Garmin routing on the fly.............

chasbmw

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I have a Zumo 390.

I want to be able to plan routes without using a computer, on the 390 itself.

The instructions are not much help and the unit itself is slow and unresponsive.


I don't plan my routes in advance, usually just sort them out the night before depending on weather mood etc, using paper maps to give me a feeling for the country and, often routing via Michelin green highlighted routes.

So i'm in Bristol and I want to route from Le Havre to Chateaudun via the D518 and the D918. I want to save the route and then be able to open it up when i get to Le Havre. I like a GPS to deal with the aggravating navigation through towns and cities, but want to take my route, which may be not exactly the route the Garmin wants.

How the @@@ do i do this?

Would a later model Garmin be more responsive?

Charles
 
It's a pain planning a route directly on any of the Garmin units. I don't have the 390 but on my old Quest, 550 and 220 I would use the on screen map to create waypoints on particular roads or in a village. You'll need to zoom in to place the point accurately using the touchscreen. Make a note (on a piece of paper!) what these waypoints are called and the order you want to use them in. Then create a new route using the route planner and insert these waypoints to get it to go where you want. I usually now carry a small netbook PC if I'm likely to want to make routes when I'm travelling.
 
The software on the 300 series is different from the 550, 660 etc. I have a 350, in order to plan a route on the device you select 'apps' from the front page and then go into 'trip planner'. From there you can create and save a route for later use. It's quite simple to use and I do most of my trip planning this way.

I assume it would be the same on the 390.
 
The software on the 300 series is different from the 550, 660 etc. I have a 350, in order to plan a route on the device you select 'apps' from the front page and then go into 'trip planner'. From there you can create and save a route for later use. It's quite simple to use and I do most of my trip planning this way.

I assume it would be the same on the 390.

Doesn't seem to be.

all the front page has is 'Where to' this assumes that the trip is starting from wherever I am at the moment and doesn't have an option to set a start point. This is me being stupid isn't it?
 
Doesn't seem to be.

all the front page has is 'Where to' this assumes that the trip is starting from wherever I am at the moment and doesn't have an option to set a start point. This is me being stupid isn't it?

I have to agree with you! The front page has Where To and View Map in big letters and then Volume, Apps, and settings. As has already been said Press Apps, then Trip planner and then New Trip

John
 
Ok

Found that, must have been in the wrong screen! So how do I amend the route, I want to drop a couple of waypoints?
 
Ok

Found that, must have been in the wrong screen! So how do I amend the route, I want to drop a couple of waypoints?



OK once you have set your start and end points and given your route a name the device will calculate the route. You can add other points by pressing the top left icon (3 horizontal bars) and then selecting Edit Destinations and then the Plus (+ top left) Once added you can re order these points using the right hand end of the name of that point. Just press and drag it to the position you want.

All of this is a bloody sight quicker to do on a computer using Basecamp or Mapsource but if you can't or won't use that then you can get there in the end using just the device

John
 
John,

Many thanks for your help, finally done. my bike travels can sometimes take me away from home for a longish period, 3- 5 weeks and as such setting out a route from home would be impractical, let alone getting me to wrestle with Basecamp

I have been using Co Pilot on an Iphone for the past 5 years and having had a brief flirtation with Garmin, the 390 is up for sale and i will continue using the Iphone in a waterproof mount.

The reasons why;
Iphone processor is much quicker and route calculation is instant.
The Screen is much clearer.
Routing is much quicker and easier, using the touchscreen to drag and drop routing changes. generally the Garmin software is still really clunky not much of an improvement from when i used an old Streetpilot.
Iphone bluetooth to helmet is flawless for both Sat nav and music.

The disadvantages of the iphone are
touch screen not as good as the Garmin
If the phone gets really hot, the screen will turn itself off!
Can't load 3rd party routes or POis onto Co Pilot

Thanks for the help Charles
 
John,


The disadvantages of the iphone are
touch screen not as good as the Garmin
If the phone gets really hot, the screen will turn itself off!
Can't load 3rd party routes or POis onto Co Pilot

Thanks for the help Charles

You forgot its not waterproof :rob

I agree with John, I'm sure he can help if you want to find a source to download mapsource which is really easy to use, main reason I use the route planning software is to make most of my trip in riding the best roads, there are loads of sites on line where you can download roads recommended by other bikers. By the way I have a friend who just bought a 390, whilst I have a 660 I think the 390 is a good unit, Ive loaded all the routes for our upcoming trip to his unit and mine without any issues, I'd encourage you to take the time and get your head round Basecamp or Mapsource, it really is worth it.
:beerjug:
just seen you have sold the garmin, thats a shame, bargain for someone though
 
IPhones are waterproof in a suitable holder on a RAMount , they need to be wired into the bike, which is easy enough to do, maps get loaded onto the phone so no latency or offshore data charges, i can look at maps so get a good idea of what might be a good route for the next day AND as I've already got the phone i don't need to pay Garmin for an extra device.

But anyway each to their own. I really do think that the problem for Garmin is that they have so much legacy software, they keep on tweaking what they have got abut it still stays kind of clunky!
 
Try using the Town name search in the Where to? screen. Add successive towns to your current route, re-order them as necessary. You can re-find places easily using the History and you can also add them to Favourites.
You just need to read a map to work out which Town names to search for and add to the current route, to make the unit navigate the roads you want to take. Once you are on a multi-point route, the "Skip next waypoint" button is highly useful.
 


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