I sincerely hope that everyone had a great holiday season. I believe that we only live once and it’s important to exercise your hobbies and favorite pass times during rare opporitunities, and hopefully in good company weather it be friends or family. Over the Holidays I was able to get out into the dirt and spend some time in Johnon Valley as well as Lake Havasu, AZ. Although it was good to get away from the computer, It wasn’t all play. We did a little testing video recording some footage in Johnson Valley for the TrailMark official launch. The momentum of the last 6 months has been running strong with many way overdue projects (Thank you all for your patience). The momentum continues to burn red hot going into 2024 as I wrap up the TrailMark, and finally start checking out out the trails in AZ to bring you the best maps possible to your Lowrnace GPS.
The journey with the TrailMark has been a wild ride that spans about 9 years. But what is the TrailMark? The TrailMark is a special keypad interface for Lowrance GPS units that allows you to use a programmable keypad for quickly marking prerunning race notes with speed and at scale. This allows experienced navigators to save tons of time prerunning while either covering more race miles in a given timeframe or simply spending less time while marking all the notes you need. This method also minimizes and possibly eliminates the need for post pre-run note editing late into the night. The notes are preprogrammed into a keypad to the navigators liking (Waypoint text and Icon) and are instantly marked on a Lowrance GPS at the push of a button. (Info on additional features to be announced at a later date)
After many years of feedback and throwing away various protoypes which took thousands of hours of work, is finally nearing a state that is ready for the public. A few functioning protoypes have been floating around the race scene this last year and the feedback has been phenominal. I was honestly getting worn down after so much effort going into this concept for so many years but it’s finally coming to life in a way that many racers find easy enough to configure yet flexible enough to fit the needs of various note taking styles. It’s also compatible with various sized keypads to suite the number of keys needed by the navigator.
It was tested at the Baja 500 in 2023 and further talked about at the Pomona Off Road Expo where I met lots of racers at my booth. My motivation had been restored. Since the Pomona off road expo, an all new circuit design has been implemented in order battle the ongoing chip shortage. The latest version now sits on my electronics bench 99% complete as we wait for the last piece to arrive from my supplier. We might even have a functioning production design in testing by King of the Hammers later this month.
With the recent trip to Lake Havasu, I’m finally understanding the way trails and land are managed in AZ as well as popular riding destiamteion that should be covered in a single mapping solution. I am excited to not only build the maps, but I also am looking forward to spending more time in the dirt this year. ( I cant sit at my desk forever) So, if you happen to see me at an event or in the dirt, flag me down and say hi and even ask me for help help on Lowrance or communications realted subjects. I really enjoy meeting people, especially when I can put a face with a name. I’ll be at King of the Hammers, as well as other events this year.
I haven’t forgetten about the larger maps I announced just a few short months ago and which are all in the rotation of projects that I rotate through as various projects have unexpected halts. I’m looking forward to some successive product releases this year as well as simply having more fun on the trail.
Cheers to 2024, and for all of our sake, lets make it a good one!
TrailMark: https://ruggedroutes.com/trailmark-lowrance-off-road-gps-waypoint-keypad-integration.html
