Paperless caching

[LadyEngineer]

Okay, after searching, printing, stapling and now organizating I don't know how many caches to get ready for the event in Clarksville, I want to hear from all those of you that go paperless.

What pda units do you use?

What software?

How do you get a .gpx file and not a .loc file from GC when you click download waypoints?

How do you use the GPXspinner program?

How do you use the iSilo program if you use palm?

I have a m130 palm available to me but I can't get the spinner to work. Thank goodness I found EasyGPS so I didn't have to manually input all those coordinates (but if Strider869 wants to use his, we have to do them manually) I'm tired and I haven't even left the house yet.

I ready for all the suggestions on going paperless. Now is the time with tax returns just around the corner.

Thanks in advance.

LE

[arkansas_stickerdude]

LE I will show you tomorrow!!!! I'll have my Cachemachine with me, this way if anyone has any questions I can show them.

[LadyEngineer]

WooHoo!! We are now both paperless cachers. If you are new to this sport and don't know what we're talking about, please post and we will be happy to explain.

We had 2 Palm IIIs that a friend had given us two years ago. He was getting rid of them and I never would have thought this would work on them. I downloaded EasyGPS to get the information from the queries into my garmin and Strider's magellan (which I had to purchase a data cable for his magellan. If you have an old magellan, guess what the software will even work with it.) I down loaded Cachemate to got on the PalmIIIs and it loaded on to it beautifully. Because I had the old Palms already it only cost me $16 for cachemate ($8 for each unit), $30 for Strider's GC premium membership and $45 for the data cable (Strider is using a Magellan GPS 315.) Hint: You don't have to have the latest technology with all the extra bells and whistles to do this sport.

This is so much easier then printing pages and trying to organize them.

Thanks Jerry and ArkansasStickerdude and Poppy for you help and suggestions.

[RuffRidr]

LE,
I have a setup similair to what you got. My PDA is an old one that wouldn't be good for much of anything else. The only difference with my setup is I use GSAK instead of EasyGPS. GSAK has an export option where it exports it directly to the Cachemate.pdb file. So this is basically my steps:

1. Download .gsx file from gc.com
2. doubleclick .gsx file which launches GSAK
3. filter out caches I don't want
4. Export to Cachemate, then do a sync on my Palm Pilot
5. Export to Streets and Trips .csv file, doubleclick on .csv to see map
6. Send waypoints to Garmin GPS

I really like GSAK because it is basically a one stop shop for exporting to any other application I need. Those 6 steps above used to take over a dozen steps before. At one time I was doing everything using GPSBABEL on the command line. Ack!

--RuffRidr

[Geoark1]

I am so happy with paperless that I just ordered a new tungsten E for color maps I use Plucker and Spinner also have signed up for the free Avant-to-go so i can download the maps from the cache page. With spinner you get a Pocket que and spinner does it thing then you find the file and "Walal" plucker puts it on the Palm at your next hot sic. :D :D :D :D :D I am so happy. Mrs Geoark is now in the process of getting hers as well.

[arkansas_stickerdude]

I have an Ipaq from several years ago and it works great but for maps I use my laptopo and Delorme Street atlas or Microsoft Street and trips with a USB GPS it is very accurate.

[Gaddiel]

I was just telling OrangeDanish yesterday how I don't think I could ever go back to printing out cache pages again. We used to spend hours getting everything ready before a cache run. Now, I can put the nearest 500 caches in GPXSonar, load up both GPSrs, and make Pocket Streets maps of all those caches for my PocketPC in about 2 minutes!

Wayne

[rock_hound]

Two weeks before the Nonnipoppy event, my HP 565 PPC screen went dead :x Faced with the horror of going back to paper caching (which would really suck in Clarksville), I got on Ebay and bought the bear minimum palm (Palm IIxe) that would run cachemate and have plenty of room for file storage. I paid $28 and that includes extra for fast shipping so I could get it before the event. $8 for cachemate and I was ready to go. I am impressed with how well it works. And for $28 if I drop it, I have not lost much. I have found that the Mapsend Topo maps for my Stortrak Pro are adequate for navigation.

