Loading routes/courses to Garmin Edge 200

[JonB]

I have an Edge 200 and I have used the courses/breadcrumb line function a few times to guide my route.  I'd like to use this for audaxing to complement the routesheet but whenever I try and import a gpx file it rejects it and tells me something like the memory/unit is full (I have now deleted all my rides so there should be plenty of space).  The only way that I have been able to make it work is to map the route in garmin connect and then upload it (which for a long ride is quite tedious when a route is supplied by an event organiser/friend/internet).

What I do ... connect the unit to the computer; open the unit as if it were a separate drive; copy the GPX file and then try and paste it into new files; I then get the 'full/no memory' message.

Any suggestions appreciated

[yoav]

Try using a TCX file instead of a GPX file. The former is of more use when the unit itself doesn't have built in maps.

As to putting files on the unit, I'm not sure it's possible to simply copy/paste the route. I have put routes on my Garmin in 2 ways, firstly, like you have done with Garmin connect but instead of manually drawing the route, I import it into Garmin connect, save it as a course then upload it to the GPS. The second way is to download and install Basecamp from the Garmin website and import the route into that, before uploading onto the Garmin.

Hope this helps.

[frankly frankie]

What I do ... connect the unit to the computer; open the unit as if it were a separate drive; copy the GPX file and then try and paste it into new files; I then get the 'full/no memory' message.

I don't know about the 200 but with many Garmins there's a distinction between the 'memory' as on the SD card or even on the virtual drive that you see when connecting the GPS, and the 'device memory' which is actually where the active GPS data is held, and which is not directly accessible from a computer.

In other words, you copy stuff onto the card (or the virtual drive, same diff) and then when the GPS is disconnected and restarted, this stuff is synchronised into the device memory.  The synch process only works one way, so if you then delete stuff from the card/virtual drive, that does not also delete it from the device memory.
To clear the device memory you may have to do it via the GPS menus - deleting Tracks, Courses, Waypoints etc.  Older models had a handy 'reset' facility which made all this easy, but this seems to have been lost on newer models (there's still a 'reset' but it is more of  a 'wipe all settings' thing - not what is wanted!)

[Phil W]

I think the 200 is a cut down version of the 500. You'll need to convert the gpx to either tcx or crs. There are many online sites can do this for you or you can install a convert or app on your PC.

[JonB]

Many thanks for all the replies and tips ... progress has been made.  Last night I spent some time manually deleting 'activities' from the unit until all were cleared (after uploading recent ones).  Then hooked it up to BikeHike and downloaded a course straight to it as a TCX, turned off the unit and it appeared as a course. So I think it's the memory issue, possibly in combination with the file type (incidentally since my first post I did get a message flash up during a ride that it would start deleting activities automatically as memory was full even though I'd deleted most on the PC as Frankly pointed out this doesn't free up memory). 

So this works for me, I can pick up a GPX file from a friend or event organiser, load it into BikeHike and then save it to the Garmin ... result.  I'd love a mapping GPS but I'll see how I go with this for a while.

[Tony Carrigan]

I have an Edge 200 which I use for navigation, using routes plotted in Memory Map. I copy GPX files onto it (into the NewFiles folder). I've never had a problem doing this. So it sounds like your issue was simply down to lack of storage. You don't need to convert files into TCX or any other format - GPX files are fine.

[JonB]

Thanks Tony, have got the Transporter 200 coming up and will try it out, have used it locally and it works okay but it will be interesting to see how useful I find it on unknown roads but will take maps and route sheet as well following my directional struggles around the Border Castles Agree, pretty sure it was a memory issue on the unit.

[Smudge1404]

Hi,
Can anyone advise me how I can get a route I've imported via Garmin Express to be recognised on my Edge 200. It appears in courses but when I click on it keeps saying "processing". I've tried both .gpx & .tcx
Thanks!

[frankly frankie]

Just guessing, but it's possibly too big (too many points).  Obviously you'd expect Garmin software to screen for this sort of thing and at least issue a warning - but it doesn't, it just leaves you to find out the hard way.

[JonB]

I've had files that won't fit on the 200 because they're too big but if it's on there and won't load I suspect there's a problem with the file. If possible I would try and run it through another programme, I'd probably have a look on Basecamp and check out the filesize and number of trackpoints, you can filter the size down, resave and export.  Not everyone uses Basecamp so you could try Bikehike, where there is a facility to reduce file size under options, trackpoint reduction.  You could manually rewrite the file on RWGPS and then export as GPX and drop it into the new files folder, sounds long and laborious but is often quicker than all the faffing around that can entail from other options.