60cx Tracks - What Are Active Logs?

[ntobroken]

As a way to learn about the many features of this GPSr I pick one and then try to use it in some way. The past couple of days I have been trying to figure out tracks and don't quite understand what is going on, I'll provide an example.....

 

Before going to work, I turn on the gps and clear out any existing saved tracks and clear the track memory. Then I turn track log on and drive to work. Once I arrive, I turn off the track log, save the track as "morning", and turn off the GPSr. In the afternoon when I drive home I turn the unit back on, turn on track log and drive home. Once home, I stop track log again and save the log as "afternoon".

 

Now when I view the Saved Tracks on the GPSr it appropriately shows just 2 entries "morning" & "afternoon" as the only saved tracks.

 

Here's where I could use some clarification..

 

When I upload the tracks into Mapsource I end up getting 4 entries instead of just the 2 that show on the GPSr, "morning", "afternoon #2", active log, & active log #2.

 

The active logs seem to be copies of the morning & afternoon tracks but with more complete data, like leg speed for each index point and also elapsed time and average speed. What are these logs and why can't I just have the extra data that they collect put into my named & saved tracks?

 

One more thing. I don't seem to remember having these logs prior to doing these 2 things:

1) I updated the software and firmware to the latest versions.

2) I configured my tracks to be stored on the SD memory card.

 

Thanks for any info.

[+Red90]

The "active" log stores all of the data including time and elevation. It goes up to 10000 points in internal memory. You can also save a second copy onto the card automatically of the active log with no limit on size. You do this by checking the box, "save to card". If you set the active log to "wrap when full", you will get a full, unfiltered copy of all of your travels on the card. The card versions do not transfer when you use Mapsource. Go to setup/interface and click on "usb mass transfer" and the card will show as a drive. The card tracklogs are GPX files in the root directory labelled with the dates. These can be copied and opened in Mapsource.

 

The "saved" logs are a maximum of 500 points. If you try and save a log that is longer, it automatically filters it down to 500 points. It also strips the time information. This is to save memory space.

Edited July 27, 2006 by Red90

[ntobroken]

Thank you Red90, that was very informative and it inspired me to test further.

 

I drove to work today and turned track logging on and off 3 times along the way. When I got home I imported my tracks using Mapsource and found that Active Log, Active Log2, and Active Log3 had been imported. These logs matched the 3 times that I turned on track logging.

 

Next, I went ito usb mode as you suggested and sure enough there was a 20060727.gpx file that I could transfer to the computer and import into Mapsource. When I did this I got Active Log081121, Active Log83514, and Active Log 172573. These 3 logs were mirror copies of the 3 Active Logs that I had imported using Mapsource.

 

So bottom line, It looks like you can not only import the active logs in USB mode, but you can also import the active logs directly with Mapsource as well.

 

Thanks again Red90 for your help explaining this feature!

Edited July 28, 2006 by ntobroken