What is GSAK and is it something I need to get

[+mixwithh2o]

I have a Garmin 62s and love it but can't figure out how to delete my found caches on it. I've had friends tell me I have to download them to a list (which I can't figure out where or how) and others have mentioned using GSAK. I don't know if that's something I would use in combination with the geocaching website or what. Not the most computer literate person, so don't really know what I should do but want to get these found ones off my gps so I don't bog my gps down with too much info it no longer needs in it. Any understandable advice would be appreciated.

[+niraD]

GSAK (Geocaching Swiss Army Knife) is a program that runs on MS Windows that does a lot of geocaching-related things. Here is its web site: http://www.gsak.net/

[+kunarion]

I have a Garmin 62s and love it but can't figure out how to delete my found caches on it. I've had friends tell me I have to download them to a list (which I can't figure out where or how) and others have mentioned using GSAK. I don't know if that's something I would use in combination with the geocaching website or what. Not the most computer literate person, so don't really know what I should do but want to get these found ones off my gps so I don't bog my gps down with too much info it no longer needs in it. Any understandable advice would be appreciated.

Ask your friends to demonstrate GSAK, see if it's what you want.

 

To delete GPX files manually, go to the folder "Garmin/GPX" on the GPSr and delete them.

https://support.garmin.com/support/searchSupport/case.faces?caseId=%7Be64b2790-a625-11df-55a0-000000000000%7D

 

I'm guessing the "list" is about Pocket Queries. They're pretty easy to do, but have a learning curve. You can make each Pocket Query with up to 1000 caches in 2 GPX files (caches and waypoints), and save that to "Garmin/GPX". There are links to help pages on the Pocket Query page: http://www.geocaching.com/pocket/

Edited November 27, 2015 by kunarion

[+geodarts]

To delete found caches from your Garmin 62s, you have to delete the file that contains the cache information. If you have been loading caches one at a time, you will have to plug your gpsr into a computer (or other device that gives you access to the files on your gpsr). Look at the garmin/gpx folder and start deleting what you do not want.

 

If you have been downloading caches as part of a group, such as with a pocket query, you can delete the gpx file that contains the caches you found and then rerun the search to exclude found caches. GSAK can be handy, but it's certainly not necessary. Learning how to use pocket queries may be all you need.

 

I have GSAk but have not used it in a long time, preferring to manage the caches I want to find with a caching app on my iPhone/iPad (and transferring the caches to my gpsr from there), Others like to manage caches by creating bookmarks and then downloading the list as a gpx file that can be transferred to your device.

[+Mausebiber]

BEFORE you delete anything on your GPS, please backup your device, save all files and folders.

[+macatac1961]

I have the 64s which I believe is the same software as the 62s. I need to plug the gps into the computer and open Garmin's Basecamp program. On the list on the left under 'Garmin Adventures' clicking the 'Internal Storage' link will display the waypoints in the gps on their map. I have to individually delete each found cache from there.

[+macatac1961]

BTW- GSAK is a great software for this game but for some reason Garmin has made their new software incompatible with just about anything other than Garmin products. From my experience anyway. I went from a Garmin 60 to the Garmin 64 and it was like they threw out anything I liked about it and replaced it with a bunch of useless garbage. ...I am certain that my next gps will NOT be a Garmin.

[+Walts Hunting]

BTW- GSAK is a great software for this game but for some reason Garmin has made their new software incompatible with just about anything other than Garmin products. From my experience anyway. I went from a Garmin 60 to the Garmin 64 and it was like they threw out anything I liked about it and replaced it with a bunch of useless garbage. ...I am certain that my next gps will NOT be a Garmin.

 

Actually I find Garmin's newer system much easier and convenient to use than the old one. They hold more caches, seem to load faster and handle PQ's quite nicely. Other systems like Explorist are pretty much like Garmin's new one.

 

On GSAK I have had it for a long time and while it certainly isn't required it makes things much easier especially if you want to check to see if you meet a challenge.

[+on4bam]

BTW- GSAK is a great software for this game but for some reason Garmin has made their new software incompatible with just about anything other than Garmin products.

 

I hope you're not implying GSAK won't work with the new Garmins because it works great

 

Once you're serious about geocaching software like GSAK (+ macro's) is a "must have" as it makes the workflow as easy as can be.

There's a steep learning curve but once you get the hang of it it's easy.

[+macatac1961]

There's a steep learning curve but once you get the hang of it it's easy.

A learning curve that has lasted me over a year so far.

[+on4bam]

A learning curve that has lasted me over a year so far.

 

You'll get there

 

You have now used GSAK for 3065 days

 

And there are still functions I haven't used.

[+NanCycle]

 

Once you're serious about geocaching software like GSAK (+ macro's) is a "must have" as it makes the workflow as easy as can be.

There's a steep learning curve but once you get the hang of it it's easy.

 

I think I can be considered fairly "serious about geocaching" but I haven't seen the need for GSAK. I've heard about the learning curve, and also heard from someone who has used GSAK and says that if you don't use it regularly, that learning curve starts all over again. I get by just fine without it.

