STILL having issues w/ my Zumo XT not following the route

[Nick Carthew]

@Greenham said in STILL having issues w/ my Zumo XT not following the route:
I now understand the difference between planning and overlay maps.

I now only use HERE, for planning then compare my work/route with Tom Tom and OSM.

Great that you understand the difference between planning and overlay maps. This catches a lot of users out.

Comparing your route with TomTom and OSM is good practice as it can highlight alternative route options but it is only necessary if you’re going to share your route with TomTom or OSM users.

[Mzokk]

@Greenham From John Heaths excellent navigating with a Zumo Guide.

" MyRouteApp.
Very popular and provides a very good
solution. Possible issues for the Zūmo user :
Gpx v1.1
Track, Via Points and Shaping Points. No
Favourites. Zūmo has to calculate route - it
may end up being very different.
GPX v1.2
Track and Via Points. The plot of the route
is also transferred so the roads travelled are
identical to those plotted on the MRA map.
However, if the route is recalculated, it has
only the Via Points to work with. None of
the shaping points are transferred.
If you use this format, it is important not to
do anything that would make the Zūmo
recalculate the route.
Turn off Auto-Recalculate !
No Favourites are transferred to the Zūmo.

As stated above I use GPX1.1 and use lots of shaping points and display the track to ensure that my intended route and route as calculated by the XT match. The @ Martin-Wilcke method will also work well as long as you don't use recalculate to navigate back to the route.

Here is an example of a route (magenta line) and track (yellow line) I want the route to be the same as the track and travel along the B128 but because of the spacing of the shaping points and via points the Zumo XT "Faster Time" algorithm routes down the A28 and up the B45 which adds miles and time to the route. You can fix this in three ways

1. Tap the map on the unit (as shown) to add additional shaping ponts to match the track
2. Make sure as stated above that there is a waypoint on the B128 as you plan the route
3. Use GPX1.2 and make sure that you don't recalculate the route when you are on it by switching off automatic recalculation.

As with all things its a bit of a learning curve and you are doing the right thing by testing and using the unit before you are on a live tour. That is very important.

Also when planning your routes put the start some way up the road from where you are actually starting as this ensures that the unit passes through the start point and does not try to take you back to the start as you have missed passing through it by a few metres.

[Greenham]

@Mzokk
How do you get the track to display from the zumo?

I have several 1.2gpx routes currently loaded on my zumo, but don't see the option to display track.

[Mzokk]

@Martin-Wilcke No Martin I haven't yet tried the navigate route as Track so far. But I have been experimenting for the past 18 months this a phone and my Africa twin Android Auto with a view to relegating the Zumo to a back up. We are nearly there I think. Testing looks silly though

[Martin Wilcke]

@Greenham

When using GPX 1.2, avoiding recalculation is key as a recalc will affect not just the section to the next VIA but the complete route!
Unfortunately, skipping a VIA will force a recalculation. Most of the time, you will pass all VIAs as planned. If you need to skip a VIA for any reason, the only way I know (on an XT) is as mentioned above:

Stop navigating the current route, find your way back (that's where having the track displayed additional to the route can help), and if you get back on track (important!), start navigating your original route again - it will start from your current position.

Avoiding recalculation is the significant downside of using GPX 1.2. If this doesn't match your preferences, GPX 1.1 is probably a better choice.

[Martin Wilcke]

@Greenham

(picked from jfheath's excellent dokumentation)

[Martin Wilcke]

@Mzokk said in STILL having issues w/ my Zumo XT not following the route:

Testing looks silly though

This could be me!

I switched from Garmin to MRA NN a year ago and never looked back. If the new "route as track" feature works as expected, it's a killer.

In addition to the software, the device is also an issue. I tried a few smartphone solutions (it didn't convince me), then a Carpe Iter (too big) and I'm now with a DMD2 T665. Perfect. Yes, it's expensive, but "buy once, cry once", and you're immediately rid of all the annoying issues (e.g. power draining).

[Hans van de Ven MR.MRA]

@Greenham said in STILL having issues w/ my Zumo XT not following the route:

@Marinus-van-Deudekom
First thank you all who have tried to help me. It's slowly making sense thanks to you guys. I now understand the difference between planning and overlay maps.

I now only use HERE, for planning then compare my work/route with Tom Tom and OSM.

What is still unclear is exporting my route via 1.2gpx and I decide to skip a waypoint. All the following shaping points seem to be ignored and zumo defaults to the default routing method within the GPS (fastest, shortest etc) using the few waypoints that still haven't been passed/used.

Until I understand this behavior I'm lost.

Again I have recalculation off


The key seems to be between 1.1gpx vs 1.2gpx

Should I just be expecting via 1.1 instead of 1.2gpx which is what I have always used

Thas is because: the gpx 1.2, which is a route-track with via points. So no shaping points in the gpx file

[Marinus van Deudekom]

@Greenham of you're using a 1.2 and you want to skip a viapoint (there are no shaping points in a 1.2) navigate to the displayed track after the skipped viapoint and then press skip waypoint om your XT. It will then keep on the route
Have you found out how to display the track under the route?

