How to display preloaded waypoints with eTrex Vista HCx

[azleader]

I'm a GPS newbie and just took delivery of a eTrex Vista HCx unit yesterday.

My problem... I can't view pre-loaded waypoints in the unit. I can see them in Mapsource just fine, but cannot in the unit itself.

I can make my waypoints into POIs with Garmin's POI Loader program and see them as custom POIs. That works fine, but I cannot see them as waypoints in the unit at all even though I successfully loaded them onto the SD card as waypoints with MapSource. They loaded as userdata.gpx onto the SD card from MapSource.

Can anyone tell me how to load and display waypoints as waypoints in my Garmin GPS from an outside source?

Background:
Thanks largely to this site I was able to download Garmin's MapSource software, download all the topo maps I need and load them onto an 8GB SD card that I pre-purchased before the unit arrived.

All that works perfect. I put the SD card into the unit and all the topos show up A-OK.

I also loaded my waypoints onto the card in the same send but they do not show up.

My waypoints originate from thumbtack markers on Google Earth. I have about 250 points I want to pre-load into the unit.

To prepare the waypoints I selected and extracted them from Google Earth as a .kml file. Then I used GPSBabel to convert the .kml file into two separate files... one is a .gdb Garmin database file and the other a GPS Exchange .gpx file.

I read the .gdx file into MapSource and all the waypoints show up under the waypoint tab. I did a normal send to device. In my case that was directly to the SD card plugged into my computer workstation, not through the USB cable connected directly into the unit. (That takes WAYYYYY to long)

I checked and the waypoint data file was on the card. But when I plug the card into the unit I can find no way to make the waypoints display. That is what I need help with.

Then I downloaded POI Loader and loaded the waypoints as points-of-interest onto the card. Those I can find and use as "Custom" POIs. Its nice and even the description data is included so I can use it.

Is conversion to custom POIs the way I will always have to get waypoint data from the outside into my GPS unit??

[alpine]

At what zoom level are you looking at. I don't have a Vista but the Garmins' I do have the roads, trails, and waypoints don't show up until you get to 800 feet or less.

[azleader]

I remember reading somewhere about needing to zoom in closer than 800 feet before they would show up to. I zoomed in closer than that and they still did not show up.

[Boyd]

Have a look in your owners manual, or download it from Garmin's site if you don't have one. There should be a map setup menu that lists different kinds of map points. One of the parameters should be user waypoints. You should be able to either set it to auto (which is probably where it has defaulted) or else choose which the zoom level you prefer for them to become visible. You can also turn them off completely, and maybe that's your problem.

Or at least, all the other Garmin handhelds I'm familiar with have such an option.

[Boyd]

Ah yes, I didn't notice that part of the original post. I think you are right.

[azleader]

[quote ]
Here's the thing, you can NOT have the unit display waypoints that are loaded to the microSD datacard with the Vista HCx. Load them to the unit's internal waypoint memory and then they will display on the unit.
[/quote]

Bingo! That was my problem. I figured it out on my own but it is nice to get re-enforced that I'm now doing the right thing.

The other thing I discovered is that in my unit, eTrex Vista HCx, the amount of waypoint description information that it loads into the unit is limited to just about 30 characters. I was hoping I could upload all the descriptions I had entered on Google Earth.

I did verify that all the descriptive data was downloaded in the .kmz and .kml files and that when converted to .gpx and .gdb files the all the information was still there. It is when it gets uploaded into the unit that it gets lost.

And it does not matter whether I upload my Google Earth points as Waypoints or POIs. it still get truncated.

Oh well... I guess you can't have everything. LOL!!!