Turn-by-turn Routing

[+French.]

I feel very stupid for asking this question, but I can't figure it out from what I've read here.

 

The turn-by-turn routing offered by some of the Garmin units...what exactly does this mean? Does this mean there is a picture on the screen showing you where to turn? I'm guessing the unit doesn't actually talk ("right turn ahead")?

 

Thank you in advance. This forum has been so helpful. I'm gearing up to do my first cache and still have a ton to learn (obviously), but I'm really taking my time reading the forums here (and all the places THAT leads me to). I'm excited with Spring right around the corner and the wealth of information to be had...

Edited March 10, 2006 by French.

[+Bus36]

I feel very stupid for asking this question, but I can't figure it out from what I've read here.

 

The turn-by-turn routing offered by some of the Garmin units...what exactly does this mean? Does this mean there is a picture on the screen showing you where to turn? I'm guessing the unit doesn't actually talk ("right turn ahead")?

 

Thank you in advance. This forum has been so helpful. I'm gearing up to do my first cache and still have a ton to learn (obviously), but I'm really taking my time reading the forums here (and all the places THAT leads me to). I'm excited with Spring right around the corner and the wealth of information to be had...

 

I will give you an example how the 60cx works. I am pretty sure all the other handheld units do the same. They do not talk. When you are about .2 miles away from a turn it will beep and it will flash the turn that you will make. Then when you get really close to the turn it will beep again and the turn will come up. The unit will show your car when it is making the turn. It is pretty nice since the arrow shows how sharp the turn is. This is my first unit and I love the autorouthing feature.

[robertlipe]

There are a couple of levels of turn-by-turns.

 

The term generically refers to a unit that will give directions in the same basic way a human would. "Proceed .3 miles, then turn left on Walnut street." and it knows that Walnut street isn't a 1 way road going the "wrong" way, etc.

 

Some units (esp. the handhelds) will beep. That's your cue to look at the screen and do driver stuff.

 

Some units will speak the directions. "In point five miles, turn left".

 

Some units (this is pretty new) contain text to speech so they can "read" the street names. "In point five miles, turn left onto Walnut street".

 

Probably unsuprisingly, as you go down this list, you go up in price and make some tradeoffs. The units that will speak to you tend to not be waterproof, for example. (Some do it via external speakers, so you can choose spoken OR waterproof...)

[+Sputnik 57]

You've got the right idea. For example, a Garmin 60C or Legend C will calculate a route from wherever you are to wherever you want to go. As you drive along the route, the GPSr will show you the distance to the next turn, will beep as you approach the turn, and then as you get quite close, will put up a map of the intersection or interchange (showing your exact position) to "guide" you through the turn. It's pretty much indistinguishable from magic, as far as I'm concerned.

[GeoidPS]

Also, depending on the mapping, some units will ask you if you want to stay on the trail or take the road when being a pedestrian (hiker).

[ImpalaBob]

Autorouting is only as good as the maps .... so another purchase of detailed mapping software is required as the base maps are only the larger highways. ImpalaBob 60C with City Select Maps. Soon we will be hooking up the 60C to a new laptop with Garmin's nRoute and it will then give voice prompts for the turns!

Edited March 10, 2006 by ImpalaBob

[+French.]

Thank you for the information! I currently run TomTom on my Palm TX and am pleased with that because I literally never have to take my eyes from the road (it tells me, "At the end of the road, turn left". I am very interested in the Garmin 60CX, even more so if it talked. I saw a picture that someone posted of a PDA "in the field" and it nearly made me cry. The screen was cracked and the PDA was unusable. I'm a little worried that having a unit only beeping at me could be a distraction (taking eyes away from road to look at screen), but it doesn't sound like you all feel that way about it at all. So I was thinking the money for the 60CX would well be worth it if I could leave my PDA at home.

 

Which leads to another question (maybe I should post it separately). How much info will the Garmin actually take from GSAK? Can I go paperless using just the Garmin? It sounds like the note field may not be big enough to see an entire hint?

