Corey

iTrader: (1)

I agree with ya 100% Jim, it was a lot of fun.
And who knew airing down for just the stuff we ran would make that much of a difference.

Alan, an onboard air setup would be great.
I sure love my Power Tank, and I think Jim now does too

Alright, who's guilty of cleaning up their rig today?
I did not wash mine, no time.
But I did spend about 45 minutes washing down the whole inside with my Tuff Stuff spray and a rag, and then vacuuming the whole thing.

That dust and dirt up there gets all over inside, even with the windows up.
It may be dirty on the outside, but it's clean inside.

Hey, it was fun to just get out and see the fall colors up there and the great views of Mt. Rainier again, and going down those trails behind each other.
It's nice to connect with Ma Nature every once in awhile.

I'm sure the Toys appreciated it too, as they like to get out and stretch their legs every once in awhile too.

midiwall

Dang it dude! I wish I woulda' known!

I had my Meridian Gold with me... we coulda' chatted.

What you saw Ducky post isn't so much a function of the GPS as it is of the PC software. Any GPS (these days) will have the same _resolution_ for tracking, the difference is how frequent it places a trackpoint in it's database and how many trackpoints the box can hold. I'm pretty sure that the Meridian series run at the same "update frequency" as Ducky's Garmin. And, the Meridian's can hold 2000 trackpoints.

Again, the difference is in the PC software making use of the data from the box.

And... there _is_ actually a standard data transfer protocol for GPS boxes, "NMEA 183". The Meridian series support both the "classic" v1.5 of this spec, and the newer v2.1. The Garmin's also have their own proprietary protocol for other features. From what I see on Garmin's website, it's unlcear if MapSource uses NMEA 183 or their own protocol.

jimrockford

I haven't touched mine. I guess I'm waiting for the bugs to bake onto my windshield and bug deflector so it'll be a chore to clean. The bugs sure were swarming on my drive back to Spokane. I bought a jug of windshield washer fluid on the way home and emptied the tank trying to keep a clear view.

That GPS map was exactly what I wanted to create. I have Microsoft Streets and Trips 2003 which works fairly well. It supports GPS but won't retrieve or upload waypoints or routes. All it will do is show your current position. I didn't have a laptop available to bring with me, and didn't really want to mess with one on a trail run anyway. It also won't import route information from anything else I've found (EasyGPS, ExpertGPS, GPS Utility, GPS TrackMaker, etc). I thought there would have to be something out there that would allow me to import my routes and convert them to something Streets & Trips would understand. If it exists, I can't find it.

I guess I'll have to get the MapSend Topo software. I hope it works as well as the Garmin software appears to.

jimrockford

Yeah, I would have liked to. I've only had mine for a few days and still don't totally have the hang of it. It was pretty cool driving home though. I backtracked my route from the trip out. It only let me take one wrong turn. Again, because it didn't record the route in enough detail.

Did you buy the topo software with yours? I'm thinking I might get it, but I've got to talk my wife into it. She thought the GPS was a toy that I didn't need.

You mentioned the GPS software. Is the MapSend software the best option for Magellan receivers? I want something where I can upload stored routes directly to an application and then show the routes laid over the map. Just like Ducky created. I already had Maps and Streets and thought that might do it but haven't been able to figure it out.

midiwall

Ahhhh yes... Welcome to the world of Microsoft's bought packages. They didn't write Streets and Trips, and outside of them tweaking the UI and fixing location bugs, I'm not sure that any real updates have been made to the package.

Streets and Trips is, ummm, lame. It does well for letting you browse streets, locations and "points of interest" on a laptop (which, in a moving car is pretty awkward) but as you found, it barely communicates with a GPS box at all. Pretty sad really considering the support avenue behind the product. It basically turns a laptop into an "onboard navigation system" like you find in the newer cars. It's only using time and location data coming from your GPS to keep a moving plot of where you are.

Magellan's Topo software will set you up with the type of maps that Ducky posted.


