Switching over from Delorme to Garmin Mobile PC

My 200c did not allow more than one via so it is possible your 255w won't either. Entering a second location from Where To will tell you right away. If it says 'Add As Via Point' it will accept more than one. The screen shot is a 750 which does accept more than one via.

Terry

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It worked, I just put in 4 via points to my nüvi 255W 4.3-Inch

As I was studying the posts on this site, I ran across this one Garmin is entering the Laptop PC, TabletPC, and UMPC market with its Garmin Mobile PC which introduced Garmin Mobile PC and this quote caught my attention:

"Thanks to the route shaping feature, users can select specific roads they want to travel and customize their route to avoid certain roads and geographic areas."

I really could have used that feature this morning. I am working a 75 MPH windstorm that hit Phx Arizona area a few weeks ago, and keep getting inspections in these upper-middle-class gated communities (puke).

Delorme (or my nüvi 255W 4.3-Inch) tend to route me to the doorstep, but then you find that you "can't get into the community" from that gate, because visitors have to "enter from Balboa street" where the guard gives you the sniff test.

After several of those (wondering where "Balboa" is on a myopic 4.3" screen in 3D) I got wise and started asking homeowners about these "gotcha's" but cannot force my nüvi 255W 4.3-Inch to route me into the community from a specific route.

I know it can be done if I could "step out of the myopic box" and find the intersection that I want to pass through, and tell it that point as a via - but without a LAPTOP GPS running in the van I can't see beyond the narrow route. I have actually thought about buying a paper map and haven't had that need for years.

Sooo... with Garmin Mobile-PC (and maybe S&T if it exports OK to the little nüvi 255W 4.3-Inch I will be able to gain control of this area.

Bob, I should probably have applied a caveat to what I said about routing on your Nuvi. I was thinking more of what Streets&Trips is capable of providing for your Nuvi ... provided your Nuvi is capable of taking advantage of it.

You've hit on an issue that plagues some Nuvi users: some Nuvis are not able to use Vias in routes at all; some can only have one Via in a route; some can do multiple Vias in a route.

From a quick internet search and a peek at the Owners Manual, it looks like your 255W can have multiple Vias added to a route (couldn't find a limit specified or tested so it might be a small number or a large number). But it looks like it may be unable to save a route for re-use.

...ken...

I bet you were typing your post just before I hit "send"...
Yep, my nüvi 255W 4.3-Inch just received 4 "via" points that I selected from recently used addresses.

You folks rock, I had no idea my nuvi would do that. I have 20 years experience in my profession and help others on another forum for that profession, now you are giving back to me. Much appreciated, because getting lost (or late) is a recurring pain for those who have not mastered this arena.

Hi Bob,

What goes 'round comes 'round, eh?

...ken...

Although you can plan a route with multiple stops in S&T and send it to your Nuvi, the Nuvi will recalculate the route based on those stops, not on the modifications you made to the route in S&T. From past experience, I would say MapSource generated routes will also be recalculated on the Nuvi.

So Avoid areas in S&T or route shaping in Mobile PC may not translate to the route you want on the Nuvi. If you have a specific entry you must use to a location, add it as a stop.

Terry

Gotcha. And in the spirit of this web site - I have a laptop stand on my Van (where Delorme used to sit on the "throne") so if that big screen software knows the sequence I need - and I can "back out" as needed to get perspective, then I'm OK.

I loved the little nüvi 255W 4.3-Inch for its accuracy and "turn-by-turn" but you can really feel like you have a paper bag over your head when you lose your bearings and become uncertain of where you are being told to go.
With the big picture, you can let the little guy "flip-out" and re-calculate all it wants. It will eventually figure it out.

Bob, if the plan is to put the laptop back in place so you can use the big screen, it really doesn't matter how the Nuvi works. Streets&Trips will get the job done (big picture and routing to all or a few of the pushpins). So will Mobile PC.

Both will let you put a bunch of addresses in, display them with a symbol on the screen and show you enough map area on a single screen to be able to pick concentrated groups of homes to check out, then make a multi-stop route.

Much as I like Garmin stuff, I think Streets&Trips has the edge for your use because of the option to bulk load addresses and the ease of creating multi-stop routes. Also, because of the type of graphics it uses, you can get more map with more details on the screen than you can with Mobile PC. Even with a large screen, I sometimes get that "bag over the head" feeling with Mobile PC, although not nearly so bad as with a Nuvi.

...ken...

