Team Periwinkle

I thought they were supposed to be digital tire gauges? Doh! It was so long between when I 'ordered' it and when I got it that I totally forgot about that! It is a digital tire gauge and it works!

Just got mine about a week ago. The Michelin man has an odd 'window' in his back with what looks to be a small solar panel in it - it could be a LED light. The man actually unscrews and there is a battery and a circuit board inside, connected to the LED or solar panel. What is it? There is no button or switch anywhere to activate the electronics, and it isn't doing anything. Any guesses? Anyone else notice this? Dave

Use GMAP4 and right click anywhere. http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4.php example:

Glad that you got it to work. Just to close out this thread, for others future benefit... The OP sent me the original problematic KMZ and I finally got a chance to try it out on my GPSMap 78sc. It worked fine for me. So my guess about 8 bit B&W was incorrect - at least my GPSMap 78sc can handle 8 bit B&W jpeg images just fine. All's well that ends well...

The image is 8 bit grayscale. I wonder if Garmin GPSr can't read 8 bit grayscale. The JPEG images in all of my KMZ files are 24 bit color. Anyone have a way to upconvert an 8 bit grayscale into a 24 bit color image? Then create the KMZ with that image and see if it works.

another one that displays cursor coordinates in DD.DDDDD is my favorite: http://www.mappingsu...com/p/gmap4.php Nice thing is the two menus in the upper right allow you to pull down lots of different overlays and customize the view. It also supports KMZ overlays...for example, see this overlay that I created: http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4.php?q=https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/78581604/maps/dover-westwood.kml I'm going to write a note to the author of that site and see if he can make the position format customizable (i.e. DD MM.MMM instead of DD.DDDDD) Dave

Ok, so that shows that you have less than 1024 x 1024 pixels, so that isn't the problem. Can you post the KMZ somewhere so we can look at that?

i have never used it, but it is mentioned a lot in conversations about maps for Canada: http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/view/21/

Is your image less than 1 MB in dimensions? I can't be sure, since the file sharing site you posted it at may have reduced the resolution of the image vs. what you made the KMZ from. See my detailed discussion on that topic here: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=307548&st=0&p=5210779&fromsearch=1entry5210779 And I have another discussion on the same topic here: http://forums.gpsfiledepot.com/index.php/topic,3439.msg19943.html#msg19943 If that isn't the problem, then I'm somewhat stumped. Never heard of your particular problem. Can you post the KMZ file somewhere so we can have a look at it? Dave

I'm using a 78sc and I have seen somewhat similar problems. My workaround or mitigating method is essentially to never 'overwrite' GPX files on my GPSr: 1) Connect the GPSr to the computer. 2) Using USB (mass storage) mode and Windows explorer, navigate to the \GPX folder and delete any 'old' pocket queries from the GPSr. I always keep the pocket queries on the removable media on the GPSr, but I also always check both the \GPX folder on the device and the removable media to make sure I didn't screw up. They both need to be empty of pocket queries at this point. 3) "Eject" the GPSr, physcially disconnect it from the computer and boot it up. Make sure the unit fully turns on and I can see a map. 4) Download the new PQ onto my computer. 5) Unzip the GPX PQ files into a directory on my computer. 6) Connect the GPSr to the computer. 6) Using USB (mass storage) mode and Windows explorer, copy the unzipped GPX PQ files to the \GPX folder on the removable media drive on the GPSr. 7) "Eject" the GPSr, physcially disconnect it from the computer and boot it up. Make sure the unit fully turns on and I can see a map and the geocaches. I also follow this procedure when loading custom KMZ maps. The key steps are 2 and 3 - I have made my unit unresponsive when 'overwriting' existing custom maps and GPX pocket query files. And I have seen reports that this has happened to others. It's not clear to me from your post if you are doing step 3 - booting the GPSr with NOTHING on it - after deleting the old PQ and before loading the new PQ. This is the key step for me. I never trust just 'seeing' the GPX files on the drive in Windows Explorer - I want to see the symbols on a map on the GPSr screen. Actually yesterday I transferred five PQ's and they wouldn't show up...even when I used my 'method' above. I had to go through my 'method' all over again to get them to appear. Who knows what happened. Probably something weird in the file transfer. But I caught it before leaving the house with step 7 (the GPX files appeared OK on the media in Windows Explorer, but there were no geocaches on the unit after booting it up - for whatever reason, the unit wasn't 'reading' the GPX files). My method takes more time - booting the GPSr at least twice makes it a cumbersome process. But worth it to avoid problems in the field. Also, storing the PQ files and the custom maps on the removable media means that if I do have a problem with the GPSr in the field, I can physically eject the media and run the GPSr with nothing on it. Not ideal, but better than no GPSr at all. Dave

Fantastic! Thanks for the screen shot - I assume that is an iPad? How did you get it to open in Google Earth - did you just strip out the KMZ file location URL and enter that into the search bar of Google Earth?

