Garmin GPS

Danny Colyer said:

Following the thread that I started a couple of weeks ago, I now have a
Garmin Venture Cx. I also have a micro-SD card for it.

There's one thing that I want to work out how to do before the weekend,
but so far am at a loss. That is to upload a gpx route to it and then
navigate said route. So far, Google is *not* my friend.

Anyone here know how to do it? Using the card as a mass storage device
I can transfer a .gpx file directly to the card, but the only thing I
can then work out how to do with it is delete it.

Using PoiLoader I've tried .gpx files created by Bikely and Sanoodi,
both of which are dismissed as invalid. I've tried using PoiEdit to
save the bikely one as a Garmin CSV and a Garmin gpx, which I've
imported using PoiLoader. That imports POIs, which I can then spend a
couple of hours linking together to create a route, but there must be an
easier way than that. Surely it should be possible to simply import a
.gpx file and use it as a route to navigate?

--
Danny Colyer <URL:http://www.colyer.plus.com/danny/>
Reply address is valid, but that on my website is checked more often
"Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down.
Daddy, why did you put that down?" - Charlie Colyer, age 2

I use a Garmin Foreunner 201, mainly for running, but do clip it to
the bike occasionally. Although it makes no claims to do anything
other than download, I can in fact upload waypoints to it using a
programme called GPS Utility. You can download a trial version, then
upgrade if you need to. It's one of those programmes that you don't
begrudge them £30 or whatever. I suspect that this would work with
your Garmin, but obviously try before paying.

See http://www.gpsu.co.uk/

Peter.

Danny Colyer said:

Following the thread that I started a couple of weeks ago, I now have a
Garmin Venture Cx. I also have a micro-SD card for it.

Good choice - I'm planning on ordering a Venture Cx shortly. I currently
have a Geko 201 but want something with mapping for touring.
I assume you also have a USB cable for it?

Quoted message said:

There's one thing that I want to work out how to do before the weekend,
but so far am at a loss. That is to upload a gpx route to it and then
navigate said route. So far, Google is *not* my friend.

Anyone here know how to do it? Using the card as a mass storage device
I can transfer a .gpx file directly to the card, but the only thing I
can then work out how to do with it is delete it.

Get GPSBabel ( free from http://www.gpsbabel.org/ ). It can import GPX
files (and many other formats) and output them to a GPS device.
Alternatively, you can do much the same thing with EasyGPS (
http://www.easygps.com/ ), which can also show a basic map of the route.

--
Craig Wallace
http://craig.neogeo.org.uk
http://www.neogeo.org.uk

Craig Wallace said:

Get GPSBabel ( free from http://www.gpsbabel.org/ ). It can import GPX
files (and many other formats) and output them to a GPS device.
Alternatively, you can do much the same thing with EasyGPS (
http://www.easygps.com/ ), which can also show a basic map of the route.

EasyGPS was one of the more promising avenues that I found, but again it
seems only to upload waypoints, which I then have to manually add to a
route on the GPS.

I'll have a look at GPSBabel, thanks.

--
Danny Colyer <URL:http://www.colyer.plus.com/danny/>
Reply address is valid, but that on my website is checked more often
"Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down.
Daddy, why did you put that down?" - Charlie Colyer, age 2

Craig Wallace craigw84@fast_NOSPAM_mail.fm said:

Danny Colyer said:

Following the thread that I started a couple of weeks ago, I now have a
Garmin Venture Cx. I also have a micro-SD card for it.

Good choice - I'm planning on ordering a Venture Cx shortly. I currently
have a Geko 201 but want something with mapping for touring.
I assume you also have a USB cable for it?

Quoted message said:

There's one thing that I want to work out how to do before the weekend,
but so far am at a loss. That is to upload a gpx route to it and then
navigate said route. So far, Google is *not* my friend.

Quoted message said:

Anyone here know how to do it? Using the card as a mass storage device
I can transfer a .gpx file directly to the card, but the only thing I
can then work out how to do with it is delete it.

