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GPS Routing

J

jonmyre

Guest
Hello I've been intrigued with the idea of following a Hwy start to finish. If you check out www.usends.com you'll get the idea. My question for the board is? Does anyone know of a GPS with software that will follow a hwy without having to plot a route and upload to the GPS?
I've inquired at Gramin but their reply is the software is destination based. I suspect the software has the same problem I do while riding, keeping on the route while traveling through towns and when hwys intersect and travel together. For example say I want to follow US Hwy 61 from Wyoming MN to New Orleans, try to follow the route in Google maps its quite frustrating let alone on a motorcycle.
GPS - Garmin Zumo 660
 
If you know the destination and road, why even use the GPS??

Seems kind of like designing a computer program to solve the equation 1+1=2.
 
Hello I've been intrigued with the idea of following a Hwy start to finish. If you check out www.usends.com you'll get the idea. My question for the board is? Does anyone know of a GPS with software that will follow a hwy without having to plot a route and upload to the GPS?
I've inquired at Gramin but their reply is the software is destination based. I suspect the software has the same problem I do while riding, keeping on the route while traveling through towns and when hwys intersect and travel together. For example say I want to follow US Hwy 61 from Wyoming MN to New Orleans, try to follow the route in Google maps its quite frustrating let alone on a motorcycle.
GPS - Garmin Zumo 660

Welcome to the forum jonmyre. There is a nice GPS/SAT NAV thread going on also in gear, http://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?t=50080 I'm not sure if it's a help but worth checking out, Gary
 
Does anyone know of a GPS with software that will follow a hwy without having to plot

I have a Garmin Zumo 550 and if I want to route via secondary roads, I use way points to take my route to the roads I want to ride. This can be a pain in the GPS, but it gets the job done.

Most better GPS's have a setting for primary roads vs. secondary roads, however in my experience this helps, but I still need to tinker to get the exact route I want.

Of course if you want to route this way, you need a GPS with computer routing and download capabilities. That’s why I sold my Nuvi and purchased the Zumo.
 
Hmm. Not sure what you mean "software that will follow a hwy without having to plot". how can you set a route without the software/system plotting it so it knows what to follow?

I suspect your concern isn't with plotting - it's with auto-routing. Pretty easy to fix - just turn it off in the GPS. Set up Mapsource Preferences for however it needs to be set so you get what you want and download it. I suspect that's the best you can do.

Other than that, all you can do is leave it without a route and then after the routes been done - save the track.

A GPS does two primary things for you. It follows a route you set/or allow it to create and it tells you where you are. Maybe if you are more specific on what you want it to do - someone can help you.
 
Turn off the interstate option

On my Zumo 450, there is a wrench icon on the lower right of the screen. If you press that icon, there is a screen with a list of preferences, one of which is navigation preferences - things like no toll roads, shortest route or shortest time, etc.

There is also an option for no interstate highways. So if you set the start point at the beginning of the US highway, and the end at the end of the US highway, and turn off the option of riding on interstates, you should get where you want to go....
 
Hi - I'll try and be more specific. Say I want to follow Historic Route 66 start to finish, basically impossible so let use my earlier example, US Hwy 61 end points in Wyoming Minnesota and New Orleans Louisiana.
I want to follow the highway from MN to LA and stay on US Hwy 61, just Hwy 61. Try it. Not so hard out in the country but enter a town and watch for the signs, road converge, because the locals don't need the signs, they know where their going, signing get fewer and far between, and the local street names take over. I would challenge you to follow the highway through Minneapolis/St. Paul in your map software let alone on a motorcycle.
By the way US Hwys will jump back & forth on the Interstates so preference settings won't work.
I think it a Seven Bridges of Konigsberg like problem - looks easy enough, not.
 
{snip}...you need a GPS with computer routing and download capabilities. ThatÔÇÖs why I sold my Nuvi and purchased the Zumo.

My $250 Nuvi 550 does both...and it's IPX7 waterproof!

jonmyre -

I totally get what you are trying to do!

Unfortunately for your purpose, mapping data (NAVTEQ, TeleAtlas, etc.) is just a series of "points" organized, at a higher level, with groupings (roads) and characteristics (road surface, speed limit, name, etc.). At an even higher level is the software that the GPS uses to process this data: routing algorithms, points of interest, user preference settings, etc. Thus, as stated earlier, it is essentially a "point-to-point" system; there are no "relational" connections (following Rt. 66 via raw data). That would be a software processing feature added on by the GPSr manufacturer.

However -- almost all GPSr based equipment can track a route ("breadcrumbs") and those tracks can be downloaded and saved in a file that can be imported/read by another GPSr. Your best bet would be to search touring sites and those supporting touring riders to see if someone (or company) has created a track (route) file for your journey.

There are a number of sites on the interwebs that are dedicated to great biking routes. You may want to look at the Best Biking Roads website to get an idea of what is available for GPSr files
 
jonmyre -

THIS is what I think you may be able to find. Of course, Route 66 is a very special road and other historic roads may not have a high level of GPS support.

I googled "route 66 gps files" to find this site.
 
Not having a bike GPS I'd do this type of trip by following the highway signs. It might be troublesome in cities, but it might also be fun to do it the "old" way. Whatever, have a nice ride and post pictures.
 
old way

I guess your right , I'll use a map.
Moderator you can delete the post, I've heard enough.
Love technology but sometimes the "old" way does get the job done better faster.
thanks all
Jon
 
I think I know what you want.
I think it is that you put someting like US 50 from Sacrmento,CA to Ocean City,MD. and it will route you on that highway.
It will not do that.
I am making a route from Reno, NV to Quakertown, PA.
I go into MapSource and create a route using waypoints.
I am going to take US 36 from Colorado to Ohio and I must go along the route and make waypoints to force it to stay on US 36.
I make a route for each day and download them into the GPS.
After each day I delete that days route and if I have changed my mind it is easy to go in the GPS and change the next days route.
 
I guess your right , I'll use a map.
Moderator you can delete the post, I've heard enough.
Love technology but sometimes the "old" way does get the job done better faster.
thanks all
Jon
Hi Jon, It's certainly OK for the post to stay, and for the good of the members I hope it does. You have started another great discussion on the ins and outs of GPS. I think that makes 3 good threads that we have running on the topic. I'm currently trying to figure a good way to "nest" them all together. Nice job :thumb
BTW Jon, I'm an old map and compass guy myself.
 
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