GPS - Navigating with a Nuvi, was Re: How to make a Garmin GPS FIT the route to the screen

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Navigating with a Nuvi, was Re: How to make a Garmin GPS FIT the route to the screen

Edwin Pawlowski

2007-08-25, 10:33 am

"Ted Edwards" <Ted_Espamless@telus.net> wrote in message
>
> There is a limited choice in the market place. One must consider
> available maps and their quality as well as the capabilities of the
> hardware and its firmware.

Exactly. If the product was not designed do what you want to do, it is not a
bug, it is just not capable. I bought my car to commute to work, but while
I can cook on the maifold, it does not perform as well as my kitchen stove.
Does that make my car a bug?

>
> This does not apply to a Nuvi. I don't have one and am therefore
> unfamiliar with how easy it is to do various things. Suppose I am sitting
> at home interested in where various Costco stores are "near" to my
> daughter's home in Burnaby, BC, approximately 240Km from home. The Costco
> web site informs me as to where various stores are located and I have
> entered waypoints for several area Costco stores.

The Nuvi can find that Costco for you if it is listed as a POI. Look under
the "Shopping" menu. You can enter "someplace else" for that information if
it is not your present location

>
> So, I pick one from the list and click on "Map". The unit zooms to show
> both the selected Costco store and my present location. This gives a
> picture that is totally useless. I need to press the zoom in button a
> dozen times to get to a picture of the area of interest. If I now leave
> this image to select another store the unit zooms out to include my home
> as well as the selected store and I have to go through the whole zoom in
> thing again.

I'd say you have high and unrealistic expectations of what you can see on a
2" screen. The Nuvi was designed to navigate, not replace all forms of
maps.

>
> Another point: I frequently choose to setup a route in some spare
> moments. This route may well be from A to B while I am sitting at C. C
> may be very far away from both A and B and utterly irrelevant to the
> problem of interest. Thus my example elsewhere in this thread - plotting
> a route from Amsterdam to Berlin while sitting in Fairbanks. Automatically
> including Fairbanks as a starting point (with no way to remove it) is
> definitely counter productive. If I want to start at my present location,
> it is far simpler to create a temporary way point (if I don't already have
> one at that location - e.g. HOME) but this is, at least in my experience,
> the exception rather than the rule.

Another reason to use the right tool. This is where a laptop with Mapquest
is superior to the handheld device. One was desgned to do exactly what you
want to do, while the other was not. I never intended for my gps to do all
mapping. It is designed to follow a rout from A to B and assumes I'll at A
when I start.

If I want to go to C via B, I may do the trip in segments. I can put the
destinations ont he device ahead of time and then easily find t hem ont he
Most Recent list of in My Favorites if I designate them that way.

> Note: This is my fourth GPS. The first was a very simple Magellan. The
> last three have been Garmin GPS-II+, GPS-V and GPSMAP 76Cx. Before my
> first GPS, I spent many years navigating with paper maps on land, sea and
> air using compass, pedometer, radio direction finder, VOR and I'm even old
> enough to have done instrument approaches using Radio Range (for you
> youngsters :-)) Morse A when you are off to one side, Morse N when off to
> the other side and a steady tone if you right on the "beam".

IMO, paper maps are still here to stay. As well as no maps at all. A few
months ago we were in Italy. Some days we just got in the car and drove.
Yesterday we went left, today we will go right. Where does it go? We'll
find out when we get there. Just as Yogi said, "when you get to a fork in
the road, take it." My rule of thumb is if the fork give a choice of going
up or down, I always took the up road. We still got home every night and
had a lot of fun driving along the way. Will I take the Garmin with me next
trip? I don't know, it may take away some of the sense of adventure.

Elmo P. Shagnasty

2007-08-25, 10:33 pm

In article <881Ai.2496$Pd4.1646@edtnps82>,
Ted Edwards <Ted_Espamless@telus.net> wrote:

>
> Of course you've never heard of design flaw or omission.

Of course you've never heard of "choices"--as in, the company made
choices on what a product does, what features to include, and how to
design it.

Hence, the product is operating as intended. It was never designed to
do what you want it to do.

Elmo P. Shagnasty

2007-08-25, 10:33 pm

In article <881Ai.2496$Pd4.1646@edtnps82>,
Ted Edwards <Ted_Espamless@telus.net> wrote:

> I do not have a nuvi and it would be quite unsuitable for my purposes.
> However you apparently haven't figured out that what I am loooking for
> has been a feature of Garmin hand held GPSR's for several generations of
> units.

And it is their CHOICE not to offer that feature any more.

What's your point?

Edwin Pawlowski

2007-08-25, 10:33 pm

"Ted Edwards" <Ted_Espamless@telus.net> wrote in message
>
> A pity you sound off without knowing of what you speak. Compare the route
> entry and following of the GPS-V and the GPS76Cx. Both units give "Map"
> and "Navigate" options.

