Garmin XT2 – what a bit of shit

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On my USA tour I received to make use of the brand new Goldwing navigator and realised once more my navigation setup was dated.

In addition to my sick fated have a look at Apple Automobile Play (which stopped working after just a few days on tour) I’ve been utilizing a 2009 Garmin Nuvi 765 as my navigator outdoors of Japan and a Garmin Zumo 660 in Japan (which was stolen by Aus Submit couriers when shipped to Australia).

In a second when my captain low-cost charlie

regular self was switched off I made a decision to leap 14 years ahead in sat navs to the newest Garmin XT2.

Critiques of this new gadget have been all glowing – however we reside in a time when Bike Writers and YouTubers are puppets of producers. They offer constructive opinions to the whole lot to maintain getting bikes/gear to assessment and principally simply rephrase press launch materials they’re offered by no means even attempting the gadgets. Bloggers like me who will not be searching for subscribers or perceived fame (likes) are unusual.

So I admit I learn these so known as opinions and listened to the so known as superb options and by no means checked out person boards. When I discovered one $100 off on sale I merely pulled the set off.

Alas I can not recall such poorly written software program as discovered within the XT2 since among the crap I helped code for MYSTIX within the early 90’s. The gadget working system and functions are so incompatible with present file codecs it renders the XT2 unusable for the aim I bought it for – to navigate my motorbike alongside a customized route uploaded to the GPS.

Listed here are among the points:

It’s not suitable with .gpx information from on-line route planners. It recognises the .gpx information however then crashes/freezes when attempting to calculate the route. If you happen to switch the file wirelessly to the XT2 utilizing Garmin’s new Tread app then it tries to calculate the route then will get itself in a countless loop or freezes. If transferred by way of USB cable then the XT2 simply refuses to load the information.

I even have the misfortune of shopping for the primary Garmin GPS not suitable with Garmin’s personal route planner Basecamp (and that’s official, Garmin confirmed this). Route information made with Basecamp and transferred to the gadget present as tracks within the XT2 however can’t be transformed to routes. The gadget has a inside Observe to Route convertor however this program freezes on the conversion or it creates a route however then this file can’t be learn and calculated by the XT2.

The brand new Garmin Tread telephone app has a convertor additionally nonetheless tracks transformed with this to a route additionally crash the gadget. The gadget can truly show the uploaded tracks on a map however you get no flip by flip steerage with tracks within the gadget. That operate is just supplied with routes which the gadget is unable to make use of (if created exterior).

Abroad fashions will let you add any nations maps by way of Garmin Specific app however the Australia and NZ bought mannequin is area locked and doesn’t have this characteristic. It acknowledges Open Avenue Map information inserted on a SDcard however received’t will let you plan a route for a OSM just for the gadget inside base map. It won’t learn real Garmin maps in it’s SDcard slot. I examined a older real Garmin map on a SDcard which works fantastic in different Garmins. I attempted it on just a few totally different dimension and make SDcards however that isn’t the issue both and the file just isn’t corrupt.

Utilizing the Tread app you can also make a customized route in your telephone (with the constraints concerned of doing this on a small display) nonetheless just for the maps put in contained in the gadget important reminiscence, not for a abroad OSM within the SDcard slot. Regardless of marketed because the gadget for riders on a world journey it appears to have a dumbing down of features to make it area locked to make use of solely the bottom maps and solely routes made within the gadget or on Garmin’s telephone app for the bottom map.

However even that doesn’t work effectively. Transferring an area route made in my telephone with the Tread app to the gadget it seems within the menu however whenever you attempt to entry it you get a message to attend whereas it’s being transformed for the XT2. This will take from 1 hour for brief routes to a whopping 12 hours (no kidding) for lengthy routes. It’s horrible. Think about making a brand new route on tour then being informed wait hours for the gadget to transform it.

I’ve been on the Garmin assist teams and tried the whole lot that has been prompt by some fairly hardcore GPS geeks there. Other ways of transferring, totally different gps file codecs, totally different on-line planner instruments, utilizing basecamp, much less waypoints, totally different maps, in fact utilizing the GPS simulator mode and many gadget exhausting resets all to no avail. Tried stuff actually all day and night time for a few weeks. No person may get it to calculate a single customized route for my subsequent abroad tour and agreed with my prognosis the gadget appears to have some clumsy coded area lock. There’s A LOT of misinformation from folks with the older XT mannequin – that mannequin is totally different, what works for the XT doesn’t work for the XT2.

So I went again to my outdated Garmin Nuvi 765. It reads any map in anyway. All my tour routes for every nation transferred to it have been calculated shortly and at the moment are able to navigate. I ordered a brand new display for it from Aliexpress and can possibly refresh the battery whereas I’ve it aside.

The XT2 went to eBay and is bought. What a POS.

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