CN8

[flfirefighter]

A few weeks back I was complaining that cn8 creates longer routes in my city that make no sense. Someone said it can't replace your own knowledge of getting for point A to point B on a familar route. That it will get you there if you are lost. So I accepted that and moved on.

 

Well I find this isn't true either. CN8 will give me a route to my local interstate where there is no exit. It puts me under the overpass. This is not good if someone doesn't know the area. What if it was a bad part of town that I shouldn't be in with my family? Yes I have tried faster and better routes to no avail. This is anacceptable for something that cost as much as CN8

[Doug in Alaska]

Oh man, don't tell me this! I just ordered the software!

[+Chuy!]

I have used CN8 in several cities and have discovered it's accuracy varies by city. I have had no problems in the metropolitan areas of southern California. But when I went to Yuma, Az, it had a difficult time finding the exact location of long-time addresses. I speculate information gathered from varying mapping sources varies in accuracy. NAVTEQ, the creators of Garmin's mapping software, have an online feedback section to report errors; click here.

[Neo_Geo]

No, no, no! It ain't like that at all! I visited a friend in Ft. Worth, Texas, used my 60Cx with City Select 5 maps, and showed him a FASTER way to get to school (it was his wife's college graduation ceremony and we were late). He was impressed with the gadget. He wants one really badly now!

 

Sounds like your unit is routing from its basemap. That's an indication that the route calculation data is not getting into the unit. Two possibilities:

1. You're not loading the maps properly.

2. You're loading the maps to the unit, but the route calculation data is not going in.

 

#2 is a fairly common newbie mistake. After selecting the maps you want to load to the GPSr, click on the "Maps" tab and then look in the lower left corner area - there's a check box to "Include Route Calculation Data. If that box is NOT checked, then the route calculation data will NOT go to the GPSr and your GPSr will behave as you described. Be sure the box is checked, and THEN send the maps to the unit.

 

If the box IS ALREADY checked, then the map data itself is not getting into the GPSr. In that case, then CLICK HERE to download the free MapSource tutorial program from Garmin.

Edited October 25, 2006 by Neo_Geo

[+Indotguy]

NEVER put total trust in a computer for driving directions or anything else for that matter! They are conspiring to rule the world!

[Suscrofa]

NEVER put total trust in a computer for driving directions or anything else for that matter! They are conspiring to rule the world!

 

A few weeks ago, I was stucked in a traffic jam in Dublin, was my first time and had to rely solely on my GPS. I realized there were different queues and was wondering if there was a Garmin queue, a Magellan queue, a TOMTOM queue with all these people blindingly following their GPS ?

[+YuccaPatrol]

There is one route I take through rural Tennessee where CN wants me to drive down a road that has been submerged under a reservoir for 50+ years after a dam was built.

[+ThePropers]

I have not seen anything like this behavior, but I haven't used mine to travel extensively (yet). As others pointed out, make sure you have the "include route calculation data" checked, and that the map data is actually on the unit (easy enough to verify on the map setup screen).

[flfirefighter]

No, no, no! It ain't like that at all! I visited a friend in Ft. Worth, Texas, used my 60Cx with City Select 5 maps, and showed him a FASTER way to get to school (it was his wife's college graduation ceremony and we were late). He was impressed with the gadget. He wants one really badly now!

 

Sounds like your unit is routing from its basemap. That's an indication that the route calculation data is not getting into the unit. Two possibilities:

1. You're not loading the maps properly.

2. You're loading the maps to the unit, but the route calculation data is not going in.

 

#2 is a fairly common newbie mistake. After selecting the maps you want to load to the GPSr, click on the "Maps" tab and then look in the lower left corner area - there's a check box to "Include Route Calculation Data. If that box is NOT checked, then the route calculation data will NOT go to the GPSr and your GPSr will behave as you described. Be sure the box is checked, and THEN send the maps to the unit.

 

If the box IS ALREADY checked, then the map data itself is not getting into the GPSr. In that case, then CLICK HERE to download the free MapSource tutorial program from Garmin.

