What every GPS needs

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What every GPS needs

Postby John Kirk » Mon Dec 28, 2009 11:11 pm

Waypoints are nice but have limitations (at least in Garmin): i.e. 500 max waypoints, max notes characters=30, max name length=10, disallowing same names, etc. :tongue:

There is a way around the lousy limitations of waypoints by loading custom Points of Interest.
Garmin POI loader

I will be building an interface that enables download of all summits in a state with option to select only unclimbed by a member, with custom elevation and prominence thresholds in a .csv file. Then loading a GPS ever again isn't necessary except to ensure data is the latest from the LoJ database or to exclude summits you've done since your last POI csv download from LoJ (or if you only selected a custom elevation range/prominence threshold). Requires compatibility (see link above to see if your model is compatible) and adequate internal memory/micro SD card. Other options on the GPS should be optimized for POIs instead of waypoints (such as point display zoom level - default is usually 300', but I prefer to see points on the GPS when zoomed out a lot further (12 miles)). I will post again once the interface is up, and I'll create a help/support document.

This will be free to members who have donated $20 or more in a rolling 365 day period.

Here is a sample of what you can get from the CSV LoJ files:
POIs on the GPS:
IMG_2938.JPG

POI detail upon clicking:
IMG_2935.JPG



The CSV file used in the sample above:
topo.csv
(508 Bytes) Downloaded 764 times
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Re: What every GPS needs

Postby DSunwall » Mon Jan 04, 2010 12:19 pm

I'll be looking forward to this, better check my donation date. Options for sale, thats a good idea.
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Re: What every GPS needs

Postby John Kirk » Mon Jan 04, 2010 12:28 pm

DSunwall wrote:I'll be looking forward to this, better check my donation date. Options for sale, thats a good idea.


I tested it out yesterday, loading the 3100+ remaining ranked CO peaks I have left in one shot. Works like a charm. Probably will save me several hours of GPS loading this year. I'm likely going make the gpx and .tpo tools available only to people who have donated as well.
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Re: What every GPS needs

Postby John Kirk » Wed Jan 06, 2010 12:37 pm

The POI Generator is ready:
http://listsofjohn.com/PeakStats/Content/export.php

Let me know if you need any help or have questions
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Re: What every GPS needs

Postby DSunwall » Wed Jan 06, 2010 1:20 pm

I just loaded 8764 peaks of Colorado, I didn't think there were that many, I set the rise to 0. Pretty cool, sometimes on a drive to or from a climb its nice to know whats along the route available to climb. The only downside of POI's as apposed to Waypoints, they don't show up on the map until you "go to". But, they are available to find which is most important. Having them all on the map might clutter it up too much anyway.

Looking at the CSV file in Excel I don't see the rise, iso, and quad , but they do show up in the POI display, why is that?

I do like to load all the peaks even if I have climbed them, in case there are repeats, or just to identify them from other peaks. Would it be possible to put in the comments whether I have climbed them or not?

Nice work, and thanks for the tip on making custom POI's. I wonder why Waypoints can't be saved on the SD card so the number would be nearly unlimited?
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Re: What every GPS needs

Postby John Kirk » Wed Jan 06, 2010 2:28 pm

DSunwall wrote:The only downside of POI's as apposed to Waypoints, they don't show up on the map until you "go to". But, they are available to find which is most important. Having them all on the map might clutter it up too much anyway.

Actually you can specify what level you want them to show up. For both waypoints and POIs you can choose the level of clutter you want to deal with. Go to map setup, Points page, then set max zoom to any level you want. Default on mine was 300', now set to 12 miles.
Image
DSunwall wrote:Looking at the CSV file in Excel I don't see the rise, iso, and quad , but they do show up in the POI display, why is that?

Look in the formula bar when selecting cells of the right-most column - there is a hard line break for each stat within the cells. This is to put each on a new row within the GPS display.

DSunwall wrote:Would it be possible to put in the comments whether I have climbed them or not?

That is possible - just need some time to get to it.
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Re: What every GPS needs

Postby DSunwall » Wed Jan 06, 2010 2:47 pm

good, thanks.

How do you make that GPS window a JPG or PNG I guess it is?
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Re: What every GPS needs

Postby John Kirk » Wed Jan 06, 2010 3:02 pm

DSunwall wrote:good, thanks.

How do you make that GPS window a JPG or PNG I guess it is?

I was wondering the same thing - I borrowed the image from freegeographytools.com (right-click it to see the properties/address it resides at).
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Re: What every GPS needs

Postby John Kirk » Wed Jan 06, 2010 3:51 pm

OK - I added a checkbox to indicate whether to include peaks done already or not. If peaks are already completed, the text 'Done' will appear on the GPS display following the ISO stat (best place to put it in terms of room on the display).
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Re: What every GPS needs

Postby DSunwall » Wed Jan 06, 2010 3:54 pm

your fast, must be a slow day at work.
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Re: What every GPS needs

Postby DSunwall » Wed Jan 06, 2010 3:58 pm

whoops, small hic up. Co. 300' DSunwall, include peaks already done, no results matching that criteria.
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Re: What every GPS needs

Postby John Kirk » Wed Jan 06, 2010 4:10 pm

DSunwall wrote:whoops, small hic up. Co. 300' DSunwall, include peaks already done, no results matching that criteria.

Should be OK now.
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Re: What every GPS needs

Postby DSunwall » Wed Jan 06, 2010 4:28 pm

yes sir, works great. :wiz:

4300~ Colorado peaks is a 473KB file on the SD card, 70KB bigger than the CSV file. The map image which is all CO UT and a bunch of the rest of the western states is 372MB, looks like I have lots of room left on my 2G SD card...... for something. all the states peaks I suppose. :shock:
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Re: What every GPS needs

Postby John Kirk » Wed Jan 06, 2010 4:47 pm

DSunwall wrote:yes sir, works great. :wiz:

4300~ Colorado peaks is a 473KB file on the SD card, 70KB bigger than the CSV file. The map image which is all CO UT and a bunch of the rest of the western states is 372MB, looks like I have lots of room left on my 2G SD card...... for something. all the states peaks I suppose. :shock:


Yep I have an 8 gigger, probably overkill unless I get 1:24k maps loaded for the whole US 8) .
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Re: What every GPS needs

Postby Steve Knapp » Thu Jan 07, 2010 12:11 am

You guys are killing me! My old Etrex doesn't even accept SD cards. I still load all waypoint manually.

Nice work John, I'd love to have this on my GPS. Someday....
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