How to plot routes with a GPS?

[CraigRegs]

I haven't been able to get a clear answer on this searching the forum and believe me, the dorks at the box stores aren't much help either.

I understand that one can plot a route in a GPS by manually entering addresses or street names. This is great if running from the hotel to the convention center to a restaurant in an unfamiliar city. But how do you plot routes to hit those skinny little backroads whose names you don't even know? Or, as is the case in Iowa, the county road is listed on the DOT map (and signed along the roadway) as "X40", but is referred to as "Garfield Ave" in the 911 system that I guess GPS' use. I guess what I'm looking for is an experience like with paper maps: Spread it out, put a finger at my house, another at some other point and then try to find the interesting roads between. Can you create a map in an app like MS Streets & Trips, then import it into a given GPS?

Thanks for any help. This is about the last question I need to figure out before I go GPShopping.

Craig

 

[Ignacio]

You don't specify a brand or model, but if it were say a Garmin....of the Street Pilot flavor and probably others....you get a spiffy CD with it called City Navigator. With that CD you install a computer program on your computer that does have software that can do routing that then downloads to the GPS.

Yes, you could use Microsoft Streets & Trips to create a route full of waypoints, but you'd need an additional piece of software like GPSU to convert from that format to one that the GPS would use.

As for how to find streets and points with the GPS it's a case where one way to find it is via street name entry, but if you don't find it in one format you search on another. X40 is not listed, but Garfield is. You can also find it via a cross street, say Garfield and 12th. Or as you find something close you can add that to a route.

Point is...it's a bit tough to fully understand how they work in the store. Using it is the training....so my suggestion is get one that others rave about...and there's lots and lots of discussion already on this forum about that. In my case, I bought a 2730 (or it could have been a 2720 or 2820) because other long-distance folks had one. I've never in my life been to New Brunswick, but somehow navigated from St. Louis across 95% of country I had never, ever been.....while finding a dozen bonus locations I had only located via GPS while on the move or perhaps in the hotel room via Streets and Trips....while under a clock.

 

[Go Far]

+1

or to be forum PC

guhknee

You don't specify a brand or model, but if it were say a Garmin....of the Street Pilot flavor and probably others....you get a spiffy CD with it called City Navigator. With that CD you install a computer program on your computer that does have software that can do routing that then downloads to the GPS.
Yes, you could use Microsoft Streets & Trips to create a route full of waypoints, but you'd need an additional piece of software like GPSU to convert from that format to one that the GPS would use.

As for how to find streets and points with the GPS it's a case where one way to find it is via street name entry, but if you don't find it in one format you search on another. X40 is not listed, but Garfield is. You can also find it via a cross street, say Garfield and 12th. Or as you find something close you can add that to a route.

Point is...it's a bit tough to fully understand how they work in the store. Using it is the training....so my suggestion is get one that others rave about...and there's lots and lots of discussion already on this forum about that. In my case, I bought a 2730 (or it could have been a 2720 or 2820) because other long-distance folks had one. I've never in my life been to New Brunswick, but somehow navigated from St. Louis across 95% of country I had never, ever been.....while finding a dozen bonus locations I had only located via GPS while on the move or perhaps in the hotel room via Streets and Trips....while under a clock.

 

[Ignacio]

+1
or to be forum PC

guhknee

Hey! Weren't wasn't that you in the middle of nowhere Missouri at 2 in the morning looking for a gas station with our GPS because you were running on vapors in Night 11 of the Iron Butt Rally?

Or was that me?

No, it was both of us!

IIRC, the GPS helped.

 

[Go Far]

I'm sure those residents in that section of the 'show moi' state would raise a objection to the 'middle of nowhere' comment! :blink:

BUT,

I sure remember that final night! :wub:

Yud thunk with 11.5 at your disposal, situations like that wouldn't occur. But night 11 is awfully close to that 11.5 gal number. :crazy: .

night 11/ 11.5 gal :crazy:

night 11/ 11.5 gal :crazy:

Yeah, that's the problem, I'm caught up in a number problem, :crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy:

11 miles to the next gas?????????.........................................................................

closed....................................................................................

