+Grading Papers Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 (edited) Hi. I'm a fairly new cacher. I have a few over 50 finds, and I got my GPS for Christmas. I came across this discussion a few days ago, and it interested me. Well, if folks uploaded and labelled their arc filters, they could be shared with other non-power users. Stuff like "I-5 Washington" could be used, for example. I'd love it if someone had an I-5 Oregon listing. I'm taking a trip soon. Edited March 28, 2006 by Grading Papers Link to comment
+ClydeE Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 (edited) Hi. I'm a fairly new cacher. I have a few over 50 finds, and I got my GPS for Christmas. I came across this discussion a few days ago, and it interested me. Well, if folks uploaded and labelled their arc filters, they could be shared with other non-power users. Stuff like "I-5 Washington" could be used, for example. I'd love it if someone had an I-5 Oregon listing. I'm taking a trip soon. You can find I-5 Oregon and other routes suitable for the arc filter in GSAK and GPSBabel here Edited March 28, 2006 by ClydeE Link to comment
+Team Pink Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 (edited) That is a possibility. Someone would need to manage the aggregation of the data. I suppose Groundspeak could make the state files (snapshots at a particular point in time) available for download from the web. Again, if I were them I would charge extra for this service, another source of revenue. Make it affordable of course. I bet taking this approach would lighten the load on the servers. People would be willing to work with a little older data and would query less. Much more of the processing would happen local using tools like GSAK or mapping programs. How big does your state file get? I was just reading information about the Microsoft MapPoint API. They have exposed methods within their object model that query for "places" or waypoints within a certain radius of an entire route. This would accomplish exactly what I stated in my earlier post. I am going to take a crack at uploading caches as a unique type of Microsoft MapPoint "place". I am then going to create a route and write some code that uses the methods to query for the caches along the route. Theoretically I should be able to get a list of caches within the radius of a route. This list could then be used to select the cache waypoints to load from GSAK using a macro. All this in my spare time of course Not sure if this could then be used with Streets and Trips. I hope so, the maps in MapPoint 4.x are outdated. The GSAK backup ZIP is 15 meg. That's about 3500 caches and it includes Memphis and other places outside the Arkansas borders due to the pocket queries extending outside. I'd say some states would require a couple of volunteers while some volunteers could do two states. Getting the route is not a big problem for me, it's getting the list of current caches. Edited March 29, 2006 by tech_guy and the missus Link to comment
+Puddlewalkers Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 Is an "arc filter" just a list of waypoints along a track? Link to comment
+alexrudd Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 Yes, it's a bunch of lat/long points strung together. Link to comment
+Team Pink Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 Is an "arc filter" just a list of waypoints along a track? Actually it is just a set of coordinates. The filter will allow you to accept or reject caches based on whether they are in the coordinate boundries. You still need a database of caches that you can apply the filter to. Link to comment
+chuckmor Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 Is an "arc filter" just a list of waypoints along a track? Actually it is just a set of coordinates. The filter will allow you to accept or reject caches based on whether they are in the coordinate boundries. You still need a database of caches that you can apply the filter to. I do this by doing pocket quiries at various points along a route, then load all these into GSAK which has the arc filter feature. Select several point along the route and filter out everything outside a given distance from this route. My computers are too old to use Google Earth, so I use the Geocaching Maps which show all the caches in a given area. For short trips, I just 'Identify' and select the ones close to my route. This process is pretty cumbersome because of the way the website operates. When you get the list of 'Identified' caches, you must click on the ones you like to either print it or bookmark it. Coming back to the list, you must 'refresh' and 'reply' and then wait for a complete reload to get back to the list. One simple solution to this would be to open the cache pages in a new window, as is done in other areas of the geocaching website. This should be fixed, but also a pretty simple solution (I think) would be to be able to check a box on the 'Identify' list to bookmark the ones you are interested in. Then a Pocket Quiry would generate the desired file. These fixes seem rather simple compared to other ideas offered here. Am I naive?? Link to comment
