First 4 hours with my new Garmin GPSmap 60Csx GPS unit and City europe mapping
- Thread starter Bigtallfatbloke
- Start date
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Bigtallfatbloke
New Member
Ok..thanks again...just a few more tweaks and I'll have it for good I feel.
So is this ride in BRT looking good? The auto thing is off and I am clicking reasonably close to the road although it does go off th eroad a touch in places.
One thing i dont understand...if I use the auto feature in BRT there are more track points than I need...but i cam reduce those to 250 or less afterwards and be left with a track line that is closer to the roads...erm ..isnt that better? I am assuming that the Track to route feature in gpsbabel would then give me a route line exactly on the roads and under 250...????
anyway..then I took the gpx file from BRT and opened it in gpsbabel and converted it (on this one i didnt reduce the point sbecause its already under 250)...this is the success message i got:
Now when I opein it up in mapsource I still only see a track and no route. So am I uploading the right file you ask...well...I think so....I only see one file with this name...so my question is, does gpsbabel alter and save the origional gpx file, or does it create a copy? If it creates a copy then I reckon i'm uploading the origional in error...but I don tknow where the route gpx file has been saved...hmm...I'll keep at it.
so I went into mapsource and overlaid the route exactly over the track line by clicking the routing tool on each point like this:
Looking at the route in my GPS now I see the track line and the route line exactly matching....however they are not on th eroad that i will ride along...they are off....which is where I am thinking it might be better for me to use the auto road in BRT initially and remove the points later??
I think I need the route to follow the roads much closer if not exactly....
...I think th epenny is dropping about points...the auto road creates so many track points, and switching it off reduces th epoints to th esame numbe rof clicks I make manually right?
I can see how doing it without auro raod will allow me to get more routes stored for a LONG tour like this...but I am thinking I do want the purple route line in Highway mode to follow the road pretty dam close ...cant i get the bes tof both worlds here by using the auto road in BRT then reducing points?...probably not I guess or I am sure you would have said already.
So maybe I should keep the auto road off still and just click the track points closer together and keep them on the road at all times?
So is this ride in BRT looking good? The auto thing is off and I am clicking reasonably close to the road although it does go off th eroad a touch in places.
One thing i dont understand...if I use the auto feature in BRT there are more track points than I need...but i cam reduce those to 250 or less afterwards and be left with a track line that is closer to the roads...erm ..isnt that better? I am assuming that the Track to route feature in gpsbabel would then give me a route line exactly on the roads and under 250...????
anyway..then I took the gpx file from BRT and opened it in gpsbabel and converted it (on this one i didnt reduce the point sbecause its already under 250)...this is the success message i got:
Now when I opein it up in mapsource I still only see a track and no route. So am I uploading the right file you ask...well...I think so....I only see one file with this name...so my question is, does gpsbabel alter and save the origional gpx file, or does it create a copy? If it creates a copy then I reckon i'm uploading the origional in error...but I don tknow where the route gpx file has been saved...hmm...I'll keep at it.
so I went into mapsource and overlaid the route exactly over the track line by clicking the routing tool on each point like this:
Looking at the route in my GPS now I see the track line and the route line exactly matching....however they are not on th eroad that i will ride along...they are off....which is where I am thinking it might be better for me to use the auto road in BRT initially and remove the points later??
I think I need the route to follow the roads much closer if not exactly....
...I think th epenny is dropping about points...the auto road creates so many track points, and switching it off reduces th epoints to th esame numbe rof clicks I make manually right?
I can see how doing it without auro raod will allow me to get more routes stored for a LONG tour like this...but I am thinking I do want the purple route line in Highway mode to follow the road pretty dam close ...cant i get the bes tof both worlds here by using the auto road in BRT then reducing points?...probably not I guess or I am sure you would have said already.
So maybe I should keep the auto road off still and just click the track points closer together and keep them on the road at all times?
MockCyclist
Well-Known Member
That route looks good to me.
