how to use the pocket queries

August 11, 2003

I just started using the pocket queries. I have downloaded the .prc to my pda (handspring visor) and see that I need a reader to use it. Any suggestions? I see the link to the mobi reader, are there any other apps that are smaller and not so memory intensive that I can put on the pda that will read the pq prc files? Thanks. Search1128

5.3k · August 11, 2003

Don't use Mobi. Try using gpx2html or Spinner along with Plucker. Works much better!

"Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

August 11, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Stunod:
Don't use Mobi. Try using gpx2html or Spinner with Plucker. Works much better!

Agreed. I was using Mobi, and I didn't know what all the fuss was about. Then I started using Spinner and Plucker. No comparison. Spinner creates html files that Plucker will display on your Visor. It recreates the cache page, and adds other useful information such as the closest caches to the cache you are looking at, and it lists the distance to it, as well.

Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.

Henry David Thoreau

4.2k · August 11, 2003

Just backing up the last two psots. I removed Mobi right after discovering Spinner and Plucker.

Try them out, you'll love them.

August 11, 2003

So if I understand correctly... Get rid of mobi (no problem there []) Then I need to work with two applications, first is spinner or gpx2html and then, second, use plucker to view the "document" created by the first?? Do I still need to have the PQ send me the prc file or simply just the .gpx (that it has been sending all along)? Thanks for all your help so far. Kirk out.

5.3k · August 11, 2003

Setup your PQ to send you GPX formatted files, and make sure you have them sent zipped. Spinner or gpx2html will convert the GPX to a folder of indexed html files (web pages). Plucker is able to sync webpages to your PDA (so you could use it to sync the files you created with gpx2html or Spinner, or you can grab your favorite web pages from the Internet and take them with you).

"Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

August 11, 2003

Ditto everyone else's responses.

I used Mobipocket for about a year. Then began working with Spinner, Watcher and Plucker. I have also been testing out iSolo. Plucker is free iSolo is about $20. iSolo so far has been much faster on the conversion and accessing in my Palm. Graphics are also better but this may be due to a setting in Plucker not correct. Either way it this method wins hands down on any other method.

Using Watcher on the PC is also a great way to catch up and manage the caches in my area.

Enjoy!

Spange & Crew

August 12, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Search1128:
... I need to work with two applications, first is spinner or gpx2html and then, second, use plucker to view the "document" created by the first?? Do I still need to have the PQ send me the prc file or simply just the .gpx (that it has been sending all along)? .

It took me a little while to configure the programs, but now they work great. Here is what I did/do:

1. Download and install Spinner and Plucker (I don't use gpx3html)

2. Create a new folder on your desktop called 'spinner files'. Inside that folder, create another folder for each of the pocket queries that you run.

3. Take your unzipped GPX file and place it in the appropriate folder that your just created on your desktop.

4. Then you click and drag that file from the folder, and onto the Spinner program icon. Spinner will then start running and it will process the file. The result will be an new a 'spinner file' and a new folder that will contain a bunch of html files.

5. Now open Plucker. 'Add a New Channel'. Choose the 'local file' button, and select the index.htm file that is located in the new folder that Spinner just created. Now go to the 'Limits' tab. Set the Retrieve linked page depth to 3 (if you have a high speed connection to Internet, you can go deeper. The depth refers to grabbing additional html pages that are linked to from the original html pages.) Then select 'Ignore links to a server different from starting page's server' and 'Limit to the exact server only'.

5. Close the configuration, and select 'update the channel'.

6. Hot Sync your Palm powered device, and enjoy.

It's a couple extra steps beyond what you would do with Mobi, but the output is worth it.

3.5k · August 12, 2003

Here's a page I created to explain how I do it. Of course, this is just one guy's method, but maybe it'll help you a bit.

Bret

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.

