Sending GPX files to GPS: Mapsource or Drag and Drop

[+TheFinleys]

So far I have been opening my pocket query GPX files in Mapsource and then sending them to my GPS from Mapsource. Because I have a Garmin 450, I have not run into any problems with space on my GPS yet. I am worried though however, when the time comes it is going to be hard to determine which ones to delete manually since the file structure of the uploads just stay "Imported [Date]" or something like that. If I drag and drop the GPS files manually I can name them accordingly so when I delete them I know what pocket query area I am deleting. Let's say for instance I load up 500 for a weekend at the beach, it would be nice to identify these when it comes time to do some house cleaning.

 

I am not familiar with other software such as EasyGPS, so I guess I am looking for some guidance. Will figuring out another piece of software (and buying) really help me out? Or should I just fight that battle when the time comes?

 

Thanks for the advice.

[+ecanderson]

There are as many variations on this theme are their are 450 owners!

 

Unless you are using Mapsource to view your PQs, there's no reason that Mapsource should get involved in this process at all. The only time I ever load my PQs into Mapsource is to check to be sure I have adequate overlap between them such that I'm not missing any caches in a given area. It's easier than bouncing back and forth between PQ views at gc.com.

 

If you like, you can unzip each PQ and name it in whatever fashion you like. But it's even easier just to give your PQ a name you can understand when you create it at gc.com. The internal files will match the name of the external zip file. So if you create a PQ called "BEACH", you'll get a zip called BEACH.zip and that will contain BEACH.gpx and BEACH-wpts.gpx.

 

You can extract those and slide them directly over into the [d]:\Garmin\GPX folder on your 450 with your PC. There is no requirement to use any additional software to do so. Your 450 looks like another external drive to your computer (or two external drives, if you have a microSD card mounted in your 450).

 

I find that the local caching landscape changes sufficiently that I really do need to pull down a PQ weekly for each of the areas that I travel regularly. I lump them all together into one giant *.gpx weekly using GSAK and send them to my 450, overwriting the old one as I do so.

 

In the process of sending the data across, I have GSAK modify the appearance of the data on the 450 screen by fiddling the "Name" information. That allows me to see GC code, cache size, difficulty and terrain, and last 4 log (found, not found, etc.) right on the main list of caches when I do a "Find Geocache". If you're interested in something like that as well, let us know and we'll explain how it's done.

[+TheFinleys]

 

I find that the local caching landscape changes sufficiently that I really do need to pull down a PQ weekly for each of the areas that I travel regularly. I lump them all together into one giant *.gpx weekly using GSAK and send them to my 450, overwriting the old one as I do so.

 

In the process of sending the data across, I have GSAK modify the appearance of the data on the 450 screen by fiddling the "Name" information. That allows me to see GC code, cache size, difficulty and terrain, and last 4 log (found, not found, etc.) right on the main list of caches when I do a "Find Geocache". If you're interested in something like that as well, let us know and we'll explain how it's done.

 

 

THANKS! Good to know your opinion about Mapsource.

 

This sounds exactly like something I would like to know how to do. If you can explain it, I could put together a "How-To" with screenshot and what not for others in the future.

Edited October 13, 2010 by TheFinleys

[+TheFinleys]

I just found the GSAK 101 documents on their website... so I'm reading up.

[+ecanderson]

This sounds exactly like something I would like to know how to do. If you can explain it, I could put together a "How-To" with screenshot and what not for others in the future.

I don't begin to use the full capabilities of GSAK - I use it only to combine all of my PQ files into one for the "local" work, and to do comparisons of my PQ and a friends if we decide to cache together (using a "macro"), and -- my biggest reason for using it -- to change that appearance on my 450 of cache info.

 

To do the appearance change, I've fiddled with it a few times, but this is what I've come up with as my working version at the moment. I'll then explain how it appears on the GPS ... Once I have loaded my PQs into GSAK, and before I use GSAK's "GPS"/"Send waypoints" feature to move them to my GPS, this is the "string" that I enter into GSAK's menu in the "Name" field to modify things on the way out:

 

%drop2 %con1 %dif1a/%ter1a %last4 %name

 

Now when I go to "Find Geocache", I get something that looks like this on my display for each cache in the list:

 

27ABC M 2/B FFFF and whatever part of the name will fit - usually just 1 letter

 

The %drop2 just drops the "GC" off the front of the GC code. We all know it's there - no need to waste display space

The %con1 gives the container size in one letter. "M" is for "M"icro. Could be "S"mall, or "R"egular or ...

The %dif1a gives the difficulty in one letter. 1 = 1.0, 1.5 = A, 2 = 2.0, B = 2.5 etc

The %ter1a gives the terrain in one letter, like the above

The %last4 gives info about the last 4 logs. "F"ound, "N"ot found, "O"= some kind of note, etc. That's nice, because if you see "NNNN", it's either not there or a really hard cache

The %name gives you the cache name. After all of that above, you usually can't see more than a character or two of it in lists.

 

ALL of the above appear at the top of the information when you go to the Description of a cache on your 450.

 

Here's a screen shot of the results. Way out at the right, all of the cache names start with "S" because they're part of the "SBS series"...

 

So the first entry shows a traditional cache, GC1A4EW, micro, Difficulty 1.5 ("A"), Terrain 1.5 ("A"), four consecutive "Found" logs.

The last entry shows a traditional cache, GC19QE3, micro, Difficulty 3.5 ("C"), Terrain 1.5 ("A"), and two of the most recent logs were found, and two not found.

 

 

The description info for the last cache looks like this. As you can see, the cache's full name "SBS1 - Side Bet on 16?" appears here since there's room for it all:

 

 

A snapshot of my GSAK screen follows. You can name the file being sent any way you like. If you want, you can also check "Yes" for "Include additional child waypoints" to send parking coordinates and the like.

 

Edited October 13, 2010 by ecanderson

[+coggins]

There are as many variations on this theme are their are 450 owners!

How true, I find that BaseCamp works better with PQs and an Oregon than MapSource does. You can get all the cach info and have it displayed om map in 3D if you have the supported maps. I also like the fact that it works great with geotagged photos and you can have more than 1 .gpx file going.

[+ecanderson]

How true, I find that BaseCamp works better with PQs and an Oregon than MapSource does. You can get all the cach info and have it displayed om map in 3D if you have the supported maps. I also like the fact that it works great with geotagged photos and you can have more than 1 .gpx file going.

My only brain damage with BaseCamp is that I haven't sorted out how to turn OFF my Birdseye images while doing other things, and for reasons that have become clear recently, it's obvious why BaseCamp becomes so terribly dog slow with Birdseye images on the screen. Surely there must be an easy way to turn off that "layer", but in my limited time tweaking, I've not figured that out. I'm not sure it's even possible to configure things to keep them off during the loading of the application that takes 10 minutes to accomplish as it loads a bazillion tiny little tiles...