Using Auto-Routing and then filtering ... yes ! You could do that and it might work better. You could always check the result by re-importing your filtered gpx file and see if it's still made a reasonable job of following your path.
gpsbabel- not sure what's going on there but the Output file name looks greyed out. You should put your target filename in there, then open that file in MapSource when it's converted.
quote:
"the auto road creates so many track points, and switching it off reduces the points to the same number of clicks I make manually right?"
Yes
I reckon if you can get the conversion sorted out you're just about there.
Auto-routing and filtering to reduce the points, of course the original file will follow the road precisely, but once you've filtered it it's going to lose that accuracy a bit. Try it and see if works for you. I haven't used Auto Routing but that's partly because I will usually include some off-road paths that aren't in Google maps.
I haven't used the Highway page, so I don't know how useful it is.
PS looking at that gpsbabel screenshot it looks as though the output is going to the window. There must be an option for that, but you need it to go to a file
PPS Your route line will sometimes leave the road, but you've got to ask yourself if it matters. When I started out I put far too many points in. You *may* find the map view more useful than the highway view.
Using Auto-Routing and then filtering ... yes ! You could do that and it might work better. You could always check the result by re-importing your filtered gpx file and see if it's still made a reasonable job of following your path.
gpsbabel- not sure what's going on there but the Output file name looks greyed out. You should put your target filename in there, then open that file in MapSource when it's converted.
quote:
"the auto road creates so many track points, and switching it off reduces the points to the same number of clicks I make manually right?"
Yes
I reckon if you can get the conversion sorted out you're just about there.
Auto-routing and filtering to reduce the points, of course the original file will follow the road precisely, but once you've filtered it it's going to lose that accuracy a bit. Try it and see if works for you. I haven't used Auto Routing but that's partly because I will usually include some off-road paths that aren't in Google maps.
I haven't used the Highway page, so I don't know how useful it is.
PS looking at that gpsbabel screenshot it looks as though the output is going to the window. There must be an option for that, but you need it to go to a file
PPS Your route line will sometimes leave the road, but you've got to ask yourself if it matters. When I started out I put far too many points in. You *may* find the map view more useful than the highway view.
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Bigtallfatbloke
New Member
Thanks.
Ok...I think I have managed some progress...
I used auto road in BRT and saved the GPX file.
I then opened the gPX file in gpsbabel and converted the track to a route and filtered the points down to below 250.
Then I copied and pasted the file location from the input file box into the output file box and hit 'lets go'.
What it then did was overwrite the origional gpx track file with a gpx route file...which I feel is ok as I should only ever need route files in the gPS right?
I then took this new route gpx file into mapsource where it came up as a route file (pink line etc). Here I changed the name in the route and track windows adding the numeric prefix as you suggested so they appear in the correct order on the GPS route list.
I now have a route in the GPS which isnt exactly overlaying the roads I will ride on, but is close enough to the roads so that I should be able to navigate by keeping my little balck arrow (me) on the road as close to the Purple route line as I can....that is how it works right?
I ploted a ride between Meersburg and Basel which is a pretty long (2 day ride). Fistly I limited th epoints to 250 and took it into th eGPS...I got a message in a red box on the gPS saying that only routes with 50 points can use the follow road function....confused I went back and filterd the points back down to 50 on the same route file and took that into the gPS. This 50 point route does not 'cling' as close to the roads as the 250 point one does...so i would need to be more careful when riding to keep an eye on the e purple line.
So my question here is...what exactly does the 'follow road' function do for me when I am riding this route compared to riding it without 'follow road' activated? I am wondering if this has something to do with if I can/cannot not use the Highway feature on a route with more than 50 points? Because if that is it, I am thinking it might be better for me to plot a series of 5 smaller 50 point routes to cover th esame distance so that I can use th ehighway option and still remain within the 250 points for this stretch of my tour. Make sense??
One thing I have just discovered is the satellite and hybrid views in BRT when plotting a ride they are useful for zooming right down to see if it's worth a small detour off the main route etc.
another question if I may:
I want to plot a waypoint (it's a campsite) in by giving the gPS co ordinates I have. I tried to do this following the steps in the manual which are clear. However I notice that the 'format' of the co ordinates of the campsite do not seem to match the format of the co ordinates my GPS is using. The coordinates for the campsite have degrees and Long and lat etc...but my gPS just seems to have a list of numbers...and does not recognise the campsite coordinates when i type them in....any thoughts On how I can get around this? I have a good book of German campsites with GPS coordinates.. i would like to put the relevant ones into the GPS by using this coordinates printed in this book.