+fizzymagic Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 These fixes seem rather simple compared to other ideas offered here. Am I naive?? No, you just don't understand the problem. Do you have any idea how many PQs it takes to download caches along the route from, say, San Francisco to Seattle? That's the problem. Link to comment
+chuckmor Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 These fixes seem rather simple compared to other ideas offered here. Am I naive?? No, you just don't understand the problem. Do you have any idea how many PQs it takes to download caches along the route from, say, San Francisco to Seattle? That's the problem. Actually, I do understand that part of the problem. What I may be naive about is how hard it would be to have a check box on the 'Identify' list when using geocache maps to bookmark the selected caches, without having to visit each cache page. I agree that even this is time consuming going all the way across country, but SF to Seattle wouldn't be too bad. No worse than doing the same on Google earth. Link to comment
+LostBoy1 Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 All right. One of the most popular requests ever has been to have a list of caches along a route. I've been in discussion with a mapping provider as a possible alternative, but maps can be verrry expensive. Cost prohibitive, in fact, so I've pretty much tossed that one out as an idea. So I'm creating this topic in the hopes that we can have a technical discussion about how to ultimately create a feature everyone (including me) wants. My first thought was using the arc filter capability available in GPSBabel and folks could submit their own arc files of possible trips. I could update the PQ Generator to run against those filters and return a list of caches based on your additional filters, like type and terrain. The shotgun approach I'm working on is allowing you to do a degree range, and ultimately a region (upper left and lower right coordinates) but that is still a poor solution. Thoughts welcome. OK well here is my idea for doing "Caches along a route" Expand the option for a user to report their cache finds. Make signing on as a user like a real account and seperate the cache listings as like a directory. When a user signs in have a tab to "Report finds" And with that option they can click to "look-up" the cache. Once they enter the log it'll be added to the cache page. And then on their account page it'll make a map of the area like the one used for preium members now. Then they can enter another cache find in that day.. THe page with the map on it has the date and the listings of the cache and the next however many are found. As each listing is added the map shows a colored line of the caches that were hit on that day. If there was only one cache find then just a general map of the area, if the cacher found 10 it will show where they started and ended on the map. Now Im sure your thinking what the heck is this kid talking about but here is more usless info about this.. This is something that a programmer can do to the site. With the log that was entered, when someone views it and reads past logs at the bottom corner of the box, you have a link option to "Show cachers route" or "cachers wander" and that will show that days listing of the cachers finds. Now others are able to see the route some people have gone in a day to find one or several caches.. Link to comment
+fizzymagic Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 Actually, I do understand that part of the problem. What I may be naive about is how hard it would be to have a check box on the 'Identify' list when using geocache maps to bookmark the selected caches, without having to visit each cache page. I find the geocaching maps provided by this site completely useless. Not only are they slow, with poor resolution and tedious panning and scaling, but the display of caches you have already found is inconsistent at best. They are not in any way an acceptable solution for finding caches along a route. Link to comment
+pilotsr & pilotjr Posted April 2, 2006 Share Posted April 2, 2006 Hi Everyone: I have never done a PQ, but it looked a bit complicated for me. I was planning on spending some time working with it until a couple of days ago, when I downloaded the .kml add-on to Google Earth. If you haven't done this, do it now. It's awsome!!. You can enter a start and end point like in MapQuest, and you will get turn-by-turn routing. The best part of all is that it will plot all the caches graphically in the area. The only addition I would like to see is some kind of filter that will filter out the caches outside of whatever parameters you put in; i.e. route from A to B, showing only caches within a mile on either side of the route. I don't know how difficult this is to program, but it sure would be cool. If not, it's still pretty easy to pick out caches along the route as it now works. Link to comment
+pilotsr & pilotjr Posted April 3, 2006 Share Posted April 3, 2006 Okay, so no one's out there. I'll reply to my own post. The one flaw that I found after working with Google Earth last night is that it shows random caches. If you change the view even slightly, it queries the Geocaching server again and you wind up with a different set of caches. Some will be the same, and some will be different. It still helped me to get 8 locations to cache today that were directly on my 45 mile trip from home. (There were a lot more than 8, it's all I knew I would have time for). Link to comment
