What is Reddit's opinion of GPSBabel?

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Sorry for being ignorant about this, but what devices are we exactly talking about and what are you trying to achieve?

Are those Garmin GPS devices which can track movements and later export the records to a PC? If yes, you should look into gpsbabel which already supports some Garmin devices.

I've had an 810 for over a year and love it. The simplicity of having it wirelessly link and upload new rides as soon as I'm done is a nice feature.

For creating courses, I really love http://bikeroutetoaster.com/

There are also some free utilities that let you upload/download/convert GPX and other files. I use. http://www.gpsbabel.org/. It will 'see' your device when plugged in, so you can push files onto it, or use it to archive rides/workouts if you want to do so without using the Garmin site. It will even let you do things like turn your course into a Google Earth KMZ file so you can see where you've been.

I did the Open Street Map maps. I love 'em, and since I have a big SD card in my GPS I was able to load huge regions into it.

I had an older Garmin (Edge 3xx) that did NOT have as sturdy mount. I lost the GPS a few times on bouncy rides. The new 'twist-lock' mount is very reliable. I no longer worry about losing it.

I've used RunKeeper and Strava's smartphone apps over the years, as well as a standalone GPS. All three will produce a GPX file (basically an XML file with lots of location points on it). You need to feed the many GPX files into gpsbabel, which will then spit out one big GPX file. Then, open that in Google Earth (File -> Open), and, taadaa.

Another suggestion is to look at sites like Midatlantichikes or HikingUpward which often have user provided gpx files available for download. Note that the accuracy of some of these files may not be very good but they'll often have things like campsites and water sources in them that are of interest. You should probably get yourself a copy of GPSBabel which is the swiss army knife of gps format tools. It's open source and can convert nearly any type of gps file from one format to another. Gpx is not the only format out there and you'll have to deal with converting formats sooner or later. Good luck!

Da lande ich in Ostafrika, aber vielleicht stimmt das ja. Dachte da wäre irgendwo ein Rechenfehler oder so.

GPSBabel ist ein gutes Programm zum Umwandeln von Daten aus GPS-Geräten in alle möglichen Formate.

GPS Babel is a tool that lets you convert your GPS data into many different formats. If you convert your GPS data to KML you should be able to import the track in to Google Earth. If you put the file somewhere on the web, you can simply paste its URL into the Google Maps search bar and it will show the track as an overlay.

Sorry for not replying, but I have been without internet access for about 4-5 days (thank goodness!).

> I ended up transferring the topographic map I already have for the first step, I.e. the raster data converted into a vector map and moving hence forth.

It sounds like you might have skipped a step. The raster data needs to be georeferenced. Then it will work in the GIS software.

> So importing the map is no longer the issue, however using Qgis its seemingly impossible to move the map around to the right location//scale.

If you get the raster data georeferenced and set the correct projections for vector data, you shouldn't have to move or scale data. It should all line up.

> But I guess there isnt a native way to replace symbols in gpx format into something else? (i.e. the dip and strike symbol).

I've not done anything with symbols in GPX format. The Dip and Strike Symbols look like they are lines, or they would have an angle to them. My first approach would be to try GPSBabel (a command line program) to hopefully convert the GPX data to something my GIS Software could import.

Then I would try to create a similar symbology. I know I could make something like that with ArcGIS, and I be able to with QGIS or I might not.

> It is part of the lake district, I looked for some GIS data, but nothing seemed freely present (topographically) other than the open street map, I think it just may be that relying on opensource too much is making things difficult.

Where? The USA there is quite a bit of public domain GIS information available from the Federal Government.

This gives you at least one way to proceed:

1. Convert the KML file to GPX using something like GPSBabel (multi-platform, free).
2. Use Jeffery's Lightroom Geoencoding Plugin (donationware).

There are no doubt other ways, which others may be able to suggest.

What do you want to do with them once you read them? Display them on a map?

If not – you just want to translate the GPX to something else – and you’re comfortable with a very bare-bones tool, gpsbabel is pretty great.

Try http://www.gpsbabel.org/screenshots.html GPSBabel, it allows you to convert your GPS units data into something like KMLs for Google Earth.

Also try GPS Visualizer online http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/

I'm sure you can use other software to sync with. Try GPSBabel. I don't see the GiSTEQ listed, though.

If you're on a Mac, try MyTracks, I do see the GiSTEQ listed there.

TIL about GSAK.

Honestly, I'm more of a "casual" geocacher, so I'd be happy with just dumping the GPX files onto it, or even manually putting the co-ords in from the site or the Geocaching app on my phone, but GSAK sounds like a decent option too....if only it worked with the 605.

Since it looks like I need to be a premium member to download GPX files, but I can download a "loc" file, any idea if the Edge 605 can read loc files? ~~Otherwise I can just make my own gpx file but it'd be nice if I can skip that step.~~ Edit: Found this, which looks like it'll convert the files easily if I need to.

I don't really want to get another unit either, I'm pretty set on getting the 605, since it has all the features (and more) I want of it for biking, and I can get it for a good price. Down the line I might buy another GPS that is more suited for Geocaching but for now I'm buying it mainly for biking, with Geocaching as an afterthought.