Ok...I think I have managed some progress...
I used auto road in BRT and saved the GPX file.
I then opened the gPX file in gpsbabel and converted the track to a route and filtered the points down to below 250.
Then I copied and pasted the file location from the input file box into the output file box and hit 'lets go'.
What it then did was overwrite the origional gpx track file with a gpx route file...which I feel is ok as I should only ever need route files in the gPS right?
I then took this new route gpx file into mapsource where it came up as a route file (pink line etc). Here I changed the name in the route and track windows adding the numeric prefix as you suggested so they appear in the correct order on the GPS route list.
I now have a route in the GPS which isnt exactly overlaying the roads I will ride on, but is close enough to the roads so that I should be able to navigate by keeping my little balck arrow (me) on the road as close to the Purple route line as I can....that is how it works right?
I ploted a ride between Meersburg and Basel which is a pretty long (2 day ride). Fistly I limited th epoints to 250 and took it into th eGPS...I got a message in a red box on the gPS saying that only routes with 50 points can use the follow road function....confused I went back and filterd the points back down to 50 on the same route file and took that into the gPS. This 50 point route does not 'cling' as close to the roads as the 250 point one does...so i would need to be more careful when riding to keep an eye on the e purple line.
So my question here is...what exactly does the 'follow road' function do for me when I am riding this route compared to riding it without 'follow road' activated? I am wondering if this has something to do with if I can/cannot not use the Highway feature on a route with more than 50 points? Because if that is it, I am thinking it might be better for me to plot a series of 5 smaller 50 point routes to cover th esame distance so that I can use th ehighway option and still remain within the 250 points for this stretch of my tour. Make sense??
One thing I have just discovered is the satellite and hybrid views in BRT when plotting a ride they are useful for zooming right down to see if it's worth a small detour off the main route etc.
another question if I may:
I want to plot a waypoint (it's a campsite) in by giving the gPS co ordinates I have. I tried to do this following the steps in the manual which are clear. However I notice that the 'format' of the co ordinates of the campsite do not seem to match the format of the co ordinates my GPS is using. The coordinates for the campsite have degrees and Long and lat etc...but my gPS just seems to have a list of numbers...and does not recognise the campsite coordinates when i type them in....any thoughts On how I can get around this? I have a good book of German campsites with GPS coordinates.. i would like to put the relevant ones into the GPS by using this coordinates printed in this book.
MockCyclist
Well-Known Member
You've got your Track converted to a Route - your method is fine.
Follow Road - no! Won't work. It'll go and re-calculate your route and will ignore yours. Maybe that's a good reason not to use the Highway page.
Positioning waypoints: In MapSource, go to Preferences, Position. Change the Grid to match the method your campsite is quoted. It will be one of the 3 Lat/Lon options.
Then I pick the Waypoint tool and dump a waypoint anywhere on the map, it doesn't matter if it lands on Timbuctoo. This brings up Waypoint properties. Change the position co-ordinates to match your campsite and the waypoint will then move to the right spot. Sometimes you need to move the N & E letters, MapSource likes to see it like this: N52.11640 E4.60582
There's a gps option to use whatever position format you want, but I've never done it on the gps. I just Transfer my waypoints from MapSource.
Your path positioning: Here's a shot of a path I took which is typical of my course selection and is probably like yours on your screenshot. I have my Map view customised to show:
Distance to Next (point)
Distance to Destination (ie this Route)
Off Course (25m in this case)
Pointer which tells me which way to go to stay on track. It's not North, I have my map view always North up, so i'm going due West and the pointer is saying go ever so slightly to the left. That's because the pink route line is to the left of the actual road where I am.
But how can I possibly go wrong? It's obvious that I'm on track. The only way it could be "wrong", is if I had routed to a cycle path at the side of the road and I'd missed it and was cycling on the road instead. Yeah, occasionally that happened but I didn't get lost.
