Pennants Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 Is it possible to download more than just the lat and long to a handheld GPS. I would like to be able to download the cache description and maybe the clue! Currently when I download, all I get on the notes page of my GPS is the cache name. I am only a basic member - does this make a difference? I have a Garmin 76CSX. Thanks Dave Quote Link to comment
+HazelS Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 You are only restricted by the number of charactors your GPS will hold (if any) in the notes section... I use GSAK (you won't if you're not a premuim member) and I use %hint to have the hint downloaded. I'm not sure you can do it if you don't use GSAK. I'm sure someone far more technical than me will come along soon! Quote Link to comment
+purple_pineapple Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 Is it possible to download more than just the lat and long to a handheld GPS. I would like to be able to download the cache description and maybe the clue! Currently when I download, all I get on the notes page of my GPS is the cache name. I am only a basic member - does this make a difference? I have a Garmin 76CSX. Thanks Dave the short answer is yes - being a basic member makes a big differenc (I think!) I believe you can only download .loc files, which are very basic, and only contain what you have mentioned. To get more info (ie essentially all the cache information) you need to download the .gpx files, and I think you need to be a premium meber for that (although its so long since I wasn't, I can't remember!) What you will need though is either a GPS that you can transfer a GPX file directly into (think several hundred pounds, like the Garmin Colorado), or some way of storign the information on your own PC. GSAK is the generally preferred option. Quote Link to comment
+The Blorenges Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 As said, the .loc file only contains basic information. The .gpx file (premium member required) holds all the cache info, including webpage details, logs and hints. The only GPS receivers¹ you can download these to at the moment are the Garmin Colorado (£260) or the touch screen Oregon (£200 for basic unit)². On these units you can view the webpage etc as though it was on your PC. The GPS you have will take not take .gpx files directly so you need to run them through a program like EasyGPS (freebie) or GSAK (only $15) which converts it. If you have the Garmin Trip and Waypoint manager software it should (I believe) also handle .gpx files. However your GPS can still only display the basic cache details of name/number - it won't display the description or hints and so on. You can also download .gpx files with a program like GSAK into a PDA - pocket pc device and use Internet Explorer locally on it to view the webpages. Another program that runs on the PDA is Cachemate which is a database program that holds all the cache information - GSAK can also export to Cachemate. Pocket PC's can also have built in GPS receivers so you get everything in one unit. Hope this has helped and not confused too much! Chris (MrB) ¹I only know the Garmin units, no idea about Magellan units if they can use .gpx files or not. ²The basic Oregon has 24Mbyte of memory, plenty for waypoints. The more expensive versions have an SD storage card. Quote Link to comment
+Bear and Ragged Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 There is a GSAK macro to put gpx info into Garmin 60 series... But, yes, to get the information, other than lat/long, you need gpx files. Quote Link to comment
+SidAndBob Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 I have a Garmin 76CSX. This model allows you to use almost unlimited POI (points of interest). A POI stores the coordinates, 44 characters for the name and 88 characters for the description. Waypoints only allow 14 characters. As others have said, you'll need GSAK and Premium Membership, then you can fit whatever data you deem most important into these 132 characters. I put things like the hint, container size, owner, last 4 finds status etc. While it's not my first method of accessing this data I can keep many 1,000's of caches on my Garmin as a backup. Even with a PDA it's good for a quick hint look up. I recall there is a macro that will split the description in a cache listing across multiple POI, but I've never tried it. Quote Link to comment
+BCNorwich Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 I have a 60csx and just wanted to say theres another GSAK macro to split the hints for a waypoint over several POI pages. On the database I currently export to my GPS there is one waypoint where the hint is split over 19 POI pages. The POI pages for a waypoint are consecutive so you can read through the long hints page by page. You do need premium membership to get the GPX files to do the above. Regards Bernard Quote Link to comment
