Downloading Routes to Nuvi 500

wanderlust66 · 02-07-2010, 12:11 PM

New guy here with a question When I try to download a route from map quest to my Nuvi 500 I just get the message - Garmin Communicator Plugin is NOT detected.
Please install the Garmin Communicator plugin and try again.

When I go to the download page I get this message -

plugin status

Communicator successfully installed! You have the current version.

So it looks to me like I have the plug in installed but I still can't download. Anyone with any ideas to help me out? Thanks in advance.

HumVee · 02-07-2010, 5:37 PM

wanderlust66, this is a known issue, and has been reported on this thread:

Mapquest to zumo 550 Failing-Known Issue?

I know that you're new, and so not familiar with all the features of the forum. There's a search feature at the top-right of the page. Often times, you can out a lot of information about your question by just searching.

That said, yes - there is a problem with MapQuest downloads to Garmin GPS units right now. I've been in contact with both MapQuest and Garmin support. Garmin believes that MapQuest has not updated their internal code to support the latest Garmin Communicator Plugin versions. MapQuest is looking into it. Hopefully, they will resolve the situation soon (but it's been weeks)....

wanderlust66 · 02-07-2010, 6:17 PM

thanks for the reply humvee I did try to search but used nuvi not zumo so it didn't hit. so nearly a year and no resolution? that is great customer support huh? so are there any other map routing sites that work for my nuvi 500? i did a whole motorcycle trip to california from wis on the touch screen last summer.....very slow process. would love to be able to download. thanks

HumVee · 02-07-2010, 7:19 PM

It hasn't been a year, but it may have been months. The last time I personally used MapQuest to download routes was the end of the summer. The answer to your second part is that you can use Google Maps coupled with TakItWithMe. You have to save your route to Google MyMaps, then paste the link into TakItWithMe. It's a kludgy way to do it compared to being able to do it straight from one mapping solution like MapQuest. Frankly, I'm baffled as to why Google doesn't have route download support for Google Maps yet. MapQuest has had it for years....

Also, there's the official Garmin solution: MapSource. There's ways to install it even if you don't have a map CD/DVD - but then it's only really useful for managing waypoints, routes & tracks. To effectively create new routes, you need to have a City Navigator road map loaded. One of the many reasons I choose to buy my Garmin maps on CD/DVD instead of buying the preloaded cards or purchasing the downloads.

wanderlust66 · 02-08-2010, 1:06 PM

Thanks HumVee - I'll give the Google takeitwith me a shot .... snowing here in WI not much else to do!

wanderlust66 · 02-08-2010, 3:45 PM

Well tried the googe/takitwithme routine ..it seemed to load to my nuvi but when I tried to load it from data to routes all I get is can not load too many via points. Well this was a small route about 150 miles or so. I don't get it. Getting frustrated. Starting to think I may have to load everything by touch screen. That sucks!

HumVee · 02-08-2010, 3:57 PM

Can you send me the route file? I can PM you my personal e-mail address if you don't want to post it in the public forum....

wanderlust66 · 02-08-2010, 4:19 PM

PM me

HumVee · 02-09-2010, 2:41 PM

wanderlust66, the problem lies with the route file, not your GPS unit. I can't get it to load to my zumo 660 or my GPSMAP 76CSx either. I did download it as a GPX file, and when I get a chance I'll load it into MapSource and see if I can figure out what's going on.

HumVee · 02-09-2010, 8:14 PM

I opened up the Route file in MapSource, and immediately saw the problem. You have 571 waypoints in your Route! I believe (but am not 100% certain) that there is a 500 waypoint maximum. It seemed to me that a bunch of those waypoints were redundant - but I'm not certain. I don't have City Navigator North America NT loaded on my computer at work, and the base map is very sparse. I'll look into this further this evening. Also, I think that MapSource might have some tools to help clean up the route. I'll look into that as well.

By the way, how did you create this route? Is if from a Track that got converted to a Route? It doesn't seem likely to me that you manually created 571 waypoints manually in Google Maps!

wanderlust66 · 02-09-2010, 11:08 PM

I created it in my maps. I created two place marks one at the start and then one at the end. Then using the line tool drop down "draw a line along road" I connected start and finish. That is how I created the one you have. I have also just simply used get directions from one address to another ...but it also comes up with too many via points when I try to import it.