It seems that my equipment problems did not end with the PPC. Right after the event my Sportrak decided to clear all waypoints by itself :x Luckily Gaddiel was with us so we used his GPSr. When I got home I loaded all of the waypoints back and it seems to be working fine.

[walkingshadow]

:D 8O Well after ready this topic and thinking about it for several weeks I have bit the bullet and bought a pda. I am charging it right now and can't wait until I can play with it. Questions may follow after I play with it for awhile. I love the idea of having all my personal info that I may need with me; contact info, appointments, medical info, anything that may come in handy. It also can play mp3's and take pictures..... cool....
I love technology and gadgets. I think that is one reason why geocaching appeals to me (more gadgets).

[Clark~Griswold]

We had an HP IPAQ we used for about a year. Worked great. Last November, we were looking for Home Run Zone in Clarksville when it fell out of Ellen's pocket and the screen broke. :( Ordered a new one. Over Christmas, we were up in Fayetteville searching for a Stickerdude cache. I was done with it and slipped it into my back pocket. Sat down in the cache-mobile and broke another screen. :oops: Since they seemed to have become disposable, we bought the cheapest one we could find, a Palm Zire. Not as good, but a lot more rugged. :?

BTW, Golfnutz and ASD each owe us a PDA :wink:

[arkansas_stickerdude]

Check is in the mail.

[walkingshadow]

:? :oops: :?: ahhhhhhhhhhhhh

I am totally lost. I have download gsak and cachemate and I don't know what to do. I got a list of caches from easy gps to go over to the pda but It is very limited in info. I also can't find where to put my # into cachemate..... boy I am showing my ignorance..... but I have been playing and reading. I am getting frustrated....

[BACKPACKNJACK]

:? :oops: :?: ahhhhhhhhhhhhh

I am totally lost ....... boy I am showing my ignorance..... but I have been playing and reading. I am getting frustrated....
Mine is in the hands of UPS so I soon may be singing this same sad song. I suppose Life was just going waaay toooo well so something had to give. :roll:
PS. It has so many features I don't need yet, that maybe by the time I get it figured out there will still be something on it that is not yet obsolete. :D

[thenaturenurd]

Ok I broke out my Handspring Visor Pro before my recent trip to Texas and finally got it to work with my computer. I made a query of where I was going in Texas and used GPS Spinner to spin it into a format I could then upload to my PDA. I had already been using a channel type program called avantgo to get content for my PDA. I just made a personal channel and linked the the spun info to a personal channel and presto...instant portable cache info! Worked pretty well. Only two problems I had.

1. I do not have a gps capable of uploading directly from the PDA

2. When I spun the info not all the caches showed up I still had to print a few out I knew I would look for around my parents house in Texas. Anyone know why that is happening?

All in in all its much easier than printing and then trying to manage sheets and sheets of cache info. A few tweaks and I think I will be an exclusive paperless cacher. Paper and printer ink isnt cheep and this is much better for the environment.

Thats all I have to say about that... :D

Craig

[BooCrew]

OK........... I hit ebay the other day and got a cheap Palm III cause I knew they worked for LE. When it gets here, I may be needling you for help LE to get mine up and running.

We did a little Clarksville caching today and I have papers all over the car. It would be so nice to get it all on a PDA. I do wish I could afford a color one for maps. I don't know how many miles we drove out of the way by backtracking today. Oh well, we had a good time anyway.

[thenaturenurd]

At last I found something that works pretty easily for my Palm.

I have been experimenting with a variety of programs and finally found one that I like.

Its called Cachemate and it is quite easy to use. So far I have only used to to put benchmarks on my PDA but Im sure it will be just as easy for geocaches. I am carrying all of the benchmark information for Madison, Washington, Carroll, and Benton counties in my PDA. Pretty neat. I will give a full report when I am have more time and not so tired. For now check out the link here

http://www.smittyware.com/palm/cachemate/

It does a cost a little bit to get the full version...8 bucks but so far i think its well worth it.