+Miragee Posted April 3, 2006 Share Posted April 3, 2006 I have a very slow dialup connection to the Internet (24K), and an old, slow computer. I cannot use Google Earth . . . Using a route in my Mapsource maps and Pocket Queries and the "Arc/Poly" filter in GSAK is the only workable solution I have now. However, for an upcoming trip from San Diego to Denver, I am going to have to request many, many PQs. It sure would be nice if there was a better way . . . Link to comment
+Markwell Posted April 3, 2006 Share Posted April 3, 2006 The one flaw that I found after working with Google Earth last night is that it shows random caches. If you change the view even slightly, it queries the Geocaching server again and you wind up with a different set of caches. Some will be the same, and some will be different. Geonerd posted this information elsewhere, and it's worth repeating in here: In the legend on the left side of the screen, right-click on Geocaching Network KML. Then click Edit. In the dialogue box that appears, check the box for Refresh Parameters. Some more options will appear below. Under View-Based Refresh, click the When drop-down list and change it from After Camera Stops to On Request. Click OK. Now you can zoom in and out on one area as many times as you want without using up your views. When you pan to another area and want to refresh the caches on the map, right-click Geocaching Network KML and click Refresh. That will make it so that Google Earth doesn't "use up" a page view and requery until you tell it to. Re the "random" caches - yes Google Earth does show random caches, if the view has more than 150 caches in an area. Solution: Zoom in until you're looking at something less than 150 caches. The combination of zooming in closer and forcing refreshes when *I* wanted them really helped on my last trip. Link to comment
+pilotsr & pilotjr Posted April 3, 2006 Share Posted April 3, 2006 Thanks Maxwell. That's great. That makes all the difference in making this a real useful feature. I knew mine wasn't an original idea. I just had to find someone who had some experience with it. Link to comment
+yooper1019 Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 (edited) For all you GSAK (Geocaching Swiss Army Knife) users out there, this is easy to do!!!!! (Or get GSAK and become one) Software Needed: Google Earth, GSAK, and also an Internet connection Limitations: routes on google maps seems to only by available in North America, Great Britain, and strangely the Turin area of Italy (thanks to the Olympics I guess) 1. First thing you need are two macros from the GSAK macro library (be aware of your GSAK version) . 1.1. The first one is RouteMe.txt . . 1.1.1. You will need the current version of GPS Babel . . 1.1.2. Also a program called wget. Wget.exe . . 1.1.3. Follow the directions carefully . . 1.1.4. This macro goes onto maps.google.com and creates an arc/poly for the route . 1.2. The next macro you will need is the Google Earth one. Follow directions for install . . 1.2.1. There are two of them: the link points to the advanced one with the cache icons . . 1.2.2. This is needed to see the results on Google Earth 2. From your GSAK database use the “user select” column and select a cache at the beginning and at the end of your route . 2.1. This is like start and destination if you were getting driving directions online . 2.2. Make sure you sort the database (most likely form home cords) 3. Run the routeme.txt macro from the GSAK macro-->run menu . 3.1. You will be asked for a distance from the route to show caches. (.5mi is default) . 3.2. The results will be a filter showing only the caches along the driving route from beginning to destination. 4. Run the Google Earth macro (default: ge.txt) from GSAK macro-->run menu . 4.1. Follow directions/options and choose to launch Google Earth at the end . 4.2. The result is Google Earth opening and showing all your caches along your route . 4.3. An option is to enter your route into Google Earth by clicking the directions tab in the top left of Google Earth. . . 4.3.1. This will show your route, your caches, and have an option to print the Google Maps driving directions . 4.4. If you have the Geocaching.com .kml for Google Earth disable it! It will only confuse things. I hope this works as simply for everyone as it does for me! Happy Caching!!! Yooper1019 Edited April 6, 2006 by yooper1019 Link to comment
