Getting to grips with the Oregon 600 and offline maps

[DGG1941]

I have been trying for some time to get my Oregon 600 to mimic some of the attributes of the much loved Edge 800 that it replaced. In particular the ability to import a route into the Oregon without being asked if I wanted the calculation to "Minimise time, distance or elevation". Having spent some time plotting a precise route I don't want my GPS trying to help! And have also been looking for an offline map to work with my iPad on which I can show my planned route.

I'm by no means sure that what follows is the optimum approach so please comment if you have a better method.

1. I plan my route on RideWithGPS (I find it much more intuitive than Basecamp) and export it as a KML file.
2. Import the file into Basecamp and then plot a Route over the top of the imported route. Yes, I know this sounds crazy but I find BC so clunky and I like to be able to balance distance and elevation and make quick and simple changes as I plan a route.
3. Remove the shaping points to simplify the route and export it.
4. Import the file into JaVaWa RTWtool (free software that can convert most GPS related files) and, with the Garmin plugged in, "convert" (ie export) the file to the Garmin.
5. And finally, on my iPad, export the file from RideWithGPS and import it into Galileo. This is free mapping software which works offline provided you have downloaded the maps before you leave - and when the file has been downloaded from RWGPS the iPad offers the choice of importing directly into Galileo. And on a long trip this allows you to download individual days as separate files and show them in different colours so you can see where each day starts and stops.

Now on the Garmin I simply select the route, click on "Go" and it sets up the route as I originally planned. I have one of the panels on the Trip Computer window set as Automotive Turn which shows the type of turn at the next junction (an arrow pointing left, right etc), and I get a warning beep just before the turn. With this method the 600 is proving to be a fantastic GPS.

And I have at last discovered that my wifi-only iPad will tell me where I am if it can pick up nearby wifi connections. The Oregon is of course very precise in this respect, but being able to haul out the iPad and use the Galileo scaleable map on a large screen can be a great help.

As a philosophical aside, it is interesting how some of us get obsessed with all of this technology. In the old days a map and a simple how-far-have-I-travelled computer was all one had or seemed to need. But apart from the convenience of easy navigation, these things do help pass the time when grinding along long boring stretches of trail.

[DaveP]

A lot of the things you mention are beyond anything I have tried, No expert here!
However, I do find myself wanting to ask if you are familiar with the distinction between a route and a track? Humans can be confused by familiar words having very specific meanings in this context, but the devices will recognise them for what they are and behave accordingly.
A route is a set of instructions for getting from A to B, with, as I understand it, the possibility to include intermediate destinations or way points. Stick one in a GPS and it has to get creative to implement it. A track, by comparison, is a coloured squiggly line on the map, defined by a string of points kept in order by a time stamp for each point (I only discovered this detail recently!). If I load a prepared track into my GPSMap 62 it simply displays it.
I would never allow the device to use its routing function while I am the motive power - except for reaching a postcode in a strange city. That's where they come into their own - given a suitable map.

I don't understand why you transfer your work into Basecamp. Wouldn't it be simpler just to convert it direct?

[Vmlopes]

Plot your route in Strava and import directly to the Garmin as as a GPX, simplez

[DGG1941]

DaveP
Thanks for the Track/Route comments, and while a track does a reasonable job (the Oregon does not try to second guess your planned trip), it does not provide a meaningful Active Route - just a list of High and Low points one after. A route on the other hand shows comments like "Right on Shere Lane in 0.2 miles" and then prompts you prior to the turns. Not to say a track can't be used, it's just not as helpful as a route - which is what I had on the Edge 800.

and yes, it would be great to bypass the Basecamp step but I have (I think!) tried all of the variables of so doing but without success.

Vmlopes
Tried Strava - nice software but it gave a track rather than a route - see comments above. If you are able to get a route using Strava, without the Garmin second guessing you, please let me know!
Incidentally are you using the Oregon 600?

[MockCyclist]

Good grief that is a complex workflow.

I just created a short route in RideWithGPS. Which is a fairly complex routine in its own right compared to other mapping sites, but anyway ...

Asked RideWithGPS to give me a .GPX route file, which I just dumped in the "nav" folder on my Oregon 600.

That's it. Select the route on the Garmin and hit Go.

Don't even need BaseCamp.


For you iPad just do what you're doing now - export the very same route from RideWithGPS without all this tweaking.

[DGG1941]

Thanks MockCyclist but unless I have missed something, that doesn't move me forward unfortunately. The 600 still asks me if I want to minimise Time/Distance/Elevation, and as mentioned above this is what I have been trying to side step - I don't need Garmin's help on planing my route.
Also the Active Route list is full of "Via Point: Generic in 40ft" comments which is a bit messy.
You are of course right in saying that my workflow is complex but I have the time and the desire to get the 600 doing what I want!

[jamesgilbert]

In the old days a map and a simple how-far-have-I-travelled computer was all one had or seemed to need.

That's still all I have and need

[MockCyclist]

It sounds as though you may have Routing Activity on a navigation setting. It should be set to Direct Routing, which means - just send me in a direct line between the points I plot, and don't optimise or change my route.

The comments thing is messy I agree, they seem to vary according to which mapping site or software you use. You may be able to use WinGDB from http://www.sackman.info/ to convert routes to tracks and vice versa and maybe eliminate the comments. (I too spend a lot of time trying to make sure I get the result I'm expecting)

[dandru]

With my iPhone, I use the Co Rider app to import and transfer RideWithGps routes into my nav apps.

https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/co-ride ... 95358?mt=8

[DGG1941]

Yes, the Direct Routing Approach avoids the choice of minimising distance etc but then draws straight lines between the navigation points. I'll have to try that with a sensible number of points and see how it works on the road.