 

JetSkier

 

Hmm.. I haven't come across a screen like that on my nuvi 760. I leave the the display set to show the map and continually zoom in as I get closer. Eventually, I can turn the unit off and start looking in the general area for "likely" cache hiding locations. I used to think the GPS display would lead me to end up standing on top of the cache - so I'd walk around staring at the display while my wife or friends (not looking at a GPS display) would inevitably yell "I found it!" Grrr... Sooner or later, you'll realize you just want the GPS to get you within 10 to 20 feet of the cache and then rely on past experience of likely places a cache might be. Many times the GPS can have you criss-crossing the area - always indicating the cache is 5 feet over in the *other* direction due to tree cover, etc.

[+mojedo]

What happens when you click on this icon?

 

 

It opens the Export GPX/LOC File page. When that happens I can change the File Name to Create but I can't change the window on the right that says (Select from the most recent)

 

You don't enter this info - it is read from the last time you created & exported. Once you create & export your file for the first time, this window will show that information.

 

Thanks for clearing that up, I got the info transferred to my nuvi and it is working fine. Now I have another question. If I want to delete any of the caches from my POIs on my nuvi how can I do that? Sorry for being such a bother!

[Motorcycle_Mama]

You can't delete individual Custom POIs. You can only delete the whole bunch. You would need to delete/filter the source data before loading them with POI Loader.

 

If you are looking to delete the whole bunch, just delete the POI.GPI file from the unit (or the SD card if that's where you installed them).

[+mojedo]

You can't delete individual Custom POIs. You can only delete the whole bunch. You would need to delete/filter the source data before loading them with POI Loader.

 

If you are looking to delete the whole bunch, just delete the POI.GPI file from the unit (or the SD card if that's where you installed them).

 

Thanks for the help, maybe I'll get enough of this to stay in my head until I need it again

[+pilotsnipes]

In bulletin points:

 

1) To delete 1 custom POI waypoint (eg 1 cache) you have to RE-Upload the entire data file again WITHOUT that waypoint in it.

 

2) To delete all the custom waypoints (eg all the caches) just delete the .gpi file associated with that type of POI.

 

In my example above, for the 7xx, that would be poi.gpi found in the NUVI\garmin\POI folder on the actual GPS.

[+MassCache]

New Nuvi 7xx Macro file. - Bug fixes.

 

::snip::

 

Download Nuvi7DandH.gsk

 

First, thanks so much for this great macro. I have several suggestions that I think could help minimize questions.

 

Firstly, go back and edit your previous posts that link to the "version 1.0" of the macro to link to the "version 1.1" instead. As / if this macro continues to be edited for whatever reasons, placing the file on an FTP server or other location of your choosing could help be simply linking to the directory. Having a unique file name could assist greatly, something like "nuvi7xx_v1.2.gsk" or "nuvi6xx_v1.0.gsk" can help prevent accidental downloading and installation of older versions. Compressing to a zip, rar, etc. along with a readme.txt file would allow you to provide additional info, such as your name, changelog and servers on which the latest versions can usually be found, etc., if desired. Including a description in the directory listing of the files will allow interested parties to download the version needed for their particular GPS or needs with little confusion.

 

That's all I have - and again, thanks for your efforts.

 

Steve

[+pilotsnipes]

Most of those points are accepted and will be incorporated.

 

Would you however put in a good for me to the moderators here to allow me to edit my own posts!!!? After a certain time limit (few hours?), I lose the ability to edit my own posts.

 

Normally I would always keep the most uptodate version in the first post - but I can't edit it anymore. I run my own forums, and personally I think that this is a very poor rule on this board.

[+pilotsnipes]

Most of those points are accepted and will be incorporated.

 

Would you however put in a good for me to the moderators here to allow me to edit my own posts!!!? After a certain time limit (few hours?), I lose the ability to edit my own posts.

 

Normally I would always keep the most uptodate version in the first post - but I can't edit it anymore. I run my own forums, and personally I think that this is a very poor rule on this board.

[+mojedo]

Most of those points are accepted and will be incorporated.

 

Would you however put in a good for me to the moderators here to allow me to edit my own posts!!!? After a certain time limit (few hours?), I lose the ability to edit my own posts.