When a man found it, he hid it again." Mt. 13:44

August 12, 2003

Slightly deeper into topic. I did this spinner/plucker thing last night and everything worked great, except that what appears on my Palm is source code. All the xml tags and refs show up in the text. Makes it tough to read. Is there something obvious I can do to fix this? I'm using a Palm m125 with Palm OS 4.0.1.

Thanks-sorry to deviate.

August 12, 2003

Hooray! I did it. It works like a charm.

When I installed plucker viewer on my handspring, I got memory error and had to do a reset of my pda. I removed the app and reinstalled and now it works great (don't know what happened the first time). Now I can do what CyBret suggests -- paperless caching. Thanks again to everyone. Cache on!

Kirk out.

5.3k · August 12, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Brainerd:
3. Take your unzipped GPX file and place it in the appropriate folder that your just created on your desktop.

4. Then you click and drag that file from the folder, and onto the Spinner program icon. Spinner will then start running and it will process the file. The result will be an new a 'spinner file' and a new folder that will contain a bunch of html files.

Spinner will process the ZIPPED file...there is no need to unzip it. Very handy (too bad gpx2html doesn't do this).

"Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

August 12, 2003

Slightly off-topic of this thread, but I went to CyBrett's help page from the link in his note above. I was curious at the squirrell link on his page. I clicked it... I laughed and laughed. What a hiliarious link. Good one CyBrett.

Kirk out.

3.5k · August 12, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Search1128:
Slightly off-topic of this thread, but I went to CyBrett's help page from the link in his note above. I was curious at the squirrell link on his page. I clicked it... I laughed and laughed. What a hiliarious link. Good one CyBrett.

Kirk out.

You're the first person to discover that on their own! That itself is worth the time I spent putting the link in there.

There is another link on the page that's a little different...not quite the same as the squirrel, but still fun.

Bret

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.

When a man found it, he hid it again." Mt. 13:44

August 12, 2003

ok I had to bite... I went back to your help page again and clicked and clicked until I found it. (Gee, all this searching for something hidden reminds me of something...).

I found it. Good one there too. But now I need to go camping and do some roasting or watch Ghostbusters again.

rating on this happy cache... difficulty of 1.5 / Terrain of 1.0. Satisfaction rating. 9 out of 10 (only because I wasn't acutally there with the squirrell incident, and now I am hungry after the second leg of this multi).

Kirk out.

5.3k · August 12, 2003

Great tutorial CYBret. Can I make a suggestion to improve it?

I think you should recommend getting ZIPPED gpx files. There are times that the unzipped files get corrupted, plus it will come in a smaller size (easier on the inbox). Spinner can process the gpx without unzipping it...just drag the zip file over the Spinner icon.

Again, great job putting this together. I'll be sure to point people to it in the future.

"Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

August 12, 2003

I've been reading about using Plucker, but what if you have a PocketPC? How do you transfer the files that Spinner puts out?

That Quack Cacher:

Lone Duck

When you don't know where you're going, every road will take you there.

5.3k · August 12, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Lone Duck:
I've been reading about using Plucker, but what if you have a PocketPC? How do you transfer the files that Spinner puts out?

_That Quack Cacher:_

_Lone Duck_

_When you don't know where you're going, every road will take you there._

With a PocketPC you should just have to copy the directory of html files created by Spinner. Then just open index.htm with your browser.

"Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

August 12, 2003

Thanks! I suspected as much.

That Quack Cacher:

Lone Duck

When you don't know where you're going, every road will take you there.

3.5k · August 13, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Stunod:
Great tutorial CYBret. Can I make a suggestion to improve it?

I think you should recommend getting ZIPPED gpx files.

That's a good point and I might add it to the page sometime...but what I tried to do was just show how I do it. The only time I've had trouble was when I had my files zipped....musta just been me

Bret

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.

When a man found it, he hid it again." Mt. 13:44

August 13, 2003

CYBret's tutorial is great. I wish that I would have found it when I was attempting to figure out the software.

