Please help me before I kill someone
Discussion
I've visited every sat nav retailer within a 10 mile radius of central Manchester to ask the following question:
"I want to buy a sat nav. The only feature I am interested in is the ability to choose my own convoluted route cross country before I set off, plug it into the machine, and then have the machine talk me through the various turnings / junctions / roundabouts etc while I'm en route...which Sat Nat would you recommend that is reasonably priced and can do that?"
The responses I've had have included, but are not limited to:
"Uh, they all do that"
"Uh, none of them do that"
"You can choose to miss out toll roads"
"Uh, I'm pretty sure that one does that but I don't drive so I don't know"
and the most popular...
"I don't know"
Can any of you guys help me please?
"I want to buy a sat nav. The only feature I am interested in is the ability to choose my own convoluted route cross country before I set off, plug it into the machine, and then have the machine talk me through the various turnings / junctions / roundabouts etc while I'm en route...which Sat Nat would you recommend that is reasonably priced and can do that?"
The responses I've had have included, but are not limited to:
"Uh, they all do that"
"Uh, none of them do that"
"You can choose to miss out toll roads"
"Uh, I'm pretty sure that one does that but I don't drive so I don't know"
and the most popular...
"I don't know"
Can any of you guys help me please?
you need to use a program called TYRE and google earth/google maps to plan you routes and then convert them into TOM TOM itinaries.
The explanation:-
http://www.yournav.com/content/s/262/
and the software:-
http://www.janboersma.nl/gett/index.php
The explanation:-
http://www.yournav.com/content/s/262/
and the software:-
http://www.janboersma.nl/gett/index.php
Edited by sybaseian on Tuesday 24th June 20:42
You can also plan routes in MS Autoroute.
A freely available piece of software called ITNConv can then convert your Autoroute file into a format that is acceptable to most types of Sat Nav currently available i.e. .itn file for Tom Tom, .csv file for Garmin etc.
Don't know about other systems, but on a Nuvi 760 you can create your own routes directly on the unit just by scrolling around the map and adding the appropriate waypoints.
A freely available piece of software called ITNConv can then convert your Autoroute file into a format that is acceptable to most types of Sat Nav currently available i.e. .itn file for Tom Tom, .csv file for Garmin etc.
Don't know about other systems, but on a Nuvi 760 you can create your own routes directly on the unit just by scrolling around the map and adding the appropriate waypoints.
Edited by DIW35 on Tuesday 24th June 23:08
Garmin 7XX has itinerary planning, not earlier Nuvis. Tomtoms mostly have it, but not the newish One V3.
A key issue is whether you are going to enter the itinerary direct to the unit, or create it on a PC and then transfer it. From the experience of friends, it seems very satisfactory in the Garmin world to create routes on Garmin Mapsource (the PC mapping has to be bought seperately) and then transfer them to the unit.
I use itinerary planning on a Tomtom 920. I can create a route using Tyre, or (rather better) the full version of Google Maps, and then transfer it to the TT using a utility found here: http://www.staffsadvanceddriving.co.uk/?page=route... However, I think it is easier to enter an itinerary direct to the Tomtom by keying in place names en-route.
An important point is that the itinerary is basically a list of waypoints, and the gps may not choose the route you would like to travel between the waypoints. It is a tedious process of trial and error to get the gps to calculate your itinerary, to check it and then to add more waypoints if it has not chosen your preferred route.
I recommend the TT 920 as an excellent gps with adequate itinerary planning.
A key issue is whether you are going to enter the itinerary direct to the unit, or create it on a PC and then transfer it. From the experience of friends, it seems very satisfactory in the Garmin world to create routes on Garmin Mapsource (the PC mapping has to be bought seperately) and then transfer them to the unit.
I use itinerary planning on a Tomtom 920. I can create a route using Tyre, or (rather better) the full version of Google Maps, and then transfer it to the TT using a utility found here: http://www.staffsadvanceddriving.co.uk/?page=route... However, I think it is easier to enter an itinerary direct to the Tomtom by keying in place names en-route.
An important point is that the itinerary is basically a list of waypoints, and the gps may not choose the route you would like to travel between the waypoints. It is a tedious process of trial and error to get the gps to calculate your itinerary, to check it and then to add more waypoints if it has not chosen your preferred route.
I recommend the TT 920 as an excellent gps with adequate itinerary planning.
TYRE output formats are limited, and certainly do not include Garmin gdb. One option available is GPS Exchange gpx. Sorry, but I don't know if that can be read directly by a Garmin unit, or whether it has to be translated. The Garmin manual is no help on this point, it only refers to transferring routes with Mapsource (which can read a range of formats, but then if you were using Mapsource you would not need TYRE!).
