GPS with maps?

David L. Johnson said:

Santa brought me a Garmin 205 roadrunner for the winter holiday
celebration, but I don't think this is what I need. It is primarily a
training device. What I need is to be able to figure out where I am, and
how to get where I need to go. I need maps and route planning, not lap
times and max speed (this I can get with a computer).

OK, the Garmin has a lot of options for a cyclocomputer, but I got one of
those.

What do you recommend for displaying maps and routes? Fortunately, Santa
kept her receipts, and is OK with my exchanging this for something more
useful.

Oh, one last thing. I only use linux, so windows-only pc interfaces are
not favored. Apparently the Garmin can connect to my machine using
gsbabel, but I do want to get connected to my computer for route planning.

If you find any good open source mapping software I'd be interested in
hearing about it. I use garmin-utils to look at my data but so far I
haven't found anything that I can use to put that data onto a map, or to
pull from a map and put the route onto my GPS.

Greg

--
"All my time I spent in heaven
Revelries of dance and wine
Waking to the sound of laughter
Up I'd rise and kiss the sky" - The Mekons

David L. Johnson said:

Santa brought me a Garmin 205 roadrunner for the winter holiday
celebration, but I don't think this is what I need. It is primarily a
training device. What I need is to be able to figure out where I am, and
how to get where I need to go. I need maps and route planning, not lap
times and max speed (this I can get with a computer).

I've been using my Garmin eMap for the last 7 years. In addition to
the maps and routes, it also gives me the usual bike computer functions
like speed, average speed, max. speed, elapsed moving and total time,
etc. But the eMap model has been obsolete for the last few years.
Among today's models I'd consider the eTrex VentureCx or the 60CSx
depending on how much you may want to spend. Both are far superior to
my eMap. In addition I strongly recommend you get the Garmin map
software (CityNavigator-NA for the US and Canada) and a decent size
micro-SD memory card.

Both models will give you a color map display with detailed maps (as
long as you have the CityNav software) and will let you search for
street addresses, many business locations (handy to find grocery stores
and restaurants when getting hungry while touring), other
points-of-interest, and will show you the fastest and/or shortest route
to get to them. The 60CSx costs more but has a more sensitive receiver
chip (less chance of losing the satellite signals under especially
dense foliage cover) and also includes a pressure sensor for better
altitude data under marginal reception conditions. It also has
displays of the elevation profile and data on cumulative gain that are
lacking on models without the pressure sensor although you can get the
profile and similar data later when hooked up to a PC.

Quoted message said:

Oh, one last thing. I only use linux, so windows-only pc interfaces are
not favored.

At the moment, the Garmin map software only works on Windows machines
(Mac support has been promised but the date is uncertain). However, if
you get either of the above units along with a good-sized microSD card
you should only need access to a Windows machine for a one-time load of
all the map segments you need. So find a friend with a PC who'll let
you do the map upload and you won't need to touch Windows again - at
least for a year or two (or more) when you may want to get updated
maps.

For getting the tracklog/route/waypoint data in and out of the GPS
there are a variety of software products that support linux and other
OSs in addition to windows.

David L. Johnson said:

Santa brought me a Garmin 205 roadrunner for the winter holiday
celebration, but I don't think this is what I need. It is primarily a
training device. What I need is to be able to figure out where I am, and
how to get where I need to go. I need maps and route planning, not lap
times and max speed (this I can get with a computer).

OK, the Garmin has a lot of options for a cyclocomputer, but I got one of
those.

What do you recommend for displaying maps and routes? Fortunately, Santa
kept her receipts, and is OK with my exchanging this for something more
useful.

Oh, one last thing. I only use linux, so windows-only pc interfaces are
not favored. Apparently the Garmin can connect to my machine using
gsbabel, but I do want to get connected to my computer for route planning.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | It is probable that television drama of high caliber and
_`\(,_ | produced by first-rate artists will materially raise the level
(_)/ (_) | of dramatic taste in the nation. -- David Sarnoff, 1939

David,

I have a Garmin 305 Edge.
The laptop is a dual boot RHEL 4 ES / MS Win XP.
I'll see what I can do with this:

http://www.marengo-ltd.com/gps/

over the next couple of days and get back to you.

Good luck,

-bdbafh

In article <[email hidden]>,

David L. Johnson said:

Santa brought me a Garmin 205 roadrunner for the winter holiday
celebration, but I don't think this is what I need. It is primarily a
training device. What I need is to be able to figure out where I am, and
how to get where I need to go. I need maps and route planning, not lap
times and max speed (this I can get with a computer).

