Garmin Etrex H Help (Loading caches onto GPS)

[+relientkguy]

This christmas I got a Garmin eTrex H GPS. It did not come with a cable, so I ordered a serial cable with a usb adapter. I can hook my GPS up fine to my Mac (I'm running Mac OSX Snow Leopard) and connect to my various GPS programs. However I have a few questions that would be awesome if they could be answered:

 

1. What software should I use to load geocaches onto my eTrex H?

I have MacCaching and GPSBabel, but neither of them seem to load cache information onto my gps.

 

2. Can my gps display cache information, or only waypoints?

Can the Garmin eTrex H even display cache information, such as cache size and hint etc? If so is there a specific process or a specific program I need?

 

3. If my eTrex can display cache information besides just the coordinates, should I download a .loc or a .gpx file from geocaching.com?

 

 

Thanks for all your help, it's much appreciated. (If you can even answer one of my questions it would be of great help!)

 

Cache it up!

 

Relientkguy

[+Mr. Wilson & a Mt. Goat]

Hi relientkguy,

 

I think I can answer at least 2 of your questions, but I don't have a Mac so can't answer that one.

 

2.The Etrex Legend H xcannot hold additional details of a cache, simply the coordinates and the name of the cache. With a program called GSAK caches can be loaded with a limited amount of text(whether it be size, description, diff/terr ratings etc.) which is something like 20 characters. I don't know too much about GSAK, and am not sure about using it on a Mac. You can probably do a little research on it, it's a very good geocaching program.

 

3. loc files just contain the location information of a cache(the coordinates) and gpx files contain all the info of a cache.

 

Hope this helps!

[+PJ_Obrien]

I too got the Garmin ETrex H for Christmas and maybe someone can help me as well. First, while the gps is only about $100 or so, the two cables you need to hook up to the computer are about $100 total...... Second, it can hold 500 waypoints. What is not said is that the waypoints are alphabetized (0-9, a-d,e-h,etc.) and you can only have 12 in each section. I found that out the hard way! Also, the display only shows 6 of the 7 digits for the geocache code i.e. GC123XY. That was a problem on my last adventure, had 3 caches with the only difference was the last digit.

 

So..... could gsak help in this case? Relientkguy, be prepared...... don't get frustrated, I'm sure there's an answer out there.

 

PJ_Obrien

[+Mr. Wilson & a Mt. Goat]

. What is not said is that the waypoints are alphabetized (0-9, a-d,e-h,etc.) and you can only have 12 in each section.

 

 

I'm pretty sure you can change it from alphabetized to nearest if you want to. Are you sure?

[+ruralslicker]

Hi relientkguy

 

Your last 2 questions have already been answered correctly.

 

I use an old Garmin eTrex Venture which seems to be very similar to the eTrex H. Worth trying my suggestions below for Question 1 anyway.

 

I’m on a Mac (Leopard 10.5.8) utilising a $25 "KaWaMall" serial>USB cable to connect with MacCaching to load my pocket queries onto my eTrex Venture.

 

(1) Make sure you have installed the drivers for the cable. (Prolific 2303).

 

(2) Drop/import a pocket query (best method) or individual caches into MacCaching.

 

(2) Connect eTrex to Mac via cable, and turn eTrex on. At top of MacCaching screen, select “To GPS”. Select “Connection Port” then “Serial>PL2303”. Click OK.

 

(4) A MacCaching screen alert will come up – “this may take a few minutes” (up to 3 mins).

 

(5) Your eTrex main screen at bottom should eventually show “data received”.

 

Disconnect cable, close MacCaching,

 

On your eTrex, go to Find>Waypoints. Select “Nearest” OR “By name”. Your geocaches should then appear. Only about a dozen will appear at a time based on your location, not the whole 500 in a PQ.

 

Hope this helps in some way

Edited January 14, 2012 by ruralslicker

[+relientkguy]

Thanks so much! I will try out MacCaching again as well as looking into GSAK.

[jholly]

Thanks so much! I will try out MacCaching again as well as looking into GSAK.

GSAK is a native windows program. You will need bootcamp(?) or parallels to run it. Sounds like your running a Mac.

[+relientkguy]

Yeah. I am running a Mac, so I guess GSAK won't work. I don't want to run Parallels or Bootcamp. So I guess I will have to go with MacCaching unless someone can recommend a different mac program?

[+ruralslicker]

Yeah. I am running a Mac <SNIP> So I guess I will have to go with MacCaching unless someone can recommend a different mac program?

It's not clear to me whether you have tried the MacCaching steps I outlined in my previous post .

 

MacCaching is your only option. As many Mac users before you have discovered (including myself) it is the only software that works with a serial/USB cable on a Mac. But it works brilliantly, so there's no point wasting time looking at other options.