HumVee · 02-10-2010, 4:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wanderlust66

I created it in my maps. I created two place marks one at the start and then one at the end. Then using the line tool drop down "draw a line along road" I connected start and finish. That is how I created the one you have. I have also just simply used get directions from one address to another ...but it also comes up with too many via points when I try to import it.

wanderlust66, I've had kind of a scary experience trying to figure out your route issue with that route you created in "Google Maps/Google My Maps" and downloaded using TakItWithMe. My zumo 660 freaked out on me this evening, while I was trying to help you figure out this "too many waypoints in the route" issue. Each time I downloaded your route to my GPS, the zumo would run for about 10 seconds on boot, then shut down! I haven't figured out what in the heck could be wrong with the GPX file to make this happen (except that there may just be too many waypoints) - but it's consistent, and freaking me out that it's so easy to brick a GPS device! I will likely end up reporting this to Garmin Support so they can help figure out exactly what is going on, so they can fix it in a future firmware update.

I was able to restore my zumo back to stable condition by either running the latest firmware update again or deleting/renaming the "temp.gpx" file stored in the \Garmin\GPX folder in the GPS unit's main storage (not the external data card). Either method works for fixing the auto-shutdown issue, but I still don't know what it is exactly that causes a simple GPX file import to crash a GPS...other than just having too many waypoints. If I'm rambling, I apologize - it's late here & I'm beat. I'll try to keep it concise (well, as much as my naturally verbose self can manage).

Here's what I know:

Your route created in Google Maps, saved over to Google My Maps (or just created there in the first place), link pasted into TakItWithMe and then finally downloaded to a GPX route file does create a route file. [Have I mentioned just how much I dislike this kludgy method, and my fervent wish that Google would just update their interface to allow direct download of routes? I'm sure I have....]
This GPX file can not be uploaded into a nuvi 500 or a zumo 660 (and therefore, I'd hazard to guess - any nuvi or zumo).
The file can be downloaded into an older GPS device, like a GPSMAP 76CSx - but the route gets truncated. This gave me my first clue...there appears to be too many waypoints in the GPX file.
I opened up a copy of the route that I downloaded and saved as a GPX file (rather than trying again to directly download to either of my GPS units) in MapSource, and found that the route contained an astonishing 571 waypoints - far too many for what is essentially a very simple road route with a side jaunt.
It appears to me that either Google My Maps or TakItWithMe is dropping a ton of waypoints, as if they were tracks. GPS devices can handle thousands of track points, but they are far more restricted in dealing with waypoints.
From trial and error, I discovered that my Garmin devices don't like a route to contain more than 250 points (half of what I thought they could handle). In fact, my z660 still blows up with a route containing 250 points (but my 76CSx handled it fine). My z660 handled a route with 184 points with no problems (other than seeing a wall of flags on my map - heh, heh). I don't have the energy or patience to find out exactly how may waypoints my zumo (and by assumption, all zumo's and nuvi's) can handle right now. suffice it to say that it's at least 184, but not as many as 250.
I recreated your desired route, using my MapSource loaded with City Navigator North America 2010 NT, and downloaded a navigable route containing...3 waypoints. Yes - 3, Beginning, side jaunt (actually, the end of the side jaunt) and End. I've sent that GPX file to your personal e-mail, and would like you to try to load it and check it out to make sure I haven't missed anything.

In summary:

MapQuest had an fairly elegant and free method for Garmin (& other makers) GPS owners to create and download routes to their route capable GPS units. At least in Garmin's case, that functionality has been broken for many weeks, and there's no estimated time to resolution. I'll keep checking back when I remember.
Google Maps, while it has (IMHO) the most elegant mapping interface of any online mapping solution, on it's own will only send individual waypoints to Garmin GPS units. Big deal.
The Kludgy workaround for Google Maps users, TakItWithMe, appears to be generating an insane number of waypoints for rather simple routes - and thus is currently unusable (more testing is required when I have time and am less tired...or others can report their experiences with it).
MapSource with a road map (City navigator) loaded works fine, but has a moderate learning curve (not nearly as intuitive as Google Maps) and costs a significant amount of money.
As far as I know, there is no free roadmap mapping solution that can download routes to Garmin GPS units that is currently working as it ought. Does anyone know otherwise?

