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Garmin's Data Field DefinitionsWhich fields that are available on the different screen pages are described at Sigurd's web site.
No. | Data Field | Definition |
1. |
Altitude |
Current altitude. |
2. |
Avg Speed |
Trip Odom /
Trip Timer. Be careful with
this one; if you fail to reset the trip values at the beginning of your
journey, this value could be very deceiving. |
3. |
Bat Timer |
Amount
of time that the GPS has been on, using the current set of
internal batteries. |
4. |
Bearing |
Direction
of the next waypoint. (Dependent on
your definition of ‘north’. See
Course for more info.) If
there is no waypoint, this field is blank. |
5. |
Course |
Direction
of the line connecting your previous waypoint with your next waypoint.
This
value is dependent on your definition of north. ‘North’ could be true north, magnetic
north, grid north, etc., depending on the GPS setting. |
6. |
Dist to Dest |
Summary:
Given a route, it is the sum of the distances of all of the legs, starting with
the distance from your current position to the waypoint designated as
Wpt (Next).
Full Definition: Distance to the final waypoint, based on the sum of the distances between the intermediate waypoints (i.e. sum of the legs), NOT the absolute distance (i.e. straight-line distance) to the destination. Blank if there are no waypoints. The first distance being summed is the distance to the nearest waypoint, if you are stationary. If you are not stationary, it is the distance to the waypoint that you are moving toward.
Example: Say that you are between the starting position (START) and the first waypoint (WP01), and are taking a break. You pull out your GPS to determine how much further you have to travel. Scenario 1. If you are at the halfway mark between START and WP01 or beyond it, the first distance being summed will be the distance from your current position to WP01 (assuming WP01 is the nearest waypoint). Scenario 2. If you haven’t made it to the halfway mark between START and WP01, the first distance is from your current position to START; thus your total distance will exceed the length of your route. The 2nd scenario matches the 1st scenario if your GPS had been powered up the entire time, or you were moving toward WP01 when you turned it on. |
7. |
Dist to Next |
Distance
to the next waypoint. Blank if there
are no waypoints. |
8. |
ETA at Dest |
Time
of day when the final waypoint is reached, based on the VMG
value. As with ETA at Next,
it is blank if:
1) There
are no waypoints or
2) VMG is zero or negative. ETA at Dest = Time of Day + Time to Dest. |
9. |
ETA at Next |
Time
of day when the next waypoint is reached, based on the VMG
value. Blank
if:
1) There
is no waypoint or
2) VMG is zero or negative. ETA at Next = Time of Day + Time to Next. |
10. |
Max Speed |
Maximum
value of Speed during the current
trip. |
11. |
Odometer |
Distance
traveled. This can be reset
independently of the trip odometer. |
12. |
Off Course |
Shortest
distance from the current position to the line between the previous and
next waypoint. (Representing Off
Course as a line on a map, it will be perpendicular to the line
connecting the waypoints.) |
13. |
Pointer |
Same
as Turn, but displayed graphically as an arrow. |
14. |
Speed |
Instantaneous
speed over two dimensions. Altitude is not factored in. |
15. |
Sunrise |
Time the sun rises, given your current position. |
16. |
Sunset |
Time
the sun sets, given your current position. |
17. |
Time of Day |
Time,
as in what your watch says. Make
sure the offset is adjusted properly for your longitude. |
18. |
Time to Dest |
Time
required to reach the final waypoint, based on the VMG
value. Blank
if:
1) There
are no waypoints or
2) VMG is zero or negative. Time to Dest = Time to Next + sum of the times between the remaining legs of the route. |
19. |
Time to Next |
Time
required to the next waypoint, based on the VMG value. Blank if:
1) There
is no waypoint or
2) VMG is zero or negative. Time to Next = Dist to Next / VMG. |
20. |
To Course |
The
direction that you must turn, in degrees, that will put you on the line
connecting your previous waypoint with your next waypoint. It will point you to either the point on
this line closest to your current position, the next waypoint, or
somewhere in between. |
21. |
Track |
Actual
compass direction that you are traveling (e.g. if you moving southeast, the
Track will be 135°.)
This
value is dependent on your definition of north. ‘North’ could be true north, magnetic
north, grid north, etc., depending on the GPS setting. |
22. |
Trip Odom |
Distance
traveled during the active trip. |
23. |
Trip Timer |
Time
spent moving during the active trip. |
24. |
Turn |
Relative
angle to the next waypoint.
Example: If you are traveling northeast, and your next waypoint is actually west, Turn will be L135. You must spin around 135° to your left, to head for the next waypoint. |
25. |
User Timer |
Elapsed time of the user-set timer. |
26. |
Voltage |
Voltage
level of the batteries. (An external
battery if that is the power source.) |
27. |
VMG |
Velocity
Made Good. Instantaneous speed that
you are moving toward your destination.
Example: If the angle between Bearing and Track is either 60° or 300° and your Speed is 4 mph, your VMG is 2 mph. (cos(60°) or 0.5, multiplied by 4 mph). |
28. |
Wpt (Dest) |
Name
of the destination waypoint. |
29. |
Wpt (Next) |
Name
of the next waypoint. |