[TheCattleman]

Yeah. I am running a Mac <SNIP> So I guess I will have to go with MacCaching unless someone can recommend a different mac program?

It's not clear to me whether you have tried the MacCaching steps I outlined in my previous post .

 

MacCaching is your only option. As many Mac users before you have discovered (including myself) it is the only software that works with a serial/USB cable on a Mac. But it works brilliantly, so there's no point wasting time looking at other options.

 

Woahh, hold on there. Only option? I use the "Send To GPS" option just fine with my Mac with both my Garmin and Magellan, using the standard Plugin created for each device...If you download and install it correctly, you should have no issues. I've never used MacCaching or any other 3rd party program to get my caches onto my device via USB. I can explain how I do mine if you'd like, but MacCaching is not the ONLY option! haha

Edited January 18, 2012 by TheCattleman

[+Mickey4jes]

I too got the Garmin ETrex H for Christmas and maybe someone can help me as well. First, while the gps is only about $100 or so, the two cables you need to hook up to the computer are about $100 total...... Second, it can hold 500 waypoints. What is not said is that the waypoints are alphabetized (0-9, a-d,e-h,etc.) and you can only have 12 in each section. I found that out the hard way! Also, the display only shows 6 of the 7 digits for the geocache code i.e. GC123XY. That was a problem on my last adventure, had 3 caches with the only difference was the last digit.

 

So..... could gsak help in this case? Relientkguy, be prepared...... don't get frustrated, I'm sure there's an answer out there.

 

PJ_Obrien

If other Etrex H users are looking for an inexpensive data cable, there are USB data cables for them on eBay for less than $20. Check out http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310177554040&rvr_id=&crlp=1_263602_263622&UA=WVS%3F&GUID=0c25219b1240a026539368e3fe95f70d&itemid=310177554040&ff4=263602_263622#shId

I used this cable with 5 different eTrex H units and it worked fine. Much better than having to buy the serial cable plus a USB converter.

If only it would work with my old Garmin Geko.

[Wintertime]

MacCaching is your only option. As many Mac users before you have discovered (including myself) it is the only software that works with a serial/USB cable on a Mac.

No it isn't! I've been using MacGPS Pro for years, and I only recently got a USB-compatible GPS receiver.

 

I tried MacCaching once and had some problems with it that I can't recall now. Likely it has some useful geocaching-specific features, but it is definitely not the only Mac program that can work with .loc and .gpx files over a USB-to-serial adapter cable.

[+relientkguy]

Yeah. I am running a Mac <SNIP> So I guess I will have to go with MacCaching unless someone can recommend a different mac program?

It's not clear to me whether you have tried the MacCaching steps I outlined in my previous post .

 

MacCaching is your only option. As many Mac users before you have discovered (including myself) it is the only software that works with a serial/USB cable on a Mac. But it works brilliantly, so there's no point wasting time looking at other options.

 

 

I tried your steps out, and they worked perfectly until it came time to look at my GPS. My computer detected the serial port fine, so did MacCaching. I dragged in the .gpx file and sent it to my gps.

 

Here were the options I selected:

 

Protocal: Garmin

 

Limit To 200 caches

 

Name: GC Code (Not sure if my device could support cache names)

 

Strip GC

 

I clicked "ok" and my GPS said transfer complete. I went to "nearest" waypoints and I got nothing. No waypoints or caches at all.

 

Any reason why? Am I doing something wrong?

[+ruralslicker]

I tried your steps out, and they worked perfectly until it came time to look at my GPS. My computer detected the serial port fine, so did MacCaching. I dragged in the .gpx file and sent it to my gps.

Here were the options I selected:

Protocal: Garmin

Limit To 200 caches

Name: GC Code (Not sure if my device could support cache names)

Strip GC

I clicked "ok" and my GPS said transfer complete. I went to "nearest" waypoints and I got nothing. No waypoints or caches at all.

Any reason why? Am I doing something wrong?

 

Uncheck the "200 cache limit" (it's 500 max anyway) and uncheck "Strip GC code" (your device doesn't support names).

 

Have you downloaded/installed the Prolific drivers? You don't mention choosing "serial" and 2303 driver in MacCaching.

 

You're almost there I think

[+relientkguy]

I tried your steps out, and they worked perfectly until it came time to look at my GPS. My computer detected the serial port fine, so did MacCaching. I dragged in the .gpx file and sent it to my gps.

Here were the options I selected:

Protocal: Garmin

Limit To 200 caches

Name: GC Code (Not sure if my device could support cache names)

Strip GC

I clicked "ok" and my GPS said transfer complete. I went to "nearest" waypoints and I got nothing. No waypoints or caches at all.

Any reason why? Am I doing something wrong?

 

Uncheck the "200 cache limit" (it's 500 max anyway) and uncheck "Strip GC code" (your device doesn't support names).