More later...

Craig

[arkansas_stickerdude]

How much info on the bm do you get. I've been looking for some way to get all the info for BM's but can't find out how to get it downloaded.

[LadyEngineer]

BooCrew,

Call me when it comes in. I would be glad to walk you through. It was so very simple that it actually scares me.

LE
5018439642 (home)
5015802880 (cell)

[arkansas_stickerdude]

Scarying LE is pretty easy. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Boo we can meet for lunch and I can help also.

Call me
479-461-9295

[thenaturenurd]

Stickerdude...

You can get the entire datasheet and put it on your PDA fairly easily. Also once you locate say a Triangulation Station...you can move it to your "found" list which allows for logging date, time, and notes of the find.

You can also put in a waypoint say of where you are standing/driving at the time and the program will show the nearest points to you. Pretty snazzy little program and well worth the 8 bones you give for the full version.

You should check it out.

Unfortunately if you have a Pocket PC...cachemate will not run on it. But their is a similar program called GPXSonar you can use.

I was considering getting rid of my old PDA but turns out its pretty useful afterall. Im sure I will upgrade to a different model someday but my ole Handspring Visor Pro more than does the trick for now.

If anyone needs help using cachemate I will be glad to offer what I know.

Craig

[walkingshadow]

Yeah first day of paperless caching. Went well. I played with it for awhile and got it figured out. I learned a lot about my pda in the process :D

I was wondering how do you get maps on your pda? That is one thing I missed. Do I need a map program for my pda?

rita

[BooCrew]

LE and Dude, your generosity is amazing. I will contact you post haste when needed. :) But....... I'm getting kinda PO'd. I have heard nothing from the guy that was auctioning off the PDA. I won it and paid for it on Friday. I've inquired twice about when he plans on shipping it so I can leave a note for UPS. He hasn't responded. I'd cancel this and bite the bullet and just buy a new Dell Axim with my high interest credit acct :roll: if I could. I hate being ignored especially when I've paid promptly.

[arkansas_stickerdude]

ARparkguy I tried to download the list and all I could get get it to do is bring up a TXT file. Where can I download it.

[Gaddiel]

ARparkguy I tried to download the list and all I could get get it to do is bring up a TXT file. Where can I download it.

There is an application called bmgpx that will convert the benchmark database files to gpx files. You can get it here: http://parkrrrr.com/

[arkansas_stickerdude]

I can not get that bmgpx to work it.

[Gaddiel]

I can not get that bmgpx to work it.

In order to get benchmarks into a GPX file, you need a .dat file to start with. First go to http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/ds_county.prl and click on "Archived Datasheets", then click on "Yearly_Archives". Highlight "Arkansas" and click "Get County Archives". Choose the county you want and and whether you want it zipped or not, then click "Download File". You will get a .dat file that you can now use with BMGPX.

Make a new directory on your computer and put both the BMGPX.exe and the county .dat file in there. Go to a DOS Command Prompt (yeah, I know, YEECH!) and navigate to that directory. Now type:

bmgpx xxxxx.dat yyyyy.gpx

xxxxx.dat is the name of the .dat file that you just downloaded and yyyyy.gpx is the name that you want to give the GPX file. Hit ENTER and VIOLA!!! you have a GPX file containing that county's benchmarks that you can use in Watcher, GPXSonar, Cachemate, etc...

