Nigeyy

Though I love a perusal of a good map just like many other people, recently I've been wondering whether I could use a GPS to follow a route. Next year I'm going to be doing a little cross Massachusetts tour -and one of my pet peeves about New England is the appalling road signage -or complete lack thereof (yeah, I know exploring is exciting, but I'm on a time limit so I can't afford to "explore" too much). I really like cycling the back roads (the lack of traffic and usual peace and tranquility make for good touring) but of course even with a map sometimes they are hard to follow and can take a little time.

With that in mind and the low priced GPS models, I wondered if there was a suitable cheap option. I'd like to be able to load a specific route (e.g. I plan a route along all the back roads and upload it to the GPS) as well as give some sort of audible warning or direction. Since I don't really go touring way off road, I wouldn't need a GPS that is able to go way off road, nor need a GPS that would cache loads of waypoints (though it would be nice, that's not a primary functionality I'd want). I don't think I need a bicycle specific GPS as I'm sure I could rig up a holder on my bike. The GPS wouldn't even need to be waterproof as I'd simply put it away in wet weather.....

Googling "gps load route" or similar gives some info, and it seems that Garmin Nuvi 700 series does this, but they are about $200-300 -more than I'd want to spend. The TomTom GPS appear capable of loading as many as 50 via points, but I'm not sure that would necessarily mean a route would be formulated that I would want to take (I want to designate my own route).

So.... based on my preferences, has anybody got any recommendations? Pretty much it seems I want a GPS that could be a car GPS and is able to load up a specified route. Of course getting a GPS that is able to be used in the car won't hurt my chances of getting one with the wife either

txvintage

Depending on how long you are planning your addle time per day to be, battery life can be a problem with something like a Nuvi or a TomTom. These usually have power cords for using in a car, and th battery may only last 2-4 hrs without a power source.

Check things like the Garmin Legand CX or a Vista CX. Make sure you aren't looking at the Hex models, they will run more.

The Legend CX can be had for around $130 and can be used in the car, hiking, or on the bike, and gets about 25 hrs out of a set of AA batteries. It also doesn't look like a flat screen HUD TV mounted on your bars.

My Legend HEX should get here either tomorrow or Friday. I'm kind of antsy to get it and start playing with it.

Nigeyy

TxVintage:

Good point about battery life. It may be I have to consider a bicycle oriented GPS.

Anyway, please let me know how it works out. I did look at the Etrex line as they are more bicycle oriented, but I noticed the basemap loaded on the Legend CX is of "Major interstates and principal highways". I didn't know if that meant all the backroads of Massachusetts were included for example (I assume not). Assuming it doesn't, I'd have to pay another $70-$80 to get the kind of roadmap I'd want. Could you let me know if this is the case? Thanks!

txvintage

I'm hoping it gets here today. With my luck, it will come signature required while I'm out on the bike.......

I am almost positive that you can load maps from sites like Bikley and MapMyRide using the provided Map Source software. I'll do a full write up as soon as I have the basic operation down, and update it as I become more proficient.

I may throw the Tom Tom in the handlebar bag and see how it does while on a ride for comparison. Again, the battery life is the great unknown, but I suspect you could turn it on, let it update, get your bearings, and turn it off again. That might extend your battery life, but over a few days it will still need to be recharged at some point. This would sort of shoot the autonavigate feature in the foot I would think.

The Human Car

You can upload routes to the GPS without the detail local maps loaded into the GPS. From the local list serve:
And for transfer software:
https://www.gpsinformation.org/ronh/g7towin.htm

CCrew

Nope, you can't. Only stuff out there for Garmin in the "free" Realm is Ibycus: https://www.ibycus.com/ibycususa/

But even then you don't get full "turn by turn" routing. I use a Garmin 60Csx which is out of your price point I believe but does meet your requirements. Mine's on my handlebars with a Ram Mount

Nuvi's aren't waterproof, and have a short battery life. The waterproof is an issue, as they're condensation suceptible. Good units, I own one, but the Zumo is made for outdoor use versus the Nuvi which is truly designed to be on a dashboard.

-Roger

CCrew

And FYI, Mapsource is free (Transfer Software) . You can download Garmin's training Center application then use a Mapsource update to update it to the full Mapsource version.

For a nice GPS, also look at the Garmin Colorado. Mid $300's price point just before Xmas.

-Roger

Nigeyy

If I understand this correctly, this means you can upload a series of waypoints you could be guided to, but without the roads being displayed? But then what if you took a wrong turn? What about the frequency of waypoints? Could you back track effectively on roads that are not displayed? (or at least I assume they wouldn't be displayed).

Sorry for so many questions..... I really don't know much about GPS!

At the moment it seems the best solution would be to go for an Etrex model with the ability to load a memory card and purchase the road map I'm interested in -that would come to about ~$200, just a tad more than I'm willing to spend. If however I could get an Etrex model with an appropriately detailed roadmap and that could accept a designated route for under $150, then maybe......

TxVintage, I'm looking forward to your review!

The Human Car

A series of waypoints would be a track or a route and the GPS shows a line connecting the points as well as a gray trace of where you have been as well as a compass or pointer that points to the next point.

