Bike GPS RichTrack Factory

Basic Edition

RichTrack – that´s the key word for a new, comfortable and doubtless outdoor navigation. With this innovative invention by Bike GPS one file includes all navigation data: GPS-Tracks, waypoints, route data, elevation profile and a precise road book. Near future will be integrated maps, photos and addresses – and the usage of all data will be a kid´s play!

To use these capacious information from Bike GPS RichTrack on your PC you admittedly need software – the BikeGPS RichTrack Factory. The free base version inherently enables you to look at your route characteristics on a satellite imagery, to study the elevation profile and the roadbook and to print the road book with all tour data. And many more:

Display options for the satellite imagery

The free base version of Bike GPS RichTrack Factory contents a satellite imagery of Europe in a resolution of 200 meters ( each pixel is 200meters way in nature ). The key advantage to hitherto uploads is that you can see and analyze all your Bike GPS RichTrack tours right away on that satellite imagery. All buttons in the menue show their functions while you slide over them with your mouse.

	You can enlarge or downsize the satellite imagery now by clicking the zoom buttons top left in six grades. With the function „survey map“ you see where you reside at the moment. The „loupe“ allows in a higher zoom grade to „fly“over the region by mouse. In „Slide mode“ (hand) you can scroll the satellite imagery in all directions. With the „Zoom mode“ you can mark that area of the imagery that you want to see by opening with the left mouse key.
	With the ruler you can measure distances by clicking on the start point and then on the end point of the way, you see the value down right. Multiple clicks allow you to measure not only straight ways. you´ll always see the amount of clicks.
	The handling of the satellite imagery can even get easier: Cyberfast sliding of the map also works with held left mouse key, zooming with the scroll wheel – scroll towards you enlarges, scroll away from you downsizes the image.

The RichTrack-Manager
Your central function field

Comfortable start to open the RichTrack: all you need to do is double click on the acquired Bike GPS RichTrack file – and the Bike GPS RichTrack Factory opens automatically, the route shows up in the central function field, the RichTrack-Manager.

In the same time you see your route as a red line on the satellite imagery. The clou: click on the red line and you right away see the course direction – the track points are little red arrows. A click beside the red line lets the arrows disappear again.

You might as well open the Track-Manager by clicking the button top right in the menu or over „ctrl T“.

Once the RichTrack Manager is opened you can load one or multiple RichTrack files into the system by clicking „open“ top right. Now all functions (to see on the buttons in the right column of the RichTrack Manager) for your route planning for every marked and so blue underlined RichTrack are on your demand.

The Bike GPS RichTrack Manager offers you now these options:

Display and print the elevation profile

By clicking the button „elevation profile“ you can display and print the elevation profile of the marked track. In the RichTrack elevation profile different terrain conditions ( tarmac, gravel, trail, etc.) gets shown in different colors. You find the meaning of the colors, the total distance of a certain ground and the percentage breakdown of the different terrain conditions top left in the info bar.

Above that you see total length of tour, total elevation gain and loss, lowest and highest point. The program also offers you different display options. By scrolling you can enlarge or minimize the profil. By entering the advantage factor you can create a steeper or more flat image of profile, the basic adjustment 10,0 is the familiar image at Bike GPS.

Super new function: by marking separate sections, a climb or a descent f.e. (sliding over the elevation profile with pushed left mouse key) you get more information about your route: length and elevation gain and loss, gradient of the marked section (ether the average grade or average decline), trail length, total elevation, and terrain conditions. At the same time you see the in the elevation profile marked section as a red line in the satellite imagery.

Display and print the road book

By clicking the road book button in RichTrack Manager you can display the roadbook for the marked track. It contains short and precise info for each waypoint: the waypoint number, the arrow symbol, location and direction information for each way point, distance to the next waypoint, height, average and maximum grade to the next waypoint. It also includes a time scale for metering the time to the next waypoint with a certain average speed. Of cause you can also print the roadbook. A4 landscape format is recommended.


Display options in Track-Manager

The Track-Manager offers you some more options how to display Bike GPS RichTrack in the satellite imagery.With the change button „RichTrack“ or „RichTrack off“ you can blind in or out the marked track in the satellite imagery, the same function for the waypoints with „waypoints/waypoints off“. Click on the button „color“ and you have a color menu to choose of to vary different tracks in different colors. In the „list“ finally are all track points with numbers, exact GPS coordinates, height and distance to the starting point.

Work with the Waypoint-Manager

You can open the Waypoint-Manager ether over „GPS - administrate waypoints“ or over „ctrl W“. The Waypoint-Manager offers some more alternatives: you can make separate shown waypoints insight able or delete them.

The difference between waypoints and trackpoints:

Technically they are the same: the definition of a coordinate. A route gets shown by trackpoints getting attached to each other like a crumbs line.

Waypoints in a RichTrack content names, numbers or descriptions that hold important pointers like a corner, a summit or a good rest station. Waypoints do not work to show the route.

Download of GPS RichTrack onto your GPS device

The RichTrack Factory works as well as an uploader for your Bike GPS RichTrack routes onto your Garmin GPS device. Here you find a detailed description how to download tracks and waypoints without any information loss onto your GPS device:

Track upload onto newer Garmin devices with 20 memory á 10.000 trackpoints – Colorado, Oregon, Edge series

Mark the tour or stage you want to upload with a click. The tour/stage is blue underlined now. Re ensure yourself in the RichTrack Manager down low of how many track points the choosen segment contains.