+5Tucks Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 (edited) For all you GSAK users out there, this is easy to do!!!!! (or get GSAK and become one) First you need two macros from the GSAK forum: 1st one is RouteMe.txt (follow the directions carefully to set it up; for wget i had to google "wget windows" to find wget.exe that worked) 2nd one is GoogleEarth-v1.5.zip (the advanced one!) you really only need the first one but the second one helps "see" the results Step 2: from your GSAK database "user select" a cache at the beginning of your route and one at the end. (*best to sort from home coords too since I imagine thats where most ppl will be leaving from) (act like they are the start and finish of a trip like on mapquest) Step 3: run routeme.txt (it goes onto the internet to google.maps and uses the two caches you selected to create a drivable route). the result will be a filter of that database of all the caches along the route within a desired distance from the route (default is .5 mi). Step 4: run the google earth macro (default as ge.txt after installed). follow the directions and launch google earth. you will now see all the caches along your route. if you are skeptical click the directions tab in the upper left of Google Earth and enter the direction that way (i.e. postal codes) last I heard routing from google.maps is not available outside of the U.S. but that may have been old news. I hope I didn't leave anything out! Good Luck to all and I hope this works for you!! Happy Caching!!!! Edit1: best to disable the geocaching .kml if you have it! it will only confuse things on Google Earth I am definately going to try these macro. Last summer we did a 18 day 14 state trip and I created PQ's and routes for the entire trip, I started a good month before the trip to figure out what queries I would need, and using MS Streets and Trips was able to create my route files and with st2gpx to convert the S&T to use in GSAK. The process was a bit tedious but the circle pocket queries also provided some flexability in the routes. You have to play with the PQ a bit to get them just right. I can tell you the I was able to cover most of North and South Dakota with one query as long as it avoided Bismark. So with trial and error you can do it. Suffice to say it isn't impossible just requires a bit of planning. And with 40 queires available just stagger the schedule to get them delivered as you need them. Jeff/5Tucks Edited April 6, 2006 by 5Tucks Link to comment
+yooper1019 Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 The process was a bit tedious but the circle pocket queries also provided some flexability in the routes. You have to play with the PQ a bit to get them just right. I can tell you the I was able to cover most of North and South Dakota with one query as long as it avoided Bismark. So with trial and error you can do it. Tell you what else works. Use circles (radius from a postal code or whatever) AND "placed during" for high density areas. This way you could do a query for a 100 mile radius (or other distance) from say Bismark for caches places from 6/1/00-6/1/03 and another one for the same thing except change the dates to 6/2/03-6/1/06. This way it spreads out the results since you can only get 500/query. You could break it down even more if needed and this may need some playing with since only 200 may have been placedin the first date range and 800 may have in the second. Happy Caching! Link to comment
+yooper1019 Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 (edited) Here's an example (Google Earth screen shot) of caches along a route from my method explained above. This is a route from Marquette, MI to Houghton, MI and all the caches along the way that are within .5 miles from the route. The distance between these two UP cities is 100 miles and there are 22 caches along the way. Edit: I just did an overlay of the Geocaching .kml and I missed a few that were .6 and .7 mi. away from the route so be sure to specify your wanted/needed distance because it is very accurate!! Edited April 7, 2006 by yooper1019 Link to comment
+BigBadger & Li'l SG Posted April 21, 2006 Share Posted April 21, 2006 (edited) As mentioned before, I think to define a rectangle would be easiest for both you to program in as well as for users to manipulate. There is one thing that always bothers me about software developers and thier products. That is, the developers get an idea in mind and work their code and new terminology that is usually so far from what the average user can understand that most people never utilize the full potential of the programs. This site is a well mantained site, and the features you have implemented are wonderful. You don't need to be so complicated with new pocket query parameters. Most roads run North South and East West. Rectangles can manage this without issue. Trails obviously run every which way, but then how many caches are there in the middle of the Rocky Mountains or the Olympic Range, etc. .... Rectangles can take care of those areas without getting saturated as well. The grid system for mapping is the best available method to manage mapping, just ask SAR groups, the armed forces, mapping companies.... et al. The biggest problems are that I cannot afford the biggest bestest GPSr unit with the optional memory cards and that the little buggers actually only only 500 and 1000 waypoints!!! It's all Garmin and Magellans fault!!! My 2 bits. Edited April 21, 2006 by BigBadger Link to comment
+yooper1019 Posted April 21, 2006 Share Posted April 21, 2006 I have just found a way to cache along a route that even a caveman could do. This guy has a bookmarlet called GMapToGPX and it is "like so simple." Follow his directions but there is one catch i have found. The default is to only give the coordinates of the turns so I click on FULL to get the points for the entire route. If using GSAK begin a new filter and load the gpx file using the arc/poly tab. Happy Caching! Link to comment
