 c0c0c0c0c0c0 is the color of my soul.
join:2004-12-20
Lexington, OK | Automobile GPS mapping questions Hello, I am thinking about buying a standalone automotive GPS device and the websites of the three majors are not clear on this one feature which would be what I would most want to use it for. I want to be able to map out my destinations at home on my PC and upload them to the GPS for navigatoin. I do see that some models have USB connections, but that is usually used to update maps/firmware. I am looking at the higher end models that have "lifetime" map and traffic, so if you have any devices that have that ability can you give me the model numbers and how well the software works? Good, bad and ugly? Thanks.
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 GeekNJPremium
join:2000-09-23
Waldwick, NJ | I'm most familiar with Garmin's but generally they all act the same. You have waypoints which identify places or destinations. You select that you want to go to a waypoint and the device calculates the route. You don't normally create a route on the computer, upload it to the GPS, and tell it to take that route. Especially because the route isn't factoring in traffic which you might be receiving realtime if your device and area you are in services it.
Now I'm not sure if you're asking, but you want to use your home computer to identify the various waypoints and upload the waypoints to your GPS and then have it route to the various waypoints vs the pre-determined route (roads, turns, etc) that you did on your PC? If so, that is definitely how a can Garmin work. Garmin has PC based software (Mapsource or Basecamp) that allow you to find and create waypoints and then upload those to your GPS. You can also do it with other plug-ins that work with a Garmin. As an example of the latter, I think Google Maps can send the waypoints from your browser to your GPS, connected via USB.
As far as I know with a Garmin, any of the Nuvi models can do what I described above.
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c0c0c0c0c0c0 is the color of my soul.
join:2004-12-20
Lexington, OK | Thanks! My goal is to be able to set up routes for appointments for my on the side pc work, so I can take an address a user has put in a self created ticket and copy that into the GPS device and then allow it to route everything out for me. Multiple waypoints is key, however the way I get from one point to another can be dynamic.
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GeekNJPremium
join:2000-09-23
Waldwick, NJ | Yeah, you care about waypoints and every GPS would support entering in an address directly in the device which takes just a moment. I know Garmin has the PC based software but not familiar with the others.
Also, be aware that not every GPS supports multi-point routing. That means they might not support entering in multiple points in a single route. You can always route to the next waypoint (appointment), but if you wanted to enter in 3 at one time in a single route, which might just be a nice to have vs a real need, check that it is supported. As an example, look at »gpstracklog.com/compare/garmin-n···on-chart in the column on multi-point routing.
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 SoonerAlPremium,MVM
join:2002-07-23
Norman, OK
kudos:5
1 edit | reply to c0c0c0
Google Maps allow you to transfer data points to many GPS devices. Here is the help page from Google that talks about that.
»maps.google.com/support/bin/answ···er=75505
I use this feature to download data points to my Garmin Nuvi via a USB connection.
For example I simply typed in a street address into Google Maps and selected the Send feature then GPS. If I had my GPS connected I would download the data point for the address to my GPS. It does not have to be a business address. Any address works.
Also, with my Garmin, I did not need to install any connector software. Windows 7 and Google Maps found the device when I plugged it in with the USB cable. As always YMMV depending on your device.
Garmin, at least with my Nuvi, call waypoints 'via points'. You simply tell the device to go somewhere by address or whatever and if you already have an active destination it will ask you if you want to either change the final destination or use the entry as a via point. You can add, as far as I know, as many via points to a route as you want. The device automatically orders the points as far as to which one is the first one, second, etc...until you have the final destination point.
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c0c0c0c0c0c0 is the color of my soul.
join:2004-12-20
Lexington, OK | Perfect! Thanks! |
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| Be aware that not all Garmin nüvi models support entering waypoints or routes from the computer. The low end models don't. On the ones that do support this you can use Google Maps or Google Earth as an alternative to the Garmin software. |
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| reply to c0c0c0
I have a Garmin Nuvi 1490 and I can send routs and waypoints to it using Google Maps.
It appears Bing Maps may also work but have not tried it with my GPS.
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