[BACKPACKNJACK]

Well, for the last few days it has been more or less like getting a root-canal with a chainsaw and pickaxe and I’ve been to every BB I could find to get it done but >insert long drum roll and a big Woooo Hooooo here<
I too am paperless now.[:)]
I never really go after so many caches that I can’t keep all the info in my head and I only print cache pages for those I take caching so they can see all the info I have seen about the caches we are after, so the paper wasn’t really a problem, just a good excuse to buy another toy and I get to blame/credit you guys.
Ain’t life just a whole lot of fun?
PS, Some day I may even use the Wi-Fi switch but I’ve got a feeling that is going to be a looooong story so I will need a big excuse and I will need some volunteers for the blame.[:)]

[thenaturenurd]

Stickerdude if you are still having problems I will write a out a full tutorial ASAP and post it on here for anyone else that may be wondering and cant fiqure it out. Its pretty simple just took me a little while to tinker with it. Quite handy carrying around counties worth of benchmark data and cache data in the PALM of your hand and no paper/ink costs. NICE!!!!

Anyways. Look for my tutorial soon...

Craig.

[rock_hound]

Good Idea arparkguy. You could post it to the downloads section (so does not get lost in the forum). I have been thinking about writing something similar for Cachemate. My Dad is new to geocaching and is having trouble using Cachemate.

[BACKPACKNJACK]

Good Idea arparkguy. You could post it to the downloads section (so does not get lost in the forum). I have been thinking about writing something similar for Cachemate. My Dad is new to geocaching and is having trouble using Cachemate.
Things like this (and many more) are what I’ve been talking about when suggesting a “Geocaching Help Station” be added to this site so the very knowledgeable people here are more likely to see the questions so are more able to help. People are now finding this site even before they are finding GC and have lots of questions.
There is a world of great info buried/lost on the pages of this and other forums and lots more that will be lost if it doesn‘t have a home. Or maybe some question/subjects could just be suggested for pinning to the top (Benchmarking, start here. Etc.) like in other forums.
I just think this would be an easy way for those with knowledge to find and help those with questions. Of course your mileage may vary and I completely respect that.
Title= [GEOCACHING HELP STATION]
Sub:
USING GPSs & PROGRAMS
USING PDAs & PROGRAMS
USING WiFi
USING MAPS
WHERE CAN I PLACE CACHES IN ARKANSAS
I think the above list is a must but maybe some other subjects would help.
IS THAT THING POISONOUS? 8O (I added that one for Lady_E) :D

[BooCrew]

Hey all! Well, I got the Palm III in on Tuesday........ it DOES NOT work.:( The guy neglected to say it was hung on the tap target screen and that the "included setup CD" was broken. Guess it's a good thing the Axim came in on Monday. :lol:

I've gotten GSAK and gpssonar downloaded and have some pocket queries too. I am delighted that it only took me minutes to gather all that info. Took hours to print out before. Now, I just gotta figure out how to sort these things!

I really like the Axim and got a good deal on it and a warranty 8) . Although, I was panicked when I'd downloaded all these GPS programs and the thing locked up. Course, if you don't accidentally push the lock button when inserting it in the Rhino case, it works really well. :roll:

Wish me luck on figuring out these programs.

[nonnipoppy]

If I had that Palm that was hung I would remove the batteries first. Then I would unscrew the stylus and find a small plastic pin that is inside. Them push that pin into the hole in the back of the palm for a total reset.

Next I would reinstall the batteries and see if it works. I have heard of it sometimes taking two attempts to get it to reset. If it dosent work then I would chunk it.....poppy

[Gaddiel]

I really like the Axim and got a good deal on it and a warranty 8) .
Wish me luck on figuring out these programs.

BooCrew, we have and Axim, too. If you need help with anything, I'd be glad to share what I know...

[rock_hound]

and that the "included setup CD" was broken

You don't need the setup CD. You can download the lastest Hotsync software from Palm for free. I hope Poppy's reset procedure works for you.

[BooCrew]

Poppi,

Yep, I tried that reset thing more than twice. :? I even went so far as to read the instructions! Then I emailed the guy and he said yeah, it was stuck on that screen but it was just a software problem. Anyway, long story short, after several hours downloading (don't you love dial up) and installing a new palm desktop....... it still wouldn't do anything. So, I give.

