GPS, Trails, Maps: A Plug for Wikiloc

[BF]

What is the advantage of downloading a track to the GPS before a hike? Wouldn’t it be more advantageous to change a track to a route and then load it to the GPS? I create tracks from hikes. I store them to my PC, edit them, and create a route. When I hike a tail I follow a route. Following a route, I always know my distance to my destination, to any particular waypoint that I may have inserted into the route or I know the distance I have already traveled.

I record a track when I bushwack. If I need to return the way I traveled I use the track to go back the same way.

I have the Garmin 24K Northeast software on my Vista Hcx. All the trails are there, but I find "seeing" the trails on the GPS screen difficult as they are just light dashed lines. I prefer to either download a track from someone (and verify against the actual trail on Basecamp) or create my own track then download it to my GPS for the trail I intend on using. Tracks are much easier to see on the GPS sceen and you can change the color of the track as well.

Petch

If you have Garmin 24K NE you do not need to create a track before your hike. At the trail head, use the white curser and point to your destination, press enter and following the prompts. You will create a route to follow. One that you will be able to see. And follow. Or, you can set a waypoint (at home or at the trail head) and once again you can create a route at the trail head.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

It has been reported that the timestamps are flushed when track is loaded into the GPS.

Have you actually tried this? (computer (trk1) -> GPS (trk2) -> computer (trk3))

Yes - scores of times. Timestamps are never changed/deleted using either my 60CSx or Vista.

Perhaps the small wristwatch type GPS did that? Just a WAG.


My reports indicated that timestamps in trk1 will be absent in trk2 and trk3. Haven't actually tried it myself. (We do know that any timestamps in trk2 will be in trk3.)

Note: Unfortunately the words upload and download are ambiguous and confusing...

I agree.


Doug

BF - Sounds like your system of creating routes works for you, but for me - I don't need to learn a new system. I do use routes, but rarely. When I do, it's usually when I have route that I wish to migrate from the NG map series to the MapSource/Garmin world.

But - as they say - whatever floats your boat.

 

[DougPaul]

(computer (trk1) -> GPS (trk2) -> computer (trk3))

My reports indicated that timestamps in trk1 will be absent in trk2 and trk3. Haven't actually tried it myself. (We do know that any timestamps in trk2 will be in trk3.)

Kevin,

Since you have observed that the timestamps are preserved though the above process it appears that the above does not apply to the 60CSx.

I believe the reports stating that timestamps are flushed when a track is loaded into a GPS were prior to the 60CSx, so perhaps they applied to certain earlier models.

Edit:
Curiosity got the better of me and I tried it in a 60CSx and timestamps were not flushed. (Some of the lats and lons were altered slightly by the transfers--probably due to quantization errors during the transfer to the GPS.) I was also able read and write a saved track (for those who want to load navigational tracks into their GPSes). All transfers were performed with GPSBabel on Linux.

Doug

 

[Remix]

One cannot get access to all of the data in the GPS without plugging it into a computer. The 60CSx (many other Garmins are similar) stores the tracklog, saved tracks, waypoints, and routes in internal memory. It will not read any of the above from a memory card. To read or write the data stored internally, one must use a direct connection to a computer.

The memory card stores the map file which can be read or written directly from the computer. The 60CSx can optionally write a copy of the tracklog to the memory card in the form of daily logs which can also be read by a computer. (However, the 60CSx will not read the daily logs so one cannot send data to the GPS by this route.)

Some people are also concerned about contact wear from frequent card removal and insertion.

In any event, I use a Magellen Meridian Platinum and it stores and reloads tracks to and from a card.

You better get Garmin to correct their blog or see if you are running the latest firmware. I assume a GPS Map 60 refers to a 60csx.

I found the following at http://garmin.blogs.com/softwareupdates/trail-tech/

Even using our automatic recording method, users consistently request increased tracklog capacities, especially customers taking multiple-day excursions without access to their favorite desktop application to archive each day's tracklog. In our eTrex and GPSMap 60 products, we also began allowing users to archive older trackpoints onto the memory card. By reading the card (in mass storage mode or through a card reader), the archived trackpoints are available in GPX files. To enable this feature, select Data Card Setup from the Track Setup page, then enable the Log Track To Data Card checkbox. On these devices, users can create saved tracks, which filters active tracks to a small representative subset of trackpoints.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

The blog quote is consistent with the behavior of the 76CSx. The wish was to increase the number of tracks available by using the card - the GPS does write tracks to the card, but it doesn't read tracks from the card, nor does it offer a way to load the tracks from the card into the GPS.

Tim

 

[DougPaul]

The blog quote is consistent with the behavior of the 76CSx. The wish was to increase the number of tracks available by using the card - the GPS does write tracks to the card, but it doesn't read tracks from the card, nor does it offer a way to load the tracks from the card into the GPS.

As Remix noted, one method for reading or erasing the daily tracklog files on the card is to put the GPS in mass-storage mode.

The other method is to remove the card from the GPS and place it in a card reader.

FWIW, I can easily store a weekend's worth of track in the internal tracklog using the "auto" "normal" (default, IIRC) track recording settings.

Doug

 

[bikehikeskifish]

The point, I think, was that using the card does not increase the number or length of the pre-loaded tracks one can then display on the map and follow using the GPS. I.e., tracks on the card are only useful for downloading to your PC, and then possibly uploading to the GPS for later use.

I would love to be told I am wrong. Keep in mind I am specifically talking about the Garmin 76CSx (and likely the 60CSx.)


Tim

 

[DougPaul]

The point, I think, was that using the card does not increase the number or length of the pre-loaded tracks one can then display on the map and follow using the GPS. I.e., tracks on the card are only useful for downloading to your PC, and then possibly uploading to the GPS for later use.

The active tracklog is 10K points and there are 20 saved tracks of up to 500 points each. If you want to save more, the memory card is your only option.

BTW, I tried loading a <500 point track from Chris's WMNF trail gpx files and it loaded very nicely into a saved track. I'm considering writing a program to shrink >500 point tracks so I can load the bigger ones without truncation. (As a less convenient work-around, I could load a big track into the active tracklog and then save it on the GPS.)

I would love to be told I am wrong. Keep in mind I am specifically talking about the Garmin 76CSx (and likely the 60CSx.)

Same electronics, same software, different cases.

Doug

 

[bikehikeskifish]

GPSBabel will shrink the tracks to 500 or less. In fact, I shrunk the entire AllTracks file to 500 or less in one operation.

Tim

 

[DougPaul]

GPSBabel will shrink the tracks to 500 or less. In fact, I shrunk the entire AllTracks file to 500 or less in one operation.

Thanks--what is the flag name? I looked for it earlier and didn't find it.

But I had fun thinking of algorithms--a full search guaranteed to give the optimum solution would be n(Combination)500 or truly large.

Somehow, I think the AllTracks file shrunken to 500 points might not be very useful...


BTW, GPSBabel can combine gpx files into one bigger gpx file--an answer to one of your earlier quesitons.

Doug

 

[bikehikeskifish]

No, it does what you really want - shrinks all the tracks in AllTracks to a maximum of 500 points.

gpsbabel -w -r -t -i gpx -f /home/tjl/hiking/trails/00AllTrails.gpx -x simplify,count=500 -o gpx -F /home/tjl/hiking/trails/00AllTrails-500.gpx

# version 1.4.2

Tim

 

[DougPaul]

No, it does what you really want - shrinks all the tracks in AllTracks to a maximum of 500 points.

Ah yes, now that I found the option in the docs... Thanks.

I can set up a simple shell file to load up to 20 individual trail track files into the GPS with minimal effort.

Doug