260W and Multiple VIA POINTS

 

Ok, as have several others, I posted that my 260W (purchased Black Friday at Best Buy) has many of the new style 255W features ... features Garmin specs say the 260W doesn't have (ie Where Am I? Next Turn Icon in upper left corner. Automatic Time Set)

Well, I just found out that my 260W supports MULTIPLE VIA Points as well. I set a route for Fort McMurray, AB, hit "GO," then entered a VIA Point in Colorado, hit "GO" and the 260W asked if I wanted to set as destination or via point (I chose via point). After the GPS recalculated my route, I entered a second VIA POINT in Utah, again telling the unit to select it as a via point.

Bottom line ... my 260W showed the entire route when I hit "MAP" (with the highlighted route and little flags at my start, two via points and final destination ... correctly displayed the turn-by-turn directions and recalculated the mileage.

NOTE: This is no guarantee that your Garmin 260W will support multiple via points ... because it appears GARMIN has two versions of the 260W floating around out there. But if your 260W has the "Where Am I" feature, it will probably support multiple VIA points (which could be addresses, cities, favorites, what ever) ... a feature Garmin says the 260W doesn't have

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Garmin 205, 260W, 1450LMT, 2460LMT, HEREwego for iPhone ... all still mapping strong.

Can you give more specific details of use?

Last week a Garmin support person identified my new 250 nuvi as "the new hardware platfirm" and suggested that I MIGHT have multiple via capability in my unit. I did a test, which seemed to confirm that I did not have this feature. But then, while I was playing with the simulator and adding vias I seemed to do something to get it working, sorta. I say sorta since one of my VIAs was not a point that I had intentionally selected, and the point that I thought I was trying to use never got in the route t5raveled. maybe iy\t's just a touch screen input error, but maybe not.

Anyway, what I wondering and can't look up in my manual since I officially don;'t have this feature, is in what order does a user input the VIAs, and how many vias are allowed?

Lets say you want to go through point A and then point B and end up at point C. You put in C as your destination first. Now do you start at the beginning of the route and say "first go to via A" and then input via B once you have it accepting A as the first via, or do you say "I'm going to C, and I want you to do it by passing through via B. OK, now you're planning to go to via B, so I want you to do that by passing through via A."?

And on a somewhat related issue, does anyone know just how the detour button is intended to be used? I have not found it in the manual either.

My Nuvi 260 has the same

It has the "Where Am I', multiple via points, track log and a a micro SD port.
One of these days I was going to get around to finding out what unit it was closest to !

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MrKenFL- "Money can't buy you happiness .. But it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery." NUVI 260, Nuvi 1490LMT & Nuvi 2595LMT all with 2014.4 maps !

Closest

It sounds like my new 255W which has all the new features. Tried it on my 260(almost a year old) and it dosen't do more than one via point. 255W will do more than 1 via point.

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Paul..... Nuvi 765T

Thanks

pcatch135 wrote:

It sounds like my new 255W which has all the new features. Tried it on my 260(almost a year old) and it dosen't do more than one via point. 255W will do more than 1 via point.

Thanks for the input - I really like the added features over the 260's that 2 of my friends have !

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MrKenFL- "Money can't buy you happiness .. But it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery." NUVI 260, Nuvi 1490LMT & Nuvi 2595LMT all with 2014.4 maps !

Exact Steps to add multiple

Exact Steps to add multiple VIA's to my 260W:

1. Turn gps on to simulator mode (unless you are actually starting off on a trip.

2. Select "where to." Hit go. (say no to simulate).

3. From map screen, hit menu, then "where to" to select a via. Hit "go" Say yes to "add as via point"
say "No" to simulate.

4. After recalculating, repeat step three to add a second "via" ... and a third ... etc

5> from map page, pan out far enough to see entire map of your original A to B route, with interim flags for your various via points. Or, mash on top green bar to see "turn by turn"

Now, I know this isn't "true" routing ... but you could set up three or four addresses as "via's" and get multiple distination routing.

I plan on using it to "force" the GPS into swinging down a couple of interim cities as I head from Illinois to Alberta ... cities that wouldn't normally be on the "quickest" or "shortest" route.

I know, I know ... I could just do an A to B, B to C, C to D, etc ... but I think that once I set up a route with multiple VIA's, the GPS will remember my route, even when turned off and turned back on.

Pretty slick for a feature that the 260W isn't supposed to even have.

As I said, your 260W results might vary. There are definately two (or three) different 260W's currently being sold (old stock and new stock).

I happened to luck out and get the new stock.

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Garmin 205, 260W, 1450LMT, 2460LMT, HEREwego for iPhone ... all still mapping strong.

Not mine :(

My 260 (not 260W) allows a single "Add as Via". If I try to add a second one it drops the first one.

Ah well. I did recently update the firmware so I was hoping to get these "new" features.

