Garmin BaseCamp Route Plotting Seminar for PCs

[@Nojmoto]

Just got a BMW Navigator VI and WAS utterly uninspired by Basecamp UNTIL I found this video on You Tube. Absolutely brilliant work, the best guide I have found by a country mile. Thank you Joseph, you are a star!

[@JosephByrne]

Thanks John. I really appreciate the feedback. Basecamp can be very frustrating / infuriating at the start so great to hear this helped.

[@Paughco]

Thank you for posting. I didn't get to see the live stream, but I got a lot out of it all the same. That part about needing to "custom tune" your via points if you are converting a track to a route was especially interesting. Before watching your video, I didn't understand why you have to go back and add in via points.

[@JosephByrne]

Thanks for the feedback. Yes checking your via points is really important so you don't end up doing random detours.

[@djkak5320]

Awesom video. I’ve got BaseCamp figured out to the point where I can do most anything I want and videos like this are very helpful with my ability to be more efficient with it. FWIW, my wife of 30 years was born in Welwyn Garden City; her Dad is from Guiseley, the cradle of civilization. :-)

[@stanstevens3783]

Thanks for the effort you have made in producing this. The tip to save the map to computer in Garmin express is invaluable

[@JosephByrne]

Thanks for the feedback. It took me a while to find the setting to save the map to the computer and I only happened upon it by chance.

[@campnut6076]

Kudos on a great easy to understand route plotting video on Basecamp. This is the best, most informative video I've found on the subject. Thank you.

[@JosephByrne]

Anytime Chirs. Thanks for the feedback.

[@JeiBeeBee]

Brilliant. Great introduction to the basics of Basecamp. 👍

[@JosephByrne]

Thanks for the feedback.

[@Freetime4me]

For me, it's easier just to put the points down myself. I label 001-etc. Highlight them all right click make route. All this conversion from Google maps and tracks is a waste of time. I haven't really used my XT yet have been using 390LM. The XT has some great features. Thank for a great video. Learned some things and realized my way is the best. Thanks again.

[@JosephByrne]

Yes the Google method is a bit of a faff but it's something people always ask about. The XT is great. The display alone is a reason to upgrade.

[@jonnypollard4304]

Hi Joe, thanks again for another excellent tutorial. It's entirely thanks to your videos that I've been able to exploit my BMW Nav VI to the max! Without Basecamp, it would just have been a very expensive white elephant. I admit Basecamp is full of foibles, but sticking with it and persevering is the way ahead. I've spent much time over lockdown creating offline routes on my PC, large scale map next to me for reference, ready to download them to the Nav whenever needed. Sincere thanks once again!

[@JosephByrne]

Anytime Jonny. Thanks for the feedback. It's great to hear.

[@garycoates8201]

Thank you so much. Your older video's got me started and this one is taking me to the next level.

[@JosephByrne]

Great to hear Gary. Thanks for the feedback.

[@DavidTaylor-cv1sp]

I was directed to this video through a recommendation from the BMW R1200RS forum. Extremely helpful, as my first 2 attempts left out most of the details, that you covered here, causing rerouting nightmares. When you were checking the last route in this video, I noticed the divided motorway appeared to have arrows in both directions. I'm assuming if you accidently set your via points on the wrong side of the road, it will have you looping back when you just want to continue on to your destination. Thanks again for the level of detail!

[@JosephByrne]

Hi David. Yes if you drop a via point on the wrong side of the motorway by accident it will take you off at the next junction and send you backwards to get it. That is a really easy mistake to make when plotting zoomed out. I've done it before. Or worse dropped a via point in a housing estate next to the motorway. Dropping non alerting via points can help there as they are easier to ignore and stay on the route. If it is an alerting via point and you realise out on the road you'll need to use the *Skip Via Point* function on the device to stop it relentlessly sending you to get it.

[@romas7081]

Great video and very helpful. I am trying to use this with my Garmin Overlander which does not have Trip Planner. How do I get it into the Overlander?

[@gpop62]

Thank you so much for this, was going to book up training to learn bootcamp and handheld GPS for walking with Garmin 32x.Hope I don't need it now I've seen this I can adapt, very useful. 😎

[@JosephByrne]

Excellent news. That is great to hear.