Another free product called GPSBabelGUI can convert any of these formats to any other. Garmin users whom I know create their routes in Mapsource. If you want to use a Garmin and create a route on PC without Mapsource you will need to find a sophisticated Garmin user to advise - sorry but I have run out!
Another free product called GPSBabelGUI can convert any of these formats to any other. Garmin users whom I know create their routes in Mapsource. If you want to use a Garmin and create a route on PC without Mapsource you will need to find a sophisticated Garmin user to advise - sorry but I have run out!
Garmin can indeed use .gpx files, or at least the 360 and 760 can, which are the only units I have experience of. Admittedly, only the 760 has the capacity for using multiple waypoint routes.
If anyone can point me towards a download for TYRE, which I have to say I have never heard of, I'll try it out and report back if it is able to produce a route that can be imported in to a Garmin Nuvi.
ETA: Found the software and have tried it on a Nuvi, and it works fine. A couple of points. Tyre is designed to work with Tom TOms, and saves it's files in Tom Tom's .itn format. A utility like ITNConv is required to convert the .itn file to a .gpx file which can then be used with a Garmin.
Also, as with any mapping software, once the route has been transferred to the Sat Nav, it's as well to check that the Sat Nav calculates it's route between waypoints using the same roads as the mapping software. As this is not always the case, it may be necessary to tweak the waypoints, by moving and/or adding some, to ensure that you get to travel the roads you want.
If anyone can point me towards a download for TYRE, which I have to say I have never heard of, I'll try it out and report back if it is able to produce a route that can be imported in to a Garmin Nuvi.
ETA: Found the software and have tried it on a Nuvi, and it works fine. A couple of points. Tyre is designed to work with Tom TOms, and saves it's files in Tom Tom's .itn format. A utility like ITNConv is required to convert the .itn file to a .gpx file which can then be used with a Garmin.
Also, as with any mapping software, once the route has been transferred to the Sat Nav, it's as well to check that the Sat Nav calculates it's route between waypoints using the same roads as the mapping software. As this is not always the case, it may be necessary to tweak the waypoints, by moving and/or adding some, to ensure that you get to travel the roads you want.
Edited by DIW35 on Thursday 26th June 11:43
Sorted - I think...
Bought a Garmin Nuvi 760 yesterday, based on recommendations / clues picked up here, (for which again many thanks...), and spent a happy 30 mins or so plotting a truly tortuous route from Manchester to John o Groats directly into the machine using a combination of addresses, intersections and map browsing to nail the way points - all seems to have gone in OK - althought the real test will come later in the summer when I will do the route for real as part of a long weekend road trip!
Happy driving all.
Bought a Garmin Nuvi 760 yesterday, based on recommendations / clues picked up here, (for which again many thanks...), and spent a happy 30 mins or so plotting a truly tortuous route from Manchester to John o Groats directly into the machine using a combination of addresses, intersections and map browsing to nail the way points - all seems to have gone in OK - althought the real test will come later in the summer when I will do the route for real as part of a long weekend road trip!
Happy driving all.
Flook said:
I've visited every sat nav retailer within a 10 mile radius of central Manchester to ask the following question:
"I want to buy a sat nav. The only feature I am interested in is the ability to choose my own convoluted route cross country before I set off, plug it into the machine, and then have the machine talk me through the various turnings / junctions / roundabouts etc while I'm en route...which Sat Nat would you recommend that is reasonably priced and can do that?"
I have the same question, but haven't yet be arsed to get off my backside to be frustrated by spotty 'dunno' sales assistants."I want to buy a sat nav. The only feature I am interested in is the ability to choose my own convoluted route cross country before I set off, plug it into the machine, and then have the machine talk me through the various turnings / junctions / roundabouts etc while I'm en route...which Sat Nat would you recommend that is reasonably priced and can do that?"
I've used Itinerary Planning on a borrowed TomTom One before (not sure which version, but not the latest) to plot a convoluted circular route through North Wales which worked really well. I plotted it on Google Maps and then ran it through http://www.houghi.org/tomtom/ to create a .itn file which I just copied across to the TomTom and away you go.
I'm now looking to get a SatNav of my own but like the OP am struggling to see online which models supporting itinerary planning and which don't. It doesn't seem to be one of the main features that they highlight.
So, all but the basic TomToms have it? And Garmin 7xx-series do.....? Anyone have experience of which works best? and do any other brands have this feature?
Edited by Mostro on Thursday 26th June 23:36
Flook, perhaps you could create a local route and give it a try. A couple of specific questions:
1. Does the Garmin 760 move onto the next waypoint when you have got somewhere near the previous one, or does it force you either to go exactly where you have set the waypoint or to move on manually? (On Tomtom, once you have got reasonably close to a waypoint it moves on to the next one - if you want to go exactly to a waypoint you set it as a destination).