Besides, you know that Axim I mentioned was way cool and was working right out of the box and I can do tons of stuff with it and there's lots more on there I don't even know what to do with. Like bluetooth stuff... I probably won't ever use that since I don't really know what it is. :lol: Except that I had read something about a GPS and bluetooth so I thought I might need it someday for something.

And Gaddiel, you've probably already said in a previous post but what do you use for cacheing software? I'm using the GPXSonar but I'm not sure how to get it to just show me the cahces that are nearby. Is there an easier way?

Thanks guys!

[Gaddiel]

And Gaddiel, you've probably already said in a previous post but what do you use for cacheing software? I'm using the GPXSonar but I'm not sure how to get it to just show me the cahces that are nearby. Is there an easier way?

GPXSonar is what I use. To show nearby caches, I just pick a cache in the area, then click and hold the stylus down. You will get a menu and one of the options is to "Set as Center". When you choose this, it will resort the list and show you all the nearest caches. There may be an easier way, but this is how I do it...

[BooCrew]

Gaddiel.... Thanks, I was messing around with it last night and figured that out. I kept trying to use that list menu at the bottom and set center coord by that and it wasn't working out. Then I accidentally held the stylus down to long and voila! I keep forgettting about that tap and hold feature. :roll:

Thanks alot everyone.

[BACKPACKNJACK]

I tried to use GPXSonar on my new iPAQ but it wouldn't install, I just kept getting a message that it wasn't a "Valid Pocket PC Application" so I used GSAK on my desktop to export the cache pages as HTML to a folder for my SD card then the Sync program auto-loads them to the PPC.
I can still sort them by Waypoint Code, Name, Found Date, Unfound, Nearest (at the bottom of the page), etc. using IExplorer.
It's just tap on explorer, tap the folder, tap how I want them sorted.
Plus, after I have done that once, IExplorer will just auto-open where I left it the last time I used it so I don't have to tap on anything else unless I want to go back to the main index and resort.
How is this for easy :arrow: [on] [start] [IE]? :wink:

[Geoark1]

The conversation went something like this ;;;;;;; ok you ready, yes you I think so ::::ok lets go ...out the door in the car look around and no piles and piles of PAPER yes we finally had enough faith in our new system after weeks and weeks of fine tuning we WENT PAPERLESS.

Satisfied my anal tendencies and Mrs Geoark tendencies for records any way we had allot of fun and went over the 300 mark.

Yes Saturday was a good DAY

[cachecrazies]

:D Congratulations Geoark1 on your 300th find!

"It had to be a great day", is right! And what a whole lot of fantastic experiences along the way!

Bob and Linda

[arkansas_stickerdude]

Congrats on 300 and FINALLY going paperless.

[Woodwalker9]

Congratulations Geoark1 on your 300th find! Way to go guys.

[Gaddiel]

Congrats on on 300! Keep on cachin'!

[mountainborn]

After reading all the coments on paperless, and talking to Jerry of Jerry, Bonnie & Abby. Butcherknife and I have bought a palm IIIxe with folding keyboard, OS 4.1 CD, USB adater and cases, ect..
SOOoooo, what's the next move ? I guess I need to get the software from the internet ?
Geeze, now I'm worried that I have bit off more than I can chew !

[Gaddiel]

After reading all the coments on paperless, and talking to Jerry of Jerry, Bonnie & Abby. Butcherknife and I have bought a palm IIIxe with folding keyboard, OS 4.1 CD, USB adater and cases, ect..
SOOoooo, what's the next move ? I guess I need to get the software from the internet ?
Geeze, now I'm worried that I have bit off more than I can chew !

I'm not a Palm user, and I hope that someone else chimes in on your question, but I'll tell you what I know...

I assume you have a premium membership at geocaching.com, so first you'll need to create a Pocket Query (GPX file) for the area you want. You'll also need some software on your Palm (CacheMate is very popular.) When you get your GPX file from GC.com, just copy it over to your Palm and open it with CacheMate.

Of course there are more detailed steps involved, but this is the general procedure. I'm sure someone else will be able to give you a better description of the specifics....

