I prefer to plot my proposed route (or is it a track) on Cycle travel on my PC, save it as a GPX, upload it into Basecamp and then transfer it onto my GPS device (Etrex32x) for use on my bicycle. This is a bit slow and cumbersome. Can I go direct PC to GPS device? or can Igo directly from phone or tablet based App to my device?
This would also have the added advantage of being able to modify or create a route (track) whilst on tour without carrying a Laptop PC. We normally carry only Android phones and Lenovo Tablets.
Thanks for your comments.
Tim Hoyle.
Comments
I haven’t used an eTrex in a long time I confess!
You can send the route direct from cycle.travel on your phone (either using the cycle.travel app or website) to Garmin Connect. If your Garmin GPS has Bluetooth, you can then transfer it wirelessly from the Garmin Connect app on your phone to your Garmin GPS.
But I suspect the eTrex might have the older ANT+ connection rather than Bluetooth, and I’m not sure whether you can use that to transfer a GPS track – does anyone else know?
In theory, it is possible to transfer a gpx or tcx file from an android phone or tablet but it may be complex to achieve, at first.
Tim hasn't said what model E-trex he is using - as you say, if it has Bluetooth then it should be straightforward.
If not, a cable is needed to connect the phone directly to the E-trex unit. That in itself may not be straightforward. The phone/system should be OTG (OnTheGo) enabled (although I think it's pretty standard now). If successful, the E-trex should be seen as an external disk and it's just a matter of transferring the file into the appropriate folder using a file manager app.
A complication may be the file manager app on the phone/tablet. Often the standard File Manager is not flexible enough. File Manager+ has worked well to overcome this issue.
Basically, it's a matter of getting the appropriate cable and testing it out.
Alternatively, if the E-trex uses a (removable) memory card then it may be easier to plug that into the phone/tablet using an appropriate adapter and transferring the files directly onto the card.
I am not familiar with the eTrex 32x, but looking on the web it is clear that it has no wireless capability (WiFi or Bluetooth) so you have to use a cable connection.
If it is like other Garmin cycling computers such as Explore 2, Edge 540, Edge 840, Edge 1040, or whatever, you are forced to go through Garmin software (Basecamp or Connect) to transfer a route onto the device.
This is because the Garmin device uses a proprietary file format called FIT - Flexible Inter-operable data Transfer. The Garmin software converts GPX or TCX files into FIT format.
So, if you connect the device to a PC and open File Explorer, the Garmin device should appear as an external drive ("Internal Storage"). The sub-folder \Garmin\Courses contains the routes you have transferred, and these will be *.FIT.
Reg, I'm far from an expert in these things, but I was under the impression that a FIT file is the version recorded by the unit. I have not come across any issues with importing a gpx file directly onto a Garmin unit, bypassing any app/software.
Here is a thread (some years old, now) that may be useful. From about post 35 it gets useful, I think. Other posters successfully transfer gpx files to garmin units.
The fact is, that this is only relevant to an ever decreasing number of users as Bluetooth is pretty much standard now.
Thanks for highlighting the 32X model - which I completely missed. It's clear that Tim will need a cable.
Hobbes, I willingly bow to greater knowledge.
I checked a Garmin Edge 840, and courses I transferred via Garmin Connect were in \Garmin\Courses\ as FIT files.
The recorded rides were also FIT files, in the sub-folder \Garmin\Activities\.