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Basecamp 4.4.4 does not show found geocaches on GMSMAP62s

raymondox
Not having been geocaching in a while I have just started again and found that basecamp 4.4.4 does not show up found geocaches ont he device unless there's a visits txt file present for the cache. This gives me and I guess a lot of people a big problem when re-loading caches onto their device.

My normal workflow is to
1. Find the cache using the GPSMAP62s and log it on the device as found.
2. Go onto the geocaching website and upload the cache found comments.
3. Delete the visits.txt file.

Before I upfraded my GPSMAP62s to 5.8 and basecamp to 4.4.4 after deleting the visits txt file the device and basecamp stilled showed the cache with a found icon. Now it doesn't.

My guess is that on previous firmware and software they both recognised some setting in their gpx files which showed the icon bit setting as found. Now for whatever reason it uses the visits file to show found on the device.

I also used to download my found geocaches onto my device and the foudn icon was also trasnferred acorss. Now the cache is transferred across but the found bit is not so I can no longer copy from PC to devic found icons.

Has anyone else foudn this out and a way round it?

The following is the current email conversation I have had with Garmin support. ---

Sorry Zoe, yet another update. On 4.4.4 even though it doesn’t show the cache with a found icon unless there’s an entry in the visits txt file, when you click on the item the body of the cache still shows when it has been found.

I await your further consideration of all this.

I have also tested whether it is the visits file that now is used to show the icon as found and it does appear so. I tested this by deleting the visits file and the icon changed to unfound, when I reinstated the visits file the icon on the device showed found.

Regards Ray

Hi Zoe, another update. I have just found by searching the forum that there does indeed seem to be a major change in the way Basecamp interacts with the GPS units.

Before on Basecamp 4.3.4 basecamp seemed to read a pointer in each cache which meant it shows up as found in basecamp even if the visits txt file did not contain the cache. It would appear this pointer in the cache info still has the changed ICON.

This is particularly important as the normal process is to delete the visits file after each upload to GEOCACHING.om.

When you upgrade your device to the latest firmware (5.80) the device uses the visits txt file to identify if the cache is found or not so now both the device and basecamp (4.4.4) seem to use the visits file in some way for identifying if a cache is found on the device.

This is an impossible situation as most people delete their visits file quite often. Obviously the device still updates some pointer in the icon on the device as Basecamp 4.3.4 still seems to be able to show the caches as found.

I believe this is now a very important issue to resolve by garmin as you may be ruining a lot of peoples workflow.

This needs documenting urgently and a workaround found.

Regards Ray


Hi Zoe, this is very unfortunate and will cause endless hassle to thousands of people worldwide. A lot of people store saved caches on their devices as the search function does not show these when you go on a hunt.

I strongly suggest you need to find an easy solution for all your users to be able to fix the problem, going through hundreds, if not thousands , of caches to mark them as find will cost your customers an inordinate amount of time.

Luckily I export my saved caches in Basecamp to a separate file but can’t reinstate them on Basecamp 4.4.4.

In summary what happens is:

On 4.4.4 basecamp only shows found geocaches on the GPSMAP62S after a certain point in time, I guess when I last upgraded the device.

Even is I try and copy found geocaches from my PC in Basecamp to the GPS when they copy across they are copied as unfound.

On 4.3.4 I can still copy the caches from my PC to the GPS device and on the GPS device they then show up as found, but even then they are not seen as found on basecamp 4.4.4

Can I strongly suggest Garmin need to find a solution to this. It is not acceptable to ask all your users to re-find all their found caches.

Regards Ray

From: [email][email protected][/email] [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: 03 December 2014 12:21
To: [email][email protected][/email]
Subject: Re: Unable to see found caches using basecamp <Q#:1000114> << Reference ID: 3572559 >>

Dear Ray Whitehouse,
Thank you for contacting Garmin Europe.
Please be advised that due to the system software update, the geocaches that were found before are no longer stored.
We apologize for the inconvenience and the only way to trace them back is to find them again.
Please help us improve the service we offer you by taking our Customer Support survey. Please click the following link:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GarminCustomerSurvey
If there is anything else I can help you with then please let me know. Alternatively you can search for a solution here: http://www.garmin.co.uk/support
Kind regards,
Zoe
Garmin Europe

