BMW Nav II - Cant figure it out?

mikeh501

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Hi,

Just took delivery of my GSAdv with the Nav2 already setup and everything. I was playing with it last night trying to work through the settings etc.

I had a GPS V before this and it allowed me to change the information displayed on screen when routing/not routing. I.e. you could replace the speed indicator for the time etc etc. I cannot find where you do this on the Nav2. There seems to be a setup screen for the tabs, but that doesn't let you change whats displayed.

Nav2 less functional than GPS V? :eek:
 
It is certainly the case that the GPS V is more user-customisable than the SPIII/Nav I but I was lead to believe this was restored in the 2610/Nav II and the fact that Dutchie playing hard to get with info suggests to me this is the case. It is one of the reasons why I will upgrade to a 2610 at some point, that and the faster processor for re-calculating.
 
Everything you say you want to do can be done, you just have to take a little time and practice using the GPSR (and, as someone has already wisely pointed out, RTFM). Judge is correct, the SP 26xx series gives you pretty much all the functionality as the GPS V did.

Garmin sells a videotape that explains how to use the Nav II, for those who don't have the patience to read the manual. It's the instructional video for the SP 2610, which is pretty much the same as the BMW Nav II.

Go out and ride with your new GPSR for about 2 weeks or 2,000 miles, whichever comes last, then if you still have questions after that (and after having read the manual or watched the videotape, whichever you prefer), then come on back here and we'll try to help you out.

PanEuropean

PS: Might be a good idea to read the book that came with the GSAdv as well...
 
Found it!

Basically you just press menu once your into the tab setup.

You could have just told me though!
 
Well, we didn't want to tell you, because the command for customizing tabs has been quite carefully and intentionally 'hidden', to prevent new users from messing up the GPSR user interface before they have gained sufficient knowledge - either from first hand experience, or from reading the manual - to have a good comprehension of how the thing works in its 'default' mode.

In fact, when I was beta testing the 26xx last June, I wrote a note to the engineers suggesting that they allow the users to customize the contents of the tabs. They wrote me back, and told me how I could access the custom tab setup menu. Their comment was "we wanted to see if you found it on your own - and the fact that you didn't, after a week of use, confirms that we buried that menu sufficiently deep to keep the newbies from getting into trouble".

FYI this testing was done way before a manual had been written, in fact, about 3 months before the SP 26xx series was released for public sale.

There are a few more 'hidden' menus on your Nav II (or SP 26xx) - you can find them by reading the current version (04/04) of the user manual very carefully. But, my personal recommendation is that you use the GPSR in its 'factory default' configuration for the first week or so, before you get into customizing the user interface. If you jump into customization too early, you can easily cause yourself problems, because you won't ever become familiar with what the 'default' configuration is. You need to have a good understanding of how the GPSR behaves in its default configuration if your goal is to make the best use of the GPSR's capabilities, with a minimum of frustration and the shortest possible learning curve.

If you're not following what I'm getting at, just think of a kid who winds up screwing up his new computer the first day he has it, because he goes into the control panel and starts futzing around with everything before he is familiar with the default, or 'reference', settings.

PanEuropean
 
Doing a "Factory Reset" of the SP 26xx or BMW Nav II

Just a postscript here - if you do wind up screwing up your new SP 26xx GPSR beyond all recognition, you can reset it to the 'default' configuration, exactly as it left the factory, with the following key sequence:

Hold down the upper two keys (PAGE and MENU) as well as the lower-right corner of the touchscreen when you turn the unit on. You need to hold them for quite a while as the GPSR goes through the startup process... don't let up right away.

BUT, an important warning about this - don't do this 'factory reset' sequence casually, or frequently. The GPSR stores quite a bit of information that you don't know about in its memory from day to day - such as satellite ephemeris, your average driving speeds on different road classes, what your user preferences are based on the buttons you push (not based on the drop-down menus), and so forth. This information allows the GPSR to make more accurate predictions of ETA and ETE, to create routes that more closely conform to the actual historical driving patterns of the user, and to guess what touch-screen button you want to push ahead of time, and present it to you first when you access a menu screen.

