Garmin ZUMO

[ducatijim]

A quick note to advise those who may be contemplating the purchase of a ZUMO....

DON'T.

Mine has been non stop trouble from day 1.( its now 8mths old)

1) Its battery failed after 2 weeks.

2) The m/c mount/base/power unit failed after an imersion in the Pentecost river( supposed to be waterproof to 1m)

3) today, the in car mount/base/power unit, or its battery failed.

A piece of CRAP. Mine anyway.

Jamie.:argh:

[Hitcher]

I shall keep you posted how my 550 performs. So far it has successfully located home (four times), Toppys in Martinborough and Rimutex. Next, America!

[Meanie]

Bugger mate, mine so far hasnt given me any trouble except for a freeze once that was easy to sort after a quick read through the instruction booklet
Have you taken it back to who you brought it from to get replaced or fixed ?

[Zapf]

yea sounds like a lemon.... mine 550 has worked so well I haven't been keeping a map. But I have thought, feck what if it stopped working... I will be stuffed.

[NighthawkNZ]

Be the first I have heard that has that much trouble... I would take it back and get a replacement...

[young1]

Just slightly off topic!

Who is the dealer in NZ, do they have a web page?

[Nordy]

Garmin are moving to Aussie and will be the dealers replacing GME in both aussie and NZ, I use a guy in Christchurch though. Hes on trademe as Savages (I think) but I just email him KiwiGPS[@]paradise.net.nz (remove the []s though)

[Qkchk]

Mine has been nothing but a good mate on long trips. Load a Memory card full of mp3s and connect the Blueant Interphone and Ive got non-stop music + phone + GPS Nav.

Must of been a lemon aye?

My only bitch about Garmin is I have had a mount on backorder since the start of May (and its paid for! :angry:) and Im starting to get impatient. (Got my assesories through www.pilotshop.co.nz)

[Grub]

A piece of CRAP. Mine anyway.

Jamie, you may have just got a teatime one. I don't know how long you've had it but under the Consumer Guarantees Act, you can have it replaced - no questions asked.

The grounds are that it simply has not performed as advertised and that the advertised performance and specifications are what you expected it to deliver.

[P38]

It pretty much Sucks when things dont work how they should.

Sounds like you got the Friday at 4:30pm after a real shitty day on the assembly line unit.

My Zumo550 hasn't missed a beat since comming outta the box on Christmas Morning.
It's been operating on a daily basis since then with a 4 gig SD card full (well half full) of MP3's and using the bluetooth to connect to my helmet.

Can't fault it really.

I regulary swap the car mount between vehicles and not had any mishaps what so ever.

We have even used it for Geocaching with great success.

Email Garmin https://my.garmin.com/mygarmin/customers/myGarminHome.faces

Register your unit, tell them whats up and I'm sure they will see you right.

[spudchucka]

I have Garmin electronics in my boat and so far they have been faultless. Sounds like you just got a dud based on what others are saying about theirs.

[cooneyr]

Garmin are moving to Aussie and will be the dealers replacing GME in both aussie and NZ, I use a guy in Christchurch though. Hes on trademe as Savages (I think) but I just email him KiwiGPS[@]paradise.net.nz (remove the []s though)

I'll give a second endorsement for this guy. I got my eTrex Legend HCx from him and he is great to deal with.

Back to the point of the thread - I don't think that any of you have subjected your Zumo's to what Jamie just subjected his too. Over a month of riding around the outback of Ausi is going to be a bit rougher on gear than road riding around NZ. In saying that Garmin might be keen to hear from you Jamie i.e. R & D feedback and you can only hope they come to the party re repairs/replacement cause it sounds about naffed.

Cheers R

[ducatijim]

Jamie, you may have just got a teatime one. I don't know how long you've had it but under the Consumer Guarantees Act, you can have it replaced - no questions asked.

The grounds are that it simply has not performed as advertised and that the advertised performance and specifications are what you expected it to deliver.

It would seem it may be a teatime unit. I bought it in Oz to have the maps I needed for here, for free on it. I have no use for it in NZ.So Cons Gurantee act does not apply.

I don't belive Garmin will replace it, this is a foreign concept to me, as a Kiwi comsumer, the 'policy' does seem to be fuck you around long enough you will give up and go away!!

Thanks for the feedback thou, guys, its reassuring to know I have a lemon, and lots of folk have not been 'done' as I was suspecting!!:niceone:

[Nordy]

have you tried Garmin, I have found them to be pretty good in the past.

[Devil]

I don't belive Garmin will replace it

If you dont ask, you dont get. A polite letter to them with all the details may get you somewhere, but you'll never know if you dont try.

[Nordy]

oh and by contact Garmin I mean Garmin USA. Not GME Australia who are hopeless (and is why Garmin are opening up in Aussie)

[ducatijim]

Sounds like nothing to loose to try them, before it 'falls' from my handlebars....OOOps, soooooo careless!

Thanks

[P38]

Sounds like nothing to loose to try them, before it 'falls' from my handlebars....OOOps, soooooo careless!

Thanks

Once it falls ..... :Oops: I mean in the unlikely event it ever falls from your handel bars and is destroyed beyound repair.

Can I make you an offer for your Aussi Maps CD? :yes:

[Meanie]

Once it falls ..... :Oops: I mean in the unlikely event it ever falls from your handel bars and is destroyed beyound repair.