+trainlove Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 The way I do this when I have the time and know I'm going to travel along a route is to do a pocket query for 500 traditional caches of difficulty 3 or less centered on a point midway between home and where I'm going (mostly for short trips of 80 miles or less) and then in GSAK export them into Magellan Mapsend Topo for use on my laptop. I'm one of those guys who never puts a cache on my GPS unless I'm planning on going there right away. I have known many people who have been burned by not having the latest info such as updated coords, the difficulty level, even the type of cache (a really hard 5 part multi when a traditional was expected), and caches that are temporarily or permanently shut down. My method is not the best, and is very time consuming. So much so that during a recent trip of 50 miles to the Quabbin Reservoir I just know that there were hundreds of easy caches less than a tenth of a mile from me as I was driving by. I could have beaten my rather small record of 14 caches in a day if I spent the time doing that programming beforehand, especially in these days of rather high gas prices. Link to comment
+TheAprilFools Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 The method I last used, and it took a bit of effort. 1) I created a series of 500 cache PQ's that overlapped to cover the entire route I was taking (I ended up getting an additional premium membership for a month so I could run them all). Load all these queries into GSAK. 2) Using Garmin Mapsource City Select, I created a route from my starting point to the destination (usually where I expected to travel that day). I then saved this as a text file. 3) Use a text editor to extract out of the saved text file the coordinates of all the waypoints that make up the route. 4) Use those coordinates to create a filter in GSAK, selecting all caches within 5 miles (tune distance to taste) of the line formed by those coordinates. 5) Export those caches to the PDA and GPS. It was a bit involved, but if you want to cover the entire route with as many caches as your GPS/PDA can carry, this was the best solution I could come up with. And a lot easier than selecting them one at a time using Google earth and bookmarking them. Link to comment
+jon & miki Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 You can save some effort on steps 3 and 4 using GSAK to import the route directly when building the filter. The filter tab button will load from an MPS file containing the route created (and exported) from MapSource. Just be sure to delete any waypoints from the route first (other than the start/end/via's) or they'll be included in the route in some unpredictable fashion. Link to comment
+fizzymagic Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 This discussion, which started out as a discussion about how to implement caches along a route as a Pocket Query type, has irreversibly devolved into a series of posts describing how to get caches along a route using circular pocket queries. There's nothing wrong with that, but that wasn't what this discussion was supposed to be about. Because those techniques do not solve the problem that a PQ along a route addresses. Is there any way we could have a (new, perhaps) topic to discuss generating PQs along a route? Because there still is no solution to the problems that such a PQ would address. Link to comment
+TheAprilFools Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 (edited) You can save some effort on steps 3 and 4 using GSAK to import the route directly when building the filter. The filter tab button will load from an MPS file containing the route created (and exported) from MapSource. Just be sure to delete any waypoints from the route first (other than the start/end/via's) or they'll be included in the route in some unpredictable fashion. Oh that's brilliant, yes I just tested that and it works very well as long as I remember to remove all the waypoints first. GSAK never ceases to amaze me. Modified steps: 1) I created a series of 500 cache PQ's that overlapped to cover the entire route I was taking (I ended up getting an additional premium membership for a month so I could run them all). Load all these queries into GSAK. 2) Using Garmin Mapsource City Select, I created a route from my starting point to the destination (usually where I expected to travel that day). Remove all waypoints from then save as a MPS file. 3) Use those coordinates to create a filter in GSAK, selecting all caches within 5 miles (tune distance to taste) of the line formed by those coordinates. 4) Export those caches to the PDA and GPS. This discussion, which started out as a discussion about how to implement caches along a route as a Pocket Query type, has irreversibly devolved into a series of posts describing how to get caches along a route using circular pocket queries. There's nothing wrong with that, but that wasn't what this discussion was supposed to be about. Because those techniques do not solve the problem that a PQ along a route addresses. Is there any way we could have a (new, perhaps) topic to discuss generating PQs along a route? Because there still is no solution to the problems that such a PQ would address. Fizzy I agree with you, but from what I see TPTB don't seem to be moving on this issue. Edited May 3, 2006 by Blanston12 Link to comment