HumVee · 02-10-2010, 4:53 AM

Sorry wanderlust66, I meant to also add that I wrote up a tutorial on how to create Routes in MapSource, to help with the learning curve (since Garmin's manuals are pretty, but empty of much detail). I posted it here. There's also been several threads regarding how to install MapSource if you don't have a City Navigator DVD - in case you want to try downloading that GPX file I sent you down to your nuvi 500. Discussions on this subject can be found here, here and here.

wanderlust66 · 02-10-2010, 6:09 PM

HumVee - Wow thanks for all the time you are spending to help me out! I hope other are others following this tread and learning along with me! I was successful downloading Map Source and was able to unlock City Select while having my 550 plugged in! Now I will study Map Source with help from your tutorial and try to figure things out about impoting and exporting from there. I"m a little familiar from using it with my V but it's been a while. I'll be in touch I'm sure as I've never worked with gpx files before. Thanks again for all the time you've spent helping. I see on one of the links you sent me you ride motorcycle? What do you ride? I'm currently riding an 07 Triumph Tiger 1050.

HumVee · 02-10-2010, 7:20 PM

Your Triumph Tiger 1050 looks like a sweet ride! Styling wise, it looks like it shares a lot of the looks of the Suzuki Bandit, but with a more aggressive look that I appreciate. I ride a 2006 Honda VFR800A Interceptor. Honda classifies it as a sportbike, but I think it's more of a sport-touring hybrid. The more upright posture suits me much better for long rides than a pure sportbike's leaned over posture. I love the bike, but Honda has just come out with a VFR1200F model that is a technological powerhouse. It's got me drooling, and I've already scheduled a test ride for when it hits the showrooms next month. The powerplant is 50% higher displacement, but the engine is physically smaller and lighter than the V4 on my bike - and the center of gravity has been noticeably lowered. It has a slipper clutch, dual-transmision, and the list goes on.... Still, I'll probably do the prudent thing, and wait for a couple of years to pick up one on the used market.

GPX files are super-easy to deal with in MapSource! It's no different than dealing with a normal Garmin GDB file. Just go to File > Open (or press Ctrl + O on your keyboard) and navigate to wherever you saved the GPX file. It opens right up, and you can click on your WayPoints, Routes or Tracks tab and start working with the data. Sending the data down to your GPS unit is also super-easy. Just plug your device in, wait for your computer to recognize it, then click on the "Send to Device" icon on the menu bar (or go to Transfer > Send to Device..). Then select what kind of data you want to send from the currently loaded data set (Maps, Routes, Waypoints and/or Tracks) and press Okay. Your Garmin GPS should be able to see the data after you unplug it. If not, go to your Import Data menu and perform an import.

wanderlust66 · 02-11-2010, 2:48 PM

Well good news! I have been able to create routes in Map Source and import them into my 500! I was also able to import the file you sent me into Map Source and then download it into my 500! Now just need to spend some time learning the ins and outs of Map Source. It is still disappointing that we are unable to download directly from google or map quest into our Garmin units. Hopefully there will some fixes soon.

The VFR's have always been great rides! A friend of mine had an older 700 a 1996 I think. He always regrets selling it. The new 1200 looks to be quite a high tech bike, it will be fun to see one when they are out at the dealers. I do quite a bit of touring and I'm a Route 66 junkie. I've been riding it for 3 years now and I find the history and nostalgia more intriguing every time I ride it. Thanks again!

HumVee · 02-11-2010, 6:26 PM

That's great, wanderlust66! If you get stuck on something (or figure out something cool) please post!

I would love to ride Route 66 on a bike some day! I've always enjoyed the VFR's, starting way back with an '85 VFR500 (I'd never gotten so many tickets before or since that bike, and memories of hot coeds pressed up against my backside while canyon carving will forever remain cherished memories....)!

02-07-2010, 12:11 PM	#1
wanderlust66 Join Date: Feb 07 2010 Location: SW Wisconsin Posts: 10	Downloading Routes to Nuvi 500 New guy here with a question When I try to download a route from map quest to my Nuvi 500 I just get the message - Garmin Communicator Plugin is NOT detected. Please install the Garmin Communicator plugin and try again. When I go to the download page I get this message - plugin status Communicator successfully installed! You have the current version. So it looks to me like I have the plug in installed but I still can't download. Anyone with any ideas to help me out? Thanks in advance.

02-07-2010, 5:37 PM	#2
HumVee Join Date: May 11 2009 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 1,241	Re: Downloading Routes to Nuvi 500 wanderlust66, this is a known issue, and has been reported on this thread: Mapquest to zumo 550 Failing-Known Issue? I know that you're new, and so not familiar with all the features of the forum. There's a search feature at the top-right of the page. Often times, you can out a lot of information about your question by just searching. That said, yes - there is a problem with MapQuest downloads to Garmin GPS units right now. I've been in contact with both MapQuest and Garmin support. Garmin believes that MapQuest has not updated their internal code to support the latest Garmin Communicator Plugin versions. MapQuest is looking into it. Hopefully, they will resolve the situation soon (but it's been weeks)....

