CUCC Expedition Handbook

Essential GPS information

We have a regularly-updated file of all the cave entrances for the entire Schvartzmooskögel system (SMK). This file also includes the tracks of the paths we regularly take: from Loser Alm car park to the col and to top camp, and from top camp to Fisch Gesicht Höhle and to Tunnocks's, Balkonhöhle and Organhöhle.

Download the data from the expo server

Upload the data to your device

Download the GPS essentials file from the expo server

We regularly create a new version of this essential data as the expo progresses and as expoers discover new entrances and devise new routes to reach them.

To get the most recent version you will need to ask someone who is competent in using the version control system (it's in loser/gpx/ and is generated from the survex data by a script). A fairly recent copy (17 July 2018) can be downloaded from here: essentials.gpx (190K). Phones have a problem with a simple link like that. So with a phone you may need to try this link Wikilocs from where you can download a short version of the file (track and one waypoint at StoneBridge only) or a Google Earth trail (you need to create a Wikiloc account first and be logged-in when you click on this). Or here is another direct download link.

Upload the GPS essentials file to your device

This is where it gets tricky because every device and phone app does this differently.

GPS phone apps

This should work the same way whether you have an iPhone or an Android phone.

We do not have a recommended app as there is nothing we have found which quite does quite what we need. We are using www.gpsessentials.com and OsmAnd so try one of these first. If you discover a good app, tell everyone about it.

Visit the www.gpsessentials.com website and read the manual (top left, on the menu bar: "Manual") for how to do this. Except that the manual doesn't tell you.

The OsmAnd documentation says:

"The simplest way to view a track you've downloaded is to tap on it in your device's file manager and choose to open it in OsmAnd. After that, you'll see the track in My places - My tracks or in the Dashboard - My tracks."

Modern Garmin handheld GPS devices

Connect the GPS device to your laptop (or the expo laptop) using the USB cable. A folder will open on the laptop showing the contents of the device. You will see a subfolder called "GARMIN". Open the folder "GARMIN" and copy the file essentials.gpx which you downloaded into that folder.

Old Garmin handheld GPS devices

These need the Garmin communication protocol to import cave entrance locations (waypoints) and paths (tracks). You can't do it by simply copyingfiles. This means that you need special software on your laptop in addition to a USB cable that connects your laptop to the Garmin device.

If your Garmin has a mini-USB socket, rather than the usual micro-USB found in phones, then you might have an "old" Garmin handheld, but some modern handhelds still use this old socket.

Once you have the right cable and connected your handheld to your laptop:

On a Windows machine, use "GPSbabel for Windows" which has an easy to use graphical user interface: download GPS Babel
On a Linux machine the core gpsbabel command line utility is probably already installed; but there is no simple, easy to use graphical interface. Instead you must use other software such as QGIS or Viking (download using your usual Linux software installer) which uses gpsbabel to talk to your device. If this doesn't work then there are no useful error messages from Viking.

Expedition Handbook
- Surveying guide - Overview
- Prospecting guide – Overview
- Rescue guide
Back to Expedition Intro page
Back to CUCC Home page