Basecamp Zumo XT compatibility

[john12566]

Just starting to learn to setup/use my new Zumo XT. Have purchased third party snowmobile trails software and installed it. I have been successful in creating a route using Basecamp and uploading it into my Zumo XT. The learning curve is a little steep for me (not a super expert on this type stuff) but I think I'm getting there.

I talked with Garmin yesterday with some basic questions and they said "by the way, the Zumo XT and Basecamp aren't really compatible" yet I see people online talking about their use of this combination.
I would like to continue to use this combo.
My question is basic: Are Basecamp and the Zumo XT compatible?

[twowheelstom]

My question is basic: Are Basecamp and the Zumo XT compatible?

for me, my Basecamp on windows 11 PC and Zumo XT are compatible, what I do is use Basecamp on the PC to create waypoints and routes, then in Basecamp go on File, Export, then export the selection to a folder on my PC , then connect the XT to my PC, and using windows 11 file explorer, copy and paste that folder to a SD card on the XT, this ends my Basecamp involvement and I can close Basecamp, then on the XT, when unplugged from my PC, I can use XT to Import selected parts or ALL the waypoints or routes on the SD into XT Internal Memory, I can leave those waypoints/routes on the SD card and just use XT Import them into Internal Memory whenever I need them. the reason I do this on the SD card is for organization and structure, I could also use Basecamp on the PC to direly install my Basecamp routes and waypoints directly to the XT when it's commected to PC, but when I do it that method, it doesn't go onto the SD card, and I prefer to have it on the SD card so I can see what's on there using windows 11 File Explorer, I suppose I do it the hard way, but I prefer to see things structured and organized, because using Basecamp to transfer waypoints and routes to my XT, I can't see what's going on and where things are at. with SD card method, at least I feel more organized lol , I'm probably not that organized, but for me, whichever method you prefer, Basecamp and the XT are indeed compatible.

[lkraus]

Basecamp has always worked with my XT, Express uses the XT to let me download maps to my PC for use in Basecamp without the XT connected, and the XT is not on the Garmin Basecamp "incompatible" list.

The Garmin rep may have been thinking of the XT2, which works with Basecamp, but which Garmin chose not to support, and thus deemed "incompatible". Express will not use the XT2 to validate a map-to-computer download.

[jfheath]

I talked with Garmin yesterday with some basic questions and they said "by the way, the Zumo XT and Basecamp aren't really compatible" yet I see people online talking about their use of this combination.
I would like to continue to use this combo.
My question is basic: Are Basecamp and the Zumo XT compatible?

Welcome to the forum John -@john12566

The correct answer is what Garmin told you. There are things that the XT can do which Basecamp cannot cater for.
And the XT introduced a system called 'Explore' - which in my opinion is something that it can well do without.

But many of us use Basecamp for planning routes specifically for the XT and it works perfectly well.

Very useful link here concerning Basecamp and the XT viewtopic.php?t=1464


Also download the attached pdf file on this page - I think you will find it more useful to start off with.
Although aimed at all Zumos, I had in mind the XT and Basecamp when I wrote it.

Navigating with a Zumo

[danham]

Good advice so far from forum experts. I'd just add that Garmin has been making "not compatible" noises about Basecamp for some years now. They said it about my old zumo 660 and other than a few quirks it worked fine. It works even better with my XT.

-dan

[jfheath]

Good advice so far from forum experts. I'd just add that Garmin has been making "not compatible" noises about Basecamp for some years now. They said it about my old zumo 660 and other than a few quirks it worked fine. It works even better with my XT.

I think that a better phrase would be not 100% compatible. The 660 doesn't know about the use of shaping points and via points in a route. It used Via points, but they are not as we now know them. So the 660 and Basecamp are not compatible in that repsect.

The XT is designed to use the Explore app for route planning and employs the use of collections, and there are new routing profiles - Adventure levels 1-4, which Basecamp cannot provide. So yes - BC and the XT are not 100% compatible. But the XT will still accept gpx files created on Basecamp and other route planning software - and if it receives things that it doesn't understand, it has default settings of Motorcycle and Faster. And on the whole, BC routes work very well.

There are a couple of things to take care of to avoid the failure of a route in certain circumstances (RUT, changed route point names, and disappearing route points). But these are easy fixes. BC is still the software that I use for the XT1 and XT2.


---------------------

Anyone reading the above and wanting the detailed information of these issues - see the link below and the following pages.

app.php/ZXT-P100

[john12566]

jfheath said, " But the XT will still accept gpx files created on Basecamp..."

Are "GPX" files the type of files that the XT is automatically (ie, by default) making when i create a route in BC?

[jfheath]

jfheath said, " But the XT will still accept gpx files created on Basecamp..."
Are "GPX" files the type of files that the XT is automatically (ie, by default) making when i create a route in BC?

Yes. ish. It doesn't work like that, but the answer is positive.

• When you create a route on the in Basecamp, It creates the GPX file
• The GPX file is transferred to the Zumo and the XT understands it completely
• Unless there is a map change or an error, the XT uses the GPX route as it is. ****
• If you create a route using the Trip planner app on the XT screen, the XT creates its own GPX file which Basecamp can read.

Most route planning software will use GPX files so that a route or track in one program can be loaded into another program, app, or device.

