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Garmin 64s - Basic questions


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New to geocaching, but have used this as an excuse to buy a GPS, which will fit in very nicely with my hiking too.

 

So, a couple of basic questions, please, for a newbie...

 

1. Some of the preloaded caches are out of date. Do they get updated, or can they be deleted? (I can't spot the file on the GPS to delete, and would hate to scrap the wrong one!)

 

2. I have found how to transfer a gpx file from a Pocket Query. I have put the file in the GPX folder and they all show and seem to work. However, when I am using the GPS just for rambling (often with a group of people who wouldn't dream of geocaching) the symbols will get in the way on the map. Is there any way of not having them show, and only getting them up via the geocache option on the Garmin menu?

 

Thanks in anticipation.

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Is there any way of not having them show, and only getting them up via the geocache option on the Garmin menu?

 

Go to the map settings, advanced map settings, then adjust the zoom levels. You can control what is shown on the map so that geocaches (geocaches or user waypoints) will not be shown unless the map is zoomed to a particular level

Edited by geodarts
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Is there any way of not having them show, and only getting them up via the geocache option on the Garmin menu?

 

Go to the map settings, advanced map settings, then adjust the zoom levels. You can control what is shown on the map so that geocaches (geocaches or user waypoints) will not be shown unless the map is zoomed to a particular level

 

I'll try that - thanks.

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The 64S is an excellent choice for geocaching, and hiking for that matter. I had one for a while, but it was a bit heavy to carry around my neck. I highly recommend that the next thing you do with it is to COPY all files (including the hidden ones) from your GPSr to your computer. That way, if you make a mistake and delete the wrong file, you have one to replace it. It's also handy if the GPSr bricks from a bad update. It's an insurance policy. Just take out the memory card before you make any changes. As far as where the old geocaching file is - it should be in the garmin/gpx folder. I don't remember the actual name, but it should be the biggest .gpx file in that folder.

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+1 on the advice to backup the entire GPS drive to your computer, especially before tinkering with any files or running a firmware update (which is a good idea to get the latest using Garmin's free WebUpdater software).

 

The files in the "GGZ" folder on the GPS drive are the pre-loaded geocaches. The "GGZ" file type is Garmin's proprietary caching file format. You can delete these specific files if you want to remove the pre-loaded caches, although I would keep the empty GGZ folder intact just to be safe.

Edited by Pacific NW
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2. I have found how to transfer a gpx file from a Pocket Query. I have put the file in the GPX folder and they all show and seem to work. However, when I am using the GPS just for rambling (often with a group of people who wouldn't dream of geocaching) the symbols will get in the way on the map. Is there any way of not having them show, and only getting them up via the geocache option on the Garmin menu?

 

This is where profiles come in handy. Profiles allow you to save combinations of settings that you might use for different activities. So for example, when you're geocaching, you want to optimize the device for geocaching. And when you're hiking, you might want different settings. These include anything from which maps are displayed or hidden to the information in each field on the trip computer, your dashboards on each page, and so forth. You might even set up your geocaching filters to essentially hide all geocaches on your hiking profile if you don't want the distraction while hiking.

 

You can create and modify as many profiles as you'd like, so don't think you're stuck with just the defaults provided by Garmin.

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Another, unrelated question.

 

I have got a rechargeable battery pack for it. When I plug the GPS into the computer, it doesn't let me do anything with the GPS, so how do I know if it is charging or when the charging is complete - there's no symbols that seem to tell me that it's doing anything.

Open the setup, go to system > interface, use Garmin Spanner, when connecting the 64 to the PC do not activate the mass storage, now the device is powered by the PC, you can play around and when pressing the power key you see a battery symbol with an animation

 

64s Settings

Edited by Naviprode
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To close the information gap. "Spanner" refers to a program Garmin made to allow the GPS data to be shared in real time with a computer. https://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=1627

 

Their program has not been supported in many years, but the functionally on the GPS end still exists. With the correct programs, when in spanner mode, you can do real time tracking on a computer.

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