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Please help...caches not showing as found


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In the Dakota is a separate file that tracks your found caches. It only knows the caches you've found with the unit. If previous caches that where found with the unit are not showing then the file got deleted somewhere along the way. If you want the other to show as found you'll need to go threw and mark them as found. But there is no need to keep track of all your finds on the unit. I keep my Dakota 10 clear of finds. With each new trip out i make i clear out the finds and GPX folder and put an updated PQ on the unit.

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Now that i'm at home and have my Dakota 10 on hand i can give some more detail. In the Garmin folder of the unit is a geocache_visit text file. This is where the unit keeps track of your finds. You can look at this file and see the format it uses to store the cache info and edit it as you see fit? If you have used your device to automatically log your found caches then the file will be deleted.

 

Is it possible that you didn't mark them as found at the time?

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If you have used your device to automatically log your found caches then the file will be deleted.

 

Can you please expand on this further? What do you mean by 'automatically' - isnt it a 'manual' thing when you find caches and select the found it button? How does the unit delete the geocache_visit text file? Isnt this a 'manual' thing also by the user deleting it with Windows Explorer?

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I know the folder you are talking about. I looked in the folder and looked up specific caches that are showing as not found. They are in the folder as found, but not showing as found on the unit. :mad:

I have the Garmin 62s, and I have noticed that when I find caches, it takes a while for them to display on the map screen as the smiley face, although they do no longer appear on the nearest cache list, so the unit does know that they have been found. Is it just that they do not appear on your map, or do they also appear on the closest cache list - suggesting your unit has not found them? As always, Garmin notified, but still no response..... I guess they are too busy with all the new handhelds coming onto the market....

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I've seen a link that will take the find log and any accompanied notes you log on your unit about the find and automatically log the finds for you. For the life of me i can't find the link. But once you log your finds like this the list of finds on your unit get wiped clean as well as the notes. I believe you need a plug-in for it to work. Hopefully some one that knows more will come along and correct me.

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I've seen a link that will take the find log and any accompanied notes you log on your unit about the find and automatically log the finds for you.

It's called Field Notes. It doesnt automatically log your finds. You upload the geocaching visits txt file to GC and GC will display your logs on screen. You then need to manually alter / expand the onscreen notes that you orignially entered on your unit and then manually click on upload to log you find with the website. Nothing happens 'automatic'.

 

....but once you log your finds like this the list of finds on your unit get wiped clean as well as the notes....

No they dont. Nothing gets deleted. You have to phyically delete the geocaching txt file from your GPS using Windows Explorer - that is if you want to - but I find it easier to start with a clean sheet and a new PQ for each geocaching trip.

 

I believe you need a plug-in for it to work.

No you dont. No plug in required.

 

Have a look here: http://garminoregon.wikispaces.com/Geocaching and specifically GC11.) Now that I've found some caches how do I use fieldnotes to log my caches?

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This is becoming painful to watch. The following applies to recent model Garmin units...

 

Caches are loaded to the unit by placing one or more gpx files into the Garmin/GPX folder of the unit. A gpx file may contain information about one or more than one cache. The total number of gpx files is limited to 200, and the permitted total number of caches represented in the 'one or more' gpx files varies with the unit model. A unit might handle 2000 or 5000 caches.

 

When a gpx file is loaded to the Garmin/GPX directory, it is 'discovered' by the unit as new if there is any hint of difference between this gpx file and what was in that folder during the last power up of the unit. So much as a tick of difference in the time stamp causes the unit to recognize this as a new file. What happens when a 'new' file is found? We'll get back to that in a moment.

 

There are three 'databases' of cache information held in the unit.

  • #1 is the gpx file that is the original source for cache information. Note that at NO time does the unit modify the gpx file. It is retained AS LOADED by the user.
  • #2 is an internal table of caches that you CANNOT see - it is not part of the unit's visible file system, and you will not find it by connecting the unit to a computer.
  • #3 is a text file (geocache_visits.txt) that is created when a cache is logged (found, not found, etc.). All cache logs are appended to that file until it is deleted by the user. It is into the lines of this text file that any 'field notes' are also appended.

Taking the simplest of models, we'll work with a single gpx cache file created from a Pocket Query. When the gpx file (#1) is moved to the Garmin/GPX directory and the unit is booted, this new gpx file is discovered by the unit. ALL previous knowledge of found/not-found caches is at this time deleted from the internal table (#2, above). The unit now recreates its internal #2 table with slots for each of the caches found in the gpx file, and each slot retains certain current information about the cache, including its found/not-found state, even through power down/up cycles.

 

[Note: In the event that more than one gpx file is loaded, and data for any cache is found in more than one of the loaded gpx files, the design intent seems to have been that the most recent data (from whichever file) should be used. In practice, it seems to work that way most of the time, but not all of the time. ONLY ONE internal slot (#2) is created for a cache even if it is found in more than one loaded gpx file].

 

Go into the field. Look for a cache. Log the cache as found.

 

  • As stated previously, the gpx file (#1) is NOT touched.
  • The slot for this cache in the unit's internal table (#2) has the 'found' bit set. You'll see it as found on the map, and "Show Found" is the only way to bring it up in the cache list again.
  • A record is appended to the geocache_visits.txt (#3) file for this log.

Things continue as described above as caches are found (or not) and logged. The gpx file is untouched, the internal table keeps getting updated with found/not-found information, and the geocache_visits.txt log file keeps getting bigger.

 

Items to know...

