Gps options

hi maigrait, i had the same probs with my 550 but after a battery removal and software update it hasnt happened since. this was over a year ago! i have found garmin to be good to deal with over the years as well.

 

I also use a Sena and a Zumo 660, pretty good most of the time. But the Garmin Basecamp software is dreadful!!! Really buggy and difficult to use and load routes, and no matter how many times I delete old routes they still keep turning up like bad pennies...

 

Never had that problem. 1 annoying thing mind....when I plan routes on the laptop using Map Source - I can't upload more than 1 route at a time to the 660 - then you have to keep removing the battery cover to connect and disconnect - for a 2 week holiday planning it can be a real PITA!

Anyone else found this problem with their Zumo 660 or am I doing something fundamentally wrong??

 

i was told by garmin to remove the battery (small allen key i think it was) then leave it for a good 5-10mins and when you reinstall it and switch the unit on, its like a full reboot or something! sorry, im not very technical!

seems to have solved mine anyway!
good luck!

 

You can't use Mapsource on a Mac though :frown:

This was a very good tutorial I found on how to share routes (aimed at motorcyclists) with some handy hints about avoiding errors.

How to share Garmin routes with your friends « Rolfje’s blog

 

Ive used a Tom Tom Rider 2 for years now and its always been pretty reliable..... its taken me all over Europe, and I use it in the car on a car mount too.... cant fault it really.

 

Also - just a thought about the poster above who cant set way points.... there is a piece of Freeware on the net called TYRE - which allows you to plot a route on google maps, with as many way points as you want - and it then converts it in to a readble file for most Sat Naves.... no real down sides apart from its Windows only - so if you have a Mac you'll have to run parallels / bootcamp / or VM Fusion

 

I got a zumo 550 in 2008 and found it very flakey used to send me on some supid routes and grass roads.
I ride with fallenninja alot of the time and when we did some touring he used a tomtom rider and found his use to be the best route, when ever I was leading we seemed to get lost..!! Anyways sold it now, I use the iPhone if I get lost or want to find anything.

 

I used this Garmin: RoadTrip for Mac Updates & Downloads worked great on the mac.

 

I have a tomtom rider V2 europe with scala Q2 headsets and a Nokia 5800. The tomtom has been a friend and companion for four years and never let me down, the screen works with gloves on and as soon as you start moving the menu simplifies itself to only four buttons so you can always hit what you need on the move. It has also put up with some pretty incredible rain without issue. The phone pairs seamlessly even when the tomtom's using it to get a traffic update. Battery life off the bike is around four hours which helps finding where you parked the bike in foreign cities.

I once had to reset the tomtom while on tour in Italy, this needs a paperclip so now I keep one in the tankbag in case I have to do it again!

My tomtom's a bit dated now but I'm not about to replace it.

 

I had a Garmin 660, until carrying around a GPS, Mobile, Wallet, Keys & other stuff meant I was spending more time packing than riding. Nowadays I find my iPhone + a combination of GPS software (Navigon, Co-Pilot etc) and a waterproof case + hardwire kit from www.ultimate-mobiles.co.uk is suitable for my needs.

 

I've got a 660 and it's pretty good it occasionally stops tracking where I am usually near a junction and resets plus for some reason the map will vanish and just show me, a quick flick into a menu and back restores the map, a little annoying but OK, I do find the Map source software terrible though great detail but far to much like hard work, now I tend to build my route on the device itself and just use Google maps to get the places/roads I want to follow and add them one-by-one onto the 660, this is useful is you're abroad and don't have access to Map source.

Did have the original TomTom rider which I thought was a great satnav, didn't do much else but always got me there trouble free until the mount broke 3-4 years down the line.

I hear TYRE is good and now works on Garmins, does anyone have a link to download this rather than continue with Map source?

 

Garmin 660 Zumo for me, excellent for route planning, speed traps, loads of trip info (max speed/average etc), easy to share routes with other Zumo users, music and audiobook playback and a large glove friendly screen. And that's not even mentioning mobile phone call handling whilst used in conjunction with a bike comm's system such as Autocom. I have mine mounted above the speedo which means I don't have to take my eyes far off the road ahead.

Downside is cost I paid £350 from ebay about a year ago.

 

Whether the Xperia works with gloves or not depends on the type of screen you have. A capacitive screen wont work a pressure screen will. I used an Xperia X1 and Tom Tom software on my bike for years with no problems. It' got even better now that I have a Sena bluetooth headset and hear the instructions too. I then graduated to an Iphone using Tom Tom software which I still use and find GREAT. Now the iphone has a capacitive screen so wont work with gloves but there IS a workaround. Take some copper wire and put a few stitches in the fingertip of your glove where you'd touch the screen. It conducts the micro current from your finger to the screen and hey-presto, it works!

Hope this helps!

Cheers,

FBB

 

got a Tripy! love it as making the roadbook is very enjoyable ... is used by the dakar guys so pritty rugged and versatily
Tripy GPS + Digital Road Book for motorbikes, 4X4, Quad and Oltimers

grtz

Koen