Help with spurious lines on my 2610!

Yes, it's me again. Every time I think I have the thing sussed, it bites me again. Last night I loaded 2 routes; first to Barrow in Furness from Chorley, then an "invert" for the return trip. I loaded no maps as I already have all UK loaded as per my previous difficulties. The route comprised three waypoints only.

The problem is that on several occasions en route I noticed spurious pink lines striking out from the displayed, planned route, which I think probably went as the crow flies to my destination. These lines only showed up when the thing went to large scale at roundabouts and the like, and would disappear when back to full screen navigation. Same thing happened on the way back, but only when I got within 15 miles from home. These straight lines didn't effect normal navigation instructions. Anybody recognise what I've done wrong this time?

The other problem is that, 5 miles out I decided to take a slight detour from the planned route. She noticed quite quickly and announced a recalculation. Then I got a screen message announcing "route calculation error." That was the end of GPS contribution to navigation! No recalculation happened, and the display did not even have the decency to go to large scale and thus show the road upon which I was now driving. Obviously I knew the way from so close to home , but would not have done at the other end. This also happened last weekend en route from Cardiff to Home, but via Wrexham. I had to deviate from plan to drop a friend off along the way and the GPS copped a sulk and refuse to tell me anything until I found my own way back on plot, near Telford! All I got was a screen message which read "route calculation error." Once back on plot, it simply picked up as though nothing had happened.Why didnt the thing do a proper recalc to get me to my destination?

I think you may have some map sections missing....I don't know why that would cause the odd route lines but maybe she's trying to route via the only places she knows if the road she does know 'stops' according to her base map and she takes you to a place to continue the route from a juntion back onto the base map, which at that point is all she knows

Check all the maps you have an dmaybe re-load them all to make sure

Hi Ibex:

I agree with Fanum's suggestion to re-load all your maps. When you are making the selection of map segments on MapSource, click and drag the map selection tool diagonally, to create a rectangle that encompasses the entire UK (or all of Britain, whatever) so as to ensure that you don't inadvertently leave out one tiny segment somewhere in the middle.

The other suggestion I have is that you download then nifty little WebUpdater program from the Garmin website, install it, then connect your GPSR to your computer, and let this program check for any possible software updates and then automatically install them. There is a small chance that you might have out of date software in your GPSR.

Michael

Thanks for the comments. I know I have "old" software because the unit keeps telling me so! I contacted Garmin who advised I should buy V8, which I am psyching myself up to do.

I think my underlying concern was one of foul play by the ebayer who sold me the unit. Nothing specific, I just didn't like his attitude when I queried the standard of his packaging and have been waiting for the unit to go wrong ever since! I suppose my faith in human nature has been restored by dated software.

Incidentally Michael, you and I have a mutual aquaintance in Colin from Kirby Lonsdale. Keen Pan owner alongside his Norton. He sends his regards. He and I are thinking about doing the Moto Piston Rally in Spain later this year on our old bikes.

Regards,

Dave

Hi Dave:

When I said 'check for updated software', I didn't mean updated maps (which cost money), I meant updated operating software for the GPSR, which is free.

The whole issue of software for the GPSRs can be confusing, because there are all sorts of different 'softwares'. Here is a very quick and dirty overview of what is what:

1) GPSR operating software - This is what makes the little gizmo work. Updates to the operating software are free from Garmin for the life of the product. You use the 'WebUpdater' program to fetch them and automatically install them.

2) WebUpdater - A stand-alone program that you install on your computer to fetch and install GPSR operating software updates. WebUpdater is free of charge, and can be downloaded from Garmin. Think of it as sort of a 'Windows Update' for your GPSR.

3) MapSource - This is the program you use to view maps on your computer, and to transfer map segments into your GPSR, and to send and receive waypoints, routes and tracks (between your computer and your GPSR). MapSource is included with every cartography CD. Updates to MapSource are free, forever, from Garmin. Just launch MapSource, go to the HELP menu, and use the 'Check for Updates' command.