Your welcome. Thanks for the feedback. Yes, you made me think of a couple of solutions. Neither are overly complicated to do, but also not simple. And an automatic solution would require linking into the GC API (I think): 1) First solution gives you one KMZ file with the map and the geocaches: a: Convert the GPX pocket query into a KML b: Extract the KML from the map KMZ file c: Manually merge the KML (from the GPX with the geocaches) with the KML that was inside the KMZ d: Repack the new merged KML into the KMZ with the map image files e: put the new KMZ somewhere on a website / URL / server where it can be called from Google Maps. 2) Second solution might be slightly easier to execute: a: Convert the GPX to a KML and upload the KML to a website. b: Create a 'pointer' KML that has a link to the KML with the geocaches and a link to the KMZ map file(s). c: Upload the 'pointer' KML file to a website / URL / server where it can be called from Google Maps. This second solution is somewhat elegant because once you have the pointer KML built, you don't need to change it - and you can change the geocache KML anytime you want, and as long as it keeps the same file name, you can use the same URL that calls the pointer KML. Putting the geocache data on a public website PROBABLY violates the GC TOS, since you are republishing the cache information. I'm not sure if putting the geocache data on a server that only you have access to would violate the TOS. So I'm not recommending or suggesting these solutions, I'm simply just brainstorming technical approaches. Anyway, this is slightly off the original intent of this post, which was to describe the use of KMZ maps on mobile devices. Anybody have an Android? Dave

I spend way too much time tinkering with KMZ maps. I recently discovered that KMZ maps can be displayed on an iPhone - specifically, I tested it with an iPhone 5. The trick is that Google Maps accepts KMZ files as a linked qualifier to a Google Maps URL. And the Google Maps display on an iPhone will properly interpret that URL and pull in the KMZ map (but only via the 'website' version of Google Maps - not the Google Maps app). Direct links for your iPhone (or computer or any device, I think): Google maps version: https://maps.google....maps/peaked.kml Gmap4 version: http://www.mappingsu...maps/peaked.kml Those are the KMZ files for "Peaked Mountain" in Monson, MA. Details here: http://www.gpsfilede.../maps/view/651/ Technical details on my KMZ experimenting are here (excuse the cross post): http://forums.gpsfil...pic,3197.0.html I'm looking for suggestions / feedback / thoughts, especially with someone trying to navigate trails using KMZ maps on a iPhone in the field. I'm guessing the Google Maps KMZ implementation will work on an Android or an iPod, but I don't have any way to know since I don't have an Android, iPad, or an iPhone. So tell me what your favorite hiking place is that has a good trail map, and I will convert the trail map to a KMZ file and post it for you to play with. Or better yet, choose a place where I have already made a KMZ map, and I'll convert that KMZ map to the Google Maps / iPhone compatible version. Here is my collection so far: http://www.gpsfilede...s/byuser/13384/ (Just my luck that I just (2 days ago!) went to a 'caching event at Peaked Mountain! If I had my act together, I would have discovered this trick BEFORE the event so I could have recruited some beta testers at the event! Oh well.) I can't think of any way to overlay geocache locations on the KMZ map displayed on Google Maps on any device. I'm open to ideas... Dave

Fascinating! I don't doubt your values, but what is your source? How do you know? What is the draw priority of the 100K topo? I have created ~75 KMZ custom maps, all with a draw priority of between 25 and 45. I knew to stay below 50, but it was just luck I stayed above 18. However, it should be noted that (at least on my Garmin GPSMAP 78sc) the 24K topo displays on top of my KMZ custom maps. See any of the screen shots on any of maps at the link in my sig. What's going on if the 24K topo has a draw priority of 18?

The forums on gpsfiledepot.com have a number of contributors who may be able to help. You may even be able to find an answer to your question on an existing thread.

