Why are some roads on the map "red" and can I change that?

[hppants]

Greetings:

One way I like to explore using my XT is to use the current "unsaved" track. When I get as far away from a known area as I'm comfortable with, I either turn around and double back using the track, or (preferred) try to find a loop that will eventually get me back to my track closer to home.

I've learned through this forum that my unsaved current track color CANNOT be changed from red. I've read about "editing KML" files - or something of the sort, but that is WAY beyond my paygrade and ain't gonna happen. For the record, this is disappointing - Garmin should fix this with a software update.

When viewing the map, occasionally I see roads that are depicted in red - the SAME red color as my unsaved track. I have no idea why they are depicted in red (does anyone know?). Here is a screen shot from my XT:



In this example, my unsaved track is Gates Chapel Road, and FS241 is somehow depicted in red. You can see how FS241 is ENTIRELY shaded in red, whereas Gates Chapel is not overlayed PRECISELY over the map, indicating the error from my track. I did not travel on FS241.

The problem I'm having is that when I'm doubling or looping back to my track, I can't tell is the way home is on Gates Chapel or FS241. If I could change the color of FS241 (or preferably make is not colored at all), then I could fix the issue.

FYI - GPS set to Motorcycle, Garmin Map Theme, allow unpaved roads (I'm a dual sporter).

Thanks in advance.

[jfheath]

It could be a number of things.

1. A track from a previous (or current) ride
2. A track loaded and saved on the XT
3. Indication of traffic issues on the roads affected.

On the XT you can turn off tracks as 1 and 2. So you could eliminate or prove those.

[hppants]

It could be a number of things.

1. A track from a previous (or current) ride
2. Indication of traffic issues on the roads affected.

Thank you for your reply. First, my #1 question is ONLY related to tracks that are CURRENTLY being built and NOT SAVED. Second, there is no way that traffic is causing the roads to be red - most of the roads I've seen this on are unpaved and I have the traffic layer turned off, thinking the same thing.

I've posted this same issue on a M/C forum, and the Garmin XT Facebook Group. It would appear that the Unsaved track color can only be changed by using 3rd party software to modify a file within the Garmin unit. That is not something I'm comfortable with. No one knows why the map depicts some roads red, but if I turn off the terrain layer, it goes away. That is pointless for a Dual Sport rider - I definitely want to see the terrain around me. Apparently, if I pick a different "theme" for the unit, it might yield different colors on the map.

I had Tom Tom Riders for years. Say what you will - they were as easy to use as sliced bread and, despite the lack of "advanced features", and the unit worked like a charm. I bought the XT because the screen is very bright and everyone else around me went to it - I figured if nothing else, it would eliminate the disagreements on the trail.

Suffice it to say I'm disappointed.

Peace, out....

[Oop North John]

Not got my XT to hand, but is it a function of the map theme you have enabled as it "changes the colour of the map data"? Certainly on the 590 / 595 choosing another countries theme changed the colour of the roads. If it is it, it's in Settings - Map and Vehicle according to the on-line manual.

[jfheath]

Hi @hppants

Thanks for your reply - I've trimmed it down so that it focuses just on the issues that you are having.

Thank you for your reply. First, my #1 question is ONLY related to tracks that are CURRENTLY being built and NOT SAVED.

Ah - I misunderstood you comment :

"When viewing the map, occasionally I see roads that are depicted in red - the SAME red color as my unsaved track. :"

Since you said that it was the same colour as your unsaved track, I assumed that you were not referring to the track that you were currently recording.

Second, there is no way that traffic is causing the roads to be red - most of the roads I've seen this on are unpaved and I have the traffic layer turned off, thinking the same thing.

I didn't know this. You said that you occasionally see roads depicted in red.

If the red line disappears when the topoactive map is turned off, is it perhaps something on the map itself - perhaps a track or path ?

Looking at your map more closely, I can see the red recorded track going falong Gates Chapel Road and there are places where I can see that it goes back again. Errorors int he track are bound to happen - satnavs generally have around a 3m accuract when plotting points. The recorder plots a point at certain time intervals maybe every 1-2 seconds - perhaps a but longer. It joins up the points with straight lines - so you are likely to see your track going off the road that it plotted on the map.