Can I make you an offer for your Aussi Maps CD? :yes:

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl: Nice.............

[spsduc]

Mine has been nothing but a good mate on long trips. Load a Memory card full of mp3s and connect the Blueant Interphone and Ive got non-stop music + phone + GPS Nav.

Must of been a lemon aye?

My only bitch about Garmin is I have had a mount on backorder since the start of May (and its paid for! :angry:) and Im starting to get impatient. (Got my assesories through www.pilotshop.co.nz)

I'm new to this GPS game and am considering buying a 550 Zumo.
Do the NZ maps have most of the back/ gravel roads of our wonderous back country? I know you can upload stuff off the net etc, but how good is std NZ map?
Thanks in advance.

[P38]

I'm new to this GPS game and am considering buying a 550 Zumo.
Do the NZ maps have most of the back/ gravel roads of our wonderous back country? I know you can upload stuff off the net etc, but how good is std NZ map?
Thanks in advance.

I got a free update to city navigator 2008 when I registered my unit and the map detail is great.

My mate lives on a farm between Frazer Town and Waikarimoana and you dont get much more into the back blocks than that.

My Zumo 550 shows his driveway leading up to the farm house which is about 1km back off the road.

With the mapsource software can zoom into 20m and out to 3000kms, you can upload your tracks into google earth and do a 3D fly By with a couple of clicks.

The GPS can also be set for offroad use which is real handy for cross country stuff.

Best gaget I ever got:niceone:

[Fudmucker]

I've had NO problem with mine - well, none that weren't dumb-clutz-operator-error ones...!
RTFM Fudmucker!:niceone:

[spsduc]

I got a free update to city navigator 2008 when I registered my unit and the map detail is great.

My mate lives on a farm between Frazer Town and Waikarimoana and you dont get much more into the back blocks than that.

My Zumo 550 shows his driveway leading up to the farm house which is about 1km back off the road.

With the mapsource software can zoom into 20m and out to 3000kms, you can upload your tracks into google earth and do a 3D fly By with a couple of clicks.

The GPS can also be set for offroad use which is real handy for cross country stuff.

Best gaget I ever got:niceone:

Awesome thanks. That's what I was hoping to hear!
Best I get one ordered then:)
Cheers

[ducatijim]

I dropped into Johnny Appleseed in Annerly where I bought it from on wednesday, they also had not had any 'problem' units come back to them! They were unable to power up my unit by any means and were about to take it to send away when the dude removed the battery pack-no issues( dirt/water) inside, however when reassembled...presto, she powered up again? Poor battery contacts perhaps? Now at least, I only need the handlebar mount serviced/replaced.

I do still feel 'miffed' at such a supposedly top shelf unit letting me down 1/2 wayz thru our adventure( remembering all our route planning was plotted on here). Still....had HEMA's excellent paper maps so we did not get lost!

Ha ha...

[P38]

I dropped into Johnny Appleseed in Annerly where I bought it from on wednesday, they also had not had any 'problem' units come back to them! They were unable to power up my unit by any means and were about to take it to send away when the dude removed the battery pack-no issues( dirt/water) inside, however when reassembled...presto, she powered up again? Poor battery contacts perhaps? Now at least, I only need the handlebar mount serviced/replaced.

I do still feel 'miffed' at such a supposedly top shelf unit letting me down 1/2 wayz thru our adventure( remembering all our route planning was plotted on here). Still....had HEMA's excellent paper maps so we did not get lost!

Ha ha...

All good then.

Put the Allen Key in your wallet and you could do that on the roadside in a few minutes if it ever happens again.

[The Duck 01]

My Zumo stopped about four times on mytrip around Oz,Just undid the battery took it out, put it back in and off i went with purple lines telling me where to go. Easy and found some good roads on Tracks 4 OZ.

[spsduc]

My Zumo stopped about four times on mytrip around Oz,Just undid the battery took it out, put it back in and off i went with purple lines telling me where to go. Easy and found some good roads on Tracks 4 OZ.


Do you guys with Zumos use Bluetooth headsets (If so which one) or do you just use the screen for directions?
Thanks

[denill]

Don't know much about GPS and have been following this thread.

Planning on traveling Paris to Black Sea (Romania) wth GPS assistance.

A question you guys may be able to answer?
How much assistance could we expect a GPS to provide to locate accommodation on the way?

[ducatijim]

Don't know much about GPS and have been following this thread.

Planning on traveling Paris to Black Sea (Romania) wth GPS assistance.

A question you guys may be able to answer?
How much assistance could we expect a GPS to provide to locate accommodation on the way?


This is exactly what the Zumo is aimed at I feel: a platform for Garmins excellent 'City Navigator' program. You will need their Europe CD ( Have to check out how wide a range in Europe it has) loaded onto your Zumo and it does a good job of finding parking/atm/food/fuel/accom-all types and some shopping! It is only as good as the amount and quality of info given to the however.

In Brisbane for example, it lead us to a 'servo' for fuel one nite: only to find that no such name or business type was at the destination.

And people here wonder why I HATE THE F*****G THING!!!!!!!!!!!!:Oi:

[P38]

Do you guys with Zumos use Bluetooth headsets (If so which one) or do you just use the screen for directions?
Thanks

I bought a Nolan N-102 with a Basic and Bluetooh Kit fitted.

I use the Zumo 550 as a hub and connect my phone to it also via Bluetooth.