OK, the Garmin has a lot of options for a cyclocomputer, but I got one of
those.

What do you recommend for displaying maps and routes? Fortunately, Santa
kept her receipts, and is OK with my exchanging this for something more
useful.

I have a Garmin 60 (sans map features) that works pretty well. It's
fairly useful with a bike, except for those unplanned diversions where
a map would be really helpful. I was just too cheap to get the full
map version - and it's adequate for my uses (which are mostly for off-trail
hiking/bushwhacking/scrambling/climbing). The sensitivity is definitely
better than with some other models (I once had the basic Etrex, which was
stolen), but not always good enough.

Quoted message said:

Oh, one last thing. I only use linux, so windows-only pc interfaces are
not favored. Apparently the Garmin can connect to my machine using
gsbabel, but I do want to get connected to my computer for route planning.

This is a problem. I don't know of any satisfactory open-source software
that has comparable features. There is an "alternative program" - OziExplorer
- which I understand works under Wine. Check out:
http://www.oziexplorer.com/
While their site clearly says "does not work under Linux", they also have
a link to some info from a customer running Ubuntu. The other thing about
OziExplorer is that it does not include the map data, as most of the other
programs do. In my area that's not an overwhelming problem because the
topographical maps I'm interested in are downloadable for free. I haven't
tried this yet.
There is apparently a somewhat crippled version of OziExplorer available
for free that you could try.

HTH--

-f
--

David L. Johnson said:

Santa brought me a Garmin 205 roadrunner for the winter holiday
celebration, but I don't think this is what I need. It is primarily a
training device. What I need is to be able to figure out where I am, and
how to get where I need to go. I need maps and route planning, not lap
times and max speed (this I can get with a computer).

OK, the Garmin has a lot of options for a cyclocomputer, but I got one of
those.

What do you recommend for displaying maps and routes? Fortunately, Santa
kept her receipts, and is OK with my exchanging this for something more
useful.

Get one of thoise Tom-tom or garmin units for a car..HUGE, but it tells
you where you are, where to go..

Quoted message said:

Oh, one last thing. I only use linux, so windows-only pc interfaces are
not favored. Apparently the Garmin can connect to my machine using
gsbabel, but I do want to get connected to my computer for route planning.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | It is probable that television drama of high caliber and
_`\(,_ | produced by first-rate artists will materially raise the level
(_)/ (_) | of dramatic taste in the nation. -- David Sarnoff, 1939

In article <[email hidden]>,

Qui si parla Campagnolo said:

Get one of thoise Tom-tom or garmin units for a car..HUGE, but it tells
you where you are, where to go..

Battery life is a big problem with those things. That big touch screen
requires a lot of power. If you don't plug it in to your car, you need
to recharge it every 4 hours or so.

Qui si parla Campagnolo said:

David L. Johnson said:

What do you recommend for displaying maps and routes? Fortunately, Santa
kept her receipts, and is OK with my exchanging this for something more
useful.

Get one of thoise Tom-tom or garmin units for a car..HUGE, but it tells
you where you are, where to go..

Why? Many of those have either very poor battery life or don't run on
internal batteries at all since they're not designed for use away from
a source of 12 VDC. And a little VentureCx or VistaCx that fits nicely
on the handlebars has exactly the same amount of map detail (from the
same NavTeq source as Garmin's automotive models) and will also tell
you where you are and how to get to where you'd like to be. They can
even be set for bicycle use so they won't try to route you via the
freeway.

David L. Johnson said:

Santa brought me a Garmin 205 roadrunner for the winter holiday
celebration, but I don't think this is what I need. It is primarily a
training device. What I need is to be able to figure out where I am, and
how to get where I need to go. I need maps and route planning, not lap
times and max speed (this I can get with a computer).

OK, the Garmin has a lot of options for a cyclocomputer, but I got one of
those.

What do you recommend for displaying maps and routes? Fortunately, Santa
kept her receipts, and is OK with my exchanging this for something more
useful.

