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GPS City Q&A » Outdoor GPS » Can the user turn off the auto-recalculation feature?

Outdoor GPS (11 replies)

Item

Original Question

Can the user turn off the auto-recalculation feature?

› Garmin Montana 650

Author

Reply

Mark
Ottawa

Original question asked on May 30, 2011, 1:54pm

1) Can the user turn off the auto-recalculation feature so the GPS does not automatically recalculate a route if the user goes off route when navigating a planned route?

2) Can the you set the off-route auto-recalculation feature so that the GPS prompts you (with the user given the option of selecting yes, or no) before the unit automatically recalculates a route if the user goes off route?

GPS City
Calgary, AB

Reply #1 on May 31, 2011, 8:14am

Unfortunately there is no way to turn off auto recalculation that we can see at this time.

What is your use? Off-road or on the road navigation? That may help us suggest a way to use your unit for your application.

The point of a route is to keep you on course. You can always just follow the map without a route or ignore the recalculation prompts and keep driving, boating, or hiking.

Maybe try putting in a series of waypoints without creating a route and navigate to them point by point instead of a long route.

Mark
Ottawa

Reply #2 on May 31, 2011, 12:33pm

I would use the Montana on my motorcycle for navigating routes (on road only, no off-road) that I had created on my home computer, or my netbook while on a trip, and then uploaded to the GPS. It would replace a 276C that I've had since 2005. I really don't create routes on the GPS itself I carefully craft them myself using either Mapsource (on a PC), or Basecamp (on an iMac). As you no doubt know, motorcyclists are a picky lot for the most part. We want to navigate the routes we create, not what the GPS calculates, hence the desire to turn off the auto-recalculation feature for those times when we stray (intentionally) from our planned route. This is a question that's of interest to a good number of people on motorcycle Forums who are discussing the Montana. It's also an issue that arose when the Zumo 660 was introduced and a change that took Garmin some time to make. We were hoping Garmin would allow this feature to be turned off from the unit's introduction.

Mark
Ottawa

Reply #3 on May 31, 2011, 12:38pm

One other point. You said in your first reply that I could just "...ignore the recalculation prompts and keep driving...". Do I take it that if I'm navigating a route -- and deviate from it -- that I will be prompted by the unit, asking whether I want it to re-calculate the route? If so, if I ignore that prompt, will it re-calculate anyway, or will it just leave it as originally calculated by me? This is rather key to me and others for potential motorcycle use.

GPS City
Calgary, AB

Reply #4 on May 31, 2011, 1:29pm

I will have to play around with the unit when they arrive in Canada to get you a decent answer.

For now I think if you direct routing only and make the routes follow the road (no auto route) you can have the route stay the same when you get off course. But it may always prompt you back to the via point you missed. I am hoping if it is a direct route you can manually choose what point you continue navigating from so if you miss 4 vias. You can restart the route from your location to the 5th and so on. We will have to wait and see when the unit comes in.

LordRJD
Ottawa

Reply #5 on Sep 9, 2011, 4:06am

I have just received my new Montana and have exactly the same issue. Please apply preassure on Garmin to allow us to turn off forced route recalculation. It's really frustrating when you spend HOURS creating a specific route, only to have the device override all of your planning.

GPS City
Calgary, AB

Reply #6 on Sep 12, 2011, 8:15am

Are you following the route you created? Depending on how you made the route you may want to turn off "Follow road" in your unit and have it do only direct routing(off road). That way as long as you stay on your route it wont recalculate. What mode is your unit in?

Glenn
Halifax

Reply #7 on Oct 17, 2011, 8:31am

I do this frequently for off-roading, and I plan and adjust routes, only using the "tracks" mode. That way, I can stray, but still see what I'm doing.

GPS City
Calgary, AB

Reply #8 on Oct 17, 2011, 9:00am

We are making a video that will be uploaded shortly to assist everyone in creating routes so they do not change when sent to the unit

Lordrjd
Ottawa

Reply #9 on Nov 9, 2011, 3:21am

Just an update to this thread. One of the latest Montana firmware updates has added the option to change the OFF ROUTE recalculation to prompted. Although this is a step in the right direction, it still doesn't address the issue of being forced to recalculate your pre-planned route when you load it up.

LordRJD
Ottawa

Reply #10 on Apr 22, 2012, 7:18am

It's fixed!!! The latest beta version of the firmware has addressed this. As long as you have the same map on the Montana and the PC/Mac, you can now load up your routes without being forced to recalculate.

Mark
Ottawa

Reply #11 on Apr 22, 2012, 7:45am

Good point I noticed that too, though I won't update to the Beta firmware because when I last did that several weeks back, it turned my Montana into a paperweight. Garmin authorized a new replacement unit, but it was still a pain. On another note, if users have a software/feature suggestion for Garmin, they should send an e-mail to: MontanaBeta@garmin.com

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