BaseCamp route transfer issue with SmartDrive 61

[chippehawk]

I created a GPX file from a Mapquest route and imported it into BaseCamp. I then transferred the GPX file from BaseCamp to my Garmin DriveSmart 61 GPS. When I turn on the GPS how do I access the route that I just transferred? The new route doesn't appear when I turn on the device or when opening the Trip Planner App. The GPX file does appear within the GPX folder in the GPS's internal memory so I know the file transfer was successful. Thanks for your help in accessing this new route on my device.

 

[Nuvi-Nebie]

I think you may have sent the Route (or is it a Track?), to the wrong area on your SmartDrive61, have a look at this thread :-

https://www.gps-forums.com/threads/zumo-595-external-sd-card.47237/

Also Note that Routes and Tracks are stored in different areas on your satnav

 

[chippehawk]

Hello Nuvi-Nebie,
I've had partial success. I am able to import a route from Google Maps into BaseCamp. I am now able to import the route into Trip Planner. But the route in Trip Planner is displayed as a set of Lat/Long points instead of intermediate destination addresses that I normally see when creating a route internally by Trip Planner.

Is there a setting or some other configuration within BaseCamp I need to set before sending the route to my DriveSmart 61 device so the imported map within Trip Planner shows up as a list of destination addresses instead of a list of Lat/Long points?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Nuvi-Nebie]

Basecamp produces Routes and Tracks, they are not the same thing, both Routes and Tracks are made up from Lat/Long waypoints BUT there are differencies in how you move from one waypoint to the other, with a Track the jump from one waypoint to the next is always a straight line so if you want a curve you need lots of waypoints close together. With a Route you get from one waypoint to the next by following a road, path or other map feature NOT a straight line, so with a Route you could have just two waypoints a hundred miles apart and the satnav will calculate all the twist and turns for you, with a Track you would need many waypoints to show every change of direction.

Take a look at the Routes and Track links in my post #2 above, it is all explained on that page, if the Route is generated in Basecamp rather than being imported into Basecamp then the program can pick up names from it's map and attach them to waypounts, see link below :-
https://www.gps-forums.com/threads/garmin-routes.46540/#post-226622

 

[chippehawk]

Nuvi-Nebie,
Thanks for the clarification about Tracks and Routes made up as a collection of Lat/Long waypoints in BaseCamp.

I am now able to successfully create a tailored map within Google Maps, create a .GPX file with the "Maps to GPX" tool, import the file into BaseCamp, examine the resulting Track file, edit it if necessary, create a "Route" from the Track that I can then send to my DriveSmart 61 which is automatically downloaded into my Trip Planner trips. When I examine the resulting Trip I notice that the route is composed of the same number of Lat/Long waypoints created in the BaseCamp route and the Step-by-Step instructions faithfully follows the original tailored Google Maps route.

I am very happy I can finally do this as I was having trouble trying to create a custom route directly using the shaping option with Trip Planner itself. Sometimes I would have no problem touching the screen over a specific road on the map and adding it as an intermediate point to shape my trip. But more often I would touch a road on the map and get a message like "Invalid Location" which is clearly not correct. The whole process was a bit cumbersome anyway by always having to drill in enlarging the Trip Planner map to find a specific road I wanted to travel on only to get that annoying error message when I touched it. Now I can do all the customizing within Google Maps which is quite easy by just dragging the track onto a specific route then creating the appropriate .GPX file.

 

[Nuvi-Nebie]

You could generate the Route from scratch in Basecamp without using Google maps, this has the advantage of using exactly the same map in Basecamp as you have in your SmartDrive61, if different maps are used you can get unpredictable results because for example Google maps may have a road that isn't on the satnav map, so it can't be used, give it a try

Basecamp will copy any maps it finds on the satnav so that they can be used when the satnav isn't connected to your computer

 

[chippehawk]

Yes, I will try this. I do use the installed maps on my GPS when I connect my device to the computer and use the BaseCamp software to examine and possibly edit the Track file created by importing the .GPX file from Google Maps. I did not know that BaseCamp was able to copy and save my Garmin Maps and access them without connecting the GPS to the computer. Not sure how to do this yet but will look into it. Thanks for the suggestion.

But I do need to connect the GPS eventually to transfer the Route from BaseCamp into my Trip Planner trips.

 

[Nuvi-Nebie]

Not sure how to do this yet but will look into it.

The map copy from satnav to computer is usually automatic, you will see the satnav map appear in the Bascamp >> Maps menu, when it is there you won't need to connect the satnav next time in order to use the map

 

[chippehawk]

My GPS installed maps only appear within BaseCamp when I connect the GPS to the computer. When I open BaseCamp without the GPS connected only the "Global Map" inherent to the BaseCamp software is available in the Maps menu. I don't know how to save my GPS maps into BaseCamp to select when the GPS is not connected to the computer. Still, this is not a major inconvenience to using the BaseCamp software as I still need to connect the device to export my BaseCamp routes to Trip Planner.

 

[Nuvi-Nebie]

When I update the maps on my satnav using Garmin Express there are 3 options, send to device, send to computer, or both, I usually select 'send to computer' because it sometimes fails to write to the satnav diectly, the map is stored on the computer and Basecamp can 'see' it, I then use Map Manager in Basecamp to send a copy of the map to the satnav

 

[chippehawk]

I, usually, just connect my GPS to an AC outlet and check for Software and Map updates when I turn on my devive through my wifi connection. I have also used Garmin Express to upload new Software and Maps but only to my GPS and not to my computer. I can see where your method would allow BaseCamp to access my Garmin Maps through my computer without connecting the GPS.