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GPS Utility for uploading waypoints from the Cruising Guide
Uploading GPS Routes from the Cruising Guide to your GPS or Plotter
Our Cruising Guide to New Caledonia has 220 GPS routes providing cruisers with passage GPS points through passes, along coastlines, and into 152 ancorages around New Caledonia.
But how are you supposed to get these waypoints into your GPS or plotter? Trying to copy the GPS waypoints by hand is a very tedious and error-prone process. The coordinates really need to be uploaded directly from your PC to your GPS or plotter.
The Tower of GPS Babble
GPS recievers, plotters, and navigation software all have their own file formats and finding a way to easily upload GPS routes and files from your computer to your GPS or plotter has been something of a nightmare. Some bright spark has called the horrid confusion of GPS file formats the "Tower of GPS Babble." There is even a program called GPSBable designed to translate between one format to another - but although this program does a good job it isn't very user friendly.
For years, our cruising guide included a program called G7toWin to upload the routes and waypoints form the guide to a Garmin, Lowrance/Eagle or Magellan GPS. But not every cruising yacht has one of these and of those brands and those yachts that do have one sometimes found that getting the G7toWin configured to their system was too hard.
The configuration options for G7toWin are a bit confusing - not only asking for the com port and baud rate but things like MapSource Format, TTQV PX5(old or new) and post-Munge or pre-Munge. I suppose that seeing these incomprehensible settings does result in mental hostility - but if you simply ignored all that stuff and accepted the defaults the program actually worked very well - for those limited kinds of GPS models. G7toWin can also save waypoint files in a very large number of GPS file formats, including the universal *.gpx GPS file format. So you could open the route file in G7toWin and then save it in a format that your navigation software could open.
I recently discovered that not all PC mapping software can import the new universal GPS standard *.gpx files. For example Navtec is so behind the times that their technical support did not even know what *.gpx was. You can't import any route or waypoint files into their software, but you can upload the waypoints and routes into your GPS and then download them into the navigation software. Of course you first need to get the waypoints and routes from your computer into your GPS!
GPS Utility to the rescue!
GPS Utility, a program created by GPS Guru Alan Murphy, is not only a translator for the tower of GPS Babble it is also one of the very few (maybe the ONLY) program I have found that makes connecting to a GPS reasonably easy. Normally the process is automatic plug and play. And believe me, this alone is something of a miracle.
Alan very generously has allowed us to include a "lite" version of GPS Utility on the Cruising Guide to New Caledonia. This means it is now much easier to get the waypoints and routes from the guide into your GPS or plotter - even if your GPS or plotter is one that uses memory cards and not a direct link to your computer.
So now, when you click the GPS icon on the menu bar of the Cruising Guide to New Caledonia, you will be introduced to the very best waypoint and route handler around - GPS Utility.
Here is how to upload waypoints and GPS routes to your GPS or Plotter:
1. The first thing you'll need to do is to be able to connect to your GPS using the PC Utility program.
If you have not already done so, check your GPS manual for how to connect your GPS to your computer and follow their instructions for making a connection. As you set up the needed drivers for the GPS be sure to note what "COM Port" the computer is using to connect to the GPS. Then restart the computer.
If your GPS uses a memory card, or if you intend to use the routes in your navigation software find out the file format it requires from the instruction manual or from the manufacturer's website. For example, a Raymarine plotter uses a file format *.fsh and MaxSea uses file formats *.ptf or *.wpt.
2. Start the Cruising Guide to New Caledonia and go to an anchorage or coastal area on the guide, click on the anchor icon on the menu bar. Now you are looking at a high resolution aerial photograph of the anchorage plus the waypoints for a GPS route to enter the anchorage and anchor in the best spot (see the screen shot above of southern New Caledonia or below of the anchorage at Gaji, Isle of Pines).
2. You then point to the little sailboat icon and you will see sailing directions plus the GPS Route numbers to arrive at the anchorage and enter it. Make a note of the route number and click on the GPS icon on the menu bar to open GPS Utility. Then select file/open.