4) The maps themselves - This is the actual cartography that your GPSR uses to create routes and depict the streets. It costs money to update. The cartography has names such as 'City Navigator', 'City Select', 'MetroGuide' and so forth. The only way you get updates for this is on CD or DVD media - updates for the maps themselves cannot be downloaded, simply because they are way too big to download (about 1.4 gigabytes for Europe). Garmin will send you an updated CD free of charge, but in order to use it, you need to buy an update code.

You can use out of date maps - nothing wrong with that, as long as you don't mind the odd discrepancy between the out of date cartography and the up to date pavement that you are riding on. But, you really should be using the most up to date versions of items 1, 2, and 3, which are all free.

Michael

You remember that I talked about spurious route lines on the display of my 2610? Well, today I plotted a simple route from Chorley, into Blackburn, then West to Southport. 39 miles in total and it looks good on the PC. Didn't transfer at all well to the 2610 however. It seemed to lose its way visually midway between home and Blackburn, although the audio prompts remained valid. Then on the way out of Blackburn it had clearly decided that I was going home - and not to Southport at all - and this time it had persuaded the audio calls to the cause! All the way to Southport it was recalculating around roundabouts to get me to turn around! I switched it off in disgust. The only thing it did well was when I asked it to take me home from Southport - it was spot on - Visually and audio prompts.

Now here's the thing. I'm now back at home with the 2610 on the mains investigating the route and decided to follow some of these spurious lines. They all - I found four - converged on a spot on the border between Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, about 400 miles north of Kinshasa! Not the quickest route between Chorley and Blackburn I can assure you. Has any body got any idea what the hell is wrong with this device of mine before it has intimate contact with a large hammer?

I seem to remember that about 2 years ago, Garmin had an ad campaign similar to the current volvo one....they buried a brand new GS complete with a voucher for all the latest GPS gizmos somewhere in the world and said that somebody would be provided with clues as to its whereabouts......

All you have to do is follow the signs and it'll lead you to the cache...honest!!!!


Get packing dude!!!!!
















PS no bloody idea....sounds like a call to Garmin technical is in order

PPS there have been sillier premises for best selling books....'round Ireland with a fridge' etc.....'Following Betty' sounds like a right craic......I wonder what would happen if you actually did follow that route ???

Fekkin go for it!!!!

Ibex said:

I'm now back at home with the 2610 on the mains investigating the route and decided to follow some of these spurious lines. They all - I found four - converged on a spot on the border between Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, about 400 miles north of Kinshasa!

Click to expand...

I don't know what the cause of your problem is, but I suspect you have some corruption in your mapset or in the non-vol memory of your GPSR.

To solve the problem of (possible) corruption within the non-vol memory of your GPSR, you need to reset the unit to factory defaults. I can't remember the button sequence to push to do that, but I am sure someone else here knows and can post it. If you have any waypoints, tracks, or routes on your GPSR that you want to keep, upload them to MapSource first, because they will all be erased from the GPSR when you reset non-vol.

To solve the problem of (possible) corruption of the mapset on your map storage card, simply re-load the storage card with a new set of maps.

You might also want to have a look at your MapSource program on your computer - specifically at the EDIT menu, then the PREFERENCES command at the bottom of the edit menu, and then at the POSITION tab, and make sure that the DATUM chosen is 'WGS 84', and not some other squirrely datum such as 'Stanley and Livingstone 1869'.

I doubt very, very much if there is a hardware problem with your GPSR. I kind of suspect that some of the user settings either on your computer or on the GPSR may be buggered up.

Michael

From a rain forest - en route to Southport - apparently

Many thanks to both of you for the moral and technical support in this time of great need.

I tend to agree with the corruption theory, given the circumstances. I will go back to factory settings as you suggest. I have reloaded the maps a couple of times since my last correspondence on here, but will persevere.

You may recall I bought the unit off ebay - well the V7 disc(s) that came with the unit is a DIY. There is a V6 in the packaging which I suppose I could revert to?

As for Fanum - you Sir are the sort of bloke that causes unrest. Here I am behaving myself and you put an idea like that into my head. Do you think Wunderlicht might do a machete holder.......?