I will definitely check out the 2010 version of S&T, and with insight from you folks that it pulls from the same "Navteq" Map database as my Garmin Nuvi there is more respect for it.
The Garmin Nuvi was so much better than Delorme at finding the 100 or so residences I had to inspect for any given storm, that I was ready to put all my eggs in the Garmin basket.

I visualize the Nuvi for "turn-by-turn" with a separate laptop showing the overall route. Seems there are options on what software to run on the laptop, and thats a good thing.

Well, since we're still kicking things around, here's another combo to think about.

With the GPSGate Express program you can use a single GPS receiver to feed two nav programs simultaneously. Some folks like to use Streets&Trips and Mobile PC simultaneously because they like some features of Streets&Trips for the overall view but they prefer Mobile PC for the realtime nav and guidance. As mentioned earlier, Mobile PC looks pretty much exactly like your Nuvi only a lot bigger display.

Any time it seems like you're getting things figured out, we're commited to see if we can confuse you some more. We call it laying out all the options, but it's really just to see how far we can push someone before they go completely bonkers.

...ken...

Actually that is brilliant - I like the idea of 2 nav pgms.
I have room for a net-book and laptop. The net-book could run "turn by turn" Garmin Mobile PC (while maintaining tight control on sequence of stops, when someone cancels on you, etc.) My Nuvi 255W does not seem to have a method to reach in there and yank out #3 of 5 locations on a route - but the more robust software of Garmin Mobile PC would have that power.

And the other display shows the entire route (with S&T or the alternate wide view of Garmin Mobile PC). Interesting about sharing a GPS receiver - but I am going to order a BU353 anyway and still have the receiver from Delorme D-40 laying around.
I have a NEED for this stuff like you wouldn't believe. I'm not just driving around on a vacation, I tend to go places where people wanted you there last week and any hiccup on logistics is your enemy.

The LT40 will not work with S&T (or Mobile PC) directly. You must download a free auxilliary program from Delorme to allow it to output data to a COM port (actually more than one COM port at once, I think).

DeLorme Serial Emulation Driver for Earthmate GPS Receivers

Terry

Bob, if the only (or the main) reason for abandoning DeLorme Street Atlas (and switching to your PND solution, was the inability to easily find addresses, then I don't think you will experience the same problem with Streets & Trips. And Streets & Trips will provide the 'paper map look' you sometimes need. You will be able to easily see your 10, 20, 30, etc, customers on the screen, and much more.

Marvin, thanks for this amazing site. My issue with Delorme started during the chaos of trying to find addresses during Katrina (working the Slidel area at the border of Mississippi & Louisiana, hard-hit damages). If Delorme couldn't find an address, it would "center you in the zip code" and there was some fine print about "located by zip" but if you didn't know to look for the message, you would drive to the middle of a field somewhere and be quite late for the day's appointments. I had the same issues working with Delorme in Atlanta, Detroit, and now Phoenix.
I am really looking forward to working with S&T now that you folks enlighten me that it uses the same Navtek map database as Garmin. It is very rare that my little Garmin Nuvi doesn't accurately locate a residence.
Thanks for saving me a trip to the wall.
I will buy the full package of Garmin Mobile PC that comes with the receiver & full map DVDs etc as you folks have described on the review of that product - seems to be a better method than just buying the software due to the anti-piracy features that kick-in when you don't buy their receiver.
I don't mind spending $ for good tools, and likely will get the S&T with their receiver + that other receiver you have a review on (BU...) and that way there won't be those compatibility issues and I will have spares.

As mentioned in my first post on this thread, Garmin Mobile PC does not seem to be sold in stores, only on-line (direct from Garmin, or Amazon). I ordered the 2010 version with USB receiver (20x) but it hasn't arrived yet.

With everyone's help educating me that the same mapping database used by Garmin (NavTeq) is also used by MS Streets & Trips, I wanted to check it out immediately and bought the 2010 version with it's own USB receiver about 7 days ago. I used MS Streets & Trips on a 9 hour drive the next day, and have been learning it's features this week.

Compared to the Delorme product I had been using, I do prefer S&T as a "big view" paper map type orientation.

You folks have spared me from hitting the wall on a number of issues. And not to expect my little Nuvi 255w to retain a complete route with a sequence of stops intact - which leads me to the following plan.

My Garmin Mobile PC should arrive soon. After I learn the basics of that program running alone, I want to try what Gadget Girl describes in this thread: 'Integrating' Microsoft Streets & Trips and Garmin Mobile PC

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