show hints and cache info on Garmin 60CSx

[+kayaksister]

I had a basis membership and just change to a premium membership. I loaded a geocache by hitting the button "send to my GPS". When I open the geocache in the GPSr (Garmin GPSmap 60CSx) I am getting the same information I did when I had the basis membership. How do I view the hints and other information about the cache? I see there is a GPX file but don't know how to get it into the GPSr. Thanks in advance for the help.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

The 60CSx is not truly paperless. It is not fully capable of giving you the cache information and hint.

I understand that there is a work-around, I think by using GSAK, but even then if there is much too much info it is only going to display a portion of it. The fields are just too small.

 

Don't get me wrong... the unit is still the standard others are measured by, but it came out just before true paperless capabilities were instituted.

[+terrkan78]

I use a 60csx. If you use GSAK, you can get about the first five words of the hint to fit on your screen. Sometimes that's all you need, but sometimes that doesn't cut it (I hunted for one where my hint read "right next to the big..." The big what?? I took a DNF on that one.) If you'd like detailed instructions on how to get the first few words of the hint on to the 60csx, just holler.

 

You can get a PDA of some sort to store the hint/logs/description/etc. I haven't tried this yet so I don't know much about it. (I used to have a smart phone with all this info, but I ditched it a few months back.) You can also do it the old fashioned way and print out cache pages to bring with you (which is what I do now), but that doesn't work for caching on the fly.

[+hzoi]

Lately I've had a crash course in remembering how to use my 60CSx because I left my Oregon at the office this weekend. While, as above, there's a way to try and squeeze some of the hint or description information into the waypoint using GSAK, it's still very limited. Bottom line, the 60CSx is great for geocaching, but not for paperless geocaching.

 

So, this weekend I found myself going back to what I used to do before I got the Oregon: taking a scratch sheet of paper, condensing cache information as much as possible, and using that for cache info as well as logging notes.

 

I just found the Oregon, so I'll be back to the paperless method I've gotten used to over the last three years. I have mixed feelings, though; while I'm relieved to get the Oregon back, a small part of me was hoping to use this as an excuseto upgrade to the Montana...

[+Carlos1787]

I use a 60csx and also an old Palm PDA along with GSAK (for my PC) and cachemate (for the palm). you can get all of the cache info on there then logs your finds on it as well. you still have to import or copy your logs to either GSAK or just retype them on the website. Smart phones are only smart if you have a data signal available, and where I like to go there usually isn't any signal available.

any palm pda will work and they are really cheap on ebay. the ones that support a memory card are the best way to go.

 

The 60 series is just not set up for paperless.

[+fotimyr]

If you have an Android smartphone (an ancient Android 2.x will do nicely), you can dump all the GPX files onto it and open them in c:geo. I have a 60 Csx, and that's what I do. I mean, I already had to download the GPX files to populate the Waypoints list.

 

C:geo - which is free - does not need a cell signal or the GPS turned on to open and display pretty much all of the info from the cache listing, hints, pictures, waypoints, atributes and old logs included. I'm not sure how the official pay-for app from Groundspeak works in this respect.

[+kayaksister]

I use a 60csx. If you use GSAK, you can get about the first five words of the hint to fit on your screen. Sometimes that's all you need, but sometimes that doesn't cut it (I hunted for one where my hint read "right next to the big..." The big what?? I took a DNF on that one.) If you'd like detailed instructions on how to get the first few words of the hint on to the 60csx, just holler.

 

You can get a PDA of some sort to store the hint/logs/description/etc. I haven't tried this yet so I don't know much about it. (I used to have a smart phone with all this info, but I ditched it a few months back.) You can also do it the old fashioned way and print out cache pages to bring with you (which is what I do now), but that doesn't work for caching on the fly.

 

Yes, if you could give me a hand with this, it would be grat. Thanks.

[+Mr Kaswa]

If you use GSAK there is a macro that will break each cache hint down into as many 88 character custom POI's as is needed. It can also do the same thing for the cache descriptions if you so choose.

