GPS advice needed

[GunNut37086]

I wanted a GPS, so I could upload a .gpx file for rides I meticulously plotted with some online software. Google Maps can't do that and annoys me endlessly by offering alternate routes. OSMAnd is very close, but not 100%. So, I got a Garmin nuvi 2597LMT (my very first dedicated GPS device).

My pros for the nuvi:
1. Bluetooth, but this is misleading since it only connects to your phone
2. the ability to upload .gpx files
3. awesome screen size and clarity
4. the RAM mount system I got to go with it is perfect in every way
5. scored this unit as a factory refurb w/ 1 yr warranty for $99 at GPSCity.com
6. works with gloves on!!

My cons for the nuvi:
1. without turn-by-turn directions through my speakers, I'm concerned about missing turns unless I allow myself to be visually distracted by the screen
2. almost not worth mentioning, since my phone isn't either, but it's not waterproof (I can work around this and/or solve the problem cheaply)

On a recent ride with my new best friend with a motorcycle, CRStep, we were both using OSMAnd and our Senas. We realized that when we talk on the intercom, we don't get directions from our phones. The Sena 10s can't override an intercom conversation or stop an FM radio signal to give you information from your phone. I like the option of using intercom or the FM Radio on my Sena, so I might miss turns, even if i had a Zumo, which I can't afford right now.

GPSCity.com was awesome and offered me an RMA on the unit and the mounting hardware. I have a limited amount of time to decide whether to return it or not. As you can tell, I'm leaning toward keeping it, I know so little about using GPS that there's bound to be things I haven't considered or that I'm weighing incorrectly.

Anyone see any holes in my rationale? What am I overlooking? I respect y'all's input and look forward to hearing your opinions/advice.

 

[Grey1one]

I have a Garmin Zumo gps and Sena in my helmet, I finally figured out the order you connect thing makes a difference.

1 Turn on Zumo
2 Turn on Sena, connect to gps
3 Turn on Phone connect to gps

now all are connected, the FM in the Sena works, the phone rings through, and media will play from the gps as well

 

[Deleted member 1183]

I have a Zumo 550 which I purchased in 2007. I use it with my Interphone F5. The Bluetooth on this old Zumo works well with the Interphone, even though their technology is separated by a number of years. I believe a Nuvi should also connect with your intercom system via Bluetooth. Just use the phone mode.

I use Mapsource on my PC to create infinitely complex routes and then transfer the to the Zumo via a cable. I am not sure if you can do this on a Nuvi. Furthermore the Zumo is waterproof.

Perhaps You could try to source a Zumo 550 on the web second hand. They are now like hens teeth but then they are excellent little units. My Wife recently lost ours. She found it again just before the divorce papers were completed..........

 

[zirconx]

I believe a Nuvi should also connect with your intercom system via Bluetooth. Just use the phone mode. ...

The Zumos are the only Garmin units (I'm 99% sure) that will connect to a headset, such as a Sena or F5 or uClear. The other Garmin units that have bluetooth work as speakerphones - which is opposite of what we want - we don't want the GPS to receive audio in and have it come out of it's own speaker. We want the audio to out of the GPS and into another device.

 

[ld_rider]

Anyone see any holes in my rationale?

Yes, you have a GPS that isn't working for you ;-)

Send it back and buy a dedicated M/C GPS...You don't have to get the latest/greatest but it will cost you...I have a Zumo 590LM that seamlessly works between my iPhone, FM tuner (built into my helmet) and of course the GPS instructions. All connected via bluetooth. GPS directions have priority over all, and I can choose to answer the phone if I feel it is safe or listen to the radio. All audio goes through helmet speakers and I never miss any audio directions because the GPS has priority.

In addition, sometimes those inexpensive GPSs are "recalculating" because you missed a turn in a busy area and then, when they finally complete the recalculation you have already passed the turn they recalculated you to....Sooo, the process continues. Sometimes looping for a considerable time while you wander around Boston, NYC or some other congested area. BTDT

Sooo..newer GPSs will have much faster CPUs and the recalculations are done almost instantly. I had no idea how slow my previous Garmins were until I bought a newer unit.

Since it sounds like you are planning on using the GPS for routing and not just as a moving map or a point A to B route planner, I would spring the extra $$ and get one that meets all your needs. Here are a couple of pictures showing mine mounted almost directly in my line of sight... and I still would want the bluetooth audio directions since I'm not too comfortable glancing at the screen in heavy traffic at speed.