So don't get too hung up about following your road so precisely.
Here's the actual route before I uploaded it:
I drew the route in Mapsource and uploaded the gpx file to Bikely so you can see how it's represented in Google maps.
I wonder if someone will make this thread sticky ... or turn it into a tutorial for Garmin ... or something
Follow Road - no! Won't work. It'll go and re-calculate your route and will ignore yours. Maybe that's a good reason not to use the Highway page.
Positioning waypoints: In MapSource, go to Preferences, Position. Change the Grid to match the method your campsite is quoted. It will be one of the 3 Lat/Lon options.
Then I pick the Waypoint tool and dump a waypoint anywhere on the map, it doesn't matter if it lands on Timbuctoo. This brings up Waypoint properties. Change the position co-ordinates to match your campsite and the waypoint will then move to the right spot. Sometimes you need to move the N & E letters, MapSource likes to see it like this: N52.11640 E4.60582
There's a gps option to use whatever position format you want, but I've never done it on the gps. I just Transfer my waypoints from MapSource.
Your path positioning: Here's a shot of a path I took which is typical of my course selection and is probably like yours on your screenshot. I have my Map view customised to show:
Distance to Next (point)
Distance to Destination (ie this Route)
Off Course (25m in this case)
Pointer which tells me which way to go to stay on track. It's not North, I have my map view always North up, so i'm going due West and the pointer is saying go ever so slightly to the left. That's because the pink route line is to the left of the actual road where I am.
But how can I possibly go wrong? It's obvious that I'm on track. The only way it could be "wrong", is if I had routed to a cycle path at the side of the road and I'd missed it and was cycling on the road instead. Yeah, occasionally that happened but I didn't get lost.
So don't get too hung up about following your road so precisely.
Here's the actual route before I uploaded it:
I drew the route in Mapsource and uploaded the gpx file to Bikely so you can see how it's represented in Google maps.
I wonder if someone will make this thread sticky ... or turn it into a tutorial for Garmin ... or something
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Bigtallfatbloke
New Member
Yes that is how mine looks on my GPS screen when I ride a route.
I think the penny has now dropped!
I wont use th efollow road option then...and that means I should use the 250 limited version of a route and not a 50 point version as I wont be using follow road option anyway and I would rathe rhave the route line accuracy instead.
I will try to get those campsites into th eway point as described thanks. However I am going to have to learn how to do it on th egPS unit itself because I will be doing much of the 'adding ' campsites in my tent in the evening on tour.
I have now set my data fields the same as yours in the pic of you gps screen. I like the idea of the pointer...I never knew what that did before. I may change the dist to next for speed or something as the plotted waypoints dont mean much to me really except if one of them was a user waypoint like say a campsite.
...wow..are we done?? Most excellent!!
I can't thank you enough (and the others who chimed in)..I would not have been able to do this without your kind help and patience...many thanks indeed
.
...Ha!..I think Garmin support might benefit immensely
I think the penny has now dropped!
I wont use th efollow road option then...and that means I should use the 250 limited version of a route and not a 50 point version as I wont be using follow road option anyway and I would rathe rhave the route line accuracy instead.
I will try to get those campsites into th eway point as described thanks. However I am going to have to learn how to do it on th egPS unit itself because I will be doing much of the 'adding ' campsites in my tent in the evening on tour.
I have now set my data fields the same as yours in the pic of you gps screen. I like the idea of the pointer...I never knew what that did before. I may change the dist to next for speed or something as the plotted waypoints dont mean much to me really except if one of them was a user waypoint like say a campsite.
...wow..are we done?? Most excellent!!
I can't thank you enough (and the others who chimed in)..I would not have been able to do this without your kind help and patience...many thanks indeed
....Ha!..I think Garmin support might benefit immensely
andrew_s
Legendary Member
- Location
- Gloucester
You were asking about not being able to "find" campsites near the beginning of the thread.
As you've found, Garmin's idea of accommodation is hotels and such. However they have made it possible to add your own points of interest (POIs), which you can use to make campsites findable.
