Suggested reading, please

[FrankB]

I dont think you miss something, if it works for you, then it's a good method.
I only wanted to share my way of working, hoping you find it usefull.

[jfheath]

I'll add a bit more.

The XT has many different ways of using it to navigate. Most of them are different from the way in which the 660 operates.
Different people use different methods - it doesn't mean that there is a 'best' way. But there are ways that work better for some people than they do for others. Listen, understand and decide - that would work for me; that method is no good for what I want.

You will be used to the 660s method of navigation. It doesn't make the distinction between Via Points and Shaping points - which are a significant changes that were introduced after the 660 was abandoned. I still miss my 660. But in fact the XT can be made to behave in a similar way to the 660 if you wish.

The XT document to which you refer started its life by copying and pasting the first few sections from a previous, more detailed version for the Zumo 590 - which I wrote when I first moved from the 660 to a 590, and the 590 really frustrated me.

Drop me a Private Message with an email address if you want the pdf of the more detailed 590 version. I think that most of the first two chapters are entirely relevant to the creation or routes in Basecamp for the XT, but I'll skim through it to check, and remove the stuff which is different for the XT.

Some of it you will recognise, but it takes you by the hand and systematically leads you through the key bits of information that you need in order to make the step from the 660 to these new devices which use the Trip Planner App.

SD card - Thats a perfectly good solution and removes some of the issuesthat are related to transferring data from Basecamp (like route point names beign changed). But it introduces other features - I hesitate to use the term 'bugs' - at least for a second or two. When you get the device in your hand and you have loaded routes tracks and Waypoint onto your SD card, I'll tell you what they are and how to get over them.

[TripleThreat719]

@jfheath has a great solution as well. All depends on what you prefer and what is most common for your riding partners... I prefer tracks over routes because much of what I do involves off-road sections that a route will not allow because it is on non-navigable paths...

Preference for Wireless Transfers

• I use a Mac, and because the Zumo XT is an Android Device, reliably connecting it to a Mac so that Basecamp sees it in order to transfer files is a bit of a dance. And I don't have to drag a cable or computer around with me on rides.

• The little rubber "doors" that cover both the SD Card Slot and the Mini USB Connection are prone to breaking with repeated use, thus opening up the possibility of water ingress, which I frequently encounter on dual sport rides.

Preference for Explore and Tracks

As previously stated, I often ride Dual Sport events that involve off-road sections. Often times, the creators of these off-road sections will utilize waypoints with custom icons to help identify certain trail features like Water Crossings, Rail Road Crossings, Cliffs, Gas Stops, Camp Sites, etc. Previous Garmin devices allowed these custom icons to transfer to the device when a GPX file was sent and they were embedded in the "track" that contained them. Not so with the XT. By default the XT separates these Waypoints from the track and turns all of those custom icons into a generic green square with a heart in it. You can't tell, simply by looking at the screen, what trail feature is being identified if all of the icons are the same. Explore allows for the use of all of these custom icons that are held within the "collection". When the collection is visible on the screen, all of the waypoints, with their custom icons, are also displayed on the screen (again, all or none).

I have my own frustrations with Explore and collections. I'd like to be able to display one track at a time, with all of the waypoints on that track also displayed, but that isn't possible with Collections - It's either all on, or all off. I could solve this by putting every individual track (and the associated waypoints) in its own collection, i.e. "RRS Day 1 AM", "RRS Day 1 PM", "RRS Day 2 AM", "RRS Day 2 PM". Typically that isn't how GPX files for these events come to you. They typically come as a GPX file for the Event i.e. "RRS 2023", with all of the tracks for the entire event contained within one GPX file and the tracks are named "RRS Day 1 AM", etc... Since the waypoints are no longer connected to a specific track, it becomes very labor intensive to separate all of that stuff out into separate collections. As a result, I put up with the fact that "All Tracks" and "All Waypoints" are visible when the collection is visible. I change the color of each track to something unique so that I can keep them straight on screen (especially if they cross each other).

As mentioned, read and digest all of the unique "features" of the XT and decide which process works best for the way you ride, and the way you need the GPS to behave. The beautiful thing is, you have a lot of options to consider. It's an incredibly powerful navigation tool, that likely contains a process that can work for you, it's just a matter of understanding how it works and what aligns to your preferences.

[colirv]

My simple rule is to turn off the XT's recalculation altogether. If I make a wrong turn, or have to detour, I simply zoom out and decide on the best way to rejoin my route. That way I don't have to bother with tracks, just routes.

[jfheath]

@TripleThreat719 You probably already know, but just in case - On the Garmin Explore website tool (I don't know about the handheld apps), you can select mulitiple routes and points and assign them to one or more categories. The changes are synched to the XT in slightly slower than real time.

It is still a pain for the situation that you describe, but it might make it a bit easier.

[danham]

My simple rule is to turn off the XT's recalculation altogether. If I make a wrong turn, or have to detour, I simply zoom out and decide on the best way to rejoin my route. That way I don't have to bother with tracks, just routes.

On my 660, I set it to ask first. That way if I am doing A to B (as opposed to pre-planned) it's easy to let it do the heavy lifting. But on pre-planned routes I almost always say no. What I like about the XT (or will, as soon as it arrives) is that I can display the track along with the route and at a glance see what the best move is.

-dan

[chris7444]

Wow. I just discovered this forum and this Great thread! I wanted to learn how I could display both a track and a route on the map at the same time, which is the idea that comes to mind when re-inventing the "peabody" wheel. But I learned a lot more. I think both the SD car and wireless method to import stuff in the GPS can be useful depending on the environment. When designing/testing my routes/trips at home with Basecamp I am glad to know I can now operate my own workflow fully wireless. But before I hit the road for a long journey I will put everything on the SD card. I like to be fully offline when travelling especially when abroad . I will also try the approach proposed by triplethreat (convert a track into a route) and see for myself how it works.
Thank you