Grasscatcher

Thanks ! That's what I was looking for (for two days) . That will work.

I installed an OSM routable map for (just) Colorado a long time ago but now want to expand coverage to the entire USA for planning a cross country trip. I found and downloaded an ".img" file for my GPSs and already have it working there, but I can't seem to find the file with an installer to make it one of the map options available in Basecamp. Am I missing something? I've already done the "virtual GPS" trick on a thumbdrive, and I know that as long as I have my GPS hooked up to the PC I can see the maps but I was wanting to actually install that version to the PC.

Isn't the "off Course" data field choice what you guys are saying doesn't exist any more? If so, I have several units that say you are incorrect..............

Again, I repeat, you guys can theorize and pontificate all you desire, BUT, I would imagine that with Garmin knowing the capacity of the battery and all the specs, they delivered the unit WITH a 110-240v charger that puts out "1 A". Wouldn't that suggest that that rate is what they are recommending? Just my 2 cents.

....or as I've always said, "A GPS is supposed to be a thinking person's tool" However, too many users ain't equipped for the task.......

Northwest Trails came from Switchback.com or GPS File Depot and you or someone else had to download it and install to your computer......which is exactly the explanation I described. You'll find the answer to your second question in the same place where you found the map that was the basis of the problem that resulted in your first question.

Note: you will find that different batteries are different length even if only by a few thousands of an inch. You can "adjust" them but then don't whine about "breaks" it track logging or "unexplained" loss of power. Adjusting tool= small "precision" hammer.......careful now.....'cause there's no "precision puller outer" if you get them too short.

I'm with ECA....it will charge but not at the same rate. Garmin charger works at 1A (1000ma) rate....USB is going to be at 500 ma rate. As Splashy said, caution about whether USB port stays powered. All USB in my vehicles are only powered with key on.

Which map are you using in Basecamp when you see "trails only".....a transparent overlay like "My Trails" from GPS File Depot? On your 62S, just disable all maps other than the transparent overlay "trails" map for "Trails only" , only Topo on for Topo only, or both on for both.....

Calibrate to a known elevation before you start, and then leave AC on. On the way to camp.....use Variable Elevation setting and Auto Calibration setting. AC will compensate for the effect of elevation change while hiking. As soon as you arrive in camp, Switch to "Fixed Elevation" for your overnight stay. Any change you see in the Baro Press overnight will be due to actual climate conditions changing. When you leave in the morning, change back to Variable Elevation.

@yogazoo, Did you know that there is an online version of that Trimble program now? Don't have to install and keep up with the almanac updates anymore. Works great.

I guess that we'll just have to agree to disagree about the data being messed up..... It's data that would be automatically deleted / eliminated by correct operating procedures, but if the user wants to operate his unit in a way that causes, or retains bogus data then so be it. If he wants them, then he can have them (the lines), if not, then learn how to operate the unit the way it was intended. We definitely do not want to go back to the limited functionality of previous units like 60/76 etc. If you operate your GPS correctly then you don't get the points or the lines anyway,so....

"The Game" is geocaching... You put the gpx files in the wrong place. Per your post, you put them in Garmin/GPX/Common and Garmin/GPX/Nav. Back up one step in the file path to Garmin/GPX........

We are saying the exact same thing. Old location with the new "turn on" time. I'm saying the reason is to physically "Tie" the data together for the archive period, or in other words,within the archive period. If you left the unit on, it would continue to log the path traveled between the two points. If you turn it off, it does the same thing by going back in it's memory and getting the last known location to start from and then continuing. Of course it has to start with new track because it can't log points while it's off. That's why the line is "attached" at the "start" of the second track instead of at the tail end of the first. Easy way to solve "the problem" on the Montana is to make a shortcut to "clear current track log" and "reset trip odometer" . Does both with the press of one button. On other models you have to do each separately.

No,that line is created after the unit locks on, it goes back in internal memory to retrieve "last known position" coordinates, in an attempt to tie the data from that point in time to the current position and time .........exactly as the user has told it to do by the unit settings. It becomes a moot point when the User clears the current track log and resets trip settings because it elininates the "last known point" and the line. It's really just "clearing its brain" and starting with a clean slate at the beginning of a trip. Save at the end and you've got that specific trip's data (only) encapsulated in a file. Some people say that it has nothing to do with archiving. They are wrong. It's ALL about tying info together within an archive period. Here's how you can prove it to yourself...... Set your unit to Auto Archive "Daily" ....Clear current track at the start ..go out and do a hike, at the end of the hike,intentionally don't "save" the track, just turn the unit OFF. Don't turn it back on until the next day. Next day, when turned back on....NO LINE. Now, set your unit to Auto Archive Weekly (or When Full). Do EXACTLY the same thing , clear before,hike,turnoff for the day. Next day when you turn it on...Ta Da ! you've got the Dreaded connecting line. Does that help explain? Auto archive "Daily" minimizes / reduces "the problem"...Clearing track log before and saving afterwards, totally eliminates "the problem"....PERIOD.

