Getting long distance routes into a Vista HCx

[dgjessee]

I'm doing the 2200 mile Transcontinental Race in August. For all previous routes/races the Vista has been perfect, but there are 64000 track points in the Europe route I've made. Even trimming them down by 70% and splitting I'll still exceed the 20x500 track limitation of the Vista. It seems like the only options are to either take multiple SD cards or buy a new eTrex 20/30. Really don't want to spend the money on a new one since the Vista is so damn good....also don't want to risk losing SD cards either though. So does anyone know if I'm missing some alternative for getting the route onto the Vista?

[AZTtripper]

I don't think more cards will do you any good. The 20x500 part of the memory is built in to the unit. The card is for your detailed base maps and recording your daily tracking. I don't know that much about how it all works but mine quite saving rides before the card was actually full.

What mapping program are you using, with Topofusion I just reduce a track to 20,000 and go from there. Sounds like you have a big file on your hands and the more you reduce it the less detail you'll get. I do think Topofusion has a way of taking most of the points out of the straighter sections so you don't loose as much in more twisting section, not sure on that.

Cycling is not rocket science that's a great quote you have there. GPS is not rocket science either, well it sort of is, but getting the track loaded has been considered the crux of some of these races.

Thinking about it 2200 miles is less then the TDR so there's no reason you shouldn't be able to get it down to a size that fits and still have a useful track.

hope that helps

Tim

[dgjessee]

Thanks Tim. I was really just trying to confirm that I may need a new unit. The thing about this route is that there is no set "route" so I feel like I need more detail than I might off road (sounds backwards, just thinking about crazy turns in medieval towns). Also I use a Mac so no-go on Topofusion.

[AZTtripper]

I can totally see a congested city being harder to navigate then a dirt route where options are fewer.

I have an older unit as well, but have considered upgrading at some point. The last one lasted thru several long trips and then started having issues then croaked.

Maybe best just to start out with a new unit for such a big trip.

Best of luck.

[mathieu]

I struggled withe the limitations of the Vista HCx too. I am so glad that I bought an Etrex 30. No size problems, much better visibility in daylight, more user-friendly operation. I guess also longer battery life.

[Iowagriz]

So anyone have tips on my Vista HCx for loading about 400mile of the TD into it?

I downloaded the full TD file (Banff to Antelope Wells) and then used the Garmin software (if I remember correctly) to chop the length down to the section that I needed.  It appeared fine on my PC, but after loading it to the Garmin, it chopped the file further.  I'm assuming that it couldn't handle the number of waypoints.  

I must be missing a piece of the process to correctly chop the file down.  For instance: I just need from Eureka to Helena.  When I finished, it had that section, but the track appeared to stop near Bigfork or Swan Lake.

Thoughts on a fix?

Is the answer as simple as chopping this into two smaller files?

[sfuller]

Might be easier to just take the cues you've built, and generate a GPX file on a site like Bikely. Chop each track up into whatever mileage you are planning on doing per day. I'd guess that you might have someone else going with you that will have all of this figured out.

[dgjessee]

I was able to take my 2200 mile track and use Basecamp to filter it down to <10,000 points (the max track total between 20 tracks of 500 pts) it only cut about 10 miles off the total distance of the route so honestly I think it's going to do just fine. Trying to avoid buying a new eTrex because a) Mine works great, and b) I'm pretty sure the etrex is going to be redesigned next year.

[Iowagriz]

Might be easier to just take the cues you've built, and generate a GPX file on a site like Bikely. Chop each track up into whatever mileage you are planning on doing per day. I'd guess that you might have someone else going with you that will have all of this figured out.

I'm more worried that you'll get into your "zen" and leave me to the bears   without a track of my own, I'll be relying on the breadcrumbs that you leave on the trail to guide me.

[dgjessee]

Uh, what?


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[Iowagriz]

dgjessee - Fuller and I are doing TDR from Eureka to Ovanda at the end of July, that was just friendly banter regarding his fitness relative to mine and how he will drop me and leave me for dead (unless I get my own track).

But, thanks for the tips on cutting the track down into manageable track points.  I figured that must be the issue.  Any idea how many track points the HCx can handle in one file?  I was surprised that it couldn't handle the approximate 250miles.  But, I probably messed up in trying to cut my track down (user error).

[dgjessee]

The HCx can only handle 500 points in each track with a total track limit of 20 (so 10,000 points). Try splitting your tracks into chunks of 500 pts first before filtering. Last year I was able to load the entire Highland Trail Race (then 450 miles) in 4 tracks. I set the tracks to "always show" on map and as far as I could tell from the map screen, I had "one" track.

[DesertDog]

Ok, forget all the BS everyone is telling you about it not being able to be done.

What you need to do is download GPX2IMG.

http://www.gpx2img.com

Put your tracks into the program, let it create a file to add to MapSource (and given you are using a Vista, I assume you use MapSource and not BaseCamp), then transfer that whole 'overlay' map/file to your GPS unit, along with the other topos you may need that cover the route.

If you need to do it, you do know how to 'batch' upload multiple maps to your gps, right?

Also, you do know that there is an option to save your track file to the SD card and put virtually unlimited data points to the card and not have to worry about the 'snaking' nature of the track log 10k limit when you save at the end of the day.  I've got more than a years worth of 2 second plot intervals on the card, plus my current topos and overlays and I don't use but a fraction of the 2Gig total on the card.

Creating overlay files is the way to go!

[dgjessee]

Thanks DesertDog, I didn't know about that option! I use MapInstall to get images into my Vista so not sure that will work but worth a try! As for your comments about saving to the SD card, I do save it to the SD card and end up with oodles of 'activity_30062014' files.

On a side note...borrowed a friend's eTrex 30 and I am NOT impressed by the speed. Not sure if it's the particular unit, or if the processor really is that bad on the 30. Can't believe how well the Vista HCx was engineered back in the day

[dgjessee]

Wimp womp, gpx2img is only for PC

[mathieu]

On a side note...borrowed a friend's eTrex 30 and I am NOT impressed by the speed.

Do you mean the speed by which your current position is adjusted on the local map? I didn't notice any hickups at 20-30 km/h at a map scale unit of 500m. If so, I can't imagine that it is relevant for the Transcontinental Race.

[DesertDog]

Wimp womp, gpx2img is only for PC

Oh, you use one of Those computers, eh?

My suggestion:

Go out on Craigslist and find someone selling an 'obsolete' PC laptop for $50 that has and runs Windows XP like a champ.  Then, install everything you need and use that machine as a dedicated GPS workstation.



Those activity tracks are all of your track log files.  One will get created each time you turn on the gps unit and each time you reset/clear your log file/trip computer.  So, for each daily file on the SD card, there will be one or more activity tracks within that file.  I like to use EasyGPS to go in and clean out all the garbage tracks before renaming and saving the file with my actual 'activity' data.  It's also a good program to open and save files to fix header info that keeps the file from loading in Mapsource, Topofusion, Google Earth,etc...  Totally different thing, but maybe it helps someone else reading through this thread?