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Intro to BaseCamp

On nautical chart plotters/GPS the Go Home feature is called the MOB button, or man overboard. There was an article in Ocean Navigator about 10 years ago about a group of guys sport fishing off Cape Hatteras. Faced with several hour return back to the marina they all went below to sleep off a day of sun and drinking leaving one guy on deck to man the boat. Nature called and you guessed it... a couple of hours later someone woke up and realized he was overboard. Pressing the MOB button caused the autopilot to turn the boat, waking the everyone else on board as it heeled. They called the coast guard, but ultimately returned to the guy floating in the ocean. Very lucky indeed.

There is a book by Nigel Calder titled "How to Read a Nautical Chart" that goes into GPS and the technology of cartography in detail. Although its not specifically for terrestrial GPS most of the theory is relevant and some of the detail about map types (raster, etc.) very valuable. It's a whopping $12 for the Kindle/E-readers at Amazon and probably free to anyone in a big city with a library card. It may help explain why Basecamp does a few of the things it does.
 
Is it wrong that after three years I've never set the Home location in my Zumo? I always felt that this was the one place I won't need GPS to find. :rofl: Though I do understand how it can be handy the way others use it.

I usually create what I hope to be interesting routes on the computer, upload them to the Zumo, then go play with it on the bike. If a road I've chosen doesn't exist (fairly often) I zoom out and find a way to connect to the route again. (repeatedly telling the gal in the Zumo that, No, I don't want her to recalculate) Using tracks would eliminate her reminders, but I rather like them most of the time as I can stay focused on the road rather than on the Zumo. When she speaks up I take a glance to see what I need to know, rather than having to keep up with it as I ride.

Despite all the little configuration issues the Zumo and routing software has been a boon to my riding adventures and exploration of back roads.

However, as a SysAnalyst/Admin by day (and sometimes by night) I'm a glutton for techno-geek punishment by my very nature. :lol2:

This particular flavor of "fun" may not be everyone's cup of tea.
 
I rather like them most of the time as I can stay focused on the road rather than on the Zumo. When she speaks up I take a glance to see what I need to know, rather than having to keep up with it as I ride.

This is all new to me as I'm finally riding with audio. It's been a little strange to get used to it but I'm working on it.

However, as a SysAnalyst/Admin by day (and sometimes by night) I'm a glutton for techno-geek punishment by my very nature. :lol2:

This particular flavor of "fun" may not be everyone's cup of tea.

Yes. :D
 
:tab I like to have a "base" route loaded in my GPS. I follow that route but I am constantly on the look out for anything that looks interesting. I might stop, check out the surroundings on the GPS and then set off exploring. I might or might not come back to the base route. However, in the event I don't find anything interesting, I have the base route to keep me moving.

:tab Sometimes, I have no route at all. I just head out with the GPS in a general direction with a general end goal in mind and look to see what is between points A and B. The big thing is the convenience of the GPS. It lets you know exactly where you are on the map. With a paper map, you might be in one place but think you are in another. Phones with GPS will work the same way but they generally are not as ruggedized as a GPS in terms of weather proofing, vibration proofing, dirt proofing, etc,... Also, you need to be in range of a tower. In places I like to ride, there is often no service for many many miles.

:tab The find POI feature can be useful when looking for food, gas, lodging, and even a shop to fix a bike...
 
Actually, there's some very good offline map gps apps for phones these days so you don't require that cell signal. You do have to have enough storage space though. I prefer the plan of find someone selling a cheap GPS and snag it...it works out best in the end. :D
 
I picked up my last GPS for free, so they're out there. Another plug for Alpine Quest, a $10 android app that allows you to use maps via the internet or store them on your cell phone. I loaded the USGS Topos for SE Arizona and Southern California and it didn't take up much space on my 32g card at all. Tourmaster's right though, phones are not rugged enough for motorcycle GPS yet.

A correction on the home feature. It's not quite the same as MOB, but functions in somewhat the same way.
 
Doesn't MOB simply backtrack your current track to take the boat back to where the MOB is (hopefully) patiently treading water?

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2
 
That's it, where Home takes you to a fixed spot.

The difference for MOB then is that it returns to a fixed point by the same route taken from that fixed point. HOME takes you to the fixed point by the shortest/fastest route, not necessarily the same route.

MOB could have a marked advantage over HOME for those riders sporting the, "If you can read this, that means the ***** fell off" T-shirts. :rofl:
 
The difference for MOB then is that it returns to a fixed point by the same route taken from that fixed point. HOME takes you to the fixed point by the shortest/fastest route, not necessarily the same route.

MOB could have a marked advantage over HOME for those riders sporting the, "If you can read this, that means the ***** fell off" T-shirts. :rofl:

I'd think "HOME" would have the advantage of, she finally fell off, now take me home via a different route so I don't have to re-find her, and hear about how long she's been standing on the road waiting on me to notice she fell off. :D
 
...One of my favorite features is the "Go Home" button. Run around, get yourself lost exploring, don't use the GPS all day long, just go down roads that look interesting. When you are done, pull up the GPS and hit "Go Home" and bam...you aren't lost and have a way home.

Agree, I did buy a $59 GPS six years ago that I used for this purpose only. Bought all the special mounts and hard wire kits for multiple bikes but then came to the realization that I could neither see them adequately in the sun glare and due to my farsidedness. And I could never clearly hear the audio unless I was completely stopped and either turned bike off or removed helmet. So I packed it away when riding and only got it out when lost to see route home. After 1 year living here I learned all the roads well enough not to ever pull it out so stopped carrying it. Now I have the smart phone GPS for this but havent needed to use it yet.

