Garmin etrex - download issue

[+Burton's are go!]

Hi all

Been using my (bought on ebay) etrex for a year or so now and finally got round to purchasing a data transfer cable thingie - HELP!!!! The garmin only records entries as 6 figures and the cache codes are all 7 figures so it knocks off the end digit - this means I have to check all the downloads against the co-ordinates to work out which ones are missing (cos alot of them have the same first 6 figures) and then manually enter them - this takes almost as long as entering the whole lot manually in the first place!!

 

I'm sure this is not a new problem - any ideas/help much appreciated.

 

Thanks

Elaine (Burton's are go!)

[+Burton's are go!]

It's a Garmin etrx H - very basic but has been very reliable

 

I have a lead which plugs into a 9 pin port and then into the garmin.

 

Does that help?

 

Thanks

[+Burton's are go!]

The garmin only records the caches as a 6 figure number - whereas cache codes are 7 figures so it knocks off the end digit when it saves them e.g a cache CG2PQD9 would be saved as CG2PQD - if I then send CG2PQD8 it overwrites the previous entry again as CG2PQD so I only get 1 saved - you then need to bring up the waypoint to check against the co-ord and see which one it has kept.

 

Sorry, I'm not very technical - I use the 'send to GPS' button on the cache listing which works on the garmin plug in I downloaded when I first connected it.

[+Rummon's]

The garmin only records the caches as a 6 figure number - whereas cache codes are 7 figures so it knocks off the end digit when it saves them e.g a cache CG2PQD9 would be saved as CG2PQD - if I then send CG2PQD8 it overwrites the previous entry again as CG2PQD so I only get 1 saved - you then need to bring up the waypoint to check against the co-ord and see which one it has kept.

 

Sorry, I'm not very technical - I use the 'send to GPS' button on the cache listing which works on the garmin plug in I downloaded when I first connected it.

 

It maybe something to do with that the etrex H is not geocaching compatable??? Think I read that somewhere on garmin. Whilst you can certainly cache with it, the unit is not really set up specifically for geocaching.

[+londontavern]

You need to edit the cache names before sending to your GPS. Either use mapsource which can be a bit long winded or you can get a database program like GSAK or GPS_Utility, there are also others. I personally would recommend GSAK (well worth the $25 onetime payment)although it does take a bit of a learning curve, this has a function that will drop the 'GC' part of the Cache name, before uploading to your GPS. If you go for GSAK let me know as I have a really simple macro( that run via GSAK) you can rename the Cache names to what you wish then finding them in your GPS is easy.

Edited July 30, 2012 by londontavern

[+Burton's are go!]

Thanks Londontavern - editing the cache name is exactly what I need to do - is there any way of doing this other than buying yet more stuff? I don't have mapsource on my PC?

[+Styk]

GSAK will allow you to drop the GC from the cache name as well as send the caches to your GPS. It can also allow you to filter which caches you load based on any number of factors such as cache type, terrain, difficulty, size, general area, etc, etc, etc. GSAK is a very powerful program, well worth the $25.

 

You just have to remember to delete the old caches before loading more, each model has it's limitations, usually the lowest number of waypoints is 500 but some of the newer units are are as high as 12,000 with the complete geocache list included.

[+Burton's are go!]

OK so now I've downloaded basecamp onto my pc - excuse me for being stupid but how do I send a PQ to it? Finding all this technology very confusing (considering going back to entering by hand!!!!)

 

Thanks for the help and your tolerance of my ignorance!!

[+gelfling6]

A quick & dirty alternative, EasyGPS is capable of handling the data, and converting it to load into the eTrex. Before I got GSAK registered, that how I was accomplishing the task.. load a bunch of .LOC files (Like I said, BEFORE I registered GSAK) into EasyGPS, then selected the group I wanted to load to the GPS.. Remember, the base "H" (about the same as the classic Yellow) has a limited capacity for waypoints.. this includes both caches and child waypoints...

 

I also would exchange the data saved out of EasyGPS, with a mapping program (DeLorme Street Atlas-USA) to see where the caches were, before selecting from EasyGPS to send to the eTrex. (even my old clear-blue Legend, was limited. and also my 1st WAAS capable, Pre-"H" chipset, and had a base map.)..

 

I found my 1st 100 caches that method, and it wasn't until I had a laptop crash, that I eventually got GSAK, and a few new GPSr's.. I still export the data from GSAK, into a displayable data file for SA-USA, which has always been the main mapping. (even though I got Mapsource with almost all of my eTrex devices, it still had a few quirks I was unhappy with.)

 

Stephen (gelfling6)

[+Hynr]

Hi all

Been using my (bought on ebay) etrex for a year or so now and finally got round to purchasing a data transfer cable thingie - HELP!!!! The garmin only records entries as 6 figures and the cache codes are all 7 figures so it knocks off the end digit - this means I have to check all the downloads against the co-ordinates to work out which ones are missing (cos alot of them have the same first 6 figures) and then manually enter them - this takes almost as long as entering the whole lot manually in the first place!!

 

I'm sure this is not a new problem - any ideas/help much appreciated.

 

Thanks

Elaine (Burton's are go!)

Elaine,

 

Maybe I can summarize in simple terms: the eTrex H is from an era where there was not a lot of room in GPS units for lots of text. So the Waypoint names are restricted to 6 characters. With newer models this has all changed; the newest models even have adequate memeory for descriptions, hints, and some logs.

 

My suggestion would be to get the data from the geocaching.com web page and feed that data first into your computer and there you use software (as discussed above, EasyGPS, GSAK, Mapsource or Basecamp, etc) to manage the data (not to edit it, but to filter or combine). Once you have the data that you want in the GPS reciever, use that software to load the data into the GPS unit. In your case you need to use software that can configure the waypoint name to be no longer than the number of letters it can accommodate. The best way for you to figure out what your unit's waypoint name length limit is, is to Mark a waypoint and then give it a name as long as possible. That will either be 6, 8, 10,... I have several models from that era and each has a different lenght limitation. Since you have been feeding this in by hand, you may already know the length limit. Your post suggests that the limit is 6.

 

A lot of us use GSAK (link to web page) for that because it is free (see link for more detail) and very powerful. If does not do what you want or need, then you have not lost anything. There is also a very helpful forum there where you can also find tutorials.

 

With GSAK you will have two options which you will probably find very useful with your eTrex H:

1. You can have it drop the "GC" from the code as it transmits it to the GPS.

2. You can use a "smartname" configured to exactly your situation (6 characters long). Instead of seeing a code when you are geocaching, you see an abbreviation that generally reminds you of which cache you are after.

 

With GSAK you can also print out tables or listings that show how the waypoint name in the GPS relates to the name of the cache, difficulty, terrain, etc.