+StarBrand Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 You can save some effort on steps 3 and 4 using GSAK to import the route directly when building the filter. The filter tab button will load from an MPS file containing the route created (and exported) from MapSource. Just be sure to delete any waypoints from the route first (other than the start/end/via's) or they'll be included in the route in some unpredictable fashion. Agreed, it would be nice to bring up a route (as in MS s&t) and then click on an icon to show geocaches along the route - at least as easily as s&t allow you to bring up hotels and restaurants and attractions along the way. Then download as a .GPX file Is it still cost prohibitive to borrow somebody else's technology on this? Any chance of offering some kind of super-premium membership to allow this? Link to comment
supergwaa Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 I don't know whether this is on-topic or not, because frankly, you guys are talking over my head. But it is on the subject of maps. I used go to Buxley's site, to plan my vacation around caches. Click on a map. And BAM, a whole listning of red dots indicating caches in the area were provided. I could see, very easily, whether my route was going to coincide with a cache-rich area and click on those red dots to link to the geocaching.com cache pages. I hear that Groundspeak wasn't able to strike an agreement with Buxley's, so they discontinued support for Groundspeak's caches, but MAN, that would be the way to do it. That service was excellent. The current way of searching for "nearby caches" is much too inefficient. Link to comment
+sidersdd Posted May 12, 2006 Share Posted May 12, 2006 Hi. I'm a fairly new cacher. I have a few over 50 finds, and I got my GPS for Christmas. I came across this discussion a few days ago, and it interested me. Well, if folks uploaded and labelled their arc filters, they could be shared with other non-power users. Stuff like "I-5 Washington" could be used, for example. I'd love it if someone had an I-5 Oregon listing. I'm taking a trip soon. You can find I-5 Oregon and other routes suitable for the arc filter in GSAK and GPSBabel here Is there a way to Search bookmark listings on gc.com? For example, I want to find the bookmark collections people have created that are named like "I-80." I didn't see a way to search bookmarks like this. Link to comment
+5Tucks Posted May 13, 2006 Share Posted May 13, 2006 (edited) For those interested, the Washington state Geocaching Assoc has a section for GSAK filters to and from various cities in Washington plus filters for specific cities and another section for the Delorme pages for those trying to complete the Delorme challenge. Click on the link below and then select GSAK Filters from the buttons on the left side. http://www.geocachingwa.org/ Edited May 13, 2006 by 5Tucks Link to comment
+N9PPA Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 This may have been ask but, Could the KLM file for googel earth be changed to add a markit for a .GPX file? Link to comment
+Markwell Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 GPX files hold TONS of information. What you're asking for is a complete download of the entire database. Link to comment
+tozainamboku Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 This may have been ask but, Could the KLM file for googel earth be changed to add a markit for a .GPX file? Not sure what you are asking for. The KLM file does have a link, when you click on the cache icon, to bookmark the caches. You can setup a bookmark list, and as you follow your route in Google Earth, click to add the cache to the bookmark list. Once you've bookmarked the caches along your route, you can submit a PQ to return the GPX file for the bookmark list. Link to comment
+N9PPA Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 (edited) Maybe. I thought that if you map a route wken you click on the pin have a way to bookmark it so you can later make the GPX and just have the files you want. Edited May 17, 2006 by N9PPA Link to comment
+Taftster Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 Anything would be better than the "circle" or "shotgun" approach. I live in an area where most caches, although close as the crow flies, are not convenient to get to, as bridges and tunnels are involved. So, to find ones near my residence, I must wade through a whole bunch of ones that are difficult, or inconvenient to get to, to find ones that are on my side of the mountains and bay. It would be helpfull to either identify a general direction (North, South, Northwest, etc.) or to specify a route, (as noted before) along a highway corridor. As the directions are noted on the websites, could you simply add a (sort by) filter to sort by direction and distance? -Taftster Link to comment
