waypoints...

[simonineaston]

When you jolly folks create a route on your GPS devices, how do you use a 'waypoint'?
For example, do you add a waypoint for every single change of direction, or simply just at major junctions - or else at every feature of note? I'm new to GPS route creation and would love to hear the different ways you use the various features available!

[al_yrpal]

In sailing, if you were heading for a headland and having to turn around it, you would put in a waypoint for a safe distance out from the headland, and set an initial course for that. We always used to put them on the device for frequent destinations, or intermediate stops. Your device might plot a course that avoids points of interest you want to pass by on your route, waypoints are a way to include places in your route if the route automatically calculated by the device excludes them.

Al

[Mick F]

My Garmin will set a waypoint where I am, or I can go to a place on the map and set one, or even project one at a given bearing and distance.

In Garmin Basecamp, you can set them anywhere you want and then transfer them to your device.

Waypoints will come up on the Where To? functions and you can navigate to them.

[cycleruk]

A waypoint (to me and my Tomtom satnav') is somewhere on the route that you want to go through.
Waypoints are extra settings in between the Start and Destination.

If I want to go from A to B, but by a circuitous route, I would set extra "waypoints" that will take me that way.

[andrew_s]

I mostly use waypoints when away from home and therefore without computer access. I know the local area well enough to do without more assistance than is given by the on-screen map.
A waypoint is somewhere I want to go to, either as a final destination or via, on the way to somewhere else.

I create a waypoint by moving the pointer to the desired location, pressing the enter button (joystick in on an old eTrex), giving the waypoint a name, and saving it.
The desired location is usually selected from a large scale paper map - GPS screens are a bit small for route planning on.

I then either just select the waypoint and "Go To" it using follow-road navigation, or more usually I have several of them, and create a route and add the waypoints to it in turn, then navigate the route, again in follow road mode. I find that one waypoint every 10km or so is usually enough to keep me off the main roads I don't want to use.

Using a sparse set of waypoints requires a certain amount of judgment in their positioning, and so many people put them on every major turn. However, there is a limit on the number of waypoints on a route, so this approach can limit route length and require multiple route files for one ride.

[simonineaston]

I'm thinking specifically in terms of creating a route (I know, my OP was a bit too open a question really, hence edit!)
I created a route the other day where I added waypoints only at major junctions, so not only was the route rather polygonal, but it under-calculated the stat.s and had I used the line to the next waypoint to navigate, I could have found that the bearing was inaccurate (the path between the 2 points meandering about).
But if I add a waypoint at every single bend in the path I would end up with a route that more exactly followed the path taken, but which also had dozens of mostly irrelevant w'points... I guess the 'right'way to use them is a balance between too many and not enough!

[morzov]

Hi. I use Memory Map with a Garmin Geko. Old tech possibly but works very well. Basically the Geko unit points the direction to the next waypoint which I think is where your question comes in.

A couple of things that are useful:

1. Plot the waypoints on a zoomed version of the map so they can be located more accurately
2. For changes of direction at junctions I've found it useful to position the waypoint just before the turn so that the arrow pointer on the Geko shows a turn coming up just before you get to it.

[simonineaston]

I did a bit of clicking just now - during my lunch-break natch...
Here's the same route plotted as a) junctions only and b) adding a waypoint at every deviation from a straight-line - note the difference in the stat.s
Junctions only - perfectly adequate to get me there...

Turn-by-turn - much more like the actual journey!

Quite a difference Which would you use?

[simonineaston]

Ah-Ha - light-bulb moment... I've ignored (the above mentioned) 'snap-to road' feature...

[MGate]

Hi Simon,

think you've figured it out. With 'snap to road' your GPS unit - depending on what it is will say 'left in 30m etc' as it knows about the roads etc. So there's no need to waypoint every turn and junction.

In the early days of GPS mapping all you had was a map 'image' on your unit and then the unit was then calibrated for the correct position BUT it knew nothing of any of the features on the map, didn't know about roads or cafes or pubs etc. Working with that you had to set your waypoints carefully to be able to follow directions. You could put your waypoint anywhere - like the middle of a lake...

With modern units and maps there is all sorts of data about roads, and other points of interest. That allows the software to help decide what way to go. Much better than following a way pointed only route.

[simonineaston]

Ho ho - just adds more waypoints - stat.s like distance and total ascent/descent different again...

[Eammno]

Using Garmin's Basecamp, for planning motorcycle trips, I have very few waypoints on my routes, usually just a start and finish point from which the calculated route is dragged to include more interesting roads and places of interest.
In the past I've made the mistake of trying to convert Google maps routes to Garmin, but this results in hundreds of waypoints - usually upsetting the Garmin.

[Norman H]

I also mostly use Memory Map,on the pc, for route planning, using the create route tool. It's not essential to follow every turn in the road but, as someone up thread pointed out, it helps to make it unambiguous at junctions. Especially if the route is to be uploaded to a non routing type of GPS like the Adventure 2800. On an average ride I find that distance is underestimated between 5-10%. I also import tracks from third party sites and use the “convert to route” command. Memory Map also has a facility for reducing the number of waypoints

Incidentally I've recently been using Mapyx Quo OS Ireland maps and they have a very useful feature that allows you to select the colour of the road that you are following You then merely hover somewhere close and the mouse snaps to the road.

[simonineaston]

...results in hundreds of waypoints - usually upsetting the Garmin.

I think I read recently that 'up to 50 waypoints per route' is usual.

On an average ride I find that distance is underestimated between 5-10%.

from my recent experience that sounds about right.

Hmm all very interesting - thanks, folks. Your contributions are valuable as I struggle at the bottom of the learning curve. I must just add that as I'm using an Active 10, I don't get turn-by-turn guidance, but do get to be warned of an approaching waypoint with discreet beeps, which, so far, I'm quite liking... and is more-or-less why I asked about waypoints in the first place.

[cycleruk]

Using Garmin's Basecamp, for planning motorcycle trips, I have very few waypoints on my routes, usually just a start and finish point from which the calculated route is dragged to include more interesting roads and places of interest.
In the past I've made the mistake of trying to convert Google maps routes to Garmin, but this results in hundreds of waypoints - usually upsetting the Garmin.

I use "Tyre to Travel" for my motorbike trips.
Based on Google and I use TomTom but it will do Garmins.:-
http://www.tyretotravel.com/