Then connect the N102 to the Zumo 550 via Bluetooth resulting in hands free incoming and out going calls.

Once set up it all connects automatically as the Zumo detects and connects to each device as it comes into range or is turned on.

The bluetooth is good for about 10-15 meters

I also have a couple of gigs worth of MP3s on an SD card which goes into the Zumos expansion slot.

So hands free calling, music, and voice prompts all without a wire in sight, gotta love those gagets.

[P38]

Don't know much about GPS and have been following this thread.

Planning on traveling Paris to Black Sea (Romania) wth GPS assistance.

A question you guys may be able to answer?
How much assistance could we expect a GPS to provide to locate accommodation on the way?

The Garmin maps are loaded with thousands of point of interest. Accomidation, Food, Gas etc.

Once you connect to your phone via bluetooth (or wire if you want) a couple of clicks will have you ringing through and making a booking while still riding.

Works great.

I recently travelled to Wanganui. About 50kms out of town I clicked on the accomidation icon and it showed all within the North Island. I chose one that looked promising clicked on the phone icon and next thing I was making a booking without even stopping the bike. Once the booking was made I cllicked on the Go Icon and the GPS calculated the directions and took me straight there.

Too Easy.

Gonna use it in Oz at the end of August and expect no issues at all.

[spsduc]

The Garmin maps are loaded with thousands of point of interest. Accomidation, Food, Gas etc.

Once you connect to your phone via bluetooth (or wire if you want) a couple of clicks will have you ringing through and making a booking while still riding.

Works great.

I recently travelled to Wanganui. About 50kms out of town I clicked on the accomidation icon and it showed all within the North Island. I chose one that looked promising clicked on the phone icon and next thing I was making a booking without even stopping the bike. Once the booking was made I cllicked on the Go Icon and the GPS calculated the directions and took me straight there.

Too Easy.

Gonna use it in Oz at the end of August and expect no issues at all.



Thanks very much. I have ordered one which ishould have in my hot little hands this week sometime.

Cheers.

[ducatijim]

Gonna use it in Oz at the end of August and expect no issues at all.

Thats optimistic if you are doing any sort of adventure stuff- if so you will not escape giving it a dunking......and it don't like that!

Stay on the black stuff, and take the battery box key- you'll be SWEET!:2thumbsup

[P38]

Thats optimistic if you are doing any sort of adventure stuff- if so you will not escape giving it a dunking......and it don't like that!

Stay on the black stuff, and take the battery box key- you'll be SWEET!:2thumbsup

I'll keep my eyes wide open then :shit: :msn-wink:

[NordieBoy]

Thats optimistic if you are doing any sort of adventure stuff- if so you will not escape giving it a dunking......and it don't like that!

Stay on the black stuff, and take the battery box key- you'll be SWEET!:2thumbsup

Prep it with a bit of di-electric grease on the battery contacts.

[Gizzit]

A quick note to advise those who may be contemplating the purchase of a ZUMO....

DON'T.

Mine has been non stop trouble from day 1.( its now 8mths old)

1) Its battery failed after 2 weeks.

2) The m/c mount/base/power unit failed after an imersion in the Pentecost river( supposed to be waterproof to 1m)

3) today, the in car mount/base/power unit, or its battery failed.

A piece of CRAP. Mine anyway.

Jamie.:argh:

That's bad luck Jamie! Like others have said here, mine is brilliant, rain or shine. Great in the car as well. Sounds like you just got a lemon as these are really great units.

[Hitcher]

Mine has now been running for seven days in three USA states and now in Canada. It is absolutely fantastic. I rely on the information it provides implicitly. Every day so far Doris has unfailingly delivered us to the door of our hotel, in a land where I know not my arse from my elbow.

Buy one.

[Strider]

The Garmin maps are loaded with thousands of point of interest. Accomidation, Food, Gas etc.

Once you connect to your phone via bluetooth (or wire if you want) a couple of clicks will have you ringing through and making a booking while still riding.

Works great.

I recently travelled to Wanganui. About 50kms out of town I clicked on the accomidation icon and it showed all within the North Island. I chose one that looked promising clicked on the phone icon and next thing I was making a booking without even stopping the bike. Once the booking was made I cllicked on the Go Icon and the GPS calculated the directions and took me straight there.

Too Easy.

Gonna use it in Oz at the end of August and expect no issues at all.



What model do you use?

[Strider]

Looking at the "Garmin" which is the better of the model to get in way of bluetooth and playing mp3 and for updating maps on eta...

[P38]

What model do you use?

Garmin Zumo 550

Been in Oz several days now and have navigated the streets from the Melbourne CBD to Ballarat and back without a hitch. Even found us food to eat, ATM's and Tourists spots.

[P38]

Looking at the "Garmin" which is the better of the model to get in way of bluetooth and playing mp3 and for updating maps on eta...

Zumo 550 all the way.

Does everything you could think of plus some.

[Hitcher]

I have just returned from 40+ days traveling in the USA and Canada. I came to rely on my Zumo 550 unwaveringly. Every night Doris delivered us safely to our designated accommodation, located proximate gas stations when needed, found the bike shop we wanted in Flagstaff Arizona, and numerous other cities and specific addresses en route. It operated unflinchingly in the heat of Death Valley and in Arizonan thunderstorms. It provided a range of useful data, like distance to destination, and height above mean sea level.

If there are better GPS units for motorcyclists, I have not seen them. The Zumo 550 rocks. Seriously.

