imajeep

I found the answer: When the map is showing, hit the menu button to bring up the context menu. Then select Setup Map. In the Setup Map screen, set AutoZoom to false.

I just got a Garmin 60 Csx, and it's a great unit, except for one thing: When I navigate a route that I have downloaded to the unit, it zooms way out as I hit each waypoint in the route. I have to manually zoom it back in to see the route, and then it zomms itself back out when I hit the next waypoint. Has this happened to anyone else? Is there a setting or a workaround that will keep this from happening? Thanks.

Hey, that's cool!

Interesting. I hadn't seen this before. That's the sort of thing I'm looking for.

Brilliant!

Yeah, first place I checked. Runner's logs. Seems to be mainly Garmin ForeRunner users. Found a couple of other personal web sites where hikers have posted their GPXs, but nothing organized.

This post is mainly for Groundspeak, but I'm hoping other hikers will chime in with your thoughts. There is a real need for a web site where hikers can share GPX tracklogs and Google Earth KMZ files for hikes that they have taken. Hikers could upload files for friends and family; but more importantly, complete strangers could download files to plan upcoming hikes and take 'virtual hikes'. For some hikers, figuring out direction on the trail is part of the game. But for others, confusing trails are a hassle. Those of us in the latter category like to plan our hikes by plotting a route and downloading it to our GPS in advance. That's tough to do on existing sites, which generally offer only scanned topo maps with no trail markings. If I could download a GPX tracklog for a hike, I could load it into my mapping software over a topo or aerial photo of the site and plot a route pretty easily. If I could download KMZ files, it would be even better. For those not familar with KMZ files, they are Google Earth files that provide a 'virtual tour' by combining your digital photos with a tracklog from where they were taken. Software like RoboGEO or Google's own GPicSync geotag the photos from the tracklog. The KMZ file associates each photo with the appropriate point on the tracklog, and Google Earth displays the track with clickable icons for each picture. If I'm considering several hikes, I could download a KMZ for each and use the photographs in the KMZ files to choose among the hikes. Or, I could simply take a virtual hike from my desktop at any time. For example, I'd love to be able to do a virtual hike of a section of the Appalachian Trail or Yosemite. This sort of web site would seem to be a natural for Groundspeak. The content is user-generated, and the site is mainly a database front-end. It's a site for which I'd be willing to pay membership, and I suspect a lot of other hikers would, as well, particularly now that GPS has hit the 'explosive growth' stage of its adoption. The file database could easily be combined with a traditional 'trail report' database to provide a first-class 'hiking central' web site. As far as I am aware, there is no online GPX/KMZ repository, so it could be a great opportunity for Groundspeak to expand into another growing area, without going too far afield (so to speak). What do other folks thing?

I've started recording the tracklogs from my hikes in GPX files, and recently, I've started creating Google Earth KMZ files, which combine a tracklog, waypoints, and geotagged photos into a single file. It's a great record of a hike! So, there ought to be a place where I can upload these files, and download other people's tracklogs for a hike I'm thinking about, to plot a route for the hike. Or better yet, download KMZ files to preview hikes that I'm thinking about. Do I do this one, or that one... I've been looking for a web site that maintains a database of these sorts of files, but I've had no luck finding one. Has anyone else come across one?

Hiking poles. Great for balance when hiking over rocks and streams, and a better workout on flat walks. Big fan of Leki.

FWIW, if you hit Apple Corps' radar with this, you can expect some fairly hefty legal bills. They have staffs of lawyers in the UK and the US that does nothing but run down infringements, large and small. This piece would clearly infringe. The rule is that minor changes don't protect you. If a majority of twelve people think your design looks like the original, you are basically screwed. And you will spend $50K before you ever get there. Or you can pay $25K to make it go away when you get the demand letter from Apple Corps. I know it's none of my business, but I would suggest giving careful thought before proceeding with this project. Apple Corps could go after you, your minter, and your purchasers.

If you use a Garmin unit and have MapSource, that will do it. Google Earth can do it, but it's a pain. ExpertGPS does a nice job. Not free, but reasonably priced.

One difference between vista and GPSMAP 60 Cx/Csx--the latter use the SIRF III chipset, which provides better reception under forest canopy and in deep canyons. IMHO, well worth the price differential.