` Speed has nothing to do with this problem. GPS speed is determined separately from position and time. The crazy speed numbers are from the unit storing data while it still has a poor fix. The solution here is to not record until the GPS fix is reasonable. @Red 90, Look carefully at the time stamps on the track points at each end of the "straight line". During initialization procedures, the new models intentionally go back to "last known" position, log THAT point location, and the "current" time (NOW) in order to "Tie" all the track log info together for whatever "Archive period" the user has specified. The "lines" don't cross from one archive period to another. The goofy speeds come in when the unit calculates the speed from "last known" location (miles away) where unit was turned off( but the old loc is determined from internal memory AT THE NEW LOCATION) to current position logged a few seconds later. That data is "junk" but the unit is doing exactly what the user has told it to do with his "archive" settings choice (ie- tying all the data together within the period). Clearing the current track log and resetting the trip settings eliminate the junk data and you get no connecting lines.

The correct way to operate your GPS is to "clear current track" before you start a hike and "save" that track log at the end of the hike. ....NO LINES! Every Garmin model (since the end of the 60-76 series) that uses the new operating system and new file format and has archiving capability, forces the operator to pay more attention to correct operating procedures. The Garmin "person" that said to turn it off at the end of one hike and then back on at the start of the next was giving you incorrect information. It was a "lazy operator" way to trick the GPS into starting a new file. Also, that was only on models "prior" to implementing "archiving". Even on those earlier models, the "clearing" before and "saving afterwards" was the correct operating procedure. People that insist on trying to operate the new models in the same "uninformed" manner as their old units, don't like their results, and REALLY don't want to hear that it is due their own operating procedures and their own settings. Re-read the first sentence in this post again. You don't have to understand all the "whys", but you won't get any of the dreaded "lines". If you want to understand all the "whys", I can provide a step by step process describing what's happening behind the scenes with each button press.

Get a user that also likes to play "the game" to tell you where you are supposed to put the gpx files...

Theorize all you want to.....all you'll do is wear out your brain cells and you still won't know any more than when you started. The sunburn, the cuts & scrapes, the tired muscles, the dust from the trail is where the real education happens. Auto & Most often will "more consistently,when under real world conditions" produce more accurate results when using "actual" as the standard. When anyone starts talking about "a" specific result, remember, "one in a row" does not make a trend.

Rich, I respectfully disagree..... and you can physically prove your statement is incorrect for yourself by traveling an accurately measured path using different logging intervals. Perfectly straight paths don't seem to exist in the real world. Yes, trackpoint interval set to 1/sec will produce the most accurate "path traveled" curvature or shape wise, but the length of the track, or distance traveled, will always be longer than "actual distance traveled". Accuracy better for shape yes, but not for distance. When logging interval is set to 1/sec, absolutely every bit of GPS error is added to length which results in "over distance" being reported. Most points possible being logged results in largest error. Arguably,"auto" method, and interval of "most often" produces the "most accurate overall results". (Best compromise)

Put this in your thought process mix. I know for a fact that BLM's own digital property ownership data for their own lands is incorrect in many areas. Guess who has to pay the fine if you get accused of being on private property. It's better than nothing, if up to date (who knows that??) Use it for planning only, and then check locally.

Winches on the front of any vehicle are designed to pull the rider further into where "he" shouldn't have been in the first place..... Your analogy is correct, but the instructions are also applicable for anyone that anyone that knows exactly where THEY are but runs across the poor "lost" (or injured) soul in the boonies that needs trained medical assistance or body recovery (alive or deceased).

Not speaking of any one specifically, but pseudo-intellectuals like to theorize about "what is best", but that is all that it is.....opinion. Really , what is "best" is what works for you, in whatever the current circumstance are. Even NAD 27 has it's place where it is best. If you are plotting locations on a paper(NAD27)map, that's what you should use. No one's mind (that I know of) "works" in DMS. Everyone's mind (that I know of) "works" in "distance" or at least perceived distance. That's why UTM works the best(IMHO) in the field. The last 3 numbers of the coordinates tell you where you are within the 1000 meter square, and each number roughly equals one pace per last digit (who cares if it's yds or meters). No mental calculations or conversions required. ....and there are only two directions to decipher. You either need to go more North or less North, or more East or less East to make the numbers match up. In DMS, no one can tell you how far to travel to "equal" a "minute" or a "second" without knowing your current location. Yes, it can be calculated , but those values change with location changes. ....and whatever Lat/Lon coordinates you see, your brain has to convert to "distance" to comprehend how far you need to go, and what direction. Now,..... for reporting a/your location for search and rescue. ASK, "How do you want the coordinates?". What format? You don't know the person's knowledge level on the receiving end. You only know YOUR knowledge level, so, become VERY familiar with YOUR unit and HOW TO CHANGE between formats on your unit. .......and get the other person to read the coordinates back to you. You have only "communicated" if they "received" (correctly understood)the information that you "intended" to send. By having it read back, YOU can determine if THEY "got it right".

I've used "Trimble Planning" for years, but had to download the program and then be sure to keep the latest almanac, etc. Now there's an online version that eliminates all that hassle. Look for "Trimble planning Online".