[@sttraveler2593]

Thanks for info- Is there a way to set up all intermediate points as "non-alerting" without going in and manually changing them? I am getting intermediate points mixed as "alerting" and "non-alerting" in the same route. Also is this common to get mixed alerting and non-alerting intermediate points between a start and end point. I have the City Navigator North American 2022.1 version

[@JosephByrne]

Yes open the route and select the second via point then hold shift and click the 2nd last via point to select them all then right click --> Don't alert. And yes it's normal to get a mix when plotting a route as if you click on anything the map recognises, such as a shop or address, it created an alerting via point. If you click on an area where nothing is in the database it create a non alerting via point.

[@sttraveler2593]

@@JosephByrne Wow -- thanks for the quick response and this is really good information for us newbies.

[@JosephByrne]

@@sttraveler2593 Anytime. Best wishes.

[@sttraveler2593]

@@JosephByrne I do have another question about departure time set up in basecamp at the time of planning your trip. Lets say you set it up to depart at 7:00 AM but you actually don't leave until 8:00AM. Is the time you put in to depart arbitrary and Zumo XT will make the adjustments automatically to the arrival times at various stops? Lets say you have a 20 minute gas stop set up and you start your trip an hour later than what you had set up in basecamp, will Zumo make the adjustments ? or do I have to reload the trip with the new start time of 8AM? Thanks....

[@JosephByrne]

@@sttraveler2593 As far as I'm aware the timings are just a guide for convenience. Once you set off it will be calculated for the actual trip on the Zumo.

[@stevedouglas7500]

Hi Joseph, very informative video. To play a track or a route in Basecamp you need to enable Playback, and Playback Info if desired, from under the View -> Toolbars option. You can then play your route at speeds from x 0.05 to x 1000. For reference I am running Basecamp version 4.7.3 on Windows 10.

[@JosephByrne]

Yes I've seen that. I didn't find it very useful and the playback tool bar kept stacking on top of the others.

[@harleymalta]

Hi Joseph, Very informative video, I'm quite familiar with basecamp and I usually plan all routes with the garmin map installed on PC. I have recently upgraded to zumo xt but unfortunately it does not allow me to install the topo maps on the PC. I therfore have to plan the offroad routes with the zumo plugged in. Is there a way to install the topo maps?

[@JosephByrne]

I don't think you can install the Topo maps. I've not seen any option to do that.

[@mrcpegasus245]

I have just discovered your videos and found them very informative. Although I have been using Basecamp for yours it’s always a school day. Can you tell me how you can show timings on a printed route ? It shows timing between stops and turned but not timing put in for coffee stops thanks in advance

[@mr.electric8559]

Very informative. I learned ned a iot. Thanks. I'm new to this, so seeing you do the actions is a real help. Jim

[@JosephByrne]

Anytime Jim. I think these seminars are going to be useful because they also show up some of the idiosyncrasies of BaseCamp that aren't as obvious on an edited video.

[@nickfry7705]

Excellent video, unfortunately I have the mind of a goldfish and while it all makes perfect sense at the time, as soon as I need to use it, its all gone and I'll have to watch you again. About the best run through I've seen of Basecamp to date and been trying to use it for about 12 years now.

[@JosephByrne]

Thanks for the feedback Nick. Yeah I'm the same, I have to write down or record everything as I forget pretty easily.

[@nickfry7705]

@@JosephByrne Hi, just planned two 100 mile routes (Out and back) from Derby to Horseshoe Pass last night after watching your tutorial. Ridden it today and worked a treat, many many thanks.

[@JosephByrne]

@@nickfry7705 Anytime Nick. That's great news. When it actually works it's great. I have to get back out soon. Have few things to sort first though

[@frankwilliams327]

good morning Joseph, fabulous tutorial. one q for you. i have created several routes (imported from google etc) with two way points (start and end). I have tried to edit these routes and add waypoints (via points) to enable us to leave the track and pick it up by means of off route recalculation (ON). I only realized what had been happening to a trip we did two years ago after watching your video. Each time we left the route we automatically trashed the route. So I've built routes in exactly the same way as before and I'm wondering if I can add via points without changing the route? Each time I've tried it the route changes.

[@JosephByrne]

Yes you should be able to. If you convert the route to a track and then back to a route again using the direct profile you can specify an number of via points when it's converted back to a route. Then you can manipulate it. You can send the route to me (email is in the about section of the channel) and I can take a look or we can do a skype call if it's not working.