Wayne

[arkansas_stickerdude]

I'm not a palm user either so I'm no help either. But the first few steps that Gaddiel said was pretty correct.

[mountainborn]

Thanks, I will get some of those steps taken to get ready for the palm to arrive.

[nonnipoppy]

At some point in the not to distant future you will be really glad that you chose to go paperless. We sure glad we did.

We do use a Palm and highly recommend Cachemate on the Palm, it is great. On the PC we recommend Geocaching Swiss Army Knife to open the .gpx files and to export the cache info to the other programs.

After you get the palm I will be glad to assist you in any way......poppy

[BACKPACKNJACK]

Geeze, now I'm worried that I have bit off more than I can chew !

It may seem like a daunting task at first (I thought I would have to put hot-dogs on the grill and invite everyone over [:)] ) but GSAK and the “Sync” program that should come with your Pocket PC (PPC) will do most of the work.

Maybe my brain is just tired (you’ve even got to program your watch and TV nowadays) but to me if it is simple, like hunting for parallel sticks in the woods [:)] or a drag&drop program on your desktop that will load cords to your GPS and cache pages w/logs to your PPC, it is a winner in my book.

Your mileage may vary considerably and these views are not intended to represent those of less tired brains nor those among us with IQs that look like an Arkansas area code [;)]

[nonnipoppy]

Thanks, I will get some of those steps taken to get ready for the palm to arrive.


The one thing that I forgot to mention was becoming a premium member at Geocaching.com. That is a requirement to get the .gpx files (or pocket queries).

Considering the total investment in GSAK, Cachemate, and Gc.com to be around $50 with $30 reoccurring each year it is FAAAARRRRR less expensive than ink-jet cartridges for the printers I use.

I decided that paperless was the bee's knees after burning through a $40 cartridge in about 10 days printing cache pages. (yes I know that it does not require all that printing but nonni LOVES to read every past log in existence before looking for a cache).

[thenaturenurd]

I have a palm...a handspring to be exact after they split from palm and before they recombined. Sort of like an amoeba, but that's another story. Gimme a little bit and I can come up with what "I" do with my palm to get my caches on my palm device document. Be glad to help.

Craig

[mountainborn]

Step one completed.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y13/mountainborn0/memberpurchase.gif

[mountainborn]

Ok, I have GCSAK downloaded.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y13/mountainborn0/viktori_mit.gif
Ha ! The USB knife blade just kils me !

[mountainborn]

Cachemate downloaded.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y13/mountainborn0/cachemate_anim.gif
Now I guess I had better read up on how to import it to the Palm when it arrives in the mail. Maybe today !

[mountainborn]

Mountainborn said:
Now I guess I had better read up on how to import it to the Palm when it arrives in the mail. Maybe today !
>
Geeze ! What if it doesn't work when it gets here !
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y13/mountainborn0/dontknowSmiley.gif

[thenaturenurd]

I love cachemate. I will be writing up a whole tutorial on it soon. Hang in there Mtn born.

Craig

[mountainborn]

Thanks for the encouragement.
The unit I have coming in the mail is a PALM IIIxe. I wonder if it will be so much older than what every body else is using, that I will have trouble ?
I read on another forum that someone had 2,100 caches stored on their PDA.
With only 8MB of memory, how many will the PALM IIIxe be likely to hold ?

[mountainborn]

It arrived.
Had new batteries in it.
The seller even threw in a dozen screen protectors he found as he was boxing it up.
I hooked up the serial cable adjusted to the correct com port, then did the first hot sync after establishing a user file.
I have a short cut on the desk top to Gsak and Palm Desktop.
I checked and the premium membership to GC.com is activated.
I guess the next thing is to go to send cachemate to the palm ?

[mountainborn]

Got it first try !
Something must be wrong, surely I have messed this up somewhere.
Did a second Hot Sync to upload cachemate to the Palm and it went first try !
This has gone so well . . . . . I had better stop to check for what I have overlooked in the rush to get this paperless caching up and running.

