I have struggled with one aspect of Garmin ownership for the last 8 years or so and that has been the total inability to get a route that I have downloaded from someone or somewhere, to display EXACTLY the same in the Garmin device as it does in Basecamp or even Mapsource as was. This was just as true on my old brick Streepilot 2820 as it is on my new sparkly Garmin 660.
Sometimes it just puts straight lines into the route on the device and even clicking it and then hitting 'Recalculate' almost never gives success. Editing the route and putting multiple extra waypoints in just adds to the confusion.
I have made sure I am using the same maps on the computer as on the device, still no joy.
I have fooled around with 'Fastest' vs 'Shortest' till I am blue in the face!
Tonight, for the first time ever, I have success and I almost wept with joy!
I finally found some sense in a Youtube video which showed some of the steps I never even knew were needed and some more clues on a website which highlighted a possible incompatibility between Basecamp and the Garmin 660/BMW Navigator whatever!
Here are the steps that guaranteed me success; it isn't as straightforward as I imagined nor as obvious as it should be but this is what I found works every time.
Firstly, in Basecrap, got to Preferences and turn OFF all the options in 'Transfer'! In some installations these are set 'ON' by default.
Import your route into BC and make sure it is as you want it to be. If you get straight line routes at this stage, simply select the 'hand' tool and right click on the magenta line route, then click 'Recalculate'. This will put the route in the same place as it was on the original source.
Next, select and export your route to your device making sure you export both the route and the waypoints.
Disconnect the device from the computer and wait for it to boot. At this point, you can select 'Where To' and select your route from 'Custom Routes' but if you do you will probably be disappointed as I have always been.
So, here are the steps I have NEVER performed before and are the ones that make it all work for me. Maybe everyone else always does this, but you all know how dim I am!
Go to Tools>MyData>Import Data>Routes
The device will search for all available routes and list them. This step can take some time, be patient.
Select all the routes for which you want to import the data;(in other words, all the routes you really want to use on the device) and then select 'Import'.
If you are importing only one route, a box will appear saying 'Calculating. 0%' and after an eternity it will say 'Data Imported Successfully'.
If you are importing more than one route, the box will say 'Importing 1 of X' and 'Calculating. 0%' etc.
Now, when you go to 'Where To'>'Custom Routes' and select a route, it will, as if by magic, appear EXACTLY as it does in Basecrap. No recalculating nonsense, no phaffing with settings etc.
Now, something else I never knew; there is a limit of 20 routes on the device and for some strange reason, when I do all the above, I end up with duplicate routes in some cases so if you do too, then you need to delete the duplicate routes which normally have a '1' at the end of the route name.
So, if you are having the same 5h1++y experience as I have had, try doing it 'properly' and see if it works for you.
Brian (who never realised how dim he really is till this all fell into place)