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I experimented with the Recorder a couple of times last week. I normally just use the track logs, which are recorded all of the time, so I have just done a quick analysis. On a 56 mile trip, it recorded roughly 2000 points. Of these, 1081 points were recorded within 1 second of the previous point. 1725 were recorded within 5 seconds of the previous point. The largest gap between one point and the next was 12 seconds. You can load the track into Basecamp, and this will show each of the points that were recorded. See the image below. Note that you can also inspect the track and display graphs of the speed, elevation and link this to where you were on the map. Click for a larger view:

Track Points.jpg (98.93 KiB) Viewed 1071 times

It is easy to see that the interval isn't fixed. There are many more points recorded where the road bends, and the big gaps appear on the straight sections. Of course, this is where I am travelling, slower, or faster respectively. I don't know how it would behave going at slower speeds off road.

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The Forest Service Road 241 appears to be a red coloured road that is part of the map itself. I have never looked for a key or legend to understand what colours are used to depect different types of road on the map, but it is normal for maps to use different colours for different types of road. Maybe this is what you are seeing with the Topo map?

I have noticed that tracks being recorded (using the XT Record button) appear on the my screen in an orange/red colour.

Tracks that are being logged as part of the current activity are usually shown in a light blue. These can be turned off by not allowing your travel history to be logged - Settings->Device->Travel History.
Or they can be logged but not shown - which is contolled in the Map Layers : Settings -> Map&Vehicle -> Map Layers.

I think that the cyan coloured track log is the same width as the magenta route. And I think that the track recording track (the red one) is a bit thinner and lies on top of the plotted route. But that is relying on memory, which is never a good thing these days !


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None of the above are answers, but they might be thing that you can use to pin down the origin of the unknown red line.

Most tracks and routes - the colours, widths and borders are affected by which theme you choose to use.

I find it useful to have tracks plotted slightly wider than routes, so that I can display a track and a route at the same time, with the track underneath peeping out from under the Magenta route. This makes it easy to see whether or not a route has been recalculated - it gives me the choice of following the original (track) or following the recalculated route.

It is easy enough to select a different theme on the Zumos, but the ability to edit a theme isn't built into the XT. However it is easy enough to edit the theme file with a simple text editor, if you are so inclined. If not find someone that has already done it and ask them for a copy of the file to put on your XT. It will then appear in the list of available themes.

[hppants]

@jfheath , thanks again for your detailed reply. Perhaps I wasn't descript enough in my O/P.

1. I am 100% confident that the XT colors roads on the map. In my previous example, FS241 is one such road. I never traveled on that road with my XT powered on. It is NOT a track of any kind. If I turn off the Topo layer on my XT, that road is no longer colored. So perhaps it is colored for some reason related to Topography. I did ride that road with the GPS turned off and there is nothing special about it - just a gravel F/S road. Having discussed this on the XT Facebook group, and several other M/C forums, no one seems to know why Garmin colors these roads. It's not in the owners manual either. No information what so ever as far as I can tell.

2. I am aware of the "inaccuracy" of a track. I'm also aware that SAVED tracks can be altered, to include the color. My primary issue is that the current UNSAVED track color apparently cannot be changed, unless you want to manipulate some file with 3rd party software, which I am not inclined (or able) to do.

So it boils down to this: since the dawn of GPS, Garmin hasn't changed their business model very much. They build a product that is incredibly capable and adaptable, but only if you are an expert programmer and are comfortable dissecting and understanding computer code. Further, if you have such talents, Garmin is pleased to help you. But for the rest of us peasants would would just like the GUI and the instructions to be reasonably complete, well... we can just suck our thumb. Oh... if enough of us peasants complain, Garmin will issue a patch and then act like they saved the world from fire and dammnation. But regardless, in order for the peasant to understand this business model, he/she has to spend their money first.

It was like this when Garmin started, and it's like this now.

(sigh)