[mountainborn]

I downloaded my first pocket query to my PC. It arrived as a "geocaching.loc", file. ( maybe the problem ? )
When I set it to upload to my Palm at the next hot sync. , it told me that , that was not a palm compatable file.
I am now searching for just where I clicked wrong. File extension ? Any help appreciated !

[Gaddiel]

I'm pretty sure that you will need to get your Pocket Query in GPX format instead of LOC format. At least, that's how my application works... You can choose this option at the time you create your pocket query.

[thenaturenurd]

Mountainborn,

you need your cache files in gpx format for cachemate to read them. Once I get off work I will write out a document that tells exaclty what I do to get my caches on there. Hang tight.

Craig

[mountainborn]

Thanks you guys !
I have ran the pocket query and selected GPX, but it still gives me .loc !
It has to be something small and silly that I am overlooking.
It is starting to make me crazy !!

[thenaturenurd]

I may be leaving out a step or two and if I am please let me know and I will correct it. I will also place this in the download section of the website for future reference...

How to use your Palm Device with Cachemate to geocache. Paperless rules!

Craig L. Johnson (arparkguy)

Disclaimer: There are a number of programs and ways to get your caches onto your Palm Device from Geocaching.com. This is the best one that works for me. I will take you through what I do best I can. I use cachemate with my palm device and it works good for me.

1. You must be a premium member on Geocaching to do this. Sign into your account on Geocaching.com. Goto pocket queries section and put in the criteria you want. I usually have the query generator put the files into a .zip format. Once the pocket query runs you will get .zip file in your email which contains the .gpx file. Download this document from your email and place it somewhere you can easily find it such as your desktop.

2. Once you have your query file you must convert the .gpx files to a format cachemate can read. You do this buy opening up file convert folder which should be inside the cachemate folder. Click on the icon with the globe on it and it opens up a window. Click the button that says “load file” and find the .gpx file you downloaded to your desktop or wherever. Once that file loads you should see a list of all caches in your query.

3. Click on the button that says “select all.”

4. Click on the button that says “convert” this will convert the query list to the cachemate format. You should be able to choose what features you want to include in the conversion at this point such as travel bugs etc. It will ask you at this point what name want to save it as. For simplicity sakes we will choose “hometown caches” for this example. Once files are converted you will get a message that files are ready to be transferred to your device the next time you sync it.

5. Sync your device. Once you have synced it and you open cachemate it will ask where you want to place the files. Choose the location you want such as “geocaches.”

6. That’s all! Once you open up cache mate and view either all files or geocaches (or whatever category you put them in) you should have all the info you need to cache.

7. You can also do this use cachemate to put benchmarks on your device. Its not very hard but it takes more steps so I will save that for another time.

If anyone needs to modify this page please feel free to or let me know and I will. Thanks! Craig
:D 8O

[mountainborn]

Got it ! Of course, I was over looking the simplest of steps in my rush to get the data to my palm.
I printed out your response then went slow, step by step.
I set it to upload at the next hot Sync, then sync'ed the cachemate data.
Now if I can just find the logs on the palm so I can view them !
I set the query to find the nearest 400 caches to my home zip code, within 100 miles, and the zip file had 370 in it when it arrived.
Is this ever so cool, er' what ! ! ! !! ! !
You guys ROCK !!

[mountainborn]

Now that the initial euphoria of this transition is subsiding, I wonder about the most productive types of pocket queries and how to organize them on the pda.
Tips and hints for this "newbie" will be gratefully accepted.
I currently have the caches on my PDA listed by nearest to my home coordinates. Is there a better way to list them ?
You guys have been so helpful in geting me off to a good "paperless" start !
I am looking forward to hearing from you.

[thenaturenurd]

You can list them in a variety of ways just experiment with the settings. There are a multitude of settings you can put in there. Im sure a few times and you will get it just how you like it. :D

[TeamMGGPS]

When the caches have been sent to the PDA do they include all the logs?
There have been more than a few times when referring to a someones log has helped in the find.
Thanks.

