BaseCamp "Find" feature

[rbentnail]

Alrighty then! Following Fred's instructions, I got computer maps updated and lo and behold, I'm using current maps in MapSource! The trick was to have my device connected so I had a choice to do it. WooHoo!! Screw BaseCamp. Thanks Fred.

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I have an 8gb SD card in my older nuvi so I update the lower 49 maps using some of that space. No biggie. There's plenty of room. Strange tho- after the update I have more free space in my gps internal memory than is available on the SD card yet I have to us an SD card. That makes no sense whatsoever to me. It's like the download software chose not to use the gps memory at all.

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Track logs? WTF is a track log?

 

[ionbeam]

Track logs? WTF is a track log?

In memory of the fairy tail of Hansel and Gretel, when you go for a ride the GPS will mark where you are, every (determined by Options/Settings) unit of selected measure, also called breadcrumbs. I have my Zumo set to record my location every ??? seconds, this way you can review the ride your took. When you review the track on the 550 you can even get altitude change mapping in addition to route tracking. When you look at the space between track marks you can also infer speed. If I follow Fred W on a really nice ride I will download the track from that day so I can ride that route or parts of that route again. Like Fred, I have a folder that I use to store these track logs that I download from the GPS to my computer.

 

[Fred W]

Alrighty then! Following Fred's instructions, I got computer maps updated and lo and behold, I'm using current maps in MapSource! The trick was to have my device connected so I had a choice to do it. WooHoo!! Screw BaseCamp. Thanks Fred.

Yay!! That's great!!

You're welcome.

I have an 8gb SD card in my older nuvi so I update the lower 49 maps using some of that space. No biggie. There's plenty of room. Strange tho- after the update I have more free space in my gps internal memory than is available on the SD card yet I have to us an SD card. That makes no sense whatsoever to me. It's like the download software chose not to use the gps memory at all.

If your nuvi GPS has a large internal memory, then you are right that there is no real reason to put the maps onto the SD card. But most GPS units do not have very large internal memories (the zumo is just over 1GB) and the mapset upgrades keep getting bigger and bigger all the time. I think that this is from the continuous adding of POIs in each of the new mapsets without anyone going in and removing the old obsolete ones.

You do not want to deplete all of the internal memory with stored mapsets or it will not have the space to store your routes, waypoints and tracks. By keeping your stored mapsets (along with your music MP3's) on the SD card that almost completely frees up the GPS internal memory for other things. But as long as you have around 100 Megabytes of free space on the GPS you should be in good shape.

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Track logs? WTF is a track log?

As Alan mentioned, a "track", "track log" or "Trip Log" is the breadcrumb trail that the GPS keeps of where you have been. It will show up on your GPS screen as a blue line if you have the GPS settings for "Trip Log" turned to Visible. Even if you set the Trip Log to "Hide" it will still be recording these logs. This feature can be kind of handy when you are out wandering around in the countryside, to prevent going around in circles.

Some auto GPS devices do not even keep a track log. For example, my old Streetpilot 550 that I use in my car does not. So this may not even apply to your Nuvi.

These track log files will become pretty large, very fast, and then at some predetermined time or size the GPS will automatically archive the active track log and start a new one. The currently active track log is located on the GPS in the \Garmin\GPX folder in the file named "Current.gpx".

When you have the GPS connected to your computer by USB cable you can navigate to that folder and see the file, and even open that file directly into mapsource if you want to see what's in it. On most versions of Garmin GPS you'll also see a sub-folder in the GPX folder named Archive. That is where all the archived track logs go. You'll see a bunch of gpx files in there that are sequentially numbered. Those are the prior tracklogs. Those can also be opened into mapsource if you want top see them or save them.

Of course you don't need to do anything with any of these more advanced features of the GPS, but I think it does provide a lot of added information that can be fun and useful.

 

[rbentnail]

Alrighty then! Following Fred's instructions, I got computer maps updated and lo and behold, I'm using current maps in MapSource! The trick was to have my device connected so I had a choice to do it. WooHoo!! Screw BaseCamp. Thanks Fred.

Yay!! That's great!!

You're welcome.

Let's not get too happy yet. I've encountered a problem since my update. I'll be working along in MapSource with North America NT 2014.40 maps when all of a sudden an error message pops up saying "there's something wrong" and it shuts down MapSource. Work gone in a poof! Any ideas? I'll attempt to get a screen shot of it.

 

[rbentnail]

As a follow-up, my MapSource is now unusable. I can begin a route and after 2 or 3 waypts it locks up, errors, and shuts down.

 

[Aasland]

Let's not get too happy yet. I've encountered a problem since my update. I'll be working along in MapSource with North America NT 2014.40 maps when all of a sudden an error message pops up saying "there's something wrong" and it shuts down MapSource. Work gone in a poof! Any ideas? I'll attempt to get a screen shot of it.

Yep. I got that all the time. That's why I switched to Basecamp.