[Qkchk]

If there are better GPS units for motorcyclists, I have not seen them. The Zumo 550 rocks. Seriously.

From 3 day tours to 1 hour rides, my Zumo goes where I go. (On either bike!)

[Transalper]

I have just returned from 40+ days.......
If there are better GPS units for motorcyclists, I have not seen them. The Zumo 550 rocks. Seriously.


From 3 day tours to 1 hour rides, my Zumo goes where I go. (On either bike!)Yep, go the Garmin, my Etrex Legend HCx does all that too, only difference is the etrex has a smaller screen and controls and doesn't talk to me, but then I don't have any speakers in my helmet anyway even if it could. Good thing it is half the price. If I had a heap of spare cash I might try the Zumo but really am happy with the one I got which fitted my budget and fits in my pocket when off geocaching and other on foot kind of stuff.
Got to love those free NZ auto routing maps too.

[P38]

Yep, go the Garmin, my Etrex Legend HCx does all that too, only difference is the etrex has a smaller screen and controls and doesn't talk to me, but then I don't have any speakers in my helmet anyway even if it could. Good thing it is half the price. If I had a heap of spare cash I might try the Zumo but really am happy with the one I got which fitted my budget and fits in my pocket when off geocaching and other on foot kind of stuff.
Got to love those free NZ auto routing maps too.

Yep GPS is a bloody marvel of modern science.

And Garmin are up there with the best.

We've been using my Zumo for Geocaching for about a year now and It guides us to the right spots every time.

Found four in Oz now. Been to some nice places we would have otherwise missed too.

Gonna do more Tomorrow.

[McJim]

Mine has now been running for seven days in three USA states and now in Canada. It is absolutely fantastic. I rely on the information it provides implicitly. Every day so far Doris has unfailingly delivered us to the door of our hotel, in a land where I know not my arse from my elbow.

Buy one.
If you're in the States shouldn't that be "Ass from my elbow"? :rofl:

P.S. so you have a very clean elbow and a shitty arsehole at the moment?

[Hitcher]

If you're in the States shouldn't that be "Ass from my elbow"?

I resisted engaging with locals who used the term "ass" within my hearing. Actually that was easier than wanting to hit people who used the term "BS" instead of "bullshit". Twats.

[Grub]

I have just returned from 40+ days traveling in the USA and Canada..

Welcome back you two ... when is the evening slide show? Did you do a blog at all, would love to hear all about the beauties, trials and tribulations of a trip such as that.

[Hitcher]

For a small fee...

[Wufnik]

According to the website below, Garmin are now discontinuing the New Zealand mapping. Or have I missed the point somewhere? Probably have...

http://www8.garmin.com/cartography/mapSource/citynavNewZealand.jsp#

[Hitcher]

There's a New Zealand open source map project. That's where the NZ maps on my Zumo came from. I must send the authors some feedback...

[Wufnik]

And I think I did get it wrong. The NT version appears to be still available. It is the non-NT version that appears to be discontinued (per this link).

http://www8.garmin.com/cartography/mapSource/citynavntNewZealand.jsp

[PrincessBandit]

We just got ours through Mapworld in CHCH (early Christmas present for the Christmas ride.....) and have been playing with it for the last couple of days on our bikes.
Balu has hardwired his mounting unit into the ciggie lighter on his scooter (a function I don't have) so he can run it off bike battery; I run it off it's internal battery. We've been chuffed with it so far, very impressed with the ability of it to map out new route if you choose not to follow the route it sets out for you.
What we have noticed though is a rather large discrepancy in our speedo readings on the bike compared to the gps. Up to around 50 kph it's pretty close but this afternoon I was on the Southern motorway, bandit's speedo reading 125 kph but the unit said I was only doing 115. I know the Burgmans supposedly "overread" on their speedos, but it would seem that the bandit does as well. Anyone able to explain why the gap between what speed the bike reads at compared to the gps unit?
(Maybe it's a crafty conspiracy just to make us riders think we're going a whole lot faster than we really are........oooooh conspiracy theories.......)

[NordieBoy]

Most speedos read about 10% over.
Odo's are usually accurate though.

[Hitcher]

My speedo is only 2% out at 100kmh. When my current tyres were new, it was near enough to perfect.

[Rockbuddy]

in the car my zumo reads the same as the speedo to within 1km on the bike ots anything from 5kms to 15kms out, ??????

[sinned]

in the car my zumo reads the same as the speedo to within 1km on the bike ots anything from 5kms to 15kms out, ?????? It would be interesting to know the amount of the error manufacturers build into their speedo readouts. I have done some tests with the GPS (that is accurate on a straight flat road) and found the SV1000 read 8% high, a HD is spot on, S3 is 8% high. My 2008 Mazda3 is 5kms high at all speeds, the 1998 Corolla is close to correct, the XR6 I had was spot on at 100kph and I got a ticket to prove it.

I wondered why some drivers of new cars drove at 45kph in town - now I know - the speedo is reading 50.

So some bikes (Suzuki) have a built in percentage error, some cars have a fix km error.

I have wondered if the HP cops know what the speedo error of different vehicles is?

[Gremlin]

I have wondered if the HP cops know what the speedo error of different vehicles is?
Why do the cops need to know? Speedos will over-read rather than under-read, so if you are caught on radar doing 115, odds are, your speedo was reading higher than that.

Katoom speedo is never more than 3-4kph out, even all the way to 190 odd.

