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Save those GPS track files!

aadamson

aadamson

Well Known Member
If you do some searching, it's pretty easy to figure out how to build a track file and use it with Google Earth . Here is one a freind of mine did on a recent trip in his Lancair Legacy .

Too bad, I went back and looked in my GPS's and I'd deleted the "trail" files. next time after a flight, I'll save it and download it for a path for google earth.

Cool stuff.

Alan
 
Wow. :D That's pretty sweet! Here's a page that will convert a files to be used on Google Earth or just Google maps. I had to find it because I have an old Magellan and didn't have GPX or LOC files.

Click here for the Google Earth if you have that downloaded:
http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/map?form=googleearth

Click here for the Google Maps if you'd rather use it online or haven't downloaded Earth:
http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/map?form=google


Supported file types:
BIN, CSV, GPX, HST, IGC, LOC, MPS, NMEA, NS1, PDB, PGL, PLT, RDN, TRK, PCX, TXT, WPT, XML
 
neat

i've got a 396--only way i could upload from gps was to use mapsource. computer new i hooked up usb, and mapsource worked, but any way to directly up load tracks to computer. and, when i stumbled thru translation system, i could see my maps, but not like shown above with main google mapping program. any suggestions
 
Basic steps

I don't actually have a file at the moment. But I think it works like this.

a) use Mapsource to download the track from the GPS
b) save the trackfile and it will be in an extension of gdb (Garmin Binary format I believe)
c) use the "Visualizer" site and the GPSBabel converter interface to convert the file into something that the "Visualizer" site can use.
d) then go to the "google earth" "Visualizer" link and create the KML file that Google Earth will use. Use the "flight" type and not the other one (can't remember right now, what the two are called).

This should generate a KML file and it will either load GE directly, or you can download the KML and if you have GE loaded, all you have to do is double click the file.

If you like, send me the download from the 396 and I'll convert it and tell you exactly how to do it.... my email is [email protected]

Alan
 
Also noticed

Once you have the file in something that the "visualizer" site can use, you can create custom maps of it. Some of them are pretty cool with colors for speed, or altitude, etc.

Dang, now I need a GPS file :)

Alan
 
lbgjb said:
i've got a 396--only way i could upload from gps was to use mapsource. computer new i hooked up usb, and mapsource worked, but any way to directly up load tracks to computer. and, when i stumbled thru translation system, i could see my maps, but not like shown above with main google mapping program. any suggestions
Click to expand...
Using Mapsource, you should be able to download from your GPS and then "Save as..." a GPX file and open that directly in Google Earth.
 
it looks like my map source from 396 saved in file whose attributes are 'garmin gps database' and not seen by google earth. using the gpsbable gives me huge choices. any suggestions on best ones??? thanks.
 
Mapsource "save as" options

Brian,

The latest mapsource, and I don't know how far back, only offers the GDB, or MPS formats to be saved.

Alan
 
lbgjb said:
it looks like my map source from 396 saved in file whose attributes are 'garmin gps database' and not seen by google earth. using the gpsbable gives me huge choices. any suggestions on best ones??? thanks.
Click to expand...

If you run it thru GPSBabel, select the output format GPS XML (I believe this is the GPX format). That seems to be the most accepted on the "Visualizer" site.

Alan
 
Very cool

Dave if you select one of the flightlogs, you can see their maps with tracks. pretty cool stuff.

Alan
 
aadamson said:
Brian,

The latest mapsource, and I don't know how far back, only offers the GDB, or MPS formats to be saved.

Alan
Click to expand...
My bad. That's what I get for googling. I read in another forum that Mapsource 6.9.1 lets you choose "View:View in Google Earth." Hopefully that's not more misinformation.
 
Well, I'll be

I never figured they would have put that in there, but sure enough it is... I don't have a flight path trail, just a car driven one, but sure enough, you can say, view in GE and it plots it... Now off to try something with my driven path and the "visualizer" site :)

Alan
 
Davepar said:
You can overlay the GPS track on Google Maps with the sectional charts from my www.RunwayFinder.com site and add comments. I haven't tried it yet, but it looks cool.
Click to expand...
Dave, let us know if you figure out how to overlay the path on your sectionals. Thanks! :D



edit: Not to direct traffic away from Dave's site, but here's some overlays for Google Earth:
  • LAX inbound traffic
  • BOS inbound traffic
  • ORD inbound traffic
  • ATL inbound traffic
  • JFK inbound traffic
  • 3D US airspace
  • Sectionals
  • LAX Center Freq Map
 
Last edited:
It works

Go to the flyjournal link, click the Cessna 206 training picture down below. Then on the map, click the "chart" label on the top right and you'll get the sectional with the path overlaid. :)


Now how they do it I have o idea.

Alan
 
Brian130 said:
Dave, let us know if you figure out how to overlay the path on your sectionals. Thanks! :D



edit: Not to direct traffic away from Dave's site, but here's some overlays for Google Earth:
  • LAX inbound traffic
  • BOS inbound traffic
  • ORD inbound traffic
  • ATL inbound traffic
  • JFK inbound traffic
  • 3D US airspace
  • Sectionals
  • LAX Center Freq Map
Click to expand...

Brian, how do you get to them or use them?
 
Duh

Sorry, missed the link, was expecting it per bulleted list... .Thanks, that was seriously cool... It's just amazing what people are doing with GE...

Thanks for sharing.
Alan
 
Got it!

aadamson said:
If you do some searching, it's pretty easy to figure out how to build a track file and use it with Google Earth . Here is one a freind of mine did on a recent trip in his Lancair Legacy .

Too bad, I went back and looked in my GPS's and I'd deleted the "trail" files. next time after a flight, I'll save it and download it for a path for google earth.

Cool stuff.

Alan
Click to expand...

This is really cool. I ran my GPS on the simulator for a while and made a test track and it converted just fine. It took a while to figure out how to manipulate Google Earth to get the polygons beneath the gps track line though. Just in case there are people out there as stupid as I am, this is what I did.

1. Use GPSVisualizer to export the trackfile to .KMZ format for Google Earth
2. Launch Google Earth
3. Right click your file under Temporary Places
4. Selected Edit
5. Check the Advanced box
6. Clicked the Location Tab, check Draw Lines as Skirts with Fences.
7. Click the style tab and select your line and polygon color and opacity.

This is really cool stuff!
 
Last edited:
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