Pit you cannot read and comprehend the heater of this thread. You do not
own a Nuvi as it is the subject here. We are not discussing GPS-V or
GPS76Cx. Feel free to start a thread about them and the feature of them.

>
> Of course you've never heard of design flaw or omission.

Sure, but the Nuve was NOT designed with those features in mind. Nothingw
as flawed or omitted.

>
> I do not have a nuvi and it would be quite unsuitable for my purposes.

Good, then you are probably nit interested in contributing to this thread.

> However you apparently haven't figured out that what I am loooking for has
> been a feature of Garmin hand held GPSR's for several generations of
> units.

I did, but the Nuvi is not hte place to shop.

>
> And I'd say you have a rather narow range of experience.
>

True, my only experience so far is a Garmin Nuvi 350. Some day, as I learn
more about other u nits, I may decide toupgraede. Right now, it does what I
want and expect it to do.

> I guess I just don't have that problem. I can enjoy the adventure with or
> without GPS but GPS adds another element and sometimes shows me something
> I wish to explore but didn't know about.

I don't see it as a problem, but if you're happy, I'm happy for you. Your
money, buy what suites you. Nuvi 350 suites me right now, but may not in
the future. I just don't know. I do know it performs as advertised.
--
Ed
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome/

Elmo P. Shagnasty

2007-08-26, 7:33 am

In article <7K6Ai.2530$Pd4.166@edtnps82>,
Ted Edwards <Ted_Espamless@telus.net> wrote:

> Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:
>
> Your From address makes it clear why you don't understand.

Why I don't understand that you're whining that they don't offer
something you want in a unit you otherwise want?

Elmo P. Shagnasty

2007-08-26, 7:33 am

In article <eI6Ai.2528$Pd4.2036@edtnps82>,
Ted Edwards <Ted_Espamless@telus.net> wrote:

> Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:
>
> Having spent 50 years designing and implementing both hardware and
> software, I'm very familiar with the "Oh, s**t! Did I do that?" effect.
>
> Having seen several generations of Garmin units, I'm convinced that
> there were three errors/omissions that will, hopefully, be corrected in
> a future firmware release.
> 1) the 76Cx currently does not allow choosing direct vs. follow roads
> when choosing Map for a route.
> 2) a route directed to Map need not start from present position.
> 3) if you are located near some point on a route other than the
> beginning or end, and select Navigate the routing will still direct you
> all the way back to the initial point od the route, not the "nearest" point.
>
> Garmin had all three of these right on most previous units. If you have
> used any of these, you will and see and appreciate the difference.

You're mistaken. It's not a matter of "oh, shit--did I do that?" It's
a matter of "we chose to have the newer units behave differently than
the older units".

You desperately want a behavior that the company has chosen not to
offer, and you insist on calling the lack of such behavior a "bug" or
otherwise an "unintentional mistake". Why can't you realize that it's
not a bug or unintentional mistake? Why do you insist that you KNOW
what their intentions were when designing the unit?

Elmo P. Shagnasty

2007-08-26, 10:33 pm

In article <YfmAi.11351$vP5.9247@edtnps90>,
Ted Edwards <Ted_Espamless@telus.net> wrote:

> Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:
>
> How many GPS units have you used over what period of time?
>
> Have used it/them afoot, afloat and in a car both on and off pavement?

I use satellite navigation units for the car. I don't do anything on
foot, afloat, or off pavement.

Were I to do so, I would know immediately--having used the car units,
and having used them with old maps--that I would not WANT a car unit to
do anything afloat, afoot, or off pavement.

Of course, I understand that while the coordinates are the coordinates,
it's what the device does with them that matters--and that's what makes
the difference among units.

I would choose the proper unit for my needs--in other words, the right
tool for the job.

Wouldn't you?

Or would you buy a car-based unit and sit and whine about how it doesn't
handle your needs afloat, afoot, and off pavement as well?

Oh--never mind.

A111555999@gmail.com

2007-09-09, 3:33 pm

On Aug 25, 4:53 pm, "Edwin Pawlowski" <e...@snet.net> wrote:
> "Ted Edwards" <Ted_Espaml...@telus.net> wrote in message
>
>
> Pit you cannot read and comprehend the heater of this thread. You do not
> own a Nuvi as it is the subject here. We are not discussing GPS-V or
> GPS76Cx. Feel free to start a thread about them and the feature of them.
>
>
>
>
> Sure, but the Nuve was NOT designed with those features in mind. Nothingw
> as flawed or omitted.
>
>
>
>
> Good, then you are probably nit interested in contributing to this thread.
>
>
> I did, but the Nuvi is not hte place to shop.
>
>
>
>
> True, my only experience so far is aGarminNuvi 350. Some day, as I learn
> more about other u nits, I may decide toupgraede. Right now, it does what I
> want and expect it to do.
>
>
> I don't see it as a problem, but if you're happy, I'm happy for you. Your
> money, buy what suites you. Nuvi 350 suites me right now, but may not in
> the future. I just don't know. I do know it performs as advertised.
> --
> Edhttp://pages.cthome.net/edhome/

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