Get GPSBabel ( free fromhttp://www.gpsbabel.org/). It can import GPX
files (and many other formats) and output them to a GPS device.
Alternatively, you can do much the same thing with EasyGPS (http://www.easygps.com/), which can also show a basic map of the route.

--
Craig Wallacehttp://craig.neogeo.org.ukhttp://www.neogeo.org.uk

I have a Vista Cx, and it's great. I almost always plan my routes
using google maps before hand, turn that into a gpx file with each
turning marked, and then upload it to the GPS before I leave. I can
then navigate following the line on screen from waypoint to waypoint,
and with each point named LT,RT etc, I know where to go at each one.

To make the GPS files I use marengo GPX planner:

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

Ignore the option of a "new version", then click to add points, then
click "gpx" to see the generated gpx file. Copy the text into a text
editor, and save it as whatever .gpx. "Tools" gives you various
useful options like drawing lines between waypoints, and "load" lets
you load a gpx file to work on.

Once you have designed your route, copied the file into an editor, and
saved it as a gpx, then go into the mapsource software, that came with
your GPX, then "file" >"open", then open your gpx file.

Then simply click the "send to device" icon, and send the route
across. Done. You can then find the route in your "routes" section on
your handset. If you have fewer than 50 waypoints you can ask it to
plot a course along a road for you, but generally I have more and just
mark eact junction (SO, LT, RT etc, with a few more to make sure that
the lines joining the points vaguely follow the roads so that the line
on the map looks right!)

Hope this helps,

Ben

Ben said:

Then simply click the "send to device" icon, and send the route
across. Done. You can then find the route in your "routes" section on
your handset. If you have fewer than 50 waypoints you can ask it to
plot a course along a road for you, but generally I have more and just
mark eact junction (SO, LT, RT etc, with a few more to make sure that
the lines joining the points vaguely follow the roads so that the line
on the map looks right!)

If you upload it as a track rather than a route it will follow the
shape of the road much more closely and you won't need to enter all
those waypoints. You can enter waypoints you particularly want to know
about, and they will appear along the track but not actually be part
of it so you will lose the auto-zoom to next waypoint feature. The
advantage is that you will know you are on track at all times and not
just when you are at a waypoint.

--
Dave...

Ben said:

Craig Wallace craigw84@fast_NOSPAM_mail.fm said:

Danny Colyer said:

Following the thread that I started a couple of weeks ago, I now
have a Garmin Venture Cx. I also have a micro-SD card for it.

Good choice - I'm planning on ordering a Venture Cx shortly. I
currently
have a Geko 201 but want something with mapping for touring.
I assume you also have a USB cable for it?

Quoted message said:

There's one thing that I want to work out how to do before the
weekend, but so far am at a loss. That is to upload a gpx route to
it and then navigate said route. So far, Google is *not* my friend.

Quoted message said:

Anyone here know how to do it? Using the card as a mass storage
device I can transfer a .gpx file directly to the card, but the
only thing I can then work out how to do with it is delete it.

Get GPSBabel ( free fromhttp://www.gpsbabel.org/). It can import GPX
files (and many other formats) and output them to a GPS device.
Alternatively, you can do much the same thing with EasyGPS
(http://www.easygps.com/), which can also show a basic map of the
route.

--
Craig Wallacehttp://craig.neogeo.org.ukhttp://www.neogeo.org.uk

I have a Vista Cx, and it's great. I almost always plan my routes
using google maps before hand, turn that into a gpx file with each
turning marked, and then upload it to the GPS before I leave. I can
then navigate following the line on screen from waypoint to waypoint,
and with each point named LT,RT etc, I know where to go at each one.

To make the GPS files I use marengo GPX planner:

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

Ignore the option of a "new version", then click to add points, then
click "gpx" to see the generated gpx file. Copy the text into a text
editor, and save it as whatever .gpx. "Tools" gives you various
useful options like drawing lines between waypoints, and "load" lets
you load a gpx file to work on.