 

 

I don't thnk it would route at all if i didnt have the box checked when downloaded. Also it is simple to tell whether you have the right map loaded just by looking at the map screen, yes? I just think its a fluke, can't be perfect I guess

Edited October 25, 2006 by flfirefighter

[DogFleazJR]

A few weeks back I was complaining that cn8 creates longer routes in my city that make no sense. Someone said it can't replace your own knowledge of getting for point A to point B on a familar route. That it will get you there if you are lost. So I accepted that and moved on.

 

Well I find this isn't true either. CN8 will give me a route to my local interstate where there is no exit. It puts me under the overpass. This is not good if someone doesn't know the area. What if it was a bad part of town that I shouldn't be in with my family? Yes I have tried faster and better routes to no avail. This is anacceptable for something that cost as much as CN8

 

I have been auto navigating for over five years with a hand held Garmin GPS V, and just recently with a new 60CSx. I have used my V to navigate all over the USA and in Quebec, Ontario and NB. I am still using the original CS v4.01 that came with my GPS V. I have never updated the software. Am I too cheap? Maybe, but I've never really seen the need to update.

 

I have experienced what you describe - had me exit an interstate onto a state highway where no exit existed. Obviously I kept going, it recalculated and had me get off at the next exit. Did it cost me time? Probably. Did I get to my destination? Yes. I have had a number of experiences like this.

 

I have also had experiences like Neo_Geo. I was leaving a Pistons game in Detroit one night with a group of customers and trying to get back through the traffic jam to a hotel in Dearborne. I selected shorter route and followed the GPS. The guys in the car who knew Detroit well thought the thing was broke and insisted it was taking us the wrong way. Of course we got to the hotel just fine and 20 minutes quicker than the other group who took the interstate. A couple more GPS converts were added that night.

 

Before I had a GPS, I printed mapquest directions out. Sometimes I had a local map, but usually not since I tend to travel all over. Are the mapquest directions more accurate than the Garmin maps? Dunno. What I do know is I would never give up my GPS to go back to driving and trying to read a sheet of paper, trying to remember what line I was on... I'm not aware of a mapquest feature for "avoid bad areas."

 

Would I like accurate, up-to-date maps from Garmin? Yes! That is part of what I'm paying for. Even with their limitations, I personally have gotten good value out of the hardware and software I have purchased from Garmin. Even from maps that are 5 years out of date and riddled with errors.

 

Just my thoughts, happy navigating.

[Neo_Geo]

I don't thnk it would route at all if i didnt have the box checked when downloaded. Also it is simple to tell whether you have the right map loaded just by looking at the map screen, yes? I just think its a fluke, can't be perfect I guess

Yes, it would route using the GPSr's routable basemap. When the unit tries to route you using the basemap, it would route you exactly as you describe! The basemap is fine for routing on highways and main roads which is good for city-to-city routing. But for door-to-door routing with turn-by-turn directions, you need the route calculation data from the maps.

Edited October 25, 2006 by Neo_Geo

[+pdxmarathonman]

I don't thnk it would route at all if i didnt have the box checked when downloaded. Also it is simple to tell whether you have the right map loaded just by looking at the map screen, yes? I just think its a fluke, can't be perfect I guess

Yes, it would route using the GPSr's routable basemap. When the unit tries to route you using the basemap, it would route you exactly as you describe! The basemap is fine for routing on highways and main roads which is good for city-to-city routing. But for door-to-door routing with turn-by-turn directions, you need the route calculation data from the maps.

In case it hasn't crystallized: you'll see the fine-resolution maps on the screen, but the routing won't be using those roads! It'll happily route you on the basemap-roads regardless of the maps loaded.

 

The only time my GPSr told me to turn off of a freeway onto an overpass without an exit was in this EXACT scenario (I-5 in Olympia, WA)!

Edited October 25, 2006 by pdxmarathonman

[+pdxmarathonman]

oops!

