Beginners Education 6 - Learn to do Simulation (Garmin)

 

Learning how to “simulate” a route or a location will let you test alerts, as well as icons, from the comfort of your home. You will also be able to do some trip planning before you actually get to your destination.

Before we actually do a simulation, let’s set up a scenario. Suppose that we are planning a trip to Washington, DC. Also, we have some friends that live near the intersection of Dupont Circle and Massachusetts Ave. in Washington. We think we might want to stay somewhere near them, maybe even within walking distance. And, we like Hampton Inns.

Can we get our GPS to assume that we are standing at the intersection of Dupont Circle and Massachusetts Ave? Yes, we can.

Note: this will work for most NUVIs The instructions are given for a 765T. Consult your manual.

Touch Where to and then Intersection. Touch Change State or Country. Touch Spell State or Province and you will be asked to Enter State or Province. When you type a “D”, the GPS should give you choices and you will press “District of Columbia”. Now press the Back button.

Touch intersection and you will be asked to “Spell City”. When you touch Spell City, you will be given various Washington, DC choices. Take the top one.

Now you will be asked to Spell Street 1 and you will type “DUP…” until Dupont Cir NW appears. Select it and you will be asked to Spell Street 2. Start entering “MASS…” and Massachusetts (etc.) will appear. Select it. Select the top of the two choices you will now be given. The next screen will give you the option of Go! but you will select Save. Answer yes to whether you want to save this location to your Favorites.

Now back all the way to the Main Menu (just hold the back button down till you get there - no need to press it multiple times).

To do the above on a 2595:
Touch Where to and then Searching near. Touch A Different City and you will be asked to Enter City. When you type "Washi" you will see some entries for "Washington" appear. Hit the arrow on the right until you find "Washington DC", select it, and select it again. Now, you are back to the screen that has "Address". Press that, do a "Done" past the "enter House Number"; now enter a “Dup” and "Dupont" will appear. Press "Dupont" and, the GPS should give you choices and you will press “Dupont Cir NW”. Now press the i button and let the unit calculate the route.

Press the three bars at the upper left. The next screen will give you the option of Save Press "Save" and enter a name to save this location (say "Simulate") to your Favorites. The unit will tell you that "Simulate is added to Saved"

Press Ok and hold the back button till you get to the main menu.

Now, get into simulation mode. If you unit has an antenna, you would fold it down. On older units, You would touch Tools (wrench) then Settings and then System. Select the GPS Simulator option and turn simulation On. Press Ok and then hold the Back button down until you get to the Main Menu. On newer units, You would touch Settings (wrench) and then Navigation. Press the Down Arrow. Select the GPS Simulator option to turn simulation On. Press Ok and then hold the Back button down until you get to the Main Menu.

Touch Where to and then Favorites. Touch All Favorites and then use the arrows to find “Massachusetts & Dupont Cir (SW)”. Take that favorite.

The next screen on a 765 will give you the option of Go! but you will select Map. On a 2595, the screen also will give you the option of Go! but you will select i.

Now you can press the Set Loc. or Set Location (depending on model) button to tell your GPS that you are now at “Massachusetts & Dupont Cir (SW)” in Washington, DC. Hold the Back button until you get to the Main Menu.

Now we will find a Hampton. Touch Where To? and then Points of Interest. Touch Lodging and you will get a list of nearby places to stay. Touch Spell and then type in “HAMPTON” and press Done. You have some choices.

Want to see what else is nearby? Try other Points of Interest - say Attractions. There are so many that the “Washington Monument” does not show up in the 50 that it will show. You have to touch Spell and type in “Washington” then Done to find it. It is 1.5 miles away.

Let’s Go there. Your GPS will ask you “Do you want to simulate driving this Route?”. Answer Yes, and you will be on your way. Assuming you have 3D capability, look at all of the 3D buildings! Assuming you have some Custom POIs loaded with icons, you might go past one (on mine, I went by a McDonalds).

OK, that was fun. While you are still in simulation mode, go back to the Main Menu and Go Home. In simulation mode, once the route is calculated, press the bar at the top of the GPS to get into “turn by turn” mode. The arrows will let you see what route you will take. This might be something for which you would want to use simulation when you are somewhere on the road and want to see what your route will be tomorrow.

Now that you get the idea of what simulation can do, you can imagine doing something similar to test out Icons and Sounds in your own city. Think of a specific nearby POI in a file you want to test. Pick an intersection a half mile or so PAST that POI (assuming you were to go to that POI from your actual home location). Make it a Favorite. Follow the procedures above to set it as your current location. Get into simulation mode and then “Go Home”. If your Icons and Sounds are correctly loaded, you will see and hear them.

Related links

Change History

  • jgermann - Mar 21, 2014
    3/21/2014 improved instructions to cover more models

  • jgermann - Nov 1, 2013
    11/01/2013 added details for newer units

  • jgermann - May 30, 2013
    5/40/2013 Update how to get into Simulation mode

  • jgermann - Sep 17, 2012
    9/17/2012 title change