1) you need to download POILoader from Garmin
2) You need to find on the interweb a file of campsite locations that some helpful chap has made available. I'd suggest the "euro12000" set from http://archiescampings.eu/eng2/ for starters.
This has the same data in various formats for different GPS and Satnav units. You want "Garmin CSV".
I've also come across listings for the Camping & Caravanning Club, though these include, but don't distinguish, all the small members only sites, so are of limited use if you aren't a member.
3. When you've used the POILoader, you get a new Find category for "Custom POIs" that contains your campsites.
On the card, if you look at it in a card reader, there is a folder "Garmin" that contains a large file "gmapsupp.img". This is your mapping data. The POILoader created a new folder "Garmin/Poi", in which there was a file "poi.gpi".
For further interest, the track logs that are written to card when you set that active are written to top level on the card (G: or whatever). You may find that logging tracks to card is OK, and that it's only an attempt to send mapping data to the card that will damage a preloaded card. If this is so, it's only a question of how much free space is left on the card. (The poi.gpi file was about 75 kB, I think)
Caution: I've got the DVD maps, so I don't have a problem with zapping my mapping data. However, on an SD card with maps that I'd previously written to card, everything carried on working normally afterwards.
PS. If you've a set of GPS coordinates for campsites you want, you can look at the layout of the euro12000.csv file, and type your own version for your own campsites using notepad or excel or whatever.
As you've found, Garmin's idea of accommodation is hotels and such. However they have made it possible to add your own points of interest (POIs), which you can use to make campsites findable.
1) you need to download POILoader from Garmin
2) You need to find on the interweb a file of campsite locations that some helpful chap has made available. I'd suggest the "euro12000" set from http://archiescampings.eu/eng2/ for starters.
This has the same data in various formats for different GPS and Satnav units. You want "Garmin CSV".
I've also come across listings for the Camping & Caravanning Club, though these include, but don't distinguish, all the small members only sites, so are of limited use if you aren't a member.
3. When you've used the POILoader, you get a new Find category for "Custom POIs" that contains your campsites.
On the card, if you look at it in a card reader, there is a folder "Garmin" that contains a large file "gmapsupp.img". This is your mapping data. The POILoader created a new folder "Garmin/Poi", in which there was a file "poi.gpi".
For further interest, the track logs that are written to card when you set that active are written to top level on the card (G: or whatever). You may find that logging tracks to card is OK, and that it's only an attempt to send mapping data to the card that will damage a preloaded card. If this is so, it's only a question of how much free space is left on the card. (The poi.gpi file was about 75 kB, I think)
Caution: I've got the DVD maps, so I don't have a problem with zapping my mapping data. However, on an SD card with maps that I'd previously written to card, everything carried on working normally afterwards.
PS. If you've a set of GPS coordinates for campsites you want, you can look at the layout of the euro12000.csv file, and type your own version for your own campsites using notepad or excel or whatever.
Keith Oates
Janner
- Location
- Penarth, Wales
I have not contributed to this thread because I don't have a GPS and know very little about them, but I must say I'm impressed with the way everything has been handled and clarified. This is a good example of how threads can help all the forum members!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OP
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Bigtallfatbloke
New Member
I just got in from riding my loop and can report that generally the GPS did it's job of guiding me along the exact route I had programmed it to take me. I say generally because there were a few things that would have confused me had I not been familier with the ride already:
1)On two occssions the pink route lone cleary indicated a left turn needed to be made, however the written directions were telling me to turn right at the same junction
2)The highway function does not work with pre programmed routes, but it did a good job of finding a point on th emap I selected, had it calculate a route and then guided me to it.
3)One thing I found annoying was the constant alerts that I was at a waypoint...these things are marked with a weird reference like WRP 125c or something like that...means nought to me and I dont need to see them because the pink line is all I need to stay on course and these things just clutter the view, even with the de clutter function on..
4) Because of point3) it Beeps a lot more than I need it to.
5) I turned the unit off for about 10km and then turned it back on...it instantly located me and I could carry on along the route....not sure what it would have done had I deviated from the route whilst it was turned off though... I should have tested that as well I suppose.