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Drivesmart 66, Nuvi 2595LMT (Died), Nuvi 1490T (Died), Nuvi 260 (Died), GPSMAP 195

HMM

It sounds like the 255W will support multiple waypoints. I wasn't aware that it did, but I will try it tonight on the way home and post back. This would be an early Christmas present, as I wasn't expecting that feature when I bought it.

more exact please

cbwatts wrote:

Exact Steps to add multiple VIA's to my 260W:

...

4. After recalculating, repeat step three to add a second "via" ... and a third ... etc

What order are the vias put in, the order that you would reach them in or reverse order progressing from the destnation city? Not at all clear since you put in the destination city first.

How many via points does this support?

The Via point are entered in

The Via point are entered in the order from your point of origin.

IE ... Say You are taking a trip from NEW YORK CITY to LOS ANGELES.

Sitting in NYC, you'd enter a "go" destination of Los Angeles as your destination.

While that route is active, you would mash on menu again, and enter a VIA point of Cleveland, GO, then menu again, and another VIA point of DALLAS.

My 260w doesn't appear to organize the via points, other than the order in which you enter them ... so it's not an intelligent routing system.

But based on my findings (and what the Garmin tech told a previous poster) the 260w (new style) and 255w support multiple VIA points.

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Garmin 205, 260W, 1450LMT, 2460LMT, HEREwego for iPhone ... all still mapping strong.

Wait until recalculating is done

I am glad I read this. I was trying to add multiple via points and it was not working.
After reading this I realized that I wasn't waiting for the unit to finish recalculating. If you don't wait it just drops the previous via point.

Via Points and Detour

According to Garmin the new version of the 260W will accept up to 500 via points and the 255W will accept 1,000. The detour function can be used in order to re-route during trip due to road construction, Ect... Simply press the detour icon and a new route will be calculated from your current position taking you past the problem area and putting you back on your previous route.

Thanks

Maybe I'm dense but just how could that work?

Snagger56 wrote:

...... The detour function can be used in order to re-route during trip due to road construction, Ect... Simply press the detour icon and a new route will be calculated from your current position taking you past the problem area and putting you back on your previous route.

Thanks, but that just doesn't make sense to me. Let's say I come up to a closed road and nee to take a detour. I press the detour icon. How would the GPS know if the road is closed for just one block or for the next 5 miles? If I turn and start following the detour signs the unit should "recalculate" anyway (as long as it doesn't just suggest making a u-turn and going through the detour area again). Often a detour marked on a road is marked a mile or more before the actual problem (for example a bridge is out a mile ahead and this is the last or best chance to turn off the road and get to an alternate bridge), and the gps can't really understand that either, it may very well try to take you on back roads to get you right back to the closed bridge. But my main concern is that I don't know what assumption the GPS is working on when I press the detour icon. If it assumes too little of the intended road is closed it may very well route me back to a closed road, if it assumes too much of the intended road is closed then it may waste my time on too many back roads when I could get back to the main road much closer to the detour point.

Detour

In accordance with the manual when you hit detour.The nuvi attempts to get you back on your orginial route as quickly as possible.If the current route you are taking is the only reasonable option,the nuvi might not calcuate a detour.

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Charlie. Nuvi 265 WT and Nuvi 2597 LMT. MapFactor Navigator - Offline Maps & GPS.

Just a thought

I hadn't seen any writeup on doing this with "favorite" VIA points so I thought I'd throw this out.
I have 30-40 via points on my units which I use to alter the GPS preferred routing and/or force a routing.
These are obviously on trips I routinely take where I have preferences in the routing.

I have made a Custom POI file of these via points by making waypoints in Mapsource and getting the coordinates that way. I find once I make up the Via Point Custom POI file it is easier to locate and set the via points for my routing.
For my trips to New Hampshire from Florida
Examples would be:
-77.530655,38.372845,"VA NB US-17 Fredericksburg","Shortcut to I-81"
-78.12443,39.23675,"VA I-81 NB Winchester","Force Route"
-75.6345,41.4023,"PA I-81 NB Scranton","Force I-84"
-74.00845,41.52063,"NY I-84 EB Newburgh Br","Toll $1.00"
-72.76448,41.53751,"CT I-691 EB","Hartford By-Pass"

Just my idle thinking 1!!!!!

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MrKenFL- "Money can't buy you happiness .. But it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery." NUVI 260, Nuvi 1490LMT & Nuvi 2595LMT all with 2014.4 maps !

260W w/Multiple Via's

I just got a 260W yesterday and can confirm that it definitly can add multiple Via's to a calculated route.

vias

MrKenFL wrote:

I have made a Custom POI file of these via points by making waypoints ....