 

Normally I would always keep the most uptodate version in the first post - but I can't edit it anymore. I run my own forums, and personally I think that this is a very poor rule on this board.

 

I have another question. Would it be possible to include the GCxxx Cache Identifier in the info transfered to the GPS? It would be helpful for me.

[+MassCache]

Most of those points are accepted and will be incorporated.

 

Would you however put in a good for me to the moderators here to allow me to edit my own posts!!!? After a certain time limit (few hours?), I lose the ability to edit my own posts.

 

Normally I would always keep the most uptodate version in the first post - but I can't edit it anymore. I run my own forums, and personally I think that this is a very poor rule on this board.

 

Ahh, I can see how not being able to edit your own posts can be a problem. I was unaware of the time restriction imposed. The mods must have their reasons for limiting how far back an edit may occur. These may or may not apply to you. I assume that you have asked for this permission and for some reason have been denied. Have you explained to them why you'd like this level of access in detail? They might just grant it if they are made to understand. Failing that, you could direct the people here to a simple text webpage that you create on a public server somewhere, and display the file for either copying & pasting from the screen or downloading the gsk file itself. This way, you retain complete control of the file and versions offered. You only need to update the one file instead of trying to remember every site that hosts it. I can't imagine that you'd exceed the throughput most all free webservers impose with the small files that these macros are. I wonder if you run into too much aggravation here, maybe Clyde at GSAK's forums could assist you in his forums.

Edited April 23, 2008 by MassCache

[+pilotsnipes]

mojedo - Errrrr.....have you not seen the tutorial? It's already there....

 

 

MassCache - I haven't actually asked the mods yet. I will do so soon!

Edited April 23, 2008 by pilotsnipes

[+stormyguy]

As a total newb I have to say I found this very useful for my Nuvi! I got it pretty much all straight within an hour! Thanks for a very informative tutorial.

 

If it makes any difference or anyone is interested I set the whole thing up using my 760 and Apple Macbook and everything runs just fine using Parallels.

 

The only thing I didn't know was how to "click" on the green signal bars to get to the 'coordinates screen'. On my unit at least, one needs to 'click and hold' for a couple seconds for that screen to appear.

 

AND: A quick request for help....

On a side note, I have created some zip files of caches from geocaching.com for planned routes in the USA this Summer (I am located in the UK) but these do not feature in my Custom POI's list when uploaded - only those that I loaded in the tutorial appear (those within x miles radius of my home, x no. of queries)?

 

May I assume that these will not be available unless I switch to the USA maps or am I missing something? I hope this isn't too OT.....

 

Thanks again for posting the step-by-step!

Edited April 24, 2008 by stormyguy

[+mojedo]

mojedo - Errrrr.....have you not seen the tutorial? It's already there....

 

 

 

Something must be wrong, on my nuvi I get something like the following:

 

"ShoalCr/Tra/N/G 4.2 NE"

 

I don't have the GCxxx anywhere.

 

Any idea what might be wrong? (Sorry to be such a bother)

[+MassCache]

mojedo - Errrrr.....have you not seen the tutorial? It's already there....

 

 

 

Something must be wrong, on my nuvi I get something like the following:

 

"ShoalCr/Tra/N/G 4.2 NE"

 

I don't have the GCxxx anywhere.

 

Any idea what might be wrong? (Sorry to be such a bother)

 

Double check your "Waypoint name" box. You should have copied "%smart=7/%typ=3/%found/%code%bug=*" (no quotes) into this box. From your results, it looks like the "%smart=7" portion has been changed to "%smart=1". Carefully review the contents of the the parts in the tutorial that instruct you to "copy and paste" into the specific boxes. Make sure you don't reload an erroneous setup file. Then, before you actually run the macro to create the POI for your GPS, make sure that it hasn't been changed back to the "%smart=1" text in the "Waypoint name" box. Once it runs correctly, SAVE the setup to a specific name and use this new setup file for future runs.

 

Good luck!

Edited April 24, 2008 by MassCache

[+MassCache]

I've stumbled upon another geocache that crashes the '760. If you get a chance, load:

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GCNE02

 

and see if it crashes your '760 too. I'm not good at interpreting macros, as I've looked at it and can't see where it is messing up. It will probably jump off the page to you.

