July 21, 2007
Ohio Delorme Challenge
The Ohio Delorme geocache requires a visit to each cache in the Delorme atlas for Ohio but only visits after the cache was placed will count towards the cache find. Once a cache has been found on each page you then get the co-ordinates for the final cache hidden somewhere in Ohio.
With the aid of a KML file, the recent finds pocket query, GSAK and Google earth it is quite easy to work out which pages you need to do.
First download the Ohio Delorme KML file from the main cache page, GCZ554. Next download Google Earth (if you don't already have it already. Finally you want a .loc file of all your finds since the 2nd of December 2006 when the cache was placed. The easiest way to do this is to download your latest finds into GSAK, then using the filters set State=Ohio, Found=Yes, Date=On or After 12/2/2006. I saved the filter as Delorme so I can run this whenever I need to check my status.
In Google earth open the KML file and then open the loc file to see the caches appear in gridlines for each page. You may want to turn off extra options and layers such as road names, community uploaded content etc. This will give you a cleaner picture. 
The picture above shows the gridlines and the picture below shows my found caches so far. I've actually found quite a few other pages but unfortunately they were before the cache was placed so they don't count.
So far I've found pages 45-48,55-59,65 and 67-69
Meanwhile TeamJNLe4 completed all the pages yesterday and now just has to go for the final cache - congrats Jonathan!
July 15, 2007
New Mapping Software to geotag pictures
WWMX is the current software that I use to geotag my photo's and I'm always on the lookout for some better software that will do the trick. Today I came across locr which seems really nice. The interface is cleaner and looks much better and also integrates with Google Earth and if you use locr then it also integrates with that website - It's actually their bulk uploader tool.
However if you have a garmin gps you may find that loading in the waypoints does not work correctly so here are the complete steps for encoding your photos.
First download the locr program to your pc - you will also need .net framework 2 on the pc (which it will download and install if you don't already have it)
Use mapsource to obtain the tracks from your gps and save the data as a gpx file.
If you have GSAK then you are in luck and can convert the gpx file to an nmea file otherwise download and install gpsbabel
Use the following command line to convert your gpx file to nmea format - replace the paths to your gsak (or gpsbabel) location as appropriate
C:\Program Files\GSAK7\gpsbabel -i gpx -f data.gpx -x track,fix=3d -o nmea -F output.nmea
If you save the following as a .bat file and create a shortcut on your desktop you can then just drag your gpx to the shortcut and it will create you the nmea for you in the same location and with the same name (but with the .nmea extension)
"C:\Program Files\GSAK7\gpsbabel" -i gpx -f "%1" -x track,fix=3d -o nmea -F "%1.nmea"
Once the file has been converted you can then proceed to geotag the photos.
Open the locr program.
Add the photos that you want to geotag.
Open the nmea file. As soon as the nmea file is opened, the photos will have their locations updated. However the files will not be stamped (and there will not be an x in the flag column).
Click the Automatic geotagging to set the flag status to x.
Your photos will now be geotagged.
You can test this by removing the files and tracks, and then loading in the picture by itself. At this point the picture will be tagged and displayed on the map.
For a pictorial walkthrough see my locr gallery walkthrough screenshots - just hit the next button to see the next image in the series.
April 19, 2007
New caching map tool
I discovered myGME this evening whilst doing some gsak work/experimentation. This gsak macro allows you to get a google map of all the caches in your currently defined filter set with a radius circle predefined to show you the caches within that area. If you want to move the area, you select the red marker icons and move them to the center of the circle and the distance away from the center. It works great. Takes a while to load if you have a lot of caches mind.
The graphic below shows the initial output for the geocaches near Hocking Hills.
July 9, 2006
More Caching maps
I've fiddled around with my google maps and now have the following two maps (that will be added to the sidebar). Firstly I have my UK finds and also my US finds, centred around Ohio. Both of these maps actually use the same set of data, the zoom and centre location is just set to show the UK and Ohio respectively. As the locationless caches distort the location of the caches that have been found I have also amended the data to not show locationless caches anymore.
Note that each map will open in a new window and you will need a screen resolution capable of showing 1000*800 characters. You will have to wait a few seconds after the screen has loaded for google to display the results.
June 30, 2006
Caching update
I won a Legend C with North america maps on ebay last night which is great - the autorouting should come in very handy for work too - and if the route just so happens to go past a cache - well "I am only following directions gov" ;-)
On a slightly similar note, the weekly notification of caches arrived today (the uk cache notification!) but it had the interesting news that you can now get a query of caches along a route. If this works, it's going to be great news for geocaching. Firstly there will be great rejoicing from the caching community and secondly this seriously reduces the need to horde cache information in gsak. Now I can get live cache data from a route online rather than having to download all of ohio into gsak, export all the caches as streetmaps pushpins, import them into streets and trips, create the route and then show caches within .2 miles.
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September 24, 2005
Cache planning along a route in Autoroute
If you export your gsak caches into Streets & Trips/Autoroute, create a route and then use the Show or Hide places option you can get a list of caches along your trip. I've made a rough tutorial online
August 31, 2005
July 28, 2005
Delaware county maps
DALIS-View Map Server contains information on land within Delaware county, great for seeing which land is public.
The Franklin county (dublin) version is here
May 19, 2005
More geocaching greasemonkey scripts
More greasemonkey scripts at the script list now give the ability to show nearby caches from maps.google.com. Works great
May 12, 2005
Franklin County maps
At a good night at Cache And Coffee which even Kristen enjoyed, Bjorn demonstrated the use of the Franklin County auditor map database which enables you to see who owns a piece of land - excellent for working out who to get permission from. Use it to find out the names of your neighbours (if you don't know them)
April 26, 2005
Greasemonkey to link to maps
Follow the instructions on the geocaching forums on how to use greasemonkey to change coordinates to clickable links to maps
Park maps for columbus
Metroparks have a nice set of maps for the columbus area including trails and things. Needs flash to view.