Is this RUT?

[Sean OZ]

The Via Point caption at the head of the route list, sadly, is another Garmin 'feature'. That heading is there no matter what type of point you create, so don't be misled by that. It ought to say something more generic at the head of that list - like 'Route Point'

Yes mate, a more logical label like Route Point, or even Waypoint, at the beginning of the route properties window would make a whole lot more sense. After all the "points" in the properties list were created using the "Waypoint" tool not some mysterious "Via Point" tool.

[m326]

Basecamp works perfectly well with the XT2.... snip

To get a route fromBasecamp into the XT2 you can send it via the USB cable. Personally , I prefer to create everything in one gpx file and put that onto the memory card. The XT2 recognises the route that you have plotted and will draw it as it is. However, it doesn't recognise 'Motorcycle'. I have yet to establish whether that simple fact means that the first thing that it will do is to redraw it.

Hi, I'm getting to grips with Garmin's Basecamp and following your guides (thank-you) I have a question;

In the above quote, what is meant by "I prefer to create everything in one gpx file and put that onto the memory card"?

I have a simple route with Start and Finish points defined and a few shaping points, I have recalculated it and created a separate track so I now have 4 items in the My Collection > Test Route list. Am I missing a trick here?

[smfollen]

@m326 There are multiple ways to get routes, tracks, etc from Basecamp to the XT2. In general, they all involve writing a gpx file with Basecamp and then importing it to the XT2.

On the XT2 side, you can write either to internal storage, or to the sd card, assuming you have one installed.
I prefer the sd card because what you write there remains until you delete it, so you can reimport again if the internal copy gets messed up.

A gpx file can hold one or more routes, tracks, waypoints, or combinations of them.

You can either connect your XT2 to your computer with a USB cable and transfer files, or you can take the sd card from the XT2, insert it into the computer, copy gpx file(s) to it and then put it back into the XT2 to import the files.

In the case of a USB cable, you can move files directly from Basecamp to the XT2 if you'd like (I don't). In Basecamp, that would be Device->Send To Device after connecting, or you can drag and drop. After connecting the XT2 to the computer, you will see at the bottom of the XT2 screen, that you need to tap to connect. It takes a couple minutes for the computer to connect but eventually, the XT2, both internal storage and sd card will appear in the Library Window at left of Basecamp. You can drag and drop there as you wish but the resulting naming on the XT2 is just sequential numbering which is less helpful (and why I don't do it this way).

Alternate: In Basecamp, select the route(s), tracks(s) etc that you want, then File->Export->Export selection. This allows you to save the gpx file(s) on your hard drive or sd card as you wish, and name the gpx file(s) as you wish. You can create a single file with everything you want in it, create a separate file for each route, track, etc., or any desired combination. Copy the file(s) to the sd card. The XT2 can import from the sd cad as desired.

[m326]

Many thanks, it was the Alternate route that I was after. Having done that the XT2 wouldn't refresh the SD cards contents and insisted on installing what was previously on there in the GPX folder. A reboot just sent it into a reboot loop, then without the SD card in, it booted successfully and finally got the files installed. Getting there slowly...

[smfollen]

@m326 Yes, the XT2 does seem to have issues with the sd card at times. My guess is that the software is sometimes not properly closing the card, but that is only a guess. I have been removing and inserting the card only with the XT2 turned off. It seems to help. I write gpx files to the card with it inserted in my pc, and I'm careful to "eject" it before removal from the PC. In some cases, the XT2 seems to only recognize new files on the card after a 2nd power up cycle? I have not bothered to narrow down the issue nor have I pursued it with Garmin support. (I'm still waiting for them to get back to me on bigger issues.)

[jfheath]

SD Card

That is an interesting observation that I have not come across.

With earlier Zumos, you had the choice of whether it used Mass Storage Mode or Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) to transfer files. The XTs only allow MTP.

MTP is the same system as used by mobile phones. It ensures that no data is ever waiting to be transferred to the storage. Typically, especially for hard disc drives, Mass Storage Mode would be used - data would be cached so that a whole block of data could be written in one operation. It takes a long time (for a computer) for the disk to spin round to the correct position and for the recording heads to move. So it waits until it has enough data to write in one operation.

Like going on holiday - you don't pack each item of clothing in the car separately, you wait until you have a suitcase full and pack that in the car. The risk with that is that if your suitcase never gets full, it doesn't get put into the car.