2. How easy is it to check a route, and to add extra waypoints if required after checking to make the gps choose your preferred route (In my opinion the only significant drawback of itineraries on Tomtom is that this is tedious)?
3. When entering a waypoint to Garmin, can you just enter a town or village name, or do you have to choose a specific street (I think this is the case, and if so it is a nuisance by comparison with TT, which chooses town centre if you do not enter a street).
1. Does the Garmin 760 move onto the next waypoint when you have got somewhere near the previous one, or does it force you either to go exactly where you have set the waypoint or to move on manually? (On Tomtom, once you have got reasonably close to a waypoint it moves on to the next one - if you want to go exactly to a waypoint you set it as a destination).
2. How easy is it to check a route, and to add extra waypoints if required after checking to make the gps choose your preferred route (In my opinion the only significant drawback of itineraries on Tomtom is that this is tedious)?
3. When entering a waypoint to Garmin, can you just enter a town or village name, or do you have to choose a specific street (I think this is the case, and if so it is a nuisance by comparison with TT, which chooses town centre if you do not enter a street).
DIW35 said:
ETA: Found the software and have tried it on a Nuvi, and it works fine. A couple of points. Tyre is designed to work with Tom TOms, and saves it's files in Tom Tom's .itn format. A utility like ITNConv is required to convert the .itn file to a .gpx file which can then be used with a Garmin.
Should not be necessary. My version of TYRE allows you to do File, Save As, GPS Exchange.waremark said:
Flook, perhaps you could create a local route and give it a try. A couple of specific questions:
1. Does the Garmin 760 move onto the next waypoint when you have got somewhere near the previous one, or does it force you either to go exactly where you have set the waypoint or to move on manually? (On Tomtom, once you have got reasonably close to a waypoint it moves on to the next one - if you want to go exactly to a waypoint you set it as a destination).
2. How easy is it to check a route, and to add extra waypoints if required after checking to make the gps choose your preferred route (In my opinion the only significant drawback of itineraries on Tomtom is that this is tedious)?
3. When entering a waypoint to Garmin, can you just enter a town or village name, or do you have to choose a specific street (I think this is the case, and if so it is a nuisance by comparison with TT, which chooses town centre if you do not enter a street).
1. Yes the Garmin will move on to the next point without forcing you to go to the exact position of an intermediate waypoint. In fact you can miss a waypoint by quite a few miles (as I did deliberately on the recent Kent run) and ultimately it will just move on to the rest of the route.1. Does the Garmin 760 move onto the next waypoint when you have got somewhere near the previous one, or does it force you either to go exactly where you have set the waypoint or to move on manually? (On Tomtom, once you have got reasonably close to a waypoint it moves on to the next one - if you want to go exactly to a waypoint you set it as a destination).
2. How easy is it to check a route, and to add extra waypoints if required after checking to make the gps choose your preferred route (In my opinion the only significant drawback of itineraries on Tomtom is that this is tedious)?
3. When entering a waypoint to Garmin, can you just enter a town or village name, or do you have to choose a specific street (I think this is the case, and if so it is a nuisance by comparison with TT, which chooses town centre if you do not enter a street).
2. New waypoints can be added really easily. Just select the route and enter edit mode. You can add new waypoints anywhere along the route by inserting between existing waypoints. You can also delete existing waypoints as necessary.
3. Yes you can just enter a town or village name, and the unit will assume town centre. If you want to be more precise, then obviously you will need to enter a specific street.
HTH
waremark said:
Should not be necessary. My version of TYRE allows you to do File, Save As, GPS Exchange.
So it does. Obviously didn't look hard enough for the option to do that.Edited by DIW35 on Friday 27th June 10:10
sybaseian said:
you need to use a program called TYRE and google earth/google maps to plan you routes and then convert them into TOM TOM itinaries.
The explanation:-
http://www.yournav.com/content/s/262/
and the software:-
http://www.janboersma.nl/gett/index.php
Oh wow, that is fantastic, thanks for that one! The sky's the limit with this. The explanation:-
http://www.yournav.com/content/s/262/
and the software:-
http://www.janboersma.nl/gett/index.php
heebeegeetee said:
sybaseian said:
you need to use a program called TYRE and google earth/google maps to plan you routes and then convert them into TOM TOM itinaries.
The explanation:-
http://www.yournav.com/content/s/262/
and the software:-
http://www.janboersma.nl/gett/index.php
Oh wow, that is fantastic, thanks for that one! The sky's the limit with this. The explanation:-
http://www.yournav.com/content/s/262/
and the software:-
http://www.janboersma.nl/gett/index.php
Ian
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