 

[rbentnail]

Let's not get too happy yet. I've encountered a problem since my update. I'll be working along in MapSource with North America NT 2014.40 maps when all of a sudden an error message pops up saying "there's something wrong" and it shuts down MapSource. Work gone in a poof! Any ideas? I'll attempt to get a screen shot of it.

Yep. I got that all the time. That's why I switched to Basecamp.

I'll go back to Rand McNally maps before I attempt BaseCamp again. After many hrs and tutorial after tutorial I have yet to be able to make, save and transfer a route.

 

[rbentnail]

Follow-up #2- seems the update to maps 2014.40 causes the problem. In MapSource I switched back to 2010.4 and no more problems. So now a computer restore? Or is there another way to get the offending maps off my computer?

 

[Fred W]

While I have seen the errors in mapsource that you are talking about, they have not been all that often, and I am also running the latest version of maps (2014.4). My SOP is to save the route I am working on at frequent intervals so if it does crash I can pull it all back up.

I'll do a search and see if I can find out if anyone has discovered the cause of the mapsource crashing. Since we are experiencing such different frequencies of he problem, there must be some other factors involved. I've not yet done that because the crashes were not that big of a deal to me.

That said, if you want to get rid of a particular version of maps you just go into Windows Control Panel , Add or Remove Programs, and it will be listed as "Garmin City Navigator NT XXXX Update". Just uninstall the one you want to be rid of and it's gone.

 

[rbentnail]

Follow-up #3:

OK, now I'm right back to the same ol' ****. MapSource maps are outdated (2010.x). DEVICE maps are 2014.40 so when I transfer a route from my COMPUTER to my DEVICE the route is changed to reflect new roads.

I connect my DEVICE to my COMPUTER via a USB cable. I attempt to update the maps on my COMPUTER using the MapUpdater from Garmin:

MapUpdater will allow me to re-install 2014.40, choose something else or exit. I don't want 2014.40, I was thinking 2013.x, maybe that won't error out in MapSource. If I choose exit, I exit. If I choose "something else", Garmin Express opens and promptly locks up. Won't do nothing.

Now, I know Garmin comms and updates are slow. Really slow. Slower than this forum even. But after 2 hrs I got "not responding".

So the specific question is this: how do I update my COMPUTER maps form 2010.x to 2013.x?

 

[TomInPA]

When updating maps there is an option to update the device, or to update the device and the computer. You need to find that option before starting the download so the computer maps are updated. You will need your device plugged in. On my computer the maps are stored at C:\program data\Garmin\maps\#### version.

YMMV. I also use mostly Mapsource, but have been playing with Basecamp. It's pretty easy to get the programs to open whatever version mapset I need to use.

 

[rbentnail]

When updating maps there is an option to update the device, or to update the device and the computer. You need to find that option before starting the download so the computer maps are updated. You will need your device plugged in. On my computer the maps are stored at C:\program data\Garmin\maps\#### version.
YMMV. I also use mostly Mapsource, but have been playing with Basecamp. It's pretty easy to get the programs to open whatever version mapset I need to use.

The device/computer option selection is not a problem. The version of maps being updated to is the problem. I want previous versions to choose from but can't find that option.

 

[rbentnail]

So, for S&G's I tried something. I deleted then re-updated 2014.40 maps to my computer on the off-chance that somehow things got corrupted by trying to update the device and computer together. So far so good, I'm using MapSource to pick waypts and develop a route just like before only now:

- using current vs. 4 yr old maps,

- no changes in routes when transferred to my nuvi, and

- no errors/shutdowns of MapSource.

So maybe that's all it was? Maybe?

 

[TomInPA]

Sounds like you got it. Garmin software is the red-headed stepchild of the company I think. It doesn't work intuitively and updates are mostly for trying to thwart map security (piracy). Unsuccessfully I might add. The availability of unlocked maps, security key generators and torrent downloads is the dark side.

 

[Fred W]

Yeah, there is no question that all of Garmin software and firmware is pretty much crap.

Buggy, non-intuitive, and the entire update and security process is absurd.

It is the worst GPS company ever...

except compared to all the others.

 

[TomInPA]

Yeah, there is no question that all of Garmin software and firmware is pretty much crap. Buggy, non-intuitive, and the entire update and security process is absurd.

It is the worst GPS company ever...

except compared to all the others.

I have been using Garmins since the early 90s at least, starting with an old GPSMap 76S. I still have it. In an era when we were using Intel 386, 486 and awesome pentium computers, we used to hook up the GPS with a serial port and do updates, download waypoints, and map things. Garmin evolved to USB and made some great GPS units including the Streetpilot series, and a number of very good marine and aircraft units. The automotive line then devolved into the Nuvi lineup and the Streetpilot became Zumo. From that point on, they have simplified user interfaces and map detail, and added a few navigation features.

The new Zumo 590LM is significant for its ability to interface with the entertainment features of smartphones. Meanwhile, smartphones are becoming increasingly better armored and durable, with better screens and better GPS functionality. I think you know which way this is heading. With the new Zumo costing $800 and having a single purpose, it won't take much to produce a smartphone that does much more for less, and I'm sure Samsung, Motorola and Apple will not ignore the opportunity.