Author Topic: How to move a route from Google over to GPS?  (Read 6069 times)

Payton MacDonald

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How to move a route from Google over to GPS?
« on: March 14, 2012, 06:52:26 AM »
I've plotted out a bike route using Google and would like to see if I can move it over to my Etrex 30. I'm wondering if Topofusion or Basecamp would be able to do this?  Feel free to shoot me over to a tutorial about it.  I presume this question has been asked before thought I didn't see it here.  Thanks,

KenF

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Re: How to move a route from Google over to GPS?
« Reply #1 on: July 24, 2012, 09:14:01 PM »
 
I've plotted out a bike route using Google and would like to see if I can move it over to my Etrex 30. I'm wondering if Topofusion or Basecamp would be able to do this?  Feel free to shoot me over to a tutorial about it.  I presume this question has been asked before thought I didn't see it here.  Thanks,
   
While scrolling though the forum I saw this sitting unanswered, so...
First, when you say "Google," do you mean "Google Earth?"
You presumably created a .kml file there.
That can be imported directly into TF and, from there, uploaded to the Etrex with normal TF GPS functions.

Payton MacDonald

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Re: How to move a route from Google over to GPS?
« Reply #2 on: July 25, 2012, 04:29:25 AM »
Yes, I think I mean Google Earth.  Here is an example of what I mean: https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en.  I see that when you click on that the route I made doesn't come up, but I just went to "get directions" on the left side of the screen, clicked on the "bike" option and  then typed in my directions.

What I want to be able to do is take that bike route from there and somehow make it into a gpx file that I can then put on my Etrex 30 so that I can then just follow the route when I'm out there and not have to deal with cue sheets and maps, except as a backup.  Does that make sense? 

When I attempted the AML earlier this year Chris sent me a gpx file of the route and when I was on it all I had to do was make sure my little blue arrow (me) was on the darkened line.  I still had cue sheets, etc, but I hardly looked at them at all.  I like that blue arrow business ha ha!


KenF

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Re: How to move a route from Google over to GPS?
« Reply #3 on: July 25, 2012, 10:01:11 AM »
Yes, I think I mean Google Earth.  Here is an example of what I mean: https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en.
No that online service is "Google maps."
Google Earth is a separate application (free) than runs on a local machine.
There are some similarities but I believe you need GE to do what you want.
 
Quote

 I see that when you click on that the route I made doesn't come up, but I just went to "get directions" on the left side of the screen, clicked on the "bike" option and  then typed in my directions.

What I want to be able to do is take that bike route from there and somehow make it into a gpx file that I can then put on my Etrex 30 so that I can then just follow the route when I'm out there and not have to deal with cue sheets and maps, except as a backup.  Does that make sense? 

First- TF is fluent in .kml
So, in Google Earth, create your route.
A list of the "legs" will appear in the left hand panel.
Immediately below there will be two unlabeled icons.
They have respective "tooltips" about (1) saving the route to "My places" or (2) copying to the clipboard as .kml.
You can use either option.
If you choose the save to my places option you need to take the second step of right clicking on the "saved place" (where it is listed by title under "places" in the left panel) and then "save as" .kml or .kmz
Or using the clipboard option you can paste the .kml content into a text file and save that as a .kml file.
Voila.
The .kml file can be imported directly into TF.

But also note that a route (including one created in this manner) has only waypoints (turns for instance) and lacks the detail of a "breadcrumb" track which sounds like what you saw in the .GPX you used .