Getting a course to Garmin 520

paulbnix

I have just acquired a Garmin 520 (courtesy of Tesco vouchers 2 for 1 at Evans).
I can see that one way to load a course is to plug the 520 into the PC, where it appears as a usb drive, and copy the course to it.

There is a bluetooth connection from the 520 to my phone which allows tracks that I have recorded to be copied to the phone then to Garmin Connect then to Strava.
I wondered if the bluetooth connection can be used to copy a course to the 520. If it can the 2nd question is how to get a course created on Strava to the 520 (other than the usb route)

redvee

You need to drop the course into 'New Files' folder. When you turn the Garmin back on after disconnecting from PC it will be in the list of courses.

jgsi

You will probably need more detailed maps that are loaded by default by Garmin...
DC Rainmaker instructions here
http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2013/05/down ... 00810.html
The 520 is excellent training device. The compactness of it lends itself more to the training aspect and data recording than being a route follower.

thehighroad

I cam across this thread when trying to figure out the navigation on the 520 as it is quite fiddly.

http://forums.mtbr.com/gps-hrm-bike-com ... 371-3.html (scroll down a bit).

Follow DC rainmakers instructions for maps and then the above to get the settings right and all should work well.

jus71n

Man this seems like a lot of fiddling to get it working?

I mapped a route online at garmin connect, sent it to my 520 & it loaded up. set out yesterday morning (on a route I hadn't done before) and the navigation was crap! no TBT, and general guidance was pants. I diverted to a route I new so I didn't get lost

Anonymous

jus71n wrote:

Man this seems like a lot of fiddling to get it working?

I mapped a route online at garmin connect, sent it to my 520 & it loaded up. set out yesterday morning (on a route I hadn't done before) and the navigation was crap! no TBT, and general guidance was pants. I diverted to a route I new so I didn't get lost

This is exactly why the 800 /810 and 1000 exist. They are designed for route following. The '5' series was disigned to give you the important info of your ride but were not designed to be used for route following hence why its a bit of a rubbish afterthought.

If you create a route from scratch on Garmins website they can be ok but if you import a route created elsewhere like Map my Ride or a previous Strava track it never quite translates the data into something that can be reliable.

jus71n

Maglia Rosa wrote:

jus71n wrote:

Man this seems like a lot of fiddling to get it working?

I mapped a route online at garmin connect, sent it to my 520 & it loaded up. set out yesterday morning (on a route I hadn't done before) and the navigation was crap! no TBT, and general guidance was pants. I diverted to a route I new so I didn't get lost

This is exactly why the 800 /810 and 1000 exist. They are designed for route following. The '5' series was disigned to give you the important info of your ride but were not designed to be used for route following hence why its a bit of a rubbish afterthought.

If you create a route from scratch on Garmins website they can be ok but if you import a route created elsewhere like Map my Ride or a previous Strava track it never quite translates the data into something that can be reliable.

Yeah I sorta get the 800/1000 point, but its supposed to be a function on the 520, so am I expecting to much for it to work?

1986sv

I use this all the time. Create a course on Garmin Connect, Save it, Hit 'Send to Device', either through Bluetooth or the micro USB cable the course will be synced to your device. Works fine, prompts to turn left or right and you can have a few data fields under the map.

Ste_S

Same here. I've been using a Garmin Forerunner 305 strapped to my handlebars following courses created on Garmin Connect without problems