Oh, one last thing. I only use linux, so windows-only pc interfaces are
not favored. Apparently the Garmin can connect to my machine using
gsbabel, but I do want to get connected to my computer for route planning.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | It is probable that television drama of high caliber and
_`\(,_ | produced by first-rate artists will materially raise the level
(_)/ (_) | of dramatic taste in the nation. -- David Sarnoff, 1939

The sailplane community is very big on GPS data logging and software
(the LX in my sailplane is about the same as a very good bicycle). The
following link provides a list of known software although I didn't look
for a Linux package.

http://soaring.gahsys.com/TP/resources.html#gps_software

You might also try a post to rec.aviation.soaring if that doesn't have
what you are looking for. There are a lot of very technical people
who may know something.

Chip F.

Mio C310x all the features you can think of and $199.00 at Staples. 2 Wire
ties to the stem and about 6-7 hours battery life.

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

What do you recommend for displaying maps and routes? Fortunately, Santa
kept her receipts, and is OK with my exchanging this for something more
useful.

Santa brought me a Garmin eTrex Legend Cx. It has the full mapping interface,
and has a USB interface that will let schlep GPX data back and forth (it auto-
records movement in GPX format while in motion). It'll be a day or two before I
can really put it through its paces [1], but it looks like just what you need.

[1] The bicycle handlebar mount was not included. She's Santa, not God.

--

__o Kristian Zoerhoff
_'\(,_ [email hidden]
(_)/ (_)

On 12/25/06 8:28 PM, in article [email hidden], "David L.

Johnson said:

Santa brought me a Garmin 205 roadrunner for the winter holiday
celebration, but I don't think this is what I need. It is primarily a
training device. What I need is to be able to figure out where I am, and
how to get where I need to go. I need maps and route planning, not lap
times and max speed (this I can get with a computer).

OK, the Garmin has a lot of options for a cyclocomputer, but I got one of
those.

What do you recommend for displaying maps and routes? Fortunately, Santa
kept her receipts, and is OK with my exchanging this for something more
useful.

Oh, one last thing. I only use linux, so windows-only pc interfaces are
not favored. Apparently the Garmin can connect to my machine using
gsbabel, but I do want to get connected to my computer for route planning.

Uhh.........

Did you get a "gift receipt"??

Kristian M Zoerhoff said:

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

What do you recommend for displaying maps and routes? Fortunately, Santa
kept her receipts, and is OK with my exchanging this for something more
useful.

Santa brought me a Garmin eTrex Legend Cx. It has the full mapping interface,
and has a USB interface that will let schlep GPX data back and forth (it auto-
records movement in GPX format while in motion). It'll be a day or two before I
can really put it through its paces [1], but it looks like just what you need.

[1] The bicycle handlebar mount was not included. She's Santa, not God.

--

__o Kristian Zoerhoff
_'\(,_ [email hidden]

Well, it IS gonna snow here in the Republic tomorrow, and there is
STILL about a foot of snow still here so......I guess modern technology
has once again caused the erosion of skill, technique. Namely, the
ability to use a map and compass to figure out where you are, where you
are going and where you have been. ya may have seen them, paper, lots
of pretty colors and lines on them, easy to use, light, solar powered.

I get a kick out of the post about gliders using GPS. I guess for
finding 'good air' and such but geeezzz, I flew for years with a
Texaco roadmap, looking out the window. I didn't know how to use the
nav gear in the A/C for a long time, didn't need it.

In article <[email hidden]>,
"Qui si parla Campagnolo" <[email hidden]> wrote:

snip

Quoted message said:

Well, it IS gonna snow here in the Republic tomorrow, and there is
STILL about a foot of snow still here so......I guess modern technology
has once again caused the erosion of skill, technique. Namely, the
ability to use a map and compass to figure out where you are, where you
are going and where you have been. ya may have seen them, paper, lots
of pretty colors and lines on them, easy to use, light, solar powered.

I get a kick out of the post about gliders using GPS. I guess for
finding 'good air' and such but geeezzz, I flew for years with a
Texaco roadmap, looking out the window. I didn't know how to use the
nav gear in the A/C for a long time, didn't need it.

Typical navy swab jockey!

Pushing 40 tons of aircraft at Mach speeds and flying IFRR!

God help us all!

....and have a Happy New Year

H M Leary said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
"Qui si parla Campagnolo" <[email hidden]> wrote:

snip

Quoted message said:

Well, it IS gonna snow here in the Republic tomorrow, and there is
STILL about a foot of snow still here so......I guess modern technology
has once again caused the erosion of skill, technique. Namely, the
ability to use a map and compass to figure out where you are, where you
are going and where you have been. ya may have seen them, paper, lots
of pretty colors and lines on them, easy to use, light, solar powered.

