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Not Getting “Corrected Coordinates” in PQ or GPX download


Artemis&Apollo

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I’m seeing a problem with ‘corrected coordinates’ not getting passed along via a pocket query. I run a pocket query that includes puzzles with corrected coordinates. I load them into GSAK and the corrected coordinates are not there. If I follow up with GSAK’s ‘refresh cache data’ API option I get the corrected coordinates.

The same problem exists if I download a GPX file from a single cache with corrected coordinates.

Is anyone else seeing this problem? I’m not doing anything different than I have always done and I’ve always gotten the corrected coordinates.

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I don’t think I know how to do what Chrysalides is asking.

 

I would appreciate it if some GSAK user would run the following test for me and let me know what coordinates appear in GSAK.

 

1) Go to GC55AFG (posted coordinates N 44° 57.000 W 092° 53.000)

2) Change the coordinates to N 44° 55.XXX W 092° 54.YYY

3) Download a GPX file from the cache page

4) Load the GPX file to GSAK

5) What coordinates does GSAK show?

a. Posted: N 44° 57.000 W 092° 53.000

b. Corrected: N 44° 55.XXX W 092° 54.YYY

Edited by Keystone
fuzzed the coordinates
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From the GPX (not PQ, but "GPX File" button on cache page) :

[coordinate details removed by moderator]

 

So I got the corrected coordinates.

 

Could you be looking at an older copy of the GPX you downloaded before correcting the coordinates.

 

Edit to add :

 

I didn't think it would make any difference, but I loaded it into GSAK, and I do indeed see the corrected coordinates.

 

You didn't lock that cache in GSAK, or entered corrected coordinates in GSAK, did you? To remove corrected coordinates in GSAK (which is unrelated to corrected coordinates on the website) go to Waypoints, Corrected Coordinates... and when the dialog box shows up, click on Delete.

Edited by Keystone
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Well, just to be complete, I created a PQ that will return that cache (among others) and I do see the corrected coordinates in the GPX file.

 

What version of Windows are you running? I can talk you through opening it as a text file if you're running Windows 7, but I don't have Windows 8 so can't give exact steps for that.

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I did manage to open the GPX file and used boulter.com to convert the waypoint and the “<wpt lat="44.XXXXXX" lon="-92.YYYYYY">” line appears to be the corrected coordinates.

 

I’m going to focus on the fact that I lost a bookmark (used to create my PQ) last week and recreated it from GSAK. I don’t know what happened but at least one corrected-coordinate was incorrect (per my NUVI). I have now been able to download GPX files and get the corrected coordinates. I think I might have been misled by the fact that GSAK did not report “corrected” coordinates.

 

Anyway, thanks again for your assistance. I do appreciate it. And thanks to Moun10Bike for a quick response.

Edited by Keystone
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I believe I know what happened to me. I can recreate this scenario over and over. I’m sharing it in case others run into this situation. It appears that GSAK’s REFRESH CACHE DATA (API interface) does something different than a GPX file and it is possible to lose CORRECTED coordinates (at least for a while).

 

Here is what my tests showed regarding a Puzzle Cache with CORRECTED coordinates.

 

1) Load a GPX (PQ) file. The coordinates will be the CORRECTED coordinates. GSAK will NOT show the red (corrected) word next to the coordinates.

 

2) Use GSAK’s “Geocaching.com access REFRESH CACHE DATA” menu option. GSAK will still reflect the corrected coordinates but will now show the red (correct) word next to the coordinates.

 

3) Load a GPX (PQ) file. The red (corrected) word next the coordinates will disappear and the coordinates will revert to the POSTED coordinates.

 

4) Load the GPX (PQ) file again and the coordinates will again reflect the CORRECTED coordinates.

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I believe I know what happened to me. I can recreate this scenario over and over. I’m sharing it in case others run into this situation. It appears that GSAK’s REFRESH CACHE DATA (API interface) does something different than a GPX file and it is possible to lose CORRECTED coordinates (at least for a while).

 

Here is what my tests showed regarding a Puzzle Cache with CORRECTED coordinates.

 

1) Load a GPX (PQ) file. The coordinates will be the CORRECTED coordinates. GSAK will NOT show the red (corrected) word next to the coordinates.

 

2) Use GSAK’s “Geocaching.com access REFRESH CACHE DATA” menu option. GSAK will still reflect the corrected coordinates but will now show the red (correct) word next to the coordinates.

 

3) Load a GPX (PQ) file. The red (corrected) word next the coordinates will disappear and the coordinates will revert to the POSTED coordinates.

 

4) Load the GPX (PQ) file again and the coordinates will again reflect the CORRECTED coordinates.

That is really strange. Why not report it at GSAK forums? Clyde is really good about fixing bugs quickly.

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I believe I know what happened to me. I can recreate this scenario over and over. I’m sharing it in case others run into this situation. It appears that GSAK’s REFRESH CACHE DATA (API interface) does something different than a GPX file and it is possible to lose CORRECTED coordinates (at least for a while).

 

Here is what my tests showed regarding a Puzzle Cache with CORRECTED coordinates.

 

1) Load a GPX (PQ) file. The coordinates will be the CORRECTED coordinates. GSAK will NOT show the red (corrected) word next to the coordinates.

 

2) Use GSAK’s “Geocaching.com access REFRESH CACHE DATA” menu option. GSAK will still reflect the corrected coordinates but will now show the red (correct) word next to the coordinates.

