Author Topic: 'Only 50 points can be used for follow road navigation'  (Read 10292 times)

meddyg

  • 'You'll have had your tea?'
'Only 50 points can be used for follow road navigation'
« on: 14 May, 2009, 05:47:52 pm »
is the message I got when I switched on (Vista HCx*) last night,to do another section (Crundale-Cleddau Bridge) of a previously uploaded
route in Pembrokeshire. (Second half of the Pembrokeshire Cyclosportive). It had previously co-operated when I uploaded the route (and cycled half of it - Narberth - Crundale back in March no problems).

the off road route - the only roadside option -  was usable but not so good for warning of turns.

*PS why is the Garmin handbook so feeble?
Any other web sources for this model

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: 'Only 50 points can be used for follow road navigation'
« Reply #1 on: 15 May, 2009, 06:41:15 am »
50 points should cover about 100 miles if you pick them properly (that's the tricky bit).  Longer routes have to be split up.  If you choose the "car" and "shortest route" options then it's most likely to pick the roads you want in between waypoints.

Make sure "avoid toll roads" is unticked if you're going to London - it will steer you round the C-charge zone, which is not what you want on a bike, since you'll end up on Westway  :-[
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Manotea

  • Where there is doubt...
Re: 'Only 50 points can be used for follow road navigation'
« Reply #2 on: 15 May, 2009, 07:11:24 am »
50 waypoints generally gets me round a 200km audax. Top tip for reducing the number of waypoints required is to put them in the midpoint of key roads rather than at junctions. Let the gps satnav you through junctions and towns. Thats why you bought it.

Charlotte

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Re: 'Only 50 points can be used for follow road navigation'
« Reply #3 on: 15 May, 2009, 08:30:32 am »
Or, if you really must have the GPS chirruping every kilometre or so (I quite like this on Audax night sections as it keeps me busy and alert) then you can work the other way. 

Put in enough waypoints that there can be no mistake as to what road you need to be on and use "Off Road".  Watch the map scrolling along on the screen and the little purple line approximating your route along it.  Name the waypoints at key junctions using something meaningful that tells you to leave at the second exit of a roundabout, or right at T or whatever.
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Chris S

Re: 'Only 50 points can be used for follow road navigation'
« Reply #4 on: 15 May, 2009, 08:36:55 am »
Put in enough waypoints that there can be no mistake as to what road you need to be on and use "Off Road".  Watch the map scrolling along on the screen and the little purple line approximating your route along it.  Name the waypoints at key junctions using something meaningful that tells you to leave at the second exit of a roundabout, or right at T or whatever.

Exactly how I use it.

I want the GPS to show me the way - not tell me the way (on an Audax).

meddyg

  • 'You'll have had your tea?'
Re: 'Only 50 points can be used for follow road navigation'
« Reply #5 on: 15 May, 2009, 10:23:42 am »
Helpful suggestions as always thanks YACFers!

I was up to the limit of 50 points; but oddly it accpeted this and did first half of the route - follow road - turn by turn on the same programme last month.
that's the ghost-in-the-machine I guess.

I see Francis Cooke in Arrivée has tips on hoodwinking the unit into
using more than 50 Route points. Surely if you're doing LeJog or Manche-Med
you'll run outta points?

Re: 'Only 50 points can be used for follow road navigation'
« Reply #6 on: 15 May, 2009, 10:43:46 am »
I find it best to use Charlotte's method with the addition of a track in case the routing does throw a wobbler.

Wowbagger

  • Former Sylph
    • Stuff mostly about weather
Re: 'Only 50 points can be used for follow road navigation'
« Reply #7 on: 18 May, 2009, 06:01:43 pm »
I don't bother to let the machine remind me of which way to turn. I just put a track in. This gives you 500 points per track segment. If your .gpx file is longer than 500 points, then put in a new
</trkseg>
</trk>
<trk>
<name>something meaningful and unique</name>
<trkseg>

and you will have a nice easy-to-follow line all the way along your route. No bleeps or "Take a U turn you plonker" or whatever it says. Just make sure your arrow is sitting on the line, and you will be where you intended.

