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GSAK (Geocaching Swiss Army Knife)


ClydeE

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I am unable to get my handheld to communicate with GSAK. I know it is hooked up fine, because it transfers data to and from my street map software.

 

I have restarted both my computer and handheld and I am getting the

following error when trying to transfer waypoints from the handheld to GSAK:

 

Error sending waypoints:

MAGPROTO: no data received from GPS

 

The error I receive when attempting to transmit waypoints to the handheld

is much longer. Let me know if you need to know what that error is.

 

More details:

 

I'm using a Magellan Meridian Color.

 

Here is what I'm attempting, please advise if this is incorrect.

 

In GSAK I go to "GPS" and select "Send waypoints..."

 

Then a new window pops up.

 

I select the number of waypoints I wish to send and then hit "Send". A window appears saying "Generating GPS file." then a window saying "Sending waypoints". It lasts about 30 seconds and then the error comes up.

 

Thanks again.

-Cole

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1. I just reinstall after my computer had to be reformatted. I can't seem to find

%dist as one f the specials that give the cache distance from home. What happened to it?

 

2. I've restored my archived files but when I now update I'm getting duplicates of all the caches. What am I missing?

 

Tks Alan

1 - it is still there, why do you feel it is not?

 

2 - Not quite sure what you mean by this. However, after the restore do a Database=>Repair/Defrag to make sure everthing is ok. Now load in the GPX file - do you still get duplicates (if so, then perhaps a screen shot so we can see exactly what you mean)

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Hi!

 

In the earlier Version of GSAK (afair below 5.1) it was possible to send Waypoints with a - (dash) in the waypoint name. Since then this ability seems to be lost. Is there any Configuration setting where this can be changed back?

 

Just for records: I use a Garmin eTrex legend.

 

Second point: It is possible to get other languages for GSAK? I am willing to do a translation to german.

 

cheerio

Lairsdragon

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All I can get the 60 to accept is 30 characters of the cache name and hider.

 

I have GSAK set for cache name, by, dif and ter.  -- not enough characters.

 

If there is a way to get more I'd like to know too. 

 

When you select a waypoint under find - there is a screen with a Note field.  This is what I am referring to.

 

cc

The 30 character limit is a function of the 60CS not GSAK :huh: . There is nothing GSAK can do to increase this Garmin imposed limit.

 

I suggest you email Garmin and ask them to increase the size of the note field, I believe others have done this. ;)

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All I can get the 60 to accept is 30 characters of the cache name and hider.

 

I have GSAK set for cache name, by, dif and ter.  -- not enough characters.

 

If there is a way to get more I'd like to know too. 

 

When you select a waypoint under find - there is a screen with a Note field.  This is what I am referring to.

 

cc

The 30 character limit is a function of the 60CS not GSAK :huh: . There is nothing GSAK can do to increase this Garmin imposed limit.

 

I suggest you email Garmin and ask them to increase the size of the note field, I believe others have done this. ;)

 

figured that was the case - since GSAK was set to max of 50 char. and was only getting 30 but thought someone might know something -

 

tnx

cc

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All I can get the 60 to accept is 30 characters of the cache name and hider.

 

I have GSAK set for cache name, by, dif and ter. -- not enough characters.

The name, by, dif and ter tags all support the format %tag=nn, where nn is the number of characters. Using this, you can construct your tags to be meaningful within the 30 character limit, e.g.:

 

%name=20 %by=8 %dif=1 %ter=1

 

Or whatever combination of character lengths works for you (I find that the half step difficulty and terrain ratings give a false sense of precision due to the variability of how people rate their caches, so one character is just as good as three for dif and ter).

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I'm sure this is someplace in the thread but with all the quotes and 11 pages long, I have trouble wading through it all now. I am VERY interested in the automated downloading of queries from my mail into GSAK and also into my PPC - any idea when this will be available (actual milestone date)?

 

Thanks in advance,

Dan

the Neverlanders

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Thanks Kai - a couple false starts but it is much better -

 

can't get a full 20 in the name if you put a space between name and by - then I like the (/) set up for dif and ter. So I only get 16 in the name - but thanks - sure is a lot better than a huge name with little other info.

 

Incidentally - if you customize your icons it is easy to spot the micros if you do or don't like them or want to avoid them on a specific cache run.

