Garmin City Navigator NT

[Roadstar]

I just bought this Garmin StreetPilot 2730 off of ebay (cheap i might add) & it came with the City Navigator NT disc with it. I have been tooling around with it & i`m amazed at how much stuff it has & of course i`m not techno friendly (i like plug & play stuff). I`m woundering what this disc is for & do you plan a route & load it into the GPS & go , or is it just a map disc & you got to write it down. Or is it a rescue disc ???? :huh:

 

[johndaub]

I just bought this Garmin StreetPilot 2730 off of ebay (cheap i might add) & it came with the City Navigator NT disc with it. I have been tooling around with it & i`m amazed at how much stuff it has & of course i`m not techno friendly (i like plug & play stuff). I`m woundering what this disc is for & do you plan a route & load it into the GPS & go , or is it just a map disc & you got to write it down. Or is it a rescue disc ???? :huh:

BramFrank is the Garmin expert, he will likely chime in with accurate information.

I have not used mine yet but I believe you can map out routes and then load them on your GPS. It may also allow you to rescue the map but I do not know.

 

[bramfrank]

I'm certainly not THE Garmin expert. And this is just some quick typing. Do not consider it to be anything definitive.

I've had a bunch of their units (among others) and I'm the type of person that likes to poke around things to see what will blow up - hopefully I learn from my experiences.

First of all let's assume that the DVD that came with your navigator contains the same version map that the Navigator has - this is important if you plan to chart routes and download them into the GPS. If the version is different the navigator will recalculate the route when it is invoked, based on the specified via ponts. If you have the unlock code and if the DVD map is newer than the one loaded in the avigator you can update the navigator from the computer.

The CNNT DVD contains several items. The keys are that it has a full map (assuming you have the unlock code). It also has a copy of Mapsource, Garmin's PC-based mapping program that allows you to interact with the navigator and the mapping.

Did you know that Garmin has additional software available for download on their web site? You can do screen grabs, design custom splash screens, define custom waypoint symbols and more with what they offer. Units that support Proximity POIs need a software package from the Garmin site to implement the feature.

CNNT installs on your hard drive - you'll use a couple of Gigabytes to host the map. Once that's done you can file the DVD away - it isn't needed for operation. I believe that the only maps that require the media are the US topographical ones - and even that can be faked out with a registry hack.

Once that's done, simply fire up Mapsource, figure out it's somewhat non-intuitive interface and away you go.

You can download the tracklog from your navigator; You can plan routes; You can upload supplemental maps that you can buy into your navigator and more.

However, most people route right on the navigator and if you don't have a computer or are intimidated by the prospect of some of these options you'll survive without.

 

[Roadstar]

OK !!!

I just bought a DVD +R for my older computer & installed Garmins City Navigator NT on to it . It works great & can find just about anything i want , but how do i get started making a route on it. (2 year old brain & in english please) Like what tab to hit & how do i save the streets i`d like to go on. I see the transfer tab & know what to hook up to computer & GPS but it`s the other thing that get me fumbled & hate to screw up anything. I`m using window XP sp3 on a Dell 4600 (if it matters) I`m a step by step guy (old , dumb & no more cum)

Thanks

 

[cota95]

I use the Mapsource software on the computer to plan all my trips. Here is how I do it.

1) Set my starting and ending points using waypoints.

2) Then I trace out my route and then set waypoints to force the mapping software to go the way I would like to go.

3) Start a new route load the waypoints in the order that you want to ride

4) After you have the route the way you want it you can connect the gps unit to the computer and download it.

If you want to see what a route looks like pm me your email address and I'll send one along.

 

[bramfrank]

Actually you only need waypoints for the endpoints of your route. The interim points are 'via points' and are stored local to the route itself.

That doesn't mean you CAN'T use waypoints, but then your favorites folders becomes very messy if you have a lot of routes with vias.

 

[Roadstar]

What if i went to the map & started from my house then used the route tool & dragged a line to each intersection i want to be at & made a route that way & ending back at my house & pressed save as (in a name i want) then would i be able to load that onto my GPS & run the route i just saved . So looking at my map after i did that the roads i wanted to be on are highlited in purple. Or will it take up too much room in the GPS if i do more planed routes this way.

 

[SEA-FJR]

I bought the same Garmin. This is how I'm using it:

1. I have a strong dislike for MapSource. So I put together the route on Google Maps, generously adding waypoints as I go.

2. Use GMapToGPX to convert the route to GPX.

3. Use a text editor to save a GPX file (as described on the GMapToGPX site).

4. Use GPSBabel+ to move the file to my Garmin.

While a little more involved than I would like, it does work relatively well (with some compromises like the meaningless names of the waypoints). The time I'm spending converting and moving the route I more than save putting it together on Google Maps to begin with. Love the rubber band dragging. It would take me much longer with MapSource's clunky interface to put it together since I always take the smaller and curvier roads, which is never what the routing software recommends by default (even when turning on "avoid major highways").

 

[kurt]

Have you seen this tutorial?

https://www.bestbikingroads.com/useful_docs...e_Tutorial1.pdf

 

[Roadstar]

Have you seen this tutorial?
https://www.bestbikingroads.com/useful_docs...e_Tutorial1.pdf

Fantastic :yahoo:

I see how i can start a waypoint & would like to end at the same waypoint. you know start at home & end at home , like just a nice 100-150mi run. Can that be done by just using the map tool & going from road to road until i get back to my house. (kind of like a big circle, but up & down roads to get there) or do i have to have many waypoints & make it a route (my way seems easier) I know high tech geeks make this stuff , but they should include 1 or 2 street smart people in the mix to make it a little more user friendly. (if you know what i mean)