My helmet is a Scuberth and the bluetooth battery, FM tuner, antenna, etc is built into it but I'm pretty sure it was all made by Sena.

The 590LM has been replaced by the 595LM so maybe they are a bit cheaper now and you can get a used one reasonable? I think any Zumo would be light-years better for your application than the car unit you are using...

 

[GregC]

I have a Garmin Zumo gps and Sena in my helmet, I finally figured out the order you connect thing makes a difference.

1 Turn on Zumo
2 Turn on Sena, connect to gps
3 Turn on Phone connect to gps

now all are connected, the FM in the Sena works, the phone rings through, and media will play from the gps as well

Same with the Zumo 660LM. the "Zumo" Series of Garmins are designed for motorcycle use,unlike the Nuvi's which are car designed. I connect to a Uclear HBC200 and an iPhone 6s.

FWIW, I still haven't found a really user friendly way to design a route on the laptop and load to the Garmin -- seems like all mapping utilities want to try to impose their routing, or they are a pain to manually "draw" your route.

 

[zirconx]

..
FWIW, I still haven't found a really user friendly way to design a route on the laptop and load to the Garmin -- seems like all mapping utilities want to try to impose their routing, or they are a pain to manually "draw" your route.

No doubt. Seems Garmin and TomTom have been asleep at the wheel, letting smart phones eat their lunch. Mapping with a Garmin or TomTom is way harder than it should be. I'm going to start looking into using an old smart phone loaded with offline maps. You can pick up a Samsung S5 pretty cheap now, it's the same size screen as a Zumo and they are waterproof.

 

[rippin209]

No doubt. Seems Garmin and TomTom have been asleep at the wheel, letting smart phones eat their lunch. Mapping with a Garmin or TomTom is way harder than it should be. I'm going to start looking into using an old smart phone loaded with offline maps. You can pick up a Samsung S5 pretty cheap now, it's the same size screen as a Zumo and they are waterproof.

Maps.me and copilot work well as downloadable maps, being able to add multiple stops or adjust your route

 

[GunNut37086]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm trying to piece together bits and pieces of it all to apply it to my situation. I'd love to buy a Zumo, I know that's what I NEED, but that's not in the budget.

My only 2 options at the moment are:
1. make-do with the $99 Nuvi - use it as a screen only, I may be able to hear some turn-by-turn at low speeds, plus it'll double as a GPS for my truck too
2. return the Nuvi - make-do with my cell phone, at least it provides Bluetooth directions in my Sena 10S speakers

 

[GunNut37086]

I have a sister, a son, a wife, and a cousin with birthdays in September. My daughter has a birthday in November. Christmas is coming up.

That's where all my GPS funds are going through the end of the year. If it weren't for all that, I'd be all over one of the deals on refurb Zumos for around the $300 mark.

 

[Grey1one]

Same with the Zumo 660LM. the "Zumo" Series of Garmins are designed for motorcycle use,unlike the Nuvi's which are car designed. I connect to a Uclear HBC200 and an iPhone 6s.

FWIW, I still haven't found a really user friendly way to design a route on the laptop and load to the Garmin -- seems like all mapping utilities want to try to impose their routing, or they are a pain to manually "draw" your route.

I don't want to get run out on a rail, but the Harley Davidson site has a route planning app on it that will load my custom route into my Garmin.

There's no HD serial number or anything required to join.

 

[GunNut37086]

Same with the Zumo 660LM. the "Zumo" Series of Garmins are designed for motorcycle use,unlike the Nuvi's which are car designed. I connect to a Uclear HBC200 and an iPhone 6s.

FWIW, I still haven't found a really user friendly way to design a route on the laptop and load to the Garmin -- seems like all mapping utilities want to try to impose their routing, or they are a pain to manually "draw" your route.

I've been playing with Garmin Basecamp all day and it's hard to create routes, but once you create one it's easy to export it directly to your Garmin with the usb cable. Basecamp just knows it's plugged in and puts the file in the right place for ya.
I really like Plot A Route a LOT. I don't know how you'd rate it on the difficulty scale, but it's the easiest I've used so far to create routes. To get the route to your Garmin, you'll have to browse to the folder where Garmin "finds" files and paste it there.

