Using navigation on a Garmin 520 question

fudgey
fudgey Posts: 854
edited April 2019 in Road general
Evening all, i am planning on riding a route i have done before, but not strying or finishing in the same place.
I have downloaded the TCX file and the course is there ob the 520.
Now if i set off from home and find the route will it navigate me around the route where i pick it up or will it try to make go to the starting point first?
Cheers.
My winter bike is exactly the same as my summer bike,,, but dirty...

Comments

  • jgsi
    jgsi Posts: 5,062
    The 520 does offer to get you to the start of the course... however...
    I have never taken up its offer.
    If the course has many turns and twists, using a 520 takes a fair bit of concentration in course mode... if you go off route, it says so, it dont get you back on route.
  • fudgey
    fudgey Posts: 854
    Ok cheers, its a reasonably local 60odd miler but there are a few bits i cant quite remember. I have used it before for navigation an gone off course then found it etc. I guess ill see what happens in the morning.
    If all else fails there is google maps, so long as phone signal is present.
    Cheers
    My winter bike is exactly the same as my summer bike,,, but dirty...
  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 27,344
    If you have a course then the 520 should have a breadcrumb map display. It may not be perfect but it will show you where you are, and where the route is. Find your way back and bingo. Works for me anyway.
    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • fudgey
    fudgey Posts: 854
    Ill give it a go cheers. Bit of prep and checking the route and hopefully i wont go too far off course!
    My winter bike is exactly the same as my summer bike,,, but dirty...
  • perfectmark
    perfectmark Posts: 117
    If you have bluetooth headphones or an a phone case which straps to your arm, you could just use Google maps (or other GPS app) with voice directions. With the screen off, the phone should last a few hours and it means you can spend your time enjoying the scenery rather than concentrating on your Garmin's screen.
  • fudgey
    fudgey Posts: 854
    Sadly i had a terrible nights sleep and felt like death this morning. Been suffering with a chesty cough and cold for the last week so didnt bother to get out of bed till 11am...
    Still i got a bit of paintung done and sorted out the rear wheel of the mtb when i did bother to get up...
    My winter bike is exactly the same as my summer bike,,, but dirty...
  • bondurant
    bondurant Posts: 858
    Have you downloaded the free maps referenced on DC rainmaker?

    Following a course is a doddle on the 520 once you have done this.
  • fudgey
    fudgey Posts: 854
    Yes, used dc rainmaker for the mapped areas.

    I just dont know if you can join a route not at the start of the planned ride.
    My winter bike is exactly the same as my summer bike,,, but dirty...
  • redjeepǃ
    redjeepǃ Posts: 531
    The 520 will point you in the right direction to the start but I don't think it offers you turn by turn. So for instance if you're 10 miles North East it'll show a straight line South West from your current position to the start line.

    It also gets a bit confused if for instance you break off half way and then restart as it'll ask if you want to go back to the start again.

    I used mine recently for the first time on a solo London to Paris and it worked well, but it took me the first day to figure out how it worked ! I wished I'd spent more time with it before I got lost for the twentieth time on the way to Brighton ! :D

    The other thing I learnt was that if it starts to beep to tell you you're off course, STOP and retrace your steps. Don't try and re-find the way by taking the next junction in the right direction.
  • paulbnix
    paulbnix Posts: 632
    I agree with the advice not to let the 520 direct you to the start of your course. All it does is point to the start with a pink line and if you don't actually pass the start it continues pointing and doesn't run the course properly. To sort this you just have to restart the course and not navigate to the start.

    Other than that you can join a course anywhere and it will pick it up. You can even do it backwards though the time/distance to the finish isn't always right and large roundabouts are strange.

    I use tcx rather than gpx and you do get some directions but a "turn right" could be just a sharp bend or a major junction. The directions don't add much.

    I find I can successfully ride off the course I have plotted by switching off auto zoom and expanding the map so I can see both my current position and the course. I did this once when my course ended up on a crappy bike trail.

    If you leave auto zoom on and deviate from your course you will see the 520 going through what looks initially to be a strange set of antics. What it actually does is zoom out in steps until you can see your position and the course and it then jumps back in again. It keeps repeating this. I find this useful sometimes but it doesn't always happen. I'm not sure what stops it. You can stop it by fixing the zoom.
  • RobinB2
    RobinB2 Posts: 111
    I've been using my 520 to navigate courses. However if I press the 'back' button the course screen is replaced by the standard display - showing time, distance etc. Is there an easy way to return to the running course screen without having to re-load the course from scratch?
  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 27,344
    RobinB2 wrote:
    I've been using my 520 to navigate courses. However if I press the 'back' button the course screen is replaced by the standard display - showing time, distance etc. Is there an easy way to return to the running course screen without having to re-load the course from scratch?
    The two lower buttons on the left hand side of the unit scroll through your available screens, up or down, whichever is most convenient.
    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • RobinB2
    RobinB2 Posts: 111
    The two lower buttons on the left hand side of the unit scroll through your available screens, up or down, whichever is most convenient

    They do indeed! Many thanks PBlakeney
  • OnTheRopes
    OnTheRopes Posts: 460
    I find the auto zoom feature (or whatever its called) really useful where it gives a wide view and a zoomed view so you are ready for any turns. I use courses from time to time and I have never got lost on it just the occasional wrong turn which is soon obvious
  • spencerpankow
    spencerpankow Posts: 19
    PBlakeney wrote:
    RobinB2 wrote:
    I've been using my 520 to navigate courses. However if I press the 'back' button the course screen is replaced by the standard display - showing time, distance etc. Is there an easy way to return to the running course screen without having to re-load the course from scratch?
    The two lower buttons on the left hand side of the unit scroll through your available screens, up or down, whichever is most convenient.
    you can also set it up to auto scroll through the screens, although I found this distracting as ever time I looked down it was on the screen I didn't want, using the course I found also eats into the battery life, make sure you turn down the brightness and turn off the tones etc which I found helped prolong the battery life

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