First - There is NO mechanism for deleting individual caches from the control panel of the unit. This same bloody question gets asked at least once a week in these forums, is politely answered by someone, is already well defined in the old Oregon Wiki, and frankly, isn't that hard to find in these threads if people would read them. You cannot delete a found cache from the unit's control panel. You cannot delete an unfound cache from the unit's control panel.

Second - There is NO mechanism for reading or editing your geocache_visits.txt field notes from the control panel of the unit after you complete the entry. This question comes up fairly frequently as well.

 

If you forgot to add a field note or need to add additional field note information to a cache you've already logged as found, you can select "Geocaches" / "Show Found", select the cache that you have already found, and create another log (even an "unattempted" log) for it and add more field note information. That WILL create a duplicate log for this cache, and you need to pay attention to that if you are using the gc.com field notes feature so that you don't accidentally double log the cache, but at least it's a way to get more information recorded rather than relying upon memory. If you logged the cache as "Not Found", you can simply repeat the "Not Found" and add more field note data. Again, you need to manage the fact that there will now be two Not Found entries in the field notes.

 

If you log as found by accident, using "Show Found", reselect the cache. "Log Attempt" again, but this time, log it as "Did Not Find". This will do two things. First, it will place it BACK into the list of unfound caches again such that you will see it when looking at the list of unfound caches. It will also cause the map icon to revert to the 'unfound' icon. There is a 3rd effect that you'll have to remember -- the geocache_visits.txt file will now contain TWO logs for this cache. The first will be a "found" log, and the second the "didn't find" log. You will need to manage this manually by deleting the unnecessary log if you upload your field notes to gc.com.

 

Managing geocache_visits.txt:

 

Right. Done caching for now. Go home, hook up, and upload the field notes (geocache_visits.txt) file. Manage any duplicates you may have found it necessary to create, or that were created by accident. Uploading this file does not delete it from your unit. gc.com recalls the last time you uploaded notes, and attempts to avoid acceptance of logs that have already been uploaded. So while you may be sending the entire geocache_visits.txt file, only those entries that post-date the date shown on the gc.com field notes page will actually be accepted (unless you change that date for some reason). So while it may appear to purge that file after each uploading session, it does NOT. This file will just continue getting larger and larger with each geocaching expedition, one log line being appended to it for every cache you log on the face of your unit. The only way to prevent this file from growing endlessly is to hook it up to your PC, navigate to the Garmin directory, and delete it.

 

Managing found/not-found states and gpx files:

 

The only way to remove caches from your unit (either found or unfound) is to send a new gpx file to the unit. The idea that BaseCamp can delete individual caches is VERY misleading. A text editor could do the same job. In both cases, it's the fact that the gpx file on the unit has been modified directly by an application or a new file has been loaded in place of the old file (could be read from the unit, modified and sent back to the unit, or could be a new file entirely) that causes the unit to re-read and parse all gpx file info in the GPX directory and rebuild its internal (#2) table. BaseCamp does NOT and CANNOT modify the internal (#2) table of the GPS. It can only modify and move gpx files to/from the unit.

 

Even changing the time stamp on a gpx file (#1) causes the unit to reevaluate the gpx files for changes and reload the internal table (#2) for those caches found in modified gpx file(s). Therefore, the way to 'remove' found caches from the unit is to supply it with a gpx file that does not any longer contain those found caches. During the reevaluation, the unit will 'forget' anything it already knew about caches, and no longer seeing your found cache in a gpx, doesn't even know that they exist.

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I'm a new 450 owner as well and that was a very helpful read.

 

If I can ask one thing that has me confused you mention the only way for the gps to forget a cache totally is to upload a new gpx file. Does this only pertain to pocket queries? I mean I load individual caches and delete them in base camp so I want to make sure that as long as it's just an individual cache base camp will delete it totally.

 

Thanks again for good info

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I'm a new 450 owner as well and that was a very helpful read.

 

If I can ask one thing that has me confused you mention the only way for the gps to forget a cache totally is to upload a new gpx file. Does this only pertain to pocket queries?

No, not at all. I just used that as an example. It doesn't matter how the gpx file(s) on your unit were created or transferred to your unit. As I noted, the discovery by the unit of a 'new' gpx file during power on is what triggers the reevaluation of the gpx file(s) that are present. If a gpx file is touched for any sort of write, or a new file appears, your 450 will check to see what's changed. If a cache that you had found before is still in one of the gpx file(s), it will be retained by your 450, and still shown as 'found'. If that cache does not appear in any gpx file(s) on your unit (due to a file edit or replacement or deletion) during that evaluation, it 'disappears' - it will not be given a slot in the internal memory, and will no longer appear on your unit as found (or unfound, for that matter).

 

I mean I load individual caches and delete them in base camp so I want to make sure that as long as it's just an individual cache base camp will delete it totally.
When BaseCamp touches a gpx file, the operating system is changing the time/date stamp on the file. That forces the reevaluation of the resident gps file(s). That in turn forces a reevaluation of the gpx file(s) on your unit. If a file containing just one cache disappears, the slot for that cache is not built that time around... slots will only occur for caches that the unit can find in gpx file(s) somewhere in its GPX folder. Anything else goes away.

 

I guess I'm wondering why you haven't taken advantage of the Pocket Query method yet. Especially with a 450 and its 5000 cache capacity, you'll run out of allowed files (there's a 200 file gpx file limit) long before you'll run out of allowed cache count, and it does make quite a messy directory. You can load a few manually to supplement anything missed by a PQ, but especially with these newer units, it is SO easy to move just one file instead of many. To my mind, the Pocket Query is worth the entire annual membership at gc.com.

Edited by ecanderson
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