I love my zumo 550, and if you have a garmin, check out www.nzopengps.org

[ducatijim]

Dr650 speedo is 15kph out,

KTM is 7kph out,

Puegeot 206 car is 5kph out. All read higher than actual.

[sinned]

There's a New Zealand open source map project. That's where the NZ maps on my Zumo came from. I must send the authors some feedback...
Could you give us you valued feedback - please.

[cooneyr]

....... and if you have a garmin, check out www.nzopengps.org


Could you give us you valued feedback - please.

dennisr - follow the link above. They are a bloody awesome map set and in most countries would be worth $$$$. There is a couple of interesting things I have come across where roads don't link up but then again I like to ride gravel and we don't want the the auto routing sending people between Chch and NN via the Rainbow (as happened to an ausi couple).

Also they are updated every so often so it is worth downloading the latest map set every other month.

Cheers R

[Hitcher]

Well, I live about 1.5km from a really irritating error. The NZ maps are of the opinion that School Road connects with Kaiwharawhara Road, and calculates routes accordingly. There is about a 25m disconnect between the two, a gap that includes the inimitable Kaiwharawhara Stream and a series of bulk oil pipes.

Also the junction of SH53 and the Greytown Bidwells Cutting Road is assumed by the maps to be a SH53 right-of-way corner, when indeed it is nothing of the sort. Consequently the Zumo doesn't acknowledge this as an intersection of note.

[Transalper]

Re; Open source maps...
If you tell them they will fix it.
If you don't tell them then they will not.

[young1]

What is the cost of the Zumo in New Zealand at the moment?

[Hitcher]

What is the cost of the Zumo in New Zealand at the moment?

You should contact Karl at logicalchoice.co.nz. He should be able to do you a deal...

[Gremlin]

Re; Open source maps...
If you tell them they will fix it.
If you don't tell them then they will not.
It does depend what maps Hitcher is using. If he is using the City Navigator, standard Garmin maps (that you pay for *snigger*) then feel free to tell them. Whether or not they update it for next years maps, no idea.

If you are using the NZOpenGPS maps, then definitely submit the corrections to the valid thread (based on the tiles of NZ) preferably with the Mapsource provided co-ordinates (allows easy copy-paste, and you're right there).

The project is run by volunteers and donations, and is easily better than the commercial attempt by Garmin... go figure. The open GPS maps are only as accurate as our submissions to the regional mappers, so if you spot missing data, roads that don't actually exist, etc, submit it. Every tourist coming through and using them will get the collective knowledge and benefits (borg anyone?)

What is the cost of the Zumo in New Zealand at the moment?
Challenger Motors is probably one of the main distributors in NZ, currently I believe the price is around $1250 for the Zumo 550. There is a Zumo 450, no bluetooth etc, but very hard to come by in NZ.

For open GPS, be aware that for nuvi and zumo models, different mapsets have to be downloaded than for other models (all on the website).

[Meanie]

Garmin sent me an email a few weeks ago saying they have a map update, but was gonna cost around $100 so i flagged it

[Gremlin]

Garmin should be seriously looking at sponsoring the open gps, and using its updates and knowledge to incorporate into their own, for those that like buying their maps. Perhaps some sort of account based setup, so people can log in, and download a new map each month, if they want.

Better service, more accurate maps, and lower overheads on their part...

[timg]

:woohoo: Thank's to Santa :innocent: I now have a Zumo for the Transalp (and cage). So far it's worked flawlessly - managed to get us to a BBQ at an address I didn't know and home again ;) MapSource sucks tho :angry: seems my unit came with v6.14.1 which is the latest buggy update. After hours of creating and trying to alter routes and getting nowhere I came across www.zumoforums.com which seems full of helpful Zumo stuff. Down loading and installing an earlier version of MapSource solved my problems and it now works as the various tutorials say it should :yes: Now to try loading some of cooneyr's advroutes and do a wee bit of local exploring... :ride:

[Gremlin]

Yep, sometimes 6.14.1 can cause issues, 6.13.7 is a bit basic visually, but more stable, and doesn't require as much grunt to run.

Now head over to http://nzopengps.org/ and learn to use much more accurate and cheaper maps for NZ. :ride:

[NordieBoy]

Yep, sometimes 6.14.1 can cause issues, 6.13.7 is a bit basic visually, but more stable, and doesn't require as much grunt to run.

Now head over to http://nzopengps.org/ and learn to use much more accurate and cheaper maps for NZ. :ride:

And make sure you're using 6.13.7 if you want to use 3rd party (NZOGPS) maps.

[Gremlin]

And make sure you're using 6.13.7 if you want to use 3rd party (NZOGPS) maps.
not necessarily always the case, but currently, yes.

Been testing a few things lately, and it will be fixed eventually, but for now, 6.13.7 (its to do with how its compiled I think).

[cooneyr]

And make sure you're using 6.13.7 if you want to use 3rd party (NZOGPS) maps.

I just grabbed the update of the Gamin site when I installed mapsource at work then stuck on the NZOGPS maps and have not had any issues. Made a couple of routes but not used it with the GPS yet. What are the issues with 6.14.1?

Cheers R

[Gremlin]

6.14.1 uses more resources than 6.13.7, but more specifically, you will probably find 6.14.1 will crash when you try to search one of the latest mapsets (december) for cities, features etc. ie, Find now, brings up a short list, you click ok on one, and normally it would show you it on the map. It crashes at this point with an error, and mapsource closes.

