Garmin gps routes

[yardwork43]

I updated my gps to a Garmin 536. Now I find out that Garmin's gps routes will not allow you to follow a point to point route. For example, if you have a route with way points A to B to C to A. Depending on where you are when you start the route, the gps takes you to the closes point in the route. So if you are close to A, it says you are finished. If B is further away then C, it may point you toward C.

Have any members had this problem? Any one know of a work around?

 

[Don12364]

For all its cleverness, GPS is a simple minded thing.
If you give it a circular route with start and end as the same point it says "Are you coming or going boss?"
Try making the finish a slightly different point from the start.
If it is your mooring make the starting point a little different so you can get back to it accurately in fog.

I prefer not to use circular routes at all but use the 'Reverse Route' facility instead.
If racing then I suggest doing as I first stated.

 

[yardwork43]

Thanks Donalex, I've tried separating the point at the start....it did not help. Another example. The route is A TO E TO B TO E TO A. If I drop the start way point A and set the route up as E TO B TO E TO A, the gps will then take me to E but then points me back to A. It drops the E to B to E legs. I am trying to use the unit for racing.

I've talked to Garmin and they said that the GPS looks at the route and determines the shortest path, from your present position, to arrive at the finish way point. The say that none of there marine GPS units will follow a sequential way point route. I can't understand why a $700.00 chart plotter can not perform the basic's of a gps. Their definition and my definition of a route clearly is not the same.

 

[Roger Long]

They {Garmin} say that none of their marine GPS units will follow a sequential way point route.

They have either changed their products, which would be in line with the brain dead stupidity Garmin has displayed recently (MAGNETIC DOORS ON MARINE CHARTPLOTTERS!), or the salesman has no clue what he is talking about. I hope it's the latter because I would hate to have to replace my Garmin outfit which leads me beautifully from point to point to point.

I often set up routes even when navigation is fairly easy and straightforward as it reduces the workload and lets me pay more attention to other things. My 3205 has a very nice "Quick Nav" function. Move cursor, enter, move cursor, enter, and you have a route.

 

[Bill Roosa]

Are you doing WPT to WPT nav or route nav? I know my Raymarine GPS will always find the closest WPT in WPT nav mode if I ask it.
I believe you have to create a route with the sequence of WPTs (in order) to actually do what you are trying to. First create all the WPTs then create a route and select the WPTs in order. Probably some obscure menu item nested 15 layers down.

 

[Bill Roosa]

Try
Information > User Data > Routes > New Route.
Google to the rescue, "garmin 536 manual" first link, search the page visually for quick referance chart, download chart scan for "routes" and find it on the second page.
elaspes time ~90 seconds
don't be afraid to read the manual when all else fails

 

[Bill1565]

.
I believe you have to create a route with the sequence of WPTs (in order) to actually do what you are trying to. First create all the WPTs then create a route and select the WPTs in order.

I think it has always been that way with Garmin. My 172 C from the last century works that way.

 

[yardwork43]

Bill, I'm setting up the route using the way point list as you described...WPT to WPT.

Garmin says that thier gps's have a smart chip...lol...that calculates the closest point in the route and then the best possible route to the final WPT in the route.
I asked if there was a way to dummy the thing up so it would follow a point to point route. They said it wouldn't do it, that I might could get there using tracks.

I asked them if I was in the Key's or somewhere and I had a point to point route laid out to get me around things and I engaged that route, would the gps take me right over the things I wanted to avoid? They said yes....do you believe that.....

 

[Roger Long]

I asked them if I was in the Key's or somewhere and I had a point to point route laid out to get me around things and I engaged that route, would the gps take me right over the things I wanted to avoid? They said yes....do you believe that.....

This can't be right. Something is getting lost in translation here. I hope someone who has one of these units and is proficient in operating it will weigh in soon.

If nothing else, their lawyers wouldn't let them do this

If I'm wrong, Garmin has abandoned the entire marine market.

 

[yardwork43]

I hope you're right Roger. I hope I am doing it wrong. If not, I've got an expensive, one way point at a time, looks good, does nothing, gps.

 

[Roger Long]

I just remembered that you can download manuals for all Garmin's products without buying them.

It appears the answer you are looking for is on Page 31, Creating and Using Routes.

You first select your destination with the map pointer.

Next: <Navigate To > < Route To>

That will draw a straight line route between where you are and your destination. It will probably go over rocks.

Use the map pointer to find the last point at which you could safely go straight to your destination. For example, this might be a harbor entrance if your destination is a marina inside. Press <Select> Your route will now have two legs.

Look back for the straight line safe path to where you would make the previous turn and repeat the step above. Your route will now have three legs. This might be at a turn at a buoy near a shoal.

Keep doing this checking depths and obstructions on each leg until your first leg takes you safely to the first turn.

Press <Menu> and <Start Navigating Route>

The next section of the manual tells you how to save and name routes. It looks like you might have to start navigating them first. I can't tell without having the unit to experiment with. Once saved, you should be able to bail out and then call them up later to navigate.

"Turns" are sort of a sub species of waypoints.

This looks workable. I hope it isn't the system I'll be stuck with if I have to replace my 3205 because it seems weird to plan the route in reverse and keeps you from anticipating. It should keep you off the rocks though.

My advice: Look for a way to disable the Auto Guidance function or do your best to ignore it. It's for idiots who would let a computer select their route for them. Would you trust a chip and these guys with your boat and boat?