6)on the trip computer page the unit seems to have only recorded 36.6km on the odometer for a ride I know to be longer...I assume this reflects the section where I turned the unit off??..the thing is still recording 'stopped' time even now, I suppose i ned to remember to turn it off when I finish th edays ride...it's a little confusing as it doesnt seem to work like a normal bike computer...well not one I have used anyway.
7) the bike mount is solid, but this thing really takes a rattling on a bumpy road...so I tie it onto the bars with the hand loop jobby thingamyjigwotsname jus tin case.
8)I know this thing claims to be waterproof, but in the deluge I just went through I decided not to risk it and i put a polybag over it....like cling wrap...at which point I could no longer see the screen at all...so i hope it is as waterproof as they claim .
9) At first I was seeing a black track line and the route line...confusing...so i deleted the tracks and things got simpler...one line=go this way10) on this 40k+ ride the battery indicater dropped one mark running on alkaline batterys.
10) the compass worked well while riding even though th eunit was not horizontal on my handlebars...I suppose that is the benefit of an electronic compass....another good thing was that whilst riding with the compass the map cut back in automatically to show me that I was approaching a turn I needed to make..useful 'cos I was day dreaming and would have missed it.
one thing that was strange was that as I returned home the route finished to early...this matched the pont when I planned the ride where the track line was going bck over itself (I ride down one street on the way out and back along it in the other direction on the way back)...so it seems that over laying track lines in BRT confuses the unit into thinking you have arrived at your destination.
BUT I am not blaming the unit here. I am sure all of this is novice pilot error and can be sorted out by changeing the way I have the unit set up, and by what I do in th eride programming stages. I jus tned to know what changes to make though
1)On two occssions the pink route lone cleary indicated a left turn needed to be made, however the written directions were telling me to turn right at the same junction
2)The highway function does not work with pre programmed routes, but it did a good job of finding a point on th emap I selected, had it calculate a route and then guided me to it.
3)One thing I found annoying was the constant alerts that I was at a waypoint...these things are marked with a weird reference like WRP 125c or something like that...means nought to me and I dont need to see them because the pink line is all I need to stay on course and these things just clutter the view, even with the de clutter function on..
4) Because of point3) it Beeps a lot more than I need it to.
5) I turned the unit off for about 10km and then turned it back on...it instantly located me and I could carry on along the route....not sure what it would have done had I deviated from the route whilst it was turned off though... I should have tested that as well I suppose.
6)on the trip computer page the unit seems to have only recorded 36.6km on the odometer for a ride I know to be longer...I assume this reflects the section where I turned the unit off??..the thing is still recording 'stopped' time even now, I suppose i ned to remember to turn it off when I finish th edays ride...it's a little confusing as it doesnt seem to work like a normal bike computer...well not one I have used anyway.
7) the bike mount is solid, but this thing really takes a rattling on a bumpy road...so I tie it onto the bars with the hand loop jobby thingamyjigwotsname jus tin case.
8)I know this thing claims to be waterproof, but in the deluge I just went through I decided not to risk it and i put a polybag over it....like cling wrap...at which point I could no longer see the screen at all...so i hope it is as waterproof as they claim .
9) At first I was seeing a black track line and the route line...confusing...so i deleted the tracks and things got simpler...one line=go this way10) on this 40k+ ride the battery indicater dropped one mark running on alkaline batterys.
10) the compass worked well while riding even though th eunit was not horizontal on my handlebars...I suppose that is the benefit of an electronic compass....another good thing was that whilst riding with the compass the map cut back in automatically to show me that I was approaching a turn I needed to make..useful 'cos I was day dreaming and would have missed it.
one thing that was strange was that as I returned home the route finished to early...this matched the pont when I planned the ride where the track line was going bck over itself (I ride down one street on the way out and back along it in the other direction on the way back)...so it seems that over laying track lines in BRT confuses the unit into thinking you have arrived at your destination.
