Garmin Basecamp Very Difficult to Use

[richardbd]

I used basecamp to create a 250 mile route for a camping trip in a national forest.  I wanted to stay off the interstate and stick to secondary roads.  Lots of turns involved and switching from road to road.  The first time I missed a turn my Garmin tried to send me on a 100 mile detour to the nearest interstate.  I'm not sure yet, but I think there's an option of exporting a trip to a route that has to be accomplished once the trip is downloaded to the Garmin.  If you miss a waypoint you have to bring up the list and select the next waypoint, otherwise it will send you back.  I haven't tried deleting waypoints along a route.  If I sound confused it's because I am.

It's much easier than that Barnes.  Tire's an option (in settings, from memory) that allows you to show a button on the map screen (it displays just about the red "stop navigating" cross).  The button skips the next way point, so that if you miss a waypoint deliberately (say it was plotted on the wrong side of the road) you can carry on without going round in circles.


Simples...

[Sprintgull]

Well, to be honest I'm not a great basecamp fan, but having stuck with it for a while it works for me.  Did a 300 odd mile jaunt around the south of England yesterday, with 8 planned stops, and it did exactly what I wanted.  Yes it is clunky to use, and yes a company like Garmin should be ashamed of it, but it does work once you get used to its idiosyncrasies.  I do an event over the summer which involves finding obscure landmarks and it drops me right on them.  Using a Bluetooth headset makes things  a lot easier too.

[Casbar]

It's much easier than that Barnes.  Tire's an option (in settings, from memory) that allows you to show a button on the map screen (it displays just about the red "stop navigating" cross).  The button skips the next way point, so that if you miss a waypoint deliberately (say it was plotted on the wrong side of the road) you can carry on without going round in circles.


As far as I'm aware, Basecamp is the only thing that works on a Mac. So I have had to persevere with it. Managed to get a route into my Nav V, but then the Nav V converted the route to fasted route, so guess I need to switch off something in the Nav V to stop it messing with the uploaded route


Simples...

[richardbd]

If you set the fastest/shorest option to the be same on Nav5 and Basecamp, that shouldn't happen - in theory at least...

[Sleuth]

I have sweated blood & tears with both MapSource and BaseCamp.  I have cursed & said all sort of nasty things about the programmers, and their genealogy!  However when you do get to grips with it, it is very easy to use.  I find it very easy to create nice routes.

I recently came back from a trip to the UK, and the GPS worked as well as could be expected.  Roadworks threw a few spanners in the works, but other than that it directed me where I wanted to go, accurately and within the time that it indicated.

It is a major PITA to learn, and you need to use the routes to learn from what went well and what didn't.

Best regards
Sleuth

[David.]

How are you getting on with BaseCamp. Will a little help, a fellow Northern Monkey now thinks it's great.

[davef1uk]

How are you getting on with BaseCamp. Will a little help, a fellow Northern Monkey now thinks it's great.

Can i say, David has done this Northern Monkey a great service and now routing on basecamp is not only easy, but also fun.


I have been told so many times, and also on videos,  basecamp is done by waypoints...  that being Vague I decided to ask the David, who has done very good routes without warnings popping up of next waypoint or taking you back to a waypoint instead of the intended destination.


This is a quick way of making a route... assuming you know about making a folder and list...


1) First, select your list file you made for your route... this will be in MY Collections... with the list selected,  You then select your START point, drop a waypoint or make your start your home... then drop another waypoint at your Destination..


2) Now on your map and in the left lower panel you should see a two way points... select them both so they are highlighted,  right click to bring up the popup menu, and select,  Create Route from waypoints.


3)  On your map, you will see a route now going from Start point  to Destination point..  with a route information box showing you information.  Now right click on that route you made  and a popup menu appears, select Insert Route Point


4) You will notice a string line joining both waypoints, you can move this to select a road you prefer the route to take.. You can scroll mouse or zoom in and then when your happy, select the road by clicking simple on it... you have now altered the route and added an INSERT Point NOT a waypoint..


5) Now go back to your left lower panel,  again, making sure you have your list selected... you will see the route you created with a motor vehicle symbol next to it..


6) Double click on that created route.. Your route information box pops up...  you will notice in this box, the Start and Destination Waypoints, but more importantly,  the  Input Route Point you added earlier..


7) Select the  Input Route point... it will be a name of place or road depending where you clicked when Inputting the route earlier... then right click on it, and select Don't Alert On Arrival ( Shaping point )

Your all done  You can now add as many Input Route Points to shape your route, on the roads you want, and you won't get annoying alerts, and you won't be diverted to the waypoint and thus carry onto your destination..


Hope this helps


All Credit goes to David S on here... thanks David.

[BoB21]

There are multiple diffrent ways to create routes play around once understand basics and keep learning. I prefer usuing tools to add shaping points.

