GPS Gobbledygook

[j.c.gillies]

Dan is it to late to place an order with you?

[Dan_K]

Sorry, I ordered all the SD cards this morning.

I got your PM. If it's just OSM you want, the maps are hosted online here:

http://ravenfamily.org/andyg/maps/

If you grab yourself a micro SD and download the most recent map from Andy's site, the txt file on there explains how to arrange the folders to get it to work.

[Stevemorg]

My SD card arrived yesterday - many thanks

I just need to buy a GPS to use it with now!

[Dan_K]

Glad you got it ok. They all got posted on Friday, except Anthony's which I'll post tomorrow.
I checked that they all worked on my Etrex Legend before I sent them so I know they all work.
Stu's having a problem getting the map to show on his Etrex 20 so if anyone's got any ideas let him know! I'm pretty stumped. Looking on other forums, it's a common issue, but having a different unit, I'm not much help...

[Stevemorg]

thats useful to know as I was thinking about buying an Etrex 20!

[pistonbroke]

Belated question to DanK, I'm off to Mallorca road riding at the end of next week and just discovered how rubbish the Garmin base mapping is on my Oregon 450, any chance of a cheeky micro SD copy of City Navigator or of talking me through how I can make my own using the copy I already have on my laptop? I only need to extract the mapping for Mallorca or preferrably Spain but am a bit clueless. Thanks in anticipation.

[Dan_K]

I've never used an Oregon before but here is how it works on my Etrex:

If you've got a copy of the .img file on your laptop you can just copy the file into an empty SD card.

Rename the file gmapsupp.IMG and put it in a folder named Garmin

The device should recognise it when switched on. Alternatively, if you have Basemap, you can connect the device to your laptop and drag the map tile into the map folder on the device.

If you don't have an .img map tile, it is pretty easy to find and download from various torrent sites. You'll need an unlocked image.

City Nav is ace on the bike for european use. I used it around Annecy in the Alps on the road bike last year and it gave turn by turn directions. Didn't make the Col de la Forclaz any easier though.

[royAB]

Anyone running the Etrex 30 had issues with slow scrolling?
I've been considering one, but a number of online reviews have claimed this to be a weak area.. to the extent that on a bike it means stopping to wait for the GPS to catch up!

[Anthony]

Roy, had my Etrex 30 for about a week with their UK OS 1:50k maps.

Having never had a gps before I had to admit I was suprised that the maps didn't just scroll instantly. That said, it only takes a second or so at most and that's only when navigating using the toggle switch. When out riding or driving it seems to keep up fine with your location as it's only updating the one edge of the map as you move forward.

It took a good few hours of head scratching to work out how to work everything, but now I'm up to speed it does certainly seem to do everything I could ever want. You can customise pretty much every feature on it which I really like.

I have managed to freeze it a couple of times though which is annoying. It only takes 20 secs to remove a battery and restart but frustrating I have to admit, fortunately it doesn't loose any data or active route/track guidance.

I do like it's accuracy, even indoors it tracks my speed across the lounge :D

[Anthony]

If anyone wants my version of the OSM mapping for the £5 I paid I'd be happy to forward it on, my wife bought me the full UK OS maps as a suprise birthday present so I didn't need it

[pistonbroke]

Thanks for the reply DanK unfortunately my it competence is limited to pointing and clicking. Is there any chance if I could send you a 4GB Micro SD card, you could do the magic and load it with the City Navigator files, I can get one off to you today if you are amenable, I'll pay for your time or give you a big sloppy kiss at the WRT if that's your preference :?
I've always solo'd the WRT but if you want to team up I fancy this option this year???

[royAB]

Cheers Anthony. Always good to have some real world feedback.

[Taylor]

I'll pay for your time or give you a big sloppy kiss at the WRT if that's your preference

Make sure he put's his teeth in first.

[Dan_K]

I'll pay for your time or give you a big sloppy kiss at the WRT if that's your preference

Make sure he put's his teeth in first.

[pistonbroke]

I may be 52 but I've still got all my own teeth and unlike Flatfish, I usually manage to get past the first B&B I pass on the WRT on the Pink Scandal :) Dan, acted on your pm today. Thanks again.

[Taylor]

I usually manage to get past the first B&B I pass on the WRT

Only coz you were headed for your caravan.

[pistonbroke]

I thought that was our little secret.
I did the full tramp bit last year, what was your excuse :?

[Taylor]

I was guiding a WRT virgin round so decided to break her in gently , she also doesn't do tramping as Stu will testify.

[gairym]

It's feels like high-jacking this thread to bring things back to where they began but I've got another beginner GPS question.

I can now happily and confidently track rides I'm doing on my Garmin (and transfer them back to my PC afterwards).

But.....I've still yet to upload/follow a route (.gpx file) successfully.

I've put a few on there but I can't find them???

I also can't find any online instuctions for how to do this.

Anyone able to give me a few pointers?

Gairy.

[Anthony]

For PC duty, I tend to just operate my Garmin as a USB storage device.

Open it on the computer as files. Find the Garmin device, then open it's 'GPX' folder and just drag them directly into there (assuming you have already saved the GPX file somewhere off the net and onto your computer).

You can usually get them directly off websites using the Garmin Communicator software download, but I find the former simpler for an IT-phobe like myself.

[Dan_K]

Gairy, if I recall, you have the same etrex as me.

The easiest way i've found is to use bikehike and either create a course on there or import a gpx to there.

Once you have a route, click on the "options" at the bottom right of the page and make sure there are less than 500 trackpoints. If there are more, select the option to reduce them to 499 as this is the max the etrex can handle or when you send to device it will say "route truncated".

Once this is done, click the download option and download to device as a "GPX TRACK". It will then send it to your device.

On the etrex, go into the TRACK option on the menu and you should see your track. Select it to be shown on map and then choose the line colour.

This will give you a highlighted track on the map (like a normal map with a highlighter pen).

To actually navigate, I use the cursor to set waypoints along the route and then create a route via these way points (this works best on road).

It seems long winded but using this way, you get to have a highlighted map to follow and the unit will beep prior to junctions and show an arrow.

[gairym]

dan/anthony,

thanks, there are a few things you've both mentioned that i can try (when i get chance - am off out now to do some digging-over in preparation for the veggies going in).

will get back to you about how i get on (with the garmin not the garden).

cheers, gairy.

[griffdowg]

Do these gps devices handle memory map 5, because I have the whole of gb at 1:50000 and most of Wales and quite a bit of England on 1:25000, anyone running memory map 5 on their pc would be able to play with it.

Im running MM4/MM5.

1:50 (2 files) come in around 4GB.

1:25 for all of the UK is about 16GB IIRC.

I got a 1:250k and 1:25k of all of the SW, South, Wales and up to the Midlands along with all the national parks in the UK onto the 8GB card in my Memory Map 2800 GPS.

G

[gairym]

ok.....it still won't work!

i've added the .gpx file to both the main garmin folder and to a newly created 'gpx' folder and yet when i go to 'tracks' there are only the recorded tracks i've created and nothing else.

if i go to the 'track log' and then click 'setup' and view the 'data card' then i can see that the file is on the device but i just can't figure out how to see and follow the damn thing!!!!!

it's driving me mental!

really sorry to be a pain in the ass but i do appreciate you guys taking the time to try and help me.

cheers, gairy.

[Anthony]

I didn't create a new '.gpx' folder, mine was already there within the main Garmin folders. It contains tracks my GPS has recorded, and tracks I have uploaded from sites like gpsies.

On the GPS unit, they are all found together in the 'Track Manager' from the main menu.