Discussion: route

http://routegadget.awardspace.com/dotmaps/pg_20091...

Speed: green < blue < yellow < red

each dot = 1 second. Every 10th dot is black, just to make it more easy to count how much time was lost here and there.

Wow, that's very cool. Guess I've got a lot of things to figure out how to do.

Without backround map that doesn't tell much to us, but you may notice some interesting things and remember what you were doing there.

You should be able to do it with your mac like this:
1) export your run as gpx. For example

http://connect.garmin.com/explore?owner=pgagarin
-> ratlum night-O
-> export -> gpx file
save it to your laptop.

then go to
http://www.routegadget.net/gps/gpx2dotmap.php

Select the gpx file. Push "submit" and you have the "dot map" without controls. If you like to have control rings, you need to have split times. Go to AP split page:
http://www.attackpoint.org/racesplits.jsp/race_478...
and copy & paste your splits to the splits text area. Just your splits rows without name or anything.

If you did not start you gps few seconds too early or late rings will be misplaces slightly. You can fix this using time calibration field, type there the amount of seconds needed. For Ratlum 6 secs would do.

Then you may like to adjust colouring, speed 1 is ok for me in most terrains, faster runners shuold use something like 1.1 and even slower runners than me may need to use something like 0.8 to get some green colour there.

And when you see the image you can just save it.

Oh, that's cool. So I tried that with yesterday's run and it worked just fine. Until I got to the point of saving it, which I did, but then when I went to open the saved file, it wouldn't open. When I saved it, it was in png format (portable network graphic), the file name was gpx2dotmap.php.png

Don't know if I was doing something wrong.

And of course the next question (assuming I can save it properly) is overlaying that on a map. Or at that point do just have to bite the bullet and get my Mac to work like a PC and use Quickroute?

I think the dot maps are really cool. The latest developer version of Quickroute is incorporating a way of measuring time in the ring, which is one nice bit of info from the dot maps.

I use Bootcamp, which was free but requires restarting to go between platforms. Don't do that; it's a royal pain. I would strongly recommend getting software that allows you to switch between mac and windows without restarting (such as Parallels?).

When I saved it, it was in png format (portable network graphic), the file name was gpx2dotmap.php.png >

I am getting the same thing with XP, and when I do a Save As, there is no drop down choice to save it as an image.

When I right click, I can copy the image and then open another program, paste it in, and then save it as a jpg which is a bit unwieldy.

Firefox seems to does that. Tthere is now download option. Better keep this as png, as jpg files becomes bigger and quality gets worse.

This is just a simple & fast tool I did for myself to study time losses without having to scan map or take snapshots. it's not intended for publishing routes on map (or to be published at all). It will not work if one doesn't already know where he went. It's best for advanced orienteers who can keep decent pace and do virtually no mistakes and are intrested in small ~10 second mistakes and hesitations.

I study these images with map in my hand. Works just fine and takes just couple of minutes minutes to process the image and count how many seconds I lost and why. Scanning & adjusting route takes at leat same time, so I am done well before I could even start doing the actual study with backround map after scanning and adjustments.

But for example 0cad can be used to ovarlay this on scanned raster map image.

I had a similar first reaction, just looking at the path of dots, even without the map, and seeing how fast (actually, how slow) I was moving at different points. As I said, it's really cool. Thanks!

I'm curious to get the feedback when I do some orienteering under more normal conditions, though that may not be anytime soon.

I think I will try to pursue RouteGadget just out of curiosity.

Of course, some dot path don't do you a whole lot of good, such as yesterday on the treadmill...

do you wear the watch on your right hand?