Sending Routes to GPS

[HaulinAshe]

...

I had initially planned to use Mapsource on the road but wasn't aware of its memory requirements. I use a small HP netbook with a solid state drive (limited capacity) when on the road. (I wanted something small (and cheap) and wanted to avoid using a computer with a conventional hard drive figuring that extended vibration and bouncing wouldn't do it any favors over the long term.) The 'puter is suitable for surfing, email, downloading my camera (to a memory stick) and checking the forums but is very limited in terms of real estate for storage of large programs or data files. Not much of a processor either but is all I need for the above applications.

...

I bought exactly the same type machine for the exact same reasons and purpose. I love how it fits on the bike, even then fully-loaded two-up. And it's rugged as hell! But SSHD is small capacity, and the only way (now) to load MapSource is from the original DVD. My machine no longer has enough hard disk space to permit decompressing new map files. Garmin recently changed how their map updates are performed and increased the required available disk space to 6GB minimum. It used to be 4GB. That was just enough of a change to push my 2-year old netbook machine over the edge.

I've looked at newer machines and SSHD upgrades, but that technology still isn't cheap and not much different from two years ago.

At least 90% of my route building is done with broadband Internet available. I may opt for periodically purchasing updated DVDs of MapSource and Maps from Garmin, rather than supporting/learning/purchasing a whole new application (S&T). I started out building routes in S&T and still love it for multi-day, complex trips. But for single-day routes, the combination of Google/TYRE with a quick MapSucks cleanup is hard to beat.

 

[HaulinAshe]

Here's a quick look at how to edit a GPX file...

The route below runs from RobbinsvilleNC, to TellicoPlainsTN, to LUNCH at TwoWheelsOnly, to HelenGA, to FranklinNC.

The objective is to remove the TRACK information and WAYPOINTs except for the lunch stop. Sometimes I leave the lunch stop waypoint and import it as a favorite. That way if along the route I want to bail and head for lunch early, I can STOP routing, WHERE TO, FAVORITES, and head to lunch. Nothing stands between me and my stomach.



There is more than one way to remove the TRACK information. My usual method is build the route in Google/TYRE, then open the GPX in MapSource to compare the TRACK to the recalculated MapSource route. When I get the two to agree, I delete the TRACK from inside MapSource and save as GPX. That still leaves the WAYPOINTs, which is the reason for the final step using NOTEPAD to delete them. But you can go straight to NOTEPAD if you trust the route to run correctly on your GPS, and delete both the WAYPOINTs and TRACK info using NOTEPAD.

Note that in GPX files, every data string begins with some sort of <TAG> and ends with a </TAG>. As long as you make sure to keep them paired up, you can edit away! Make sure to leave that last </GPX> tag at the very end.

ORIGINAL GPX FILE CREATED BY GoogleMaps/TYRE:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<gpx version="1.0" creator="HaulinAshe" xmlns:xsi="https://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns="https://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/0" xsi:schemaLocation="https://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/0 https://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/0/gpx.xsd">

<time>2011-01-19T08:03:31Z</time>

<wpt lat="35.32287" lon="-83.80740">

<name>robbinsville, nc, usa</name>

</wpt>

<wpt lat="35.36286" lon="-84.29409">

<name>tellico plains, tn, usa</name>

</wpt>

<wpt lat="34.68889" lon="-84.02222">

<name>LUNCH, TwoWheelsOnly, SuchesGA</name>

</wpt>

<wpt lat="34.70148" lon="-83.73157">

<name>helen, ga, usa</name>

</wpt>

<wpt lat="35.18232" lon="-83.38154">

<name>franklin, nc, usa</name>

</wpt>

<rte>

<name>LunchAtTwoWheels</name>

<rtept lat="35.32287" lon="-83.80740">

<name>robbinsville, nc, usa</name>

</rtept>

<rtept lat="35.36286" lon="-84.29409">

<name>tellico plains, tn, usa</name>

</rtept>

<rtept lat="34.68889" lon="-84.02222">

<name>LUNCH, TwoWheelsOnly, SuchesGA</name>

</rtept>

<rtept lat="34.70148" lon="-83.73157">

<name>helen, ga, usa</name>

</rtept>

<rtept lat="35.18232" lon="-83.38154">

<name>franklin, nc, usa</name>

</rtept>

</rte>

<trk>

<name>LunchAtTwoWheels</name>

<trkseg>

<trkpt lat="35.32276" lon="-83.80738"><ele>0.000000</ele></trkpt>

<trkpt lat="35.32256" lon="-83.80957"><ele>0.000000</ele></trkpt>

<trkpt lat="35.32256" lon="-83.80957"><ele>0.000000</ele></trkpt>

... Many, MANY more trackpoint entries, then at the very end...

</trkseg>

</trk>

</gpx>

Next I used NOTEPAD to remove the unwanted WAYPOINTs and TRACK information, leaving one waypoint and the RTE (route) information:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<gpx version="1.0" creator="HaulinAshe" xmlns:xsi="https://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns="https://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/0" xsi:schemaLocation="https://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/0 https://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/0/gpx.xsd">

<time>2011-01-19T08:03:31Z</time>

 

<wpt lat="34.68889" lon="-84.02222">

<name>LUNCH, TwoWheelsOnly, SuchesGA</name>

</wpt>

 

<rte>

<name>LunchAtTwoWheels</name>

<rtept lat="35.32287" lon="-83.80740">

<name>robbinsville, nc, usa</name>

</rtept>

<rtept lat="35.36286" lon="-84.29409">

<name>tellico plains, tn, usa</name>

</rtept>

<rtept lat="34.68889" lon="-84.02222">

<name>LUNCH, TwoWheelsOnly, SuchesGA</name>

</rtept>

<rtept lat="34.70148" lon="-83.73157">

<name>helen, ga, usa</name>

</rtept>

<rtept lat="35.18232" lon="-83.38154">

<name>franklin, nc, usa</name>

</rtept>

</rte>

</gpx>

 

[RossKean]

Thanks Jeff

I'll have a look at this when I get home tonight.

Ross

 

[wfooshee]

May as well refer to my mapping programs comparison thread, wherein some useful info about Streets & Trips, Street Atlas, and Google Maps can be found.

 

[RossKean]

May as well refer to my mapping programs comparison thread, wherein some useful info about Streets & Trips, Street Atlas, and Google Maps can be found.

I actually came across your detailed comparison of mapping programs when I did a search before I started this thread. Excellent comparison and useful tutorials - especially for Mapsource.

Thanks

 

[TomInPA]

For anyone needing a copy of Mapsource, I ran across this method of getting a copy on your computer, using the Garmin download.

Garmin officially provides a MapSource version update download, which will only work if there is previous version of MapSource installed. If no MapSource software is detected, the MapSource update setup will abort with error message saying that it cannot find previous version of MapSource. Follow the following trick to hack the setup file so that it can be used to install MapSource clean and fresh without any prior installation of MapSource.

1. Download MapSource software updater from Garmin. The version as of December 4, 2007 is 6.13.6, and the trick also works on Map Source version 6.13.5.
2. Unpack or extract the content of MapSource_6136.exe
   downloaded using WinRAR.
3. From the extracted files, run MAIN.msi or MSMAIN.msi.
4. Then, run Setup.exe. Note: The sequence to execute Main.msi and then Setup.exe is important to avoid “Previous MapSource not found!” error.
5. Garmin MapSource now installed.