Best Sat Nav for transferring Google map routes

[ZZRob]

We are going on a two week road trip to Italy in June/July, I have the routes plotted on Google maps, which is the best/easiest sat nav to transfer these routes onto?

Thanks
Rob

[Mattt]

Get yourself a copy of Tyre, and export to *.ITN then use a TomTom.

[lescombes]

N Drive

[ZZRob]

Thanks Matt,
I have downloaded Tyre, just got to get a new Sat nav

Cheers Rob

[waremark]

You would need an old model Tomtom, such as a Go 750 or 950. The newer generation do not accept itn files. Even with a 750 or 950, the current version of Tomtom software is rather unsatisfactory for itineraries, because it will allow you to miss an individual waypoint by quite a wide margin, potentially taking a different route from the one you chose.

Tyre also writes files for Garmin units; perhaps someone who knows the Garmin range better than I do will advise which Garmin units are most suitable.

(Personally I use a Tomtom 950, because I value the Live services of the best available traffic info and Google search. I would love to upgrade to a new top of the range unit, but am not doing so because the itinerary function is essential for me).

[SmilerFTM]

If the new TomTom's are missing individual waypoints then are there any sat navs that will let you plan your own route and stick to it rigidly? I only ask as I'm planning on a Scottish road trip later this year and then a big one around France, Italy, Switzerland and Germany next year and because of the effort I will be putting in to plan a route I don't want the Sat Nav to miss out roads I really want to do because it decides to go another way

Edited by SmilerFTM on Monday 9th July 22:41

Edited by SmilerFTM on Monday 9th July 22:42

[hms]

I think the problem may be that you set the route up in Google maps with TYRE, the route shown is that planned by Google.
When you transfer the route to tomtom via TYRE, only the POI's are tranferred across, tomtom then plots the route, which may be different to Google's

I also think it's a retrograde step removing itineraries form the newer sat navs, I use them all the time, not having the itinerary option would be a deal breaker for me.
H

[waremark]

hms said:

I think the problem may be that you set the route up in Google maps with TYRE, the route shown is that planned by Google.
When you transfer the route to tomtom via TYRE, only the POI's are tranferred across, tomtom then plots the route, which may be different to Google's

I also think it's a retrograde step removing itineraries form the newer sat navs, I use them all the time, not having the itinerary option would be a deal breaker for me.
H

To be more precise, when you transfer a route from TYRE to your Tomtom, waypoints are transferred together with any points marked as a destination, and your Tomtom plots its own route from where you are to the first destination via those waypoints. What I was stating above is that since a recent update of the application program my 950 now plots a route which can be miles away from some of the waypoints. Previous versions of the software always plotted routes which passed directly through the waypoints - to the extent that putting a waypoint on the wrong side of a dual carriageway or a roundabout would result in a route which doubled back to go exactly through the waypoint. My ideal would be a procedure somewhere between the previous software and the new software - I would like to be able to miss a waypoint by say a few hundred yards in case I have accidentally positioned it slightly off the road I mean to follow. Since Tomtom cannot be bothered to put the itinerary functionality in any of their newer units at all, it is odd that they have been playing around with the way it works on the older units, but I hope they will go on doing so until they get it to work slightly better than it does at the moment.

[snowmuncher]

waremark said:

... it is odd that they have been playing around with the way it works on the older units.

I think it was because the older software was too acurate - you had to pass very close to the WP - so sometimes you could be routed continously back to a waypoint.

[waremark]

snowmuncher said:

waremark said:

... it is odd that they have been playing around with the way it works on the older units.

I think it was because the older software was too acurate - you had to pass very close to the WP - so sometimes you could be routed continously back to a waypoint.

Whereas now it will pretty much ignore your waypoints and take a different route! Solving a problem by creating a worse one. Way back in the days of my 920 it would plan routes taking in all the waypoints, but if you went close to a waypoint and continued it would then move on to navigate you to the next waypoint. I think that is what happens with Garmin routes.

[rsv gone!]

You can download the Garmin Communicator plugin to transfer google map routes directly to your Garmin gps.

[TangoGTR]

waremark said:

You would need an old model Tomtom, such as a Go 750 or 950. The newer generation do not accept itn files.

Found same problem when looking at new TomToms. Instead I've bought a refurb from TomTom here, that does accept ITN's :- XL IQ Routes™ edition Europe Refurbished for £89.

If you use topcashback site here, search for TomTom & follow their link, you also get 8% cashback

Dave

Edited by TangoGTR on Sunday 15th July 21:21

[redback911]

TangoGTR said:

Found same problem when looking at new TomToms. Instead I've bought a refurb from TomTom here, that does accept ITN's :- XL IQ Routes™ edition Europe Refurbished for £89.

If you use topcashback site here, search for TomTom & follow their link, you also get 8% cashback
Dave[/footnote]

Dave, I was about to name my first born after you as my TomTom Go 940 died and I am desperate to replace it but NEED detailed itinerary planning using Tyre. As mentioned on various posts TomTom nerfed ITN files support on new models, which is insane and the Internet is full of people wondering why they would do this.

My question is, XL-IQ-Routes only has 2Gb of memory. Is that enough for an entire Western Europe map collection? I am sure my 4gb 950 Live only had a 1gb or so spare when I loaded it up with european maps and speed camera POIs from pocketgpsworld.com

[waremark]

No question the full European map set is 2.5 gb. Does this unit have a mem card slot?

[Dino D]

TangoGTR said:

Found same problem when looking at new TomToms. Instead I've bought a refurb from TomTom here, that does accept ITN's :- XL IQ Routes™ edition Europe Refurbished for £89.

If you use topcashback site here, search for TomTom & follow their link, you also get 8% cashback

Dave

Edited by TangoGTR on Sunday 15th July 21:21

Anyone know if the LIVE version of the above will also accept ITN: http://www.tomtom.com/en_gb/products/tomtom-outlet...

[Dibs]

Dino D said:

TangoGTR said:

Found same problem when looking at new TomToms. Instead I've bought a refurb from TomTom here, that does accept ITN's :- XL IQ Routes™ edition Europe Refurbished for £89.

If you use topcashback site here, search for TomTom & follow their link, you also get 8% cashback

Dave

Edited by TangoGTR on Sunday 15th July 21:21

Anyone know if the LIVE version of the above will also accept ITN: http://www.tomtom.com/en_gb/products/tomtom-outlet...

I have the Live version (but UK map only) and it accepts .itn files OK.

I would definitely go for the Live version as the google search is very useful and I couldn't live without the live traffic now It's around £50 a year once the free subscription expires but (in my opinion) it's worth it....

Dibs

[Ranger 6]

redback911 said:

...My question is, XL-IQ-Routes only has 2Gb of memory. Is that enough for an entire Western Europe map collection?

When I found out that TomTom were dropping the itn capability I bought an XL IQ above. Works perfectly with Western Europe maps and PGPSW database and POIs.

Make sure you get the XL IQ EU edition linked above and it comes set up for it.