GPS HOWTO
Let me start off by saying I don't claim to be a GPS expert. I'm aware that there is more that I don't know than what I know. My experience and the tutorial will be centered around working with Garmin devices and software. Actually, my experience is quite narrow in that my only real experience is with the Garmin GPSMap 60CS device and the Garmin US TOPO maps.
Understand that Garmin's MapSource and BaseCamp software applications behave differently depending on which maps you have and which device you are working with. Therefore, it will be important that those in attendance share their experience and knowledge. If we work together, I think the experience will be a rewarding one for most everyone.
In preparation for the GPS HOWTO at the May 1st TARKC meeting, there are a few things you can do to ensure you get the most from the time.
- If you have one, bring your laptop with fully-charged batteries.
- If you have one, bring your GPS unit(s) and your USB cable to connect to your laptop.
- Install Garmin's BaseCamp on your laptop. (See 'About BaseCamp' below.)
- Install a map product on your laptop for BaseCamp to use. (See 'About Maps' below.)
- Consider creating a free account on DualsportMaps.com.
I'll walk you through the process, tools, and techniques I've developed to plan my rides and manage my data--both trail and dualsport.
Creating Routes
- Routes vs Tracks
- 3rd party tools to aid in route building (county DOT maps, satellite imagery, etc.)
- Creating a new route/track
- Creating waypoints
Getting the data onto your GPS
- Copy routes/tracks to your GPS
- Copy waypoints to your GPS
- Getting maps onto your GPS
Getting data OFF your GPS
When you return from your adventure, it's a good idea to save your tracklogs. These can be used to create highly accurate routes or tracks for later use and sharing with others. I'll show you how to do this using BaseCamp.
About BaseCamp
BaseCamp is the latest Garmin software application for Windows and Mac to manage your GPS data. I believe it is intended to replace MapSource, but if you are a MapSource power user and happy with it, you don't have to change to BaseCamp. I recently switched to BaseCamp, and while I found the differences confusing at first, I've quickly grown to prefer BaseCamp. BaseCamp definitely has more features that I find useful. For example, in BaseCamp, you can convert a track to a route with a simple click. You can simplify a track or route down to less points with a couple of clicks to make them compatible with your device limitations. MapSource does not provide these important features. I encourage you to use BaseCamp unless you are already comfortable with MapSource and generally get frustrated with change. NOTE: USE the backup feature in BaseCamp after any significant work. It has already saved my butt. I unplugged my GPS cable and Windows blue-screened. When I rebooted, my BaseCamp data was corrupted. I restored and all was good.
About Maps
Garmin's map offerings are a moving target--one I have trouble keeping up with. I can tell you that as a motorcycle rider, you either want Street or Topo maps (or both). Do your own research on Garmin's Map site.
http://www.garmin.com/us/maps/
As one who rides truly off-road, I really appreciate the TOPO maps. They provide dotted lines for many of the trails and old roads, and more importantly, they provide contour lines for the terrain. So even though you see that road you want is only 1/2 mile to the West, the contour lines will tell you, "You aint gonna get there from here!"
TOPO maps, however, don't give you much city street detail and you definitely don't get Points of Interest (POI) data. City Street maps give POI data such as gas stations, restaurants, hospitals, etc. City Street maps won't give you topographical contour lines or trails.
Another huge differentiation between TOPO maps and Street maps is auto-routing. The TOPO 100 maps (also TOPO US 2008) will not provide any route assistance when building routes. That is, you can only point and click to create straight lines. With Street maps, you can click start and end points and have a route created for you that you can then modify as desired. There are other differences as well, but since I've never owned Street maps, I can't speak authoritatively on the subject.
I have what is now an old product, TOPO US 2008
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=10531
The product that replaces Topo 2008 is the newer TOPO US 100K
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=255&pID=28229
From what I understand, TOPO 100K maps are basically the same as TOPO 2008--and for less money.
Garmin also offers 24K TOPO maps. These have higher resolution and more detail for more money. If somebody has these, I hope they'll bring a laptop and show them to us. From what I understand, the 24K TOPO maps also provide auto-routing features--unlike the 100K TOPO.
Hmmm...City Navigator North America (Lower 49) is only $59 now. I may need to buy this finally.
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=253&pID=28765
Ideally, you'll own both TOPO and Street maps. Both are useful and you can load both maps onto your device and switch depending on what you want to see.
See you at the meeting!
Troy Wolf