You don't want to be blowing this info away on a regular basis, because to do so will significantly degrade the performance of your GPSR, and it can take up to a month (based on average usage patterns) for the GPSR to re-learn all the stuff that gets blown out when you do a factory reset.* There is a very good reason why Garmin does not publish this reset procedure in the manual, and now you know it.

Also, be aware that the above key sequence will erase all waypoints, tracks, and routes - so back them up first, using the MapSource program on your PC. Finally, it may take your GPSR as long as 15 minutes to re-acquire the ephemeris for the entire satellite constellation, and as long as an hour to re-acquire SBAS ephemeris if you are using differential correction. The GPSR should be left alone with a good view of the satellite constellation during this process.

If you want to reset the GPSR to default settings in a less 'thermo-nuclear' manner, press the menu button twice whenever you are in a configuration menu, and this will give you the option to reset all the various drop-down and user configurable menus (within that particular section of the GPSR) back to the original settings, without destroying the non-vol memory contents, or the waypoints, routes, and tracks. This is by far the safest way to get back to a known 'default' configuration. The more you drill down in the menu sequence before you press the menu button twice, the more specific (targeted, or limited) your reset will be.

PanEuropean

* Ever wondered why folks who have had their SP 26xx for more than a month have far fewer complaints and far fewer problems than folks who just bought one yesterday? This is the reason why - the SP 26xx actually learns what the user's preferences are, even if they are different from what the user says their preferences are in the menu configurations. It's like breaking in a new pair of boots - the thing will conform to how you use it, without you even noticing.
 
PanEuropean said:
Well, we didn't want to tell you, because the command for customizing tabs has been quite carefully and intentionally 'hidden', to prevent new users from messing up the GPSR user interface before they have gained sufficient knowledge - either from first hand experience, or from reading the manual - to have a good comprehension of how the thing works in its 'default' mode.

In fact, when I was beta testing the 26xx last June, I wrote a note to the engineers suggesting that they allow the users to customize the contents of the tabs. They wrote me back, and told me how I could access the custom tab setup menu. Their comment was "we wanted to see if you found it on your own - and the fact that you didn't, after a week of use, confirms that we buried that menu sufficiently deep to keep the newbies from getting into trouble".

FYI this testing was done way before a manual had been written, in fact, about 3 months before the SP 26xx series was released for public sale.

There are a few more 'hidden' menus on your Nav II (or SP 26xx) - you can find them by reading the current version (04/04) of the user manual very carefully. But, my personal recommendation is that you use the GPSR in its 'factory default' configuration for the first week or so, before you get into customizing the user interface. If you jump into customization too early, you can easily cause yourself problems, because you won't ever become familiar with what the 'default' configuration is. You need to have a good understanding of how the GPSR behaves in its default configuration if your goal is to make the best use of the GPSR's capabilities, with a minimum of frustration and the shortest possible learning curve.

If you're not following what I'm getting at, just think of a kid who winds up screwing up his new computer the first day he has it, because he goes into the control panel and starts futzing around with everything before he is familiar with the default, or 'reference', settings.

PanEuropean
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whoooohoooo there tiger. Now I'm sure your parents told you to never judge a book by its cover, but there again you dont know me either.

I'm pretty proficient at this GPS malarky as I had a GPS V for a couple of years - so I know my way around one. The other thing being that I'm a IT consultant and know my way around systems, means I can normally pick these things up pretty quickly.