BUT I am not blaming the unit here. I am sure all of this is novice pilot error and can be sorted out by changeing the way I have the unit set up, and by what I do in th eride programming stages. I jus tned to know what changes to make though
MockCyclist
Well-Known Member
Some good tips from andrew_s. You beat me to it about the tracklog recording, I was going to remind BTFB to turn it back on, but perhaps check with Grmin support first that it's ok. It would be a great shame not to record the entire tour for review later. It doesn't affect the capacity for routes etc.
A few last minute tips for BTFB to avoid gps hell:
If you're forced to leave your route line, zoom the display out and hopefully it will become visible again.
Because you haven't put any user waypoints in, on my suggestion in the interests of getting you up and running, there's a small issue that you don't have anything to "Find" your way back to if you go off route. So it could be useful to "Mark" when you leave the route then you can always use Follow Road to get you back to that Mark.
If you use the Find function, and select a campsite, say, and you pick Shortest Route, you've gotta have quite a bit of faith because you can end up being taken left right and all over the place through some really dodgy areas to get you there - but get you there it will. Been there done that.
Don't forget the Pointer is only accurate when you're moving, once you stop, even swinging the bike around onto the verge will cause the pointer to swing around and lose its way.
Your latest post:
I think you can turn the beep off, try Setup > Tones > Message Beep.
Oh, forgot to mention about out and back routes. I've had some infuriating times when it kept telling me to go back home when I've only just set off, to be honest I don't know what the solution is. It seems to pick up the return leg and lock onto that instead of picking up the out leg. If you find the answer let me know.
Thank you for you kind personal message. Good luck with the tour.
A few last minute tips for BTFB to avoid gps hell:
If you're forced to leave your route line, zoom the display out and hopefully it will become visible again.
Because you haven't put any user waypoints in, on my suggestion in the interests of getting you up and running, there's a small issue that you don't have anything to "Find" your way back to if you go off route. So it could be useful to "Mark" when you leave the route then you can always use Follow Road to get you back to that Mark.
If you use the Find function, and select a campsite, say, and you pick Shortest Route, you've gotta have quite a bit of faith because you can end up being taken left right and all over the place through some really dodgy areas to get you there - but get you there it will. Been there done that.
Don't forget the Pointer is only accurate when you're moving, once you stop, even swinging the bike around onto the verge will cause the pointer to swing around and lose its way.
Your latest post:
I think you can turn the beep off, try Setup > Tones > Message Beep.
Oh, forgot to mention about out and back routes. I've had some infuriating times when it kept telling me to go back home when I've only just set off, to be honest I don't know what the solution is. It seems to pick up the return leg and lock onto that instead of picking up the out leg. If you find the answer let me know.
Thank you for you kind personal message. Good luck with the tour.
andrew_s
Legendary Member
- Location
- Gloucester
Comment
7) Always use the lanyard (wrist loop) to secure the thing to the bars. I have had a mount snap on me (Belgian cobbled roads), and it did its job
(it was the cradle that clips onto the back of the 60CSx that broke).
8) Mine's had a really good soaking on several occasions (Wednesday, last July's floods etc) and it's never shown any sign of letting the water in.
10) Battery life: I've got 3 days/18h from freshly charged 2500mAh rechargeables, and 2.5 days/15h from 2100mAh Hybrio-type rechargeables the last week. You'll have to get used to how the indicator marks reflect remaining life for each battery type. The 2500s gave 4 bars for about 14h, then 3-2-1 in relatively short order. The 2100s seemed to struggle to make 4 bars even when fresh in, but had a much more even drop afterwards, so 1h on 4 bars, 6h on 3, 4h on 2, and 4h on 1 bar.
Out & back routes: I have also had it doing weirdnesses on occasion. The only conclusion I've come to is that it doesn't do to put the start point in as a route point. (Note that I use routes & waypoints with follow road navigation, rather than tracks).
7) Always use the lanyard (wrist loop) to secure the thing to the bars. I have had a mount snap on me (Belgian cobbled roads), and it did its job
(it was the cradle that clips onto the back of the 60CSx that broke).
8) Mine's had a really good soaking on several occasions (Wednesday, last July's floods etc) and it's never shown any sign of letting the water in.
