Alternative to Basecamp

[Jackstraw]

I’m in the UK.  I have a Navigator VI and plotted a route with Basecamp, I found it a pain to use and when I rode the route found that some of my waypoints were slightly off the road I was travelling along and the nav wa determined that I go to each and every one

is there a good alternative to Basecamp which I can use together with my Nav VI

thanks

[Michaelr11]

BaseCamp works fairly well, but there is a pretty steep learning curve.

 

There are a bunch of videos online by folks who explain how to setup and prepare routes with BaseCamp.

 

The problem you described with your route has to do with Waypoints versus Shaping points. Your GPS wants to hit and stop at every waypoint. Shaping points are used to guide the route so that you go on the roads that are selected. Click on the route in BC and open the box with the route properties. Select all of the points in the route, except for the start and end points. Right click on all the other selected points and select do not announce, or what ever the exact wording is. This will change all these other points to shaping points. They won’t be announced when you ride the route and you can ride past one.  When you create your route, you should zoom in to each of the points and check them to see if they are on the road that you want. There is a tool that lets you move a point. Use it to drag the points back onto the right road.

[dirtrider]

1 hour ago, Jackstraw said:

I’m in the UK.  I have a Navigator VI and plotted a route with Basecamp, I found it a pain to use and when I rode the route found that some of my waypoints were slightly off the road I was travelling along and the nav wa determined that I go to each and every one

is there a good alternative to Basecamp which I can use together with my Nav VI

thanks

Afternoon  Jackstraw

 

There are some alternative routing programs but they all have their own issues & steep  learning curves. As Michael mentioned, Base Camp works, & in most cases works better than most  for all things in mapping out a route for a Garmin GPS.

 

First thing that you need to do is make darn sure that you are using the very same map in Base Camp that is in your GPS. If the maps don't match then you can end up with shaping  points (or way points)  off the road. 

 

Second, try to not use way points for general route making (save the way points for special places that you need to stop at or know about). Instead use shaping points (via points) instead of way points. 

 

Your mouse scroll wheel is your friend in making good solid routes as it allows you to quickly zoom in on the map when adding  shaping-points, or adding way-points. This is a must so you can actually get the points ON THE ROAD.

 

Also, be very careful on divided roads & on divided hi-ways that you get the shaping points ON  the correct side of the road (putting a point on the other, or wrong side, of a divided road will REALLY screw up a route).

 

Here is a decent tutorial that can help you master Base Camp. 

 

 https://www.newenglandriders.org/learn-basecamp/

[RandyShields]

Two other suggestions.  When you add your waypoints, scroll all the way in to the closest setting to make sure you put them on the road.  That will alleviate you having to deal with them when you pass them and they don't disappear because they are 500 yards in the nearest field.

 

The other tool is the "Skip" function.  If you don't eliminate the waypoint when you pass it, for whatever reason, go to the magic of the wonder wheel, rotate through your menu, to the list of options and scroll down to the bottom.  On the page with Home at the top, you will see "skip" all the way at the bottom. Toggle on that and you will magically be released from that waypoint, as the program now routes you to the next.  

 

That said, the advice above about shaping points vs. waypoints is the best way to avoid your headaches.

 

One other suggestion, although it is a bit of heresy -- you can more easily set your basic routes on Google Maps.  Then use it to translate to Basecamp so you can get your turn by turn directions.  Google isn't as detailed and specific as Basecamp for longer routes with lots of turns (e.g., backroad sprints through the mountains), but it is pretty good for  general routing.

 

[Rider1260]

2 hours ago, Michaelr11 said:

Click on the route in BC and open the box with the route properties. Select all of the points in the route, except for the start and end points. Right click on all the other selected points and select do not announce, or what ever the exact wording is. This will change all these other points to shaping points

OMG Thanks so much for this bit of info !!!!!! was the missing piece of the basecamp puzzle for me !!!!!!!

[RandyShields]

38 minutes ago, Rider1260 said:

OMG Thanks so much for this bit of info !!!!!! was the missing piece of the basecamp puzzle for me !!!!!!!

The other benefit of using shaping points -- they don't count to the total waypoint limit of a Nav V (maybe a Nav VI) so, the more you use, the less potential of having your route split into two parts because you went over the waypoint limit!

[lkraus]

Go here: https://www.st-owners.com/forums/threads/zumo-trip-planner-basecamp-what-goes-wrong-and-why.158247/ and download the PDF in the first post.  (You'll need to register, but it's free and safe.) It is the very best guide I've found for building routes in Basecamp that actually work.  It's written  for the Garmin 590/595, but your Navigator works the same way.  It also contains links to several good YouTube videos that demonstrate the principles in the text.  The videos cannot be found by searching YouTube.  

 

 

 

 

[lkraus]

There is a fairly easy way to verify that you've placed your via points correctly.

Open the route, and on the Properties tab, check the box to "Center Map."

Select each point on the list, and BaseCamp will zoom in on the point and highlight it so you can see the exact placement.  This saves a lot of manual zooming and panning around.

 

 

 

 

If you use an earlier suggestion to make all the intermediate points shaping points so that they are more easily skipped, be sure you know how to edit the route on the Navigator. If you go off-route and wish to resume it, you'll want something other the end point to aim for when re-starting the route.  If you know how to convert a shaping point to a via point on the GPS, you can salvage most of the remaining route.

[lkraus]

On 7/19/2020 at 7:40 PM, lkraus said:

Go here: https://www.st-owners.com/forums/threads/zumo-trip-planner-basecamp-what-goes-wrong-and-why.158247/ and download the PDF in the first post.  (You'll need to register, but it's free and safe.) It is the very best guide I've found for building routes in Basecamp that actually work.  It's written  for the Garmin 590/595, but your Navigator works the same way.  It also contains links to several good YouTube videos that demonstrate the principles in the text.  The videos cannot be found by searching YouTube.  

That link no longer works. An updated guide, aimed at the Zumo 590/595 (and Navigator V and VI) can be viewed here:https://issuu.com/jfheath/docs/zumo_590_595_basecamp_v4. 

 

The author, John Heath, has also written a version for the Zumo XT, with emphasis on differences from earlier models: https://issuu.com/jfheath/docs/zumo_xt_-_discovered_information_-_6_dec_2021  If you have an XT, both versions are worth your time.

[RogerC60]

+1 on this guide by John Heath. I struggled with Basecamp and my Nav V until I read and absorbed that guide.