 

If I buy the City Select (or Navigator...not sure which product is compatible), does it also let me route to addresses, POIs, "entertainment", "restaurants", etc. I had the Garmin 10 for a brief period of time and it had all the categories, etc. I can't see paying that much money for the software if it doesn't have the same capability. From what I could tell from the 16+ page thread I think I can. With 1 gig cards fast on the way it is enticing to have a GPS that I could use for recreational Geocaching (some of you sound professional...just wanted to differentiate my usage) and a unit that could get me from A to B, all while running on standard batteries so I don't have to worry or freak out if I forgot to charge the darn thing.

 

Oh, is the beep audible? The main reason the GPS 10 went back is because I simply could not hear the directions being given through the PDA speaker. That was unacceptable to me since 1) I can hear TomTom's directions just fine with no extra speaker, and 2) I wanted a unit that I could virtually take anywhere. With the Garmin I would have had to have an external speaker hook up of some kind to hear the darn thing.

[+Ellteejak]

I think your TOMTOM solution is great. It got superior reviews by several tough groups (I think consumer reports, etc.). Why do you want to change? Just get an armored case for your PDA and you are set.

 

That smashed PDA just sounds like someone made a bad mistake. My PDA is in the field with me all the time. I have dropped it, but I usually don't

[+French.]

I think your TOMTOM solution is great. It got superior reviews by several tough groups (I think consumer reports, etc.). Why do you want to change? Just get an armored case for your PDA and you are set.

 

That smashed PDA just sounds like someone made a bad mistake. My PDA is in the field with me all the time. I have dropped it, but I usually don't

 

Man I'm daft...this never even occured to me (armored case).

 

Can you read the screen in the daylight with your PDA? I assume you have a separate GPS for the "off road stuff? Or are you using TomTom and just dealing with no detail?

 

I do love the TomTom, except the maps are slightly inferior to Garmin...I noticed it was missing information for the roads leading to my office in Colorado Springs. But I figured out a way to make a waypoint in Mapsource and loaded it to TomTom as a POI, and then marked the POI as a favorite to really make it stand out. Sounds like I can also accomplish this by enterting location into GSAK and then converting to POI. Anyway, I'm curious to see if it will actually understand my destination is another 3 blocks further than where the road ended (I work in MD but will be visiting the CO Springs area where I'm not familiar).

Edited March 10, 2006 by French.

[CenTexDodger]

If I buy the City Select (or Navigator...not sure which product is compatible), does it also let me route to addresses, POIs, "entertainment", "restaurants", etc. I had the Garmin 10 for a brief period of time and it had all the categories, etc. I can't see paying that much money for the software if it doesn't have the same capability. From what I could tell from the 16+ page thread I think I can. With 1 gig cards fast on the way it is enticing to have a GPS that I could use for recreational Geocaching (some of you sound professional...just wanted to differentiate my usage) and a unit that could get me from A to B, all while running on standard batteries so I don't have to worry or freak out if I forgot to charge the darn thing.

 

Oh, is the beep audible? The main reason the GPS 10 went back is because I simply could not hear the directions being given through the PDA speaker. That was unacceptable to me since 1) I can hear TomTom's directions just fine with no extra speaker, and 2) I wanted a unit that I could virtually take anywhere. With the Garmin I would have had to have an external speaker hook up of some kind to hear the darn thing.

 

Yes, you can route to any point, whether it is one you put in, or already contained in the map. Also one thing that has not been mentioned about autorouting is that it will recalculate if you decide to deviate from the original route. So you can literally "go get yourself lost" and the unit will still draw you a route back home (or wherever).

 

As far as the loudness, the 60cs is plenty loud. I have read some users on here claim that the (x) models are not as loud.

[+Ellteejak]

How about using LESS DETAILED maps? I only want to use the roads that are mapped as major through routes (have state road numbers to them with lots of signs saying you are on this one road, or that a new state road/number is coming up soon).