[Pup Patrol]

We've never used GSAK. Don't need it all for the way we cache.

 

B.

[+on4bam]

We've never used GSAK. Don't need it all for the way we cache.

 

Nobody said you have to use it.

We cache 99.9% paperless, prefer multi' over trads and prefer caches that have something extra, GSAK helps us in selecting and preparing for our cache outings and helps in logging the caches and TBs in one go. All info (found WPs/answers/codes...) are added to our found caches for later reference. I don't see a way to do that without GSAK or any other helper software. I don't see myself printing all listings and making notes on paper.

 

Many just put caches in their GPS one by one (see the many "communicator stopped working" threads) or run a PQ and go after the nearest cache. We don't, we carefully choose caches we want to do and often leave nearby caches alone so for the way we cache GSAK is invaluable and used on a daily basis (making selections, solving mysteries...).

 

YMMV

[+kunarion]

We've never used GSAK. Don't need it all for the way we cache.

 

Nobody said you have to use it.

The OP was told that "GSAK" is the solution to deleting GPX files, that GSAK is the thing to use.

 

But the files can be easily deleted manually with a few steps. "GSAK" is a whole new level of complicated . But often after some Event where there's a cool presentation about handy tips, I challenge myself to get up-to-speed in two weeks (the GSAK trial period). I always realize that I have a buhzillion questions, and just not enough time to ask. Also, I just plain don't want to go through the chore of asking a buhzillion questions that nobody else asks.

 

We cache 99.9% paperless, prefer multi' over trads and prefer caches that have something extra, GSAK helps us in selecting and preparing for our cache outings and helps in logging the caches and TBs in one go. All info (found WPs/answers/codes...) are added to our found caches for later reference. I don't see a way to do that without GSAK or any other helper software. I don't see myself printing all listings and making notes on paper.

I save clues and partially solved puzzles in a Word file. I write more free-form things (diagrams, maps, waypoint references, most anything) in a small Indiana Jones Diary style book that I carry.

Edited November 27, 2015 by kunarion

[Pup Patrol]

we carefully choose caches we want to do and often leave nearby caches

 

Same here.

 

I am very fussy about which caches we set out to find.

 

Never used GSAK or a "communicator plugin", yet we manage with bookmark lists, and pq's of those lists.

 

We don't maintain any databases. Just not interested. Once found, caches are usually deleted off the gps. Using a 60csx means it's quick and simple to delete caches and waypoints.

 

B.

[+briansnat]

GSAK is a great tool, especially with the newer version that allows you to pull in PQs using maps. If you are a GPS user and don't use it yet, try it. You will find it to be a huge help. I haven't used the stock PQs since I bought V8. It blows away the standard PQs. You can do a lot with it. Heck, I probably only use 10 percent of its capabilities. If you are into using or writing macros you can do a whole lot more. Stats, slicing and dicing the caches you pull in. Ignoring certain COs, pulling in only caches with a certain number of favorites, and a whole lot more. It is a powerful tool for those of us who still use a GPS for caching. Even smart phone users can use its features for downloading PQs for those times they don't have cell phone reception.

 

As far is it not being compatible with newer Garmin units, that's not true. It is completely compatible with any unit (which means pretty much all) that use GPX and LOC files.

Edited November 28, 2015 by briansnat

[+briansnat]

We've never used GSAK. Don't need it all for the way we cache.

 

B.

 

If you use PQs you can use GSAK. It's PQs on steroids. If there are things you wished PQs can do, but fall short, GSAK fills in those holes. Its one of those things that you don't think you need, until you start using it. Then you wonder how you lived without it.

[+on4bam]

We've never used GSAK. Don't need it all for the way we cache.

Nobody said you have to use it.

The OP was told that "GSAK" is the solution to deleting GPX files, that GSAK is the thing to use.

 

Since the op also wrote:

Not the most computer literate person,

 

I doubt GSAK is the solution in that case.

[+geodarts]

BTW- GSAK is a great software for this game but for some reason Garmin has made their new software incompatible with just about anything other than Garmin products. From my experience anyway. I went from a Garmin 60 to the Garmin 64 and it was like they threw out anything I liked about it and replaced it with a bunch of useless garbage. ...I am certain that my next gps will NOT be a Garmin.

 

Really? Moving on from the 60 opened up a range of possibilities for me because I did not have to convert the cache information into a proprietary format. And Garmin products certainly aren't necessary for most of what I do with my gpsr.

 

Since I replaced my 60csx, I am less dependent on Garmin products (or programs that convert gpx files into Garmin formats, like easygps or gsak). There is no longer any need to plug my gpsr into a computer. I can transfer gpx files from the caching app I use on my iPad or iPhone - allowing me to manage caches and send information to my gpsr on the fly. I can now load several different non-garmin maps onto my gpsr - with or without a computer, with or without any Garmin product. A simple file manager also allows me to see what's on the gpsr - to copy and delete waypoints and caches without any need for basecamp or other Garmin products.

