ZUMO XT questions from newbie

[headstill]

Hey there,
I have purchased a sport touring bike that came with a hardwired Zumo XT...lucky me. This device is amazing, big learning curve but I am in for the work.. I have tried to find the answers with no luck on this forum or GOOGLE.
3 questions
1) What cameras are compatible with the XT? My action camera has bluetooth connection to my phone to see what it is recording, it would be really nice if the XT could to this as well.
2) Can or will WAZE ever be an option to load as an app? I like to be informed by my WAZE friends of all things in the road, running my cell and Zumo xt is not my optimal set up.
3) Any advise for a sport tourer with a Zumo XT, traveling across the country in a month or so? BTW I have a Packtalk slim connected as well.

thank you for your knowledge!

Steve

[Peobody]

1) What cameras are compatible with the XT? My action camera has bluetooth connection to my phone to see what it is recording, it would be really nice if the XT could to this as well.

The XT manual contains a section on "Wireless camera" but the link it contains only references the Garmin BC40. It may require trial and error to see if the camera you have will work. Here is the URL to the manual if you need it: https://www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp ... epage.html

2) Can or will WAZE ever be an option to load as an app? I like to be informed by my WAZE friends of all things in the road, running my cell and Zumo xt is not my optimal set up.

I doubt it. I wonder whether there will me any further development on the XT at all now that the XT2 is on the market.

3) Any advise for a sport tourer with a Zumo XT, traveling across the country in a month or so? BTW I have a Packtalk slim connected as well.

That is a HUGE question. Much too vague for me, a long distance 2-up tourer, to attempt to answer. One great thing about this forum is that there is a wide range of opinions about what to do and how to do it. A curse about this forum is that there is a wide range of opinions about what to do and how to do it. It can be challenging to figure out what will work best for you, but, knowing various options is invaluable IMHO.
Read a lot then ask specific questions. The 'Everything you need to know' post at the top of the forum is a place to start, especially if you will be using BaseCamp for route planning. Good luck getting a handle on it in just a month.

[BMurray99]

3) Any advise for a sport tourer with a Zumo XT, traveling across the country in a month or so? BTW I have a Packtalk slim connected as well.

If you have not used a Zumo XT much, read and study the information in the thread titled "Zumo XT and Basecamp - Everything You Need to Know" pinned at the top of this subforum. You may need to invest a lot study between now and the departure for your cross-country trip. Here are just a few thoughts to consider.

Get a micro-SD card for your XT and store your trip information in a GPX file on the card (in the proper subfolder location). That way, you can reload any trip information if you inadvertently delete it or alter on the XT.

Use both Tracks and Routes. Having a track as a backup to your route is really handy when the XT decides to recalculate a route in an unexpected manner.

Break your trip's route and track information into individual days, rather than one long trip.

If possible, I save a waypoint for every location (hotel) where I plan to stay throughout the trip. That way, if my day ride plan changes, I can tell the XT to simply get me from Point A to Point B (my next hotel) as quickly as possible.

For a cross country trip, I normally carry my laptop, which has a copy of Garmin's Basecamp software and my current database of routes, etc, just in case I need to alter the rides I planned.

[jfheath]

That is all excellent advice.

But if you are short of time then I can make some suggestions.

If using Basecamp, then create you essential route point with the Waypoint flag tool. Name them sensibly - I used a day number and a sequence or mileage number at the start eg 01 123 Coffee Stop. Day 1 123 miles.

Reason: Basecamp's waypoints get saved as 'Favourites' or 'Saved' . These can then be used much more easily to recreate the route or to get you out of trouble if you need to abandon the XT route and get to the next location. Waypoints are never renamed by the XT. Waypoints can be set as shaping points if you wish.

Clean out your gpx folder of unwanted files. Both in internal storage and the SD card. Keep CurrentTrackLog and Position. Then reboot you XT. Long press the power switch to turn it off completely. Then turn it in again.

Recalculate your route in Basecamp, and create a track of the route. Send everything from Basecamp for your tour to the SD card. The Xt cannot alter or delete files on the SD card. Neither can it wipe out files that have been previously transferred.

Find out how to display a track and a route on the same screen. This is easier if you have not enabled Explore on your XT. The method of getting rid of Explore after setting it up, that I describe in 'Everything you need to know'. no longer works. They changed something.
Edit - I have now modified it to a method that does work

Make sure that you can import your Waypoints into Favourites or Saved. If it cant find them, create a Favourite on the screen, save it and then try again. Or send one waypoint from Basecamp to internal storage. Reason - if there isn't a location saved in internal storage, the XT doesn't look on the SD card for any more.

You have two choices for routing regarding auto recalculation. On or Off. If you turn it off, then if you deviate from the route the satnav will go quiet and not issue any navigation instructions until you rejoin it. If it is turned on, then it will calculate a route to the next route point. But under some circumstances it seems to insist on taking you back to where you parted from the route.

In all situations, if your track is displayed and you start getting odd behaviour, follow the track.

Keep Via Points to a minimum. Just the locations you must pass through. Never put them at the places you may not visit. And never put them at the place you intend to get back onto the bike. eg never at the start, never at the coffee stop. Put them after, so that you pass through them once you have set off. Sometimes this may mean adding a shaping point so that you can be navigated to the exact location.

Use shaping points for the rest of the route

Reason is that you have to visit a via point. If you don't it will take you back to it. Sometimes, passing close by is not good enough.

Via Points = a route point that alerts on arrival. Shown as orange flag on XT map and trip list
Shaping Point = does not alert on arrival. Shown as a blue disc on the Xt map and trip list


Always with Basecamp, or any mapping software, zoom in on each point and make sure that it is accurately placed.

[colirv]

For a cross country trip, I normally carry my laptop, which has a copy of Garmin's Basecamp software and my current database of routes, etc, just in case I need to alter the rides I planned.

I used to do this, but now carry my tablet and mobile phone instead, with my current database on MyRouteApp. Less weight, plus it was a faff updating maps on both PC and laptop.

[jfheath]

For a cross country trip, I normally carry my laptop, which has a copy of Garmin's Basecamp software and my current database of routes, etc, just in case I need to alter the rides I planned.

I used to do this, but now carry my tablet and mobile phone instead, with my current database on MyRouteApp. Less weight, plus it was a faff updating maps on both PC and laptop.

See the section on MyRouteApp routes with the XT. Note that MRA does not create route points that are put in 'Stored' locations (favourites) on the XT, and they use the term 'waypoint' to mean any type of route point, unlike Garmin.

https://www.zumouserforums.co.uk/app.php/ZXT-P72