Software-On-Board

[Lee Martin]

The import and export of waypoints, routes and tracks from SOB to a GPS or other device is nothing short of horrendous. It involves use of Excel, text, .CSV files and so forth. Absolutely cumbersome.

I have found GPSUtility to be a great program for transporting wpt's rte's and tracks. For example, I can upload a MaxSea rte to my GPS with 2 clicks of a mouse. However GPSUtility does not recognise SOB wpt and rte files...uploading a SOB rte to GPS involves a cumbersome workaround using GPSUtility. Or going the crazy .csv path.

At the very least, can the SOB team get in contact with the GPSUtility team and ask them kindly to include the SOB format for wpt's and rte's in their wonderful program???

At the best, Sob could include a decent import export mechanism. Talking lack of standards doesn't cut it with me...SOB's file formats are totally incompatible with anything!!

Sorry for the whinge..frustrated
Lee Martin

[Malcolm]

There are XML import and export facilities on SOB, which could solve a lot of problems if everyone else used XML.
I will look at the GPSU and see if there is an easy way to use XML into it. What GPS/plotter are you using? which version of GPSU, 5.06?
Routes will always be a problem as nobody uses the same route formats.
_________________
Malcolm.

[Lee Martin]

Hi Malcolm,
I was using GPS Utility 4.99, have upgraded to 5.06 since your post (no charge -- thanks GPSU), but there is nothing in 5.06 which helps. My GPS is a Garmin GPSMap 76.

To upload SOB rte's to my GPS I go through the following steps:
from the All Routes page of SOB, export the rte as a txt file;
from the All Waypoints page of SOB, import the txt file as a wpt file;
from the All Waypoints page of SOB, export that wpt file as a xml file;
use GPSUtility to open that xml file, then upload to GPSMap 76;
the uploaded file appears as individual wpt's, so then use the Route page on the GPSMap 76 to link the individual wpt's back into a rte.

Compare that with uploading a MaxSea rte file:
open the MaxSea rte file with GPSU, upload to GPS as a route.

A simple workaround would be for the SOB people to send their wpt and rte formats to the GPSUtility people and ask them to include those file formats into the wide range of formats already in GPSU.

More generally, the handling of wpt's and rte's in SOB is clunky.

As a couple of asides to any one reading this post: GPSUtility is a great piece of software for handling wpt's and rte's and tracks; and, people around the world are beginning to make their past tracks available on the internet, almost always in Maxsea format. It would be of benefit to SOB and everyone else if SOB tracks could be similarily exchanged....probably via GPSU, or similar.

finish rant, lol

Lee Martin

[Malcolm]

I agree, if GPSU had another SOB section added it would solve everything for you.
OR, until then.. if SOB could export the route waypoints as XML direct from the ROUTES form (as it can from the waypoints form) then you could export the route to XML, use GPSU to import from XML, then export to Garmin. a bit quicker than your current method.
The rte & wpt file formats are available within the SOB manual, so easy enough for the guys at GPSU to extract the format from there. Has anyone tried asking them?
_________________
Malcolm.