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Kurt_Laughlin · ***Power User*** Offline Joined: Jan 24, 2006 Posts: 577

Over the last few days I had a chance to use vagabond's (Paul Hannah) .gpx Garmin GPS data files. I loaded a few states into my old Nuvi 350 and ran it in parallel with new Garmin unit. It worked great!

Loading
I downloaded the files and simply copy and pasted them into the Nuvi using WE Files Explorer. I wasn't sure if I had done it correctly, but when I open My Locations, there they were like any other saved place, each with its own line.

Use
So long as I kept the Nuvi on it provided a continuous position update of tanks, with the closest (by air, not road, miles) vehicle on top and a rough pointer showing the rough relative direction. I was going to specific locations (mainly by interstate) with the Nuvi giving "targets of opportunity" I waited until I was within 5 air miles of something interesting before tapping that entry to get the Nuvi to provide directions. That way I could see if the target was within a desirable range of the highway. If I was traveling on local roads I might do things differently. I kept the new unit running and on a couple of occasions I followed the wrong voice and had to turn around.

Data
Usually the entries were pretty good. A few had old or incorrect vehicle designators or status. It wasn't clear what the difference between unverified and unspecified was.

Overall
An excellent traveling accessory so long as the data is kept up to date. I am going to keep my old Nuvi in the car solely for use as a tank finder. Now ArmyJunk2 needs to put guns in a file and we'll be in fat city!

Thanks Paul for the great accessory.

KL

vagabond · Posted: Wed May 06, 2015 1:42 am Post subject: Re: Report on .gpx files

Thank you, Kurt!

I am glad you are finding the files useful.

The distinction between UNVERIFIED and UNSPECIFIED is this:
UNVERIFIED has a specific location but the AFV(s) has/have not been VERIFIED as being there.
UNSPECIFIED is used when an AFV is alleged to be in a city/town but has no SPECIFIC address/location.

Sometimes I used them together for situations where the AFV registry listing was vague.

I wanted a means to differentiate between locations that are fairly solid and those that need to be investigated further if the user/AFV fan wants to track down that vehicle.

I worked on the project for over a year, and refined things as I went, so there will be differences in listings and format.
Michel's site also has the excel files (that I used later in the process to create the maps and gpx files) available for download - you all are welcome to use them as templates for your own versions and can be updated.
I CANNOT promise I'll have the time to keep the files all up to date, but by having the files available for all, the community can update them as needed.

The mapping/GPS project files are meant as a starting point - there are going to be inconsistencies and errors - and, as I am not a programing or data tables expert, the methods are sort of adhoc - folks are welcome to take my efforts and customize them as needed.

This forum has greatly contributed to my knowledge and enjoyment - I/we hope to give back in return.

I encourage EVERYONE to download the Google Maps files (kml or kmz) from Michel’s site to use for AFV trip planning. You can SEE the locations in relation to the highways/roads and get an idea of what might be near the route that you’ll be taking, or nearby the area you are visiting. I’ve pulled them up on my iPhone while traveling and found nearby AFVs easily.

Get them HERE:
www.afvregister.org/Download.aspx

Cheers,
Paul

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