Once you have designed your route, copied the file into an editor, and
saved it as a gpx, then go into the mapsource software, that came with
your GPX, then "file" >"open", then open your gpx file.

Then simply click the "send to device" icon, and send the route
across. Done. You can then find the route in your "routes" section on
your handset. If you have fewer than 50 waypoints you can ask it to
plot a course along a road for you, but generally I have more and just
mark eact junction (SO, LT, RT etc, with a few more to make sure that
the lines joining the points vaguely follow the roads so that the line
on the map looks right!)

I'd go along with the advice in the two posts above - GPS Babel and Ben's
method. There are other variations on Ben's approach, but essentially they
go through the same steps.

One trick to extend the number of points is to load the "route" as a
"track". That also avoids creating waypoints in the GPS device. There are
arguments in favour or against of this method.

If Danny is stuck, I'm in my office this week and he has my work email
address, I'm happy to offer what help I can.

- Nigel

--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

Nigel Cliffe said:

Ben said:

Once you have designed your route, copied the file into an editor, and
saved it as a gpx, then go into the mapsource software, that came with
your GPX, then "file" >"open", then open your gpx file.

Then simply click the "send to device" icon, and send the route
across. Done. You can then find the route in your "routes" section on
your handset.

Quoted message said:

I'd go along with the advice in the two posts above - GPS Babel and Ben's
method. There are other variations on Ben's approach, but essentially they
go through the same steps.

One trick to extend the number of points is to load the "route" as a
"track". That also avoids creating waypoints in the GPS device. There are
arguments in favour or against of this method.

I'm having a play in my lunch break and posting from work, so apologies
for the lengthy disclaimer that will probably appear at the bottom of
this post.

I'm not sure what format to export from GPSBabel, though PoiLoader seems
happy with GPX XML with a .gpx suffix. It's not happy with a Garmin gdb.

The idea of loading the route as a track makes sense, but PoiLoader will
still only load POIs and nothing else. There is no route in the routes
section of my handset until I manually create one to link the POIs.

Ben, the Venture Cx doesn't come with MapSource software, so that's not
an option.

One of the various packages I tried managed to send waypoints rather
than POIs, which might be more useful (but still doesn't give me a route
or a track to follow). I think it was EasyGPS, unfortunately it won't
run on my work computer for some reason, so I can't verify that now.

Using the micro-SD card in the GPS as a mass storage device I can upload
a .gpx file and I can then see it when I go from the Track log screen to
Setup > Data Card Setup, but I can't then do anything with that file
other than delete it. Should I be able to navigate or use TracBack with
a data card track, or is there a way to transfer a track from the data
card to the unit in order to use TracBack?

Quoted message said:

If Danny is stuck, I'm in my office this week and he has my work email
address, I'm happy to offer what help I can.

Thanks. I won't be home until nearly midnight tonight, but I might
e-mail you tomorrow or Thursday if I'm still stuck.

--
Danny Colyer <URL:http://www.colyer.plus.com/danny/>
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine

Danny Colyer said:

I'm not sure what format to export from GPSBabel, though PoiLoader seems
happy with GPX XML with a .gpx suffix. It's not happy with a Garmin gdb.

In GPSBabel, in the output section tick the box for 'Device', then you
should be able to set the format to 'Garmin protocol', and select the
USB port.

Quoted message said:

One of the various packages I tried managed to send waypoints rather
than POIs, which might be more useful (but still doesn't give me a route
or a track to follow). I think it was EasyGPS, unfortunately it won't
run on my work computer for some reason, so I can't verify that now.

EasyGPS should be able to transfer a route. On its map, does it show the
waypoints connected by lines? And when you click send, is routes selected?

Quoted message said:

Using the micro-SD card in the GPS as a mass storage device I can upload
a .gpx file and I can then see it when I go from the Track log screen to
Setup > Data Card Setup, but I can't then do anything with that file
other than delete it. Should I be able to navigate or use TracBack with
a data card track, or is there a way to transfer a track from the data
card to the unit in order to use TracBack?