So before turning off a computer or disconnecting a USB cable or removing an SD card you have to make sure that all of the data in the cache is transferred to storage. You have to 'eject' the SD card.

MTP gets round that problem by writing data immediately. But that has its issues. You cannot edit a file that is stored on an MTP device. So a gpx file - if you want to take a look at its contents - you are not allowed to open it in (say) Notepad - because the changes can not be saved immediately. Instead, you have to copy files to your computer, edit them and then save them - overwriting the previous file.

Neither can you append data to an existing file - (which affects the transfer of data from Basecamp to temp.gpx. - BC has to create a new temp.gpx each time - overwriting the earlier one. Temp.gpx is where BC places your riutes, tracks and waypoints when it transfers data to the Zumo. The Zumo then has to import the data before it can use it. So if data isn't imported before the next time you transfer data from BC, it will be lost.

BUT - I always assumed that the choice of MTP or Mass Storage applied to the entire Zumo, not just to Internal Storage. I tend to 'eject' anyway out of habit - so I wouldn't have noticed.

Easy to check - can you open a gpx file on the Zumo's SD card in Notepad ? If you can then it is not using MTP mode for the SD card, and it needs to be formally ejected at the computer before anything is turned off, or before the card is removed, or the cable is disconnected.

Otherwise your suitcase containing your 'evening best' will be left at home on the bed.


Separate issue, but related .... On transfer and import, the Zumo alters the contents of the gpx files in Internal Storage. It does some tidying up - eg removes tracks from the gpx file and puts them somewhere else. Ditto waypoints. These items are imported automatically on the XT2. Which means that these items cannot be imported manually - they are no longer in the gpx file to import. The Zumo does not interfere with data in gpx files on the sd card, but that means that tracks and waypoint have to be imported on the Zumo.

[smfollen]

I have not taken the time to narrow down the sd card issues, but here are a couple of example observations.

1. After [proper I believe] sd card operations, I have had the zumo XT2 go into a continuous reboot on power up and solved it by removing the sd card. This is not a frequent occurrence, but it has happened a few times. It would appear that the XT2 tries to read the sd card during boot and never gives up trying if there is an issue with the card or its contents.

2. A simple exercise involving only the XT2: On the device, "share" (save) an existing route to the sd card. After it is saved, import it. Sometimes it works and sometimes the just written gpx file can not be read.

34802[1].png (78.55 KiB) Viewed 1274 times

In cases where the file can not be read, power cycle the XT2. The file can then be read.
(Yes, saving then immediately importing a route is an odd operation. I noticed this sd card issue when testing saved vs imported route behavior related to RUT.)

I'm keeping mental notes. If I get the sd card issue(s) sorted out sometime in the future, I'll post what I find.

[m326]

On my Windows PC I always 'eject' the SD card before removing it from the system.
I've not seen any way of 'ejecting' it from the XT2 and thus far I have been putting it into sleep mode and removing/replacing it.
Doing this I have not been able to get the XT2 to re-read the cards contents and each time have to reboot the device to get it to refresh the SD cards contents which is obviously time consuming.. Is this normal behavior?

Once it does read the card correctly, it then takes it's time importing the file(s).

My initial way of transferring was via USB and that was even slower to make a connection, haven't timed it yet but seems like 5 minutes! Is this also expected performance, anything to speed it up?

Sorry, this is all off topic.

[jfheath]

On my Windows PC I always 'eject' the SD card before removing it from the system.
I've not seen any way of 'ejecting' it from the XT2.

Generally speaking the SD card is only read from, not written to. You don't need to formally eject a device if all you have done is read from it.
Unless the route is being shared to the SD card. The XT is in control of that, So I would assume that it flushes its own cache on completion. Just leave it a few seconds longer.

I'll try to remember to investigate whether or not the SD card in is Mass Transfer Mode or MTP.

Ok - I tried a couple of things. One of which was to place a word processor (Word) document onto Internal Storage on the SD card. Word would not open it. It just sat there with the document name in the filename box and did nothing when I clicked 'Open'.

Word likes to keeps an open file in the same location as the original file, and it writes to it periodically. So if it cannot keep a temporary file open (I assume because the device is using Media Transfer Protocol), then the original file will not open either.

I assume that the reverse is true: If Word cannot open a document - becasue it cannot create a file that it can keep open, then the device is using MTP.

Lots of assumptions in there, I'm afraid. Whatever - if you have found that Ejecting the SD card stops a certain issue from happening, then use it. I do anyway - just as a matter of keeping a good habit going.