02-07-2010, 6:17 PM	#3
wanderlust66 Join Date: Feb 07 2010 Location: SW Wisconsin Posts: 10	Re: Downloading Routes to Nuvi 500 thanks for the reply humvee I did try to search but used nuvi not zumo so it didn't hit. so nearly a year and no resolution? that is great customer support huh? so are there any other map routing sites that work for my nuvi 500? i did a whole motorcycle trip to california from wis on the touch screen last summer.....very slow process. would love to be able to download. thanks

02-07-2010, 7:19 PM	#4
HumVee Join Date: May 11 2009 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 1,241	Re: Downloading Routes to Nuvi 500 It hasn't been a year, but it may have been months. The last time I personally used MapQuest to download routes was the end of the summer. The answer to your second part is that you can use Google Maps coupled with TakItWithMe. You have to save your route to Google MyMaps, then paste the link into TakItWithMe. It's a kludgy way to do it compared to being able to do it straight from one mapping solution like MapQuest. Frankly, I'm baffled as to why Google doesn't have route download support for Google Maps yet. MapQuest has had it for years.... Also, there's the official Garmin solution: MapSource. There's ways to install it even if you don't have a map CD/DVD - but then it's only really useful for managing waypoints, routes & tracks. To effectively create new routes, you need to have a City Navigator road map loaded. One of the many reasons I choose to buy my Garmin maps on CD/DVD instead of buying the preloaded cards or purchasing the downloads.

02-08-2010, 1:06 PM	#5
wanderlust66 Join Date: Feb 07 2010 Location: SW Wisconsin Posts: 10	Re: Downloading Routes to Nuvi 500 Thanks HumVee - I'll give the Google takeitwith me a shot .... snowing here in WI not much else to do!

02-08-2010, 3:45 PM	#6
wanderlust66 Join Date: Feb 07 2010 Location: SW Wisconsin Posts: 10	Re: Downloading Routes to Nuvi 500 Well tried the googe/takitwithme routine ..it seemed to load to my nuvi but when I tried to load it from data to routes all I get is can not load too many via points. Well this was a small route about 150 miles or so. I don't get it. Getting frustrated. Starting to think I may have to load everything by touch screen. That sucks!

02-08-2010, 3:57 PM	#7
HumVee Join Date: May 11 2009 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 1,241	Re: Downloading Routes to Nuvi 500 Can you send me the route file? I can PM you my personal e-mail address if you don't want to post it in the public forum....

02-08-2010, 4:19 PM	#8
wanderlust66 Join Date: Feb 07 2010 Location: SW Wisconsin Posts: 10	Re: Downloading Routes to Nuvi 500 PM me

02-09-2010, 2:41 PM	#9
HumVee Join Date: May 11 2009 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 1,241	Re: Downloading Routes to Nuvi 500 wanderlust66, the problem lies with the route file, not your GPS unit. I can't get it to load to my zumo 660 or my GPSMAP 76CSx either. I did download it as a GPX file, and when I get a chance I'll load it into MapSource and see if I can figure out what's going on.

02-09-2010, 8:14 PM	#10
HumVee Join Date: May 11 2009 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 1,241	Re: Downloading Routes to Nuvi 500 I opened up the Route file in MapSource, and immediately saw the problem. You have 571 waypoints in your Route! I believe (but am not 100% certain) that there is a 500 waypoint maximum. It seemed to me that a bunch of those waypoints were redundant - but I'm not certain. I don't have City Navigator North America NT loaded on my computer at work, and the base map is very sparse. I'll look into this further this evening. Also, I think that MapSource might have some tools to help clean up the route. I'll look into that as well. By the way, how did you create this route? Is if from a Track that got converted to a Route? It doesn't seem likely to me that you manually created 571 waypoints manually in Google Maps!

02-09-2010, 11:08 PM	#11
wanderlust66 Join Date: Feb 07 2010 Location: SW Wisconsin Posts: 10	Re: Downloading Routes to Nuvi 500 I created it in my maps. I created two place marks one at the start and then one at the end. Then using the line tool drop down "draw a line along road" I connected start and finish. That is how I created the one you have. I have also just simply used get directions from one address to another ...but it also comes up with too many via points when I try to import it.

