How to Keep Routes Consistent When Exporting to Garmin Zumo XT?

[nevatik]

Hey Folks,

I am pretty much still a novice at using MyRoute-app, and it has been tremendously helpful for planning my motorbike trips! I use a Garmin Zumo XT for navigation, but I've been having a small problem when I export my planned routes onto the device. I sometimes have lost a couple of waypoints or the route has slightly changed.

I have even tried using either GPX version 1.1, GPX version 1.2 and I still cannot get 100% consistency. So I’m hoping to hear from other users of the Zumo XT - what is the best export format or method to have the routes just as I planned in MyRoute-app?

I usually spend 90% of my time working on cloud projects (in fact, I just returned from Azure training in Hyderabad),sounds intresting right, however, riding is my weekend passion and I would like to develop to improve on route planning and GPS syncing.

Thanks in advance for any tips - I would truly appreciate your thoughts and experiences!
nevatik

[Mzokk]

@nevatik

1. If you have connected the unit to explore disconnect it. Its poor software and at best an embarrassment.

2. In trip planner make all trips "Saved" rather than imported....you can do this in trip planner by starting the route and going back into trip planner and saving active route. This gives it a new name that you can change to something similar(but no the same as the original). Avoids routing issues and repeated U turns if the route recalculates.

3. Switch off auto recalculation or make it prompted....see above, and try as much as possible to navigate yourself back to the navigation line

4. Make track visible as well as route if you have to re-calculate you can see how different the new route might be. It shouldn't be if you put in enough shaping points. BUT

5. If you are doing a long out and back route with different but close together roads make sure that you have at least a Waypoint at the farthest end of the route. This will stop the unit shortcutting the route if you have to recalculate. In the old units they tried to get you to the next shaping point in the direction of travel...if another shaping point is closer to the XT it will just cut off a big lump of the route if you recalculate. For example in this route if you recalculated Just before where the 1 is on the map it would cut off the rest of the route and take you to Hillsborough if it was all shaping points and no way points which have to be gone through.

5. I've had Garmin GPS units for 20 years and the XT drove me nuts for the first year of ownership but I know its foibles now and can get it to do what I expect.

6. Jheath's resource on the Garmin Zumo forums is invaluable in understanding the unit.

https://www.zumouserforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=1464&sid=680669f23fa3074472ce6f32c64f7de1

7. For use with the XT I use GPX1.1 and have the track of the route visible as well. The track doesn't change from what is planned in MRA (or basecamp). Using CPX 1.1 you have all the waypoints (MRA speak/Shaping points (Garmin speak) as indicated by the little blue dots and the Via points as flags) shaping points can be bypassed and via points have to be visited (or skipped). As can be seen below I have a custom theme that makes the track line fatter than the magenta route line so that I can see if when the device is navigating.

8. Some people prefer GPX 1.2 because it gives an exact match to the route made in MRA. However, if you use this you really need to switch recalculation off as the route only contains a start and finish and if you go off route the unit will calculate the route to the endpoint by whatever parameters you have set (in my case fastest time.

9. When creating a route for the XT make sure to use plenty of waypoints/shaping points to force the route along the roads you want to be on. Garmin's new routing algorithm means that fastest routes= faster roads and it will try to route you onto a motorway or main road rather than taking a much shorter section of minor road.

That's probably enough for now. The XT unit has a few foibles but is a good navigation device. Increasingly now, I use the MRA navigation app via Android auto on My Africa twin to actually navigate with and my Zumo XT is relegated to handling POI's (particularly proximity warned ones) and tracks which it does much better than MRA.

[Mzokk]

@nevatik Just to distil that a bit.

Using the XT I now do four things that I wouldn't have necessarily done with older Garmin Units I use/have used.

1. I put a shaping point on every road I want to be on and use more shaping points than I previously would have if planning routes in basecamp or increasingly MRA routeplanner
2. Always make a track and display the track and the route on the device so that I can spot any deviation(s).
3. Have recalculation on prompted rather than automatic and use it sparingly
4. Any route I'm using gets saved as an "Active Route" to avoid any issues with repeated u-turns if I have used recalculation at some point in the route.

[Lex.Kloet.RX]

@nevatik I export the 1.2GPX version, make the track visible on the map in a nice color (anything but purple), set recalculating off and here you go. If you get lost (are off route) DO NOT PANIC!!!! but drive reLexed to the visible track/route. If there is a deviation, just follow it, because it will lead you to your planned route/track. And as soon as you are on the route again, (bike)life goes on