My want for a GPS is really for dirt tracks and routes. Would love to take someone's gpx file and download it for a ride with known terrain. either tieing together a long string of dirt roads or true offroad tracks in the wilderness. Meeting someone on the road/trail and being able to grab his route and share mine via Bluetooth would be nirvana. Problem only limited models have this and all big bucks.

The difference for MOB then is that it returns to a fixed point by the same route taken from that fixed point. HOME takes you to the fixed point by the shortest/fastest route, not necessarily the same route.

I would think not exactly, MOB should return you via exact backtracking to your fixed START coordinates for that route whereas HOME takes you via best route to your preset HOME coordinates. GPS usually only has one HOME setting correct?

_
 
I can't say about the using the home feature to return simply because I haven't done it. In wilderness/marine situations it would be practical to return the way your came since there may be obstacles on a more direct route. On road based GPS having it calculate a route for you might be better. I'd be surprised that there isn't a switch in the software to control that.

Home serves more functions than simply as a place to return. If you use security on your device it will recognize that you are "home" and not prompt for a password or pin.
 
I would think not exactly, MOB should return you via exact backtracking to your fixed START coordinates for that route whereas HOME takes you via best route to your preset HOME coordinates. GPS usually only has one HOME setting correct?_

Yes, and they are both "fixed points" as described.

As you indicate, HOME being permanent fixed point programmed into the GPS, MOB being the most recent start point recorded as a fixed point to return to along a recorded route.
 
I can't say about the using the home feature to return simply because I haven't done it. In wilderness/marine situations it would be practical to return the way your came since there may be obstacles on a more direct route. On road based GPS having it calculate a route for you might be better. I'd be surprised that there isn't a switch in the software to control that.

Home serves more functions than simply as a place to return. If you use security on your device it will recognize that you are "home" and not prompt for a password or pin.

In all my GPSs - my car/bike Nuvis, and my CSX760 trail GPS - there's an option to turn on your bread crumbs, and follow the purple dotted line home. For MC purposes, I recommend you zero that out periodically. Otherwise, when you turn the feature on, you may find a massive crisscross of purple lines from your last six months' riding.
 
I'm betting that's what basecamp uses for your "Adventures" since you can use that to go back and see where you've been.
 
With the Zumo, when a user resets their trip data is loged the old tracks into an archive file in the GPX format. I capture these and save them so that I can recreate any trip the Zumo has been on. (For data geeks out there this is really interesting stuff.) Just now, I tried to implement the "Go Home" function after resetting the trip data to see what the Zumo would do, but it can't get a good fix so it thinks it is at home. It can be set to show all past tracks, but that is a different feature than the Go Home routing.
 
I never set a "home" location. I have read of people having the GPS units stolen and then not long after their homes are broken into... Just sayin... :wary:
 
I never set a "home" location. I have read of people having the GPS units stolen and then not long after their homes are broken into... Just sayin... :wary:

Yea, mine is a fencepost in a nearby empty pasture. I was always afraid of someone (trailer trash neighbors) stealing it while I was out and breaking the pin code because they were already at my home location.
 
...
On our trip to Arizona I had loaded up a route to the Coke Ovens that went over roads that can't be "routed," in other words the map didn't recognize them as roads. ...

Is that THE "Coke Ovens" that on the way to, Scott's KLR had to be towed up some steps by a jeep? I seem to remember he got a free ride in an air-conditioned jeep! AND they camped out next to a swollen river and had to be rescued by some sort of old military vehicle? AND they had to make multiple trips to get the bikes loaded and back across?

AND is that the one Scott dropped his bike next to some cacti?

That didn't sound like fun to me! More like survival!!
 
I'm not sure what really secret information it would give away. Really, anyone driving by suddenly knows where your house is. All they really get is a connection between a random device and your home. It's not like your gps reveals that you have six TV's at home.

If it worries you, most new GPS's have a place to put pictures. Stock up lots of pics of your German Shepherd and you should be all good. :D
 
Is that THE "Coke Ovens" that on the way to, Scott's KLR had to be towed up some steps by a jeep? I seem to remember he got a free ride in an air-conditioned jeep! AND they camped out next to a swollen river and had to be rescued by some sort of old military vehicle? AND they had to make multiple trips to get the bikes loaded and back across?

AND is that the one Scott dropped his bike next to some cacti?

That didn't sound like fun to me! More like survival!!

Yes. You can read that report here...

Gnats, Knobbies, Bolts, Bullets and Boulders... The Thrashing of Best Laid Plans...
http://www.twtex.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18205

And it was totally FUN!! :flip:

I am in the early stages of planning a return to that area this Spring :rider:
 
Good link and a good read! I don't remember it being that short! :giveup: Ah the dreaded cholla and M715!

Back to GPS. I think when people post problems and/or solutions they should identify the GPS model especially since the Nuvi's are far less capable than the Zumo's.
 
Bump for anyone else wanting to learn BaseCamp before RTB. ;)
 
Ran across a cheesy BaseCamp/One Note hack I thought I would share. By default Basecamp prints the written directions to match the size of a letter size sheet of paper. Users can see it in a narrow form in the Route Directions window, but can't print it there for use in a roll chart. By using the Insert Screen Clipping feature of One Note the narrower version can be cut and pasted into document where it can be printed. Other clipping tools exist to do the same thing.

I think TwoStrokeDS posted up how to use a thermal label printer to print continuous roll charts in 2.25" widths, but I can't find the thread at the moment.

m
 
On Basecamp 4.4.6 on OSX, I seem to have lost these buttons. Clues?
Thanks.

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