 

I use the park (tree) for my own caches and the large city (dot) for micros - all others have the chest.

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I'm sure this is someplace in the thread but with all the quotes and 11 pages long, I have trouble wading through it all now. I am VERY interested in the automated downloading of queries from my mail into GSAK and also into my PPC - any idea when this will be available (actual milestone date)?

 

Thanks in advance,

Dan

the Neverlanders

 

I did a search on 'macro'

 

check this for starters -

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...=79406&hl=macro

 

there was a recent thread on Macros -

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...=91459&hl=macro

Edited by CompuCash
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1. I just reinstall after my computer had to be reformatted.  I can't seem to find

%dist as one f the specials that give the cache distance from home. What happened to it?

 

2.  I've restored my archived files but when I now update I'm getting duplicates of all the caches.  What am I missing?

 

Tks Alan

1 - it is still there, why do you feel it is not?

 

2 - Not quite sure what you mean by this. However, after the restore do a Database=>Repair/Defrag to make sure everthing is ok. Now load in the GPX file - do you still get duplicates (if so, then perhaps a screen shot so we can see exactly what you mean)

1. I don't see it on the Special Tags list.

 

2. This I did once before I forget what it was that I screwed up. My original display in GSAK shows for example Use waypoint: MindYourStGCKM4 . When I load in the new email PQ list I get a second point for the same cache Use waypoint: GCKM4D

 

edit for correct waypoint

Edited by Alan2
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I've got about 200 waypoints loaded in GSAK, but the info for each one is not up-to-date -- no info on cache type, location, ratings, etc. Is there a way to do a mass update of the waypoints in GSAK?

 

did you load GSAK with LOC files or gpx files?

 

LOC files have little content. You have to be a premium member in order to get gpx files or to get PQ's with up to 500 caches in them.

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1. I just reinstall after my computer had to be reformatted.  I can't seem to find

%dist as one f the specials that give the cache distance from home. What happened to it?

 

2.  I've restored my archived files but when I now update I'm getting duplicates of all the caches.  What am I missing?

 

Tks Alan

1 - it is still there, why do you feel it is not?

 

2 - Not quite sure what you mean by this. However, after the restore do a Database=>Repair/Defrag to make sure everthing is ok. Now load in the GPX file - do you still get duplicates (if so, then perhaps a screen shot so we can see exactly what you mean)

1. I don't see it on the Special Tags list.

 

2. This I did once before I forget what it was that I screwed up. My original display in GSAK shows for example Use waypoint: MindYourStGCKM4 . When I load in the new email PQ list I get a second point for the same cache Use waypoint: GCKM4D

 

edit for correct waypoint

One other thing, after the problem with not being able to open GSAK, I uninstalled and then installed in C\GSAK rather than C\program files\gsak and then moved all the folders and files left in Program Files\gsak to the new gsak location. Not sure if that contributes problems but you should know.

Tks

 

Aan

Link to comment
1. I just reinstall after my computer had to be reformatted.  I can't seem to find

%dist as one f the specials that give the cache distance from home. What happened to it?

 

2.  I've restored my archived files but when I now update I'm getting duplicates of all the caches.  What am I missing?

 

Tks Alan

1 - it is still there, why do you feel it is not?

 

2 - Not quite sure what you mean by this. However, after the restore do a Database=>Repair/Defrag to make sure everthing is ok. Now load in the GPX file - do you still get duplicates (if so, then perhaps a screen shot so we can see exactly what you mean)

1. I don't see it on the Special Tags list.

 

2. This I did once before I forget what it was that I screwed up. My original display in GSAK shows for example Use waypoint: MindYourStGCKM4 . When I load in the new email PQ list I get a second point for the same cache Use waypoint: GCKM4D

 

edit for correct waypoint

1. '%dist'. It is still there, take a look at the GSAK help file.

 

2. At 1st glance it seems your waypoints are getting mixed up by a combination of tags, perhaps %smart%code. Difficult to tell with the limited info you have provided. In which GSAK dialogue are you seeing the Use Waypoint:.

 

As Clyde said earlier a screen shot might help.

