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< title > Essential GPS information< / title >
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< h2 id = "tophead" > CUCC Expedition Handbook< / h2 >
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< h1 > Essential GPS information< / h1 >
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< p > < b > SAFETY< / b > . Everyone < a href = "../plateau.html" > gets lost on the plateau< / a > . Don't get lost for long as this causes rescue plans to be initiated.
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So get this essential data onto your phone (or handheld GPS).
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< p > < b > SAFETY< / b > . Turn on < b > location tracking< / b > in Google Maps (or OsmAnd) before you leave the car park and share your location with someone you know at basecamp and also with someone you know at top camp. This will show your last known location if you walk into an area of bad signal.
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< p >
We have a regularly-updated file of the wiggly tracks of the paths we regularly take: from Loser Alm car park to the col, top camp and Homecoming cave,
and from top camp to Fisch Gesicht Hö hle and to Tunnocks's, Balkonhö hle and Organhö hle.
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< p > [It also has the Austrian "kataster boundaries": these are < b > not paths< / b > but separate areas with
different mapping designations.
These are the smooth, curved lines.]
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The file also includes all the cave entrances for the entire Schvartzmooskö gel system (SMK).< / p >
< a href = "http://expo.survex.com/expofiles/gpslogs/essentials/essentials2019.gpx" > < img src = "essentials-screenshot.jpg" alt = "screenshot of the GPS file" > < / a >
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< p > < b > Don't be misled by the apparent simplicity< / b > of the above tracks. The plateau is very broken and is
an unremitting extent of cliffs, holes and impassable dwarf-larch scrub ("bunde" as it is known on expo).
You can be 5m from the route and have lost it entirely. The < a href = "../1623/walkin.htm" > walk to and from< / a >
col leading to the plateau is comparatively easy is it is an obvious path, and marked and signposted in the earlier section.
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< h2 > How to get this essential data onto your device< / h2 >
< p > Either
< ul >
< li > < a href = "#sideways" > Download the data to your phone from an online GPS app< / a > - recommended
< / ul >
< p > or
< ol >
< li > < a href = "#down" > Download the GPX file from the expo server< / a > - hard
< li > < a href = "#up" > Upload the GPX file to your device< / a > - harder
< / ol >
< h2 id = "sideways" > Get GPS essentials from an online service< / h2 >
< b > BEING UPDATED - OUT OF DATE FILE< / b >
< p > Try this link
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< a href = "https://www.wikiloc.com/outdoor-trails/carpark-stonebridge-27029006&utm_source=social&utm_medium=twitter.com&utm_campaign=badge" >
Wikilocs< / a >
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from where you can download a short version of the file (track and one waypoint at StoneBridge only)
or a Google Earth trail (you need to create a Wikiloc account first < em > and be logged-in< / em >
when you click on this). Or here is another < a href = "https://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/download.do?id=27029006" > direct download link< / a > .
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< h2 id = "down" > Download the GPS essentials file from the expo server< / h2 >
< p > The most recent 2019 GPX file can be downloaded from here:
< a href = "http://expo.survex.com/expofiles/gpslogs/essentials/essentials2019.gpx" download > essentials2019.gpx< / a > (596K).
< p >
Phones have a problem with a simple link like that.
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< h2 id = "up" > Upload the GPS essentials file to your device< / h2 >
< p >
This is where it gets tricky because every device and phone app does this differently.
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< h3 > GPS phone apps< / h3 >
< p >
This should work the same way whether you have an iPhone or an Android phone.
< p > We do not have a recommended app as there is nothing we have found which quite does quite what we need. We are using
< a href = "http://www.gpsessentials.com/" > www.gpsessentials.com< / a > and < a href = "https://osmand.net/" > OsmAnd< / a > so try one of these first. If you discover a good app, tell everyone about it.
< p >
Visit the < a href = "http://www.gpsessentials.com/" > www.gpsessentials.com< / a > website and read the manual (top left, on the menu bar: "Manual") for how to do this.
Except that the manual doesn't tell you.
< p > The OsmAnd documentation says:
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< li > "The simplest way to view a track you've downloaded is to tap on it in your device's file manager and choose to open it in OsmAnd. After that, you'll see the track in My places - My tracks or in the Dashboard - My tracks."
< / ul >
< p >
More documentation on this to follow...
< h3 > Modern Garmin handheld GPS devices< / h3 >
< p >
Connect the GPS device to your laptop (or the expo laptop) using the USB cable. A folder will open on the laptop showing the contents
of the device.
