"No geocaches found" bug
Posted: Mon Oct 21, 2019 9:57 pm
In this thread I mentioned the "No geocaches found" bug that some people have experienced after turning the GPSr off. I won't put all the background here, for anyone stumbling on this thread, please read the linked one.
OK, so I made some progress in how to trigger this bug. On my GPSr, I had a .kmz file from CalTOPO on the internal storage in CustomMaps. When I deleted that CustomMap, I was no longer able to reproduce the issue. By replacing the file back in the GPSr, I could make the problem happen again. Curiously, the problem does NOT happen if the same .kmz file is in CustomMaps on the SD card.
I suspect the GPSr goes bad somewhere when indexing a file it doesn't like, and for whatever reason this only affects geocaches, which the GPSr handles differently from other waypoints.
To reproduce this, I created a .gpx file with a single fake geocache, using all the XML elements as one would find in a real .gpx from groundspeak.
Here are the general steps I took in trying to test out different things:
1. Starting state - I have a .kmz in CustomMaps on internal storage. I have a bunch of .img files on the SD card. Geocache .gpx files can be in GPX in either internal storage or SD (problem occurs with either). Once the unit is powered off and back on, the receiver reports "No geocaches found". Renaming the .gpx file (or pulling out the SD card, when the .gpx files are located there, and going through a power cycle) works around the issue until the GPSr is turned off.
2. I removed the SD card entirely, to simplify test parameters. I was able to reproduce the problem with "No geocaches found" with the geocache .gpx on internal storage.
3. I removed the CustomMaps .kmz from internal storage, and renamed the .gpx file to go into a clean state. The problem does NOT happen - after rebooting the unit several times, geocaches are indexed.
4. I put the .kmz back in CustomMaps, and did not touch the .gpx file. The problem occurs on the first power up.
5. I put the SD card back in, and once again removed the .kmz from CustomMaps. I was unable to reproduce the issue.
6. I moved the .kmz file from internal storage to CustomMaps on the SD card. The problem does NOT occur. This I didn't expect.
7. I tested with some real .gpx geocache files, and was no longer able to reproduce the issue (again, with no .kmz in internal storage).
I will email the owner of this site my test files, but I have a sneaking suspicion that this problem can be reproduced simply by downloading a .kmz from CalTopo and placing it in CustomMaps on internal storage. I would recommend temporarily removing the SD card, as I did, just to limit the number of variables. In my experience, it doesn't matter what geocache .gpx file you use.
Looking forward to seeing if anyone else can or cannot reproduce the issue under a similar set of circumstances. Thanks!
OK, so I made some progress in how to trigger this bug. On my GPSr, I had a .kmz file from CalTOPO on the internal storage in CustomMaps. When I deleted that CustomMap, I was no longer able to reproduce the issue. By replacing the file back in the GPSr, I could make the problem happen again. Curiously, the problem does NOT happen if the same .kmz file is in CustomMaps on the SD card.
I suspect the GPSr goes bad somewhere when indexing a file it doesn't like, and for whatever reason this only affects geocaches, which the GPSr handles differently from other waypoints.
To reproduce this, I created a .gpx file with a single fake geocache, using all the XML elements as one would find in a real .gpx from groundspeak.
Here are the general steps I took in trying to test out different things:
1. Starting state - I have a .kmz in CustomMaps on internal storage. I have a bunch of .img files on the SD card. Geocache .gpx files can be in GPX in either internal storage or SD (problem occurs with either). Once the unit is powered off and back on, the receiver reports "No geocaches found". Renaming the .gpx file (or pulling out the SD card, when the .gpx files are located there, and going through a power cycle) works around the issue until the GPSr is turned off.
2. I removed the SD card entirely, to simplify test parameters. I was able to reproduce the problem with "No geocaches found" with the geocache .gpx on internal storage.
3. I removed the CustomMaps .kmz from internal storage, and renamed the .gpx file to go into a clean state. The problem does NOT happen - after rebooting the unit several times, geocaches are indexed.
4. I put the .kmz back in CustomMaps, and did not touch the .gpx file. The problem occurs on the first power up.
5. I put the SD card back in, and once again removed the .kmz from CustomMaps. I was unable to reproduce the issue.
6. I moved the .kmz file from internal storage to CustomMaps on the SD card. The problem does NOT occur. This I didn't expect.
7. I tested with some real .gpx geocache files, and was no longer able to reproduce the issue (again, with no .kmz in internal storage).
I will email the owner of this site my test files, but I have a sneaking suspicion that this problem can be reproduced simply by downloading a .kmz from CalTopo and placing it in CustomMaps on internal storage. I would recommend temporarily removing the SD card, as I did, just to limit the number of variables. In my experience, it doesn't matter what geocache .gpx file you use.
Looking forward to seeing if anyone else can or cannot reproduce the issue under a similar set of circumstances. Thanks!