Ahh! What happened there? And why don't I have a way to edit that post? Anyway, what I was trying to say was: Here is a post I made about free KMZ maps: ______________ Goofing around on forums reading about custom maps, and I reverse engineered a link and was surprised to see this folder allows listing of contents: http://www.garmindev...rminCustomMaps/ You can download all of the KMZ files that Garmin has created directly from that link. I checked out a couple and they are pretty nice. It is much easier to go directly to that link / folder than drill through all the forum postings in the forum below to find the same maps... https://forums.garmi...splay.php?f=206 Perhaps this isn't the biggest hack in the world, and perhaps it has been discussed before, but perhaps someone will find it handy... ___________________ Here is a great way to get a very good, very detailed, free street / trail map of the entire United States, again repeating another post I made somewhere else: ___________________________ I was looking at an area with a lot of trails but no PDF/JPG or any kind of trail map that I could find anywhere to use to make a KMZ (custom map). The trails I wanted are on http://openstreetmap.org, so I started poking around to see if there was a way to get those onto my GPSr. The solution was amazing: 1) go to http://www.osmmaps.com/ 2) download the IMG / zip file - took 3 hours, so I let it run overnight 3) Unzip the IMG file - for me, the US file was / is 3.5 GB (yes, gigabytes) 4) rename the IMG file (since my Garmin GPS supports multiple IMG files) 5) copy the IMG file to the "\garmin" folder on the SD card in my GPS 6) "Enable" the OSM map on the GPS 7) At this point, I couldn't see the trails on my GPSr that I could see on the openstreetmap.org website. I figured I was out of luck...but... So this step may only apply to my GPS (GPSMAP 62/78 series), but perhaps there are similar steps for other Garmin GPSr: go to SETUP MAP, ADVANCED MAP SETUP, DETAIL, select MOST, and bingo! I now have the entire US version of openstreetmap.org on my GPSr, including all the trails you can see on that website. Absolutely amazing. Caveats: I have read that the OSM map is a snapshot from ~2006 census data files, and there are some known inaccuracies in the data, especially in the Western US. OSM seems to be fine for me here in the NE, but buyer beware. This IMG file is not transparent, so I can't see any other IMG files at the same time. I received directions on how to make it transparent, but I haven't yet. This IMG file has no topo contours (and since it isn't transparent, I can't see the contours from my other IMG file, even with both of them enabled). This IMG file is not a routable map. ________________________________ The only way that I found to test out maps was to download them and try them out on the GPSr. For me, here in New England, I eventually decided to pay the $$ for the Garmin 24K Topo Series, and I'm happy with my decision. And I tried a LOT of free maps before that, most of them from gpsfiledepot. Regards Dave

there are lots of free maps on http://www.gpsfiledepot.com. In particular, Ohio maps are here: http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/state/oh see also this post: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=301561 here is a good thread: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=301820 and here is my detailed standard reply to the "what maps should I get" question: _____________________ Goofing around on forums reading about custom maps, and I reverse engineered a link and was surprised to see this folder allows listing of contents:<br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;"><br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;">http://www.garmindev...rminCustomMaps/<br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;"><br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;">You can download all of the KMZ files that Garmin has created directly from that link. I checked out a couple and they are pretty nice.<br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;"><br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;">It is much easier to go directly to that link / folder than drill through all the forum postings in the forum below to find the same maps...<br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;">https://forums.garmi...splay.php?f=206<br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;"><br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;">Perhaps this isn't the biggest hack in the world, and perhaps it has been discussed before, but perhaps someone will find it handy...<br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;">___________________<br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;"><br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;">Here is a great way to get a very good, very detailed, free street / trail map of the entire United States, again repeating another post I made somewhere else:<br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;">___________________________<br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;">I was looking at an area with a lot of trails but no PDF/JPG or any kind of trail map that I could find anywhere to use to make a KMZ (custom map). The trails I wanted are on http://openstreetmap.org, so I started poking around to see if there was a way to get those onto my GPSr. The solution was amazing:<br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;"><br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;">1) go to http://www.osmmaps.com/<br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;">2) download the IMG / zip file - took 3 hours, so I let it run overnight<br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;">3) Unzip the IMG file - for me, the US file was / is 3.5 GB (yes, gigabytes)<br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;">4) rename the IMG file (since my Garmin GPS supports multiple IMG files)<br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;">5) copy the IMG file to the "\garmin" folder on the SD card in my GPS<br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;">6) "Enable" the OSM map on the GPS<br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;">7) At this point, I couldn't see the trails on my GPSr that I could see on the openstreetmap.org website. I figured I was out of luck...but... So this step may only apply to my GPS (GPSMAP 62/78 series), but perhaps there are similar steps for other Garmin GPSr: go to SETUP MAP, ADVANCED MAP SETUP, DETAIL, select MOST, and bingo! I now have the entire US version of openstreetmap.org on my GPSr, including all the trails you can see on that website. Absolutely amazing.<br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;"><br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;">Caveats:<br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;">I have read that the OSM map is a snapshot from ~2006 census data files, and there are some known inaccuracies in the data, especially in the Western US. OSM seems to be fine for me here in the NE, but buyer beware.<br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;">This IMG file is not transparent, so I can't see any other IMG files at the same time. I received directions on how to make it transparent, but I haven't yet.<br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;">This IMG file has no topo contours (and since it isn't transparent, I can't see the contours from my other IMG file, even with both of them enabled).<br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;">This IMG file is not a routable map.<br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;">________________________________<br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;"><br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;">The only way that I found to test out maps was to download them and try them out on the GPSr. For me, here in New England, I eventually decided to pay the $$ for the Garmin 24K Topo Series, and I'm happy with my decision. And I tried a LOT of free maps before that, most of them from gpsfiledepot.<br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;"><br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;">Regards<br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;"><br style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2; font-size: medium;">Dave

