Benchmarking

[+AtwellFamily]

Is there any way of making a gpx file to load into my GPS. I have a Garmin MapGPS62

[jbuffethed]

Download the .dat files from here: http://www.holoscenes.com/special/geocac/ds_archive.html

Convert the .dat to gpx with this program: http://ngs.tsqmadness.com/help/index.html

 

Just drag the gpx file into your Garmin/gpx folder. On my map (Colorado 300) Adjusted marks show as a gold treasure box and the Scaled show as a "?" just like a puzzle. It makes it much easier to decipher. You will also get the description like you would with your PQ.

[Keystone]

I am moving this thread from the Geocaching Topics forum to the Benchmarking forum.

[foxtrot_xray]

Adjusted marks show as a gold treasure box [...]

 

Do they really? Interesting. I don't have a Garmin, so I've never checked. The codes in the GPX file match up with 'Benchmark' (Adjusted, HHeld1, HHeld2), 'Mystery' (Scaled), and 'Locationless' (Intersection/Landmark Benchmarks). In GSAK the Adjusted ones come thru as expected, but I never tested it straight on a GPS.

 

I will have to look into this for v3.0.

 

Thanks,

-Mike.

[+chiknlips45]

I have a Garmin Oregon 550t and the marks input with the treasure box icon also. Kind of confusing if you happen to be a cacher/benchmarker. Of course the latter being more fun.

[foxtrot_xray]

I have a Garmin Oregon 550t and the marks input with the treasure box icon also. Kind of confusing if you happen to be a cacher/benchmarker. Of course the latter being more fun.

Hm.. Is it a 'found' symbol, or the normal 'not found' symbol? Does the Garmin have a benchmark symbol? (Just trying to get info so that I can plan for this..)

[jbuffethed]

My Adjusted show as an Unfound gold treasure box. My Traditional caches show as a green treasure box, so I can decypher the two. I can post a screenshot when I get home. I meant to do it last night.

 

I dont think Garmin has a benchmark icon. I've been trying to figure out how to get one to show on the gps, but havent been able to.

 

Thank you for all your work on this program. It rocks!!

Edited December 28, 2010 by jbuffethed

[mloser]

With Garmins you can create your own custom symbols. A long time ago I created a set to help me remember what marks I had searched for/found/not found, etc and after each benchmarking trip I modify the waypoints to show the appropriate symbol. I also use the Garmin categories in the same way so I can filter the various marks in Mapsource. If anyone wants the custom symbols I can send them to you. This was discussed a long time ago also, at Forum link. I can't recall if anyone asked for the images at that time.

[jbuffethed]

With Garmins you can create your own custom symbols. A long time ago I created a set to help me remember what marks I had searched for/found/not found, etc and after each benchmarking trip I modify the waypoints to show the appropriate symbol. I also use the Garmin categories in the same way so I can filter the various marks in Mapsource. If anyone wants the custom symbols I can send them to you. This was discussed a long time ago also, at Forum link. I can't recall if anyone asked for the images at that time.

 

Sure, Ill take them. jbuffethed at yahoo dot com

 

What is the process of getting them to the gps?

[jbuffethed]

 

I have completed all the local puzzles, so all the "?" are Scaled marks. The Gold boxes are Adjusted marks. The Green is a traditional cache. The icon where the arrow is pointing is a mast or tower. That one in particular is a microwave tower. If I could get your icons onto my Garmin, I wonder how or if they would change. I dont even have a clue how to load them except sending from Mapsource. Mapsource will not recognize the converted gpx file either, so thats where I am stuck.

[+Rotareneg]

Oops, I think I miss-read your post and thought you meant you were having problems loading the GPX files, I see now you meant the custom icons.

Edited December 29, 2010 by Rotareneg

[mloser]

It has been so long since I loaded the images that I am pretty much guessing at this. To get the images into Mapsource you put them in your user folder, e.g. C:\Users\Matthew\Documents\My Garmin\Custom Waypoint Symbols. They have to be bitmaps and have to be named xxx where xxx is a number from 000 to 023 (there are 24 spots right?). You should find a directory with that name already created, and blue dot images in it.

The part I don't remember well is how to get them to your Garmin, but I am pretty sure XImage does that for you. I will send the images directly to you.

 

Here is how I use the images:

000 = not searched for.

001 = found

002 = not found

003 = unlisted mark--the ones don't have enough data for a datasheet. They are listed at the bottom of the datasheets when you retrieve a county and select Browse mode. At one point I thought I might look for them but I haven't really gotten around to it.

004 = unlisted mark found (so far I only have ONE of these)

005 = unlisted mark not found

006 = destroyed mark

 

The categories to the right parallel the images to a point, but not directly. I hope you get the idea.

 

As for getting the gpx file to load correctly into Mapsource, I have had issues with that before and I can't recall my solution. Foxtrot, do we need to download the files from the DATASHEETS link or the ARCHIVED DATASHEETS link to use with your program? I can never remember!