10) Battery life: I've got 3 days/18h from freshly charged 2500mAh rechargeables, and 2.5 days/15h from 2100mAh Hybrio-type rechargeables the last week. You'll have to get used to how the indicator marks reflect remaining life for each battery type. The 2500s gave 4 bars for about 14h, then 3-2-1 in relatively short order. The 2100s seemed to struggle to make 4 bars even when fresh in, but had a much more even drop afterwards, so 1h on 4 bars, 6h on 3, 4h on 2, and 4h on 1 bar.
Out & back routes: I have also had it doing weirdnesses on occasion. The only conclusion I've come to is that it doesn't do to put the start point in as a route point. (Note that I use routes & waypoints with follow road navigation, rather than tracks).
Tracback
Bring up a track from the Tracks menu, then use TracBack to follow a track. Make sure that Guidance Text is switched on. There will now be instructions as to where to go and where turns are.
That's how my GPS60CSx works. Using tracks is much more efficient than routes. Routes are clunky. Also some mapping software is better than others, there's a lot of free ones around. The Garmin software is amongst the worst in my opinion.
Bring up a track from the Tracks menu, then use TracBack to follow a track. Make sure that Guidance Text is switched on. There will now be instructions as to where to go and where turns are.
That's how my GPS60CSx works. Using tracks is much more efficient than routes. Routes are clunky. Also some mapping software is better than others, there's a lot of free ones around. The Garmin software is amongst the worst in my opinion.
OP
OP
Bigtallfatbloke
New Member
Ok...moving on...now I am back i have a few ridden tracks in the GPS and it would be cool to be able to upload them and see them in bikeroutetoaster etc. I managed to upload the tracks into mapsource (although it would only take the tracks and not the waypoints and maps etc)
But when i try to import the gpx file into BRT it fails. Google earth is a non starter for me because I jus thave th ebasic version which does not support GPS uploads.
Looking at the tracks I can see the sections where I left the GPS on and th esections I had it off to save battery life. but it's still worth trying I think.
So ...what am I doing wrong here?
This is what i see in mapsource having imported a track of the latter part of my recent tour:
But when i try to import the gpx file into BRT it fails. Google earth is a non starter for me because I jus thave th ebasic version which does not support GPS uploads.
Looking at the tracks I can see the sections where I left the GPS on and th esections I had it off to save battery life. but it's still worth trying I think.
So ...what am I doing wrong here?
This is what i see in mapsource having imported a track of the latter part of my recent tour:
bigjim
Legendary Member
- Location
- Manchester. UK
So he has bought the Garmin and it now possesses him? Is that correct? fascinating thread. can you imagine the weight of batteries to cover a 2 week journey? But surely if the thing ever works you miss out on stopping people to ask the way and those conversations with locals, being offered hospitality etc. I think it would make a touring holiday a lonelier experience as it cuts you off from human contact although I admit, constantly stopping to read maps is frustrating. Plus it is something else that I would not like to get nicked. Nobody nicks a £2 map.
Jim
Jim
OP
OP
Bigtallfatbloke
New Member
actually the reverse is true. I spoke to more people about durections than ever on this last tour, especially in Scaffhausen where I found myself fluent in German french and Swiss Deutche extremely quickly!
I really dont think it would make a solo tour any the more lonly, you can still ask directions etc...my line in Germany & Switzerland was...
Hallo,
Entschuldigen zie... es tut mir lieht aber ich bin ein bissen verlorhen hier...ich komme aus england und mein bloede GPS ist kaput...wissen zie wo das Radweg nach Basel ist?
that usually got a laugh and some proper directions. In fact on two occassions th ecyclists I asked deviated from their own route to get me back on mine.
I really dont think it would make a solo tour any the more lonly, you can still ask directions etc...my line in Germany & Switzerland was...
Hallo,
Entschuldigen zie... es tut mir lieht aber ich bin ein bissen verlorhen hier...ich komme aus england und mein bloede GPS ist kaput...wissen zie wo das Radweg nach Basel ist?
that usually got a laugh and some proper directions. In fact on two occassions th ecyclists I asked deviated from their own route to get me back on mine.