You will see a subfolder called "GARMIN". Open the folder "GARMIN" and copy the file essentials.gpx which you
downloaded into that folder.
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< p > Even modern (2019) Garmin GPS devices use this old style mini-USB socket. So you will need the special cable that comes with the device. An ordinary phone USB cable won't work.
< p >
< figure >
< img src = "t/usb-minib-5pin-m-c.jpg" alt = "mini-USB socket" / >
< figcaption > < em > mini-USB b socket< / em > < / figcaption >
< / figure >
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< h3 > Very Old Garmin handheld GPS devices< / h3 >
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< p >
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These need the Garmin communication protocol to import cave entrance locations (waypoints) and paths (tracks).
You can't do it by simply copying files.
This means that you need special software on your laptop in addition to a USB cable that
connects your laptop to the Garmin device.
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< p > Once you have the right cable and connected your handheld to your laptop:
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< ul >
< li > On a Windows machine, use "GPSbabel for Windows" which has an easy to use graphical user interface:
< a href = "https://www.gpsbabel.org/download.html" > download GPS Babel< / a >
< li > On a Linux machine the core gpsbabel command line utility is probably already installed;
but there is no simple, easy to use graphical interface.
Instead you must use other software such as QGIS or Viking (download using your usual Linux software installer)
which uses gpsbabel to talk to your device.
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If this doesn't work then there are no useful error messages from Viking.
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< / ul >
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< h2 id = "down" > Nerds only: getting the < i > very latest< / i > GPS essentials file < / h2 >
< p >
We create a new version of this essential GPS data during expo and as expoers discover new entrances and
devise new routes to reach them.
< p >
To regenerate the < i > most recent version< / i > which contains the cave entrances discovered during expo
you will need to ask someone who is competent in logging into the server and running scripts.
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< p > The data is in the version control system < a href = "computing/repos.html" > repository< / a > < var > :loser:< / var > in
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< pre >
loser/gpx/
< / pre >
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and is generated from the survex data by a script. It is best to do this on a laptop which has the entire < var > :loser:< / var >
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repo downloaded onto it (e.g. the < i > expo laptop< / i > ) rather than on the server itself as the server can run out of memory doing this.
< p > The most recent track data will have been uploaded by an expoer into e.g.
< pre >
expofiles/gpslogs/2019/MichaelSargent/col-to-homecoming-msargent-2019-07-14_18-38_Sun.gpx
< / pre >
< p > and this will need to be hand-edited into script-generated essentials.gpx file.
< p > The most recent 2019 GPX file can be downloaded from here:
< a href = "http://expo.survex.com/expofiles/gpslogs/essentials/essentials2019.gpx" download > essentials2019.gpx< / a > (596K).< br >
This is actually entirely hand-edited from original tracks. The only survex data it uses is the entrances waypoints which are exported
by the script which has been hand-edited in. It also has the kataster boundaries hand-edited in.
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< p > The 17 July 2018 version
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can be downloaded from here : < a href = "essentials.gpx" download > essentials.gpx< / a > (190K).
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(This is a symlink to loser/gpx/essentials.gpx). This works fine on laptops but most phones don't like this sort of link.
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< h3 > Regenerating the essentials.gpx file< / h3 >
< p > There are two scripts needed for this:
< a href = "troggle/scriptscurrent.html#gps" > make_essentials.sh< / a > and
< a href = "troggle/scriptscurrent.html#surface" > make_svx.sh< / a >
both of which are stored in the < var > :loser:< / var > repository in :loser:/gpx/ .
< p > Read the < a href = "troggle/make-essentialsREADME.txt" > README< / a > file in that directory.
< p > They are documented in the long list of < a href = "troggle/scriptsother.html" > Other scripts< / a > .
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< hr / >
< ul id = "links" >
< li > < a href = "index.htm" > Expedition Handbook< / a >
< ul >
< li > < a href = "survey/index.htm" > Surveying guide< / a > - Overview< / li >
< li > < a href = "look4.htm" > Prospecting guide< / a > – Overview< / li >
< li > < a href = "rescue.htm" > Rescue guide< / a > < / li >
< / ul > < / li >
< li > < a href = "../index.htm" > Back to Expedition Intro page< / a > < / li >
< li > < a href = "../../index.htm" > Back to CUCC Home page< / a > < / li >
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