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Hi Clyde -

 

A few posts ago I mentioned that several screens in GSAK are appearing to not display correctly. I have my screen resolution at 1280x1024 and "large fonts". Here are a couple screen shots for you to see. It seems like the text is too big for its designated area. It doesn't matter if I stretch the GSAK screen to full desktop size.

 

EXAMPLE 1: Lock first column, code search, name search, toolbar... overlapping:

GSAK1.jpg

 

EXAMPLE 2: Waypoint box text too big, option area has a couple text probs:

GSAK2.jpg

 

Thanks.

 

John

Edited by robotman
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One other thing, after the problem with not being able to open GSAK, I uninstalled and then installed in C\GSAK rather than C\program files\gsak and then moved all the folders and files left in Program Files\gsak to the new gsak location.  Not sure if that contributes problems but you should know.

If you 'restored' your backup file into your new C:\GSAK\ folder and selected 'restore settings' this could screw things up as your 'settings' may have referred to the original installation folder C:\Program Files\GSAK\.

 

Copying across files from one folder to another 'may' also screw things up. It is not sufficient to just copy across the folders. You need to do a clean install of GSAK and work with that.

 

Make sure you use a GSAK installation file which can be downloaded from

Latest GSAK Public Release.

 

HTH

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I am unable to get my handheld to communicate with GSAK. I know it is hooked up fine, because it transfers data to and from my street map software.

 

I have restarted both my computer and handheld and I am getting the

following error when trying to transfer waypoints from the handheld to GSAK:

 

Error sending waypoints:

MAGPROTO: no data received from GPS

 

The error I receive when attempting to transmit waypoints to the handheld

is much longer. Let me know if you need to know what that error is.

 

More details:

 

I'm using a Magellan Meridian Color.

 

Here is what I'm attempting, please advise if this is incorrect.

 

In GSAK I go to "GPS" and select "Send waypoints..."

 

Then a new window pops up.

 

I select the number of waypoints I wish to send and then hit "Send". A window appears saying "Generating GPS file." then a window saying "Sending waypoints". It lasts about 30 seconds and then the error comes up.

 

Thanks again.

-Cole

When I first installed this, I got the same msg... I changed my COM port and it was fine.

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It says "Centre Point=Home" and the miles are still off. :blink:

 

I put in my coordinates like this:

 

Home,32.43865,-116.46517

 

 

EDIT to add coordinate info . . . :blink:

Help with Home????

 

In GSAK my home is:

Home, 42.14282, -121.46657

 

This Geo has the following coordinates:

N 42° 14.273 W 121° 46.703

 

It is the park at the end of my street and we have found it.

 

The problem is that GSAK says that it is 17.2mi from Home, which the lower taskbar indicates is my centre point.

 

Please advise.

 

Thanks all, we are loving this and can't wait to work out all the bugs

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In the earlier Version of GSAK (afair below 5.1) it was possible to send Waypoints with a - (dash) in the waypoint name. Since then this ability seems to be lost. Is there any Configuration setting where this can be changed back?

 

Just for records: I use a Garmin eTrex legend.

I answered this int he GSAK forum not too long ago. There I wrote:

 

I changed this behaviour fairly recently, and I'm pretty sure that Clyde picked that change up.

 

Section 7.2 of the Garmin protocol spec (001-00063-00 Rev. B ) says:

 

Unless otherwise noted, all devices use characters from the ASCII character set. Each string type is limited to a specific subset of ASCII characters as shown below:

Table 26  Character Sets

User Waypoint Identifier: upper-case letters, numbers

[ blah blah blah ]

Some devices may allow additional characters beyond those mentioned above, but no attempt is made in this document to identify these device-specific additions. The host should be prepared to receive any ASCII character from the device, but only transmit the characters shown above back to the device.

 

After spending literally months of chasing around problems with "random" weird Garmin problems because some units will crash or otherwise act wierd if they they see characters other than what's strictly allowed, I finally got militant with the waypoint names and now brutally enforce the spec **with one exception**. I do allow spaces in D108's, D109's, and D110's which is technically illegal, but those are present only on units new enough that they don't totally go into hyperspace if they see something as radical as a space in the waypoint name. (It remains on my list to be equally militant with waypoint comments, and routepoints, but they seem to cause less indigestion in the geriatric Garmins.)

