Etrex 10 and paperless caching

[+ss20cc36]

Okay, I bought the etrex 10. I became a preminum member and I guess I am just totally ignorant of how this is supposed to work. I need step by step instructions on how to make my etrex 10 accept paperless caching. here is what I have done so far. I have clicked on the send to gps icon on the right side of the geocache list. I plugged in the etrex (download the garmin communicator plugin) and saw the folder and saw that the ones that I sent individually are there but once I unplug the gps from the computer I cannot access them. I go to the geocache section of the menu and it says no geocaches found please go to garmin.com/geocaches to download geocaches. Okay, so I made a pocket query but could not figure out how to send it to the machine also how do you make the pocket queries go into the tab that says "ready to download"? Okay, so I download GSAK and I clicked all the check box on the geocache screen and I clicked "download waypoints" at the bottom and then somehow, my machine was still connected to the computer, those file went to the folder only now they have the gsak icon beside them but again, I cannot seem to access them on the unit either by the geocache menu or the waypoint menu or the waypoint manager menu. HELP. PS, for some reason, I cant seem to register my product as a etrex 10 on garmins website. I have to call it an etrex because it won't accept the ID Unit Number as the serial number SO geocaching.com does not recognize that I have registered the product and thus I could not get my free trial (this is a side issue however) More importantly it how to do I download all the info into my machine. And I mean I apparently am going to need detailed instructions because I watched the little thing about making pocket queries and it still didn't make sense. Sorry, to be such a pain.

[+ss20cc36]

Okay, I manage to get the correct product registered at garmin.com. I will try again to get geocaching.com to recognize it tonight.

[+taeke]

You don't need to register your device to be able to download caches. The quickest way to get the full info, is to download the GPX of the cache, and then copy it from your computer to the Garmin/GPX folder on your device.

But since you are a premium member, you could use the pocket query function, where you can download a whole bunch of caches.

Make sure that you check the description of the cache on both your computer and your device, as occasionally some info is not displayed on your device (it can't handle all the HTML-code used by cache owners for their pages).

[+mpilchfamily]

Learn about PQs (Pocket Queries). Its the best way to get paperless data for a large group of caches at once.

http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=118

[+ss20cc36]

Okay I have managed to get some of the pocket queries to get emailed to me and so presumably I can download them tonight. When downloading from my email, do I go straight to the device or first to my harddrive and then to the device? Taeke, the question I have for you is you said "download the GPX of the cache and then copy it from your computer...". Where do I find the GPX of the cache, specifically? and with your method, do I download each GPX of the cache individually to the harddrive and then to the device or can I download multiple? When I use the check boxes and then click on the bottom of the screen where it says "Download Waypoints" is that just loc files without all the extras? I did watch the PQ video again and so I can now make pocket queries. I feel like though I am going to want to make several small queries instead of one giant one. I will want the caches within a 5 mile radius of the surrounding towns but by making queries that way (say 5 miles of Danbury, 5 miles of Angleton) I feel like there may be some I miss but I can't say within 50 miles because that would bring in the Houston caches and I don't want those. I wish there was some way to look at a cache listing page and check mark the ones I want and just download those (with all hints, etc) to my device. Is there?

[+taeke]

Okay I have managed to get some of the pocket queries to get emailed to me and so presumably I can download them tonight. When downloading from my email, do I go straight to the device or first to my harddrive and then to the device?

 

(if I understood what you mean:) The e-mail function only sends you an e-mail that your PQ (pocket query) is ready for download. You then go to the PQ-page, and click the download tab to actually download the PQ to your computer. You can download it to your device only if you like, that is all up to you. The PQ-file is a compressed ZIP-file, which you need to unpack first.

 

Taeke, the question I have for you is you said "download the GPX of the cache and then copy it from your computer...". Where do I find the GPX of the cache, specifically? and with your method, do I download each GPX of the cache individually to the harddrive and then to the device or can I download multiple?

 

If you have set a permanent download location in your browser, that is where the file will end up. All the cache in the PQ are in one file.

