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Garmin Inreach plus - confused about tracks converted to routes

8357323
over 3 years ago

so i downloaded a GPX file - which overlays accurately to the actual trail on a map - i then converted to a route which only has the two hundred points shown on the explore.garmin.com map site - this "route" is not close to the actual trail at all. So my question is when i actually navigate using the garmin inreach device does it actually use the points from the track (that had way more than 200 points) or the thousands of points from the track ? 

i have not used Garmin / GPS before - reason for the question 

thanks 

Mark 

  • 0 over 3 years ago

    The behavior of the legacy devices (such as the Explore+, which is what I assume you have) is somewhat different than newer devices. AFAIK, the Explorer+ will not actually sync a track to the device - it will only sync a "route", which is known to be navigable. If you start with a track, converting it to a route unfortunately means "thinning" it down to 200 points. This is actually somewhat crazy since the Explorer+ can accommodate routes with many more points. This limitation SEEMS to be related to less capable (non-iR) devices which also (nowadays) participate in the Explore ecosystem.

    With newer devices, such as the 66i, you can sync a track to the device (without thinning), then navigate the track on the device itself. 

    Typically, the automatic thinning does a decent job. But it depends on the topology of the track. For example, if the track includes a bunch of closely spaced switchbacks, the route will likely go straight up the hill. 

    Sometimes (not in the switchback example), you can edit the route on web site to make it adhere more closely to the trail - but without exceeding the 200 point limit. 

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to twolpert

    looks like i should have purchased the 66i - i have a 59 mile trail that probably would not work well with the 200 points

    thanks for the reply and input !

    Mark