[@garysetch]

Thank you Joseph for your advice on many things ‘Basecamp’, been making some great biking routes, but from time to time it still does some weird things like a recent Cotswold route it diverted us into a crescent of houses in Shipston on Stour then back out onto the main road, fortunately I spotted it and put in another shaping point out on the main road. An Ace Cafe route I’ve done tonight did the same outside of Gerards Cross Police Station, it routed of the A4 and into what looked like a lay-by! Any ideas what that’s all about? I’ve also watch some other KZbins and they advocated routing using driving not motorcycling profiles as they say there are less ‘foibles’, but I can’t see why that should be! Thank you again.

[@JosephByrne]

Hi Gary. Sometimes that just happens. It's a "satnavism," I've been routed off the motorway before, then round a roundabout and back on to the motorway for no apparent reason. If you've checked the route afterwards and not left any rogue via points it's most likely down to the software not being perfect and the device making a mistake. With regards to using the driving activity profile vs motorcycling, I used to suggest that because the driving profile had less route avoidances by default. It's actually better to make sure the activity profile on your device is aligned to the profile in Basecamp to get the best results. I've stopped recommending using driving instead of motorcycling now because the latest Garmin devices like the Zumo XT have collision detection built in and it's a lot more sensitive for the driving profile than the motorcycling one. If you set the device to Car mode and use it on the bike it thinks you've crashed every 3 minutes because of the vibrations. So to be useable on the bike it has to be in motorcycle mode. And for that we should be plotting routes using the motorcycling activity profile in BaseCamp.

[@drzero9360]

Joseph, I have a Macbook Pro laptop and a Zumo XT but Garmin Express does not give me the map install to computer option as in your video. I asked Garmin Support about not having this option in Garmin Express and their response was it is currently not an option for the Zumo XT. Yet you show just this in your video here at time mark 2:58. How did you get this to work? Thanks for your help Joseph.

[@JosephByrne]

Maybe they changed the software. Perhaps if you can get hold of an earlier version of BaseCamp it will be possible. I know I've done it on a Mac before.

[@tonymirotta7873]

Really informative

[@JosephByrne]

Thanks Tony

[@morganmaggs1989]

Great video! Just bought a zumo xt and trying to sus everything out and this has helped loads! I'm interested in doing the UK TET routes which you can import the gpx file off the app as a track, naturally loads of this is off-road sections/green lanes. Is it better to just follow the track as such, or can you navigate it as a route? Could you do a video dealing with this?

[@JosephByrne]

I think on non navigable roads it's best to follow a track. I'll get a look soon.

[@martinbeer7595]

Hi Joseph Having problems with basecamp Made a route on MRA with winter disclosures disabled and transferred it to basecamp looks great all good . on the pc MRA route is 210 miles 4hrs 42mins On the Pc basecamp 211 miles 4hrs 20mins Transferred to my zumo xt gpx file went to tracks converted to a route then went to trip planner 210 miles 4hrs 42 mins Transferred export from Basecamp route gpx to zumo xt 561 miles 9hrs 20mins . Is there something on my sat nav i need to adjust ? or just stick with my Mra route . reason being to check on basecamp for any anomalies. much appreciated if you can help out Thanks Martin

[@alvimrui7793]

I need to combine/join a route with the profile activitie set to "Driving" with one other checked as "Morocycling" profile. ( Both with a few intermediate Via Points) How does the the "Off Route" setting on the device should be selected? "Automatic" or "Off"? In this case I tend to say: "Off". Am I right ? Should I dare to ride with this setting:)? On my device I find "Driving" , "Motorcycling "and "Off-Road" modes or profiles. Wich profle do I choose to be sure the result of the combined/joined routes is followed as plotted? Thank you

[@JosephByrne]

Ok so in BaseCamp you can select both routes by using control + click, then right click and click *Join selected routes* and it will create one route based on the two individual routes. The activity profile for the route will appear as *Mixed Travel.* Open the route and change the activity profile to the one you want to use, it doesn't really matter if you choose Driving or Motorcycling so long as the avoidances on your device match those you have set up in BaseCamp. Transfer the route to the device and preview it to see how it turned out. If the route has enough via points then leaving the recalculation mode in Automatic is fine, plus then the device will help you get back onto the route if you deviate from it. If you are concerned that the route doesn't have enough via points and that if it re calculates it'll be completely different then change automatic recalculating to either *prompt* or *off.* With these settings you'll have to find your own way back onto the route but the trade-off is that it'll stay fixed and won't recalculate.

