Need Cachemate help!

[+chemitzi]

I bought Cachemate and installed it successfully on my old Palm Z22. It works. How do I get my data on it? I have all the geocaches within 10 miles of my house in a file on Easy GPS. I read this online:

 

"GPX/LOC File Import

EasyGPS GPX/LOC XML file importing is also possible with CacheMate. Groundspeak-specific extensions to the GPX file format are supported.

 

Unregistered copies of CacheMate will only import up to a 10 record limit for the database, and will truncate descriptions to 2 kilobytes. Once the program is registered, you will need to re-import the records that were imported before, to get the full description text.

 

To import a LOC or GPX file into CacheMate, you need to use a PC-based tool to convert the XML file into a PDB file that can be used with your Palm OS device. A Windows version of this tool is included in the CacheMate distribution. A version for Unix variants is available here.

 

The file converters accept a LOC or GPX formatted XML file as input, and output a file that can be installed on the Palm OS device. When this file is installed and CacheMate is launched, a prompt for database and category will be displayed, and its contents will automatically be merged with the main CacheMate database once selections are made. If the database name matches a category name in the target database, the category will be selected automatically.

 

There is an option in the Preferences dialog to merge imported LOC/GPX records with what already exists in the CacheMate database, based on the waypoint name. Cache log information is taken from the existing record, while all other information is taken from the import record.

 

Both versions of the file converter allow for selecting of waypoints to convert. The Unix version has an option for listing the waypoints in the input file, and allows specifying of waypoints to convert on the command line. The Windows version presents a GUI for waypoint selection, and also allows converting of waypoints from multiple input files into a single output file."

 

WHAT DOES IT MEAN???

[jholly]

That means you need to use cmconvert to convert the .gpx or .loc file to a .pdb file that you hot sync on to your palm. You can get the window based (recommended) version from the cachemate site.

 

GSAK will import your .gpx files and run the cmconvert file under the hood and drop it into your hot sync queue. After you go caching and log on cachemate you can use the cachematelogging macro for GSAK to update you GSAK finds and log to GC.com.

 

Jim

[cliff_hanger]

I bought Cachemate and installed it successfully on my old Palm Z22. It works. How do I get my data on it? I have all the geocaches within 10 miles of my house in a file on Easy GPS. I read this online:

 

"GPX/LOC File Import

EasyGPS GPX/LOC XML file importing is also possible with CacheMate. Groundspeak-specific extensions to the GPX file format are supported.

 

<snip>

 

WHAT DOES IT MEAN???

 

http://ctcachers.com/wiki/index.php?title=Cachemate_(PalmOS)

[Keystone]

I am moving this thread from the Geocaching Topics forum to the GPS and Technology forum.

[+wingryder]

I bought Cachemate and installed it successfully on my old Palm Z22. It works. How do I get my data on it? I have all the geocaches within 10 miles of my house in a file on Easy GPS. I read this online:

 

"GPX/LOC File Import

EasyGPS GPX/LOC XML file importing is also possible with CacheMate. Groundspeak-specific extensions to the GPX file format are supported.

 

<snip>

 

WHAT DOES IT MEAN???

 

http://ctcachers.com/wiki/index.php?title=Cachemate_(PalmOS)

 

If the cacher is confused about Cachemate.. do not even mention GSAK.

You do not need gsak to enjoy cachemate. Run the cmconverter mentioned above, it will prepare a file

you can sync to your Palm.

 

year two, or when you have lots of time.. you can investigate gsak.

 

wingryder

[+Roarmeister]

I bought Cachemate and installed it successfully on my old Palm Z22. It works. How do I get my data on it? I have all the geocaches within 10 miles of my house in a file on Easy GPS. I read this online:

"GPX/LOC File Import

EasyGPS GPX/LOC XML file importing is also possible with CacheMate. Groundspeak-specific extensions to the GPX file format are supported.

<snip>

 

WHAT DOES IT MEAN???

http://ctcachers.com/wiki/index.php?title=Cachemate_(PalmOS)

 

If the cacher is confused about Cachemate.. do not even mention GSAK.

You do not need gsak to enjoy cachemate. Run the cmconverter mentioned above, it will prepare a file

you can sync to your Palm. year two, or when you have lots of time.. you can investigate gsak.

wingryder

 

While normally this is sage advise, I don't see GSAK as being too difficult to use. It can be a little daunting the first time you open the program but after playing with the features for a bit most users can figure it out without any extra guidance. I tried using cmconverter the first couple of times and when I realized it was probably more hassle than GSAK itself! Once I customized GSAK the way I wanted with filters and custom outputs, it is definitely the way to go. I dump directly to both the PDA and GPSr with a couple of mouse clicks and out the door in a few minutes with the new information.

 

As a side bar - the user could also use MapSource that came with Garmin GPSrs to input the GPX file then upload to the receiver or use Google Earth Plus to upload to the GPSr. Either will bypass Cachemate and GSAK altogether. However, there is so much more information available using those software items than most other options.

 

Cachemate has one downside and that is you cannot upload the images that some caches pages require - ie. puzzle caches. You could do one of several things to overcome this. First is print the page onto a printer. Yes that's silly and not paperless but can be done with the few caches that require the extra image information. Secondly, you could print the page to a pdf file and upload to your PDA. But you may have to update each cache page separately, this can be a slow and labourous procedure for a lot of cache pages. Thirdly, you could use Plucker and Spinner to upload MANY cache pages at once which saves at lot of time and effort. This will give you images and the visual clues of the cache pages. Disclaimer: on this option, I can only suggest as I've never used the programs myself only read about how they are used.

 

Apparently there is a way of connecting the PDA to the Garmin directly and transfer the files using a specific cable instead of using your computer. But for me the special cable would cost me $70 and that is a discount!

 

--

My hardware - Garmin 60CSx, Palm T/X with WiFi to link to Groundspeak WAP website, cell phone with SMS to receive cache notifications, cables, chargers and power inverter (for the road warrior in me!)

Software - Premium Groundspeak membership for the GPX files from pocket queries, GSAK, Cachemate, Google Earth

 

When I started I had the 60CSx, basic membership, hardcopy printed cache pages and a notebook to make notes and keep track of all the trackables to log!