 

The uploaded maps tend to have way way too much information. I just need to see the major routes, and then I will get to them to get where I want to go.

 

Otherwise I will spend the money and get an expensive solution.

[+Alan2]

I use Mapopolis. Like TomTom it speaks to you"Turn left in 420 feet onto Main St". The display can be asjusted to show just the roads you have to take that are routed. You can eliminate or add as much detail as you decide you want.

[+Team Cotati]

Autorouting is only as good as the maps .... so another purchase of detailed mapping software is required as the base maps are only the larger highways. ImpalaBob 60C with City Select Maps. Soon we will be hooking up the 60C to a new laptop with Garmin's nRoute and it will then give voice prompts for the turns!

 

In this example, aren't the voice prompts coming from the PC with the GPSr acting as an antenna?

[ImpalaBob]

Yes ..... The GPS is acting as the antenna ..... but as said the autorouting can only be as good as the level of maps you have loaded in the laptop. ImpalaBob

[+Ellteejak]

I was told that Mapopolis DOES NOT talk to you. It prints directions on the screen for you to read, but does not SPEAK. Is this incorrect? If it speaks just like TOMTOM this is a great value.

 

I use Mapopolis. Like TomTom it speaks to you"Turn left in 420 feet onto Main St". The display can be asjusted to show just the roads you have to take that are routed. You can eliminate or add as much detail as you decide you want.

Edited March 13, 2006 by Ellteejak

[+Big-AlH]

I was told that Mapopolis DOES NOT talk to you. It prints directions on the screen for you to read, but does not SPEAK. Is this incorrect? If it speaks just like TOMTOM this is a great value.

 

I'm currently evaluating new PPC software for navigation. I'm not happy with what I have (TeleType). I loaded Mapopolis this morning and had it route to my work (all of 2 miles away). It most definatley speaks - either Text To Speech (what I tried) or you can pick a male/female voice.

 

What I wanted to rest is how well it dealt with me taking another way. TeleType says "missed turn" then has to re-calculate the entire route - which at times would take a minute or more. It did this to me when out of town and I constantly missed turns! Mapopolis did like most car navigations sytems do -- just recommend the next turn - almost immediately!

 

It also was able to find addresses and more POIs than Teletype.

 

Nice thing is you can download the program (free) and a trial county and give it a try. I'm pretty sure I'm going to fork out the $99 for the NA map set.

 

-al

Edited March 13, 2006 by Big-AlH

[+Ellteejak]

Sorry I did not get back to you on this. I would have trouble reading my PDA in the field (always had trouble seeing one). So I am getting a field GPS. I think I will be keeping my new Garmin Legend C (if it has a good storage for POIs, and can use them), along with using the Ique 3600 in the car. Not using TomTom as I will just use the garmin Mapsource that came with the PDA.

 

I think your TOMTOM solution is great. It got superior reviews by several tough groups (I think consumer reports, etc.). Why do you want to change? Just get an armored case for your PDA and you are set.

 

That smashed PDA just sounds like someone made a bad mistake. My PDA is in the field with me all the time. I have dropped it, but I usually don't

 

Man I'm daft...this never even occured to me (armored case).

 

Can you read the screen in the daylight with your PDA? I assume you have a separate GPS for the "off road stuff? Or are you using TomTom and just dealing with no detail?

 

I do love the TomTom, except the maps are slightly inferior to Garmin...I noticed it was missing information for the roads leading to my office in Colorado Springs. But I figured out a way to make a waypoint in Mapsource and loaded it to TomTom as a POI, and then marked the POI as a favorite to really make it stand out. Sounds like I can also accomplish this by enterting location into GSAK and then converting to POI. Anyway, I'm curious to see if it will actually understand my destination is another 3 blocks further than where the road ended (I work in MD but will be visiting the CO Springs area where I'm not familiar).

Edited March 13, 2006 by Ellteejak