The first time you do this on a new installation you will need to browse to the folder for the cruising guide to New Caledonia then open the folder called fscommand and then open the folder routes. Once you have done this GPSUtility will remember the location.
Once you are in the Routes folder enter the route number for the route into the inner anchorage at Gagi - 333.G7T - and then click open.
If your computer is connected to the GPS by a cable:
1. If your computer is connected to the GPS, select GPS/setup from the menu bar to see the following setup options. Click in the GPS make/interface box to see a list of GPS models and possible connection modes. Select the one you are using. Now the interesting part is figuring out the correct COM port if you did not get it when you installed the driver for your GPS. GPS Utility makes this easy to do. Click on the "check" button next to the Com Port Number - you will see the available com ports - normaly only two options. Try one click on OK to close the window. Click on GPS connect - if it works, fine. If not, open the Interface set up again and try the other com port. If this trial and error sounds kind of sloppy, the Microsoft Vista help file suggests:
"If you're still not sure which COM port to use, try each COM port, one at a time, and use the one that successfully allows the program and your device to communicate. "
2. Once you successfully connect to the GPS click on the "upload all to GPS icon" and GPS Utility connects to your GPS and uploads the route and waypoints. Easy.
If your GPS/Plotter uses a memory card and not a cable:
1. If your GPS/Plotter uses a memory card and not a cable, put the memory card into a card reader attached to your computer and select "Save As" from the GPS Utility menu bar. Next click in the Save as Type box at the bottom of the window that opens. You will see a list of a huge number of file formats to save the waypoints and route. Pick the one your GPS/Plotter uses and save it to the memory card. Put the memory card back into your GPS/Plotter and the route and waypoints will be there, ready to open.
Importing the Waypoints and Routes into your Navigation Software:
If you want to use the routes in your navigation software you can either upload them to your GPS and then download them into your navigation software or, depending on what software you are using, you can open the .gpx standard format saved in CRUISINGNEWCAL/fscommand/ROUTES-gpx/ or you can open the route and save it in a format that your software uses.
Register the GPS Utility Program to use all of the features:
The free GPS Utility included with our guide will enable you to test the program and make sure it works OK with your GPS or plotter. It will continue working as long as you wish - but the free version will only allow you to upload and download routes with less than 10 waypoints. About 30 of the 220 routes on the guide have more than 10 waypoints.
The unregistered version of GPS Utility will let you upload and download up to 100 waypoints at a time - so you can upload the waypoints for even the longest routes on the guide - but you will need to reconstruct the route on your GPS using the uploaded waypoints.
This means you really will want to reward Mr. Murphy for having provided you with the key to the GPS Tower of Babble by registering GPS Utility on his website. That way, too, if you have a problem or a question you are probably going to get a very helpful reply from him.
GPS Utility worked quickly and easily for me and it solved the problems several users of the guide were having with their complicated navigation set up. So try the Lite version on the guide or if you already have the Cruising Guide to New Caledonia and have not updated to the latest version, download GPS Utility from GPS Utility download and then register it if it works for you.
GPS Utility does a lot more that just upload and download waypoints and routes.
The program has an excellent help file, so to set up the GPS Utility and learn all it can do, have a look at the help file or visit the GPS Utility features. You will be really amazed at all of the features of this program. You can even geo-reference your photos or geo-reference and use scanned charts.
GPS Utility for existing Cruising Guide Owners:
If you already have the Cruising Guide to New Caledonia and the existing G7toWin has not worked for you, download the free GPS Utility from www.gpsu.co.uk and install it on your computer. Once you have it operational go to file/open and navigate to CRUISINGNEWCAL/fscommand/ROUTES and select the route number from the cruising guide to open it. Then just upload it to your GPS or save it to a memory card for your GPS plotter if it uses a memory card.
Note that we have completely updated the guide over the past year, resurveying, adding new anchorages and routes and lots of new photographs (including more sphere images), information on where to find supplies and services and other features.
If you would like to update to the latest version (and you should we have made a lot of improvements and added new information and images) just click on one of the following buttons. Don't forget to send me the serial number from your disk label or download receipt number from your previous order.
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