Groundspeak Portal

I have a Venture HC and understand how to do a pocket query from Geocache.  I have loaded some local caches onto the machine.  Does Waymarking have the same functionality?

countrydirt:

I have a Venture HC and understand how to do a pocket query from Geocache.  I have loaded some local caches onto the machine.  Does Waymarking have the same functionality?

No actual pocket queries.

But on any page that lists one or more waymarks, there's a link for a GPX or GPX Lite file.

Those are similar to the gpx files that pqs generate.

We all have to make do with those until the PQ function becomes available.

If you use GSAK, you'll notice there's now a waymarking icon in the program, though that won't automatically go to your GPS.

There are various ways to accomplish it.

I've created a filter that I've saved as a browser favourite/bookmark that generates the closest 25 'unvisited by me' listings It looks like this

At the bottom I click this section

Repeat for each set of 25.

That gives me all of the descriptions, and with GSAK after using the "Global Replace - Icon = Virtual Cache" they show up just like caches.

I do still want to look into the Custom POI (which I hear has been updated recently) option instead.

BQ

I didn't do the filter, but was aleert enough to notice the GPx file link.  Clicked that bad boy and loaded it to the Venture.  Bagged my first two today!

i use the .loc file types....

'transfer' to an excel file--using my magellan inport stipulations and include them in a POI file 'for the area'
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im limited to 200 caches in the gpx file. dont want the waymarks looking like mystery caches. and i can use different icon to know more what im looking for....
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my issues are:
-no description
-if 'waymark name' is longer than 16 characters it gets lost (POI message trasfer limit, it also freezes on 'odd characters')
[note: WMXXXX is name field]
-why does the field have to say: Waymark Category_Georgia Historic Marker?--i edit these down to save collumn space/ink/paper
-why does the waymark name have to include the poster? this is the main reason for message defaulting (by xxxxxxxxx is 16 characters in itself)
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-then for 'trips' or day runs i edit the excel file to print, for each mark {abc by WMXXXX}: code, name, category

There does not seem to be any way to get the "visit instructions" into the gps unit. Am I missing something? It seems ridiculous for the gpx file to have all the info except for that one important piece!

The visit instructions are not loaded into the GPX file, so it cannot be loaded into your GPS.  For geocaching, Groundspeak augmented the GPX file format with some additional information, like logs, placement date, etc.  If you open a GPX file with a web browser, you will see all of the XML code inside the file.  That augmented information is not in the GPX files from waymarking.com. 

I know this is also true for LOC files.  I do not know about KML files.

I would really like to see that information added to GPX files from waymarking.  It would be more helpful to try to develop an application like GSAK specifically for waymarking.  Having the information on a Palm device or GPS would save several headaches.  Maybe that feature will be added around the time pocket queries are added to waymarking.com.

OmegaLimit:

The visit instructions are not loaded into the GPX file, so it cannot be loaded into your GPS.  For geocaching, Groundspeak augmented the GPX file format with some additional information, like logs, placement date, etc.  If you open a GPX file with a web browser, you will see all of the XML code inside the file.  That augmented information is not in the GPX files from waymarking.com. 

I know this is also true for LOC files.  I do not know about KML files.

I would really like to see that information added to GPX files from waymarking.  It would be more helpful to try to develop an application like GSAK specifically for waymarking.  Having the information on a Palm device or GPS would save several headaches.  Maybe that feature will be added around the time pocket queries are added to waymarking.com.

Thanks for the info. This is surprising. Since they did away with virtual caches, you would think that Groundspeak would give the same level of support to Waymarking that they do to Geocaching, but I guess not.

The primary difference between Virtual Caches and Waymarks is that the former involved various verification options. You might have to provide a photo (and the details on that varied too) or answer some question(s) to the satisfaction of the listing owner. In Waymarking, it is pretty much a standardized Proof of Visit. Take a picture at the Waymark and include it in your log. We've even gotten away from the need to include your GPS in the photo.

There are very few categories in Waymarking that actually have anything that needs to be included in the description. Much the same as there is no need to say "To log this geocache you must sign the log sheet and return the container to its proper hiding place."

BQ

the blue quasar:

That gives me all of the descriptions, and with GSAK after using the "Global Replace - Icon = Virtual Cache" they show up just like caches.

I do still want to look into the Custom POI (which I hear has been updated recently) option instead.

BQ

In GSAK, in the Send to GPS screen, you can override the icons of caches. For instance we set Waymark=Building and Benchmark=Oil Field so they show up differently than the cache icon. We have the Gamrin 60CS.  You can also use the %ownerName which gives you the waymarking category when you export to your GPS.

There are a few other alternatives that we used to use that I can go into further if anyone wants.