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Probably daft GPS question - Garmin E-Trex H!

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I have seen fancy GPS for logging where we have skied.

I have a Garmin E-Trex primarily to help out with a map reference when we are walking. It is capable of logging points that show where we have walked. Would it work for skiing or are the skiing GPS systems purpose made to sort out that you are covering the distance quicker, perhaps in the intervals that they log data at. Could the E-Trex log how far we have been, and if I could find an appropriate map for the PC do you think it could be made to upload any stored tracks to a map so we could 'see' where we have been?


Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Thu 22-09-11 15:07; edited 1 time in total
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
yep works fine. logged a few of my days skiing and mtbing and walking.
zillions of online services out there, all of which have a slightly different theme...
mapmyrun
endomondo
everytrail
wikiloc
gpsies
...
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Not a daft question at all. I used a Garmin eMap (similar to an e-Trex) for a few years before upgrading to my current Oregon.

The algorithm used by the eTrex to log points is probably similar to that in the eMap. It basically takes a point at fixed time periods, unless you change direction suddenly in which case it takes an extra one or two. The rate also increases as you speed up. The memory of the eMap would easily record a day's track, but not much more than that. That meant having to take a laptop (or in my case a small PDA) with a serial cable and remembering to transfer the track each evening. The track can certainly be uploaded into MapSource and from there it can be viewed in Google Earth.

As regards maps, I made my own. These could be downloaded into your eTrex, again using Mapsource. I have them for La Rosiere, Three Valleys, La Plagne/Les Arcs and Val d'Isere/Tignes. They are one or two years out of date but only a handful of pistes and lifts have changed in that time. If you PM me I can send you the maps. They can also be viewed in Mapsource.

One other point, which caught me out initially is the battery performance in the cold. I always use rechargables, and the ones I took first were 800mAh. These lasted about 3 hours. More modern 2400+ ones last a couple of days. It helps to keep the GPS in an inside pocket if you can (for warmth).

PS forgot to say, there are several models and generations of e-Trex. It would help to know which one you have as that may limit what you can do with it.
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I use a Garmin Edge and load it to Garmin Connect. I didn't think you could do as much with an etrex but I'm not really that clued up on it. One of my Connect skiing tracks is here
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
An alternative solution, but one you have to pay for, is to get something like MemoryMap for your PC. With this you can download the data from your Garmin and overlay the track on a map - something like this:


More info: http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=63581

I created this in MemoryMap using extra 1:25k IGN maps from the log created by my Garmin Foretrex. This is like an Etrex but you wear it on your wrist. The map is more useful on the PC as you can easily zoom in and out and change scales.

MemoryMap will also display details about each day's travelling, draw a height profile (with connected dots you can drag around the map or profile), and even generate a 3D fly-thru of your journey.
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Quote:

It would help to know which one you have as that may limit what you can do with it.

Definitely! only the eTrex models with an H in the name will work well in a pocket for example. anything with an x suffix has a microSD slot, which gives much better handling of saved tracks. ie it saves all the data there, not the intelligently optimised data. oh and the microSD version doesn't strip elevation data (critical for skiing!) when you save the track.

Quote:

battery performance in the cold

I get a week out of mine on Duracell when mountain biking. I think I change the batteries say on the Thursday when skiing, mainly as a precaution. Rechargable might be a bit less performance, but charge them each evening.

Forgot about Garmin connect. That and endomondo etc. have training features which the eTrex doesn't support, so you lose a bit of capability in that respect.

Here's the Sella Ronda for example...
http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/15331241
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
fishslice has posted here on Snowheads about his GPS-related software. I have not used the program, but it analyses tracks downloaded from a GPS and displays lots of interesting stuff about those tracks. See Where did you ski today ? -> GPS and Google Earth.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Ah, we are only talking entry level GPS unit here - and still learning which buttons to press. Was obtained primarily to provide a grid reference in case of bad weather or a wrong turn Embarassed I've got the box out - it's a plain straightforward eTrex H so that might limit its capabilities for skiing, but it provided that grid reference that I was after so did the "added confidence job" I was looking at for the purposes of walking - it also was very pocket sized. One of these babies:

http://tinyurl.com/3red6uu

Never used this tiny thing before so hope it works the original was 3 lines wide!!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Have you got a cable to connect it to a PC? According to Garmin's website, the eTrex H is $99 and the connection cable is $38 Shocked
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I use My Garmin to plot tracks. My kids love the graphs and its free. We also look at tracks in google earth
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WiRED, yes, I have got a cable and it all works fine in that respect - you can do the cable for less than that price Toofy Grin
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
the basic "H" is fine. just transfer the "Active Log" via the cable with whatever package you like (I used to use easygps on windows, now I do it on commandline with gpsbabel in linux.

drag+drop that gpx file in to google earth to view it in 3D. or upload to any of the aforementioned websites to see it that way (where you'll see more derived stats).

