"Tracks" Questions - HELP PLEASE!

[Horitexan]

I've got a Garmin Map60 Csx and I'm not sure how to do a few things with the "Tracks" I have created/saved- or if what I want to do is even possible. Hopefully y'all can answer a couple of questions for me:

1. How can I go back to a Track once I've saved it and have created another Track (or several) afterwards. I have about 6 different "Saved Tracks" in my GPS unit- each one (shown in different colors) represents either different roads or routes on our ranch or else they represent roads in different pastures. From time to time I realize that there's a road that I haven't yet recorded and I want to then go back to the appropriate Track and add it by turning the Track feature "On", driving down that section of road and then turning the Track feature "Off." How do I switch between tracks?

2. Is it possible to COMBINE Tracks and how would I do it- What is the best way to to use the Tracks I've recorded, that show roads on our ranch, to create a roadmap of the ranch and its roads? As I mentioned earlier, I have various different roads and routes (i.e. feed routes for the cattle) recorded as Tracks that display in different colors. I'D LIKE to be able to combine them into one sort of entity/file (for lack of a better term) that I can make a semi-permanent feature on my GPS; and that I can distribute to ranch workers and guests that also have compatible Garmin handhelds. I'd especially like to keep the color-coding to allow people to discern which roads are part of feed routes versus which roads are simply access roads. I wish that I could If anyone can help me with this or give me some good advice, I'd sure appreciate it!

Thanks, in advance, for any help you might be able to give me!

Nick Anderson
Austin, TX

[TWN]

#1. You can store, name and save up to 20 tracks on your GPS unit. They will appear on you units map page as separate tracks. You can download the tracks into MapSource and display them on the map and print them out. On the GPS unit a track is not like a Route that the unit will show you the way to go. You basically have to display the track on the map screen and follow it visually. So you do not turn it off and on it is just there. There is software to create a route from a track if you want to do that.
#2. To combine and work with tracks, install "GPS Trackmaker Free" http://www.gpstm.com/
also look at "GPS Utility Light" http://www.gpsu.co.uk/download.html
And "EasyGPS" http://www.topografix.com/download.asp

Try these suggestions and if you have more specific questions, post again.

Hope this helps.....

[Red90]

You can do all of that in Mapsource. The newer versions have decent track editting tools. After editting, just send them to the unit. You use the "tracback" feature to be guided along a track.

If you are somewhat computer literate, turning them into a map is better in the end.

[TWN]

Be careful using the "TrackBack" feature of Garmin GPS unites because it does not guide you along the EXACT track as recorded. TrackBack calculates a route using sort of an average of the track points so the track gets smoother out. If you want to follow your EXACT track, display your track on the map page and follow it visually. Once after recording a track while bush whacking through the woods, I used trackback to try to return to my truck and it literally tried to route me over a cliff!!!