......................................................................................

entering no man's land....................................................................................

oh

my

there's a

light over the rise

[SIZE=36pt]GAS[/SIZE]

[SIZE=36pt]all is right with the world[/SIZE]

:beach: :grin: :heart: :hyper:

+1
or to be forum PC

guhknee

Hey! Weren't wasn't that you in the middle of nowhere Missouri at 2 in the morning looking for a gas station with our GPS because you were running on vapors in Night 11 of the Iron Butt Rally?

Or was that me?

No, it was both of us!

IIRC, the GPS helped.

 

[Ignacio]

I sure remember that final night! :wub:

Maybe it was because we were at the world headquarters of Garmin GPS just hours earlier trying to snap photos of the building in the dark with Polaroids.

Craigregs, They even sent me a new GPS after the Iron Butt Rally even though it was out of warranty. I suggest a 27xx, 28xx, or a one of the Nuvis. Garmin rocks!

 

[CraigRegs]

Craigregs, They even sent me a new GPS after the Iron Butt Rally even though it was out of warranty. I suggest a 27xx, 28xx, or a one of the Nuvis. Garmin rocks!

Thanks Iggy. My searches on the board have pointed me towards Garmin. I've read enough reviews to make my head spin! But now, with that last question answered, I've got it down to about 5 units to consider, so I'll be off to the stores again this afternoon.

Merry Christmas!

Craig

 

[Metcalfe1963]

I haven't been able to get a clear answer on this searching the forum and believe me, the dorks at the box stores aren't much help either.
I understand that one can plot a route in a GPS by manually entering addresses or street names. This is great if running from the hotel to the convention center to a restaurant in an unfamiliar city. But how do you plot routes to hit those skinny little backroads whose names you don't even know? Or, as is the case in Iowa, the county road is listed on the DOT map (and signed along the roadway) as "X40", but is referred to as "Garfield Ave" in the 911 system that I guess GPS' use. I guess what I'm looking for is an experience like with paper maps: Spread it out, put a finger at my house, another at some other point and then try to find the interesting roads between. Can you create a map in an app like MS Streets & Trips, then import it into a given GPS?

Thanks for any help. This is about the last question I need to figure out before I go GPShopping.

Craig

Hey, I am a long way from an expert but did some research prior to purchasing my Zumo 450. I had settled on a garmin product so did not look much at others. The garmin C-series and the Nuvi do not allow downloading of custom routes as far as I know. The only one I could find that did was the Zumo series. I am sure Tom-Tom and others also make one that enables this but I don't know. You can use City navigator software (comes with the unit) and create custom routes on any roads you wish to travel and then download them to the Zumo. Works great!! Unit is expensive and you will need to spend another $100 to get a car mount and cable if you want to use it in your car as it only comes with the motorcycle mount.

 

[markjenn]

The garmin C-series and the Nuvi do not allow downloading of custom routes as far as I know. The only one I could find that did was the Zumo series.

It varies from model to model. The very cheap consumer Gps's tend to be closed systems where you do everything with the Gps, but the more expensive systems communicate with the PC applications for route planning (like Garmin's Mapsource).

You can plan routes with most Gps's without having a PC by using the Gps screen to set up intermediate waypoints that are on the roads you want to travel. But it is cumbersome. Trying to do serious route planning on a tiny Gps screen and buttons is a little like shopping in a video store in a wheel chair looking through a paper towel cardboard tube.

What most of us Garmin users do is create routes on the PC beforehand, either withi MapSource or with a program like Streets and Trips. Then transfer it to the Gps. If you work in S&T you can buy a conversion program to convert it to a MapSource route/track, but this often doesn't work very well - it's usually easier just to manually build the route in MapSource to match the S&T route by adding sufficient waypoints to force the route to the roads you want. And there are some gotchas where the route on the Gps won't match the route on the PC even if they have the same waypoints. You learn some tricks to avoid this.

It all sounds cumbersome, but you get the hang of it all pretty quickly. Dive in.

- Mark

 

[CraigRegs]

The garmin C-series and the Nuvi do not allow downloading of custom routes as far as I know. The only one I could find that did was the Zumo series.

It varies from model to model. The very cheap consumer Gps's tend to be closed systems where you do everything with the Gps, but the more expensive systems communicate with the PC applications for route planning (like Garmin's Mapsource).

You can plan routes with most Gps's without having a PC by using the Gps screen to set up intermediate waypoints that are on the roads you want to travel. But it is cumbersome. Trying to do serious route planning on a tiny Gps screen and buttons is a little like shopping in a video store in a wheel chair looking through a paper towel cardboard tube.