[@LTVoyager]

I would be curious to see something on Trip Planner. I have used it for several years now and find it useful for my multi-day and multi-week trips. It does have some goofiness that takes some time to sort out.

[@JosephByrne]

I'll get a look at that in a future video. I've read up on it but it always seemed to over complicate things so I just made individual routes. It'd be worth revisiting though.

[@LTVoyager]

jobybyrne It is a mixed blessing, but I use it now for most of my long trips. I make a couple long trips a year (10 days or longer) and an extended trip every 2-3 years (21 days or longer). For trips of a few days, its utility is questionable.

[@trevorbutler9278]

Can you clear up something for me please. I have always thought that if you have set the via points to Non-Alerting, when when riding the route if you go off-route for any reason and need to re-calculate to find your way back on to the route (especially when in new places and don't know the area) the unit will recalculate to the next Alerting via point and ignore any Non-Alerting ones up to the next Alerting one? This means it will possibly take you a very different way to get there rather than on the roads you wanted, and if the next Alerting point is a long way away you can miss out a good bit of the preferred route. For this reason I set the vast majority of via points to Alerting ones to ensure I go on the roads I want. Is this the best way to do a route or am I misunderstanding something. Cheers Trev

[@JosephByrne]

Hi Trevor. When you deviate from the route, it will recalculate to take you to the next via point whether it is alerting or non alerting. An example is shown in this video here. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mKGnipprbZWtqJY You'll see that when I drive off the route it re calculates. Then when I pull over and stop and look at the remaining route on the track the non alerting via points are still in place and in fact the next via point it is navigating us to is a non alerting one shown by a blue dot. If you experienced this in the field what may have happened is that the setting *Strip Shaping Points when transferring to the device* was enabled as described here. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mKGnipprbZWtqJY. When that setting is enabled the route transfers to the device and all non alerting via points are removed. The route will still follow the correct shape because it is held together with the alerting via points and Garmin route point extensions as described at 1:22:17. In this scenario if you deviate from the route all of the Garmin Route Point Extension data is discarded and it creates a new route to the next alerting via point as you described. I'd highly recommend un checking the box for *Strip Shaping Points when transferring to the device* if that is selected in BaseCamp.

[@trevorbutler9278]

@@JosephByrne Thanks for clearing this up.

[@JosephByrne]

@@trevorbutler9278 Anytime. I took me a while to figure it all out and I read everything I could find on the internet in the process. I've had fun with vanishing routes in the past too.

[@kristaps2010]

thank's for video. I'm mac user. on imac I can install windows and use it as well. On MAC basecamp there is option to play route and adjust speed from slower to faster. did not find that option on zumo xt. interesting feature on zumo xt is "where I've Been" under apps. It is similar to trip log on my previous zumo 550. Be aware this feature will show your trips by date with start and finish point, name of finish point and time.

[@JosephByrne]

Yes as far as I'm aware you can't change the speed settings on the device. GPS simulator is locked into being a realistic simulation. I'm doing livestream seminar on the Mac version of BaseCamp this month. In some ways the Mac version is more user friendly.

[@kristaps2010]

@@JosephByrne i heard you'll be holding Basecamp seminar for MAC users. you or somebody might be interested. Website newenglandriders.org has few tutorials on this subject (learn basecamp) as well. It's been updated in 2019.

[@JosephByrne]

@@kristaps2010 Hi Kris. I've read over both of their guides and didn't find them particularly useful although the community rave about them. They are not written in the style of a manual and ramble a lot.

[@michaellynch2559]

When I use the insert tool and hover over the LAST waypoint, I do not get a dark circle so that I can continue the existing route. How do I make this work? I want to use an existing route and edit it to from the last waypoint to change the ending destination. Thanks.

[@JosephByrne]

The route has to be selected so select the route in the list then click the *Insert* tool, then hover the pointer over the final point. It's a tricky move as you have to hover the pointer not on the point but really close to it, then a dark circle will appear around it and you can left click to carry on the route. If you can't get it to work find my email in the about section of the channel and we'll set up a screen share.

