rkendall

I am looking to buy my first GPS and the main function I need is the ability to save multi-stop routes or "trips" as some companies call them. It looks like the Garmin models only allow this on the 700 series on up and also limit it to 10 routes. Is this the best I am going to get or does anybody know of other models from other companies that have at least 20 (or unlimited) saved routes? Others have told me that many brands give an unlimited amount of saved trips based on memory limitations but they seem to provide little documentation on how many can be saved.

I have also been looking at the Ingram Micro V7 NAV740 because of the great reviews and it seems like they offer unlimited routes but I can't confirm it. Thanks in advance for any help.

-Richard

dav

I'm not familiar with other brands, but do not write off the Garmins too quickly.

I was dismayed by their "10 routes" until I read what that means.

It means 10 active, loaded into the GPS memory routes.

You can actually have unlimited routes on the SD cards, and they can be in the GPS. But, to USE them, you have to import them before you can select them.

Takes an extra 15 seconds.

This is on a nüvi 750.

Max

Welcome to the site Richard

If I understand correctly you're looking for the ability to do several waypoints in a single journey without having to do a ton of entry every time?

Depending what features you want in the unit and the size, the Nuvi's are good for this but I am not sure how many stops per route they allow. I can say that the Streetpilot 7200/7500 and 2720/30 do this very well. Though they do not have an external card, they do have a good bit of onboard memory. Just thinking if this is going into a big rig or something and isn't really going to be moving around vehicles too much, one of the other units might work better for you (oh, and cheaper too ).


I have a Zumo as well, and it works in the same way that the Nuvi 750 does and I like that it forces a bit of organization on me by having the data on an external card. The import function is sort of like saying 'enable' really, its not a timely procedure at all and with a 1gb card thats ALOT of routes.

I haven't heard anything regarding the gps you mentioned but I'll see what I can find out on it.

rkendall

Thanks for the help. It does say on the Garmin site that you can only "save" 10 routes. I think most Garmins below the 700 series only allow multi-point for the trip you are on and then it deletes itself when you arrive or cancel it.

It is a confusing option to understand and to me it seems like if a GPS does it at all, it should you allow you to save as many as the memory will allow. Perhaps other brands do but I think the Garmin 700 series does only allow 10 saved. I have read through 5-10 user guides that I downloaded from several GPS units and they generally briefly mention how to enter multi-points but don't mention how many (if any) can be saved. As a first time GPS user, it seems like such an easy thing from a programming perspective and a basic need for anybody on a sales route or anything.

Anyway, if anybody knows any that are unlimited, let me know.

Thanks,

Richard

dav

I'm not positive, but I think you are limited to 20 stops on a route with the nüvi 7xx.

Since I break my drives up that doesn't affect me. One route takes me from here to Wine Country in Northern California, another from there to Oregon.

But for a delivery driver, it could easily be limiting.

Although 20 stops until you have lunch, and then the next 20 as a new route doesn't seem like a big deal.

It is a limit, but not one I have found to be important.

texican

May I join this discussion as I also need a multiple stop routing GPS. As a salesman often I go into an unfamiliar town with a list of 6 to 12 calls. i have addresses but no idea where the locations are in respect to each other. I purchased a Magellen Rosdmate 2200T because it claims to have multiple stop routing. Before purchasing the 2200T I called magellen customer service (somewhere in India) and asked specifically if the 2200T would give multiple stop routing that would not have me crossing back and forth accross town. They said the unit would do it. My first trip to Kansas City, I entered 8 addresses and started out. The 2200T ran the customer list in the order I entered and had me crossing town 5 or 6 times. Stop #5 was around the corner from #1 but i had crossed town 3 times by then. When i complained to magellen, they said "You want optimum routing, the 2200T doesn't do that". After 14 months (2 months past warranty) the unit's internal battery died making the unit so slow it's unusable. Cost to repair $80 but no up-date on baddly out of date maps. The maps were over 2 years out of date when i got the unit. Thats another $80, then add shipping and handling. I can buy another unit for little more.

Is there an Automotive GPS with true multiple stop routing and a servicable(replaceable) internal battery?
Thanks

dav

I was just rereading your last post and think some clarification may be in order. The "saving" Garmin discusses above is not the same as how many routes you can have on your GPS.

"Saving" a route takes the trip you have just made, summarizes it, and places it in a separate file on your GPS.

This is basically a useless feature for most of us. If we want our tracks (past routes) we save them whole to the PC without summarizing them first.

If you do not "save" your route, the tracklog just keeps getting bigger and bigger until you run out of memory. That would take a looong time. And if you copy it off to your computer, you can break it down into as many partial logs as you want.

This functionality varies greatly between the nüvis and handhelds as I understand it, so do not apply this observation universally.

dav

texican, I replied in your intro post, too, but...