This is only for Mapsource, the maps work fine on the GPS itself. We did have an issue with some maps actually stopping Mapsource from loading (Family 963 error) but the guys tracked down that problem.

[timg]

I just grabbed the update of the Gamin site when I installed mapsource at work then stuck on the NZOGPS maps and have not had any issues. Made a couple of routes but not used it with the GPS yet. What are the issues with 6.14.1? Cheers R

A thread on the problems here http://www.zumoforums.com/index.php?topic=6360.0 Seems to vary according to the hardware in use - for some folks it works fine, for others it doesn't. My Pc isn't the latest thing, but an IBM with P4 2800mhz, 4gb ram & 512mb video card which runs the resource hungry Photoshop & Capture NX perfectly adequately. The issue with 6.14.1 for me was that it wouldn't turn the route from magenta to yellow and then 'rubber band' to alter the route. Got some of your site routes loaded ready for a wee explore :ride: some day soon :) Cheers.

[Meanie]

Question for all you others with a Zumo 550
I recently did a trip down the south island, when i plugged my zumo into my computer to download the tracks of where i had been over the last week all that it had saved was the last two days worth, i was down there for a week and yes it had been tracking my whereabouts, it just seems to drop the tracks off and only keeps about the last two days worth. I had wondered weather it needed an SD card to store all the tracks but it was only 14 percent full so i dont think memory is the issue
I realy want to sort this soon as i am doing the southern cross and would love to keep track of where ive been

[cooneyr]

Question for all you others with a Zumo 550
I recently did a trip down the south island, when i plugged my zumo into my computer to download the tracks of where i had been over the last week all that it had saved was the last two days worth, i was down there for a week and yes it had been tracking my whereabouts, it just seems to drop the tracks off and only keeps about the last two days worth. I had wondered weather it needed an SD card to store all the tracks but it was only 14 percent full so i dont think memory is the issue
I realy want to sort this soon as i am doing the southern cross and would love to keep track of where ive been

This may not be any help but with the eTrex Legend HCX it will only keep the last 10,000 points and can either wrap the data (keeps overwriting the oldest data) or simply stop recording when the internal memory is full. The way around this is to choose the option under memory card that gets the GPS to write to the memory card and also get the unit to wrap the data. When you get home you download the data from the memory card and simply clear the internal memory. You should end up with a gpx file for each day on the memory card.

Cheers R

[timg]

Check out www.zumoforums.com Lots of good info there. I haven't used tracks yet but seem to recall that there's a limit to the amount that can be recorded and a way around it was reducing the frequency of what ever the track points are called. Cheers.

[Alpha Solo]

I used a Zumo on the Dusty Butt, I could only upload the 50 point versions of the route, but even this was great - allowed me to see the route at night etc but the best thing was that I wired up some earplugs and had audio instructions as well as my MP3 selection! Full details in my write up coming soon (as I get a moment!)

[Snails pace]

Question for all you others with a Zumo 550
I recently did a trip down the south island, when i plugged my zumo into my computer to download the tracks of where i had been over the last week all that it had saved was the last two days worth, i was down there for a week and yes it had been tracking my whereabouts, it just seems to drop the tracks off and only keeps about the last two days worth. I had wondered weather it needed an SD card to store all the tracks but it was only 14 percent full so i dont think memory is the issue
I realy want to sort this soon as i am doing the southern cross and would love to keep track of where ive been

Coneyr is part right. It saves them in an archive file. When you connect the zumo to the pc it goes into save mode and then storage mode. On my pc a window pops up asking if I want to view files in window explorer. Clicking yes you will see a Garmin file. Click on this and you see a GPX folder. Click this and inside is an archive folder in which should be all your tracks. Double click on one of those and it should open in mapsource. Simply save in mapsource and hey presto.

[Bass]

I found something similar when we did OZ - thought we only had the most recent activity. However, went digging via windows and found about 6 weeks worth. Was then able to direct mapsource to the right files.

[Hitcher]

Now that is something I haven't done with the zumo. Must have a look and see if there are any tracks in there from the USA travels.

[Meanie]

Thanks all for your help, ill have a play when i get home and see if it managed to save the info

[timg]

I used a Zumo on the Dusty Butt, I could only upload the 50 point versions of the route, Hi ya, down load GPSBabel from cooneyr's website and use it to reduce the 250 point files to 195 points and then you can load em. Zumo doesn't do over 200 apparently. Lots of good info on www.zumoforums.com. Both reduced 250 point files loaded into my Zumo ready for a go at Waitangi Weekend which I now cannot do :buggerd: Cheers.

[Gremlin]

The zumo will split travels into approx 10k point files. In the GPX directory, you'll see a temp and current file, and then the archive folder will have files that are numbered. I have had the issue once before, where it simply didn't record tracks for 400 odd km. I don't believe the zumo has settings for the frequency of track points, as it records more in corners, then minimises the points down straights.

You can have multiple mapsource windows open at once, with different files, so you open them up, and if you wish, copy the tracks into one big file.

Re routes with over 200 waypoints, other option is simply to split the route into parts. It also depends how you make it in the first place. Generally, I start with the start and finish and let it auto-calculate the route. Starting near the beginning, I then place strategic points in the route, to nudge it onto roads. Depending what you are doing, you may need a few, sometimes, it hits your desired route quickly.