Geocaching.com should create link to his page on their 'About Geocaching" page.

Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.

Henry David Thoreau

September 6, 2003

I've just started using the pocket queries and they are pretty cool. One thing that seems cumbersome still is getting the .gpx or .loc info into MapSource, so that on the PC I can see where all the caches are.

The best way I have figured out so far is to open the .gpx file in EasyGPS and send it down to my GPSr. Then in MapSource I retrieve all my waypoints from my receiver. There has got to be a more direct way, right? I've got GPSbabel as well, but have not yet found a reliable way to translate either the .loc or .gpx file into something that MapSource likes.

Am I missing something simple here?

Thanks for any help.

September 6, 2003

OK; I just figured it out myself:

- download GPI Data Converter from http://www.keenpeople.com/index.php?option=com_downloads&Itemid=50&func=fileinfo&parent=category&filecatid=3

- drag/drop .gpx files onto the desktop icon for the converter; it will output a .wpt file that can be Imported (not Opened) from MapSource.

That's what I was looking for...

2.1k · September 6, 2003

The only program you need for a pocket pc is gpxview. When you download the gpx file from the pocket querie then you just sync it with the computer and move the file over. Then you can open the file under the gpxview program on your pocket pc.

Here's a picture of a cache page on the pocket pc. Sorry it is blurry, but it was hard to take a good closeup pic of the screen.

Brian

As long as you're going to think anyway, think big. -Donald Trump

September 7, 2003

just tried downloading the GPI data converter. It goes through unzipping and then it says "setup cannot continue because some system files are out of date. Click ok if you would like setup to update these files - then restart windows. I click okay and then it asks if I want to restart computer- After I click ok, I get a message that says install operation is not completed. If you shutdown now, temporary files may not be cleaned up.

Any suggestions - I've been looking for a program that I can convert either from or two Mapsource. I spent a lot of time this am manually entering waypoints for an upcoming trip to West Virginia into Mapsource!

Thanks

September 7, 2003

I used EasyMPS until I purchased ExpertGPS. EasyMPS worked great to convert the GPX to MPS format.

1.3k · September 7, 2003

I don't own a PDA and I have no plans to purchase one.

Are there any geocachers who use the pocket queries without using them in a PDA? I assume that all of the programs on a PDA will run on PC as well.

Is this a common practice?

southdeltan

"Man can counterfeit everything except silence". - William Faulkner

September 8, 2003

I was using the Pocket Queries without a PDA for quite a while because they delivered just the caches in my state that I hadn't found yet. It was a convenient listing, but I was still printing out cache pages for the hikes. I didn't use any additional software - just the .gpx file, EasyGPS, and MapSource.

WELL - I recently had a chance to borrow a PDA and I may never go back to paper cache pages. With this Palm m130 I have all of the cache descriptions, all of the hints, and all of the logs of other cachers for over 100 caches stowed in my pocket. I can't believe how easy it is to update and use the information. Plus I've been going through ink cartridges at a pretty rapid rate - at $35 per it won't take too long for a PDA to pay for itself. My only reservations are the durability of the PDA and battery life. This particular PDA has some sort of specialized battery pack, so if it goes dead I have no way to change the batteries. It also stores the cache data in RAM, so if I do lose power I lose all the info. I guess that can be remedied by storing the data in non-volatile memory, but I haven't gotten that far with the PDA manual. Finally, it's a pain to enter notes in the PDA - that Graffiti entry takes some learnin' - so I still bring notebook along. But I am pretty much sold on the benefits of the PDA.

September 8, 2003

Here is specific question about setting up the PQ queries while I'm waiting on my first GPX file to be generated.

I plan on using Spinner and Plucker.

I have the box in the query section set to EasyGPS GPX Format.

There is a check box below that says ebook Format. Do I need to have that checked? or unchecked?

Thanks in advance,

Gary

2.1k · September 8, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by southdeltan:
I don't own a PDA and I have no plans to purchase one.