 

Thanks,

 

Steve

Edited April 24, 2008 by MassCache

[+pilotsnipes]

Yes i found another one today that did the same to mine. I'll do some study on them.

[+stormyguy]

Further to my previous post I can now confirm that the caches are indeed in my Nuvi, however in Extras/Custom POI's I can only scroll through the 12 or so screens (making approx 48 caches).

 

The others are in there as I did a 'Spell' to find some of them.

 

Does this mean that only those in a radius of my location are initially shown??

Or am I simply needing to change a setting somewhere?

 

Thanks in advance if you have an answer....

[+mojedo]

mojedo - Errrrr.....have you not seen the tutorial? It's already there....

 

 

 

Something must be wrong, on my nuvi I get something like the following:

 

"ShoalCr/Tra/N/G 4.2 NE"

 

I don't have the GCxxx anywhere.

 

Any idea what might be wrong? (Sorry to be such a bother)

 

Thanks Steve, you were right and I now get the GCxxx identifier but somehow, in the process I've lost something and gained something unwanted. Now when I select the cache I want I don't get the big Green GO! But, under the "ShoalCr/Tra/N/GCD26F*" and above the "<font color=red>" I get "Alert Information: Distance:1319ft Speed: 3mph".

 

Any idea what's happened now?

 

Double check your "Waypoint name" box. You should have copied "%smart=7/%typ=3/%found/%code%bug=*" (no quotes) into this box. From your results, it looks like the "%smart=7" portion has been changed to "%smart=1". Carefully review the contents of the the parts in the tutorial that instruct you to "copy and paste" into the specific boxes. Make sure you don't reload an erroneous setup file. Then, before you actually run the macro to create the POI for your GPS, make sure that it hasn't been changed back to the "%smart=1" text in the "Waypoint name" box. Once it runs correctly, SAVE the setup to a specific name and use this new setup file for future runs.

 

Good luck!

[+mojedo]

mojedo - Errrrr.....have you not seen the tutorial? It's already there....

 

 

 

Something must be wrong, on my nuvi I get something like the following:

 

"ShoalCr/Tra/N/G 4.2 NE"

 

I don't have the GCxxx anywhere.

 

Any idea what might be wrong? (Sorry to be such a bother)

 

 

Gee, I can't even get my posts right. Steve, you were right I reentered the waypoint name info and solved that problem. However, I got two different problems now. When I get to the screen where I see: "ShoalCr/Tra/N/GCxxxx 4.2 NE" Right below it I get the following: Alert informantion: Distance: 1319ft Speed: 3mph, below this starts the <font color=red> etc. And on the right of this screen I'm missing the big green GO!

 

This is what I was trying to get posted earlier.

[Motorcycle_Mama]

Further to my previous post I can now confirm that the caches are indeed in my Nuvi, however in Extras/Custom POI's I can only scroll through the 12 or so screens (making approx 48 caches).

 

The others are in there as I did a 'Spell' to find some of them.

 

Does this mean that only those in a radius of my location are initially shown??

Or am I simply needing to change a setting somewhere?

 

Thanks in advance if you have an answer....

For any Custom POI list whether they are caches or something else, the menus will only show the 50 locations nearest to your current position. The list will change as you travel. As you discovered, the rest are there and can be searched by spelling the name.

[+CCrew]

When geocaching with the Nuvi, do you have a compass screen that guides you to a geocache (distance and bearing) or are you relying on the coordinate display? I would think relying on the coordinate screen would be unacceptable for geocacing.

 

JetSkier

 

No compass screen on my 680. I find it worthless for caching other than as a paperless display due to pilotsnipes work, and routing/getting as close as possible by road. After parking it's handheld for me.

 

-R

[+CCrew]

And for easier viewing on the map screen, you can create a BMP icon and load it with your Custom POI file by naming it the same as the Custom POI file (other than the file extension) and by placing it in the same folder as the Custom POI file.

 

I can't get this to work on a Nuvi 680. When you say in the same folder, do you mean the computer folder on the machine running POI loader, or in the Nuvi folder that contains the loaded POI file on the nuvi itself?

 

Thanks!

Roger