Pocket Querie Help!

[Todd Bloomingdale]

Ok folks. New to the PQ thing here so need some assistance! I am going on a apx. 200 mile trip. Now i did a PQ from the starting point and put in 225 miles from starting point just to make sure i got all of caches in my route.and when after opening the PQ I could only get 85 miles from my starting point due to beeing over 500 waypoints. Now question is, Is there a way to choose cache waypoints in the route? Like Im looking for caches 25 miles on either side of my route down (Mostly state Highway) to the destination.

---

[Flushingrouse]

OK, here’s my take on what to do…(never having done it myself)..

I’m sure others will have some input..

You will need to get as many pq’s it takes to cover your route…Use zip codes along the way to help you do this…

Merge those pq’s into one “master trip” pq using my choice program..GSAK ( http://www.gsak.net )

Then use an ark/line filter( http://www.gsak.net/help/hs4800.htm ) in gsak to extract the caches that fit your criteria… Then, you load only those filtered caches into your gps/palm…

You should be set!!

Hope this helps!

~Bill

---

[Cathunter]

One way would be to run several pocket queries, each one “X” miles from the various towns along your route. Remember, each query will list the caches in all directions “X” miles from the specified point. You can reduce the number of caches by making sure to select only “active” caches, and unselect locationless, event, & webcam caches.

The other method that works well (but has a bit more of a learning curve) is to use the GSAK (Geocaching Swiss Army Knife) program. (free download). You will still need pq’s of the waypoints around your route, and then the program can set up to filter out all waypoints not within a specified distance of your route.

Holler if you need more help!

[Todd Bloomingdale]

Ok. I got the doing PQ like every 50 or 75 miles . but question If i have multiple PQ’s will it take out the mulitleple caches if it picks up the same waypoint, or will I have to go delete it if it finds it multiple times. Hope this isnt confusing. I also right now use EasyGPS, but am considering changing over to GSAK.

Now next question is for the PDA users. Can I put in multiple PQ’s into there? I use plucker and spinner

[Cathunter]

I have not run into this before, as I upload waypoints on the road from my laptop. Sooo, I just tried it. If you are uploading raw “GCXXX” waypoint formats from multiple GPX files, EasyGPS will not duplicate any existing waypoints.

GSAK does even better, as you can select options to add “newer only” or “existing only” when adding waypoints to the database.

Using Plucker, you simply set up a seperate channel for each PQ you want on your PDA. Your PDA is only limited by it’s available memory as to how many seperate PQ’s you can have. Since I live near the state line, I commonly keep 500 IL waypoints in one plucker channel, and 500 WI waypoints in another.

I hope this helps!

[djwini]

i’m using gsak and didn’t know about the filtering thing. i put them all into mapsource and manually deleted all the wp’s that were outside the areas i was going to be driving along. what a lot of work that was. next time i’ll know better.

[Todd Bloomingdale]

I just want to thank everybodies help on this topic. Glad everyones willing to help a fellow cacher in need of help! Hope I can do the same someday. Off on my trip and caching!! Have a great weekend everyone!

[Cheesehead Dave]

If you use Spinner on multiple GPX files, it will eliminate duplicates.

Also, if you make the (well worth the money) upgrade to ExpertGPS, you can also draw in your approximate route by hand, then search for caches within XX miles of the route. That can help to shrink the list down to only those you might actually stop and find on the way without driving a great distance.

[Author]

Posts