it's five minutes, but worth it: But it should be noted - you have to load the geocaches onto the Oregon in order for them to show up. You can use a Pocket Query or manually load them, but it is not automatic. Once they are loaded onto the device, they will display. So the short answer to your last question is yes. But the caveat is that you must have already loaded the geocaches in the area onto the device.

same problem for me in Chrome and IE, with both leaflet and google maps. temporary work-around mentioned above works for me: zoom out so that you can't see smileys from your finds - all the caches show up as green boxes. Then they are fully functional and clickable.

78sc for $350 with free shipping: http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=11151&partNumber=11553609&langId=-1

I'm confused. Are you suggesting you have a KMZ file with a single tile, 32 MB in size, that works on a 62s? I don't think that is possible. Or does your 32 MB KMZ have multiple tiles? That would be fine. As stated by Garmin, for all their KMZ-compatible devices, they only support tiles that are 1 MB in dimensions. That usaully means one JPG that is 1024 by 1024 pixels (although it could be any combination - you could do 2048 x 512 pixels or some other combination that multiplies out to 1,048,576 pixels). You can create a KMZ file that has multiple tiles, where each tile is limited to 1 MB. And the number of tiles in the KMZ is only limited by the number of tiles supported by the device (100 tiles for most GPSr, 500 for the Montana series). Reference: https://support.garmin.com/support/searchSupport/case.faces?caseId=%7B9eb27dc0-6377-11df-f5aa-000000000000%7D Note: Garmin says that images larger than 1024 x 1024 are 'rendered at reduced resolution.' As far as I can tell, this is incorrect - they are not rendered at all. There are various threads that support this finding. To the original poster: the bottom line for you is that yes, your 62 sq. mile KMZ will work fine, as long as the image is less than 1024 by 1024 pixels. And since you are stating that the KMZ file size is 123 Kb, it must be less than 1 MB, since the zip-based compression of a KMZ file isn't good enough to get a 1 MB file down to 123 Kb. So it looks like you're good to go. As the astute reader will realize, the restriction on a 1 MB JPG image with no limit on the actual area covered means that the pixels per mile (or foot, or meter, or whatever) is completely variable when creating KMZ files. This, along with the native resolution of the original image you are using to create the KMZ means that there is NO WAY to predict what will look good when converted to 1024 x 1024 pixel tiles for a KMZ. For a good example, see the bottom of this page, where I have an example of one map with two different 'number of tiles.' http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/view/574/ I have some KMZ maps that cover thousands of acres with one tile and look fine. And some cover barely a few hundred acres but need to be broken up into multiple tiles to retain adequate / readable resolution. Regards Dave

You might also want to post in the forums on gpsfiledepot.com. What operating system are you using? Windows 7 (64 bit) has been known to cause problems with BaseCamp. See this discussion: http://forums.gpsfiledepot.com/index.php?topic=2320.0 Correct, the "My Trails" map <http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/view/53> is only a collection of trails - no other map 'features' - just an overlay of the trails. Sounds like you are on the right track though! Keep at it - Garmin units are not super-intuitive, but they are very powerful. Dave

what firmware version are you running?

Go to SETUP - SYSTEM - GPS - DEMO MODE Now you can hit the FIND button and enter the coordinates. After you hit DONE, when you are in DEMO MODE, it gives you this dialog: "Do you want to simulate driving this route?" with the possible answers: YES, NO, MOVE TO LOCATION. Select MOVE TO LOCATION and you problem is solved. (this is the same method I use to produce screen shots for all my maps posted on gpsfiledepot.com. If I had to actually go to all those places just to get screen shots, I'd be pretty busy!)

Your post reminded me...we used the new 4.60 for a full day. Did a multi, an EarthCache, and a couple of traditionals. We had no problems, although I was only using the Geocaching - Detail dashboard and I didn't try the standard Geocaching dashboard. Dave