How to save trip log from my nuvi 500

You can retrive the .gpx file out of the Garmin folder on your GPSr. You can then view it with things like Google Earth.

thanks for the response. So the trip log is in gpx format then? Thats great news. Can you save multiple trips logs in the GPS than download to my PC or can you only have one trip log in the GPS at a time?

Depending on the lenght of the trips and the amount of memory you have there can be many many trips in the log.

The log is in the gpx file. But unless you are a hard core programmer and want to process all of those individual points yourself (which certainly can be done and is quite interesting), what you might really want to know is what existing applications can receive and display the log for you.

Two good applications for using the track log data are Garmin's own Mapsource and Google's Google Earth.

Mapsource can be a pain to get, but it can be downloaded and installed free if you know the tricks. But if done this way you will only have a base level map, not a detailed street level map, unless after installing it you also download a new map for your nuvi (and do that on the same computer that mapsource was already installed on). Still, even mapsource with the base level maps is interesting for looking at a track log for a large trip, just not handy for local roads.

Garmin support might send you a disc with Mapsource on it. Some have reported getting this free, other say they were charged $15-20. I tried to get it from a couple of representatives and the best they would give me was $15 PLUS "shipping and handeling", which did not sound as good as free. Since I was going to download an update anyway I went with the free trick to get Mapsource, but thankfully I was warned to do that first and have it installed so that when I downloaded and installed the map to the nuvi that Mapsource would be updated too.

The free version of Google Earth 5 will also download and display the track log. You don't need the paid version, but you need at least Google Earth 5, not 4 or older versions. Google Earth is a great tool, much nicer than Mapsource in many ways (including the option for satellite view), but it does require that you have an internet connection for all of the features, otherwise it downgrades to a base map and whatever you have in the cache. I suggest trying Google Earth to see what it will do and if it meets your needs.

Frovingslosh's comment got my mental wheels spinnin'.

Here's my situation: I have a paid-for licensed copy of Mapsource that I bought years ago for my handheld GPS, back when it was like Version 3. At the time I had to pay close to a hundred bucks for it[!], but I've always been able to upgrade it, and now I'm at version 15.6 if I remember correctly. Normally I use it on my desktop, but when I go on the road I'd prefer to be able to use it on my laptop with my Nuvi. But I'm unable to update the maps on the laptop because they get updated on the desktop.

My question is, with a NuMaps subscription, could I alternate loading the map updates between the desktop and the laptop? I wouldn't care if I was one release behind if I could have the maps available on either machine.

I have done this very thing. I think it is also possible to download and install the same version to 2 different computers. But I did it the way you suggested. 2009.11 to my desktop in January and 2010 to my laptop 3 months later.

Thanks very much.

Thanks everyone for all the valuable info.

Mapsource comes with almost every navigator delivered, even those that don't ship with maps like the 276.

Nothing prevents you from installing and/or updating Mapsource or maps on multiple computers . . .

I run 6.15.5 (which has an improved 'look and feel' to the mapping pane, at the expense of reduced map detail display that seems to be the way that Garmin is headed these days - MAJOR PEEVE) and it has offered me 6.16.6.0 on my laptop as well as on my desktop.

There are no limits and no unlock codes for the Mapsource product unless something's changed in the past few weeks.

Maps are quite another story as they are locked to your navigator, but you can install your maps on as many computers as you like - all you need is the source material and in most cases, the appropriate unlock codes.

Do not lose the downloaded map file (if that's how you installed or updated your maps) or your CDs or DVD (depending on what map product you were installing);

So install Mapsource. Install your maps (whether from DVDs or downloaded files) and unlock them if requested using the code you'll find listed in the map product manager (type control-U), under the 'manage regions' tab in your active copy of Mapsource.

Mine has 21 unlock codes listed . . .

Simplest is to connect your Nuvi to your computer, fire up Mapsource and retrieve the data from the navigator.

It will be displayed on the map and can be manipulated in various ways - you can even 'draw' tracks and save those in Mapsource, albeit without any date, time & speed information.

The source material on the navigator is indeed in .gpx format - Mapsource works just fine with .gpx, though it's default file format is .gdb - so if you are saving material and want it in .gpx you will need to specify the .gpx extension when saving.

Some navigators, such as the Zumo will have multiple tracklog files. Mapsource will only get the current one - you'd have to browse in to the archive folder on the navigator to get the older logs - not sure if the 500 series supports the archived log feature - to the best of my knowledge none of the Nuvis do.

Mapsource did not come with my 755T. There was no software CD with it at all. I got Mapsource with the first map update I downloaded.

My 260W has 3 archived logs and counting. When the max size (about 1000KB) is reached in the current log a new one is started and the old archived. At least that appears to be the case.