[@tonyglasstv2685]

Before I start to watch, my experience with base camp is that it is really clunky for route planning. At present all I use it for is as an indeterminate step between Google route builder for beautifully simplistic route planning and exporting those files as KML. Then import into Base Camp and transfer to Garmin Sat Nav

[@JosephByrne]

Yes it is very clunky but when you get past the learning curve it is useful. Importing from Google maps works well but is not without it's own unique set of issues.

[@tonyglasstv2685]

Having watched video and trying out suggestions, it just still is so much quicker to go... GMapBuilder - BaseCamp just to convert GMap to Garmin route and send to device Thanks anyway

[@JosephByrne]

Yes do whatever works best for you. I'd always recommend doing a sense check in Basecamp before sending it to the device.

[@r13gbs]

Cheers Jo,just getting to grips with mine but its 100%better than the 595

[@JosephByrne]

Yes absolutely. I liked the old devices but the XT blows them out of the water.

[@r13gbs]

@@JosephByrne Here's one for you, How can you change the path of the install of the maps to PC from C drive to another drive as ive bugger all left on my C drive (win 10)

[@JosephByrne]

@@r13gbs I think if you were to uninstall BaseCamp and then when you reinstall specify the install location on your external disk then when you install the map to the computer it should install the map in the same location as BaseCamp on the external disk. If you've already built up a load of routes and tracks you can save the BaseCamp Database you are using and re-import it to the fresh install.

[@alvimrui7793]

Thank you. New Challenge. What if: Route plotted on google Maps. I do not mind some moderate gravel or dusty roads ( profile checked on preferences). The track plotted on Google Maps does have paths wich are not on my Garmin Basecamp Map, however it does follow as "Direct" profile activitie. Not on the device matched Motorcycling profile . Created Route from track. For 3.5 Km leghth I gave 10 points, way more than you advise. Is there a way to ensure that when I link or join this route created from a track to other it will follow the dots? What happens if I export as a mixed Route to the device (Zumo 340 LM) wich I pretend to use with Motorcycling Profile Activitie? If you Allow me, let me proceed: If I create a new profile activitie in Basecamp how do I match it to the presetted profile on the Device? Can we create new profiles on the device? Greetings to you

[@JosephByrne]

Hi. I'll do some research and see what I can figure out. I've not sent a mixed profile to the device yet so I'll see how that works. You should be able to navigate off road even with the motorcycle activity profile on the device. I know this because I've created routes before where the end point was in a grass car park and the device simply said, "Navigate off road" and kept tracking to the final via point.

[@alvimrui7793]

Thank you. I would very much appreciate your expert opinion in advance. Best regards

[@billcarson1966]

Haven't used a Garmin in over 12 years so this video was an excellent way to help me hit the ground running to fine tune my motorcycle rides. Sadly, Garmin is still over-priced, clumsy, terrible apps, loaded with almost useless features and outdated! I mean a USB mini B cable?! Are they serious?! And that horrible handlebar mount?! A non-cushioned U bolt? Who's the design engineer? Patrick from Spongebob?! I've heard TomTom is better in Europe and Garmin is the only choice for the USA and since it is the only game in town, it's why they're still in business. If they had any decent competition, they'd be closing their doors. Oh well, it is what it is. Grrr! Luckily the Zumo 396 does what I need and it only cost me $250. The XT is $500 here in the USA, so I saved a lot!

[@byemrahozd]

I cannot see the maps of my 66i on basecamp. Why?

[@JosephByrne]

Is the device plugged in to the computer?

[@byemrahozd]

@@JosephByrne sure it is connected to my pc

[@byemrahozd]

@@JosephByrne pls watch this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y2GZimaZmb6fiqs

[@JosephByrne]

@@byemrahozd you may need to try it on another USB port, using a different cable or trying another computer.

[@byemrahozd]

@@JosephByrne I tried it with both different pcs and cables but still same.

[@alvimrui7793]

Forgot to say I am using an oldie Zumo 340 LM

[@carlosfernandes4155]

The first time you tranfered the rout, you had 2 kensigton points, thst´s what it went wrong

[@LTVoyager]

Simulate would be infinitely more useful if Garmin provided 2X, 4X and 8X simulation speeds.

[@JosephByrne]

That would really help when checking routes. I've looked and can't find any settings to change the simulation speeds so far.

[@LTVoyager]

jobybyrne Me neither.

[@robert7889]

Mac

[@JosephByrne]

Mac seminar scheduled on the 25th of July. kzbin.info/www/bejne/p16mi5ipbrBmoqM