+Markwell Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 Maybe. I thought that if you map a route wken you click on the pin have a way to bookmark it so you can later make the GPX and just have the files you want. You can do that now. Clicking on a pin allows you to bookmark the cache. Bookmark it, and then create a PQ from the bookmark. Anything would be better than the "circle" or "shotgun" approach. I live in an area where most caches, although close as the crow flies, are not convenient to get to, as bridges and tunnels are involved. So, to find ones near my residence, I must wade through a whole bunch of ones that are difficult, or inconvenient to get to, to find ones that are on my side of the mountains and bay. It would be helpfull to either identify a general direction (North, South, Northwest, etc.) or to specify a route, (as noted before) along a highway corridor. As the directions are noted on the websites, could you simply add a (sort by) filter to sort by direction and distance?The "directions" on the website are based on distance and direction from a location. So I don't know if you mean filter like "Start here and do a circle, but only caches that are northwest". Is that what you're talking about? First, the Google Earth option, for those that can use it, is great for stuff where you just need to see the caches on a map or on a route. Using this you can go directly to the cache page, or just see a little more information about the cache. It's a darn good search engine. The new Google Maps on the nearest results page is pretty good for this as well. All the live caches and you can scroll them around. <pocket query tangent> But I also think that people aren't as selective with their PQs as they could be. If you're going on a long distance travel, are you going to be willing to go on a 5-star terrain hike? Is your preference for finding micros? Do you want to find caches that are of a certain type (traditional, puzzle, etc.)? If you're looking for caches in your area you probably only need those you haven't found, right? So apply those filters to the PQ before you set it up to get e-mailed to you. I would guess that the allowable distance from the center prior to hitting 500 caches would be much greater if you only search for the types of caches you like to find. The other options like setting a region or a direction (only east), etc., can all be done by third party software like GSAK. And since these third party softwares are GREAT at this, and the computing horsepower comes from YOUR computer instead of hitting the live Geocaching.com database, it's all good. </tangent> Link to comment
+fizzymagic Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 <pocket query tangent>But I also think that people aren't as selective with their PQs as they could be. If you're going on a long distance travel, are you going to be willing to go on a 5-star terrain hike? Is your preference for finding micros? Do you want to find caches that are of a certain type (traditional, puzzle, etc.)? If you're looking for caches in your area you probably only need those you haven't found, right? So apply those filters to the PQ before you set it up to get e-mailed to you. I would guess that the allowable distance from the center prior to hitting 500 caches would be much greater if you only search for the types of caches you like to find. </tangent> That would be a whole lot easier if the PQ generation logic were made more useful. For example, I rarely am interested in 1-1 caches, so I would love a PQ that would allow me to choose caches for which the difficulty was 2 or greater or the terrain was 2 or greater. Not possible, I am afraid. Takes 2 queries. The terrain rating, all by itself, is often a poor indicator of how long a cache will take. There are some terrain-5 caches that are rated in that way because they require special equipment. I very well might want to include those in a query along a route. So maybe a better way would be to select caches that do not have the "significant hike" attribute set. Not possible. I admire the attempts to make the PQ generation logic flexible. But as the density of caches has skyrocketed, I am increasingly finding the flexibility inadequate to address my needs. Just last week I spent about 2 hours trying to create a set of 5 pocket queries that would encompass an area and type of cache I wanted to do the next day. It was a painfully tedious process to tweak all the parameters, repeatedly checking the radius using the preview function, until I could get everything together. Finally I was able to create the PQs, download the data, and only then was I able to use my toolset to start looking for caching areas that looked interesting for a weekend road trip. Link to comment
