Jump to content

Resetting found geocaches - eTrex 10


Recommended Posts

I have posted on here before about the church camp that I work for getting geocaching units as a new program for our campers. We are well underway and have decided to go with the Garmin eTrex 10, and everything is great right now except that when you go through the process to log a cache as "found", I cannot find a way to "unfind" it.

Because our groups will be going after a limited number of caches over and over with different campers each week, we will really need to be able to reset. I even deleted the file from the device and reloaded it using GSAK, but it still files it as a found cache.

I know that we could just make sure that our groups don't actually follow the process of logging the finds, but on the odd-chance that people don't listen to instructions (yes, it does happen believe it or not) then we would be hosed.

 

So, any Garmin insiders have any tricks for me? Am I just missing something basic?

Link to comment

After deleting the file try power cycling the Etrex before reloading the file ...

Sussamb, is it really possible to go back to square one by removing the GPX file containing the caches? Isn't the "found cache" information stored the geocache_logs.xml file, or maybe geocache_visits.txt?

 

Patty

Link to comment

After deleting the file try power cycling the Etrex before reloading the file ...

Sussamb, is it really possible to go back to square one by removing the GPX file containing the caches? Isn't the "found cache" information stored the geocache_logs.xml file, or maybe geocache_visits.txt?

 

Patty

 

Today was my day to clean every thing out of my eTrex 20 and my GSAK databases. I do this periodically to start with a clean slate. Because of this it was convenient to test OP's issue with erasing the found caches.

 

I cleaned out all the GPX files in the GPX folder. I also removed the geocache_logs.xml and the geocache_visits.txt files from the Garmin folder. I had not yet cleaned my GSAK database so I was able to reload a PQ that had ~40 caches that had been marked found in the GPS but had not been updated as found in GSAK. This probably is the state that the OP will frequently encounter. I reloaded the PQ and the GPS did not show any found caches. All traces of the caches having been found were removed from the GPS. Note that I had powered off the GPS after deleting the files. I did this only because I was not going to reload the GPS until later in the day. I don't know if the power cycle is necessary but it wouldn't hurt anything.

 

So it would seem the easiest procedure for OP is to

1) Create a master PQ and save it on the computer.

2) Load the master PQ onto the the eTrex

3) Give it to the temporary user.

4) When it is returned, remove all GPX files(cache and any waypoints)from the GPX folder

5) Remove the logs and visits files (see above) from the Garmin folder.

6) Power cycle the GPS (may not be needed but probably a good thing to do)

7) GOTO step 2 and wait for the next user.

 

I hope this helps!

Link to comment

After deleting the file try power cycling the Etrex before reloading the file ...

Sussamb, is it really possible to go back to square one by removing the GPX file containing the caches? Isn't the "found cache" information stored the geocache_logs.xml file, or maybe geocache_visits.txt?

 

Patty

Delete the GPX file and the geocache_visit.txt file. The geocache_logs.xml file does not matter.

 

But if you want to unfind a found cache, go to the recent finds, navigate to the cache, go to log the cache and unattempt the cache. Really a PITA, hooking the unit up to a computer, deleting a couple files and then reloading the GPX file is easier.

Link to comment

@jholly, That process of going through and marking them as unattempted worked great, but there are so many steps involved it's terribly inefficient. However, since we won't always have access to GSAK while we are doing this, and we will be maintaining 4 seperate units, this is at least a viable option for now, so thank you very much.

 

I'd like an opinion, though: If you were new to caching and coming to do it for the first time, would you rather go through the process of logging the cache to remove it from your list, or just getting close, finding it, then going into the geocaching folder to choose a new one?

There will only be 14 cache choices total, with unique names and attributes for each so I would think it would be hard to get confused on what you've done and haven't done. Your thoughts?

Link to comment

 

I'd like an opinion, though: If you were new to caching and coming to do it for the first time, would you rather go through the process of logging the cache to remove it from your list, or just getting close, finding it, then going into the geocaching folder to choose a new one?

There will only be 14 cache choices total, with unique names and attributes for each so I would think it would be hard to get confused on what you've done and haven't done. Your thoughts?

 

If you are trying to introduce folks to geocaching, I would think you would want to give them the pleasure of "logging a find" even if it is only in the GPS. After all, the Found is a mini reward. Also should they not be able to log the find, then use the Find Next Closest feature to find their next quest?

 

I don't know if this has been mentioned but before you lend anyone a GPS you should do a full backup of the unit. It's pretty easy to mess up a setting accidentally and often the easiest way to fix things is to do a restore of the backup.