I have not made a long tip with my new nuvi yet, but I already have some "favorites" set up to use to force the route I prefer to take when I visit my family. Had not thought of making these into a custom POI file, but that may be handy as the favorite file grows, I might change to that approach.

I am wondering about how well this is going to work, and so wanted to ask a few questions of someone who has already done it. My doubt focuses around the gps actually recognizing that it has reached the Via. My GPS usually fails to realize it's home, even though the car is sitting in the driveway, even past the point when the "home" location was set, and I have to manually cancel the "goto". So when I drive on a trip and pass a via, will it really automagically drop from the route, or will the GPS try to convince me to make a U-turn and go back to be sure that I hit the via? And can I use the same via for the trip back, or do I need to set one on the other side of the road, once again to avoid the U-turn issue. And if I am on a route with multiple vias, can I tell the GPS to drop a via without needing to re-enter the entire route. For example, if I have a gas stop that I normally make as one of my vias, but as I pass that point decide that I either don't need gas or am not willing to pay their price and drive on, can I drop that via from the route without re-entering everything or having the gps keep trying to route me back to the via?

I have similar problems

I had similar problems with the via points being recognized by my GPSr so for highways I always make my coordinates (using Google Earth coodinates) for the center of the road (in the lanes I will be travelling just a "little" before I really want the via)

For locations such as gas stations etc - just make your coordinates a little before the point - make sure the coordinates are in your lane of travel !

Best advice I can give !

I don't know how to drop a via point if it didn't "trigger" without re-inputting original destinations.
Maybe somebody else can assist.

--
MrKenFL- "Money can't buy you happiness .. But it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery." NUVI 260, Nuvi 1490LMT & Nuvi 2595LMT all with 2014.4 maps !

My experience has been different

charlesd45 wrote:

In accordance with the manual when you hit detour.The nuvi attempts to get you back on your orginial route as quickly as possible.If the current route you are taking is the only reasonable option,the nuvi might not calcuate a detour.

My experience with the Detour function is that it sets an avoidance to whatever road you are currently on when you press Detour. It will not use that road again during that particular route.

I have a 24 mile commute to work, 20 miles of which are a straight shot on the expressway. If I press Detour it will take me off the expressway and use surface roads that parallel the expressway for 20 miles. It will never put me back on the expressway again. If I press Detour but ignore it, Nuvi will prompt me to exit the expressway at every single exit for the next 20 miles. I think it will only return you to the prior route if your original route has you change roads at some point.

So if you intend to avoid an accident or closure, you might be better served to just exit and let the Nuvi recalculate you back again further down the road if your route is a long stretch on the same road.

I have tested this on my

I have tested this on my 260w several times and it definetly arranges the via points based on the best route, not the order that I enter them.

Via point order

bonnet wrote:

I have tested this on my 260w several times and it definetly arranges the via points based on the best route, not the order that I enter them.

Sorry, I think I did something wrong when posting this. I was trying to reply to the comment that the 260w only arranged via points based on the order they are entered. As I have mentioned above my 260w does optimize the route.

Appears to Optimize multiple VIA POINTS

He's right!

I started this thread because my new style 260W allows multiple VIA POINTS.

Up until now, I always entered the via points in order ... but based on Bonnet's post ... I just entered a bunch of "jumbled" via points ... and my GARMIN 260w appeared to "optimize" the multiple VIA POINTS along my route.

Wow!

Another hidden feature of the new style 260W

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Garmin 205, 260W, 1450LMT, 2460LMT, HEREwego for iPhone ... all still mapping strong.

I also found

I also found that my "new style" Nuvi 260 optimized multiple via points. A very handy feature for sure.

Makes the VIA POINT Custom POI file that I generated
even more effective !

--
MrKenFL- "Money can't buy you happiness .. But it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery." NUVI 260, Nuvi 1490LMT & Nuvi 2595LMT all with 2014.4 maps !

Some 255s don't do multiple via points

My 255 doesn't allow multiple via points and I've updated it (if available) at the Garmin site.

I did as stated and waited for the calculating to be finished but it still only did one.

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It's a good thing that there's GPS systems or I would be ... always lost!

Some 255s don't do multiple via points

always lost wrote:

My 255 doesn't allow multiple via points and I've updated it (if available) at the Garmin site.

I did as stated and waited for the calculating to be finished but it still only did one.

Sorry, I lied! I didn't wait for the white box with distance to appear. Nice bonus feature!!!

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It's a good thing that there's GPS systems or I would be ... always lost!

This feature works great for

This feature works great for me on my 265wt. Very nice indeed considering I wasn't expecting it.

Multi Way Points

tomba.After seeing your post I tried it on my 265 and got the same results.I tried it with 5 via points with no problem.Wonder what the limit may be?Has anyone tried with more then 8?

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Charlie. Nuvi 265 WT and Nuvi 2597 LMT. MapFactor Navigator - Offline Maps & GPS.