 

As for it working in Mapsource, I can suggest only that you file a bugreport to Garmin who is clearly not following their own stinking protocol document in Mapsource. tongue.gif

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In GSAK my home is:

Home, 42.14282, -121.46657

 

This Geo has the following coordinates:

N 42° 14.273 W 121° 46.703

 

It is the park at the end of my street and we have found it.

 

The problem is that GSAK says that it is 17.2mi from Home, which the lower taskbar indicates is my centre point.

They look to be about 17 miles away to me...is it that you really intended to enter these?

 

42 14.282

121 46.657

 

DD.DDDDD and DD MM.MMM are two different datums, and will give you two different places.

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I am unable to get my handheld to communicate with GSAK. I know it is hooked up fine, because it transfers data to and from my street map software.

 

I have restarted both my computer and handheld and I am getting the

following error when trying to transfer waypoints from the handheld to GSAK:

 

Error sending waypoints:

MAGPROTO: no data received from GPS

 

The error I receive when attempting to transmit waypoints to the handheld

is much longer. Let me know if you need to know what that error is.

 

More details:

 

I'm using a Magellan Meridian Color.

 

Here is what I'm attempting, please advise if this is incorrect.

 

In GSAK I go to "GPS" and select "Send waypoints..."

 

Then a new window pops up.

 

I select the number of waypoints I wish to send and then hit "Send". A window appears saying "Generating GPS file." then a window saying "Sending waypoints". It lasts about 30 seconds and then the error comes up.

 

Thanks again.

-Cole

When I first installed this, I got the same msg... I changed my COM port and it was fine.

I had the same error message and it was because I had Maping software open in the background. Closing the program did the trick.

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Since the two are different, what should I have for my "Location" in GSAK if my home is at:

 

42 degrees 14.282N

121 deg 46.657W

In GSAK ...

 

Select Tools, Options, Locations

 

Then enter the following in the window ...

 

Home, N42 14.282, W121 46.657

 

HTH

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Since the two are different, what should I have for my "Location" in GSAK if my home is at:  42 degrees 14.282N  121 deg 46.657W

Home, N 29 14.282, W 121 46.657

 

If you put a decimal point after the degrees, you're telling GSAK that you're using decimal degrees. If you do want to use decimal degrees, then you can put it in as

 

Home, N29.2380333, W121.7776167

 

To convert minutes to decimal degrees, divide by 60. To convert decimal degrees to minutes, multiply the decimal portion by 60.

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I have made the following change to my Home:

 

Home, N42 14.282, W121 46.657

 

And am still getting 17.2 miles for distance on this cache.

 

N42° 14.273 W121° 46.703 (WGS84)

 

I can see it from my front yard and my handheld has it about 250' away.

 

Why? WHY?????

FOR GOD"S SAKE WHY??????

 

Thanks again for any and all help.

 

-Cole

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Hmm. Perhaps GSAK needs to recalculate the index. Try selecting any waypoint for a centre point, and then go back to your home coords as the centre point. I'm not certain, but GSAK may not automatically recalculate the index just because one changes the coords.

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I have made the following change to my Home:

 

Home, N42 14.282, W121 46.657

 

And am still getting 17.2 miles for distance on this cache.

 

N42° 14.273 W121° 46.703 (WGS84)

 

I can see it from my front yard and my handheld has it about 250' away.

 

Why? WHY?????

FOR GOD"S SAKE WHY??????

 

Thanks again for any and all help.

 

-Cole

I assume your're talking about this cache ...

 

Park Dedication by smithdw (GC69D1)

 

Are you sure you set your 'Locations' drop down menu to 'Home'?

 

In the GSAK statur bar do you see 'Centre Point = Home' ?

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accroding to your numbers -

 

Home, N42 14.282, W121 46.657

 

And am still getting 17.2 miles for distance on this cache.

 

N42° 14.273 W121° 46.703 (WGS84)

 

a great little utility I have here says they are 211.2 feet does that sound about right?

 

check out this site for the software - it was given to me free by the author.

http://www.mentorsoftwareinc.com

 

FwdInv is copyrighted by Mentor Software, Inc. and may not be copied or otherwise distributed without written permission from Mentor Software, Inc. Mentor Software customarily provides copies of FwdInv to qualified individuals/organizations free of charge upon request. To request a copy, call 1-800-234-8649 during normal business hours.