+Markwell Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 I agree with everything that you've said. However, there's a huge gray area between making it simple enough for the general population to use and yet still making it powerful enough for the mega-searchers with the understanding of boolean logic to be able to get what they want. I can't tell you how many times people have been foiled by the fact that adding the criteria of caches you've found AND caches you haven't found results in zero caches. Doing true or statements is a problem with most user interfaces on database queries as well. So until we have some method of getting a better interface that can also be understood easily by those just entering into the realm of pocket queries, you and I are stuck doing just what you've said - tediously tweaking the PQ interface and using extra unnecessary queries to be able to cull the information to a localized database to be able to apply proper queries to the dataset. However, for the base users of PQs, my comment still stands. I think that the application of limiting criteria to the selection process is under-utilized. People keep saying in these forums that they use the PQ for route searches and the selection process carries too many caches. Example: If I use N 36.169° W 86.778° as a center point and grab ALL caches, I can only go 11.5 miles out before I hit one shy of the maximum 500. But if I apply the types of caches that I *LIKE* to find and use that same center and same radius, I get 67 caches. To capture just under the 500 limit using the LIMITED criteria of the typical caches that I like to look for, I can go out a full 94 miles before I hit the 500 mark. So while I think there DOES need to be a better interface for querying and I do think there needs to be a better solution for caches along a route, and I do think there needs to be a way to separate the ones that others would recommend as "good" caches (whatever that criteria is), I don't see TPTB jumping up to do this. So, I'm going to keep offering ways to make the current system work. Link to comment
+sjclimber Posted May 27, 2006 Share Posted May 27, 2006 I cannot seem to find the exact answer to this question. Over time we have created a GSAK database of 200+ caches, found and not, along and adjacent to a route from central Arkansas to western Colorado. How does one get these into a bookmark list which could be used to create PQ and something others could access on GC.com??? Thanx for any assistance in advance/SJClimber Link to comment
+ClydeE Posted May 28, 2006 Share Posted May 28, 2006 I cannot seem to find the exact answer to this question. Over time we have created a GSAK database of 200+ caches, found and not, along and adjacent to a route from central Arkansas to western Colorado. How does one get these into a bookmark list which could be used to create PQ and something others could access on GC.com??? Thanx for any assistance in advance/SJClimber This GSAK macro should do the job. Not fully automated, but better than typing in each one by your self. Link to comment
+jaredl Posted May 28, 2006 Share Posted May 28, 2006 I'm not very tech savvy I once put a pocket quarry onto my garmin street pilot, as waypoints. then i set a route to where i wanted to go, and went to the menu and used the feture where it lest you find way points of a cirtant type with in 1, 3, , 10 and 15 km from the present route, and it showed me all the caches alon where i was going. i couldn't save them as geocaches like i can on my gps map76 but they worked fine as way points, i used the danger icon. and i had to erase all the waypoints i already had because it was to confusing thinking my house was a cache. i doubt that helps, but its late and i'm bored. How how about those NHL playoffs? Link to comment
+sjclimber Posted May 28, 2006 Share Posted May 28, 2006 Thanks Clyde. I had a similar idea, but thought it cumbersome. Looks like presently this is the way to go. Thanks Link to comment
Jeremy Posted June 7, 2006 Author Share Posted June 7, 2006 Great news! Raine has been working hard on this and has created the first official pocket query of caches along a predefined route. Once we get it through the beta testing process we'll discuss how it works. In general terms, however, you upload a GPX file containing a route and it saves in our database which can be shared with other users. You can then run a pocket query against the route, indicating a distance from the route where you want the results. There are other experimental ideas but this will be generation 1 of the concept. More to come. Link to comment
+Moose Mob Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 Awesome! I have a zillion questions, but they can wait. Link to comment
+Markwell Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 Raine has ... created the first official pocket query of caches along a predefined route ... you upload a GPX file containing a route and it saves in our database which can be shared with other users. You can then run a pocket query against the route, indicating a distance from the route where you want the results... More to come. Link to comment
+Stunod Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 Raine has ... created the first official pocket query of caches along a predefined route ... you upload a GPX file containing a route and it saves in our database which can be shared with other users. You can then run a pocket query against the route, indicating a distance from the route where you want the results... More to come. Yay!!! I bet it's all due to Markwell's relentless nagging about it, right? Link to comment
+Tharagleb Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 OMG! I don't believe it. WTG Raine!!! Link to comment
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