Oregon issues

[biggaygibbon]

I am loading some gpx files on a friends Oregon 650. I thought it would be much the same as the Etrex 30 which I use. Right click on the gpx link, save it in the gpx folder in the Garmin. However when I go to find the file on the Garmin it is not in track manager, but in route planner. And the files are all named as numbered routes and not the file name I gave them when I copied them across. I thought the files should be in track manager and am a bit confused as to why they change to a numbered route file....
I know I should read some instructions but wondered if anyone had any quick fix advice...

[benp1]

Definitely a track and not a route?

[biggaygibbon]

They are just links to gpx files for walking routes. I guess if they are routes that is why they are saved in a different place. Is the difference a route just has more waypoints? Not sure why they load them on the garmin as numbered files instead of the file name though....

[benp1]

Routes are a set of points that your GPS tries to navigate you on. Generally they fail for a variety of reasons

Tracks are just a trail of breadcrumbs that you make your GPS display. It's what most people use

I've not been able to get a route to work for me properly on my Oregon (550t), which I really wanted it to do for motorbiking. So stick to tracks and check the screen at regular intervals

[ScotRoutes]

Yeah, it's a Route you've loaded, not a track. If you have something like Basecamp you can convert it easily enough before loading it onto the Oregon.

Routes can work if they're short enough not to have too many changes of direction.

Routes only really work well if you've a routable map loaded and you choose the correct routing options.

It's a bit of a minefield at first. I should really scribble down what I've learnt.

[whitestone]

A "route" in Garmin speak is a set of locations (waypoints) linked by straight lines, i.e. if you load the route the device will take you to the start then display 500m at bearing 270 to get to the next waypoint.

A "track" is a series of recorded locations that you or someone else has visited. So if you recorded a ride, each GPS "ping" is logged and your track is all these points linked together.

So you load a route and the resulting track is how you followed that route.

All this makes more sense for walking where your waypoints will be summits of hills along with cols and ridge junctions and you wander along between them. Doesn't really make sense for biking where you'll follow roads and BWs which are defined routes (in the non-Garmin sense).

[ScotRoutes]

Doesn't really make sense for biking where you'll follow roads and BWs which are defined routes (in the non-Garmin sense).

Depends where you bike

[whitestone]

Doesn't really make sense for biking where you'll follow roads and BWs which are defined routes (in the non-Garmin sense).

Depends where you bike

Stop showing off!

[benp1]

I spent a little while research how to get the Oregon to guide me along a preplanned route when motorcycling. In short, I failed

There's quite a lot of info on ADVrider as the Oregon is popular there, but they also do off road stuff. I wanted road only. The only option that I can easily see is to do the same as bikepacking i.e. display a track and follow the line

The problem is following someone elses route where you haven't done the planning and don't know what's coming. It's a faff having to continually check (in certain road environments) as the pace on a motorbike is much higher. Still doable, but it would be great if it would genuinely navigate you (i.e. take the 3rd exit at the roundabout)

[biggaygibbon]

Thanks people

[ScotRoutes]

Surely the Oregon will do on-road routing with the correct mapping?

[benp1]

Couldn't get it to work, but depends on what you mean by correct mapping.

I have the 1:50k OS maps for Southern England, and the normal garmin basic map

I can get it to work as a sat nav no problem, type in the destination and off it goes. But I can't get it to load a route, comes up with the 'max 50 points' error. I couldn't find any examples of people getting a workaround for it

One person said to load a track onto the map, and then navigate the route direct/off road, so it doesn't add extra viapoints. Still didn't work

Works great as a sat nav, just not for following a preplanned route on the computer (unless someone can tell me otherwise)

[biggaygibbon]

I think when I first planned a route on bikehike I saved it as a route and tried to load it to my etrex and there were way to many waypoints. Save it as a track and all is fine.

[biggaygibbon]

So I get the difference between routes and tracks. But why is the Oregon changing the name of the routes when I save the routes to the device?

[ScotRoutes]

So I get the difference between routes and tracks. But why is the Oregon changing the name of the routes when I save the routes to the device?

The "Name" of the route is actually contained with the GPX file. It could be that this is different from the File Name that you're seeing in Explorer etc.

You can open the GPX file in something like Windows Notepad and read it, even rename it if you want to.

[Teetosugars]

It's a bit of a minefield at first. I should really scribble down what I've learnt.

Please do, I'm still trying to get to grips with mine...

[biggaygibbon]

cheers

[Wotsits]

I thought to use the Oregon like a vehicle sat nav you're supposed to use the Navigator software?-

https://buy.garmin.com/en-GB/GB/p/6299/ ... 0#overview

[ScotRoutes]

That's not, strictly speaking, software. It's just another set of maps.

[benp1]

I thought to use the Oregon like a vehicle sat nav you're supposed to use the Navigator software?-

https://buy.garmin.com/en-GB/GB/p/6299/ ... 0#overview

My Oregon works fine as a sat nav, although I only use it down South (using a routable 1:50k OS map). Talkytoaster does the non-OS UK routable map so I could grab that for use oop North. The Garmin basemap is very basic

To be fair, I rarely use it as a sat nav, and it's not as good as a more modern sat nav or phone based sat nav, but it's perfectly functional

Your Oregon is newer than mine so I reckon it should work fine as a sat nav providing your map is routable?

[ianfitz]

You can download free routable garmin OSM maps from that Dutch site.

They work well. I've used them in the uk, France, Spain, Tenerife...

[whitestone]

You can download free routable garmin OSM maps from that Dutch site.

They work well. I've used them in the uk, France, Spain, Tenerife...

+1. Add Iceland and Finland to that list.

[Wotsits]