+The Blorenges Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 Ah... didn't know the 76 could have a bit more information on a waypoint. I used to use a Vista C and MrsB is using a Colorado. My preference now is the Mio P550 PDA - get the lot that way including Memory Map OS maps! It's only the battery that lets it down. Chris (MrB) Quote Link to comment
Pennants Posted November 5, 2008 Author Share Posted November 5, 2008 Ah... didn't know the 76 could have a bit more information on a waypoint. I used to use a Vista C and MrsB is using a Colorado. My preference now is the Mio P550 PDA - get the lot that way including Memory Map OS maps! It's only the battery that lets it down. Chris (MrB) Thank you all for taking the time to reply. I will certainly upgrade my membership and give it a try. Dave Quote Link to comment
+bongobounty Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 Hi, quite new to geocaching. Have a 60csx, downloaded some caches and located two of them. Going to cornwall tonight so deleted all the stored caches and tried to download some new ones of cornwall area. Pc tells that the caches have downloaded and the test says the gps is communicating. When I look for the caches it says NONE FOUND. I know I am doing something stupid but I have to leave soon and wondered if anyone can help by pointing out the error of my ways. Many thanks. Quote Link to comment
+bongobounty Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 Hi, quite new to geocaching. Have a 60csx, downloaded some caches and located two of them. Going to cornwall tonight so deleted all the stored caches and tried to download some new ones of cornwall area. Pc tells that the caches have downloaded and the test says the gps is communicating. When I look for the caches it says NONE FOUND. I know I am doing something stupid but I have to leave soon and wondered if anyone can help by pointing out the error of my ways. Many thanks. Quote Link to comment
+purple_pineapple Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 Hi, quite new to geocaching. Have a 60csx, downloaded some caches and located two of them. Going to cornwall tonight so deleted all the stored caches and tried to download some new ones of cornwall area. Pc tells that the caches have downloaded and the test says the gps is communicating. When I look for the caches it says NONE FOUND. I know I am doing something stupid but I have to leave soon and wondered if anyone can help by pointing out the error of my ways. Many thanks. little bit of a thread hijack, but whar the he... whatever! Assuming you are at home at the moment, and home is many miles from cornwall, this might be easily explainable! I'm guessing you are searching for the caches with a 'find nearest' option or similar? I believe most GPS's will stop looking after a certain distance, and this may only be 50 miles or so, so if your nearest cache (on the GPS) is more than 50 miles (eg) from where the GPS thinks you are, it won't find anything. To check you actually have some caches on it, look for them manually, possibly by scrolling through the alphabetical list of caches on the GPS. Hopefully, you'll know how to use your GPS better than I do here! Hope that makes sense! Quote Link to comment
+bongobounty Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 Hi I apologise for highjacking and also for sending two posts instead of one. I am a bit nervous about forums yet. Thank you for your answer and I do understand. I am aprox 300 miles from Cornwall. Do you mean I may be able to see them once I arrive in Cornwall? I would so like to geocache on this trip. Will have to work out how to scroll through. Finding the gps hard to follow. Quote Link to comment
+Pharisee Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 Hi, quite new to geocaching. Have a 60csx, downloaded some caches and located two of them. Going to cornwall tonight so deleted all the stored caches and tried to download some new ones of cornwall area. Pc tells that the caches have downloaded and the test says the gps is communicating. When I look for the caches it says NONE FOUND. I know I am doing something stupid but I have to leave soon and wondered if anyone can help by pointing out the error of my ways. Many thanks. Press the 'FIND' button and select Waypoints. If none are shown, look at the top of the display and it will probably say "All symbols near current location". If it does, press the Menu button and select Find by Name. Then enter the waypoint for one of the caches you've downloaded. If it's there, it will be displayed. If it isn't, then something may have gone wrong with your download so try downloading them again. Quote Link to comment
+bongobounty Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 Thank you so much. May just have time to check otherwise I will just have to hope for the best. Cheers. Quote Link to comment
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