FwdInv is also available for download from:

http://www.mentorsoftwareinc.com

You can also request the program by calling 1-800-234-8649 or 303-252-9090 during normal business hours, MST.

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I'm sure this is someplace in the thread but with all the quotes and 11 pages long, I have trouble wading through it all now. I am VERY interested in the automated downloading of queries from my mail into GSAK and also into my PPC - any idea when this will be available (actual milestone date)?

 

Thanks in advance,

Dan

the Neverlanders

You have mail :blink:

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A few posts ago I mentioned that several screens in GSAK are appearing to not display correctly. I have my screen resolution at 1280x1024 and "large fonts". Here are a couple screen shots for you to see. It seems like the text is too big for its designated area. It doesn't matter if I stretch the GSAK screen to full desktop size.

I some times wonder if people are fooling themselves by using large fonts on high resolutions - personaly I would just use a lower resolution.

 

Anyway, the bottom line is that all the dialogs have been designed using normal fonts and Large fonts are not supported.

 

However, I will look at trapping those areas that are responding to the "large" font and force them to use "normal" font so this does not happen.

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Looks like one enterprising GSAK user has come up with his own work around for this.

 

Try adding the following custom URL to GSAK

 

Co-Ord Grabber=http://boulter.com/gps/grabber/grabcoords.php?url=www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=%code

Yes indeed I have and it works a treat - many thanks to Robert Lipe for the pointer to this web site :blink:

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1. I just reinstall after my computer had to be reformatted.  I can't seem to find

%dist as one f the specials that give the cache distance from home. What happened to it?

 

2.  I've restored my archived files but when I now update I'm getting duplicates of all the caches.  What am I missing?

 

Tks Alan

1 - it is still there, why do you feel it is not?

 

2 - Not quite sure what you mean by this. However, after the restore do a Database=>Repair/Defrag to make sure everthing is ok. Now load in the GPX file - do you still get duplicates (if so, then perhaps a screen shot so we can see exactly what you mean)

1. I don't see it on the Special Tags list.

 

2. This I did once before I forget what it was that I screwed up. My original display in GSAK shows for example Use waypoint: MindYourStGCKM4 . When I load in the new email PQ list I get a second point for the same cache Use waypoint: GCKM4D

 

edit for correct waypoint

1. Well, one of us is going blind :blink: I see it both in the help file and online here

 

2. When you load GPX files, GSAK uses the waypoint name to determine if the waypoint already exists in the GSAK database or not. It would appear that at some stage you have done an export to GPX using the special tags of %smart%code for the waypoint name, and then loaded this file back into your databse.

 

When generating GPX files that are going to be loaded back into GSAK (especially if you want those same waypoints updated with GPX files from another source) you should always use just %code for the waypoint name.

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I some times wonder if people are fooling themselves by using large fonts on high resolutions - personaly I would just use a lower resolution.

 

Anyway, the bottom line is that all the dialogs have been designed using normal fonts and Large fonts are not supported.

 

However, I will look at trapping those areas that are responding to the "large" font and force them to use "normal" font so this does not happen.

It's nothing about "fooling ourselves". Unfortunately with a LCD display, you have to set the display at the highest resolution or the display is not as sharp because it has to dither points to "fake" lower resolutions.

 

I'd use "extra large" fonts if they were readily supported. Unfortunately the flat screen technology allows for some very high resolution, but at the same time makes the fonts smaller and smaller. I can barely read my "large" fonts on my current display.

 

"large fonts" also will become more of a standard as people are converting their CRTs to flatscreens. For now, there are tons of programs that have the same problems as yours. If you have time to make the program versatile enough to handle "large fonts" then that's great. Otherwise, it's just a little bit of an inconvenience. It doesn't prevent any operations as far as I can tell.

 

Thanks again for the great app!

 

John

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I some times wonder if people are fooling themselves by using large fonts on high resolutions - personaly I would just use a lower resolution.

 

Anyway, the bottom line is that all the dialogs have been designed using normal fonts and Large fonts are not supported.

 

However, I will look at trapping those areas that are responding to the "large" font and force them to use "normal" font so this does not happen.