Edited October 25, 2006 by pdxmarathonman

[flfirefighter]

No, no, no! It ain't like that at all! I visited a friend in Ft. Worth, Texas, used my 60Cx with City Select 5 maps, and showed him a FASTER way to get to school (it was his wife's college graduation ceremony and we were late). He was impressed with the gadget. He wants one really badly now!

 

Sounds like your unit is routing from its basemap. That's an indication that the route calculation data is not getting into the unit. Two possibilities:

1. You're not loading the maps properly.

2. You're loading the maps to the unit, but the route calculation data is not going in.

 

#2 is a fairly common newbie mistake. After selecting the maps you want to load to the GPSr, click on the "Maps" tab and then look in the lower left corner area - there's a check box to "Include Route Calculation Data. If that box is NOT checked, then the route calculation data will NOT go to the GPSr and your GPSr will behave as you described. Be sure the box is checked, and THEN send the maps to the unit.

 

If the box IS ALREADY checked, then the map data itself is not getting into the GPSr. In that case, then CLICK HERE to download the free MapSource tutorial program from Garmin.

 

Hey, am I right to to believe if you didn't clik the (Auto Route) button that the GPS would not give you turn by turn directions? If I remember correctly before N8 was loaded a few weeks after purchasing the GPS I didn't get turn by turn directions

[Neo_Geo]

Hey, am I right to to believe if you didn't clik the (Auto Route) button that the GPS would not give you turn by turn directions? If I remember correctly before N8 was loaded a few weeks after purchasing the GPS I didn't get turn by turn directions

Ther is no "autorouting button" per se. When you do a Find > Go To, it should give you the option "Follow Road" (autoroute) or "Off Road". If you choose "Off Road", then it'll simply draw a straight line between you and your destination (no turn-by-turn directions). But if you choose "Follow Road", and you DON'T have the route calculation data loaded with your maps, then it will try to route you using the basemap giving results as you described above.

[ossumguywill]

There is one route I take through rural Tennessee where CN wants me to drive down a road that has been submerged under a reservoir for 50+ years after a dam was built.

 

I was told a man drove into a river and almost drowned because his nav systen told him to. The moral is: don't drive into a river even if your gps tells you to. I do not know what gps he was using.

[flfirefighter]

Hey, am I right to to believe if you didn't clik the (Auto Route) button that the GPS would not give you turn by turn directions? If I remember correctly before N8 was loaded a few weeks after purchasing the GPS I didn't get turn by turn directions

Ther is no "autorouting button" per se. When you do a Find > Go To, it should give you the option "Follow Road" (autoroute) or "Off Road". If you choose "Off Road", then it'll simply draw a straight line between you and your destination (no turn-by-turn directions). But if you choose "Follow Road", and you DON'T have the route calculation data loaded with your maps, then it will try to route you using the basemap giving results as you described above.

 

No I meant the auto route box when you downloaded the maps

[peter]

No I meant the auto route box when you downloaded the maps

The 60Cx can do auto-routing with turn-by-turn directions just using the basemap. But since the basemap is so sparse, the directions won't be very good. Whether that's the cause of your routing problem is hard to say without more information.

 

It would help everyone's understanding if you'd give more specific details about your complaints regarding the routing of CN-NA, v8. Just saying it led you astray at some unspecified underpass doesn't let anyone determine if there's really a map data error at that location, a routing algorithm problem, or some user error (such as NeoGeo's suggestion that the routing data wasn't loaded). Tell us the starting point and destination of the route and exactly where it incorrectly told you to turn and we could probably determine the nature of the problem.

[flfirefighter]

No I meant the auto route box when you downloaded the maps

The 60Cx can do auto-routing with turn-by-turn directions just using the basemap. But since the basemap is so sparse, the directions won't be very good. Whether that's the cause of your routing problem is hard to say without more information.

 

It would help everyone's understanding if you'd give more specific details about your complaints regarding the routing of CN-NA, v8. Just saying it led you astray at some unspecified underpass doesn't let anyone determine if there's really a map data error at that location, a routing algorithm problem, or some user error (such as NeoGeo's suggestion that the routing data wasn't loaded). Tell us the starting point and destination of the route and exactly where it incorrectly told you to turn and we could probably determine the nature of the problem.