If you click the GPX-button instead of the Download to My Device, you will get a GPX-file containing only 1 cache. The name will be cachecode.GPX and it is a normal file (not compressed) which you can copy from your download folder on your computer, to your device.

 

When I use the check boxes and then click on the bottom of the screen where it says "Download Waypoints" is that just loc files without all the extras? I did watch the PQ video again and so I can now make pocket queries. I feel like though I am going to want to make several small queries instead of one giant one. I will want the caches within a 5 mile radius of the surrounding towns but by making queries that way (say 5 miles of Danbury, 5 miles of Angleton) I feel like there may be some I miss but I can't say within 50 miles because that would bring in the Houston caches and I don't want those. I wish there was some way to look at a cache listing page and check mark the ones I want and just download those (with all hints, etc) to my device. Is there?

 

If you think you will miss a cache from a PQ, you can click the Preview Pocket Query, which will show a list, and the click the Show on Map, and move the map to the location of your interest, and all the caches which are part of your PQ, have a little balloon (with an electric spark in it), so you can see if a cache wasn't "seen" when the PQ was prepared.

Make sure to click the Is Enabled field, to filter out caches which are out due to maintenance, to avoid disappointment

[+taeke]

Ah yes sussamb, that is correct. Thanks for mentioning this.

[+ss20cc36]

Thank you all so much. I will try downloading the files and pqs tonight and will let you know how it goes.

[+ss20cc36]

Okay, so far so good. I seem to have been able to download all the pocket queries that I made today. And all the info is in the device, hints, logs, etc. I am still playing with the device to see what all it will do. I got rid of the gsak program and everything seems okay. I'll let you know next week how accurate it was. I can already tell it is very lightweight. I am having to get used to having the toggle switch on the right instead of the left like on my legend. Thanks again for everyone's help.

[+user13371]

I'll let you know next week how accurate

Mine seems to be very accurate when you stand still for a moment -- so when you seem to be getting close, stop and let it settle for a moment. This is true for a lot of differnet models but seems especially so for this one.

[+ss20cc36]

I do know one thing: the quickness of finding satellites and the ability to do so from inside a building has impressed me tremendously so far. I have not had a chance to go out to heavy woods yet probably sometime next week. I am finding one issue. I have downloaded pqs from a town called ovilla which is south of dallas (where I am headed this weekend). I have put the towns of angleton and huntsville in the waypoints. When I say search for geocaches and it asks me by how and I click by waypoint and I click on the town of angleton waypoint, it gives me the caches from ovilla, which is 234 miles away. only if I am actually in angleton and say search by nearest does it pop up with the angleton caches. I envision a scenerio where I am telling someone about starry starry night in huntsville and I want to show them the info about it but I am physically located in angleton, I cannot pull up any other caches, even searching by name, than the ones which I am in proximity with. If I am in sugarland and I want to set it to go find a cache in angleton, I cannot do that until I am physically close enough to the cache for it to be found on the search by nearest screen. I am sure I am doing something wrong but I haven't played with it long it to tell it. If you know, I would appreciate any info.

[+dfx]

If the firmware is anything like the one on the Oregons, searching by name should always work. Note that the text search only picks up the first part of each cache's name, meaning that if have a cache with a long name, and you search for a word that only appears at the end of that name, then it won't be returned through the search.

 

Of course it's well possible that the eTrexes work totally different...

Edited November 10, 2011 by dfx

[+ss20cc36]

Thank you. By simulating a location i can locate the caches in that area. My report on the etrex 10 is that I am very pleased. In heavy cover it took me to within 2 feet and then arrow went wonky but I looked down and there was the ammo can. In another area of heavy cover, it got me within 9 feet of the cache and pointed the correct direction. At another cache however, it took me to the cache but was saying the cache should have been 14 feet away. that particular cache was not hidden so as soon as I was close, I just needed eyes not a gps. to one that was under open sky, it took me straight to it within 1 foot. It acquires satellites from inside buildings and when outside, acquires almost instantly. I like it. Thanks to everyone for their inputs and helps. Happy Caching!

[ainanas]

I need some help about the etrex 10...