This, to me, is the way to navigate without letting the machine intervene. It's just a map with a line you've drawn on it. You can also make it go where you want when plotting the routes in bikely. If there's no road shown (and googlemaps thinks that some roads can't be navigated for some reason, and of course sends you down some unrideable tracks on occasions) you can take charge in bikely by stopping it from following roads and telling it exactly where to go. That's what I did for the off-road sections of the May WARTY. They are south of Hadleigh and crossing the Stour at Wissington. You need OS maps (streetmap.co.uk) to do these properly.
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

simonp

Re: 'Only 50 points can be used for follow road navigation'
« Reply #8 on: 18 May, 2009, 06:06:38 pm »
Just avoid follow-road routing and put a waypoint in at each turn.  Convert them to route points for more points per route (waypoints are overkill anyway).

Tracks are great until you try following a route at night, or stop paying watching the map constantly, at which point it all goes pear shaped.

Wowbagger

  • Former Sylph
    • Stuff mostly about weather
Re: 'Only 50 points can be used for follow road navigation'
« Reply #9 on: 18 May, 2009, 06:10:14 pm »
You only really have to pay attention when there's a junction coming up. To be on the safe side bump up the scale to so that it measures in feet rather than miles and you should be fine. The batteries last so long I have no problem using the back light for a few seconds.
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

simonp

Re: 'Only 50 points can be used for follow road navigation'
« Reply #10 on: 18 May, 2009, 06:30:27 pm »
I've missed turns when following tracks because the turn isn't sufficient to trigger a beep when you get to the junction.  This is where waypoints win because you always get a beep (and at night, the screen lights up) and you always have a distance to next turn so you have some idea of whether you need to pay attention or not.


frankly frankie

  • I kid you not
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Re: 'Only 50 points can be used for follow road navigation'
« Reply #11 on: 19 May, 2009, 02:25:57 pm »
I see Francis Cooke in Arrivée has tips on hoodwinking the unit into
using more than 50 Route points. Surely if you're doing LeJog or Manche-Med
you'll run outta points?

Not even close - but that's using off-road mode, and also using a mix of (user) Waypoints and Routepoints.

I don't know any way of overcoming the 50-point barrier for follow-road (other than splitting the route into two or more).  But I think 50 is a lot of points, in follow-road - you probably don't need more than 1 per 10km on average.
when you're dead you're done, so let the good times roll

andygates

  • Peroxide Viking
Re: 'Only 50 points can be used for follow road navigation'
« Reply #12 on: 19 May, 2009, 02:37:04 pm »
I'm the only barbarian who just gives the machine some village names and trusts to Providence, aren't I?
It takes blood and guts to be this cool but I'm still just a cliché.
OpenStreetMap UK & IRL Streetmap & Topo: ravenfamily.org/andyg/maps updates weekly.

frankly frankie

  • I kid you not
    • Fuchsiaphile
Re: 'Only 50 points can be used for follow road navigation'
« Reply #13 on: 19 May, 2009, 02:59:55 pm »
I'm the only barbarian who just gives the machine some village names and trusts to Providence, aren't I?

Trusting Providence, well OK - it's trusting Garmin's programmers that would be my sticking point
when you're dead you're done, so let the good times roll

andygates

  • Peroxide Viking
Re: 'Only 50 points can be used for follow road navigation'
« Reply #14 on: 23 May, 2009, 05:05:45 pm »
And the OSM wiki-weevils.  Sometimes the routing can be a bit like that spiderweb on LSD with either!
It takes blood and guts to be this cool but I'm still just a cliché.
OpenStreetMap UK & IRL Streetmap & Topo: ravenfamily.org/andyg/maps updates weekly.

Re: 'Only 50 points can be used for follow road navigation'
« Reply #15 on: 23 May, 2009, 05:31:03 pm »
Tracks are great until you try following a route at night, or stop paying watching the map constantly, at which point it all goes pear shaped.
Mine (not Garmin) shows me where I am on an OS map, & where the track I want to follow is. Very easy to get back to it if I miss a turn.
"A woman on a bicycle has all the world before her where to choose; she can go where she will, no man hindering." The Type-Writer Girl, 1897

JJ

Re: 'Only 50 points can be used for follow road navigation'
« Reply #16 on: 24 May, 2009, 01:10:36 am »
Tracks are great until you try following a route at night, or stop paying watching the map constantly, at which point it all goes pear shaped.

Find 5 AUKs with GPS and you'll find 10 ways to use them.

I go into Marine and set Off Course Alarm to 50m.  I get a few false alarms, but if I miss a turning I hear about it.  Then I just put in a track and job done.