02-10-2010, 4:53 AM	#13
HumVee Join Date: May 11 2009 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 1,241	Re: Downloading Routes to Nuvi 500 Sorry wanderlust66, I meant to also add that I wrote up a tutorial on how to create Routes in MapSource, to help with the learning curve (since Garmin's manuals are pretty, but empty of much detail). I posted it here. There's also been several threads regarding how to install MapSource if you don't have a City Navigator DVD - in case you want to try downloading that GPX file I sent you down to your nuvi 500. Discussions on this subject can be found here, here and here.

02-10-2010, 6:09 PM	#14
wanderlust66 Join Date: Feb 07 2010 Location: SW Wisconsin Posts: 10	Re: Downloading Routes to Nuvi 500 HumVee - Wow thanks for all the time you are spending to help me out! I hope other are others following this tread and learning along with me! I was successful downloading Map Source and was able to unlock City Select while having my 550 plugged in! Now I will study Map Source with help from your tutorial and try to figure things out about impoting and exporting from there. I"m a little familiar from using it with my V but it's been a while. I'll be in touch I'm sure as I've never worked with gpx files before. Thanks again for all the time you've spent helping. I see on one of the links you sent me you ride motorcycle? What do you ride? I'm currently riding an 07 Triumph Tiger 1050.

02-10-2010, 7:20 PM	#15
HumVee Join Date: May 11 2009 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 1,241	Re: Downloading Routes to Nuvi 500 Your Triumph Tiger 1050 looks like a sweet ride! Styling wise, it looks like it shares a lot of the looks of the Suzuki Bandit, but with a more aggressive look that I appreciate. I ride a 2006 Honda VFR800A Interceptor. Honda classifies it as a sportbike, but I think it's more of a sport-touring hybrid. The more upright posture suits me much better for long rides than a pure sportbike's leaned over posture. I love the bike, but Honda has just come out with a VFR1200F model that is a technological powerhouse. It's got me drooling, and I've already scheduled a test ride for when it hits the showrooms next month. The powerplant is 50% higher displacement, but the engine is physically smaller and lighter than the V4 on my bike - and the center of gravity has been noticeably lowered. It has a slipper clutch, dual-transmision, and the list goes on.... Still, I'll probably do the prudent thing, and wait for a couple of years to pick up one on the used market. GPX files are super-easy to deal with in MapSource! It's no different than dealing with a normal Garmin GDB file. Just go to File > Open (or press Ctrl + O on your keyboard) and navigate to wherever you saved the GPX file. It opens right up, and you can click on your WayPoints, Routes or Tracks tab and start working with the data. Sending the data down to your GPS unit is also super-easy. Just plug your device in, wait for your computer to recognize it, then click on the "Send to Device" icon on the menu bar (or go to Transfer > Send to Device..). Then select what kind of data you want to send from the currently loaded data set (Maps, Routes, Waypoints and/or Tracks) and press Okay. Your Garmin GPS should be able to see the data after you unplug it. If not, go to your Import Data menu and perform an import.

02-11-2010, 2:48 PM	#16
wanderlust66 Join Date: Feb 07 2010 Location: SW Wisconsin Posts: 10	Re: Downloading Routes to Nuvi 500 Well good news! I have been able to create routes in Map Source and import them into my 500! I was also able to import the file you sent me into Map Source and then download it into my 500! Now just need to spend some time learning the ins and outs of Map Source. It is still disappointing that we are unable to download directly from google or map quest into our Garmin units. Hopefully there will some fixes soon. The VFR's have always been great rides! A friend of mine had an older 700 a 1996 I think. He always regrets selling it. The new 1200 looks to be quite a high tech bike, it will be fun to see one when they are out at the dealers. I do quite a bit of touring and I'm a Route 66 junkie. I've been riding it for 3 years now and I find the history and nostalgia more intriguing every time I ride it. Thanks again!

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02-11-2010, 6:26 PM	#17
HumVee Join Date: May 11 2009 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 1,241	Re: Downloading Routes to Nuvi 500 That's great, wanderlust66! If you get stuck on something (or figure out something cool) please post! I would love to ride Route 66 on a bike some day! I've always enjoyed the VFR's, starting way back with an '85 VFR500 (I'd never gotten so many tickets before or since that bike, and memories of hot coeds pressed up against my backside while canyon carving will forever remain cherished memories....)!