As far as i know it's paperless.. so i can seen the "Additional Hints" is it so?

the only question i have:

i'm not a premium member, can i see the Additional Hints too?

[+ss20cc36]

I need some help about the etrex 10...

As far as i know it's paperless.. so i can seen the "Additional Hints" is it so?

the only question i have:

i'm not a premium member, can i see the Additional Hints too?

 

I hope you love your etrex 10 as much as I do. The way it works for me is that as a premimum member I can create pocket queries on geocaching.com. Basically, I go to the pocket query area and tell it to find all the geocaches in a 1, 5, 10, etc radius around either a particular city, zip code, or even around a certain cache using the GC code. you can even generate a query based on a route say from your home town to the place you are travelling to that weekend and tell it to find all the caches along 1/2 mile on either side of that route. The pocket query is generated and it sends an email to me that has all the caches (a maximum of 500) that I have specified in a zip file. I click download from my email and "save as" and save this zip file to my hard drive. Then I connect my garmin to the computer using the usb cable that it came with. I go to "my computer" and click on the garmin device (usually device G) and open the garmin then open the file labelled garmin then open the file labelled GPX. Then I open the folder where I saved the pocket query. I open the zip file of the pocket query and inside that zip file is a file with a .gpx ending. I click on that file and drag it over to the window where the garmin/GPX folder is open. Then it is done.

 

Without being a preminum member I don't think you can generate pocket queries. There are other ways to download the cache info but others will have to tell you how. This is the only way I know. I believe that from the cache page itself there is a place where it says "download to gps" but you would have to that individually for every cache. The pocket query method is the fastest I have found. And yes, the etrex will display the info, the logs and the hint. You get to it by seperate clicks. I click on geocache (and it is already navigating to that cache) then I click description and that gives me the description then click back then click on logs. It will then display the last 5 or 6 logs. The cool thing I have found is that if I have downloaded a certain area, say a state park that I frequent, if I tell it to go to a cache that I have previously logged as found then no matter how long ago I found the cache, the etrex 10 will display my log as the last one so I can see how long ago it was that I logged it as found. You click hint and the hint comes up or it says no hint is available.

[ainanas]

Thanks a lot!

Pocket queries, looks like something very good... but right now, i can't pay to be a premium member, so i have to do it, "one by one".

if someone know how to do that, i really enjoy that!

TFTH

[Martin&Carolyn]

We have a Nuvi 500, but got the Etrex 20, about a month ago

I find it very easy and much more efficient than the Nuvi

Great little GPS, and colour screen also

[Wintertime]

Ainanas, if you are only a Basic member, I don't think you can download GPX files, only LOC files. This is what it says about Basic capabilities on Groundspeak's comparison page of the two types of memberships: "View coordinates and location information for geocaches." Note that it only says "coordinates and location information," not "cache description" or "hints" or any of the other information that's in a GPX file.

 

When I'm on a cache page, I see buttons that say "LOC waypoint file," "GPX file," "Send to My GPS," and "Send to My Phone." Do you only see the first button? If so, then I'm sorry, but you will have to upgrade your membership in order to take advantage of the paperless caching capabilities of your eTrex 10.

 

Alternatively, you can download caches from Garmin's OpenCaching website. Those will have full details.

 

Patty

 

p.s. I just checked, and there are quite a few caches around Lisbon on the OpenCaching site:

 

http://www.opencaching.com/en/#find?&bbox=37.9502,-10.1878,39.7236,-7.5703&

Edited April 18, 2012 by Wintertime

[ainanas]

Wintertime, in a cache page, i see "LOC whaypoint file" , "send to my gps" and "send to my phone", the only that i can't see is "GPX file".

the option "send to my gps", don't pass the hints to gps?

 

i will search at the link that you told me, around lisbon can be nice.

 

Thanks

[Wintertime]

Wintertime, in a cache page, i see "LOC whaypoint file" , "send to my gps" and "send to my phone", the only that i can't see is "GPX file". the option "send to my gps", don't pass the hints to gps?

Try it, but as a non-Premium member, "Send to My GPS" will probably only give you the LOC file.

 

Patty