 

[CRStep]

I was just doing a bunch of internet research on this, and I was looking at the Zumo reviews for the 590, 595, 390, and 395. Apparently you can import the gpx files from various websites but they have to be converted from a "track" to a "route" in the gps menus, and it's not intuitive? I would really love to get one of these, but it's so hard to choose which model with the latest and greatest being so expensive. I have been studying the reviews and they seem mixed regarding screen brightness and readability and the quality of the audio. Any additional anecdotal experiences from forum members would be great. I have an old garmin nuvi myself, but I didn't consider using it on the motorcycle because of the above mentioned incompatibilities. I've been using my cell phone, but with T-Mo I don't always have reception on the good roads.

 

[GregC]

I've got copilot premium, BBR, base camp and none of them are easy to create a route if you want to get the really backroads. Copilot has no way to draw map offline and load it, but it's a good app and uses gps when there's no cell service.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Deleted member 1183]

I mentioned my 550 Zumo. I also recently purchased a 590 Zumo for its ability to give lane directions and one or two other features that it possesses. I agree that it is super quick to recalculate when one goes wrong, much quicker than the 550. However it is far from perfect. When I run both together the 550 always gets the ETA spot on from the very beginning. The 590 can vary on ETA by up to 45 minutes depending on the distance to be travelled. It is never correct but the 550 always is. The 550 will also accept routes from PC that have a mixture of road and offroad on them, while the 590 has difficulty with this. The 590 is very expensive and much more complex than it needs to be. They both have their strong points. They both can work off Mapsource and Basecamp software. However, having used the 590 for some time I am glad that I kept my 550.

For those who are having difficulty with creating routes on PC software, I don't understand this. I normally use Mapsource as I find it more user friendly. I create routes using it that are exactly tailored to my needs. One dictates the types of roads from the getgo and then using "insert route section" one can drag the route onto specific roads (including offroad) that one requires. The facilities are all in there. One just needs to seek them out in the help section.

 

[ld_rider]

When I run both together the 550 always gets the ETA spot on from the very beginning. The 590 can vary on ETA by up to 45 minutes depending on the distance to be travelled. It is never correct but the 550 always is.

Interesting...that is probably more a function of the maps you are using rather than the actual GPS units themselves. I've also run two side by side and found the ETAs to be almost identical. Often within a couple of minutes on a 1,000 mile route (!)

You say that the 590 is complex...maybe there is something in the settings that isn't correct as mine does not have the ETA issue you are experiencing. Or, perhaps it has something to do with the North American maps that we use over here ?? Doesn't make sense that using the same maps the two units would have such wildly different ETA unless something was amiss...

 

[StratTuner]

[HERE] is an interesting article on the best tablet to use for GPS.

I have a "Dragon Touch" M8 tablet I'm thinking of using, but refurbished samsung Galaxy S4 phones go for $119 on amazon.

 

[DirtFlier]

[..I normally use Mapsource as I find it more user friendly. I create routes using it that are exactly tailored to my needs...]


I've been using Mapsource since 2005-2006 and still favor it over BaseCamp which isn't fully functional with my software. I have Windows 7 on my computer & netbook and at least for now have no desire to switch to Windows 10. In ref to hearing turn commands from the GPS, I've always had my units muted and rely on seeing the turn instructions well ahead of time. And if I miss a turn, so what? The unit reroutes me back to the original path so it's not a big problem!

ps. I had a Nuvi 500 that was a "dedicated motorcycle unit" but many of the Nuvis since then were designed for cars.

 

[Nortwestrider]

Here is my solution.
$50 military spec smart phone.
Water proof,shock proof etc.upload GPX files from the Internet right on the phone and they load to Locus and BAM ..all done.
It takes longer to find the the tracks on the net then it does to download them !!.

Live life,be yourself !!!!.

 

[zirconx]

Here is my solution.
$50 military spec smart phone.
Water proof,shock proof etc.upload GPX files from the Internet right on the phone and they load to Locus and BAM ..all done.
It takes longer to find the the tracks on the net then it does to download them !!.

Live life,be yourself !!!!.

Nice, do you have a link to this $50 waterproof phone or at least a model number so we can look it up?

The Samsung S5 can be had pretty cheaply now, and it is waterproof also.