Oregon 400t Question

[+Xantos10]

I want to be able to put my cache data on my external card so when I go to a different city, all I have to do is change cards. How do I name the directory and is there anything I need to do to set up the 400 so it will know where to look for the gpx files?

[+fegan]

Use the same directory structure as on the internal memory: d:\Garmin\GPX

 

I had GPX files on both the internal memory and SD card of my Colorado and I had some weird things happen...like ALL the geocaches on the internal memory vanished once or twice.

 

So although it worked...I've decided to keep all my GPX files on internal memory as I've never had a problem with all of them on internal memory.

 

Do you really need more than 2,000 geocaches on your GPS? If you're travelling to 4 cities...500 caches per city is only 2,000 caches...so you're not exceeding the limits of the unit.

[+Xantos10]

So I can have 4 .gpx files (of 500 caches each) in my internal flash and it will read all four of them and show up on my GPSr?

[+g-o-cashers]

Yes. You can have up to 2000 geocaches loaded across up to 200 gpx files.

[+Curioddity]

I keep City Navigator maps on the external card and GPX files in the internal memory and that seems to work flawlessly. It's important to understand that there are {at least} two different kinds of GPX files: geocache GPX files and waypoint GPX files. You can remove or replace the geocaches in your device by simply removing or replacing the appropriate geocache GPX file, but not so with waypoint GPX files. Once waypoint GPX files are read by the Oregon, removing the GPX file won't remove the waypoints. That has to be done individually via the Waypoint Manager or globally via a Reset Waypoints action in the device itself.

 

Pete

[+fegan]

So I can have 4 .gpx files (of 500 caches each) in my internal flash and it will read all four of them and show up on my GPSr?

 

Yes, as g-o-cashers has already said, you can have up to 200 GPX files and they will all show up on your GPS.

 

I use GSAK to manage my Pocket Queries and I export a GPX file for each PQ that I receive, as well as a few individual GPX files (like a couple of nearby events I plan to attend and a few distant Challenge caches I plan to find)...I currently have 22 GPX files on my GPS internal memory and ALL of those caches show up on my GPS.

[wahoowad]

but not so with waypoint GPX files. Once waypoint GPX files are read by the Oregon, removing the GPX file won't remove the waypoints.

 

Waaah? Is this for real? I'm looking for a replacement for my Endura Sierra and this sounds like a pain in the rear. I like use a lot of waypoints and prefer to have them load based on whether I put the right file on the unit or not.

 

So waypoints load and are written to somewhere else? What if you restart the unit - does it read them in twice?

[+fegan]

Waaah? Is this for real? I'm looking for a replacement for my Endura Sierra and this sounds like a pain in the rear. I like use a lot of waypoints and prefer to have them load based on whether I put the right file on the unit or not.

 

So waypoints load and are written to somewhere else? What if you restart the unit - does it read them in twice?

 

It's not really a pain once you understand the process. And to anwer your last question first...NO, it doesn't load them twice.

 

If you have data you plan to leave on the GPS for a long time (family, friends, red light cameras, etc.) then you should load them as Points of Interest...for a few reasons.

 

1. you can't accidentally delete them (have to be removed or updated via your computer)

2. you can set proximity alerts (nice for those red light cameras)

3. they're only limited by memory (and the Colorado/Oregon have plenty of that)

4. you're limited to 1,000 waypoints (this is the major reason)

 

So, if you're like me and like to have your Hides and Finds on your GPS (to make it easier when hiding new caches)...you load them as POIs, not Waypoints. That way they're always there, and they don't take away from your limited Waypoint memory of 1,000 Waypoints.

 

So, if you're working on a few mutli-caches and mark Waypoints for the stages...after you're finished you can just Delete All Waypoints to clear them out.

 

Keep in mind...a Geocache is NOT in the Waypoint list. They are two different lists on the Colorado/Oregon.

[+g-o-cashers]

The process for loading data from gpx files is described here for the Oregon x00 devices. The Oregon x50 devices work differently. Unfortunately I haven't had the time to add the UserDataSync stuff to the FAQ yet...

 

http://garminoregon.wikispaces.com/Computer+Transfer

 

Note there are not two different kinds of gpx files as previously posted, geocaches and waypoints are different data types but they can be loaded from the same gpx file. As fegan has posted below these two data types are managed differently on the Oregon x00. Geocaches come and go with the gpx file they are contained in, waypoints are created when they are loaded (only once) from a gpx file but they stay around after the gpx file is deleted because you may have modified them on the unit after loading them from the file. Geocaches cannot be modified so there is no harm deleting them when the file goes away.