Loading memory map route to etrex summit

On Thu, 18 Nov 2004 10:19:27 GMT, "Mike Brockhurst"
<[email hidden]> wrote:

Hi there,

Quoted message said:

Probably simple to all you experts but my Garmin Etrex Summit GPS has just
arrived and I want to test it out. I've plotted a local route and want to
walk it with the GPS to check I'm using it ok. The question is: Where do I
start. I don't want to [censored] it up so if one of you good people can spell it
out in simple stages I will be ever so grateful. Please start with how I
establish the connection!

Thank goodness - a person as GPS challenged as I am! I look forward to
the explanation of how to follow a route plotted on the GPS with
interest, after my dismal failure to understand how to do so in the
Lakes last weekend. (I didn't actually need the GPS last weekend, but
I will do some day, so would like to know how to do it.)

In the meantime, Mike, I can tell you how to establish the connection
between the GPS and the computer. You need the correct type of data
cable. The proprietary ones are pretty expensive, and I got mine on
eBay. See here for a quick search - naturally you need to find out
first of all what type of cable will suit your computer and GPS:
http://search.ebay.co.uk/garmin-etrex_W0QQsojsZ1QQfromZR40

I think that in order to get the route into the GPS you then need some
sort of mapping software. I have an Anquet digital map of the Lakes,
but there are several other brands available. I think I've read that
some software also enables you to use scanned maps. I plotted my route
(actually, just a test route) in my Anquet software, attached the GPS
to the PC via the cable, told the Anquet software to look for my GPS
and establish a connection and then uploaded the route to the GPS. All
that was easy and intuitive: what I couldn't work out how to do was
follow the route (on the GPS) when I actually got there, but hopefully
someone will explain.

Anyway, I hope this helps a bit while you wait for the experts to
arrive.

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \

On Thu, 18 Nov 2004 10:39:08 +0000, Peewiglet <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

All
that was easy and intuitive: what I couldn't work out how to do was
follow the route (on the GPS) when I actually got there, but hopefully
someone will explain.

Don't you have a Geko 201? If so the details are in the manual under
Menu Page/Routes. It's page 19 in the manual I have.

HTH

John D.
--
John Dawson at home in Kendal, Cumbria.
Lake District Walks Web Pages: http://www.lakedistrictwalks.com/
Kilimanjaro Trip: http://www.lakedistrictwalks.com/kilimanjaro/

"Peewiglet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Thu, 18 Nov 2004 10:19:27 GMT, "Mike Brockhurst"
<[email hidden]> wrote:

Hi there,

Quoted message said:

Probably simple to all you experts but my Garmin Etrex Summit GPS has just
arrived and I want to test it out. I've plotted a local route and want to
walk it with the GPS to check I'm using it ok. The question is: Where do I
start. I don't want to [censored] it up so if one of you good people can spell
it
out in simple stages I will be ever so grateful. Please start with how I
establish the connection!

Quoted message said:

In the meantime, Mike, I can tell you how to establish the connection
between the GPS and the computer. You need the correct type of data
cable. The proprietary ones are pretty expensive, and I got mine on
eBay. See here for a quick search - naturally you need to find out
first of all what type of cable will suit your computer and GPS:
http://search.ebay.co.uk/garmin-etrex_W0QQsojsZ1QQfromZR40

Thanks Peewiglet, I have the correct connector. Just dare not use it ubtil I
know what I'm doing!

Quoted message said:

I think that in order to get the route into the GPS you then need some
sort of mapping software.

Again I'm OK here, I have loads of Memory Map stuff.

Quoted message said:

Anyway, I hope this helps a bit while you wait for the experts to
arrive.

It does, thanks !!

"John Dawson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Don't you have a Geko 201? If so the details are in the manual under
Menu Page/Routes. It's page 19 in the manual I have.

Hello John, It's a Garmin Etrex Summit.

Mike Brockhurst said:

"John Dawson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Don't you have a Geko 201? If so the details are in the manual under
Menu Page/Routes. It's page 19 in the manual I have.

Hello John, It's a Garmin Etrex Summit.