 

Routing data was downloaded and I am running CN8. The dadgum thing gives me routes where roads don't go through or it takes me routes one would never use. The worse though is it gives me directions that would not get me there. Note this is only one route I drive often, roughly 20 miles. 0 out of one is not good odds here. I don't mind getting lost finding a local cache, but I will not trust this thing to take me on trips that I am unfamilar with.That is unacceptable. $417 for the unit and another $108 for CN8 makes an expensive toy for finding caches. If you want, I can give you the adresses I am driving to and from and you can tell me what you come up with.

[Neo_Geo]

If you want, I can give you the adresses I am driving to and from and you can tell me what you come up with.

That's a good idea. Let's see if others can reproduce the problem on their units...

Also, check your routing preferences and post them as well... Menu > Menu > Setup> Routing

Is the Follow Road Method set for Faster Time or Shorter Distance?

 

Under the "Follow Road Options":

Is it set for Quickest Calculation, Quick Calculation, Better Route or Best Route?

Calculate Routes For Car/Motorcycle? Truck? Bus? Emergency? Taxi? Delivery? Pedestrian? Bicycle?

Avoid Highways? Avoid U-Turns? Avoid Toll Roads? Avoid Unpaved Roads? Avoid Carpool Lanes?

Edited October 26, 2006 by Neo_Geo

[flfirefighter]

If you want, I can give you the adresses I am driving to and from and you can tell me what you come up with.

That's a good idea. Let's see if others can reproduce the problem on their units...

Also, check your routing preferences and post them as well... Menu > Menu > Setup> Routing

Is the Follow Road Method set for Faster Time or Shorter Distance?

 

Under the "Follow Road Options":

Is it set for Quickest Calculation, Quick Calculation, Better Route or Best Route?

Calculate Routes For Car/Motorcycle? Truck? Bus? Emergency? Taxi? Delivery? Pedestrian? Bicycle?

Avoid Highways? Avoid U-Turns? Avoid Toll Roads? Avoid Unpaved Roads? Avoid Carpool Lanes?

 

Of course the adresses here are a few houses off but on the same block for obvious reasons.

5424 70 way no. saint pete, fl 33709. to........1501 river shore way, tampa fl. 33603

car/ motorcycle, avoid u turns and unpaved roads. As far as quickest and quick and best and better, I have tried them all. Some combinations get me there but never the way I would go which is ok, it gets me there. But other combinations has me turn off of on a road to another, entirly skipping a road in between. Which would be impossible to do. Also, when leaving the address in tampa, it has me take a route to 275 where there is no exit. At best, it should reverse the way it brought me to the destination.

 

It should take me north on 275 to the west hillsborough ave exit, south on rome ave, east on river shore way. That by far is the simplest route.

[Neo_Geo]

Now, I do not have City Navigator - I'm using City Select ver 5. This is the route that I'm given in MapSource on the computer, and it's the same in my GPSr. It sounds like your desired route and looks logical to me. Hopefully someone will try it with City Nav 8 soon and post their results...

 

1. 5424 70 Way N

2. Get on 70th Ln N and drive south

3. Turn right onto 54th Ave N

4. Turn right onto 71st St N

5. Turn right onto Park Blvd N

6. Exit right onto ramp onto I-275 N

7. Keep left onto I-275 N ramp

8. Take exit 42 to the right onto W Laurel St

9. Turn left onto N Howard Ave

10. Turn right onto W Woodlawn Ave

11. Turn right onto W River Shore Way

12. Arrive 1501 River Shore Way

 

Have you tried doing the route in MapSource on the computer?

[flfirefighter]

Now, I do not have City Navigator - I'm using City Select ver 5. This is the route that I'm given in MapSource on the computer, and it's the same in my GPSr. It sounds like your desired route and looks logical to me. Hopefully someone will try it with City Nav 8 soon and post their results...