You also have options on the gps such as avoidances (u-turns, gravel, highways) which effectively alter the preference of roads, and its decisions to choose roads.

Do be careful about making routes on the pc, and then sending to the unit, I have noticed that sometimes, the routes are not the same.

[Transalper]

Unfortunately you cant let it auto cacluate when following routes like the Dusty Butt one as some of it doesn't exist on the auto routing maps.
In those cases you got to follow route using the off road mode.

[young1]

So.. cheapest place in NZ to buy a Zumo is where?

[Rockbuddy]

after a bit of reasearch I purchased mine from http://www.downunderpilotshop.co.nz/Garmin_Zumo_550-p-18.html
about as cheap as i could find, their service was average

[RDJ]

has anyone done this successfully? I can't find the answer on the Zumo forums, and I would like to save my NZZ maps onto my 450 (which came preloaded with US maps) so I can use the SD card slot for Audible books. Thanks for any feedback.

[Gremlin]

So.. cheapest place in NZ to buy a Zumo is where?
www.challengermotors.co.nz is $1249 usually, but Tony was running out 6 units at $999, not sure if they have gone or not.

His service is excellent, he does the work on the police and ambo bikes for the radio units etc.


has anyone done this successfully? I can't find the answer on the Zumo forums, and I would like to save my NZZ maps onto my 450 (which came preloaded with US maps) so I can use the SD card slot for Audible books. Thanks for any feedback.
If you have the maps already, on your pc for example, you simply send them to the GPS, and it will save them on the GPS's drive. Just make sure you then select those maps only on the gps itself, so it will use them.

[young1]

www.challengermotors.co.nz is $1249 usually, but Tony was running out 6 units at $999, not sure if they have gone or not.

His service is excellent, he does the work on the police and ambo bikes for the radio units etc..

Thanks for that, I have ordered one, he said that three sold yesterday and I got one of the last two left.

Now at least I will know where I have been when I get home!

BTW the garmin forum, does anyone have a link to that please?

[Eddieb]

There's a couple of good links

Local GPS forum, seem to focus more on Geocaching: http://forums.gps.org.nz
NZ Open GPS project, the free maps: http://www.nzopengps.org
NZ Open GPS Project forum: http://gwprojects.org/forum/

[Meanie]

Well i found all my old tracks in the archive folder on the GPS
I am wrapped cause i thought id lost all my tracks from our south island tour

[timg]

BTW the garmin forum, does anyone have a link to that please? www.zumoforums.com Enjoy your Zumo :)

[young1]

Thanks guys I have saved the links to my favourites

[young1]

I now have my Zumo, I want to mount it up above the instrument panel on my 990. I am a bit confused as to what I need to do that. Do I need;
1) A whole new mount for the Zumo, or
2) Is there a part I can buy, Touratech?, that will let me put the Zumo mounting unit up there (that is the mount that I have that is to go on my handlebars)

[banditrider]

You only get the hadlebar mount & car mount kit with the Zumo so to attache above your gauges you'll need something else that the bike cradle can fit to (with a ball mount). Try Ivan at http://www.ramsolutions.co.nz/webapps/site/62807/64745/shopping/custom/shopping-ram.html?find_groupid=14224 He should have something to help you out. I bought a stem mount for mine and this has put it in a good position for my bike: http://banditrider.blogspot.com/2009/01/zumo-install-pt-2.html

[Gremlin]

Young1, the advantage of Ram Solutions, is that while it looks a little bulky, parts can be mixed and matched. What you need is a new mount, so if you look up Ram Solutions, and replace the bar mount that would have come with the other parts (stalk, gps cradle and mount for gps cradle etc) you should be able to get a full mount for very little extra outlay.

[denill]

We are intending to travel, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, plus other more Western Europeanised counties. We intend to buy a GPS and are having difficulty finding one with suitable maps. The Zumo City Navigator® Europe NT map seems to provide the best cover?? But I need the RIGHT advice.

Can posters in this thread point me to the most knowledgable person selling Garmin, not necessarily the one who gives the best deal?
TIA.
Bill

[Hitcher]

Can posters in this thread point me to the most knowledgable person selling Garmin, not necessarily the one who gives the best deal?

Take your issues to Garmin themselves or to one of their European forums. I doubt any NZ distributor will be able to provide the breadth of knowledge you seek.

[denill]

Can any one tell me if Garmin Nuvi models have an earphone jack - to get audio into the helmet? TIA Bill

[denill]

Can any one tell me if Garmin Nuvi models have an earphone jack - to get audio into the helmet? TIA Bill

Found my answer. Some Nuvi models don't. The upper market Nuvis do. Thanks. Bill

[Hitcher]

I've posted this in its own thread, but Givi seem to be onto it...

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/News/newsresults/mcn/2009/February/2-8/feb0309-givi-s850-sat-nav-bag/?&R=EPI-105965

[banditrider]

A mate of mine tried a car GPS in a waterproof holder from Ram solutions and it worked fine except in bright sunlight where the glare made the screen very hard to read. He now has a Zumo.

[denill]

A mate of mine tried a car GPS in a waterproof holder from Ram solutions and it worked fine except in bright sunlight where the glare made the screen very hard to read. He now has a Zumo.

Have used a car GPS audio only. Keep it in my jacket pocket - OK, in plastic bag if necessary. The audio is to my mind, heaps of help and don't have to take my eyes of the road.

