Zumo User Forums

Oop North John wrote: ↑Sat Aug 17, 2024 5:35 pm
The use of the track did help, but one problem is if you're doing an almost out and return, then working out which is the out, and which is the return bit can exercise the brain cells.

That and a route that crosses itself, which can also produce a nice colorful track stripe that offers no clue as to which way to go. I ended up "backwards" on one of these a few years ago and it cost me time and brain cells.

-dan

danham wrote: ↑Sun Aug 18, 2024 11:24 am That and a route that crosses itself, which can also produce a nice colorful track stripe that offers no clue as to which way to go. I ended up "backwards" on one of these a few years ago and it cost me time and brain cells.

Been there, done that! Fortunately, the sun position helped me to quickly realize that I was heading north when I thought I should be heading south. The brain cells then had to go to work. Riding safely, attentively, and defensively requires a lot of brain power, yet trying to figure out what is going on with a satnav requires so much more. Best not to try doing the latter while doing the former. I wonder how many times my pillion has heard "Honey, I'm stopping to figure out what is going on with the gps", or something similar but more colorful.

I still do a lot of sun navigation. Nothing serious - just get an indication that I am heading in roughly the correct direction.

But it is sometimes handy to have the compass heading displayed in one of the right hand trip data windows. Also - if a route is running - the distance to the next via point or to the end. Any increase in that value is a big warning flag that something is wrong

Having the driving map view set to "North Up" helps too. I've been doing that for awhile. I felt disoriented when it was set to "Track Up" but I thought that is how a GPS should be used so stuck with it for too long. I suspect that my years of navigating with paper maps has me conditioned to north up, but I also found that just following a line really screwed up my sense of direction. Admittedly, it is hard to force my brain to tell the rest of me to turn left when the route line goes right on the satnav when riding south. Other than that, North Up feels more comfortable.

@Peobody

Interesting.

When I moved from the Zumo 220 to the Zumo XT, I decided to have the map also set to North-Up. I was used to that from navigating in my Car.
In situations where you have to deviate from the (planned) route it helps a great deal to judge if the recalculated route makes sense. As we all know the XT needs to be checked!
For the turn-directions. They can be confusing at first. (You cant tell left from right in North-Up) I always follow the direction in the top left corner. Only when that is not clear, I start interpreting the map. You should note that I have no audio from the XT, so I check the top left corner regularly.

The map display can be switched quite easily from North-Up to Direction-Up and vice versa. So you could also stick to Direction-Up, and when it starts recalculating switch to North-Up to check the result. For safety: Dont do it while driving!

FrankB wrote: ↑Mon Aug 19, 2024 7:01 am You should note that I have no audio from the XT, so I check the top left corner regularly.

Me to. It annoys me that I can be looking at the top left corner showing a left turn and yet still turn right because that is the direction the route line goes. The brain is a funny thing. Backing my trailer down my driveway and into its parking spot used to be routine but a couple of weeks ago I simply could not do it. I ended up driving down and doing a u-turn in my backyard. If this is age related then getting old is indeed not for the faint of heart.

Edit: To clarify the visual, it is a 4x8 utility trailer towed by a Subaru Outback. Should be easy to back up.

Track Up is easiest if you just want to get to your destination.

North Up is better if you want to learn where you are in relation to other places.

I spent a week driving in a distant city using Track Up and left with no idea where I had been or even how to get out of town.

lkraus wrote: ↑Mon Aug 19, 2024 1:34 pm Track Up is easiest if you just want to get to your destination.

North Up is better if you want to learn where you are in relation to other places.

I spent a week driving in a distant city using Track Up and left with no idea where I had been or even how to get out of town.

The compass arrow that shows on some screens / views is a useful tool, which is why I often have the cardinal heading showing in the trip data side screen.

lkraus wrote: ↑Mon Aug 19, 2024 1:34 pm I spent a week driving in a distant city using Track Up and left with no idea where I had been or even how to get out of town.

I've had nights like those too !