Are there any geocachers who use the pocket queries without using them in a PDA? I assume that all of the programs on a PDA will run on PC as well.

Is this a common practice?

southdeltan

"Man can counterfeit everything except silence". - William Faulkner

Pocket queries can be used other ways than with a pda. First of all, you can upload them to your GPS quickly and easily (if you have a data cable). You can use the queries with EasyGPS, ExpertGPs and other programs. But besides sending them to the GPS I don't know other ways to use them. At least with Expert GPS you can plot them out.

Brian

As long as you're going to think anyway, think big. -Donald Trump

September 8, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by ZingerHead:
My only reservations are the durability of the PDA and battery life. This particular PDA has some sort of specialized battery pack, so if it goes dead I have no way to change the batteries. It also stores the cache data in RAM, so if I do lose power I lose all the info. ... Finally, it's a pain to enter notes in the PDA - that Graffiti entry takes some learnin' - so I still bring notebook along. But

I can't speak for the m150, but I've had my old Palm V since they first came out about 4 years ago. I abuse it daily and it just keeps on tickin'. My wife has my older Palm III which is still in great working order, although she rarely uses it.

If you sync your PDA to your PC on a regular basis, you won't need to worry about losing your data should the PDA malfunction or is lost/stolen. The m150 has a SD/MMC card slot so, as an alternative, you can save all your data on the memory card and then, using a cheap card reader on your PC, copy data to/from the card.

Learning Graffiti is not so hard. I'm not familiar with the software bundled with the newer Palms, but my Palm III and V both came with a game called Giraffe that is a Graffiti tutorial. It was on the distribution CD but had to be installed separately. I learned Graffiti in about an hour using Giraffe. After all these years using Graffiti, though, I find that the PDA sometimes has trouble keeping up with me so I generally use analog recording devices (pen and notepad) in the field.

Unrelated to your comments, I went out on the weekend and purchased a new PocketPC-based PDA to use for caching. After messing with Mobi on my Palm V I wasn't too impressed with the performance. I was thinking about using Plucker or some other browser software until I decided to get the lastest MS Streets & Trips which comes with a version for PocketPC. The colour screen is much nicer and the ability to plug in SD/MMC cards is a big plus. I still prefer Palm OS to PocketPC for my business apps so I will continue to use my trusty old Palm V for work until I can convince them to get me a Palm Tungsten. Since I work for a company heavily involved with Symbian devices and software, I won't hold my breath.

__________

Gorak

September 8, 2003

First post, new member (about a month), but I had to chime in about how cool Spinner and Plucker are. I have a couple of years-old Visor Deluxe and I followed the directions on CYBret's page (thanks!) and everything just worked. I now have the nearest 100 unfound-by-me caches in my Visor and don't have to printout paper pages anymore.

Unfortunately, I now have to carry two semi-fragile electronic devices when I bushwhack through the redwoods. Luckily I have a good supply of rechargeable NiMH double and triple A batteries (dang, I guess maybe four devices, forgot the digi-cam and the mp3 player for the drive there). Let's see, that's 8 AA and 2 AAA in the units, plus spares for all of those...oops the two Motorola FRS, so that's 6 more AA. Hmmm. This is getting a bit out of hand. And the flashlights...

Cheers to all, and thanks for helping me learn while lurking.

September 9, 2003

Pocket Queries in GPX format contain lots of cache-related data and enhance (compared to .loc files) display of Geocaches in QuakeMap. Just drag and drop your Pocket Query file (unzipped) on QuakeMap window and hover the mouse over caches.

See http://www.earthquakemap.com/pages/screenshots/GeocachesDetail.jpg - this is how much information is available on PC from a PocketQuery

http://www.quakemap.com - redefining Easy...

September 11, 2003

Take a look at CacheMaps to see what it can do with your pocket queries...

BigBird

how to use the pocket queries

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