+ScottJ Posted June 4 Posted June 4 Old hand here returning to the hobby after a long break. Hitting a technology wall. i have an iPhone 16 pro and a GPSMAP 76ST. The two connect via Bluetooth. when I am on road trips, I can easily look around on the geocaching app and make a list of caches wherever I am that I want to find. But no matter what I try, I cannot get that list over to my 76! The geocaching app won’t send it, the explore app won’t retrieve it. Do I really have to sit there and enter coordinates MANUALLY? Sheesh. Quote
+kunarion Posted June 4 Posted June 4 (edited) 2 hours ago, ScottJ said: I cannot get that list over to my 76! The geocaching app won’t send it, the explore app won’t retrieve it. Do I really have to sit there and enter coordinates MANUALLY? Sheesh. The Lists will be on the Geocaching.com website. Plug the Garmin into the computer via USB, and send the GPX files. There are automated ways to send them to save a few steps, but I usually send mine manually. I have a couple of Garmin Oregons that have a feature called "Geocaching Live", which allows a wireless connection between a phone and handheld GPS, to work with cache files and load them. The GPSMap 76st doesn't have that feature. I had some luck using "OTG", a portable wifi router, and some well-chosen utility Apps, where GPX files may be sent from my Android phone to the GPS. That's kind of tedious. I don't think I ever got that to work using an iPhone. I often don't have a phone signal, and even if I do, the wifi or Bluetooth connection is so finicky, I always plan ahead and load all caches in advance onto the Garmin. I use "Lists" on the phone App to organize cache hunts, and highlight caches I wish to try. In case of unplanned trip deviation, and if the phone has a data signal, I type the coordinates to a cache or two. In that case, if I'm feeling very lucky, I may just navigate using the App itself. But the Garmin has proven to be much better for the actual cache finding. Edited June 4 by kunarion Quote
+ScottJ Posted June 4 Author Posted June 4 (edited) Okay. So you’re saying if might just be a limitation of my 64st even though it’s Bluetooth connected to my phone. i know to do It with a computer available, but when I’m out and around, I don’t want to have to carry a computer with its power, space, and Internet complexities. I have the list in the geocaching app on my phone, I have a good GPS that’s right there on Bluetooth … in this technologically mobile age there should not be a wall there. The “planning ahead” you mention is the very thing I want to get away from. I move around a lot, not always on a schedule, and I need to be spontaneous. At the moment that seems to mean I enter coordinates manually if just use the (far less accurate) phone GPS Edited June 4 by ScottJ Quote
JaVaWa Posted June 4 Posted June 4 What device do you have? The GPSMAP 76 is 20 years old, it doesn't have Bluetooth. In your second post you mention the GPSMAP 64. That model is not that old (introduced 11 years ago) and does have Bluetooth, but communication with your smartphone is limited to phone notifications and LiveTrack; nothing else. Only the latest models (66 and 67) can transfer geocaches wirelessly using "Geocaching Live". Quote
+ScottJ Posted June 4 Author Posted June 4 76 was a typo. I have the 64st. It does sync a great deal of info via the Bluetooth besides LiveTrack and notifications via the Explore app. i might have found a way to do what I need by creating a collection in an app called L4C Pro. Need to work on it s bug more. If it works I’ll share the procedure. Quote
JaVaWa Posted June 5 Posted June 5 You're right, the 64 does support the Garmin Explore app, I missed that when checking the specs. The Explore app has a limitation though, geocaches will be sent as plain waypoints. You will get the coordinates, but not the descriptions, hints and logs. See https://support.garmin.com/nl-NL/?faq=JB2oAqEgCU17c7IqE3yHvA Quote
robertlipe Posted June 7 Posted June 7 On 6/4/2025 at 7:11 PM, JaVaWa said: geocaches will be sent as plain waypoints. Good grief. Will someone please drive to Olathe and offer to take the engineering team geocaching? It seems they've forgotten how it works. That's just embarrassing. Quote
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