You can d/load the manual from here:
http://www.garmin.com/support/userManual.jsp, but hopefully someone
might still explain in simple language (so I can understand :-)

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \

On 18 Nov 2004 05:03:07 -0600, John Dawson <[email hidden]> wrote:

Hi John,

Quoted message said:

Don't you have a Geko 201?

I have indeed.

Quoted message said:

If so the details are in the manual under
Menu Page/Routes. It's page 19 in the manual I have.

Many thanks - I'll go and have a look. I've actually lost/mislaid the
manual, but I can d/load one from the website. When I looked before I
lost it, though, some parts seemed a little confusing.

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \

Mike Brockhurst said:

Thanks Peewiglet, I have the correct connector. Just dare not use it
ubtil I know what I'm doing!

Plug it in. Experiment. You can't hurt anything. You can upload,
download and delete as much as you want, you won't do any harm.

Basically all of your data is managed in software and saved onto your
hard drive. What's in the GPS is transient. So you plan a route,
upload it, use it, record a track, mark some new waypoints on your walk,
then when you get back you download it all back to the software and save
it. Then you delete everything in your GPS ready for your next walk.

Quoted message said:

Again I'm OK here, I have loads of Memory Map stuff.

Okay, I've never used MM with GPS, but it looks straightforward.

In GPS setup, set the Manufacturer to Garmin and the Com port to
whichever one you have it plugged into.

Then you create a route in MM by clicking on the route button, then
clicking on the map to create a series of points. Then you click on
Export to GPS - Routes.

That seems to be all there is to it, there doesn't seem to be anywhere
that you have to set datums and grids, presumably MM knows you're in the
UK so sets it for you.

Having set your route you can click on "marks" (these are properly
called waypoints) and drag them to different positions if necessary. If
you double click on them you can bring up a window where you can edit
the names and change the icons and so on, which makes it much easier to
read them in the GPS.

You can add extra "marks" which aren't part of your route, for use as
navigational beacons. It's handy to see these on the map screen to give
you a better sense of where you are, and of course you can change your
mind and visit them if you want. I rarely bother with routes, I usually
just put in a load of waypoints (marks) and make up my route as I go
along. You can choose to GOTO any waypoint at any time, so it's very
useful to have lots of waypoints all over the area you're walking in,
not just the ones you plan to visit.

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk
http://www.wildwales.fsnet.co.uk

Oh yes, make sure that your GPS datum is set to Ordnance Survey and your
position format is set to BNG (British National Grid).

When you walk, track recording should be active, so you'll record a
track of your walk. You can also press the MARK button to record new
waypoints in the field (to record a good photo viewpoint or to mark
where you left your rucksack or where you park your car when you visit
the supermarket).

When you get back, you can download the track and new waypoints by
pressing the Import from GPS menu item. You can then see where you went
and can presumably save the data somehow, although I can't seem to find
a menu item for doing that.

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk
http://www.wildwales.fsnet.co.uk

Mike Brockhurst said:

"John Dawson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Don't you have a Geko 201? If so the details are in the manual under
Menu Page/Routes. It's page 19 in the manual I have.

Hello John, It's a Garmin Etrex Summit.

In reply to Peewiglet's request regarding following routes, as I
remember, on the e-Trex Summit (which I had once upon a time), just
like the Geko, in order to follow a route on the ground

1) find the menu page on the GPS
2) select and OK Routes
3) from the list of routes select and OK the one you want to follow
4) below the listing of the route select Follow Route
5) Select and OK the direction in which you want to follow it (if you
have a circular route this is the hardest bit because they both look
alike. I have to do it by trial and error)
6) Find the compass page and just follow the arrow. (For GPSs without
an inbuilt compass you will have to move before it gets the
orientation right) The GPS will work out where you are along the route
if you are somewhere in the middle. If it tries to send you back to a
waypoint you've already visited you may need to Stop Following the
route and restart again (same route page on the GPS)

HTH

John D.
--
John Dawson at home in Kendal, Cumbria.
Lake District Walks Web Pages: http://www.lakedistrictwalks.com/
Kilimanjaro Trip: http://www.lakedistrictwalks.com/kilimanjaro/

In article <[email hidden]>,

(Mike Brockhurst) said:

