CityNav functionality on Oregon 400t

[+Skarekrough]

I've had a love/hate relationship with my 400t.

 

For Geocaching and all other activities the thing is rock-solid. The more I use it, the more I discover, the greater I'm impressed with it.

 

Except for one thing....navigating on roads.

 

Now, stock I know it isn't supposed to handle such a thing; it doesn't have the map. Although I've gone and installed the open source maps (name escapes me now) I'm constantly finding that the unit will typically lead me on a wild goose chase. The last incident put me no less than 30 minutes in the wrong direction before I decided to turn it off and navigate there by "feel" (i.e. I think I knew where it was...)

 

Other incidents where I've loaded in a route from MapQuest it's just gone and "recalculated" a bunch of time before it gives up.

 

I know I'm not going to get voice instructions. I'm fine with that. And I know I'm not going to get traffic reports. Doesn't bother me.

 

But will I be able to input an address and have it recognize it? Is it like having a Nuvi, but without the voice and extras?

 

For $100 I know I can get a Garmin or Magellan or TomTom or some other made-for-car GPS. However I'd much rather only have to have to carry one unit when I travel.

 

So, is the CityNav worth it on the Oregon 400t?

 

Thanks.

[+larryc43230]

So, is the CityNav worth it on the Oregon 400t?

I have City Navigator loaded on my Oregon 550t (and previously used an older edition on my 60CSx), and I wouldn't leave home without it. It gets me where I want to go around 98% of the time, and my common sense has always gotten me to the other 2%.

 

And yes, you can enter a street address and, to the extent the maps are up to date, you'll get to where you want to be. I added that disclaimer simply because no maps are ever 100% up to date, and there will be some streets that just aren't on the maps yet. In addition, there are always the occasional construction detours that can't be accounted for.

 

--Larry

[+g-o-cashers]

If you really don't want to go down the $100 Nuvi + Oregon path because you want it all on one unit then CityNav is your best option in North America for auto routing. I think it works well, I use my 550t all the time as an auto nav and while it is missing the voice prompts the routing quality is similar to the Nuvi.

[NordicMan]

I tried the open source routable maps on my Vista Cx, and while it was very impressive for the price (free! ) it also was a frustrating experience. One time I was going to a destination that was ~10 miles straight ahead of me and I was driving on a straight road directly going the right direction. Still, the GPSr constantly tried to insist I veer off to an alternate road and/or make a U-turn(!) and travel some other way!!

 

It constantly tried to redirect me the entire 10 miles, at each small intersection it was pleading with me to veer off lol.. I knew the route well and KNEW going straight was the no-brainer choice.

 

Finally the GPSr relaxed after I got to the destination.

 

I'm guessing the apparently solid appearing road on the display may have had a super small "break" in it that lead the GPSr to believe it was an incomplete road.. hence trying to deflect me to an alternate trail.

 

The Garmin factory City Navigator maps are MUCH better than that, and well worth the $$'s. Personally I'd rather spend $100 on a map for my existing GPSr than buy an separate navigator for the same money.. but that's just me.

[+RangerR47]

The CN maps are the same on the Nuvi you just get a bigger screen and voice added. So its got the same maps, POIs , etc. I use it on my Colorado and its great to have when the wife snags the nuvi as I always have my handheld in the truck.

[seldom_sn]

I tried the open source routable maps on my Vista Cx, and while it was very impressive for the price (free! ) it also was a frustrating experience. One time I was going to a destination that was ~10 miles straight ahead of me and I was driving on a straight road directly going the right direction. Still, the GPSr constantly tried to insist I veer off to an alternate road and/or make a U-turn(!) and travel some other way!!

 

It constantly tried to redirect me the entire 10 miles, at each small intersection it was pleading with me to veer off lol.. I knew the route well and KNEW going straight was the no-brainer choice.

 

Finally the GPSr relaxed after I got to the destination.

 

I'm guessing the apparently solid appearing road on the display may have had a super small "break" in it that lead the GPSr to believe it was an incomplete road.. hence trying to deflect me to an alternate trail.

 

The Garmin factory City Navigator maps are MUCH better than that, and well worth the $$'s. Personally I'd rather spend $100 on a map for my existing GPSr than buy an separate navigator for the same money.. but that's just me.

 

The problem with open source routable maps in the US is that they are made from Census Bureau Tiger files, which are edited by volunteers. If the volunteers have the area well coverd the maps are great, if not, see the following:

I've been trying to make some routable maps using Tiger data in the American Southwest. I've come across two major issues: 1) There are lots of roads drawn which may not exist at all. 2) There are occaisionally gaps in the major roads maybe a block long that cause you to be re-routed on those non-existent back roads. At $75 (Amazon) per GPSr, CNNANT is cheap. You'll save the money in gasoline, and won't risk getting stuck someplace impassable.

[+dostuffgps]

My 400t performs very well with CN 2009. I bough t(CN 2009) a year ago Jan and did notice it was about 3 years out of date (some businesses were not on it and other should not have been). I go to: >setup>routing>lock on road>YES. I have been very pleased with my 400t and the way it performs with CN.

[+Maingray]

If you want a truely useful and serious auto routing experience, drop the free open source routeable maps. CN works EXTREMELY well.

[+Jeep4two]

I've been using a set of old Metroguide 6 maps (circa 2005) that I converted using Metrowizzz (extra z's intended). They route great on my Oregon 400t and the POI's (although dated) work fine. Searching addresses and routing to them is also great and very dependable.

 

I'll be getting CN at some point but the wife won a Nuvi 255WT last summer in a drawing so for now we use it for longer trips but rely on the old maps on the Oregon for caching only trips when we don't want have the extra gear along with us.