Track loading query.

[gallet]

Is there some way to do this, maybe via mapsource or another app.

 

I'm mapping out an area with unmapped labyrinthine tracks. What I want to do is load a saved track and have it stay on the screen so that I can see my current track with it at the same time. So far when I load the track I'm in the special scroll mode when I click the map page my loaded track is there but there's still the white pointing arrow on the screen and it's not registering the current track. If I page through to the map page again the saved track is gone and the current one is back.

[Motorcycle_Mama]

What GPS unit?

[gallet]

It's an HCx

[+ergomaniac]

From your initial post I'm not actually sure I understand what you are trying to do but I'll make my best stab at an answer...

 

I always add new tracks to saved tracks. I prep the new tracks in Mapsource by cutting them up, reducing the size to 500 points and I color them to something that is significant to me (and different than my active track will be). When I want to combine the new with the old I open the old set in one instance of Mapsource and open the new tracks in another instance of Mapsource and just copy and paste the new set into the Mapsource window that has my old saved tracks loaded into it (Select All/Copy/Paste). Then I upload the works to the GPS.

 

Am I even close to understanding your problem or did I totally misunderstand the question?

[gallet]

ergo, I'm not sure you understand my problem but I think you've solved it anyway. I'm not familar with mapsource as I only use it to load maps as I'm on a mac and it's difficult for me to get to a Windoze PC.

 

What I'm doing is that I'm walking around all the myriad paths, many of which are loops. After walking around for a few hours, I'll save the track. What I was hoping to do on the unit without any other software stuff was to be able to load my saved track so I could see it on the map as if I had just walked it so that I can continue to walk all the trails without unnecessarily going over tracks I've already done. But when I load the track instead of being on a normal map page I'm in the mode where the coordinates show up at the top like when you move the cursor when you are on a map page.

 

I guess an ideal solution would somehow to be able to load my saved track as a trasparent overlay on my topo map.

 

The final goal is to construct a scale map of all the trails and tracks. If you can suggest a good efficient way to do this, I'm all ears.

Edited March 24, 2008 by gallet

[+ergomaniac]

Now I understand your problem.

 

I don't generally save tracks on the GPS because they get reduced in size (quality) so I didn't follow what you were trying to do. I think the only thing you have to do is check the "Show on Map" check box when you are saving the track and then select "OK" (not "Map") when you exit the track screen.

 

This will get rid of the coord display bar at the top (you will have to cycle back to the map screen) and all of your tracks will be displayed. Unfortunately, the map will be zoomed way out if the saved track was large but once you zoom in all is well (I think others have complained to Garmin about the change of zoom scale after you save).

[+Miragee]

I have done what you are trying to do . . . at least I think so, if I understand correctly. From Mapsource, I have sent a track to my GPS unit, a Vista HCx. If I am back in that area, I'll see that saved track, as well as the track I am setting down.

 

I never save Tracks to my GPS unit because I make a habit of downloading the Tracks and Waypoints from my GPSr after every "caching adventure." That way, I have the Track, and all its data, on my computer. I can edit portions of it later if I need to upload it to the GPS unit.

[gallet]

I don't generally save tracks on the GPS because they get reduced in size (quality) so I didn't follow what you were trying to do. I think the only thing you have to do is check the "Show on Map" check box when you are saving the track and then select "OK" (not "Map") when you exit the track screen.

 

<slaps head> doh. I thought I'd explored every possible option on every menu page but I never saw that little checkbox. That will do for what I need, thanks.

 

@Miragee, If I had better access to a Windoze PC I'd use the Mapsource route which would be nice because I could get some elevation data but this will do.