It's nothing about "fooling ourselves". Unfortunately with a LCD display, you have to set the display at the highest resolution or the display is not as sharp because it has to dither points to "fake" lower resolutions.

 

I'd use "extra large" fonts if they were readily supported. Unfortunately the flat screen technology allows for some very high resolution, but at the same time makes the fonts smaller and smaller. I can barely read my "large" fonts on my current display.

 

"large fonts" also will become more of a standard as people are converting their CRTs to flatscreens. For now, there are tons of programs that have the same problems as yours. If you have time to make the program versatile enough to handle "large fonts" then that's great. Otherwise, it's just a little bit of an inconvenience. It doesn't prevent any operations as far as I can tell.

 

Thanks again for the great app!

 

John

I've yet to see a LCD display that can match a half decent CRT for reproduction. :blink:

 

I think they're (currently) not good enough and I'll will stick to my CRT until I see a VAST improvement in LCD's. CRT's are so cheap now too!

 

Sits back and waits for the LCD owners response :blink:

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I some times wonder if people are fooling themselves by using large fonts on high resolutions - personaly I would just use a lower resolution.

 

Anyway, the bottom line is that all the dialogs have been designed using normal fonts and Large fonts are not supported.

 

However, I will look at trapping those areas that are responding to the "large" font and force them to use "normal" font so this does not happen.

It's nothing about "fooling ourselves". Unfortunately with a LCD display, you have to set the display at the highest resolution or the display is not as sharp because it has to dither points to "fake" lower resolutions.

 

I'd use "extra large" fonts if they were readily supported. Unfortunately the flat screen technology allows for some very high resolution, but at the same time makes the fonts smaller and smaller. I can barely read my "large" fonts on my current display.

 

"large fonts" also will become more of a standard as people are converting their CRTs to flatscreens. For now, there are tons of programs that have the same problems as yours. If you have time to make the program versatile enough to handle "large fonts" then that's great. Otherwise, it's just a little bit of an inconvenience. It doesn't prevent any operations as far as I can tell.

 

Thanks again for the great app!

 

John

OK, I see your point.

 

This is one of those "You can't please all the people all the time"

 

All the GSAK dialogs still support 800 x 600 screen resolution (you would be surprised how many users still have this set up) and most of the dialogs only just fit all the information using normal font. Allowing for large fonts would mean increasing the dialog sizes, and for these users this would mean the introduction of scroll bars to see all the information - something I am sure they would be just thrilled about :blink:

 

And for the smarty pants out there that are going to say "well just test the screen reslolution and change accordingly", please note that I am just a one man show with limited resources. Perhaps with several programmers working on GSAK and a higher price tag this may be a reality, but this is not the direction I want to head.

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Perhaps with several programmers working on GSAK and a higher price tag this may be a reality, but this is not the direction I want to head.

And we're grateful for that! It may be a one man show with limited resources, but GSAK already functions like it has several programmers and a higher price tag (not to mention a large and responsive support staff). Keep up the great work!

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Perhaps with several programmers working on GSAK and a higher price tag this may be a reality, but this is not the direction I want to head.

And we're grateful for that! It may be a one man show with limited resources, but GSAK already functions like it has several programmers and a higher price tag (not to mention a large and responsive support staff). Keep up the great work!

Seconded :blink:

 

It certainly doesn't come across as a 'one man show'.

 

The work and the time you dedicate to GSAK is very much appreciated by me Clyde and I'm sure numerous others - keep it up :blink:

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I did a search through the forums and could find nothing on this. It's a bit of GPSbabel/GASK question. Is there any support to create files for the Whistler GPS units? I have a friend who just bought one for Geocaching on the way, but we have been looking at the manual. It looks like it can upload waypoints to the compact flash directly like Meridians in something called a .lst file. Sounds like anouther CSV file type so there is hope that it might work without modification using one of the many other formats that the programs support.

 

That is unless it is like the stupid Delorme format that just adds "Begin" and "End" to the file in order to use extra hard drive space :blink:

 

Anyone have exeriance with a Whistler and GSAK? I could only find one topic in the entire forums and it was how to enter a single waypoint, and thats covered in the manual.

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1. I just reinstall after my computer had to be reformatted.  I can't seem to find

%dist as one f the specials that give the cache distance from home. What happened to it?