>> Original Message ...
>> From: [email][email protected][/email]
>> To: [email][email protected][/email]
>> Subject: Unable to see found caches using basecamp
>> Sent: 01/12/2014 21:52 PM
>>
>>Unable to see found caches using basecamp submitted from a form.
Escalation from KANA On Demand Self Service
________________________________________
Subject: Unable to see found caches using basecamp
>> Message: Having upgraded to Basecamp 4.4.4 from 4.3.4 when I connect my GPSMAP 62S to Basecamp the icons for cahes all show as unfound even if they are found. It is also not possible to update the icons from unfound to found using basecamp. I can change the cahes on the PC in Basecamp and I can change the icons using my device on the device. Even when I trasnfer found caches to my device they then show up as unfound and I can't change them using Basecamp.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member
    Barring a solution from Garmin, you can "re-find" the affected caches on your GPS and they'll display properly on Basecamp. It's laborious if you have a lot of unfound cache symbols to process, but it does work. Simply select the affected cache on your GPS, "Go," then log as "Found."
  • 0
    Hi I understand that but it is very cumbersome if you have a lot which I do, its also even more cumbersome if you use basecamp as the master database and load caches onto the GPS when you want to go to a particular area. if you delete them off your GPS you then have to refind them all again if you wish to reload them.

    Luckily I have an old version of Baecamp on one of my computers which still works OK.
  • 0
    I have now had the following email from Garmin support Europe recognising the design change which I find unnacceptable so I have tried to escalate the issue to Dawn Iddings VP Business development and customer care. I have also sent more details to the design engineer who monitors this forum. perhaps we'll get a better answer, perhaps not. its just annoying.

    Email starts:

    Hi, this is really unacceptable as a design change and I am aware that this is how the current design works.

    I raised the call to ask your design team to consider changing the design so that it works like it used to. There are a lot of Garmin users who use geocaches the way I do.

    Could you please re-open this ticket or if not raise a new ticket and escalate resolution to Dawn Iddings, Vice-President of Business Development and customer care. Please ask her to contact me confirming that this design change is what Garmin intended and that the affected customers are not able to progress this change request further.

    If this is then the case can I ask you to update all appropriate user documentation to reflect what is after all a major change for the worse with no explanation as to why it has been done.

    Many Thanks

    Ray Whitehouse

    From: [email][email protected][/email] [mailto:[email protected]]
    Sent: 06 May 2015 16:11
    To: [email][email protected][/email]
    Subject: Garmin Basecamp : Geocache (Case 1103961) << Reference ID: 4643004 >> <Q#:1000114>

    Dear Ray Whitehouse,
    Thank you for this issue you have raised with us at Garmin Europe.
    I am happy to assist you in resolving this matter.
    I understand that the practice of moving the cache between device and computer was causing an issue when viewing Geocaches on your device.
    The latest version of Basecamp (v.4.4.6) has now been released, this uses the existence of a log to show a geocache as found on your device.
    This change will mean that you should backup the log file from your device to protect the finds that you've completed.
    The case we raised for you has now been closed.

    Please help us improve the service we offer you by taking our Customer Support survey. Please click the following link:
    https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GarminCustomerSurvey
    If there is anything else I can help you with then please let me know. Alternatively you can search for a solution here: http://www.garmin.co.uk/support
    Kind regards,
    Stephen
    Garmin Europe
  • 0
    I'm not sure how you think you'll get anywhere with this. Basecamp can only display what it knows. If you delete the file from your GPS that contains the 'found' geocache information then Basecamp can't tell which are found and which aren't. I load PQs every week into Basecamp and keep the relevant files on my GPS. I also back them up should I ever need them again. It's really not the issue you're making it out to be.
  • 0
    There is a bit set in the metadata of the geocache on the GPS (or at least there is on the GPSMAP 62S) which allows it to show that the cache is found by using an open box. So its not just the log which knows it is open. Geocache.com also seeks to use the file more than once if you keep it on your device.

    You may have a way of doing it. Unfortunately it used to work as I described and I don't have the time to recreate over 2000 logs which I have deleted as it used to use the bit sending in the metadata.

    Please don't suggest its not as large a problem as I am making out, a lot of us have used the way it used to work as the standard method and recreating thousands of logs by re-finding th caches is not a great way of doing things.

    So Basecamp does know, it now has been changed to do it differently which causes the problem.

    I am asking Garmin to reconsider its design change which I think is a reasonable request.
  • 0
    Well I wish you good luck but I suspect it'll take more than one complaint to get it changed.