[+chiknlips45]

There is no Benchmark icon in the Garmin units. I was able to create the custom icons in the My Documents\My Garmin\Custom Waypoint Symbols directory as stated above. With the newer Garmin units, the icons can be copied into the \Garmin\CustomSymbols directory once you link your unit to the computer. This doesn't solve the original issue of the imports being the treasure box icon, but at least I can change them once entered.

[+AtwellFamily]

What is all the talk about adjusted and other types? Can someone explain the icons in geocaching and how they convert to the Garmin or GPX file?

 

The coins on geocaching.com seem to be:

 

Not Yet Logged

May be Missing

Marked Destroyed

Found/Recovered

 

how do these relate to scaled and adjusted that people are mentioning?

Edited December 31, 2010 by Atwell Family

[mloser]

Chiknlips45, you can move the icons to your Garmin with XImage. Once they are in the unit they stay in the unit.

 

Atwell Family, adjusted and scaled don't relate to the coins in GSAK at all. They refer to how the coordinates of various benchmarks were determined-- I will refer you to the introduction to benchmarking to read more about that.

 

The four statuses of the coins on GSAK are the status of the mark. Three of them reflect the status of the mark--is it found, not found, etc. I haven't ever used GSAK so I don't know how those statuses relate to what is downloaded, but I suspect it is the mark's status as of the last recovery. I have always downloaded my data directly from the NGS and set my starting status for ALL MARKS as "Not Searched For" as soon as I import them into Mapsource. I use the datasheets to tell the NGS's status for that mark.

[+HotRod205]

There is info on how to do this, and where to find the perfect set of custom POI icons with a beautiful BM icon, on the GSAK forum. I use the GSAK macro GarminCsvPoiExport-v2.gsk to generate the files which I then load to my Garmin GPS as Custom POIs using Garmin's POILoader program, free on the Garmin website. I have 16,000+ BMs in my part of the state loaded and the BM icon shows up. There is no differentiation using this method, but there probably could be.

[jbuffethed]

There is info on how to do this, and where to find the perfect set of custom POI icons with a beautiful BM icon, on the GSAK forum. I use the GSAK macro GarminCsvPoiExport-v2.gsk to generate the files which I then load to my Garmin GPS as Custom POIs using Garmin's POILoader program, free on the Garmin website. I have 16,000+ BMs in my part of the state loaded and the BM icon shows up. There is no differentiation using this method, but there probably could be.

 

I would like to load them as poi's, so it didn't cut into the amount of cages I can load. Do you still get the full description of the BM. That's what I like.

[+agentmancuso]

 

I would like to load them as poi's, so it didn't cut into the amount of cages I can load. Do you still get the full description of the BM. That's what I like.

 

It's certainly possible to get a detailed description using GSAK. I have some 25,000 UK benchmarks loaded as POIs on a Vista Cx, with custom icons for various types installed using Ximage as mentioned above.

[+HotRod205]

Convert the .dat to gpx with this program: http://ngs.tsqmadness.com/help/index.html

 

I just downloaded and installed this program, and something caught my eye in the License Agreement. So I read it. BEST EVER! Hilarious. That made my night.

[foxtrot_xray]

Convert the .dat to gpx with this program: http://ngs.tsqmadness.com/help/index.html

 

I just downloaded and installed this program, and something caught my eye in the License Agreement. So I read it. BEST EVER! Hilarious. That made my night.

Hah, thanks. I honestly don't remember what I put in there. Spaceballs, I think?

[+HotRod205]

Convert the .dat to gpx with this program: http://ngs.tsqmadness.com/help/index.html

 

I just downloaded and installed this program, and something caught my eye in the License Agreement. So I read it. BEST EVER! Hilarious. That made my night.

Hah, thanks. I honestly don't remember what I put in there. Spaceballs, I think?

 

Starts like it's a Star Wars thing then wanders into some Angelina Jolie and 'Gia' stuff... LOL. Excellent, nice touch. I suspect occasionally some nonsense must get stuck into some of those agreements that no one except lawyers ever read all the way through. I may start actually reading through them just in case.

[foxtrot_xray]

Convert the .dat to gpx with this program: http://ngs.tsqmadness.com/help/index.html

 

I just downloaded and installed this program, and something caught my eye in the License Agreement. So I read it. BEST EVER! Hilarious. That made my night.

Hah, thanks. I honestly don't remember what I put in there. Spaceballs, I think?

 

Starts like it's a Star Wars thing then wanders into some Angelina Jolie and 'Gia' stuff... LOL. Excellent, nice touch. I suspect occasionally some nonsense must get stuck into some of those agreements that no one except lawyers ever read all the way through. I may start actually reading through them just in case.

Aah, okay. That was from Family Guy's "Blue Harvest". I remember now. The installation builder forced me to put SOMETHING in there, and that happened to have been on TV at the time.