Sending Tracks and Courses to the Garmin
Beginning with the Uploader for Garmin 5.0 and Sportablet 5.9, my apps can send tracks and courses to some Garmin units.
There is a long road ahead, because Garmin is using even more protocols and formats when sending data than when receiving.
Still, instead of waiting until every unit is supported and every small piece is perfect, I decided to make this feature available incrementally, that is:
- different Garmin models will be supported over time
- early versions will be crude; refinements will come.
This page will evolve over time as well, reflecting the new supported models and the new features.
Note: at this time, this feature is only available to licensed users.
At some point, I'll make it available in demo mode as well. Given my limited time, I decided to spend it to support those who have bought the app already.
There is a long road ahead, because Garmin is using even more protocols and formats when sending data than when receiving.
Still, instead of waiting until every unit is supported and every small piece is perfect, I decided to make this feature available incrementally, that is:
- different Garmin models will be supported over time
- early versions will be crude; refinements will come.
This page will evolve over time as well, reflecting the new supported models and the new features.
Note: at this time, this feature is only available to licensed users.
At some point, I'll make it available in demo mode as well. Given my limited time, I decided to spend it to support those who have bought the app already.
General precautions
Many of you have found that their tablet or phone cannot really power the Garmin over the usb. Many Garmin units are designed to always charge from the usb, and have been designed with a PC in mind. Many tablets and phones cannot (or won't) provide the required amount of power over the usb, and in fact may even turn off the usb entirely, often with a message like "high power device connected" (which no, is not a good thing).
My recommendation on those cases is always to connect the Garmin through a powered usb hub. Still, some of you guys found that by connecting a fully-charged Garmin they didn't need to supply external power.
That's ok when reading (sort of). However, when you write to the Garmin, a power loss may lead to data loss. Is not like you're going to brick your Garmin, but you may lose some data. So my recommendation is the same, once again: if your tablet/phone can't power the garmin, use a powered usb hub or, if you know what you're doing, a usb y-cable and a charger (at some point, I'll create a tutorial on how to do this).
My recommendation on those cases is always to connect the Garmin through a powered usb hub. Still, some of you guys found that by connecting a fully-charged Garmin they didn't need to supply external power.
That's ok when reading (sort of). However, when you write to the Garmin, a power loss may lead to data loss. Is not like you're going to brick your Garmin, but you may lose some data. So my recommendation is the same, once again: if your tablet/phone can't power the garmin, use a powered usb hub or, if you know what you're doing, a usb y-cable and a charger (at some point, I'll create a tutorial on how to do this).
My model is not supported yet. Now what?
Please understand that I'm working on these apps in my spare time. So be patient. What you can do is:
1) get in touch; I always need some alpha tester; you need to be brave though.
2) help the app to grow. Tell your friend, on twitter, facebook, on forums, blogs, etc. Yes, I know you're just disappointed because I'm not supporting your model yet. Still, throwing a tantrum and giving the app 1 star on google play is not going to help you in any way (quite the opposite). Instead, use your energy to help the app, and that will help you too (read: speed up development).
1) get in touch; I always need some alpha tester; you need to be brave though.
2) help the app to grow. Tell your friend, on twitter, facebook, on forums, blogs, etc. Yes, I know you're just disappointed because I'm not supporting your model yet. Still, throwing a tantrum and giving the app 1 star on google play is not going to help you in any way (quite the opposite). Instead, use your energy to help the app, and that will help you too (read: speed up development).
Supported models
At this time, these Garmin models are supported:
Forerunner 205, Forerunner 305, Edge 205, Edge 305
The track will be sent as a course, which preserves more details. There are limits on the number of courses that the unit can store: if you reach the limit, the app will ask you to delete some. Note that there are limits also on the total number of points, so a long course may prevent other courses from being uploaded. At this stage, the app does not try to "simplify" the track in any way.
Note that the protocol for those units requires all the courses already on the Garmin to be read, the new one to be added, and the entire pack to be written back. The more courses you keep on the Garmin, the slower the process.
I recommend that you make a copy of your data before trying this out. Although I've tested this feature quite a bit, bugs in this area are dangerous, and may even require a hard reset of your Garmin (I had to do this once, during development; to my knowledge, there are no bugs left on this area, but you never know for sure when external devices are involved).
Forerunner 205, Forerunner 305, Edge 205, Edge 305
The track will be sent as a course, which preserves more details. There are limits on the number of courses that the unit can store: if you reach the limit, the app will ask you to delete some. Note that there are limits also on the total number of points, so a long course may prevent other courses from being uploaded. At this stage, the app does not try to "simplify" the track in any way.
Note that the protocol for those units requires all the courses already on the Garmin to be read, the new one to be added, and the entire pack to be written back. The more courses you keep on the Garmin, the slower the process.
I recommend that you make a copy of your data before trying this out. Although I've tested this feature quite a bit, bugs in this area are dangerous, and may even require a hard reset of your Garmin (I had to do this once, during development; to my knowledge, there are no bugs left on this area, but you never know for sure when external devices are involved).
How to use it
There is a new button "Send track" on the main screen. In this early version, the app can only send TCX files. Beginning with the Uploader for Garmin 5.7 and Sportablet 6.6, both the "Activity" and "Course" TCX types are supported. Also, the Garmin CRS format is supported as well, but you have to name the file track.tcx anyway (see below).
It is my intention to support TCX, FIT and GPX files for all Garmin units, doing the necessary conversion when needed, but will take some time. In this early release, you cannot choose a file. The app will look for a file called
/mnt/sdcard/track.tcx
(that is, a file called track.tcx stored in the /mnt/sdcard/ folder). Prepare that file before you click "send track". You'll get an error message if you don't.
With the file in place, just click "send track" (with your Garmin connected). The app will do whatever is necessary (see the section on your specific Garmin model) to send the track to the unit. As usual, there is a log window explaining what is going on.
At this time, the track / course name is chosen by the app (of course, later on you'll be able to set a name before uploading). The name is the date/time of upload, so if you upload a course on September 10, 2013, 14:59:37, your track name will be 20130910145937.
It is my intention to support TCX, FIT and GPX files for all Garmin units, doing the necessary conversion when needed, but will take some time. In this early release, you cannot choose a file. The app will look for a file called
/mnt/sdcard/track.tcx
(that is, a file called track.tcx stored in the /mnt/sdcard/ folder). Prepare that file before you click "send track". You'll get an error message if you don't.
With the file in place, just click "send track" (with your Garmin connected). The app will do whatever is necessary (see the section on your specific Garmin model) to send the track to the unit. As usual, there is a log window explaining what is going on.
At this time, the track / course name is chosen by the app (of course, later on you'll be able to set a name before uploading). The name is the date/time of upload, so if you upload a course on September 10, 2013, 14:59:37, your track name will be 20130910145937.
Feedback
You can't comment on this page; find the most relevant post on the blog (there will be one post for every new device supported) and write there, or get in touch through the contact page. Be nice please :-).
