Way Points For Lowrance Ifinder

[tdiller]

Found a cool way to download geocaching locations to my iFinder GPS.

 

Things you need:

 

1. gpsbabel (free download)

2. GDM6 from lowrance (free download from lowrance)

 

How to get geocach listings into your iFinder

1. Check all caches you want to download from geocaching site. Download them to your system.

2. Using gpsbabel convert them from geocaching.loc files to comma delimited files.

3. Using GDM6 from Lowrance import GPS data select imprt waypoint list.

4. the waypoints will show up on the GDM6 map

5. select save gps data file (file is saved as filename .usr file)

6. copy filename .usr to memory card and insert in your iFinder GPS

[+user13371]

Found a cool way to download geocaching locations to my iFinder GPS.

 

It would be even cooler if...

 

GPSBabel could read/write Lowrance's USR format directly

- or -

GDM6 could import for .LOC and .GPX files.

 

I wrote a quick & dirty program in RealBasic on the Mac to do it in one step (reads LOC files, writes USR files) but it's not good enough for a public release - and the number of Mac+iFinder users is pretty small. So I just fiddle with it when I have time.

[tdiller]

I am just getting into this stuff and have not yet looked at the format for .usr files. I also spend my days writing code and would rather not do that for a leisure time activity. If I can find tools that do the job for me that are already in existance why re-invent the wheel? Granted a direct import would be nice but the time it takes to do this is really minimal. I'd rather be out looking for treasure

[+sbur6]

I used the methods listed above at it worked great although it WOULD be nice if it was integrated into one tool.

 

I got my Navionics chip ordered for my H2O today and I have orderend my MapCreate as well. The H2O should be in the mail in the next couple of days as well as my 128 MB SD card. I miss my SporTrak but I am hoping that the H2O will make that go away.

 

I have been playing with the tricks and utilities mentioned on the site using the H2O simulator and its pretty cool. How accurate are the maps when your driving down the road? That was one thing I hated about the SporTrak. It was WAY off a lot fo the time in North Texas using the Streets and Destinations. It seemed to be more accurate in other places.

 

ScottB

[+user13371]

How accurate are the maps when your driving down the road? ...[T]he SporTrak. It was WAY off a lot  of the time in North Texas using the Streets and Destinations. It seemed to be more accurate in other places.

My first impression of MapCreate was that is was much better with "on-the-road" accuracy than MapSend. Now I'm not so sure - I've driven through some of my favorite "test zones" (places where i knew the Magellan would be way off) and gotten mixed results.

 

I'd still say MapCreate is somewhat better - but it's going to depend a lot on where you are (as you noted, N. Texas vs other places). I believe both M's MapSend and L's MapCreate are built mostly from the same Tiger line data, so the map quality should be pretty similar.

 

Where L beats M on this score is in the ability to select/build custom maps. M allows you to turn POI's on or off - L lets you be very specific on POI categories. M limits you to 4 rectangular regions with a maximum size of 64 meg - L lets you create maps of arbitrary shape regions, only limited in size by the amount of memory you have avaiable.

 

And once the maps are on the GPS? Though you can load multiple map files on a memory card in some Magellan models, you can only have one active at a time. Leave that maps active coverage area, and you have to use menu commands to select a different map. On the iFinder, if a map is loaded on the card it's available, seamlessly.

 

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Maybe this is off-topic, but I'll mention it herte while it's on my mind... The very BEST mapping data I've found in any consumer grade mapping/routing program is (oddly enough) packaged in one of the WORST programs I've ever used. Route 66/USA uses very up to date maps from TeleAtlas. And it's available for both Mac and PC! But the program itself has such a terrible user interface and so many bugs that I can't recommend it to anyone. I'm writing a product review now for http://www.applereport.com - and believe me it's much harder to write a BAD review than a good one