The question is: Where do I
start. I don't want to [censored] it up

you won't mess things up by trying, so press on!
if you are a virgin, I suggest you first create a waypoint in your Summit
and try and upload it to Memory Map.
There is a GPS line on the toolbar of MM, with Import, Marks.
(be sure to connect the cables first, and it helps if the MM map
is showing the area where your Waypoint (Mark) is so you can see it.
That way you will know that the connection and comms is fine.

then click right on your route in MM and an option is send to GPS (or some
such wording )
There is a export routes under GPS, but that will export all the routes
you have in memory map.

go for it, you can't get lost with a GPS ;-)
Rob M

John Dawson <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

6) Find the compass page and just follow the arrow. (For GPSs without
an inbuilt compass you will have to move before it gets the
orientation right) The GPS will work out where you are along the route
if you are somewhere in the middle. If it tries to send you back to a
waypoint you've already visited you may need to Stop Following the
route and restart again (same route page on the GPS)

With the Geko (and no doubt others), you can also follow the route on the
'map' page. The intended route shows up as a thick line, and the actual
route as a thin one. I find this gives more information than just following
the pointer.

I usually upload to the Geko as a saved track (rather than a Route) and
then follow that (Navigate option). The advantage is that whilst a Route
uses a Waypoint for every turn, a Track does not, so you don't get Waypoint
clutter. Any waypoints are ones you have specifically entered as points of
interest, escape routes etc.

John

Peewiglet said:

On 18 Nov 2004 05:03:07 -0600, John Dawson <[email hidden]> wrote:

Hi John,

Quoted message said:

Don't you have a Geko 201?

I have indeed.

Quoted message said:

If so the details are in the manual under
Menu Page/Routes. It's page 19 in the manual I have.

Many thanks - I'll go and have a look. I've actually lost/mislaid the
manual, but I can d/load one from the website. When I looked before I
lost it, though, some parts seemed a little confusing.

That's because it is a Garmin manual :-)

You might get more sense from here
http://www.gpsinformation.org/dale/wgarmin.htm
--
Phil Cook looking north over the park to the "Westminster Gasworks"

Peewiglet said:

On Thu, 18 Nov 2004 10:19:27 GMT, "Mike Brockhurst"
<[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Probably simple to all you experts but my Garmin Etrex Summit GPS has just
arrived and I want to test it out. I've plotted a local route and want to
walk it with the GPS to check I'm using it ok. The question is: Where do I
start. I don't want to [censored] it up so if one of you good people can spell it
out in simple stages I will be ever so grateful. Please start with how I
establish the connection!

Quoted message said:

I think that in order to get the route into the GPS you then need some
sort of mapping software. I have an Anquet digital map of the Lakes,
but there are several other brands available. I think I've read that
some software also enables you to use scanned maps. I plotted my route
(actually, just a test route) in my Anquet software, attached the GPS
to the PC via the cable, told the Anquet software to look for my GPS
and establish a connection and then uploaded the route to the GPS. All
that was easy and intuitive: what I couldn't work out how to do was
follow the route (on the GPS) when I actually got there, but hopefully
someone will explain.

There *is* always the old-fashioned method: take the waypoint OS grid
refs from the map, either by clicking appropriately on a digital map,
or estimating (or measuring) on a paper map; enter the waypoints
manually in the GPSR; use to create a route (very easy if you've given
them sequential names, which is the default). The difficulty of
entering waypoints by this method teaches you the useful discipline of
using as few as possible -- most folk use far too many. In fact, in
many cases all you really need is the destination :-)

Just to try out how it works, walk round the block making a waypoint
at each corner. Save the track, use it to backtrack. Make a route from
the waypoints. Follow it.

