Routes/Tracks in Garmin GPSMap62st

Yup - now on my second Scotch and goodness knows how many headache tablets. :D

Thank you both - I now have a clearer understanding of what is, and what is not, possible............I think. The routes that gave me a right mess when transferred to my 62st were created in BaseCamp using an SD card purchased containing Garmin GB Discoverer 1:25k - Yorkshire Dales which are not routable of course. When I think back, routes created using another map set - TOPO Deutschland V6 Pro - which are routeable never gave me the problems I described earlier. So in short, it seems as though I can create routes in BaseCamp using routeable maps which, when transferred to BaseCamp show as routes that are navigateable.

On the other hand, when using non-navigatebale mapsets I need to create instead tracks, reverse these and then send them to the unit and use the TracBack feature. The other way of course would be to create the track going the reverse way to the way I intend to go. Thanks for the tip.

It's still beyond me why Garmin has decided to break away from the previously accepted rule that routes are a plan of where you want to go and tracks are a record of where you've been. It seems that these terms are interchangeable depending on what map set one is using or indeed the GPS unit in use.

It's still beyond me why Garmin has decided to break away from the previously accepted rule that routes are a plan of where you want to go and tracks are a record of where you've been.

Or replace routes with trips (trip planner). Fortunately the 62ST supports "real" routes (as do all my units) vs trips.

My guess is that, since GPS receivers are now mass market, Garmin is trying to make things "easier" for the "average user".

I'm not sure why you feel the need to create a reversed track. If you want to navigate a track simply create the track and do a Go to.

Alternatively in Basecamp create routes using the Direct profile. That way it doesn't matter what map is where provided your GPS is set to 'off road' for routing.

I'm not sure why you feel the need to create a reversed track.

Well that depends on how the track was created, your unit capabilities, and which direction you want to follow the track.

With routes you're always navigating Start to End. With a track which is the Start and which is the End? TracBack assumes you have a recorded track from Start-End but want to navigate End-Start. That's what TracBack means.

So you, may or may not, need to reverse a track.

. o O (I don't even drink Scotch but could use some now)

One other big difference is the amount of points possible. I think most devices limit to 250 points per route. Modern handhelds can have 10000 points in a tracks. For something like a hike, the detail provided by this many points can be needed.

Ah yes, but ALTERNEREUS is creating this track, so presumably he knows which is the start and which is the end lol

And of course you can also reverse a route . o O

At the end whatever works for you :)

At the end whatever works for you :)

It's only 1030am here but I'm gonna raid the fridge and get drunk :p

. o O (I know this stuff but it's all getting too confusing)

Oh no, please don't mention points for goodness sake. Once I'd realised that all my carefully planned routes were going belly-up when out in the field I then took to modify each route e.g. create a track from it the night before sending this to the unit instead. But what happened - the first time I did this I was hit with the pop-up message on the 62st of words along the lines of only 50 points allowed on any planned track. So, back to the drawing board once more amending all my pre-planned routes (now tracks of course) so as not to exceed 50 points.
Some of my tracks had in excess of 150 and I can now hear you gulp lol. Well the reason for this is that I prefer to trace out my track following every curve on the map etc so that on completion I am presented with an exact distance when I look in Properties for that track. Reducing the tracks to a maximum of 50 points actually created a headache or two on some routes as of course the trace between any two points becomes a straight line. When out on open moors, miles from anywhere (Yorkshire Dales) being able to follow an exact track trace has many advantages not to mention of course that in order to comply with, and preserve open spaces, as laid down in Regulations it is important that one stays on strictly laid down rights of way.

Now I'm getting confused. You're using OS Discoverer mapping which isn't routeable aren't you? And you're tracing your 'routes' (just as I do) which presumably means you're using the Direct profile? Your limit therefore is 250 points a route, the 50 limit only applies if you use the (confusingly named) 'on road' routing in your 62 and you should be using 'off road' if you're creating your routes by tracing them the way you described :confused:

My routes regularly have 100's of points in them, perfectly ok to do so.

Routes use the icon that looks like three squares (representing waypoints) connected by two straight lines. Tracks use the icon that looks like two shoe prints in the ground.

Garmin makes use of two types of Routes, Direct and Automated. For a Direct Route, the Activity Profile in BaseCamp needs to be set to Direct. These routes are comprised of only the points entered by the user. An Automated Route is created with any other Activity Profile. Assuming the map has routable features (roads/trails), the Points entered by the user will be augmented with additional points that will follow the routable features.

If the map does not have routable features, BaseCamp will still allow Activity Profiles other than Direct. This may or may not create problems when uploaded to a device - it may well be device dependent. On a 62, if the map on the device is not routable, it will cause an error. If the map is routable, it will calculate a route using the points entered by the user.

If you have created a Track in BaseCamp and loaded it onto a 62 it should not give the 50 waypoint warning. That warning is for Automated Routes. Direct Routes have a limit somewhere around 250 points on a 62 (or at least did in the past).

On a 62, if the User Profile is set to Direct Routing as the Activity in the Routing Set-up, all routes activated will revert to a Direct Route. If the route was an uploaded Automated Route, it will revert to only the points entered by the user (the Direct Route).

On a 62, if the User Profile is not set to Direct Routing and an Automated Route is activated, it will initially show up as a Direct Route (just the user entered points) then eventually change to the Automated Route (uploaded routes are not calculated on a 62, the points are loaded as in the file – exception noted above). An uploaded Direct Route will remain as such.

Generally speaking, uploaded routes on a 62 cannot be reversed or edited on the unit. At least that is how a 62 used to behave. There have been a lot of recent changes in the firmware, sometimes leading to quirky results. As a result this info may be wrong now or sometime in the future.

Please send the scotch.