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GPSBabel help
This is a quick guide to use the free program GPSBabel to convert your GPS data to GPX. It also shows how to perform the inverse process of downloading GPS locations from Wikiloc and transfer them to your GPS unit to repeat routes, navigate to waypoints etc...
1 - Installing GPSBabel
GPSBabel installation is easy but differs depending on what operating system you're installing on. In Windows, you simply have to unzip GPSBabel to an empty directory, in Linux you can choose to install GPSBabel from a RPM package or build from source, for Mac OS X users there's already a precompiled version of GPSBabel. Please visit GPSBabel official help for installation details for your operating system.
2 - Downloading data from your GPS receiver to your computer in GPX format
- Ensure that your GPS unit is turned on and connected to your computer- Open a command line console of your operating system and navigate to the GPSBabel directory
- In Windows execute something like:
C:\gpsbabel> gpsbabel -i garmin -f com1 -o gpx -F my_waypoints.gpx
That reads: download the waypoints from my Garmin ™ GPS unit (-i garmin) connected to the COM1 serial port of my PC (-f com1) and save them in GPX format (-o gpx) in a new file named 'my_waypoints.gpx' (-F my_waypoints.gpx).If your GPS has a USB interface (and there is _not_ a USB/serial adapter involved), use -f usb:. If you have many USB devices, use -f usb:0 or -f usb:1 .... If you're experiencing problems it's likely that you don't have your USB device drivers provided by your GPS unit manufacturer. Usually you can get the latest from their website.
To download tracks from your GPS unit, add the -t flag, since by default GPSBabel only downloads waypoints:
C:\gpsbabel> gpsbabel -t -i garmin -f com1 -o gpx -F my_tracks.gpx
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- Similarly, if you are a Linux user:
[gpsuser@myserver]$ gpsbabel -i garmin -f /dev/ttyS0 -o gpx -F my_waypoints.gpx
Replace /dev/ttySO with the serial port handle where you have your GPS unit connected.For Magellan ™ receivers use -i magellan.
The generated GPX files in the examples above will be created in the GPSBabel directory. At this point you already have your GPS data in GPX file format and you can upload it to Wikiloc.
3 - Transfering a GPX file to your GPS unit
The process to transfer GPS data in GPX format from your computer to your GPS receiver is almost the same. For example, to transfer the waypoints of your GPX file to your GPS unit from Windows you'll have to execute something like:
C:\gpsbabel> gpsbabel -i gpx -f my_waypoints.gpx -o garmin -F com1
That reads: transform the waypoints of my GPX file (-i gpx and -f my_waypoints.gpx) to Garmin™ format (-o garmin) and send them through the serial port COM1 of my PC (-F com1) where the GPS unit is plugged in.