Garmin Edge 800 for geocaching

[chrisrossgraceeliz]

Hi simple question. I am new to geocaching still trying to work out how to get waypoints on to a geko. ( being helped in another thread.) I am a keen cyclist and was going to buy a garmin edge 500 ( bike gps with no mapping capability )

However they have released the edge 800 which has mapping and turn by turn direction capability and apparently accepts GPX files and topographic maps with sd cards etc.

 

Does anyone have any experience of using an edge 800 for geocaching or would I just be better persevering with the geko or maybe buying a garmin 62s?

 

thanks

 

Ross A newbie with far too many questions.

[ProX2]

Bump. I have the same question. Anyone?

[+eintagsflieger]

I tried to feed my Edge 800 with a GPX file via BaseCamp on a Mac. The transfer of the waypoints works. However, upon turning on the device, the Geocaching waypoints do not show up in the "Where To" location list. Other waypoints created directly in BaseCamp do show up.

 

There might be an incompatibility with the waypoints created by Geocaching.com. They tend to be huge (cache description and logs are stored in there as well) compared to those created by BaseCamp.

 

I'll try the same thing on a Windows PC shorty and let you know...

[+ecanderson]

Bump. I have the same question. Anyone?

You're not alone. It's come up before with no good results that I've seen:

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=276956

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=269093

 

That said, EasyGPS claims to work with the 800. I'd try it. http://www.easygps.com/gps-receivers/Garmin-Edge-800.asp

[+The Riley's]

We just bought a Garmin Edge 800 and will try it out tomorrow.

[MDETx]

We just bought a Garmin Edge 800 and will try it out tomorrow.

 

Hi Riley's. Did you had any succes with the Edge800 and geocaching?

We have a 800 but cant get it ready for caching.

thanks

[+The Riley's]

We didn't get it to work. I'm going to contact Garmin.

[+BackPAQer]

I have had the Garmin Edge 800 for a year and a half now. I've tried contacting Garmin. I've tried "manufacturing" GPX files. I've tried lots of things. I got it to work once and could not remember how I did it. It is super-frustrating - especially when I'm going to Europe for the Tour De France...I'm already taking my bicycle and tonnes of gear, and with airlines being really stingy about excess weight I don't want to carry more than one GPS. The 800 is a brilliant cycling computer...just wish it was as good for caching.

[dark matt3r]

I have had the Garmin Edge 800 for a year and a half now. I've tried contacting Garmin. I've tried "manufacturing" GPX files. I've tried lots of things. I got it to work once and could not remember how I did it. It is super-frustrating - especially when I'm going to Europe for the Tour De France...I'm already taking my bicycle and tonnes of gear, and with airlines being really stingy about excess weight I don't want to carry more than one GPS. The 800 is a brilliant cycling computer...just wish it was as good for caching.

I've written a little program in visual basic who convert the GPX file from Geocaching.com for the Edge 800.

If someone want the program, send me an email to adonf_ride_fab@hotmail.com

And of course, it's free

Edited February 20, 2013 by dark matt3r

[+gpsblake]

I've never had an Edge 800 but I can see the logic on why it's not geocaching friendly, and that is the stats. Looking for a geocache will throw your cycling stats into a mess, and I think that's why Garmin keeps them very geocaching unfriendly. Or the secondary reason is to make you buy two units which is why Garmin doesn't make Car GPS units geocaching friendly.

 

I just rode my bike 21 miles to find one geocache today. I use the 2 GPS method, keeping my Venture HC on my handlebars, while using my Dakota or Magellan GC to actually find the cache. I load up the geocache on both units though.

[+SkiCycle]

I've just bought a Garmin 800 and also wanted to use it for geocaching. I have found that if you use GSAK and export a gpx in 1.1 format (not the normal 1.0) then drop this in the new files directory on the 800 the geocaches appear as Locations that appear on the map, to which you can then navigate. No data, just the coordinates and the GC number. I have found it useful for getting to the location of the cache, but then get my normal gps out for the hunt. The only way to get rid of the locations seems to be to delete the Locations.fit file in the locations directory. When you switch the unit on again it will generate a new file and you can then do the same thing again with a new set of caches. It's not pretty but provides some functionality.

[Aushiker]

I have written a blog post on my experience with trying to use a Garmin Edge 810 (replacement for the 800) and this is what I concluded ...

 

 

I would have to say no it doesn’t. In closing I have decided to generally stick with Garmin Oregon 600 on the bike when I want to add some geo-activities into my ride mix, however that said to allow me to maybe to grab a cache or Munzee or Waymark on my commutes I do load up a few route based waypoints to the Garmin Edge 810 to get me to ground zero and then use my phone for the close.

 

But for more planned geo-activities I go with the Garmin Oregon 600 or for activities such as off-road bicycle touring and bushwalking as well as geocaching I again intend to use the Oregon 600.

 

I did consider using the phone in-combination with Garmin Edge 810 but geocaching with the phone seriously eats into battery life, plus the screen can be hard to read at times so I find it really only an option for the quick grabs on my commutes. That said for Munzee capturing the phone is still a must.

 

 

Andrew