Route planning on Zumo

Mezza · Dec 13, 2006

Hi (newbie question

),
I've never used a GPS before so this question is a bit basic I guess...but with regard to the Zumo (which I'm thinking about buying), how do you go about planning a route via specific roads?
I don't mean when I want to travel from A to B and ask it to calculate the quickest route, but more if I want to visit a number of places and go by specific roads and I want the unit to tell me when to turn etc so I don't miss the turnings etc.

I looked back through previous threads and one (referring to the 2610) mentioned setting a start and destination in Mapsource, then dragging the route to the roads you wanted to ride down. Does this work in the version of Mapsource that comes with the Zumo (the contents list says you get 'MapSource® City Navigator NT DVD (full-unlock)')? :nenau

Or would I have to set a load of 'vias' or waypoints to try to force the unit to use the roads I wanted to ride?

TIA,
Rich

HMR · Dec 13, 2006

Mezza said:
I looked back through previous threads and one (referring to the 2610) mentioned setting a start and destination in Mapsource, then dragging the route to the roads you wanted to ride down. Does this work in the version of Mapsource that comes with the Zumo ?

It works the same way with all MC-Garmins. You build the route in MapSource and then upload it to the Zumo.

Zumo is a very good choise for a beginner so go ahead and buy it!

After a couple of years you can upgrade to the GPSMAP 278 if you need a more powerful GPS or to a GPSMAP 60CX if you want something more portable.

Good luck!

Mezza · Dec 13, 2006

Thanks for the info HMR, but can one drag the route to attach it to the desired roads (having set a start and destination), or would I have to set lots of waypoints to force the route to go on the desired roads?

Thanks,
Rich

Bumpkin · Dec 13, 2006

You can just click the route that Mapsource has created and drag to the desired road, doing this creates a user defined route node, not a separate way-point. Alternatively you can use the route tool to define your whole route by just clicking each desired point. You can always go back and make adjustments by adding or deleting nodes. Takes a little while to get used to how Mapsource works but once you've got your head around it planning routes exactly as you want them is easy.

Mezza · Dec 13, 2006

Thanks for the quick reply Bumpkin

It sounds like the Zumo will be fine for me. I've read the comments in other threads about the inability to turn autozoom off and the automatic recalculation issues, but TBH I don't really understand what them things are really and, as I've never used one before, prob won't miss them features :nenau

BTW could I load the xxx.gdb files that people post in the 'sticky' threads at the top of this forum? Are they waypoint files ?

HMR · Dec 14, 2006

Mezza said:
Thanks for the quick reply Bumpkin
It sounds like the Zumo will be fine for me. I've read the comments in other threads about the inability to turn autozoom off and the automatic recalculation issues, but TBH I don't really understand what them things are really and, as I've never used one before, prob won't miss them features

BTW could I load the xxx.gdb files that people post in the 'sticky' threads at the top of this forum? Are they waypoint files ?

Don't worry about the Autozoom & Recalculate issues. Those are only of academic interest to the newbee.

xxx.gdb files are MapSource data files. They can hold waypoints, routes and tracks. It's like Word xxx.doc files that can hold text and pictures. So the answer is yes, you can download xxx.gdb files posted by other people. The only thing you need to do before you can upload the downloaded routes to your GPS is to "Recalculate" them. It's only a mouse click and very simple. Recalculate in MapSource means rebuilding the route to make it fit with the map version installed in your GPS.

A general rule is to not store too many routes nor waypoints in the GPS. Organise your routes and waypoints in several xxx.gdb files on your PC and upload the info you need to the GPS when you need it. MapSource is like most other PC software. You can have several xxx.gdb documents open in different windows and do copy/cut/paste between them

skellum · Dec 14, 2006

Mezza said:
Hi (newbie question ),
I don't mean when I want to travel from A to B and ask it to calculate the quickest route, but more if I want to visit a number of places and go by specific roads and I want the unit to tell me when to turn etc so I don't miss the turnings etc.Rich

I think the Auto recalculate could still be an issue for you if the above is important... although hopefully will be fixed by a software update...

Mezza · Dec 14, 2006

skellum said:
I think the Auto recalculate could still be an issue for you if the above is important... although hopefully will be fixed by a software update...

Thanks for the help guys

Skellum: re: the above comment, what do you mean, could you explain why that that important?

Rich

HMR · Dec 14, 2006

Mezza said:
Skellum: re: the above comment, what do you mean, could you explain why that that important?

Garmin navigators normally automatically recalculate your route if you for some reason leave the preprogrammed route. The idea is to guide you to your goal in all situations.
On older units, as the Street Pilot III for example, the GPS destroys your preprogrammed route by skipping all intermediate viapoints when recalculating. This is not what the user wants. Therefore these older GPS models can be set to never recalculate, or to prompt the user for permission to recalculate.

The problem with the Zumo is that it is not possible to switch off the automatic off-route recalculation. This is very irritating but in reality not a big problem since the Zumo recalculate in an intelligent way. It recalculates only to the next turn while keeping the rest of the route unchanged.

Often one wants to to ride on a parallel road, or make a detour, for some time and then return to the planned route. Then it is extremely irritating that the Zumo takes away the original route from the screen. For this there is a workaround though; After leaving the route and the Zumo have recalculated it you should stop and reactivate the original route stored in memory. When you do this the Zumo will ask you if you want it to calculate a road to the startpoint of the route. Answer "no" and the Zumo will leave the route as is until you hit it at some place further on.

For most users this is no big problem but I myself hate when a GPS changes things without asking me. I want to have full control all the time. Therefore I prefer devices as 278, 276C, 60CX and 76CX. They do exactly what you order them to do. No more, no less. :rob

Mezza · Dec 14, 2006

HMR said:
Garmin navigators normally automatically recalculate your route if you for some reason leave the preprogrammed route. The idea is to guide you to your goal in all situations.
On older units, as the Street Pilot III for example, the GPS destroys your preprogrammed route by skipping all intermediate viapoints when recalculating. This is not what the user wants. Therefore these older GPS models can be set to never recalculate, or to prompt the user for permission to recalculate.

The problem with the Zumo is that it is not possible to switch off the automatic off-route recalculation. This is very irritating but in reality not a big problem since the Zumo recalculate in an intelligent way. It recalculates only to the next turn while keeping the rest of the route unchanged.

Often one wants to to ride on a parallel road, or make a detour, for some time and then return to the planned route. Then it is extremely irritating that the Zumo takes away the original route from the screen. For this there is a workaround though; After leaving the route and the Zumo have recalculated it you should stop and reactivate the original route stored in memory. When you do this the Zumo will ask you if you want it to calculate a road to the startpoint of the route. Answer "no" and the Zumo will leave the route as is until you hit it at some place further on.

For most users this is no big problem but I myself hate when a GPS changes things without asking me. I want to have full control all the time. Therefore I prefer devices as 278, 276C, 60CX and 76CX. They do exactly what you order them to do. No more, no less.

Thanks for your help everyone

I think the Zumo will still be OK for me as a first GPS. And by the time I think I want some of the more advanced features, maybe they'll have released an update to download which will allow the user the extra features

Rich

Route planning on Zumo

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