As for Garmin hiding the menu for the tab customisation - I think this goes against standard practise for interface design and is pretty shoddy. I know lets design the interface for noobs :rolleyes:
 
I'm a IT consultant
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exactly PE's point. You're not the type of person the interface is designed for. Because you're not a typical user. If I was to imagine my Mum trying to use it...
 
mikeh501 said:
I'm pretty proficient at this GPS malarky ... so I know my way around one.
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Apparently not!

mikeh501 said:
I cannot find where you do this on the Nav2.
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You said it yourself!

:D

Greg

PS To quote PE, RTFM!!!
 
Hey, asking Q's on a board is hardly a capital offence, and asking a simple question was the path of least resistance in comparison to trawling through the manuals. This tab thing was literally the only thing I wasn't able to work out whilst playing about with it for a couple of hours.

[rant]
What I wasn't ready for was a load of crap about living with it for a couple of months whilst I 'get used to it' wtf! or even better go and buy the garmin instructional video :D lol! A single sentence reply would have been sufficient i.e. "just press menu again, when your in the tab setup". I suppose thats just too much to ask :rolleyes: jeez....... perhaps I'll go away and read my Adv manual now :D

I think your overstating the complexity of these sat nav systems - they are built to be as intuitive as possible in order to maximise their potential customer base. Your responses were the equivalent of PC World not supporting a customer about how to install their new modem or whatnot until they have digested the Windows XP technical reference manual - just plain not going to happen. Not the best analogy but you see my point - I'm hardly going to be a danger if you tell me without having read all the damn manuals.
[/rant]
 
Mike

We're just having a larf at your expense - even PE (who rarely lets his dry humour show)!

But you set yourself up for it in your latter post. You'll find that there is a wealth of experience on this board. You just need to engage it, not set yourself up as being above it!

If your not yet sorted, let's see what we can do to help.

Greg
 
mikeh501 said:
:rolleyes: jeez....... perhaps I'll go away and read my Adv manual now :D
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Probably for the best.

Mikeh501..... always esteemed a first class "belt and braces" man, after all.
 

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Greg Masters said:
Mike

We're just having a larf at your expense - even PE (who rarely lets his dry humour show)!

But you set yourself up for it in your latter post. You'll find that there is a wealth of experience on this board. You just need to engage it, not set yourself up as being above it!

If your not yet sorted, let's see what we can do to help.

Greg
Click to expand...

Well, I now feel truly initiated :P, and yes my post did give you all more than enough ammo :o

and I dont need anything on the GPS front at the mo - its working like a dream, thx.
 
Hi Mike:

Honest, I don't think any of us meant to be rude or to rebuff you when you made your original post.

Looking back at my first response, I was trying to suggest that you get used to using the SP 26xx in its 'default' configuration BEFORE moving into user interface customization. This suggestion comes from my own lived experience with the SP 26xx, going way back over a year ago, months before it went on sale.

I was riding 8 to 10 hours a day last summer, across North America, testing this GPSR and writing reports and suggestions to the software dudes every night. After the first three days, it became apparent to me (from their responses) that many of the capabilities and functions that I was suggesting "be added" were actually there in the first place, the problem was that I had "customized" them right out of sight.

So, honestly and sincerely, and without any talking down at all, I recommend you reset the thing to its default settings (using the menu buttons, not the thermo-nuclear reset), and spend the first 1,000 miles of riding using it more or less as it came out of the box. By all means, customise the minor settings on the map menu the way you want, but don't get into any heavy changes (in other words, leave the non-apparent menus alone). Once you feel that you are fully familiar with the 'default' user interface, and you are aware of what information and control is presented where (in fancy terms, you 'know the topography' of the menu structure), then you can start customising it.

This advice is even more important for users of the 276 and 296, which have far greater customisation capability than the SP 26xx. Trust me on this - I have been using a 296 for ten hours a day for the last two weeks, in both an automotive and aircraft environment, and I still am not 100% familar with the default menu topography for tricky things that we don't do every day, like editing via points or moving waypoints around. I would really screw myself up badly if I heavily customized the 296 at this early stage of the game.

PanEuropean
 
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