What most of us Garmin users do is create routes on the PC beforehand, either withi MapSource or with a program like Streets and Trips. Then transfer it to the Gps. If you work in S&T you can buy a conversion program to convert it to a MapSource route/track, but this often doesn't work very well - it's usually easier just to manually build the route in MapSource to match the S&T route by adding sufficient waypoints to force the route to the roads you want. And there are some gotchas where the route on the Gps won't match the route on the PC even if they have the same waypoints. You learn some tricks to avoid this.

It all sounds cumbersome, but you get the hang of it all pretty quickly. Dive in.

- Mark

Okay, I was ready to pull the trigger on a Nuvi 760, but now I'm wondering about the Mapsource software. Is that included or not? Judging by their website, Garmin doesn't want you to know anything about Mapsource. Searches there don't give me any info other than updates for those that already own it. Or is just standard with all units, so they don't bother mentioning it as a feature?

Still dazed and confused....

Craig

 

[ssides]

The garmin C-series and the Nuvi do not allow downloading of custom routes as far as I know. The only one I could find that did was the Zumo series.

It varies from model to model. The very cheap consumer Gps's tend to be closed systems where you do everything with the Gps, but the more expensive systems communicate with the PC applications for route planning (like Garmin's Mapsource).

You can plan routes with most Gps's without having a PC by using the Gps screen to set up intermediate waypoints that are on the roads you want to travel. But it is cumbersome. Trying to do serious route planning on a tiny Gps screen and buttons is a little like shopping in a video store in a wheel chair looking through a paper towel cardboard tube.

What most of us Garmin users do is create routes on the PC beforehand, either withi MapSource or with a program like Streets and Trips. Then transfer it to the Gps. If you work in S&T you can buy a conversion program to convert it to a MapSource route/track, but this often doesn't work very well - it's usually easier just to manually build the route in MapSource to match the S&T route by adding sufficient waypoints to force the route to the roads you want. And there are some gotchas where the route on the Gps won't match the route on the PC even if they have the same waypoints. You learn some tricks to avoid this.

It all sounds cumbersome, but you get the hang of it all pretty quickly. Dive in.

- Mark

Okay, I was ready to pull the trigger on a Nuvi 760, but now I'm wondering about the Mapsource software. Is that included or not? Judging by their website, Garmin doesn't want you to know anything about Mapsource. Searches there don't give me any info other than updates for those that already own it. Or is just standard with all units, so they don't bother mentioning it as a feature?

Still dazed and confused....

Craig

 

[ssides]

My Garmin Zumo did come with Mapsource and charted an awesome trip through CA, backroads and all. Nice to use Streets and Trips to chart the course, then manually had to re-enter it into Mapsource for uploading to the Garmin....

Worked like a champ, like we had a genie with us the whole trip.....awesome...

BTW, what was that program tha converted Streets and Trips to Mapsource again????

 

[stryg8r]

BTW, what was that program tha converted Streets and Trips to Mapsource again????

GPS Utility. Great little program. Can be found here:

https://www.gpsu.co.uk/

 

[CraigRegs]

I downloaded and read the manuals for the Zumo and the Nuvi. Zumo mentions it supports gpx files from Mapsource. No such mention in the Nuvi manual. So it sounds like to plot routes for the Nuvi on the PC, I'll have to use a 3rd party app like S&T, then convert them with ANOTHER 3rd party app like GPS Utility; or hunt, peck, zoom and scroll on the GPS itself.

Anyone with a Nuvi want to weigh in?

Craig

 

[Low Level FJR Pilot]

We just purchased a Zumo 550 and I am loving it. For the extra cash it is well worth it. I can go from the bike to the cage to the bike in nothing flat, which is why I wanted it to replace my old Color Map. The software comes with it and is fairly good, some items as, Iggy already alluded to, are hard to find and I did spend some time in google maps looking up addresses.

I just built 4 routes using the waypoints I added and the trip to Amarillo went without a hitch. Even able to plot a side trip while we are in Deming to a little restauraunt in La Mesa, NM called Chopes that a friend of mine rants about. The ability to find gas stations and other places on the fly is a big add since my old Color Map. I found it on Amazon tax and shipping free for $636.00. Good luck on the decision. B)