[Gaddiel]

When the caches have been sent to the PDA do they include all the logs?

Good question. The caches in the GPX file only contain the last five logs, plus any logs that you have written.

[TeamMGGPS]

Well I went ahead and took the plunge. I've been a Basic Member since June 2001 and just upgraded to a Premium Membership. I thought it was about time I got on board. I'll try the paperless thing with my Palm Pilot as soon as I get everything going.

[nonnipoppy]

Now that the initial euphoria of this transition is subsiding, I wonder about the most productive types of pocket queries and how to organize them on the pda.
Tips and hints for this "newbie" will be gratefully accepted.
I currently have the caches on my PDA listed by nearest to my home coordinates. Is there a better way to list them ?
You guys have been so helpful in geting me off to a good "paperless" start !
I am looking forward to hearing from you.


There are probably many different ways to do each step and I'm sure everyone has their own reason for doing it their way. But this is how we do it.

Our most often used pocket query is for the 500 caches, that we have not found, closest to Clarksville. We get some in Oklahoma and some in Missouri.

We get this query about three times a week.

When needed we then save that zipped file to a folder on our desktop named "Ark Not Found".

We then open the .gpx file using GSAK.

First we export the entire file to a Garmin Mapsource file and study where there are a group of caches we might want to seek and stay familiar with caches in our area that we might not be aware of.

We make use of GSAK's great capabilities by generating the caches with waypoint names that are the GC number less the GC. ( this comes in really handy when logging multiple cache finds.)

We also add a"+" if the cache is supposed to contain a Travel bug. Lastly we get a final discriptor to tell what type of cache it is without looking at the PDA. (BTW a Palm IIIxe)

This would make a waypoint possibly appear as M51T T. If there were a travel bug assigned to this cache it would read M51T+T. The final T signifies a traditional cache. M=multi V=virtual Y=mystery etc.

When logging I read nonni's note and just add GC to M51T to go to the cache page. Then the next cache can be reached bu entering the GC number at the bottom of the logging page.

After we have satisfied ourselves with the map we d/l the waypoints to the Garmin 60 CS from MapSource.

Then we export to Cachemate using the same waypoint scheme. So as we are caching I can look at the gpsr screem and say to nonni that the next cache is M51T. She reads the info out loud from the PDA. And off we go.

After you feel comfortable with GSAK try some of those special tags and see if you can make it better. If you desire send me an email and I will send a screen shot of the GSAK settings that work for me....poppy

[TeamMGGPS]

I used CacheMate and put the query into the PDA and I used EasyGPS to download the gpx file to my Magellan. Is there anyway to create a WPT file for use with Magellan Mapsend TOPO?

[TeamMGGPS]

I should have tried this first before I posted the last message but after I uploaded from EasyGPS to my Magellan I then downloaded from my Magellan to Mapsend TOPO. I was also able to convert the gpx file to a wpt file using GPSbabel.

[mountainborn]

Here is a link to a free video on paperless caching with a PDA, step by step. This one uses plucker.
http://www.archive.org/details/geovideoep02
The author is in Canada and shows some Canadian caching through out the video .
I downloaded the windows media version which was about 44 MB. The speed was pretty good, it took about 4 minutes.

[nonnipoppy]

I used CacheMate and put the query into the PDA and I used EasyGPS to download the gpx file to my Magellan. Is there anyway to create a WPT file for use with Magellan Mapsend TOPO?

A great program that allows you to filter, export or manipulate a .gpx file is called Geocaching Swiss Army Knife or GSAK for short. It will unzip the pocket query file bypassing Winzip. In fact it will even check your email and run a macro exporting whatever files you choose.

It will allow you to filter on a gazillion types of criteria.

It will export to 16 plus different programs and allows custom exports.

It is free or you can pay a small amout to rid yourself of the nag screen.

It is an amazing tool. I wish some of you guys could figure it all out and give me lessons. ....poppy