--
Chris Malcolm [email hidden] +44 (0)131 651 3445 DoD #205
IPAB, Informatics, JCMB, King's Buildings, Edinburgh, EH9 3JZ, UK
[http://www.dai.ed.ac.uk/homes/cam/]

On 18 Nov 2004 06:43:18 -0600, John Dawson <[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

In reply to Peewiglet's request regarding following routes, as I
remember, on the e-Trex Summit (which I had once upon a time), just
like the Geko, in order to follow a route on the ground

1) find the menu page on the GPS
2) select and OK Routes
3) from the list of routes select and OK the one you want to follow
4) below the listing of the route select Follow Route
5) Select and OK the direction in which you want to follow it (if you
have a circular route this is the hardest bit because they both look
alike. I have to do it by trial and error)
6) Find the compass page and just follow the arrow. (For GPSs without
an inbuilt compass you will have to move before it gets the
orientation right) The GPS will work out where you are along the route
if you are somewhere in the middle. If it tries to send you back to a
waypoint you've already visited you may need to Stop Following the
route and restart again (same route page on the GPS)

Many thanks 🙂 I'll try again. I did get as far as 5: it was when I
tried to follow it on the screen i.e. 6 that I couldn't work out what
was going on. I'll have another go, though 🙂

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \

On Thu, 18 Nov 2004 13:59:34 GMT, John Yale
<[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

With the Geko (and no doubt others), you can also follow the route on the
'map' page. The intended route shows up as a thick line, and the actual
route as a thin one. I find this gives more information than just following
the pointer.

I'll try that too - perhaps that's why I was confused. Thank you 🙂

Quoted message said:

I usually upload to the Geko as a saved track (rather than a Route) and
then follow that (Navigate option). The advantage is that whilst a Route
uses a Waypoint for every turn, a Track does not, so you don't get Waypoint
clutter. Any waypoints are ones you have specifically entered as points of
interest, escape routes etc.

Ah.... I think I'd read/been told that in advance, but I'm pretty sure
I still did it wrong. Certainly I found a whole ton of waypoints in
the GPS after loading the route/track (have now deleted so can't be
sure which it was).

Thanks again 🙂

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \

On Thu, 18 Nov 2004 14:40:45 +0000, Phil Cook
<[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Many thanks - I'll go and have a look. I've actually lost/mislaid the
manual, but I can d/load one from the website. When I looked before I
lost it, though, some parts seemed a little confusing.

That's because it is a Garmin manual :-)

:-)

Quoted message said:

You might get more sense from here
http://www.gpsinformation.org/dale/wgarmin.htm

Brilliant! That looks great, thanks 🙂 I've bookmarked it.

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \

On Thu, 18 Nov 2004 11:46:57 GMT, "Mike Brockhurst"
<[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

Thanks Peewiglet, I have the correct connector. Just dare not use it ubtil I
know what I'm doing!

I know that feeling - I'm cautious about this sort of thing too. When
I finally got round to attaching mine last week for the first time,
though, recognition, establishing a connection and uploading data all
worked seamlessly. It was quite a relief 🙂

I hope you've got it up and running now.

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \

On Thu, 18 Nov 2004 18:40:07 +0000 (UTC), [email hidden] (Chris
Malcolm) wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

There *is* always the old-fashioned method: take the waypoint OS grid
refs from the map, either by clicking appropriately on a digital map,
or estimating (or measuring) on a paper map; enter the waypoints
manually in the GPSR;

Correct, of course: I forgot about that. It really is a major faff,
though: I used it a couple of weeks ago, and it took me a ridiculous
amount of time to enter about 10 waypoints. Then again, and as you
point out...

Quoted message said:

[...] The difficulty of
entering waypoints by this method teaches you the useful discipline of
using as few as possible -- most folk use far too many. In fact, in
many cases all you really need is the destination :-)

Just to try out how it works, walk round the block making a waypoint
at each corner. Save the track, use it to backtrack. Make a route from
the waypoints. Follow it.

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \

Chris Malcolm said:

The difficulty of
entering waypoints by this method teaches you the useful discipline of
using as few as possible -- most folk use far too many.

Yes, Anquet tends to support that approach. I could never see that it
was practical to use too many waypoints with the GPS12, since you were
limited to only 20 per route (most of my routes are probably half that),
but newer units can handle 250 or 500 waypoints per route, which is just
plain daft (unless you're planning a car journey throughout the length
of the UK stopping at 100 different locations enroute).

Quoted message said:

In fact, in
many cases all you really need is the destination :-)

True, especially if you're heading for a summit and starting on wild
land.

A few extra waypoints are usually very handy if you need to negotiate a
bit of farmland first, or to locate a bridge to cross a river.

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk
http://www.wildwales.fsnet.co.uk