dr.bob Posted February 12, 2003 Share Posted February 12, 2003 Ever since GPX files have come out, I've had a problem transfering Waypoints to my GPSr. I am using the latest beta version 121b2 of ExpertGPS, and a Magellan Meridian GPS. The specific problem is this: Unlike the .loc files, the .gpx files have the "Symbol" field blank; the .loc files gave it a value of "Default". If this field is not blank (as with the .loc file), it will download into my Magellan Meridian just fine. However, with a blank "symbol" field, the download fails. I can manually change the symbol field to 'default' for each waypoint, and then download to my GPSr, but that becomes quite tedious. Is there some other way to get around this, or can the .gpx files be set to have the 'symbol' field non-blank? [This message was edited by dr.bob on February 12, 2003 at 01:15 PM.] Link to comment
dboggny Posted February 12, 2003 Share Posted February 12, 2003 if you want to use gpsbabel, a card reader and your sd card there is an easier way. use gpsbabel to convert the .gpx to magellan protocol. then just copy that to the card and put the card into the unit. use card utilities to copy the waypoints from the card to the unit. SR and dboggny. Link to comment
+parkrrrr Posted February 12, 2003 Share Posted February 12, 2003 If you don't want to do it that way, though, GPSBabel also supports using a serial cable. Link to comment
+Stunod Posted February 12, 2003 Share Posted February 12, 2003 Or use Spinner to change your symbols to whatever you like to use (i.e. "Default" or "Large City"), and upload the "spun" GPX using ExpertGPS "Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand." Link to comment
+embra Posted February 12, 2003 Share Posted February 12, 2003 Since Spinner gives you some nice Garmin icons, I don't think it helps much with Magellans. Correct me if I'm wrong on this, but I could only get default icons going Spinner-->ExpertGPS-->Meridian. Of course, getting default icons in there would take care of dr. bob's problem. Robert Lipe is cooking some stuff up for GPSBabel to generate some Magellan-specific icons from GPX files. I'm staying tuned for *that*! Max Often wrong but seldom in doubt Link to comment
+Lil Devil Posted February 12, 2003 Share Posted February 12, 2003 You can specify in Spinner whatever icons you want. The defaults are for Garmin, because I only have a Garmin, and couldn't test with a Magellan. But with a little experimentation, you should be able to come up with a good set of icons to use for your unit. A word of caution, however. Spinner uses cookies to store your icons and other settings. I've recently discovered that there is actually a cookie specification that states that browsers should only store 20 cookies per site. Spinner will try to store up to 30 so some may get lost each time. I plan to fix it this weekend, but keep this in mind in the meantime. Lil Devil Link to comment
dr.bob Posted February 12, 2003 Author Share Posted February 12, 2003 I guess I was looking for an answer that did not involve using more outside programs. The basic problem I'm describing is an incompatabilty between .gpx files from geocaching.com and ExpertGPS: the .gpx files define 'symbols' that are not accepted by ExpertGPS. This incompatability doesn't show up until I download waypoints to my GPSr, but the issue is between those two entities. I thought that geocaching.com and ExpertGPS have cooperated in formulating compatable files, but in this instance, they are not compatable. I believe that this issue would best be solved by either geocaching.com or ExpertGPS changing their file/program, and not by having to involve 3rd party conversion programs. Link to comment
+alexm Posted February 12, 2003 Share Posted February 12, 2003 quote:The basic problem I'm describing is an incompatabilty between .gpx files from geocaching.com and ExpertGPS: the .gpx files define 'symbols' that are not accepted by ExpertGPS. This incompatability doesn't show up until I download waypoints to my GPSr, but the issue is between those two entities. So when you open a GPX in ExpertGPS, the symbol column is *blank* or does it say "Geocache / Geocache Found"? I just cranked up ExpertGPS 1.2.1b2 (after a couple of unsuccessful tries with 1.2), and it seems to load waypoints onto my Meridian Gold just fine. I seem to remember there being a similar problem with Easy/ExpertGPS mentioned a while back, but I'm pretty sure the latest beta fixed it. You may want to make absolutely sure you're running the latest version. Have you mentioned this to Topografix? They're generally super with customer support... ... alex Link to comment
+Stunod Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 Lil Devil, Thanks for the update on the cookie problem with Spinner...that was getting annoying. Looking forward to your improved version. "Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand." Link to comment
+embra Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 Something seems amiss on your end, dr. bob...I loaded my pocket query gpx file into ExpertGPS and I had a "Geocache" in all symbol fields. My Magellan does not accept this particular [Garmin] symbol, but ExpertGPS 1.2.1b2 substitutes the default symbol, and the upload works. You may want to open your gpx file in a text editor and see if there is something very much like "Geocache" in each record. I can't think why your pocket query gpx files would be different from ours. L'il Devil...I typed in the names of some of my magellan icons into Spinner and most of them worked! That's cool; I didn't know that was how to do it. One of them didn't seem to take, but I'll play with it a little. Max Often wrong but seldom in doubt Link to comment
+Stunod Posted February 14, 2003 Share Posted February 14, 2003 quote:Originally posted by embra:Something seems amiss on your end, dr. bob...I loaded my pocket query gpx file into ExpertGPS and I had a "Geocache" in all symbol fields. My Magellan does not accept this particular [Garmin] symbol, but ExpertGPS 1.2.1b2 substitutes the default symbol, and the upload works. Easy & ExpertGPS always gave me errors during the upload to my Meridian if I left the "Geocache" symbol...it didn't change it to the default symbol. That's why I used Spinner to change it. Maybe I need the latest version on ExpertGPS...I'll try the Beta this evening. "Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand." Link to comment
+Stunod Posted February 14, 2003 Share Posted February 14, 2003 Yup...that was the problem...upgraded to the beta version and no errors on upload. ExpertGPS substituted "Default" for "Geocache" during the upload (ExpertGPS still shows "Geocache" as the symbol, but the Meridian got "Default"). "Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand." Link to comment
topografix Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 Sorry about that - this has been fixed in the beta. Thanks to the geocachers who reported the problem! -- Dan Foster TopoGrafix: GPS Software, Waypoints, and Maps http://www.topografix.com/ Link to comment
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