Garmin Nuvi - Offroad Use

[101RRS]

I have found that the onroad gps that I have used in the past actually have most mainstream offroad tracks programmed in them and work fine offroad.

I recently bought a Garmin Nuvi for onroad use but took it along on a day trip I did yesterday in the Brindabella National Park. It did not have any destinations programmed and was using it in map mode. No issues driving up there until we went from bitumen to dirt on Brindabella Road when the the road on the map disappeared, the dotted line appeared showing where I had been (in case I get lost) but the name of the road I was on still appeared at the top of the screen.

Same applied when I actually got onto the tracks in the NP - no track shown, correct name of the track at the top and record of where I had been so the GPS obviously has the tracks in it but not displaying them - there is nothing in the map settings that indicate the actual track can be turned off.

The problem is that when you are unsure whether you turn at an marked junction the GPS is no help as the tracks are not displayed.

When I decided to head back home (still up in the mountains) I changed from Map mode and told it to take me home and all the tracks magically appeared on the screen and the GPS took me home.

So anyone who is familiar with the Garmin - how do you get tracks to display when just ambling along in Map mode where no destination is programmed.

Thanks

Garry

[Grappler]

Try a google search for shonky maps
I had a nuvi and had all the topo maps loaded on a sd for free
Great for offload and swap back to regular map on the road

[PhilipA]

You have to increase the scale to see the tracks.

If you have the map on say 2 kilometers or so, the tracks will not show, so hit the + button until they show.
This may sometimes be 700 metres scale or the maximum.
Regards Philip A

[101RRS]

Thanks Philip - thought something like that and did increase the scale - but maybe did not zoom in far enough. Though as I indicated - track did come back as soon as I told it to take me home and scale did not change.

Cheers

Garry

[jakeslouw]

Our new Nuvi (52LM) also does that "detail display" edit. Very frustrating.

The old Nuvi (215W) doesn't do the same thing.

[Chops]

I cant remember which one (Garman Nuvi) ours is, but when talking to the guy at Johnny Appleseed electrics, (they sell these and other units etc) he told us we could actually buy off-road maps to suit the unit. So long as it takes an SD (?) card, it'll do the same job as a Hema etc, just smaller screen obviously.
Was really good to learn this,, we were there picking up our new Hema/Ozi equipment,, :eek:

[PhilipA]

I have a 1490T and I have the Garmin topo 1 and shonkymaps.
They all lose detail as the scale is raised.

Arguably you go a lot slower when on tracks so it doesn't matter so much and the map would get very cluttered, but I have sometimes been very frustrated when the track name is not on the screen and when you increase the scale to try and find the name, the bloody track disappears.

You can adjust the level of detail in settings but the same thing happens at any detail level.
Regards Philip A

[~Rich~]

I too have a Garmin 1490T, I tried shonky maps but didn't really like them.
I bought OzTopo on a micro SD card and found it good showing just about all the tracks and displaying their names.

OZtopo - Topographical Maps for Garmin GPS units (http://www.oztopo.com.au/)

However it still limits you on what you can do as far as creating routes in Basecamp and wanting to transfer them for latter use in the Garmin. It simply does not work.

So as many have gone with the iPad with Memory Map etc I find that the purchase price of the device as being too much.

I've now just gone the Android path purchasing a 2013 Google Nexus "7" tablet. Fantastic screen and I'm running "TwoNav"
http://twonav.com.au/
Navigation Software. The best navigation and analysis software. (http://en.compegps.com/products/software/)
There is a free version which is limited.

It too has a catch, even with the paid version. You need to buy "Land" for your PC to view maps / create routes.
Read this thread for more info:
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/gps/99428-twonav-any-good.html#post1338066

[101RRS]

Rich - got your message but as you have "no return emails" activated so I cannot respond.

Thanks but I will be fine.

I bought this GPS just for around town navigation and was surprised that tracks that are in the system were not being displayed.

I have two WIN CE based cheap chinese GPS that I have Ozi Explorer on for offroad and Igo for onroad and these work fine. I would have used one of these but one of the downfalls of the cheap chinese stuff is they have crap batteries and the GPS will not work without a serviceable battery even when powered externally - when I put in new batteries they will be fine.

Thanks

Garry

[Glynhouse]

Garry, tried to send you a p/m but Aulro tells me you cant receive messages so will put it here with a cut and paste.

DD

My Chinese special is now 5 years old and will not turn on, the battery has not been charging well for a while. Now it will not do anything whether pluged in or not. The battery tests O.K. on a multi-meter, but I suspect it is cactus.
I know it is an old thread but did you do anything with yours ? Mine has been very good with both IGO and Ozi on it.
Have bought a new Garmin but does nothing for me off road ! Was looking for off road maps for it but they are all over $200, came across your post while looking for threads on Google.

Cheers DD (glynhouse on D3 forum)

[PhilipA]

Not that I am condoning it but I am told that you can get the latest Garmin topo maps off eBay for $20. I am reliably informed that they work well.
Regards Philip A