[l8cuma]

Depends on the model, have the zumo 550 and it supports blue tooth audio and standard headphones (cradle only).

[Gremlin]

Depends on the model, have the zumo 550 and it supports blue tooth audio and standard headphones (cradle only).
Actually, the zumo has a 3.5mm audio out on the cradle (can't remember off the top of my head if its mono or stereo... stereo I think, bluetooth is mono), so any setup that can handle 3.5mm can be used. The car mount has an integrated speaker, the bike mount does not.

[denill]

after a bit of reasearch I purchased mine from http://www.downunderpilotshop.co.nz/Garmin_Zumo_550-p-18.html
about as cheap as i could find, their service was average

I ordered from Tony at http://www.challengermotors.co.nz/ and I am very pleased with the service he has provided so far. Will let youse know how it goes. His price was better than Downunders as well.

[Crisis management]

Having successfully stuffed the Zumo onto the bike with duct tape and some old construction adhesive the only problem I had was stretching the bloody wires as far as the battery to jam them under the terminals, luckily my medium size ball pein was able to ensure a good connection was made. :headbang:

However, being concerned about maintaining the integrity of the contacts between the cradle & power supply I have been trying to find some dielectric grease....so far with no luck, electrical wholesalers only have dielectric silicon!

So, where do you buy the stuff?

PS. the Zumo seems good but the audio makes for some entertaining moments as they try pronouncing Maori road names, I must try it in american to see how that goes!

[upshift]

Nice to see the price of the Zumo 550 drop a little lately, but still overpriced IMHO.

No doubt due to the newly announced Zumo 660 http://garmin.blogs.com/pr/2009/01/garmin-zmo-660.html

Not sure if this is a replacement for the 550 as both are listed on the Garmin US site, 550 at US$899 and 660 at US$799

[Hitcher]

A friend recently purchased a new Moto Guzzi Norge that comes with a Tomtom, but sans NZ maps. It appears that there is no such thing as open source maps that can be used in a Tomtom. Garmin is to be applauded on this score.

[Gremlin]

Garmin is to be applauded on this score.
Its more a case that their units are compatible with the open source maps, and that you can create stuff for them.

I don't think Garmin would be overly happy that there are free maps, more accurate, more up to date and released more frequently :whistle:

Kinda destroys their plan of marketing their maps :laugh:

[P38]

Looks like the major upgrade for the Zumo660 is the AD2P Bluetooth protocol.

Wireless Stereo sound instead of mono.

[young1]

I am still playing around with my Zumo.

Does anyone know if it is possible use it on a ride and then at the END of the ride click on what ever needs to be clicked so that it shows where you have been?

(Yes I do have the manual so if someone tells me that it is possible I will look it up!)

Mike

[P38]

I am still playing around with my Zumo.

Does anyone know if it is possible use it on a ride and then at the END of the ride click on what ever needs to be clicked so that it shows where you have been?

(Yes I do have the manual so if someone tells me that it is possible I will look it up!)

Mike

Young1
You can upload and save your tracks, ie the route you have just taken, to your PC via the Mapsource software. once thats done a couple of clicks and you flying down your route in Google Earth.

Bores the pants off my wife :whistle:

[Gremlin]

If the Zumo is on, it is recording everything that is occuring, and creating a track of it.

Plug the zumo into your PC afterwards, receive tracks from it via Mapsource, and it will all be there. You can open the properties of the track, and it will give info like average speed and elevation for each point etc.

If your trip is longer, once a track gets to approximately 10,000 points, it is archived off into another file, that you have to manually retrieve from the zumo. Find it under Garmin/GPX/Archive.

[Meanie]

Young1
You can upload and save your tracks, ie the route you have just taken, to your PC via the Mapsource software. once thats done a couple of clicks and you flying down your route in Google Earth.

Bores the pants off my wife :whistle:

Must try that with my wife next time i get a little excited :rofl:

[young1]

If the Zumo is on, it is recording everything that is occuring, and creating a track of it.

Plug the zumo into your PC afterwards, receive tracks from it via Mapsource, and it will all be there. You can open the properties of the track, and it will give info like average speed and elevation for each point etc.

If your trip is longer, once a track gets to approximately 10,000 points, it is archived off into another file, that you have to manually retrieve from the zumo. Find it under Garmin/GPX/Archive.

Thanks everyone, that is just what I want. Is that explained in the manual or is it a bit hit and miss?

Mike

[Gremlin]

Is that explained in the manual or is it a bit hit and miss?
Given that a few have asked, or not known, its possible the more advanced details have not been covered.

That said, I'm a true male, and haven't touched the manual once. :laugh:

[Woodman]

Having successfully stuffed the Zumo onto the bike with duct tape and some old construction adhesive the only problem I had was stretching the bloody wires as far as the battery to jam them under the terminals, luckily my medium size ball pein was able to ensure a good connection was made. :headbang:

However, being concerned about maintaining the integrity of the contacts between the cradle & power supply I have been trying to find some dielectric grease....so far with no luck, electrical wholesalers only have dielectric silicon!

So, where do you buy the stuff?

PS. the Zumo seems good but the audio makes for some entertaining moments as they try pronouncing Maori road names, I must try it in american to see how that goes!

Try Repco in their marine section for the grease

[RichardC]

You can use Vaseline as well. Its non-conductive & will keep the nasties out.
You will have to apply it more frequently though.
Richard:wari: