Saving Waypoints and Tracks With the Garmin GPS III Plus

1
Saving Waypoints and Tracks With the Garmin GPS
III Plus

• John Q. Murray
• Murray Information Services, Inc.

2
GPS the NAVSTAR system

• 24 satellites
• Altitude 12,000 miles
• Speed 7,000 mph
• The Garmin tells you which satellites it is
  picking up 1..24

3
About GPS / Planning projects

• Great tutorials on the Internet
• http//www.garmin.com/aboutGPS/
• http//www.trimble.com/gps/
• http//www.montana.edu/places/gps/
• Garmin GPS III Plus accurate to 15m (50 ft)
• With differential correction (DGPS) to 1-5m (3-15
  ft)
• Depending on your project, you may need DGPS and
  the special DPGS beacon receiver
• GBR 21 or GBR 23 cost 200 at gpscity.com
• Garmin III Plus supports DGPS (3 formats)

4
The Garmin III Plus

• User manual online www.garmin.com/manuals/gps3p.p
  df

5
Turning it on

• Press and hold down the small button with the
  picture of the red light bulb

6
Changing screen orientation

• Press and hold down the Page button
• Regular or landscape
• The unit sits on the dashboard better in
  landscape mode
• (Can make landscape the default setting in Setup)

7
Turning it off

• Press and hold the power button
• If you dont hold it down long enough, you get a
  little display that lets you change the screen
  brightness / contrast
• If you dont want to change the brightness /
  contrast, hit the Quit button and try again

8
Moving between screens pages

• Use the Page and Quit buttons
• Move through the six pages
• Satellite, Position, Map, Compass, Highway,
  Active Route

9
Gleaned definitions

• Waypoint a point, that you either marked with
  the GPS unit or entered by hand
• Track where youve been the Garmin GPS III
  Plus can be set up to keep an electronic
  breadcrumb trail known as the track log
• Route where youre going path between current
  position/waypoint and destination waypoint
• (Note Route and track are used interchangeably)

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Using the rocker keypad

• Press up, down, left, right on the rocker keypad
  in the center
• Use up and down on the rocker pad to change
  characters in names
• Use up and down to select different items

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Marking a waypoint

• Press and hold Enter/Mark until you see the
  Mark Waypoint page
• Press left on the rocker pad to highlight the
  entire name
• Press Enter/Mark to edit name
• Press up/down on the rocker pad to change the
  value left/right for a different character

12
Saving your edits

• Press Enter/Mark when done editing the
  complete name appears highlighted
• Use the rocker pad to move to Done
• Press Enter/Mark to save the changes or Quit
  to not make any changes

13
Changing the waypoint symbol

• Use the rocker pad to move to the symbol left of
  the name (the default symbol is a small square)
• Press Enter/Mark to change it
• Use the rocker pad to move up and down in the
  menu of available symbols (Residence, Scales,
  etc.)
• Press Enter/Mark to choose the highlighted
  symbol

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Saving your edits (again)

• Use the rocker pad to highlight the word Done
  on the Mark Waypoint page
• Press Enter/Mark
• The waypoint is now listed under its new name

15
Examine your new waypoint

• Press Menu twice to see the main menu
• Use the rocker pad to select Waypoints, the
  topmost entry in the main menu
• Press Enter/Mark
• Use the rocker pad to view your new waypoint name
  and symbol in the list of waypoints

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Saving your track

• When you move, the Garmin GPS III Plus can
  automatically record your movements
• It saves them in the active track
• You can name the active track and save it
  separately from other tracks
• This makes it available for later use in the GPS
  or in ArcView as a line theme

17
Clear /delete previous tracks

• Good practice to allow backtracking
• Press the Menu button twice for the main menu
• Use the rocker pad to select Track Logs, then
  press Enter/Mark
• Press the Menu button once to see the Track
  Logs menu
• Use the rocker pad to select Clear Active Log
  or Delete All
• Press Enter/Mark to confirm

18
Setup track logging

• Press the Menu button twice for the main menu
• Use the rocker pad to select Track Logs then
  press Enter/Mark
• Press the Menu button once to see the track log
  menu
• Use the rocker pad to select Setup Logging then
  press Enter/Mark

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The Setup Logging Record Mode

• When the value under Record Mode is
  highlighted, press Enter/Mark
• You can select Off, Fill, or Wrap by moving
  to it with the rocker pad and then pressing
  Enter/Mark
• Use Fill or Wrap to automatically record your
  track as you move
• Press Quit to exit that screen you are ready
  to record your track

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See your track on the map page

• The Garmin can display your active track
• Use the Page or Quit buttons to move to the
  map page
• Use the In and Out buttons to zoom in and out
  on the map
• Watch a realtime display of your track as you move

21
Lets make tracks (outside)

• One day making tracks
• In the prairie of Prax
• Came a north-going Zax
• And a south-going Zax

22
Saving the active track log

• Press the Menu button twice to go to the main
  menu, then select Track Logs
• Press Menu to see the Track Log menu

• If the command Save Active Log is available,
  select it using the rocker pad
• Press Enter/Mark to save it

23
Download your data to the PC

• Use DNRGarmin or another download program to
  bring your GPS data into the GIS system
• See the Powerpoint file Downloading Garmin GPS
  Data to ArcView for a full description

24
Handy setup settings

• Press Menu twice to get the main menu
• Use the rocker pad to choose Setup then press
  Mark/Enter
• Set time to display Mountain Daylight Time
  Select the Time tab, then set Format Local
  24hr, 600 Behind UTC
• Set the position display to decimal degrees
  Select the Position tab, then set Position
  format hddd.ddddd

25
Each page has its own menu

• The Garmin GPS III Plus manual includes complete
  reference documentation

And it does a whole lot more beyond the waypoints
and tracks discussed here
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Start the simulation to see more

• From the satellite page, press Menu
• Use the rocker pad to select Start Simulator,
  then press Enter/Mark
• Use the Page and Quit buttons to check out
  the simulation
• Follow the simulation exercise in the manual

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DGPS setup

• Main menu, select Setup
• Use the rocker pad to move to the rightmost tab,
  Interface
• Change Format to a DGPS format
• GRMN DGPS
• RTCM/NMEA
• RTCM/Text

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Closest DGPS station Polson

• Coast Guard transmits DGPS data see
  www.navcen.uscg.gov
• POLSON, MT Status Operational RBn Antenna
  Location 47 39.77' N114 6.89' W REFSTA Ant
  Location (A) 47 39.82585' N114 6.83466' W
  REFSTA Ant Location (B) 47 39.82545' N114
  6.85568' W REFSTA RTCM SC-104 ID (A) 60 REFSTA
  RTCM SC-104 ID (B) 61 REFSTA FIRMWARE VERSION
  RD00-1C19 Broadcast Site ID 849 Transmission
  Frequency 287 KHZ Transmission Rate 100 BPS
  Signal Strength 75uV/m at 300 KM