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: 'Only 50 points can be used for follow road navigation'
« Reply #17 on: 24 May, 2009, 09:53:09 pm »
I'm trying to put the Exmouth Exodus in, but there are places on the route where officially it's no through road/left turn only (or whatever) but you can sneak across on a bike.  This plays havoc with the routing.  Sometimes it's just plain wrong and makes you do a U-turn and go the long way round for no apparent reason.  The best thing to do is review the route, note where the routing fouls up and just ignore it at those one or two points, carrying straight ahead whenever it tells you to do a U-turn.

Those on the FNRttS may remember it getting upset when we crossed the Oxford southern bypass, because it's not possible by car at that point.  Of course, the moment you're through and it gets a whiff of the next waypoint, it's happy again.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

andygates

  • Peroxide Viking
Re: 'Only 50 points can be used for follow road navigation'
« Reply #18 on: 25 May, 2009, 12:03:42 pm »
I go into Marine and set Off Course Alarm to 50m.  I get a few false alarms, but if I miss a turning I hear about it.  Then I just put in a track and job done.

That's a dirty trick!   :thumbsup:
It takes blood and guts to be this cool but I'm still just a cliché.
OpenStreetMap UK & IRL Streetmap & Topo: ravenfamily.org/andyg/maps updates weekly.

Re: 'Only 50 points can be used for follow road navigation'
« Reply #19 on: 25 May, 2009, 06:28:37 pm »
I go into Marine and set Off Course Alarm to 50m.  I get a few false alarms, but if I miss a turning I hear about it.  Then I just put in a track and job done.

That's a dirty trick!   :thumbsup:

Indeed  :) :thumbsup:

meddyg

  • 'You'll have had your tea?'
Re: 'Only 50 points can be used for follow road navigation'
« Reply #20 on: 04 April, 2010, 09:38:42 am »
So can someone remind me how to load the route as a track?
Current project again won't let me navigate as a route
'only 50 points can be used for 'follow road' navigation' it bleats...
I mean when I send the file to my Garmin it drops into 'routes'by default.

I'm doing the Icecream Wensdae Audax on Wednesday next  (unsurprisingly).
Organiser has helpfully linked to http://www.highergrangefarm.fsnet.co.uk/PeakAudax/icecC.htm
Google maps. Can't quite remember how I then converted to .gpx but still loads as a route with 114 points.

Could the gps gurus help me out?

Oh and another thing; the menu appears to only let me delete ALL routes; how can I delete one at a time?

Manotea

  • Where there is doubt...
Re: 'Only 50 points can be used for follow road navigation'
« Reply #21 on: 04 April, 2010, 09:48:04 am »
So can someone remind me how to load the route as a track?

Mapsource (I assume you are using) does not support conversion between routes and tracks. Google and install a freebie utility called WINGDB3 for this.

Select option to convert route to track with all waypoints then (I would) select/copy/paste the track from the wingdb3 output file into the original file so that you can download both route and track to the gps. Set the route colour to white and the track to dark blue, then follow the track and benefit from the route directions. This way its easy to see if the follow road routing wants to take you 'offtrack' and compensate accordingly. With experience you'll work out how to place the routepoints so this doesnt happen. My approach is to place routepoints in the middle of key roads rather than at junctions. Let the GPS guide you through complicated junctions. 50 follow road route points is usully plenty for a 200km audax. I find it best to set 'user' (my term) waypoints with editable properties and name them after local town or roadname, using blue flags for regular waypoints and red flags for controls. Makes it easier to follow the route on the road.  Works for me.

n.b., you'll need to filter down the track to a 500 points, the garmin limit for uploaded tracks (see track properties for filter options).

Oh and another thing; the menu appears to only let me delete ALL routes; how can I delete one at a time?

Select the route so you list the points then use the bottom left button to call up the menu and delete the route

Manotea

  • Where there is doubt...
Re: 'Only 50 points can be used for follow road navigation'
« Reply #22 on: 04 April, 2010, 10:09:28 am »
Tracks are great until you try following a route at night, or stop paying watching the map constantly, at which point it all goes pear shaped.

Find 5 AUKs with GPS and you'll find 10 ways to use them.

I go into Marine and set Off Course Alarm to 50m.  I get a few false alarms, but if I miss a turning I hear about it.  Then I just put in a track and job done.

Good tip about Marine. Sadly I usually ride with audio off as I'm listening to my MP3!