 

Have you downloaded/installed the Prolific drivers? You don't mention choosing "serial" and 2303 driver in MacCaching.

 

You're almost there I think

 

 

Here's some screenshots of my steps:

 

1. Here are my two pocket querie files. I use the waypoint one on the left.

 

2. After I drag the file into MacCaching, it looks like this:

 

3. After I click "To GPS" I use these settings.

 

4. When I click Ok, it says transfer complete on my GPS. But when I look under the waypoint list, there is still nothing. I selected "show nearest" and there aren't any waypoints. I had previously cleared all my old waypoints so I could test if any new ones were getting put on.

 

I know it's not my cable, I successfully transferred one waypoint to my GPS using GPS Babel. Hmmm...

[+relientkguy]

By the way, an additional question:

 

Could it be that I'm using a .gpx file, when in reality my GPS doesn't need all the cache information? Should I use a .loc?

 

If so do Pocket Queries come in .loc format?

 

Thanks for all the help guys!

 

(By the way I have installed my serial cable driver as well as my garmin communicator plugin)

Edited January 20, 2012 by relientkguy

[jholly]

I tried your steps out, and they worked perfectly until it came time to look at my GPS. My computer detected the serial port fine, so did MacCaching. I dragged in the .gpx file and sent it to my gps.

Here were the options I selected:

Protocal: Garmin

Limit To 200 caches

Name: GC Code (Not sure if my device could support cache names)

Strip GC

I clicked "ok" and my GPS said transfer complete. I went to "nearest" waypoints and I got nothing. No waypoints or caches at all.

Any reason why? Am I doing something wrong?

 

Uncheck the "200 cache limit" (it's 500 max anyway) and uncheck "Strip GC code" (your device doesn't support names).

 

Have you downloaded/installed the Prolific drivers? You don't mention choosing "serial" and 2303 driver in MacCaching.

 

You're almost there I think

 

 

Here's some screenshots of my steps:

 

1. Here are my two pocket querie files. I use the waypoint one on the left.

 

2. After I drag the file into MacCaching, it looks like this:

 

3. After I click "To GPS" I use these settings.

 

4. When I click Ok, it says transfer complete on my GPS. But when I look under the waypoint list, there is still nothing. I selected "show nearest" and there aren't any waypoints. I had previously cleared all my old waypoints so I could test if any new ones were getting put on.

 

I know it's not my cable, I successfully transferred one waypoint to my GPS using GPS Babel. Hmmm...

Your using the wrong file. The file your using is for parking coordinates, trailheads and the like. Use the plain .gpx file.

[jholly]

By the way, an additional question:

 

Could it be that I'm using a .gpx file, when in reality my GPS doesn't need all the cache information? Should I use a .loc?

 

If so do Pocket Queries come in .loc format?

 

Thanks for all the help guys!

 

(By the way I have installed my serial cable driver as well as my garmin communicator plugin)

PQ's do come in .loc format, but it does not matter, your unit will reject the stuff it can't use.

[+coggins]

Two things, first off you need to use the file that is numbered, you only loaded the aux points such as parking points.

 

Next, under options, you have "GC Codes" selected, but you also want the check box below that check to strip GC because the eTrex H only uses 6 digits for names and GC now uses 7.

Edited January 21, 2012 by coggins

[+relientkguy]

It worked, thanks! Now I just have to know what name corresponds to each GC Code!

[+ruralslicker]

It worked, thanks! Now I just have to know what name corresponds to each GC Code!

I’m pleased that it’s all working for you, so there’s no real need for me to comment any further in any detail especially as there are some differences between your eTrex H and old my eTrex Venture.

 

Regarding your new query, I also have MacCaching with a PQ copy loaded on my Powerbook so that I always have access to the cache info (and I can also get new PQ’s when on holiday or away from home). Sometimes I still print some info, especially maps using Garmin’s Roadtrip software (also uses PQ’s).

 

Sis months ago I installed SmartGPX on my old mobile/cell phone which enabled me to load the PQ’s. All the cache info was suddenly more easily available, so I stopped bothering too much with taking my Powerbook with me when geocaching for the day. Google to see what other phone GPX readers are available (SmartGPX is only compatible with Symbian OS phones).

 

Recently I upgraded to an Android smartphone, and of course with these there are many geocaching apps available (as with the iPhone). Having said all this, I still use my old eTrex for the final search at GZ.

 

Although there’s no proper MacCaching Guide, the video was extremely helpful to me, especially in selecting (say) 20 caches just for a day in my area (rather than loading 500 on my eTrex).I would print a screen snapshot of this selected list if I just wanted a name and code list to take with me.

 

We live on opposite sides of the world in different timezones, so that’s why there are delays in reading and answering your posts.

 

Happy Hunting!