I would be happy to take some example addresses and run them through my nüvi 750 and let you know what it comes up with for an "optimized" route. Perhaps others here would do so for other units with that capability. Then you could really compare various units.

Again, the nüvi line does not have consumer replaceable batteries, and I do not know the cost to replace them. Since the unit is normally plugged into a cigarette lighter outlet, I don't know the expected lifespan of the batteries, either.

texican

thanks for the thoughtful reply. It's refreshing to contact someone who understands the question. The saved routes have little value to me also but that was as close to my problem as I saw. The Nuvi 750 may be what i seek but will try to be sure before purchasing. After my first rounds with magellen I should be able to ask better questions than the first time.
Thanks again.

texican

thanks for your thoughtful reply. The nuvi 750 may be the answer for multiple stop routing. My old Roadmate 2200T advertised multiple stops routing and would hold routes for several several stops but the routing had to be done before entering the addresses. If I knew where they were I wouldn't need the GPS so it made little sense. The battery question came from the 2200t also. After 14 months of always plugged in use the unit started running very slowly to the point of being useless. magellen said they would replace the 2 month out of warranty internal battery for $79 plus shipping and handling. Badly needed Map Upgrade was another $75. A approximately $175 I decided to skip it and try to find a better GPS. Maybe the Nuvi 750. Thanks again for the reply and help.

turn3

I'm also looking for a system that would EASILY allow me to add 15 to 20 stops a day. I currently use a Garmin nuivi 200 and it works great except adding all the stops every day is time consuming. It would be great to find a system that would either allow me to connect the unit to a pc to add stops or store all my stops on a memory card.

Andy

A search at Garmin's site found this.

In addition, nüvi 780 automatically sorts multiple destinations to provide an efficient route for errands, deliveries or sales calls.

That is the feature you are looking for Texican. You load up all your stops, it re-orders them to give you the best route.

Unfortunately on Garmin's site, you can't search by feature, so it was kind of random for me to find this.

rapriebe

If you have Garmin's MapSource you can enter of all the addresses in that as waypoints, save the entire file as a .gpx POI file and load that into the Nuvi with POI loader as a custom POI list. You can save each group of waypoints as a separate POI group with an identifying name for easy management, and as you make each stop, the closest POI from that stop will be the first one on the list. The only time that might not get you the most optimal route is if the driving route is very circuitous (i.e. crossing a body of water with limited bridge locations), as the distance shown on the unit is straight line. Most of the time this has proven to be a good way to hop around from stop to stop without driving too far out of the way. It isn't quite like a true multi stop routing feature, but it makes for a good workaround.

__________________
Rick

texican

Andy
Thanks for your efforts. I'm shopping for a Nuvi 750. Having been in sales and marketing for30 years i don't understand the rationale behind some company sites. They could be a great sales tool if set up logically.
Regards

Andy

Looks like the 750 does this also.

In addition, nüvi 750 automatically sorts multiple destinations to provide an efficient route for errands, deliveries or sales calls.

dav

I tried it this week-end, with very mixed (unhappy) results.

I created a list of addresses I wanted to visit in Mapsource, created the route I wanted to follow, then uploaded both the waypoints and route to my nüvi 750.

It created the route backward from how I wanted to do it. So I told it to manually re-order the route, put it in the order I wanted and saved it. When I told it to "GO", it tried to route me backward again.

I finally had to delete the route and enter it manually on the nüvi.

My problem was the 1st stop was the only time sensitive stop, so I probably really needed two routes. One to my 1st stop, then a second route optimized using the 1st stop as the beginning point.

The nüvi is not sophisticated enough for that level of optimization.

Andy

Just an FYI, the Nuvi 7xx, 8xx, and 5000 series all have this option of optimally re-ordering waypoints. As dav mentioned, not so optimally at times.

Personally I'd like have a current model GPS that allow you to upload a route from Mapsource and follow it exactly, without recalculating it first. The old 2610 did this. I never did figure out if the Zumo could do that.

bishop82

I'm new to GPS and I'm also trying to find a unit to perform multiple optimized stops. You mentioned something called MapSource and then said you finally had to enter it into the unit itself.

Am I to understand there is a program you can use to create your route without having to enter all of the addresses into the unit itself.

Does said program come with the Nuvi or is it purchased seperately?

I've got big stubby fingers and would find it maddening.

dav

Mapsource is a free download from Garmin, and allows building routes on the PC.

There are others, too (EasyGPS comes to mind), but MapSource is what I use most.

I find having GoogleEarth and MapSource running at the same time lets me set waypoints more quickly and precisely.

And yes, it is frustrating building the routes on the unit... but with the 4.3 inch screen units the buttons as shown on the screen are usually large enough not to pose a problem. Just takes a lot of button pushing.