Be sure to read the article on Page 26 here:

http://issuu.com/pointseast/docs/midwinter_mag_issuu?viewMode=magazine

and note that it was not a Garmin specific error. Every plotter I looked at in the marine store had it wrong.

 

[Joe]

The instructions you guys are referring to assume a destination... from the starting point, not a circular route. Yardwork's problem is he wants to use the chartplotter to run a closed course and the unit wants to go to the closest waypoint rather than follow the route in sequence. At appears that the unit is being intuitive or "smart"....

If there's no way to turn off the auto guide, or smart, or intuitive function.... then try using the "go to" function to get you on the right track.... if you're racing you really only need to know where the next mark is so putting the unit on automatic is unnecessary.

 

[yardwork43]

I will certainly look at the reverse approach you have described. I use the gps for racing. 5 to 10 minutes before the race, the race committee boat shows a series of flags. The series of flags determines the course. There are 6 different flags. I have a little time to bring up a route or create one from the way point list. As I mentioned earlier, it could be something like A to E to B to E to A.
As the Garmin works now. It drops E to B to E.... Or say, A to C to B to A, if B is closer than C, it will take me to either B to A, or tell me I'm already where I want to go. I need a simple, basic WPT to WPt sequential route. Is that not the definition of a route? I don't get it.

I hope the sailing folks out there can help with this. I hope I'm explaining this right.

 

[yardwork43]

Thanks Joe, I think you understand. Garmin says I can't turn the smart off....Darn thing is to smart for it's own good...

 

[Roger Long]

If you can get the waypoints of all the racing buoys to display on the chart at the same time, try using only one waypoint in your route, the finish line. Then follow the instructions I posted clicking the buoys as "Turns" in reverse order with the starting line as the last "Turn". As I read it, that should work but I wouldn't be a lot on it until I had tried it.

Once you have a route entered, saved, and activated and are navigating by it, if the unit does anything to change your planned course, the lawyers are going to have a bonanza some day. Saying that you've arrived because you actually are at your destination is probably forgivable because circular routes aren't normally used. Directing you off a planned path would be as stupid and dangerous as putting magnets on chart chip doors.

 

[Stu Jackson]

I understand your frustration and the "issues" involved. In addition to Roger's idea, try NOT making the finish line waypoint the same as the start line. Why, because you may start at one end of the line and finish at the other, therefore, the start and finish line do NOT have to be the (exact) same waypoint. Also, consider making the first mark, and NOT the start line, as the first point on your route.

It may also get more complicated if your racing course has you going back to certain marks from different marks, which occurs when both upwind and reaching are parts of the race course.

FWIW, I've had our Garmin GPSMap 76 Cx for many years, and even during racing we never felt the need to do routes, since we were dealing with only say at the most five marks plus the S/F line. We used the "Recent Waypoints" feature by calling them up right before the race once we knew the course.

"Routes" seems better to work with only on rivers...

I circumnavigate Alameda Island here an awful lot, and the next time I'm out I'll try the route thingy and see what happens. Interesting thread.

Hey, Roger, if you disconnect, look at what you'd be missing. And I'm at here at work after a three week vacation. You CAN fit this into your cruising itinerary!

 

[Joe]

First.... You have the start and finish as the same name...... A. Try renaming them so the start and finish are two distinct waypoints. (they can be the same location, just different names.) The computer is confused.

Anyway, rather than drive yourself crazy over this, forget the route function for your purpose. Post the race instructions on the bulkhead and use the "go to" function to get you next heading. It helps to use the same name for the waypoints so they are next to each other in the que. Race Start, Race A, Race B, Race Finish etc....

 

[Bill Roosa]

Agree with Joe, name the points so they group on the list, get the signal from the committee boat and use the GO TO (select WPT) technique.
After reading the quick reference guide I can see that what you are doing is not going to be easy as there is no (or a very small distance) between the start and finish. No way to click in between to set an additional WPT to correct the direct line course.
Course your navigator will no doubt get the turn point in sight then have the opportunity to GO TO even before you make the turn. Eyeball nav till the turn, and then determine a new course to get you to the next turn.
A purest would get out his (gasp) map (that paper thing with all the pretty colors) and draw a (gasp) line from the start to the first turns and then (gasp) measure the courses. After writing those down for all the possibilities he would use that black round thing that turns that is right in front of the helm to get to the point (it used to be called a compass I think).
It is not like you are doing a 500 mile run and have to correct course over several days using sextant and DR is it?

 

[Bill Roosa]

Seriously folks, is GPS really that critical to getting to the turn points? Are we that lame at navigation? I find that over short (<10 mile) legs I can just eyeball the course using my finger and the map compass rose and only have a 1/4 mile or so of error. Course 3-4 miles out you can see the destination and correct course so you are never that far off the lumber line. Not that you can ever follow that line in a sail boat anyway.
I also find that doing this way leads to an understanding of how the tide and wind blow me off course so I can make even better estimates over time. Try getting that kind of knowledge from your GPS.

 

[yardwork43]

Thanks Rodger, Stu and Joe. I have tried different names for the start and finish. This had no effect in correcting the problem. I have dropped the start waypoint and used the next way point as the first way point in the route. This seems to work ok if I start the route after I have passed the start line which is also the finish and that there are no other way points closer to me than the now first point in the route. If there is another way point that is closer, the gps sends me to that mark. It's just crazy.

Your right in that the only way I can use the gps is in the navigate to mode, one way point at a time. As I am approaching the turn in front of me, I set up the next mark with navigate to. This will at least help me set my angle around the mark. But in a gust and short handed, it's one more thing to do. But thats sailing.....Love it.