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=262664&view=findpost&p=4513146

[+terrkan78]

I use a 60csx. If you use GSAK, you can get about the first five words of the hint to fit on your screen. Sometimes that's all you need, but sometimes that doesn't cut it (I hunted for one where my hint read "right next to the big..." The big what?? I took a DNF on that one.) If you'd like detailed instructions on how to get the first few words of the hint on to the 60csx, just holler.

 

You can get a PDA of some sort to store the hint/logs/description/etc. I haven't tried this yet so I don't know much about it. (I used to have a smart phone with all this info, but I ditched it a few months back.) You can also do it the old fashioned way and print out cache pages to bring with you (which is what I do now), but that doesn't work for caching on the fly.

Yes, if you could give me a hand with this, it would be grat. Thanks.

No problem. This is pretty detailed - please don't take that as an insult to your intelligence or anything - I needed this much detail when I was first trying to get a pocket query into the 60csx. After using a smart phone, this whole set up seemed about as non-user-friendly as it could possibly get.

 

1. Create a new pocket query. Tell it to run the same day as you create it - it'll arrive within minutes.

 

2. If you have any old pocket queries in your download folder on your computer, delete them.

 

3. When the new pocket query is available, download it.

 

4. Open GSAK. (Google it - it's a free PC program - if you buy it, you don't have to wait for the nag screen.)

 

5. In GSAK, click "Database" then "new." Name it with the date (using hyphens, not front slashes). Then click "create."

 

6. Click "File" then "load GPX/LOC/ZIP File." Upload the pocket query file you just downloaded (use the browse thing on the top field - click the file folder of the most recent download, then click "open" - after that click "ok" down at the bottom). Sometimes this doesn't work if you have more than one gpx file in the same folder - delete all the old ones first. If you get it right, then the files will take a minute to extract and download. Click "ok" on the "load summary" page.

 

7. Plug the 60csx in to the computer using the USB cord that came with it. Turn it on. Go to the "find geocaches" screen and use the "menu" button to delete all the old caches/waypoints/etc. Go back to the "find geocaches" screen (it'll be empty- that's ok - if it asks you if you want to set up the geocaches, say no).

 

8. On the computer, using GSAK, click "GPS" then "send waypoints," which opens a new screen. In the box near the lower right entitled "Waypoint description format (comments)" I have the following typed in there: %Dif/%Ter %con1 %hint %typ - this means that in the "note" box on the 60csx, it will tell me the difficulty, the terrain, the container size (M=micro, S=small, R=regular, L=large, V=virtual, U=unknown or not given), the hint, and (if there's room), whether it's a traditional/multi/puzzle/etc. So, for a level 1.5 difficulty, level 2 terrain, regular size traditional cache, where the hint is "In tree," the note box on the 60csx will say: "1.5/2 R In tree Traditional"

 

You can put different stuff in that GSAK box (they're called "special tags") to get different stuff to show up in the GPS' note box. Under GSAK's help menu, search for "special tags" for a full list.

 

After you're done putting whatever you want into that GSAK box, hit "send." You'll see the geocaches appear on the "find geocaches" screen on the 60csx.

[+BCandMsKitty]

Never mind. I was referencing a set of pages that no longer exist.

Edited July 26, 2012 by BC & MsKitty

[+DonB]

I had a basis membership and just change to a premium membership. I loaded a geocache by hitting the button "send to my GPS". When I open the geocache in the GPSr (Garmin GPSmap 60CSx) I am getting the same information I did when I had the basis membership. How do I view the hints and other information about the cache? I see there is a GPX file but don't know how to get it into the GPSr. Thanks in advance for the help.

You can set EasyGPS up to show the hints and the cache name instead of the GC number, although the hints are limited to a certain number of characters. Once you have EasyGPS setup instead of sending individual caches directly to the GPS send them to EasyGPS then to your GPS. There is also a free program called CacheMagnet wich you can load your GPX file into and print out condensed reports on each cache, plus you can also print a map showing the caches also.