Routing on gps

[BRICYCLE]

I'm new to both Forums & GPS, but here goes. I have set up detailed turn by turn routes using specific roads on MapSource. After loading them into my Garmin E-Trex Vista C, I was expecting it to guide me thru the same roads.  Instead, it appears to recalculate on its own & sends me in what it thinks is a good route. Can I get it to stop thinking and lead me on the roads I choose?

[FredHiltz]

Hi Bricycle,

It is a common problem. The routing algorithm in the GPSR is not the same as in the MapSource program; they sometimes choose different routes from the same map data. Two things you can do:

1. Set the routing options the same in both. I do not know the Vista C, but in my GPSMap 60C the options are in a setup page named Follow Road Options, where I choose fastest or shortest route, car or bicycle, avoid highways, etc.

2. Set enough intermediate waypoints (via points) to guide its little brain to the roads you want. It looks like you have already done that.

Having learned its idiosyncrasies, I can get my 60C to route where I want. If these tips do not do it for the Vista, you are welcome to send me a sample route in a MapSource file by email (see my profile) and we can discuss it in more detail.

Fred

[ptaylor]

I'm glad to know this is a common problem, and not some quirk with my Garmin 76C. I have found the solution of adding more waypoints to work pretty well - as you suggested. The problem is not knowing how many to add.

[BRICYCLE]

Sorry that I did not respond sooner.  After
communicating with Garmin, it turns out I am using the
wrong Software. I am using "Metroguide" & I need to be
using "City Select."  No matter how many Waypoints I
load, the program reverts to routing  my GPS on the
basemaps.  I am a little upset that Garmin does not
make that difference clear on their package.  As yet,
I have not pursued the confusion with Garmin.  The box
indicates: "routing only on PC," meaning not on the
GPS unit itself.  Being a MAc user at home, I took
that to mean not on a Mac.  

Thanks so much for your efforts to help me.

[George]

Fred,

Have you used the Magellan Meridian for routing with waypoints? If I ask it to build a route from a set of waypoints, it tells me to choose between a point-to-point route, or a street route using only the first 2 waypoints. Obviously, I can build multiple routes using each pair of waypoints, but that is a lot of work.

Is there an easier way?

[FredHiltz]

Hi George. Sorry, I have no experience with the Magellan line. I looked at the review of MapSend DirectRoute, which must be the software you have, at http://gpsinformation.us/DirectRoute/DirectRoute.html
. It agrees that users cannot insert vias or waypoints in a route. Bummer!

I was aware that Magellan units do not give the choice of vehicle type, which would help them avoid freeways. One user on the sci.geo.satellite-nav newsgroup recently said that his did not give the choice of track-up or north-up when using DirectRoute. He found the rapidly changing track-up display distracting. He did not say what model he had.

Given all these limitations, it seems that the Meridians are less useful for cycling than the Garmin line, although others might disagree.

Fred

[George]

What I really liked about the Magellans was the ability to upload maps to an SD card, which effectively gives me unlimited memory (especially since uploading over a serial line literally takes hours to upload a map that is near max memory (64M)).

Are the Garmins much faster to upload? How do you handle a longer tour, where the maps are extremely large, and wouldn't fit in memory in a single go?

Thanks.

[FredHiltz]

Hi George. Good questions. The current Garmins use USB 1.0, so map loading is not too bad. A full load of my 56-MB GPSmap 60C takes about nine minutes, half of which is building the map index and half the actual USB transfer. (My PC is a P4 at 1.6 GHz.)

I would like to have the replaceable map memory, but the larger built-in memories are just about adequate. The GPSmap 76C with twice my memory holds detailed routing street maps, the City Select series, for the entire Southern Tier route but not the longer Northern Tier or Trans America routes. It does hold the non-routing US Topo maps for all of Trans America.

I would bet that we will see memory doubled again in another year, since it is a cheap way for the vendors to move ahead in the features race. Then maps for a summer of riding will fit.

The limit of 1000 waypoints would hit first if you want to use the Adventure Cycling waypoint database. Fortunately they are faster and easier to reload part way along the route. Browse the other threads here for some discussion about this.

Fred

[George]

I'm thinking that I may want to trade in my Magellan for a Garmin, given the differences in routing capabilities. We'll see what's going on next year, and then I'll have to decide.

Thanks for all the info.

[bicyclerider]

fred after continued discussion about gps is it possible to use the etrek vista instead of the Garmin76csx because of the high price?
If I purchase the larger memory discs will I be able to divide up the city select maps by garmin of the usa and then add in the adventure cycling gps info to be added to the city select?
after seeing the entry level purchase of the Garmin76csx at 599$ compared to the 299 of the etrek I'm leaning towards the etrek.
Will I also be able to use the function of routing by other vehicles as a choice? You know not always being read as a car but as a person or bicycle.

Jean Andre Vallery
www.bicyclejournals.net
Sarasota Florida

[FredHiltz]

The three models of eTrex Vista differ in storage and features. You can check them out here: http://www.garmin.com/outdoor/compare.jsp. The Cx model can hold maps of the entire route if you buy a large Micro SD card for it. The others have small, fixed map memory that is not enough for long trips.

Inexplicably, the model with the big map memory has a lower limit on waypoints, requiring more frequent reloads enroute. You can browse this forum for details about waypoints.

I do not know about the choices of vehicle type in these models. This is not a large problem, as you will want to insert waypoints along the way to guide its route-finding on the roads that you want, no matter what type of vehicle you tell it.

Note that the basic Vista does not do turn-by-turn routing. The ACA routes do work with its straight-line segments between waypoints, but the automatic routing is a very nice feature.

Fred