Questions about EasyGPS and Etrex

[ed_o_brain]

We've got a Garmin Edge 205 and a basic Etrex in the household.

I'm looking for (free) softare that will up/download tracks and routes to each of these. I've found EasyGPS that claims to do the job. Will this work with routes from Bikely? And Googlemaps? Are there any alternatives worh considering?


I'm thinking of using my Etrex to plot a route out of central London to Leatherhead. The Etrex is the basic one, so it doesn't have a high sensitivity receiver. Would I lose signal too much in the built-up areas to make this worth while?


I'm very good at getting lost in London so if I could use the Etrex it would be ideal.

Cheers
Daniel

[Greenbank]

I use GPS Trackmaker (the free version) from GPS TrackMaker

The only thing you need to add is the following line underneath the opening <gps> tag in the GPX file if it doesn't already have the metadata tags:-

<metadata></metadata>

Then it should load in GPS Trackmaker. I only use GPSTM for uploading routes and downloading the tracks generated by actual rides. All of my routes are generated in bikely with one point per instruction (I turn off the "follow road" option).

Tracks go in straight away. I tend not to use them though.

If you want to use sparse routes (i.e. one routepoint per turn) from bikely then you'll need to mess around with the file you get from bikely:-

• Find the first occurrence of "<wpt" and insert a newline before it, add the <metadata></metadata> line before this <wpt definition
• Also before the first <wpt add in <rte><name>insert route name</name>
• Find where the <trk> begins and delete from that point to the end of the file, you don't need it
• Add a </rte></gpx> to the end of the file
• Search replace all occurrences of "wpt" with "rtept"
• Tidy up by removing whitespace at the beginnings of lines and blank lines¹
• Keep names of tracks and waypoints to under 6 characters just to be safe

GPS Trackmaker is not great but it works. I haven't bothered importing maps or anything.

gpsbabel will also upload/download stuff and is available for Windows, Linux and MacOS. There are also various GUIs that slot on top to make it easier to use if you prefer to keep clear of the command line.

I have a basic Garmin eTrex (the yellow one) without the high sensitivity receiver and it's fine. I use it for all my Audaxing (and other pre-planned routes) and it only loses signal in dense tree cover.

It's usually fine in central London, it does get a bit confused amongst lots of tall buildings but it's usually only the elevation readings that go bonkers and not the position. If you keep moving it remains pretty accurate.

What part of London are you leaving from? For Leatherhead I tend to just blat along the A24 through Ewell, Epsom and Ashtead to Leatherhead. It's a main road but it's good for making progress on.

1. With vi:
:%s/^\s*//
:g/^$/d

[ed_o_brain]

Thanks (again) GB.
I'll have a play around and see what I can get working!

It would be nice to see whether I can get it working with my Fedora based netbook, but for now I've got it hooked up to a Vista PC with a USB/Serial interface lead.

[Greenbank]

gpsbabel works under linux and under MacOS X.

If you've got a PL-2303 based cable (USB to Garmin special connector) for the eTrex then some drivers are better than others, it's worth experimenting. The ones direct from Prolific in .com.tw are best if you can ever get the download site to respond.

[Chris N]

I do it the same as Greenbank on my Etrex H - works very well, if you're willing to put the effort in with the routing beforehand.

The only thing you need to add is the following line underneath the opening <gps> tag in the GPX file if it doesn't already have the metadata tags:-

<metadata></metadata>

Then it should load in GPS Trackmaker.

I never used to put the metadata tags in but I think that is why I could never get GPS Trackmaker to work properly with my Etrex and had to run the .gpx through GPS Babel before uploading it.  I'll do it properly next time.

[alexb]

I use easy GPS to transfer files from Bikely. It works fine, you can also use it to spot basic errors such as big jumps between waypoints etc.

[Panoramix]

I also use easygps and I find it is good as there is no faffing modifying the GPx by hand. I uses the cheap foretrex 101.

[Wowbagger]

Annie & I have installed EasyGPS on her PC and we're trying to send a track. We've told the computer about the Garmin Etrex Vista HCx but whenever we try to send the file we are told that there is no Garmin attached to the USB port.

This is a pack of lies.

What are we doing wrong?

[Wowbagger]

We've repeated the exercise on Annie's mainframe and it worked. I can only assume that her USB ports are a bit dicky.