 

3) Load a GPX (PQ) file. The red (corrected) word next the coordinates will disappear and the coordinates will revert to the POSTED coordinates.

 

4) Load the GPX (PQ) file again and the coordinates will again reflect the CORRECTED coordinates.

Yes the best place to discuss this is on the GSAK board. There was a problem with a refresh lite that was corrected in build 58. What is your version level?

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All of this confusion is a good reason to not use a PQ. Api calls return and notify gsak correctly about corrected coordinates.

 

This has been much discussed over on the gsak board. The base problem is that the pq has corrected coordinates but no indicator that they are. The recommend solution if you are going to stick with using a PQ has been to global edit them to lock the coordinates from any update.

 

The issue is the file structure of the GPX

Edited by Walts Hunting
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... snip...

 

That is really strange. Why not report it at GSAK forums? Clyde is really good about fixing bugs quickly.

As Walts Hunting mentions above, the problem is with the GPX file supplied by geocaching.com. It contains corrected coords, but no indication that they are corrected. GSAK does the best it can with the incomplete data it receives.

 

The "bug" lies with geocaching.com.

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As Walts Hunting mentions above, the problem is with the GPX file supplied by geocaching.com. It contains corrected coords, but no indication that they are corrected. GSAK does the best it can with the incomplete data it receives.

 

The "bug" lies with geocaching.com.

There's no facility in the GPX file format to indicate that the coords are corrected.

 

http://www.Groundspeak.com/cache/1/0/1/cache.xsd

 

A schema update would be required to add this (which would then need code in GSAK and other apps to understand it, as well as a user preference change to use the updated schema so as to avoid generating GPX files that were not compatible with existing apps.....)

 

So I wouldn't call it a "bug". It's a limitation of the (old) GPX file format. While the GPX format could use an overhaul, more effort is going into the API itself, which is a better bet for those who can use it.

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Interesting. I am a GSAK user, and I use both the API and Pocket Queries. And until yesterday I didn't have a problem. Yesterday I went out for a puzzle cache - and immediately before loaded the latest pocket query so that I would be sure to have the corrected coordinates (I had corrected them). Only to find I didn't have them! And the same thing today; doing maintenance on a cache of my own and no corrected coordinates.

 

I did a search of the forums and found this. I'll also look in the GSAK forums.

 

I guess it is safest for me to stick with the API.

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And for the opposing view I suggest only use the website. That way no matter where you are you get the correct chords. There are different opinions about this. If your computer crashes and you can't get to the hard drive they are gone forevr is just one reason.

I'm with Walt on that one. Always make coord corrections on the website, and always use the API to propagate them. Properly written API clients can distinguish corrected from published.

 

Ideally, the GPX format would be enhanced to support corrected coords, but as I suspect that's never going to happen, the best solution is just to not use GPX for anything but the final download to a GPS that doesn't know any other way....

 

(It'd be nice if API clients could push coord corrections back up to geocaching.com, by the way -- as far as I know, the API doesn't support this at this time...)

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[...]

Ideally, the GPX format would be enhanced to support corrected coords, but as I suspect that's never going to happen,[...]

 

The GPXes DO support corrected coords. They just don't indicate that the coords are corrected. So users (and GSAK) might think that the coords are the given coords from the CO. Indeed they are corrected. That leads to confusion and should stopped from GS asap.

 

Hans

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Also the chances of the scheMA of the GPX file being changed are slim and none. The impact on all the devices that use it would be catastrophic. What they would have to do is come out with version two and that would only work on devices that restore their software. Would probably only be workable on new units.

 

The API is the next step and has done great as far as I can see. Way more search capability.

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[...]

Ideally, the GPX format would be enhanced to support corrected coords, but as I suspect that's never going to happen,[...]

 

The GPXes DO support corrected coords. They just don't indicate that the coords are corrected. So users (and GSAK) might think that the coords are the given coords from the CO. Indeed they are corrected. That leads to confusion and should stopped from GS asap.

 

Hans

 

Although it would be useful to have an element or attribute in the GPX file which indicates if a specific waypoint has corrected coordinates, it would also be useful to create a PQ or use the API to limit the results to caches which have a "hasCorrectedCoordinates" flag set in the database. If one could select a "hasCorrectedCoordinates" option when creating a PQ, every waypoint in the GPX file or API response would have corrected coordinates and deal with the GPX file with GSAK accordingly.

 

It wouldn't require a schema change to be able to generate a PQ or use to api to return a list of caches which have corrected coordinates (or return a list of caches for which the coordinates have not been corrected).

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Also the chances of the scheMA of the GPX file being changed are slim and none. The impact on all the devices that use it would be catastrophic. What they would have to do is come out with version two and that would only work on devices that restore their software. Would probably only be workable on new units.

A properly coded XML parser should ignore attributes that it does not understand. Sadly, not all XML parsers are coded properly, especially on embedded devices.

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That is correct but there doesn't seem to be any desire to apply resources to an antiquated system when a new more flexible model is now in operation. Think of Api as Windows 8 and pq as Windows Millennium.

But where I can run a PQ, grab the GPX and throw that into my Garmin without additional software, I'd need additional software, like GSAK, if I want to make use of the API.

 

With PQ and GPX files, I can travel with just my Chromebook - or in a pinch, even just my phone.

 

Is there a simple GPX generator that makes use of the API? Maybe an online service?

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