think my cable cost £15 years ago. not sure where it is, but if anyone needs one I might sell mine for a few £ (sold my basic etrex but the guy didn't need the cable, and my new one is USB).
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So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
andy, Pity I didn't ask if anyone on here had a cable - think I paid around £20+ for my one - it came in 2 parts - a cheaper cable needed an adaptor, but it still worked out much cheaper than the 'official' thing and amazingly worked the first time I plugged it in. I'm still getting to grips with the entire unit, though I was quickly able to get it grid references from it find I am still practising with getting it to log a route, though my BF can manage it fine. I think its just a case of getting to grips with the menu system - it's a classic 'onion' system (well that's what I call them. You select which layer of the onion you need and then move round on that layer prior to going deeper. The trouble is that the 'terms' on the menu aren't hugely intutitive and I am very much lacking in time to play with it at the moment.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
I'm pretty sure it's just like mine. In which case, all you need to do is turn it on and it will start logging you track for you. You can switch it off when you're done. It'll be able to carry a few day's worth of logs. When you're ready, connect it to your PC, switch on and download your track.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
altis wrote:
It'll be able to carry a few day's worth of logs.


Possibly, but definitely not 6 days worth. You'll almost certainly need some means of getting the track off the GPS part way through a week of skiing, assuming you want to keep the tracks for the full stay in resort.

Interestingly, because the number of points works as I described above, I found when I was learning to ski, because I came down pistes zig-zagging wildly from side to side (like most learners rolling eyes ), the track logs are noticeably larger than they are now. Not that I am a "straight-liner" now by any means.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hmmm, if you click my link above you'll see 8 day's worth of logs - and I didn't take my PC on holiday. True, much of it was without uplift so we were travelling slowly. However, I don't think I've ever run out of memory - even on 'batting about resort' holidays.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Interesting. The eTrex H can store 10,000 track points. I'm sure I used to record 3,000 or so per day. I've still got my original tracks so I'll have a look when I get home this evening. Its also possible the eTrex uses a different algorithm with a larger time delay perhaps.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
You can configure the way it records tracks either by time, distance or auto. I've left mine set on auto. You can also set the resolution and I've left mine on 'medium'.

Look in Tracks / Setup Track.
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altis, Ooo..handy to have someone on here that has got one - I'm still trying to work out exactly what else it can do apart from providing a map reference!
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Hi,

We're a sports GPS company based in Whistler - not a bad spot for product testing. We do lots of in-bounds skiing as well as backcountry - I think some of you might be interested in some solutions we've been working on.

We're just about to launch our All Sports Android GPS - it comes with an app called Satski for resort skiing, All Sports Maps for backcountry and other sports apps. It's rugged, waterproof, the first handheld ever made with Android OS & Wi-Fi (i.e. access Android Market). It should be available before Christmas and it should be more inexpensive than most sports GPS.

The All Sports Map App (also available as an app for Android, iPhone, Windows) is ideal for backcountry skiing since it allows you to cache live maps straight from your mobile (or GPS). You can set way points, get live stats like vertical, tracking & more. It should be in the market in November.

We're just updating our website - if you have questions you can ask them here I'll check back.

Go La Nina!
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For Android users in the UK & Europe, I reckon Viewranger is as good as it gets.

http://shop.viewranger.com/products.php

You can buy whichever tiles you want from the whole of the 1:25,000 UK Ordnance Survey and Alpine areas from other Eurozone mapping agencies and install them straight onto your phone. I've got Motorola's waterproof 'Defy+' and the 1:25,000 mapping for all the Scottish ski areas / adjacent areas for ski touring plus all of my local mountains too. It's a perfect application for the compass lazy when you're in the clouds & a long way away from any reference point or for when the wind, rain and snow are blowing too hard for a paper map to be of much use.

No more expensive than a good, dedicated GPS solution and much more versatile.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Hi All,

If you need a device that tells you where to go then the Garmin range are unbeatable but I suggested that to a guy I met at an exhibition recently and he almost bit my head off telling me that he could read a map and didn’t need this stuff. On the other hand can I suggest you take a look at the GTrek as it has a number of advantages
1) Battery life, GTrek will give you 24 hours, Garmin 10 hours on dry cell batteries.
2) Data capacity, GTrek 122,000 waypoints, latitude, longitude, height, speed and time, Garmin I think is 10,000 waypoints in 10 groups. Perhaps somebody will correct me here.
3) Data logging rate, GTrek from 5hz to 99 seconds, Garmin 5 seconds.

GTrek is based in Birmingham UK and if I can assist anybody I would be only to pleased.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
I can also endorse memorymap for the Alps. With this loaded on your PC you can not only upload your day's activity from the Etrex but also plan any other routes and use the "fly trough" capability to help visualise any off piste you are planning (From Col du Pale to Champagny for example). IIRC Memorymap for the Alps is cheaper than for the UK.
If you want to use a GPS then I would recommend getting one that uses dry cell batteries (and carry spares) not a rechargeable one. Only once have I relied on a preset route using GPS, but I forgot the batteries were not fresh that day and sure enough they went flat. Never again. Now I rely on map, compass, Naismith's rule and guidebook times, but use a GPS for backup.
One final point for better accuracy check the GPS has WAAS capability. I use a Garmin 76 for this reason.
John
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