Route planning update. Nav 5, MyRouteApp and Basecamp.

With 19 days left to go I thought it would be appropriate to post an update as to how the route planning was going. The truth is that the planning was pretty much done at the time that I booked the accommodation. Sure there are a few variables and side trips but how much planning do you need when you are following the coast. We’re going anticlockwise so keep the wet stuff on the right and you can’t go wrong.

What is worth mentioning as a record to those who have had similar experiences is the use of MyRoute-App, Garmin Basecamp and the BMW Navigator V. Much of this has been played out on various forums but I’ll try to summarise the outcome.

Much of what I do with the Nav is have it take me to my destination via the fastest route, a concept familiar with anyone who has ever used a sat nav. I also use it to record where I’ve been. Occasionally I use it to load up the routes I’ve planned. The last time I did this was in the Alps which went wrong and I ended up manually entering routes based on numerous village waypoints from a map. At the time I never did a full post mortem nor was I in a position to until I could load some test routes. With our imminent departure on the NC500 I wanted to avoid a repeat of the Alps situation so I set out some routes for a short run.

I have mentioned that I was trying MyRoute-App, an online routing system, and it was this that I used to do my test routes. Straight away things started to go wrong. I missed a turn it recalculated but took me an alternative way the intended. When I got to my destination and then set off for the next leg I was given a route of straight lines between each waypoint and since I was not familiar with the area I aborted and went straight for the destination. This was not going well.

In hindsight I now know what was happening. I could give you the long post but that is covered elsewhere, by myself and others. Here is the abbreviated short version. What was happening is that my route was made up of waypoints and silent shaping points that pin the route to the road I want to travel on. As soon as I deviated and the Nav 5 was allowed to do a route recalculation it went straight for the destination and ignored the route defined by the shaping points. So to keep it simple here are my top tips in the form of short bulleted sentences. Follow these and you can’t go wrong (unlike me in the Alps).

• Make sure that you are using the same map on Basecamp as you are on the Nav5
• Make sure that all your route preference match on Basecamp and Nav5. Here we are talking settings such as avoid motorways, u-turns, etc
• Have recalculation off or prompted. If prompted its easier to spot when you are off route.. but press no when asked to recalc
• If you have imported a route into Basecamp, make sure you have sufficient shaping points and do a recalculation before transfer
• Don’t use tracks. The Nav5 often ignores anything other than the final destination. Your route should be in Trip Planner.
• If you have used MyRoute-App and the trip on the map of the device has straight lines you can force a recalc by flicking from fastest to curvy and back.
• If you follow a route and skip a section it should automatically pick up on the next navigation prompt. If you press skip it will bypass the next waypoint (note – this is not the next silent shaping point. You could lose a large chunk of your route)

Follow the above points and chances are you will be ok. But then again, is this the blind leading the blind? I’ll be better informed when I return from my next trip. Good luck!