At less than 10.000 trackpoints
connect your GPS device via the USB cable to your computer and click on the button „GPS upload“. The track gets stored automatically into a free memory of your device.

At more than 10.000 track points
you need to configure the track first for the upload. Because of the high-definition aerial photo-corrected Bike GPS RichTracks a trans alp tour can easily reach up to 50.000 trackpoints.But no problem for the new Bike GPS RichTrack Factory: mark the track in the Track Manager and click on the button „partition“. Type in the window „10.000“ and click „ok“. The software breaks the track down now to five RichTracks with10.000 points.and one small one with less points. The additional points get created out of the overlapping tracks to not have any gaps between the single partitions. Download now all the partitions by clicking „GPS upload“ in free memory onto your GPS device.

Track upload onto older Garmin devices with 10.000 points in the main memory and 20 secondary memories and 500 trackpoints – GPS map 60 Csx, eTrex Vista Hcx, etc.

Mark the tour or stage that you want to upload with a click. The marked route gets a blue underline now. Re ensure about the amount of trackpoints that show up in the RichTrack Manager down low.

At less then 500 trackpoints
connect your GPS device to your computer and click the button „GPS upload“. The track gets automatically stored into free space onto your GPS device.

At more than 500 trackpoints (e.g. 3.700) you have to configure the track before the upload. Mark the track in the Track Manager and click the button „partition“. Type „500“ into the window and click „ok“. You get now 7 tracks with 500 and one track with 207 trackpoints (the software ties the tracks up to each other so you don´t have any gaps in between. The system writes the partitions like that: 1-500, 500-999, 999-1498...3494-3700). Download now all partitions, one after the other, into seven free stores onto your GPS device.

If your RichTrack has more than 10.000 points, mark the track like described in the Manager, click the button „reduce“ type in „9.980“ and click „ok“- the software breaks down the track into 20 tracks with 500 points. Follow that rule if you have to reduce the trackpoints: minimum 20 points/kilometer are enough for a save navigation.

If you want to store your RichTrack into the main memory of your Vista or 60CSx that has a capacity of 10.000 trackpoints, you have to rename it into „Active Log“ before opening in Windows Explorer.

Problems with longer stage names

Older GPS devices like Garmin GPSmap 60CSx can only show tracknames not longer than 13 characters. That could cause problems with longer stage names, e.g. at the last two Jeantex Bike Transalp stages „JBT-2009 05 St.Catarina-Sarnthein“ and „JBT-2009 06 Sarnthein-Kaltern“ the 500-packages after the partition were named „01-JBT-2009 05 St.Catarina-Sarnthein“ a.s.o. The first 500-package of the other stage is named now „01-JBT-2009 06 Sarnthein-Kaltern“. After the upload on the GPSmap 60CSx they would both get named „01-JBT-2009 0“ and would overwright each other. The trick: rename the .rtx-file on your pc before opening them in the Bike GPS RichTrack Factory in „Transalp“. The software names the partitions now automatically „01 Transalp“, „02-Transalp“, etc.

Optimum memory use by combining and partitioning

Use your memory capacity optimal by combining and partitioning. Here fore an example: You plan a transalp with 7 stages at 7.000 trackpoints, so overall 49.000 points. Your GPS has only 20 secondary stores with 500 points each. Follow this advice:

Load all 7 Stages into the Track Manager, mark all 7 per mouse click and holding the shift-key. Then click the button „combine“. Now you have a track with 49.000 points that is named „combined“ in the Track Manager.
Click now the button „reduce“. Type in 9.980 and click „ok“.
Now click on „partition“ , type in „500“ and click „ok“ (the system writes the tracks like 1-500, 500-999, 999-1498...9481-9980). Now you can use your track storage effectively with 20 partitions á 500 points. 10.000 trackpoints are enough on a 500km transalp (20 points/km) for a save navigation. Bike GPS also provides new tracks in much higher quality (ca.100 points/km) to have the highest precision in high resolution aerial photos.

Loading of waypoints onto the GPS device

Thanks to the innovative Bike GPS RichTrack technology, the software is loading the waypoints as well onto the GPS device while import the tracks. The waypoints are „married“ to the .rtx-files from the Bike GPS tour portal and show up on your GPS display automatically after the import. If two or more waypoints have the same number the system gives them an index to sort them into the right track (waypoints for track 1: 001, 002, 003.../ waypoints for track 2: 0011, 0021, 0031.../ waypoints for track 3: 0012, 0022, 0032...)

Limited waypoint storage on older GPS devices

Older GPS devices have a limited storage of 500 waypoints. In a 7-days transalp that capacity is not enough. If you can click on the little „plus“ symbol ahead of the track name in the Track Manager it shows you the „married“ waypoints. By marking the single waypoints in the list and clicking the button „delete“ single waypoints can be taken out of the list. An advice which point is the best to delete is hard to give. In that case please make sure that you PRINT out the roadbook of your tour and take it with you! But in most cases the track alone is enough for a doubt free navigation.