 

1. 5424 70 Way N

2. Get on 70th Ln N and drive south

3. Turn right onto 54th Ave N

4. Turn right onto 71st St N

5. Turn right onto Park Blvd N

6. Exit right onto ramp onto I-275 N

7. Keep left onto I-275 N ramp

8. Take exit 42 to the right onto W Laurel St

9. Turn left onto N Howard Ave

10. Turn right onto W Woodlawn Ave

11. Turn right onto W River Shore Way

12. Arrive 1501 River Shore Way

 

Have you tried doing the route in MapSource on the computer?

 

No I haven't tried it on map source I will try that next time I am on. See you are coming up with the same errors.

1.Woodlawn runs East West, so does River Shore Way. Its also a half mile or so south of River Shore so you can't possibly turn right onto River Shore Way from Woodview. Only road onto RS is from Rome Ave and it has nothing of Rome which runs North South. Guess i will keep my paper map in the glove compartment.

 

I have found four caches though within 5 miles of my house with no problem except once it took me behind the paramiters of the park where there was no road leading into the park. Had to recalculate once I was in park.

[peter]

No I haven't tried it on map source I will try that next time I am on. See you are coming up with the same errors.

1.Woodlawn runs East West, so does River Shore Way. Its also a half mile or so south of River Shore so you can't possibly turn right onto River Shore Way from Woodview. Only road onto RS is from Rome Ave and it has nothing of Rome which runs North South. Guess i will keep my paper map in the glove compartment.

The maps I have show that if you take Woodlawn as far east as possible it becomes River View Ave. running northeast. Continuing on that street after crossing MLK Blvd. it becomes Rome Ave. running north and that then takes you to River Shore.

 

If that's correct, then it seems to me that the CN-NA directions would lead you to the right place although as printed directions it would be nice to include the street name changes. But when viewed on the GPS it shouldn't be a problem since that'll show you the intended route and where you are at all times.

 

But I'm no where near Tampa, so let us know if the actual streets on the ground don't correspond to the maps. If that's the case then putting in a correction at the NavTeq website has been shown to be effective at making sure the problem is fixed in the next release.

 

BTW, I tried it using both CitySelect-NA, v6 and MetroGuide-USA, v4.01 maps and got very similar routing to that posted by NeoGeo. Adding a viapoint to get it to use the Hillsborough exit instead keeps you on the freeway longer but according to the MetroGuide maps it adds almost 4 miles of distance and a little under a minute of travel time. Of course the travel time depends greatly on local traffic conditions and the time of day for a particular trip.

Edited October 26, 2006 by peter

[flfirefighter]

No I haven't tried it on map source I will try that next time I am on. See you are coming up with the same errors.

1.Woodlawn runs East West, so does River Shore Way. Its also a half mile or so south of River Shore so you can't possibly turn right onto River Shore Way from Woodview. Only road onto RS is from Rome Ave and it has nothing of Rome which runs North South. Guess i will keep my paper map in the glove compartment.

The maps I have show that if you take Woodlawn as far east as possible it becomes River View Ave. running northeast. Continuing on that street after crossing MLK Blvd. it becomes Rome Ave. running north and that then takes you to River Shore.

 

If that's correct, then it seems to me that the CN-NA directions would lead you to the right place although as printed directions it would be nice to include the street name changes. But when viewed on the GPS it shouldn't be a problem since that'll show you the intended route and where you are at all times.

 

But I'm no where near Tampa, so let us know if the actual streets on the ground don't correspond to the maps. If that's the case then putting in a correction at the NavTeq website has been shown to be effective at making sure the problem is fixed in the next release.

 

BTW, I tried it using both CitySelect-NA, v6 and MetroGuide-USA, v4.01 maps and got very similar routing to that posted by NeoGeo. Adding a viapoint to get it to use the Hillsborough exit instead keeps you on the freeway longer but according to the MetroGuide maps it adds almost 4 miles of distance and a little under a minute of travel time. Of course the travel time depends greatly on local traffic conditions and the time of day for a particular trip.

 

Thanks man, my nexttrip over I will take my GPS directions and see what happenes. Hate to be one of these guys here that split hairs you know, perhaps being too paticular.