A track would look like this: https://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path...Marriottsville
And a route (basically turn by turn instructions) would look like this: https://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/234562

There are advantages and disadvantages to both but you'll need to play with the unit to figure out what you prefer. But basically you can draw on Bikely (do some fiddling) and then put it on your GPS.

The road map software is tons of fun and well worth the cost IMHO but having a paper map packed away just in case is still the best backup plan when you get lost or when the road on your route is closed even with local maps loaded as the map you see on the GPS is very small and does not go very far in one view to do any serious planning.

I will also note that you can save multiple routes and tracks on the GPS.

@CCrew thanks for tip about MapSource.

spinnaker

Not exactly correct.

A series of trackpoints is a track.

A series of waypoints is a route.

A track is a recording of where you have been.

A route is a list of where you want to go. It can have a direction pointer or in the case of a mapping GPS, turn by turn directions.


Exactly correct and excellent points.

spinnaker

As far as I know Mapsource is not free. It come free with most of Garmin's GPS devices but the software itself is not free.

spinnaker

You really need a mapping GPS or navigation on the roads. In the old days I would use a non mapping GPS to map my position on a marine chart while sailing. But I had the lat and lon on my chart and I would be able to go below to plot my position on the chart. Also (within reason) I was not trapped on specific roadways and it makes it a lot easier to navigate.

You could use a non mapping GPS for tour navigation. It would be a big help to make sure you were headed in the right direction but actual navigation would be difficult. For starters you would need a road map with latitude and longitude.

But any GPS should be able to tell you where you have been. I like transferring the tracks to Google Earth and relive (in a small way) my tour.

The Human Car

I'll note that my Mapsource disks are packed away somewhere (I just moved) and at this time I just need to move routes to the GPS. CCrew method works but you don't get any maps in the deal (a basic base map is displayed under your data.) And as far as I can recall my Etrex Vista did not come with any software but maybe that's changed.

n4zou

You can use one of these to extend your GPS unit operation time.
https://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3060

CCrew

Actually, if you ask Garmin, it is, and that's how they'll tell you to do it.

What does cost is the map data. My way gets you the application, Ibycus (which I also posted) is the only way to get detailed Garmin compatible maps unless you're prepared to build your own. Or buy Garmin's of course.

I've only been playing with GPS's since they turned SA off, so what do i know. Geocaching is my other crazy hobby (https://www.geocaching.com )


-R

CCrew

Only if your GPS uses USB as a charge option. The Etrex/Venture/Vista's they're discussing don't, they have a proprietary 4 pin connector (they just use serial CTS/RTS)

CCrew

Spinnaker's done a good job, but let's see if I can simplify further...

A waypoint is a lat/lon coordinate. Really nothing more. A route is a series of those coordinates linked together. They don't *have* to be on-road. A GPS that does turn by turn routing doesn't need a route pre-built, it looks at the endpoint and calculates how to get there. It alerts for turns, time/distance, etc.

A mapping GPS, like a Vista I have will display maps, but won't create a route, nor alert for turns. The 60Csx I have will route and calculate. As will my Garmin Oregon, and my Streetpilot 7200 and my Nuvi 760.

Yes, I'm a tech nerd

-Roger

Nigeyy

So has anyone bought an Etrex model and uploaded some free street maps on it? Can anyone confirm?

CCrew

And we won't even get into "via" points. If you hear that term in your GPS travels, think of it as "I want to ride from Baltimore to Washington, but via a route through Seattle"

CCrew

I've done it with a Vista and the Ibycus maps, yes. You can see the map, but you can't tell the GPS to route you to anywhere. Think of it as an itty bitty map square. (but you can zoom in)

Personally I've found maps without routing of little use. And the Garmin topo maps suck, don't buy them!

-R

spinnaker

And I was going to clarify your post even further but you beat me to it.

And I am a nerd too. CCrew, I have not seen you at any of the meetings.

spinnaker

BTW You can get the old Metroguide maps pretty cheaply on Ebay. They will be way out of date for driving as they will lack new freeways and such but should be OK for bicycling as the roads we want to use have probably been there for years.

Metroguide lacks routing on the GPS but the free Metro Wizz, you can get routing on the GPS. I used it in Italy last year and it was fantastic.

CCrew

I had the coordinates in the wrong map datum, sorry!!

Nigeyy

So it really sounds like I need to purchase the map that goes with the Etrex models... hmmm..... I think I'll put this idea aside until it hits that magic $150 price point (total) or below for me. I already have cycling maps of the area, so it's just an expensive nice to have rather than something I need.

The strange thing is when I saw how cheap something like a TomTom One is and its features, I really thought "hey, I just want a map of the roads and the ability to specify a route.... I bet you I could get one of those with just that functionality for under $150!"

(And perhaps I could still get change out of tuppence ha'penny too.)

And thanks for the very helpful advice guys!

spinnaker

You should be able to get City Select or City Navigator for under $150.

MSRP is now $99 for Navigator North America.

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=8465&pvID=2307

Europe is only $150

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=8462&pvID=2172