 

Lastly, you are to be commended for your project. It is a great idea thst should be fun for a lot of people. I hope it goes well for you!

Link to comment

Is there a way to save my settings changes that I make in the unit? I know there is a "restore defaults", is it possible to save my current dashboard/etc to become the new default to reset to? That would be amazing. You're right though, there is a strong possibility that people will mess with settings, even if unintentionally, that will mess the game up for everyone else.

Link to comment

That would be good but no, your best bet would be to change them from the default as little as possible and note what you do change so you can repeat it each time.

 

Actually that is not his best bet. What I am suggesting, is after each GPS is configured as you want it that you copy the entire contents of the Garmin drive to a folder on the computer using the computer copy function. This should be done for each GPS because while the basemap is useless in might still be keyed to the electronic id number of the unit just as purchased maps are. There now exists a master copy for each GPS that can be copied back to the GPS if someone has messed up the settings. So while there isn't a button reset, it is a simple process to protect the integrity of your devices. And this way they can be configured as is best for the use they are going to get without worry about retaining factory defaults.

 

I hope everyone has made a copy of their GPS filesystem as it was when they received it.

 

Note, this isn't a new idea nor process. It is used all the time in training databases for application specific training. Set up the system as needed for the class. Bring the class in and let them destroy the database as they work through the class material. At the end of the class session, simply reload the pristine database and start over with a new class.

Link to comment

 

If you are trying to introduce folks to geocaching, I would think you would want to give them the pleasure of "logging a find" even if it is only in the GPS. After all, the Found is a mini reward. Also should they not be able to log the find, then use the Find Next Closest feature to find their next quest?

 

I don't know if this has been mentioned but before you lend anyone a GPS you should do a full backup of the unit. It's pretty easy to mess up a setting accidentally and often the easiest way to fix things is to do a restore of the backup.

 

Lastly, you are to be commended for your project. It is a great idea thst should be fun for a lot of people. I hope it goes well for you!

 

The caches do contain a log and pencil in each one, so they will have the satisfaction of logging on paper anyway. as for the GPS, we'll just have to see with some real-life data and feedback to see what people like. The main goal is that only the leaders will ever use the device, not the kids, so it may work itself out naturally in that they won't care to log them. For family reunions though, the desire to log may be stronger. Again, we'll just have to play it by ear.

Link to comment

That won't necessarily achieve what is required. Some settings on the GPS aren't in the files you can see on the unit, they're held in inaccessible parts of memory, so if, for example, someone changes something in the system menu it'll still be changed after copying the original files back to the unit.

 

Note we're talking about the settings here, not the user data!

 

Of course we are talking about settings, user data was discussed much earlier in the thread. Which settings are stored in "inaccessible" (obviously a misnomer) memory? It is my understanding that all user changes to the system settings are stored in the active GPF file.

Link to comment

That won't necessarily achieve what is required. Some settings on the GPS aren't in the files you can see on the unit, they're held in inaccessible parts of memory, so if, for example, someone changes something in the system menu it'll still be changed after copying the original files back to the unit.

 

Note we're talking about the settings here, not the user data!

 

Of course we are talking about settings, user data was discussed much earlier in the thread. Which settings are stored in "inaccessible" (obviously a misnomer) memory? It is my understanding that all user changes to the system settings are stored in the active GPF file.

 

I'll test this whole idea out this afternoon and see what happens. I would love for it to be this easy, except that at times we may not have access to the computer with the settings on it. This could pose a problem, but only time will tell I suppose.

 

Today is our first test-run on the geocaching program, so we'll see how the general public receives it. Thanks for the quick replies and advice!

Link to comment

That won't necessarily achieve what is required. Some settings on the GPS aren't in the files you can see on the unit, they're held in inaccessible parts of memory, so if, for example, someone changes something in the system menu it'll still be changed after copying the original files back to the unit.

 

Note we're talking about the settings here, not the user data!

 

Of course we are talking about settings, user data was discussed much earlier in the thread. Which settings are stored in "inaccessible" (obviously a misnomer) memory? It is my understanding that all user changes to the system settings are stored in the active GPF file.

 

While it's true that the majority of settings are in the .gpf files some are missing, they are the ones in 'inaccesible' (ie the user can't access them) memory. You can open the .gpf files (Notepad will do it for you) and have a look.

 

If the user can't access them, we don't need to worry about the user changing them do we. I'm glad you discovered you can view the GPF file contents. I'm still waiting to hear specifics about the settings stored in the mystery locations.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...