All Topo Maps: GPS Tour

All Topo Maps: GPS allows you to move coordinates between the AllTopo viewer and your GPS device using your PC's serial port.

Compatibility

The GPS tool will upload and download waypoints and routes to most Garmin, Magellan and LSI (Lowrance/Eagle) GPS Devices. In addition, real time tracking is available for all GPS devices with NMEA outputs. Checkout [ GPS compatibility ] for details.

The GPS tool will automatically figure out which GPS model is connected, you need only know the brand, COM port and baud rate.

Starting the GPS Tool

To start the GPS tool, double-click on the All Topo Maps tool bar and opren the GPS Tool: 

or click on the 'Start: Program Files: All Topo Maps: All Topo Maps: GPS' item. The GPS tool starts and displays this screen:

Configuring the GPS Tool and Testing Your GPS Device Connection

Before continuing, we need to configure the GPS tool for the brand of GPS we have connected: select the 'GPS Setup' tab:

to display this screen:

Set the COM port the GPS is connected to and the GPS brand, a short message detailing typical GPS settings will be displayed.

Next, press the button to verify that the GPS tool can communicate with your GPS, and then press Done to return to the 'Coordinate List' screen.

Transferring Coordinates

Coordinate transfers are easy with the GPS tool. First (1) get coordinates from:

1. The All Topo Maps viewer
2. A text file
3. The GPS device's Waypoints, Routes or Tracks

then (2) select the coordinates to transfer, and finally (3) save the coordinates to:

1. The All Topo Maps viewer
2. A text file
3. The GPS device's Waypoints or Routes

A Track Example

It's easy to transfer a track list from a connected GPS to All Topo Maps.

First press the 'Load Coordinate From  GPS Receiver' button:

Next, select 'Track List' number 1:

Press the 'OK' button and the GPS tool will download all of the selected track points from your GPS.

Next, press the 'Save Selected Coordinate To  All Topo Maps button:

We want to annotate the map with both the route points and a connecting line so choose 'Connected Route of Waypoints' and press OK.

The entire GPS track is annotated onto the map:

Continue to the [ BigTopo ] tour.