For general hiking use, Garmin 1:100K Topo maps. For National Parks, Garmin 1:24K National Park Topo Maps. The 100K maps don't have trails on them, but the 24K maps do have major trails. Both sets of maps are driven by the Garmin MapSource application, which is supplied with both sets. You also may want to use a site like Trails.com or Topozone.com. These sites have online topo maps and arial photoz that sow more detail than the Garmin topos. They also let you plot a route and export the route in a GPX file. You can load the route into MapSource, which imports GPX files, and from there you can download it to your handheld. I like ExpertGPS (http://expertgps.com) for route plotting. There's a full-feature demo available on line. You can plot routes on a scanned topo, or on an arial photo. Note that the topos from ExpertGPS can't be loaded intoi MapSource or downloaded to the unit. Only Garmin topos can be used for that. So, I use ExpertGPS to plot a route, export the route as a GPX file, then import the route into MapSource for downloading to my handheld. The route is an overlay on my Garmin topos, which I can use for navigation in the handheld.

I was looking into buying Google Earth plus because it says you can use your GPS in real time on your computer screen. I'm not sure how this would work, since you probably don't have an internet connection while you're in your car. If you find out any information about this, I would really like to know! Thanks! The paid version of Google Earth can read GPX files, while the free version only reads KMLs. But there are free utilities out there that will build KMLs from GPXs, so you may not need the paid version.

I can understand your disappointment in Vista--I share it. If I was an eye-candy afficianado, I'd buy a Mac. But I'm not having any crash problems. If your Vista came with a new computer, then the problem may be that the manufacturer monkeyed around with the version of Vista on your machine. Computer manufacturers love to replace Windows system components with their own 'custom' versions, and it leads to many of the crash problems people experience. The other major cause of system crashes is the gigabytes of crapware that most manufacturers install on their machines. I'm not having Vista issues because I immediately wiped the HD of my new computer and installed a clean OEM copy of Vista (from Microsoft). I have to have Vista one machine, and it happens to be the laptop that has my GPS software. If you have XP, I'd recommend going back to that--recent manufacturer's versions weren't as unstable as their current versions of Vista. If you have to stay with Vista, clean as much of the crapware off your system as you can--there are a number of articles online that describe how to do it. Then check Garmin for the Vista upgrade to MapSource. Other common GPS apps work without problem.

As I understand it, the 60 is meant for trail use, and the 76 is meant for marine use. Both have the SIRF III chipset.

Interesting, and very reasonably priced ($25). Kind of like a combination of Picasa and GPicSync. How long does it take to geotag a couple of hundred pictures?

Thanks, Trubba! I had no idea that WWMX existed.

So, if I understand correctly, the PhotoMapper software inserts the coordinates on the face of the picture? That's pretty cool; I'll check it out. Thanks! As to 'what's the benefit?': If pictures are geotagged in their EXIF headers, Flickr will let you store them in a map. I can map the hundreds of pictures I've taken hiking--my Chiracahua National Monument pictures will be stored 'at' the Chiracahua! But what I think is really cool is Google Earth. GPicSync can compile my pictures and my tracklog into a KMZ file that will display my tracklog and pictures in Google Earth. So, I can email the KMZ file, and the recipient can see my tracklog, and the point on the trail where I took each picture.

Actually, I've been testing GPicSync, and I'm pretty impressed with it. Also, I've recently upgraded to a Garmin GPSMAP 60 Csx, which gets absolutely phenominal reception in forest canopy. No more broken-up track logs! So, using a track log for geotagging photos is an attractive option once again.

Thanks, Tim. I'm puzzled--why would the Garmin protocol disallow reading timestamps from the comment field:? David Veeneman

I've been playing with RoboGEO, trying to decide whether to use it to geotag pictures I take while on the hunt. Basically, i'm setting a waypoint when I take a picture, instead of using a recorded track. I'm having a problem getting RoboGEO to import the waypoint file That I created with the Garmin. I'm using EasyGPS to export the waypoints as a GPX file, which I then attempt to import into RoboGEO. RoboGEO refuses to import the file, because it says the waypoints have no timestamp. Looking at the waypoints in EasyGPS, I see that the timestamp is in a comment field. Is there a workaround for this problem, or does RoboGEO simply not read waypoint files from Garmin units? Thanks for your help.

Be careful on National Geographic and similar map software. NG will tell you that there maps 'work with' verious GPS units. What they generally means is that the software can download waypoints and routes, but not maps! If you get non-Garmin software maps, make sure the maps themselves can be downloaded to the handheld, and get a return commitment if that provies not to be the case.

Thanks for the great FAQ! I've bookmarked the page--it answers a lot of my questions about Garmin's GPS units.