[jackronner]

I find I had to get some Rogaine to replace all the hair I tore out trying to use it. Somebody gave me their old GPS enabled I-Pad, and I finally found a use for the Garmin: I strapped it over the Garmin screen and Robert's yer Mother's brother. Save for rainy weather (and I guess a zip-lock plastic bag might serve for that) it's so much easier to use, including planning routes and even the voice instructions are much better. It gives you multiple, graduated warnings of a turn: "One half mile ... 250 ft., etc" and seems pretty good at recalculating our inevitable deviations from the planned route. It's also an easy way to listen to your music. Plus, and it's a big plus, it's got a much bigger screen, so you don't run into a truck while you're crouching over the tiny Garmin screen. Any distractions a danger, so I usually rely on the spoken instructions, but I can see the route with a quick glance, and zooming and swipe-moving the screen is much easier. [size=5px] I mean, I don't use it much at home cuz I already know my area, and w[/size]hen things are so difficult to learn how to use, I tend to forget how I made it work on the previous tour some months previous. Ain't technology grand???

[David.]

Having owned a Garmin Zumo 660 since 2011, first used MapSource for creating routes then BaseCamp came along. Not doing change easily, thought oh no, don't like BC, will stick with MS. Watched a few BC tutorial videos, had a play around & now feel quite proficient with BC to the point where I've nearly forgotten how to use MS.

The way I create a route in BC is as follows.
1. Create a "List" within a "List Folder" to store the info./route.
2. Create new or select two existing "Waypoints" for the start point & destination, then drop them into the "List".
3. Open the "New Route" box, then "drag & drop" the Waypoints into the box, this will automatically create a route with whatever "Activity Profile" settings used.
4. The route "Properties" box will show the number of Via Points, Distance & Time etc.
5. Alongside using a road atlas, a bespoke route can be created by using the "Insert" Tool.
6. With the route highlighted, click on it with the tool, a line like a (piece of string) will appear with a pointing tool.
7. Drag the point around to a selected road, click on it & a new route will be created.
8. The tool has inserted a via (shaping) point which won't alert on the Sat. Nav.
9. Additional shaping points can be added by highlighting the route & repeating steps 6 & 7.

Once happy with the route, it can be transferred to the Sat. Nav. I always compare the route properties on BC with those now in the Sat. Nav. Previewing the shape of the route, together with checking the distance & time. With my device, the number of via points are the shaping points, not including the waypoints. Using this method has worked for several years.

From experience and talking/learning from others, I think the problem when creating routes using waypoints only is that, should you miss one, the Sat.Nav. will try to take you back to it. With shaping points, this does not happen. Plus, within the Sat. Nav. "Avoidances", I have avoid U-Turns selected, it's easier to carry on than have a group of bikes turning around. With "Auto Recalculation" also selected, the Sat. Nav. will sort itself out and get you back on the Custom Route created. These functions may be different with other Sat. Navs. but work for me.

One thing I have learnt is that sharing routes with others can cause problems. A route is created, sent via email to a.n.other, transferred to a different device etc., perhaps with a difference version of the maps. Best thing to do if you are leading a ride is to keep the route to yourself. That way, only you know where you are going and if you've gone wrong, others don't.

[smileymiley]

Best thing to do if you are leading a ride is to keep the route to yourself. That way, only you know where you are going and if you've gone wrong, others don't.

Exactly  Couldn't have put it better myself 

[BoB21]

Get shaping /waypoints going back to point. I use waypoints as well for fuel on long rides and deviations/short cuts on long rides if need to save time have skip waypoint button on nav screen to bypass waypoint  if needed. Also use save button on screen to quickly save point intrest/nice road while exploring or on someone else's ride.

[BoB21]

David i always use prompted cause quickly know gone off route and can pan nav out to reroute myself back, with recalculate believe  it takes you directly to neck waypoint not shaping point so potentially missing route planned? As far as sharing routes need to let people know what prefrences you use, motorway or not and faster or direct have huge bearing on outcome. Local IAM basecamp traing teach everbody on same parameters

[David.]

Like me, my sat. nav. is old and not very sophisticated. To save a POI, selecting the motorcycle icon on the screen of the device allows it to be saved for future reference. When following a.n.other's ride, the device "Trip Log" can be used to create & save a route. This route can then be sent to the PC and saved for another day.

[David.]

David, I always use prompted cause quickly know gone off route and can pan nav out to re-route myself back, with recalculate believe it takes you directly to next waypoint not shaping point so potentially missing route planned?

Darren, all sat. navs. are different. Once the route is loaded into the device (Zumo 660),  I can "Edit" the route, by adding or removing points. If for example, a route has 4 via points, I can choose to remove one. The device will re-calculate the route which can then be saved for use. The remaining 3 via points are still there. I believe this is the case when on the move, if I deviate from the bespoke route, the auto-recalculation will still take me through all the other via points. Although the via (shaping) point "won't alert", this is an audio prompt but it still exists in the route.

At last year's annual meet, some others did have the route. Yes, I may have c@cked up on the first roundabout, this was brought to my attention at the first P&T stop.

However, after that initial error, the bespoke route was followed as planned without any problems.

This year's annual meet route has been shared with others, no pressure there then!

As far as sharing routes need to let people know what preferences you use, motorway or not and faster or direct have huge bearing on outcome. Local IAM basecamp training teach everybody on same parameters.

Agreed, we'll have a training session in the pub on Friday night before the ride on Saturday morning.