android tab with google maps and garmin gpx files?

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byewayrider
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android tab with google maps and garmin gpx files?

Post by byewayrider »

okay ...i love my etrex 20 with topo maps for its rugged use, but on a recent trip to north africa I needed to constantly change route and stopping and getting the samsung netbook out and booting up basecamp was slow and hard work...

So thinking of the new samsung tab A 10.1 with lte and wifi (thumbs) ..cheap and with huge 200gb space..so I can download maps or use a card and Goggle [if the mapping is upto date] it has glonass too.

what i need it to do is display my garmin gpx track or route as a overlay on google earth [can do it easily on windows netbook...so I get a overview of where i am and which turn to take not the one down the gully of doom :woohoo: ..

any feedback or links please...garmin navigator springs to mind but again "does it work " well on Android with marshmallow [6]...
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PaulinBont
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Re: android tab with google maps and garmin gpx files?

Post by PaulinBont »

Hopefully I'm not hijacking your post (apologies if I am )

I've kind of got the same query but am a complete numpty regarding IT .

Similar vein so here goes:

In the spring I'm going to take a Tablet with me to the Somme and try to follow the events of July 1st 1916. In my head I kind of think that if I had a Tablet with the WW1 Trench maps for that area downloaded onto it ( ie off the National Library of Scotland site) and had Google Earth open as well I could follow my grandfather's route and put myself right on the Trench he went over the top from.

Am I right in thinking I'd need a 3G or 4G mobile data-enabled Tablet and not a WiFi one as there is no WiFi signal where I'm going? Would the Galaxy Tab A 10" mentioned in the OP be right for me? and what specs should I be looking for?

I'll also be using BaseCamp to plan my route around the French lanes.
byewayrider
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Re: android tab with google maps and garmin gpx files?

Post by byewayrider »

paul ..you need a laptop with lte [2/3/4g] and wifi around £300 WITH huge card at present and a phone sim..but the network might not support fast enough download for google earth in the field :whistle: ..

garmin files are gpx...to be used on goggle earth they need converting to kmlz [google file type] and shown as a "thread" to appear as a overlay...the glonass gps shows approx where you are in relation to the track...for routes use google maps..2 very different products..

garmin topo mars are good but google earth is also good as you can easily see whats over the next forest crest before venturing into "Hell"...or river looks fast flowing am i going to need to cross it ahead ..if so what path can i take to avoid it...

you can change gpx to kmlz with some file changing software on a windows pc then save to the tab card ..then open the file in google earth [import]

there is huge variation of advice from 2013 to present on what android/google/garmin can share...not to mention the third party apps.

its heavy reading and understanding.....not something i want to do sat under a tree in senegal :laugh: ...
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micksea
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Re: android tab with google maps and garmin gpx files?

Post by micksea »

Try and app called gpx viewer,it let's you upload gpx files and overlays them on map segments that you pre download and uses gps,so doesn't use your data
SteveR
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Re: android tab with google maps and garmin gpx files?

Post by SteveR »

I would suggest that one of the many free and low cost programs (apps) running Open Street Maps and not requiring data, would be worth a looksee?

Not quite sure just what your demands actually require, but I rate ViewRanger when running on a Tablet very highly, nice and big for old blind motorcyclists... :whistle:
DaleC
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Re: android tab with google maps and garmin gpx files?

Post by DaleC »

Have a look at OSMand (Open Street Maps for Android).

It will do most of what you want, including making GPX routes and is offline once the maps are downloaded, therefore, not using data while on the move.

I have used OSMand on a Samsung Tab to create GPX and save to MicroSD card that I then insert into my Garmin 450 for following.

OSMand is free with up to 10 map downloads. The paid version is a couple of quid and is unlimited maps.

It can be fiddly, but no more so than Basecamp and is getting better all the time (thumbs)

I have tested their maps in Morocco, Mongolia, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and lots of Western Europe/UK and they are generally very good. They are exceptional when you consider how much you pay for them - nothing! (thumbs)
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bfgjohno
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Re: android tab with google maps and garmin gpx files?

Post by bfgjohno »

Orux Maps is free and excellent. Variety of base maps that can also be layered. You can overlay gpx, kml etc and works offline.
The issue of downloading google earth images to use in the field is tricky as they are potentially huge file sizes
bfgjohno
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Re: android tab with google maps and garmin gpx files?

Post by bfgjohno »

Tracks4Africa offer useful mapping for.......Africa. Sometimes better than OSM.
bfgjohno
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Re: android tab with google maps and garmin gpx files?

Post by bfgjohno »

I see OSMand allows one to view Bing satellite imagery (sometimes better/different from GoogleEarth) when online - not ideal in the middle of the boonies but if you have internet connection you can then then see the gulch where you are heading with the GPX overlaid - is that what you need?
byewayrider
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Re: android tab with google maps and garmin gpx files?

Post by byewayrider »

Bloody Ace guys...just the info i needed..google earth was a example and all for supporting the little guys who make are trips possible ...

Im sure the replies will help others where ever they travel....

Now to screw the big boys down on price for a tab lol..
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