Mapping on a nuvi 500

[trapperrick]

   A few months ago I purchased a nuvi 500 for quad riding and was wondering if I could map out my own local trails that I ride on in southwestern and southcentral PA. Can anyone help me out?

[trapperrick]

   Thanks for the quick reply, but, exactly how would you record the tracks? There is a back track mode on the menu. Would you use that or is there something else I am missing.

[Boyd]

I don't have a Nuvi 500, but if it's like the other Nuvi's there will be a setting somewhere like Menu > Tools > Settings > Map > Trip Log. You can either hide or show your track here. Then there will be another setting someplace like Menu > Tools > My Data > Trip Log > Clear Trip Log. This lets you erase the stored track and start from scratch.

But regular Nuvi's don't have any other controls over track recording. They are ALWAYS recording your track and your only options are clearing, showing or hiding the track. Maybe the Nuvi 500 has some additional features? Check your owners manual. "Real" handhelds have a whole track management screen which gives you much more control.

[trapperrick]

   Thanks! I will check this out. I decided to go with the nuvi 500 over a colorado or the 60CSx because it included the street maps. Maybe I should have gone the other direction.

[Soccer_Dad]

My Garmin 205 (a cheaper version, I know) has a file on it called "Current.gpx" that has the active route and tracks that I've made.  After plugging into a USB port, I can transfer it to my computer and isolate and manipulate the tracks and bring them into MapSource.

At some point, I hope to decipher the route encoding, so as to be able to upload a route by replacing the Current.gpx file.  I don't know if the Nuvi 500 does that on its own.

[Boyd]

The Nuvi 2x5 series does not support custom routes - see this: http://forums.gpsfiledepot.com/index.php/topic,687.0.html. But the Nuvi 5x0 does - you can use Mapsource on your computer (if you have City Navigator installed) to send routes to it.

I also have a Nuvi 205 - are you really seeing an "active route" in current.gpx? If so, that's interesting. Regardless, there isn't going to be a way to send it a route. Current.gpx is only an output file, the actual data (waypoints and tracks) are stored internally in an area where you can't access them. Everytime you startup the Nuvi, it writes a new Current.gpx file which contains the latest set of waypoints and tracks. Changing this file should have no effect on the internal data structures.

However, if you put waypoints in a file named temp.gpx (or actually anything.gpx EXCEPT current.gpx), the Nuvi will read it when it boots and add the waypoints to the internal data. You can use mapsource to send routes to the Nuvi 2x5, but they will not be accesible on the unit since that feature isn't supported.

You can also send tracks, either with mapsource or temp.gpx, but they will not display on the unit. The only tracks which you can display are the active ones which were recorded on the Nuvi. This is one reason why you should think carefully about whether the Nuvi 5x0 will really meet your needs for hiking. Handheld models have much more support for this kind of advanced feature.

[trapperrick]

       You guys have been a tremendous help!  Thank you very much for all the help. I've learned more about my GPS the last 2 days than I did reading the instuctions over 10 times ( very vague ) If there is any more info about the 500 let me know.

[alpine]

And there are many out right errors in the manual also. I think you will be happy with the 500. It has a few short comings, but they can be overcome. I also use mine on an ATV as the screen on the handhelds are to small. If you get a cradle and the plug you can wire into the ATV electrical system, it makes a great system.

[trapperrick]

   I'm going to try and make a custom route on the 500 this evening while I am riding. In the meantime, I am going to try to load mapsource on my PC since I don't have an original CD many of the posts on this great websight has some insight on doing it without it. So far I have been unsuccessful but will keep trying. Does naybody know if the street navigator is better or should I just shell out the buck for the topo version?

[trapperrick]

  Again, thanks for all the help!!!! I'm going to try it right now.

[trapperrick]

   Well, I tried to load mapsource and the same thing happened when I tried to load ot before.  It says previous MapSource not found. Setup will terminate. I thought I saw that there was a way around it that somebody replied to on this website but I can't find it now. Can anybody help?

[trapperrick]

   Yes I did install the traing center first. That also has an error and replies that it would need to be redownloaded.

[trapperrick]

   

    Well, I re downloaded  T.C. and I got the same message. It says, This application has failed to start because the application configuration is incorrect. Reinstalling may fix the problem. But I reinstalled it 3 times and it comes up with the same message. Do I need to send it to some kind of file because it is an exe?

[Jimbob]

http://www.gawisp.com/perry/msource/MapSource_6137.exe
The above link is for an older version of map source. I believe it will download automatically for you. You can then use the update feature on it to download the latest version. The latest version has had some problems saving to GPX files so be aware of that. Good luck

[trapperrick]

    Thanks JimBob, but that did not work either. I guess I have to have the training center to get mapsource downloaded and I can't seem to get that to work on my PC either. Iheard the trip and waypoint manager CD would work. Is this true?