How do I change waypoint icons on garmin etrex 30?

Hi,

when I go mountain biking with my GPS I need lots of waypoints to navigate in tricky moorland, but I end up with dozens of the blue pin symbols which clutter the map and also manage to hide the number of each waypoint, . Is there a way to avoid this or is it something that is non configurable? I did check FAQ but this seemed to relate to Basecamp. Or do I actually change settings on Basecamp, not sure?

  • You could google “garmin blue pin symbol replacement“ which will get you plenty of hits on this forum about how to solve this problem.


    You could also visit the GPSrChive website pages for your device, then go to Uber User > Custom Symbols for more details of how to replace the blue pins with something more minimalist and a repository of custom symbols you might like to try.

  • Thanks. I did Google it a few months back and it was not that straightforward to be honest. I followed the steps without success and after an hour or so I gave up and hoped it would be something I got used to. Seem to recall it wasn’t possible within the unit you had to upload images etc. I’ll try again but without wanting to sound grumpy it really is a design flaw having clumsy blue pin icons cluttering up what is already a very small screen. I just thought maybe someone here might know a more elegant solution. 

  • This issue has been around for some years. The only solution that I have know of needs you to choose a smaller symbol ( or make your own) or an “invisible” symbol to replace the blue pin, then configure both BaseCamp and your eTrex to use the same symbol, as described on GPSrChive. Have another go and if you get stuck, post what you have done and I’m sure you will get some help here!

    Alternatively you could navigate just using a track, which is what I do almost all of the time mountain biking or hiking.

  • Thanks will do. I hadn’t thought of using tracks instead of routes I’ll try that!

  • The trick is to install custom symbols to your Etrex. I've done it on mine and no more blue pins, flags etc but you must name the custom symbols the same as the BaseCamp ones you want to replace.