I don't know of anything that will convert back and forth to Streets and Trips. In fact, I don't know that I've seen anything that will convert to/from maping software data formats in general.

I may have clouded the issue by talking about the NMEA 183 protocol. A "protocol" is a method of transfering data, and that's been standardized in the GPS word. The other issues is the format of the data that's being transfered, like waypoints and routes. NMEA 183 specs out how to get time, latitude, longitude, altitude and a couple of other things in/out of the GPS. It doesn't spec out things like the format of data for waypoints, routes, etc.

Sorry for any confusion.

Toddski

Errrrr!!!!
Looks like you guys had a great time. Sorry i missed out.

Corey

iTrader: (1)

Yes Todd, we missed ya!
Hey, part one of the gravel pit vid is up.

http://pnw4runners.com/runs/92703/fa...rs_92703_1.wmv

Please right click and save, then play.
It's 4.1 mb big to save space on downloads.
It will play full screen a little fuzzy, and it works best if you are using Win Media Player set to 200%.

I could have made it to play better at full screen, but it would have been about 10 mb.

Having fun with the Movie Maker that comes with XP
Going to copy this to the pic & vid thread that is up as a sticky.

Ducky

I really want to get Delorme's Topo USA software... 3d topo =D

http://delorme.com/topousa/default.asp

I have almost all of Garmins plugins for mapsource, and I have Streets and trips 2004..

Ms's software is ok, I would use it for city driving... anything else I would use the topo or recreation....

Ducky

BTW Corey, why the fuzzyness on the videos.... UP THAT RESOLUTION!!!

Corey

iTrader: (1)

Ducky, my camera is a few years old, and you can only shoot a hi res 320x vid for 15 seconds, and each vid is then 5 mb.
You can shoot in the middle position at 320 for 15 seconds, and it comes out to 1 mb for each vid.

To shoot a 1 minute vid (longest it can do) it must be in low res, and it works out to 1 mb also.
The majority of my vids are shot at low res so I can squeeze a minute out of each one.
15 seconds is just not long enough.

The newer Sony's like Jim & Trudie have lets you take a vid at any setting for as long as you have memory on the stick.

Yeah, I did save it as a 10 mb one too, and it looks much better full screen.

jruz

I must admit that I did a little cleaning on Sunday. Pretty much the same as you. That dust really does get in there...and the dog hair was EVERYWHERE!!!

Didn't have time to give it a shower, too many other projects going on right now. Hopefully it'll happen next Sunday afternoon.

jim

Corey

iTrader: (1)

As always, please right click & save, then play the picture video.
It's under 6 mb, and around 2 minutes 30 seconds long.
The software also lets you use pictures instead of vids you take, pretty slick.

I have some more snazzy software for making videos that came with my DVD burner, but for now the one that comes with XP is a cinch to use.

I'll explore the other software in the future.

By the way, the music in the vid is from the PC game called Interstate 76, a very popular game for the PC about 4 years ago.
The game CD can be played in a car stereo CD deck, and all the tracks are the same upbeat jazzy theme with lots of tight bass, saxaphone, and sizzling guitar licks.

Corey

iTrader: (1)

Last video...
Just under 6 mb.

Please right click and save taget, then play.

These are the last of my vids.
Jim & Trudie have some, and I will try to get some of them later.

smr4runner

Hey Corey,
You have about 30sec of audio without vidio.
You could delete that segment to lessen mb size.
FYI.

Mike

Corey

iTrader: (1)

Yes, I know.
I wanted the song to finish playing.
It's a kick ass song

That CD came out a few years back, and all the tracks are good expect for the very last one.

Did you get any vids the other day?
One day I might get a dedicated digital video camera for runs.

I have an old Sony Super 8 mm movie camera, but no way to get them to the PC.

jimrockford

You could transfer video from your 8mm camera using a cheap $50 TV tuner card. The picture quality wouldn't be what you can get with a new digital camcorder, but it would be better than your digital still camera can shoot.

mark from uk

looks like you guys had a blast and trust joey to .... well there again he did not get stuck but maybe next time.