Bicycle Travel > GPS Discussion

How to get the AC gps route to overlay the North American maps?

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mootoxybb:
Hello to anyone, I have a Garmin GPS60CSx with a micro sd card that has the North America maps.  I have the paper maps from AC and I have downloaded the GPS data for the Northern Tier route from the AC site.  My questions is.. Since my gps can only load 1000 waypoints and Section 1 map for this route has 365 waypoints, there obviously would not be enough room to load the entire route onto the gps.  I will not be taking a laptop with me to be able to upload the data along the route.  Can I download each map seperatly onto multible micro sd cards, take the cards with me on my trip and download each maps waypoints onto my gps?  If so will this system work and will it overlay onto the NT American maps from Garmin?  To better explain let's say I've downloaded all the waypoint data onto multible sd cards.  I would need to pull out the North American sd card and insert the waypoint sd card that I've previously downloaded and download that onto my gps unit.  Then reinstall the NA sd card so that the waypoints overlay onto the NA maps?  Not sure if I'm explaining this properly.  Basically I want to be able to see the waypoints on the North American maps that I already have knowing that I cannot load the entire route onto my gps.

Any help would be appreciated, I'm sure I'm making this more complicated than it is but I am not that familiar with the whole gps system and not the smartest person computer wise.  I do have Map Source from Garmin already loaded onto my computer.

Thanks for your help,
Bill

Fred Hiltz:
Hi Bill. There's lots of memory for maps. You might get the states of the NT route from the City Navigator series into one 1GB micro-SD card, certainly into two of them.

Those cards can also store track logs, but AFAIK, the storage for 1,000 waypoints is separate, built-in memory. I know you can load that from a computer via a USB cable, but can you load waypoints from a micro-SD card? I see no mention of the latter method in the owner's manual or the reviews.

Either way, you can load overlapping segments of the route as you go along. Using Adventure Cycling GPS Data describes how and points to more details in several posts in this group. In a nutshell, you take a CD or a flash drive containing a simple program like G7ToWin, which runs right off the flash drive without installation, and sets of up to 1,000 waypoints. Find a bike shop or a friendly local cyclist who will let you reload your receiver.

Fred

mdxix:
Could you load the maps on the GPS unit without the waypoints? Do you need them on the GPS? Refer to the paper maps as needed along the way for points of interest.

Fred Hiltz:
Yes, you could. You would give up the navigation feature, though. The only advantages over the paper map then would be the marker that shows where you are on the map and of course the constant visibility on your handlebar, rain or shine.

I'd really want the waypoints, as they are free and so easy to install. Then you know how far to the next turn and which way to turn. The one time they saved my bacon was late on a drizzly, darkening afternoon when I looked down and saw that I had overshot the campground entrance. Who knows how far I might have gone?

Fred

mdxix:

--- Quote from: Fred Hiltz on July 27, 2012, 03:45:25 am ---You would give up the navigation feature, though.
--- End quote ---
That is curious Fred. As far as I can tell, the GPS will navigate based on the route (and route points), irrelevant of the waypoints it has scattered on the map. Do you think it works differently?

I tested the following for the Green Mountains loop. I stripped the file from all waypoints as follows:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/30524605/ACA/GM01v003.gpx

I loaded the file on my Edge 705 and started navigating R01010 as shown in the following image:



In the two panels to the left, you see the navigation route, distance to next, and prompts at turns. In this case, the Edge 705 shows only straight lines. But that is a different topic that we discussed at length.

In the right panel, the list of waypoints is empty.

Is your experience different?

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