AFAIK its not possible to follow a track stored on the card, or transfer
it to the unit.
Though I think you can save tracks from the unit to the data card.

--
Craig Wallace
http://craig.neogeo.org.uk
http://www.neogeo.org.uk

Craig Wallace said:

In GPSBabel, in the output section tick the box for 'Device', then you
should be able to set the format to 'Garmin protocol', and select the
USB port.

That worked! I now have a track that I can navigate on Saturday night.
Or rather most of a track, I got a message saying that the track was
truncated. I'll have to split the route into two and upload 2 tracks.

Thanks Craig, and everyone else who offered advice.

--
Danny Colyer <URL:http://www.colyer.plus.com/danny/>
Reply address is valid, but that on my website is checked more often
"Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down.
Daddy, why did you put that down?" - Charlie Colyer, age 2

Craig Wallace said:

Danny Colyer said:

I'm not sure what format to export from GPSBabel, though PoiLoader
seems happy with GPX XML with a .gpx suffix. It's not happy with a
Garmin gdb.

In GPSBabel, in the output section tick the box for 'Device', then you
should be able to set the format to 'Garmin protocol', and select the
USB port.

I haven't tried GPSBabel for that trick, it could save a few steps.
Thanks.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

One of the various packages I tried managed to send waypoints rather
than POIs, which might be more useful (but still doesn't give me a
route or a track to follow).

POI Loader isn't going to help with tracks, routes or waypoints.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I think it was EasyGPS, unfortunately
it won't run on my work computer for some reason, so I can't verify
that now.

EasyGPS should be able to transfer a route. On its map, does it show
the waypoints connected by lines? And when you click send, is routes
selected?

Also, I think GPS Utility should be able to do this (also free as far as I
recall).

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Using the micro-SD card in the GPS as a mass storage device I can
upload a .gpx file and I can then see it when I go from the Track
log screen to Setup > Data Card Setup, but I can't then do anything
with that file other than delete it. Should I be able to navigate
or use TracBack with a data card track, or is there a way to
transfer a track from the data card to the unit in order to use
TracBack?

AFAIK its not possible to follow a track stored on the card, or
transfer it to the unit.
Though I think you can save tracks from the unit to the data card.

Correct. The SD card is for the following:
a) maps stored in Garmin map format and displayed on the screen
b) GPX data written from the GPS to the card (but cannot be read back by the
GPS directly).
c) as a general USB storage device (the worlds fattest and most expensive
USB memory stick :-) )

For (a), the utility SendMap can upload map files (rather than having to use
Garmin MapSource). Obtained from cgpsmapper
http://www.cgpsmapper.com/

Map files in the public domain which I use are from two primary locations:
http://www.smc.org.uk/ContourMaps.htm (UK contour data, hill summits, etc.
read the page fully to understand accuracy, etc.)
http://mapcenter.cgpsmapper.com/ (lots of random things)

- Nigel
--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

I use Tracklogs to import and export data to my etrex venture. I can
plot a route on an OS map and then upload it to the GPS and follow it as
a track.

URL is

http://www.tracklogs.co.uk/cgi-bin/publ/user.cgi?obj=home&page=news&id=102

Rob

Danny Colyer said:

Following the thread that I started a couple of weeks ago, I now have a
Garmin Venture Cx. I also have a micro-SD card for it.

There's one thing that I want to work out how to do before the weekend,
but so far am at a loss. That is to upload a gpx route to it and then
navigate said route. So far, Google is *not* my friend.

Anyone here know how to do it? Using the card as a mass storage device
I can transfer a .gpx file directly to the card, but the only thing I
can then work out how to do with it is delete it.

Using PoiLoader I've tried .gpx files created by Bikely and Sanoodi,
both of which are dismissed as invalid. I've tried using PoiEdit to
save the bikely one as a Garmin CSV and a Garmin gpx, which I've
imported using PoiLoader. That imports POIs, which I can then spend a
couple of hours linking together to create a route, but there must be an
easier way than that. Surely it should be possible to simply import a
.gpx file and use it as a route to navigate?