I get a kick out of the post about gliders using GPS. I guess for
finding 'good air' and such but geeezzz, I flew for years with a
Texaco roadmap, looking out the window. I didn't know how to use the
nav gear in the A/C for a long time, didn't need it.

Typical navy swab jockey!

Pushing 40 tons of aircraft at Mach speeds and flying IFRR!

God help us all!

...and have a Happy New Year

We used to say when we were out of sight of the ship...we were lost!!

I have followed the trash and oil slick to find the ship tho.

Qui si parla Campagnolo said:

We used to say when we were out of sight of the ship...we were lost!!

I have followed the trash and oil slick to find the ship tho.

We used to like sneaking up under a skimmer before we pumped waste oil,
blew the san tanks, and dumped the trash (it was supposed to sink but
you never know).

Qui si parla Campagnolo said:

Kristian M Zoerhoff said:

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

What do you recommend for displaying maps and routes? Fortunately, Santa
kept her receipts, and is OK with my exchanging this for something more
useful.

Santa brought me a Garmin eTrex Legend Cx. It has the full mapping interface,
and has a USB interface that will let schlep GPX data back and forth (it auto-
records movement in GPX format while in motion). It'll be a day or two before I
can really put it through its paces [1], but it looks like just what you need.

[1] The bicycle handlebar mount was not included. She's Santa, not God.

--

__o Kristian Zoerhoff
_'\(,_ [email hidden]

Well, it IS gonna snow here in the Republic tomorrow, and there is
STILL about a foot of snow still here so......I guess modern technology
has once again caused the erosion of skill, technique. Namely, the
ability to use a map and compass to figure out where you are, where you
are going and where you have been. ya may have seen them, paper, lots
of pretty colors and lines on them, easy to use, light, solar powered.

Unfortunately those paper maps don't usually show the locations and
phone numbers of stores and hotels/motels the way my GPS map does.
Very handy to have when on a bike tour and in need of some food or
lodging - especially when doing some side trips away from the
originally planned route.

Quoted message said:

I get a kick out of the post about gliders using GPS. I guess for
finding 'good air' and such but geeezzz, I flew for years with a
Texaco roadmap, looking out the window. I didn't know how to use the
nav gear in the A/C for a long time, didn't need it.

I doubt that the GPS maps would show where to find 'good air' but they
are useful for competition flying. The GPS is used to clearly define
the course that's to be flown and to later verify where the plane went.

Qui si parla Campagnolo said:

I get a kick out of the post about gliders using GPS. I guess for
finding 'good air' and such but geeezzz, I flew for years with a
Texaco roadmap, looking out the window. I didn't know how to use the
nav gear in the A/C for a long time, didn't need it.

Navigation is not so straightforward in sailplanes where you need to
follow the energy rather than simply flying from point to point,
possibly taking a climb in cloud. The best route can sometimes be many
miles off track. GPS also allows you to stretch things much further if
you can quickly find the distance and bearing to the nearest airfields
rather than having to rely on keeping in range of a visually selected
field.

--
Dave...

"Qui si parla Campagnolo" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

What do you recommend for displaying maps and routes? Fortunately,
Santa kept her receipts, and is OK with my exchanging this for
something more useful.

Get one of thoise Tom-tom or garmin units for a car..HUGE, but it
tells you where you are, where to go..

Perhaps you were just being sarcastic, but if not, a Pocket PC with GPS
software and a Bluetooth GPS receiver would be a better way to go. But
still not a great on-bike solution. I keep mine with me on rides in
unknown areas. But I don't carry it on every ride.

When I do take it along I keep the Pocket PC in a ziplock bag (with a
little paper towel to protect it from moisture) in either the seat bag or
my jersey pocket.

Cheers,
David

"Qui si parla Campagnolo" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Well, it IS gonna snow here in the Republic tomorrow, and there is
STILL about a foot of snow still here so......I guess modern technology
has once again caused the erosion of skill, technique. Namely, the
ability to use a map and compass to figure out where you are, where you
are going and where you have been. ya may have seen them, paper, lots
of pretty colors and lines on them, easy to use, light, solar powered.

Well I think that it's important to know how to use a map. But I see a
GPS as the same as many other conveniences that I can live without, but
prefer to have. I know how to do math with a pencil and paper, but I own
a calculator, I can keep track of appointments on a paper calendar, but
prefer a PDA, etc.

Cheers,
David