 

2.  I've restored my archived files but when I now update I'm getting duplicates of all the caches.  What am I missing?

 

Tks Alan

1 - it is still there, why do you feel it is not?

 

2 - Not quite sure what you mean by this. However, after the restore do a Database=>Repair/Defrag to make sure everthing is ok. Now load in the GPX file - do you still get duplicates (if so, then perhaps a screen shot so we can see exactly what you mean)

1. I don't see it on the Special Tags list.

 

2. This I did once before I forget what it was that I screwed up. My original display in GSAK shows for example Use waypoint: MindYourStGCKM4 . When I load in the new email PQ list I get a second point for the same cache Use waypoint: GCKM4D

 

edit for correct waypoint

1. '%dist'. It is still there, take a look at the GSAK help file.

 

2. At 1st glance it seems your waypoints are getting mixed up by a combination of tags, perhaps %smart%code. Difficult to tell with the limited info you have provided. In which GSAK dialogue are you seeing the Use Waypoint:.

 

As Clyde said earlier a screen shot might help.

1. I updated to the latst version and its in the Special but it was missing in the Version 4 list.

2. I think what I did here was that I copy the gpx file I created for gpxsonar in my PPC and installed it bac into GSAK. I'm going to start al over by downloading all new PQ's

 

Tks

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1. I updated to the latst version and its in the Special but it was missing in the Version 4 list.

 

Looking at the version history (available online or in the help file) you will notice %dist was introduced in V 5.0.0 on 14th December 2004

 

So In order for you to know about this, then think it is missing you must have had version 5.0.0 (or later) installed, then for some reason gone back to V4. I certainly do not recommend this. It is best when asking questions and reporting problems that you make sure you are on the latest version available from http://gsak.net.

 

If you must have an older version installed, then please at least check out the version history to see what you are missing out on

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Is there any support to create files for the Whistler GPS units?

There is no explicit support in GPSBabel for anything involving Whistler and this is the first request for such a thing that I can recall in all my years in Babelsville.

 

Send sample files, any pertinent doc you have, and offers for beer (I drink stouts) to the GPSBabel mailing lists. csv formats are pretty easy to stamp out these days. Binary formats remain substantially harder.

 

That is unless it is like the stupid Delorme format that just adds "Begin" and "End" to the file in order to use extra hard drive space  :rolleyes:

 

I've long been puzzled by that. Some of the Delorme products document that as required and some don't. Evidently, the xmap products require it. (That's the GPSBabel format called "xmap") The Street Atlas & Topo products document it as required, but some of the products actually choke on it if it's there. So GPSBabel actually leaves the BEGIN/END decorations out of the (admittedly poorly named) "csv" and "saplus" formats as it appears to be MORE compatible with the menagerie of DeLorme products than following their recommendation. It's a real mess.

 

...stuff like this is WHY I drink stouts.

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All I can get the 60 to accept is 30 characters of the cache name and hider.

 

I have GSAK set for cache name, by, dif and ter.  -- not enough characters.

The name, by, dif and ter tags all support the format %tag=nn, where nn is the number of characters. Using this, you can construct your tags to be meaningful within the 30 character limit, e.g.:

 

%name=20 %by=8 %dif=1 %ter=1

 

Or whatever combination of character lengths works for you (I find that the half step difficulty and terrain ratings give a false sense of precision due to the variability of how people rate their caches, so one character is just as good as three for dif and ter).

I know I'm way late to this discussion but I wanted to suggest something for this space problem. I use an eTrex Legend, which limits the waypoint name to 10 characters and has no description field, so I've had to really condense the information I can send. Instead of doing %dif=1 or %ter=1, which loses you some information, try using %dif1 or %dif1a. The former uses 1-9 to indicate all difficulty levels, instead of just rounding to one digit (i.e. a difficulty 1.5 would be a 2, a 4.5 would be an 8, and so forth,) the latter replaces the half intervals with letters, so a 1.5 is A and a 4.5 is D. Also, instead of %code, try %drop2, which drops the useless "GC" prefix to the 6 character code. My GPSr export string is "%drop2 %dif1/%ter1/%con1" fitting almost everything useful into the 10 characters I have available.

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