**** That statement isn't quite true because I think that the XT tries to make sense of gpx files that come from other route planner software. Because maps in other software are slightly different, the route points end up being slightly misplaced on Garmin's maps.

I think (I don't know this as a fact) that the XT looks at each route point, and looks on its own map database for a known point nearby. It may then use its own point with its own name. The result of this is that the XT appears to rename your Basecamp points, but it ensures that the point is plotted correctly on a road.

A gpx file can contain all sorts if information.

Waypoints - defined by Basecamp as saved locations lat, long, name, address, phone etc.

Tracks which are a series of points which can be joined with short straight lines to represent a line on a map. Tracks can be created by you on Basecamp or they can be a record of where you have ridden - the XT can record one as you ride.

Routes which are simply a sequence of route points which the XT must pass through. So a 500 mile route could consist of just 2 route points - a start and an end; or (say) 4 route points - start, end, and a couple of locations that you want to pass through. In these cases, it is up to the XT to calculate the best roads to take between the route points. If you want to ride particular roads, then you will need more route points to pin it down.

When Basecamp prepares a route it adds hundreds of invisible route points. I call them ghost points. These are plotted close together so that the XT knows exactly which roads you plotted. The XT understands these points and it doesn't bother calculating its own route. It can draw the one that Basecamp created. Exactly.

But if the XT has to recalculate the route - eg if you have to stop for fuel, or take a diversion, then the route is recalculated and the Basecamp line is lost. You can turn off automatic recalculation on the XT to prevent this.

Or you can use Basecamp to create a track version of your route. The XT can display a track and a route at the same time. Tracks do not alter. So if the route is recalculated, the track remains in place so you can see where your original Basecamp route was drawn.

GPX files can be used to send routes and tracks to other software. I keep all if my old track logs, recorded by the Zumo in a program called MemoryMap. It displays tracks accurately plotted on high resolution Uk ordnance survey maps at a scale of 1:25,000 (2.5 inches to a mile) - typically used by walkers.

Some programs use a different format. eg KML. Basecamp can also create KML files from your gox files and these can be loaded into Google earth. In there you can 'fly' the track 3D rendered satellite imagery.

Sorry, I seem to have been rambling on a bit !

[Rofor]

@jfheath

The XT is designed to use the Explore app for route planning...

Hmmm, are you really(!) sure about this? Garmin itself says, the Zumo XT IS NOT compatible with the Explore app!

I discussed this on a austrian motorbike fair with a spokesman of Garmin Germany - he told me, that the Zumo XT is not compatible with the Explore app, because there is a rudimentary version of the Explore app build into the firmware of the Zumo XT. The Zumo XT is only meant to work with the web-based version of Explore. It can't(!) communicated directly with the Explore app, all communication is done via the Garmin Drive app!

So, in real, when working with the Explore app, the changes done in the Explore app are send to the web-based version of Explore and from there to the Drive app, if the app is connected to the Zumo XT and the Zumo XT is active - the fact, that you can/should(?) activate the 'Explore' connection in the Garmin Drive app is also a proof for that...

@john12566 - i think, the guy who's talked to you just confused Zumo XT and Zumo XT2...

[jfheath]

@jfheath

The XT is designed to use the Explore app for route planning...

Hmmm, are you really(!) sure about this? Garmin itself says, the Zumo XT IS NOT compatible with the Explore app!

...snip

@john12566 - i think, the guy who's talked to you just confused Zumo XT and Zumo XT2...

No I didn't confuse the XT1 and the XT2 ! What you said is correct - but I didn't say anything different. I just added to the confusion - I was referring to the phone Explore App for route planning !! I should have made that clear.

The Garmin statement says that it is not compatible with the Smartphone Explore App. It doesn't mean that it is not compatible with the Explore system. I seem to remember that early versions of the XT software said that it was not compatible with the Explore App. Striclty speaikng that is correct, but since the use the term Explore App for the Explore feature on the XT2, the Website, the explore app on the phone or ipad and they the term is often abbreviated to just 'Explore' which can be confused with the Explore system and the Explore databse - it is easy to see where the confusion comes from.

The XT has an Explore interface installed and it can communicate with the Explore database using the Drive App as an intermediary.

The Explore App on the phone or on the website at explore.garmin.com are intended for planning routes and creating waypoints. I do not consider it to be a brilliant route planner - it draws only straight lines for routes. It will hug the roads if you use courses. But once created on the app, the data is stored in the Explore systems database in you account at explore.garmin.com. Once there it is sent to your drive app over the intenet, and the drive app relays it to the XT1 by Bluetooth. The plotted route that was created using straight lines is converted into an end to end route that behaves like a trip that has been created from a track - and it will give turn by turn directions. There are no wroute points in these routes - whether you created waypoints or not. The waypoints that you created will appear on the map, but they do not form part of the route. They just sit there looking pretty,

How the resulting route behaves in the XT1 - I investigated many moons ago and the results of that are posted here:

app.php/ZXT-P61 - see the pages before and after as well.

My research on this is a little out of date - the Explore App on the phone has changed considerably since I wrote those pages - but the basic operation is still there. 'Courses' were introduced slightly later -so these notes do not include courses. I was waiting for the web based pages at explore.garmin.com to catch up with the magnet / course tool - but it never did. Once I realised that I couldn't stop it from using footpaths, I stopped trying - although I think that is now possible.