[Martin Wilcke]

@Marinus-van-Deudekom said in STILL having issues w/ my Zumo XT not following the route:

then press skip waypoint om your XT. It will then keep on the route

I don't know what you mean with "keep on the route", but skipping a VIA will force a recalculation, which may lead to a different result.

[Marinus van Deudekom]

@Martin-Wilcke of you do that after the skipped viapoint but ON the route the XT will not recalculate and stay on the route. But make shure you do this exactly like I said

[Martin Wilcke]

@Marinus-van-Deudekom
OK - I learned something new!

[Giuliano Rescaldani]

@Greenham I use Zümo since 2019 and it is an excellent navigator, I also use MRA to plan my route: MRA is also an excellent planner. The problem is that Zümo totally ignores the shaping points! Should you deviate 1m from the planned route, it wants to "recalculate" and your shaping points are gone! I make the following steps:
-Plan through MRA.
-Save as GPX
-With a simple EXCEL VBA script, I remove all what is not a waypoint and I "convert" shape points in real waypoints.
-Load it into the Zümo.
-Let it calculate the route.
-Download the created route on my PC
-With a GPX visualizer, superimpose the route created with MRA and the route calculated by Zümo.
-Place additional waypoints to force the Zümo to follow the route I want.
-Repeat those steps until the route calculated by Zümo is what I want.
It is a quit elong process, but then you can drive with an excellent navigator that follows the route you like and not what he thinks is best!

[Greenham]

@Marinus-van-Deudekom

I was on the highlighted route a few miles from the skipped waypoint. I knew something was gonna go wrong when I did it and saw "calculating route"

I have not figured out (haven't looked much either) how to show a track when on a route.

[Greenham]

@Hans-van-de-Ven-MR-MRA

Ok I see the difference. With that being the case why would a person want to use 1.2?

[Hans van de Ven MR.MRA]

@Greenham

If they want to see only the via points (flags) on the screen. I personally always use gpx 1.2

[Marinus van Deudekom]

@Greenham of you have recalculating off the XT will not recalculate en of you miss a viapoint.
If you're past the viapoint you can press skip waypoint of you're ON the route the XT will keep you on the route without recalculating

[Mzokk]

@Greenham The Choice of Gpx1.1 or Gpx 1.2 is a personal one, there is no right or wrong answer. I still use Garmin Basecamp and MRA and use GPX1.1 with the track on the screen (Which provides similar functionality to GPX1.2 without route guidance its only a line on the map.) GPX 1.1 shows the shaping points (in Garmin naming waypoints in MRA naming) and via points which in Garmin are flags and you have to pass through them. Having these allows me to see the the points I've chosen to shape the route on the unit and allows flexibility to deviate from the route and get back to it without having to stop and reinitiate the route.

In the picture above the flags are via points and the blue dots are shaping points the yellow line is the track of the intended route enabled on the unit. The circled points are the areas that are off a bit. I might fix these or when I come to that part of the route I follow the track and the Garmin will usually recalculate along the track to the next shaping point. If you look at the picture above with my bike covered in screens I also keep the the skip waypoint button on the screen. This allows me to skip several shaping points to reduce the complexity of the route if I take too long over lunch have a puncture etc. In the example above there is a Motorway north of the intended route. If for some reason I have to shorten the route I can skip about 5-6 shaping points and the Garmin will route me along the Motorway. Also GPX 1.1 is the same as shown on the unit when route planning with Basecamp. I don't even know if I planned the route above on Basecamp or MRA.

The big thing is you don't need to leave the house to test all of this you can set up the routes you want to use and run them as simulations. Try rerouting, find out what the skip button does and how it affects the route etc. all from the comfort of your armchair. You will quickly find out what works for you. Good Luck.

[Hans ter Braak]

I end almost every ride with Garmin XT because the battery capacity of my (new) Samsung is insufficient for the entire trip, I also want to be able to call. Here map problems.

I also see the same problem as you.
The MRA route is almost always a fraction different from the route on the XT, despite using the Here map during MRA route development.
In order to make MRA and Garmin as similar as possible, I use a via point every 2 km, if possible.

Even then there will be minimal deviations.
An additional advantage with many via points is that, if you have to take a detour, you can also see when you are back on the original route.

It is what it is.
It only creates discussion in groups if the fellow riders think the route is a train track. But that's only when I'm front-rider.

[Martin Wilcke]

@Greenham said in STILL having issues w/ my Zumo XT not following the route:

Ok I see the difference. With that being the case why would a person want to use 1.2?

There are many different answers out there; here is mine:

It all comes down to whether you want to drive with auto-recalc on or not.

If activated (because it is convenient), you need GPX 1.1. You have all your shaping points at hand that help keep the shape of your intended route when it comes to a recalc. No worries about deviating, as your app/device will find the best way to continue. The downside: auto-recalc sounds good in theory but often struggles in reality. And ironically, the more shaping points you add, the worse it gets regarding recalc. My experiences.

If deactivated (because it's confusing or even irritating), GPX 1.2 might be the better choice. You eliminate all these shaping points that are just needed when calculating but not when navigating. You have a cleaner look and a pure focus on your via points. The downside: if you deviate, you have to find your way back on your own, and if you're going to get lost, you need a break to work out a new plan.

I suggest saving GPX 1.1 and GPX 1.2 on your Garmin; then, you can always try out which version you like better in which situation.