 

Although I now rarely use GSAK for anything other than to use a macro to see if I qualify for a challenge cache, it works fine with newer Garmin units. There is third party software like Javawa that can backup and manage the device. I don't know when I last used a Garmin product with my gpsr, except to update the firmware or add a map using the same mapsource program that I used with the 60csx. And it's easy to configure my gpsr so I never have to look at anything that's useless to me.

Edited November 28, 2015 by geodarts

[+Gill & Tony]

I've been using GSAK for around 3 years now and couldn't cache without it. Do you need it, probably not. Could it help you, almost certainly. There is a learning curve, but it isn't one where you have to spend weeks just knowing how to get started. You could easily try it out by installing GSAK, running your "My Finds" Pocket query and then loading that into the default database. Within a few minutes you should be able to work out the basic functions. The learning curve is really about finding what is hidden under the hood. After a while you will start thinking "I wish I could do...." and the likelihood is that you can. There is a huge help file built in and, when that doesn't help there's a community of very helpful folk in the forums.

 

GSAK macros are programs designed to automate various functions in GSAK. You don't have to understand them. You don't even need to use them but, after a while you will look for a way to make life a bit easier and a macro may already be available to do that.

 

I got it originally to produce the stats in my profile. I now use it for maintaining my finds, trackables and DNFs; for keeping an accurate list of unfound caches within 100Km of home; for publishing logs and most significantly for planning caching trips.

 

I have 3 overseas trips planned before the end of next year and I have over 30 databases devoted to various aspects of these trips. I rarely use PQ's now, except caches along a route, and those are simply loaded into GSAK.

 

Here's an example. I'm planning to drive from Amsterdam to Luxembourg. I built a route in Google Maps, imported that into Groundspeak and ran two PQ's against the route. It's about a 6 hour drive, so I don't want to spend a lot of time hiking and doing multis so the first PQ is for comparatively low D/T combination traditionals and mysteries within 0.5Km of the route. Earthcaches and Virtuals are usually worth visiting, so I run a second PQ for Earthcaches and Virtuals within 5Km of the route. These are then loaded into GSAK.

 

First job is to gather all traditionals with either P&G or Scenic View attributes or high favourite point counts. Assuming there's a fair number of them I delete all other traditionals. I then use the Google Earth macro to eliminate caches which might be close to my route but which I can't get at easily (say I'm on a freeway with no exit for miles and the cache is on a parallel side road). Once I get down to a reasonable number of candidate caches I run a translate macro against the ones in French or German or Dutch. I play around with a few mysteries in case I can solve some puzzles. Usually most of the mysteries will disappear.

 

That is one day of a 4 week European trip and I have databases for each day at the moment. Eventually, I will cull each database down to the top few caches and will merge them all into one DB which I will load into my GPS, using the translated descriptions and hints.

 

Could I do all this without GSAK? Maybe, but it would be far more time consuming. I don't know any other way to get translated caches into my GPS. Maybe it could be done, but I doubt it.

 

That's a sample of what I use GSAK for. It doesn't have to be that complex, but as you use it more and more, you will find ways to do things you didn't think about previously.

[+hzoi]

I could cache without GSAK, but I wouldn't want to. It's how I keep my default database of all local non-micro caches up to date, as well as how I organize PQs for specific road trips or special caching days. And, of course, it's how I update our profile.

[+ecanderson]

GSAK makes it easy to deal with a great many shortcomings of the gc.com web site. It allows you to accomplish things that have been suggested for years and never implemented.

 

I used GSAK for a couple of years before I bit the bullet and took my workflow to a macro. The macro

 

Pulls in my unfound caches in rectangular areas to cover pretty much exactly the space that I want to cover. Circles just don't do that job very well. I can be assured that each call to gc.com is pulling up unique caches. There are NO overlaps between calls. My own unfounds within this geography tend to run on the order of 3800~4000 caches or so. I don't pull in puzzles.

I then merge in my list of solved puzzles, and the next stages of any incompleted multis I might want to visit.

I then flag and delete a list of 'problem' caches that I keep (e.g., 1.5 diffs with a whole string of DNFs). I have GSAK update the status of that list regularly, though the decision to attempt/ignore each 'problem' is a manual decision made earlier. Once they're clear, the come off that list.

I can then use the 'lite' version of calls to pull in all of the caches in the same rectangles that are needed by my caching buddy.

With a bit of logic, I can then compare the two lists and produce three: 1) caches we both need, 2) caches that only he needs, 3) caches that only I need. We tend to focus on #1 when caching together, but often fill in a few of the others on each trip.

Next, the macro creates the POI files for my TomTom GPS.

Last, a *.gdb file is created that I can open with Mapsource or Basecamp to sort out what kind of caching run I'd like to route.

 

It all happens automatically by running just my one macro. What's not to like about that?

 

But as has been noted, it really IS a Swiss Army Knife. It has blades in it that I haven't used yet, too. The important beginning steps can be explained if needed, and there's plenty of help from fellow users on getting the most out of it once you start doing some feature exploring.