GPX files and Delorme PN-60

[+guygy]

Hi all,

 

Gonna be 60 next month and recognize I really need to start being a little more active and get out more. So I just purchased a Delorme PN-60 unit. Wow. What changes have been made since my old-ish Garmin unit from a decade ago.

 

I'm operating a MacBook Pro with a VM (Windows XP) via Parallels (ver 6). So, although I kept hearing denigrating comments about Delorme software and Mac machines, I found everything loaded no differently than if I was using a Windows PC. Granted Delorme Topo NA isn't Windows intuitive, However, it functions well and is pretty feature rich.

 

In a limited fashion I've done some geocaching in the past but that involved looking up caches, jotting down a few interesting ones and manually entering the Lat/Lon into a device.

 

One of the appeals of modern GPS units was the paperless geocaching. I found that involved a unit capable of "paperless" and the use of GPX files. Much to my chagrin this is apparently where my technical know-how seriously bogs down.

 

I became a premium member here at Geocaching.com and was able to manage a few Pocket Queries after which I was the proud owner of few GPX files. Un-zipping the Pocket Queries resulted in two GPX files. One appears to be a waypoint file and the other a cache file. They are saved to a location on my computer. I wasn't expecting two GPX files (per PQ) and quite honestly don't know how they differ and what each does.

 

A number of forum post talk about PQs, GPX files and GPS units. I was somewhat discouraged to see many references to Magellen (sp?) and Garmin units but didn't see any posts discussing this while using a Delorme unit. Perhaps I wasn't patient enough or dug deep enough.

 

At any rate can anyone please tell me where I'm supposed to put these GPX files on my Delorme PN-60 unit. I did install all my Topo NA maps onto a 32Gb SD card. And I can load files to the card using a card reader on my laptop. If the file should be opened in the Delorme software on the laptop and then "sync'd" with the GPS unit I'd like to understand that process as well.

 

Although I am somewhat familiar with the general use of a GPS I'm embarrassed to find I'm woefully ignorant of the PQ / GPX / Paperless geocaching process.

 

I would certainly appreciate anyone with excessive patience to respond and get me over this apparent "Peter Principle" hump. Thank you in advance for any responses / help you're willing to send my way.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

'40 user(s) here... Brother-In-Law uses a '60.

 

I see no mention in the OP regarding Cache Register -- the Delorme widget, but then I have also noted many others posing similar questions.

 

Cache Register, a free download from Delorme is a do-it-all widget for loading PQ's into the unit and uploading field notes to geocaching.com. It's most all automatic, no copying or transferring files -- just plug in the unit, open Cache Register, turn the unit on and all is in operation.

 

You have probably read about clearing GPX files from the folder, etc. No need to do such here, the widget takes care of it all.

 

Try it, you'll like it. If you don't, what the heck -- it doesn't cost you anything.

[+TomToad]

The PN-60 keeps its .gpx files under EM_USERMAPS\waypoints directory (DELORME_SD\waypoints if you are storing the files on the SD card). If you click on Settings on the GPSr, then to "Connect to computer..", then choose "Open Internal Drive" under the "When Connected" Option (Or "Open SD Card" if storing on the SD card), you can now drag-n-drop the gpx files directly onto the GPSr. To actually see the gpx file on the device, go to either the "Waypoint" page or "Geocaches" page, click the Menu button once, then navigate to "File..", "Open..", then choose the name of the gpx file you want to view.

 

You might notice a problem with this method. You can only view 1 file at a time, they are not combined in any way. This does have the advantage that you can store as many gpx files as you have memory and select the one you wish to view, giving you potentially hundreds of thousands of geocaches. Other devices combine the gpx files into one, and usually has a limit of around 2000 - 10000 caches on the device. But you also notice that the child waypoints are stored in a separate gpx file, so you can have either caches or waypoints viewable at a time, not both. The solution would be to combine the child waypoints with the geocaches into one single gpx file.

 

The simplest method would be to use the free Cache Register program. It will automatically download, combine, and transfer to your PN-60 any pocket queries you have done. It will also make updating and cleaning up PQs easier. If, for some reason, you don't want to take that route, GSAK will work. Just create a new database, load your PQ into that, then export the PQ into a single gpx file which contains both the caches and child waypoints.

[+Mordie]

BEWARE DELORME WIDGETS NO LONGER WORK WITH Groundspeak AND THE TOLD ME THEY HAVE NO PLANS ON FIXING THE ISSUE. I AM STRUGGLING WITH MY PN-60 TO MAKE IT WORK. DELORME ALSO SAID THEY HAVE NO PLANS FOR A FIX

[+Glimmereyes]

GSAK can download pocket queries, combine the GPXs and then export to the PN-60.

[+dprovan]

BEWARE DELORME WIDGETS NO LONGER WORK WITH Groundspeak AND THE TOLD ME THEY HAVE NO PLANS ON FIXING THE ISSUE. I AM STRUGGLING WITH MY PN-60 TO MAKE IT WORK. DELORME ALSO SAID THEY HAVE NO PLANS FOR A FIX

Yeah, I can see how that's annoying. But I've always found the procedure described by TomToad to work much better, anyway, so I never used cacheregister. If you're having trouble copying PQs using TomToad's approach, I can help.

 

You can also use GSAK, as Glimmereyes mentions, but I've never used it to manage my PN-60's pocket queries.

 

By the way, some people might think "widget" means the little browser add-on that allows you to send an individual cache to the PN-60, but that still works fine for me.