I'm trying to switch from Mapsource to Base Camp and can't do the most fundamental thing......create a route. I will enter my first waypoint using the pencil icon, and then move to the second waypoint and the route created by BC may go miles out of the way, or it chooses a parallel road for no reason I can understand. I have to try to force the route I want by making the waypoints closer and closer together, but that is very time consuming and still often results in BC heading the route off in wierd directions, sometimes even backtracking. I have watched the videos, read the tutorials, and still can't figure it out. The screen snip above shows an example. I used two points for the cities of Oroville and Tonasket and BC chose the side road instead of hwy 97, which would be both shorter and faster.
JBOURG, I really appreciate your working with me on this, but it's like we are on different planets. I downloaded the 2014 North America maps like you suggested, and I'm using "motorcycling" as my mode, and I still get this:
Activity Profiles (Driving, Motorcycling etc.) provide guidance for choosing a route. A profile has settings for faster or shorter route; feature avoidances like toll roads; types of road avoidances like interstates; and speed settings.
Garmin provides names for the profiles, but don’t take them literally. You don’t have to use the Motorcycling profile just because you’re riding a motorcycle.
In your case, if you double click on the route in the lower left pane and change the profile from Motorcycling to Driving you will probably get something closer to what you want. If it is not exactly what you want you may have to add some additional points with the route editing tools.
The default Motorcycling profile avoids both Interstates and Major Highways. You might want to uncheck the Major Highways and see if that works better in your area. Alternatively, you could make a custom profile based on the Motorcycling profile and call it Motorcycling 2.
In any case, you should make sure the profiles in BaseCamp and on your device match. Some devices recalculate uploaded routes and some don’t. Automatic re-routing could also cause problems if the profiles don’t match. Above, I suggested making a custom profile. If your unit doesn’t allow custom profiles, just change a profile you are unlikely to use in BaseCamp and on your unit.
I own an outdoor device and on my unit I can’t alter the speed settings. For this reason, I use the default speed settings in BaseCamp. Otherwise, I might get unexpected results if my device did a recalculation (the choice of road types on faster routes can change).
Now we are getting somewhere! I changed the profile to driving and it gave me a more reasonable route. I didn't realize the mode made such a difference. On my Zumo, it only changes the cursor symbol from a car to a motorcycle, bicycle, etc.
One final question: It sounds from the post above that the profiles can be further customized. How is this done?
On the Activity Profile tool bar (the one that says Driving, Motorcycling) the last item on the drop-down list is Edit Activity Profile. Select this to open the Options Window. Choose the profile of interest from the drop-down list and click on the routing tab.
The Options Window can also be opened from the Edit menu > Options or ctrl-o. It can also be reached by opening a route properties window (double click on a route in the bottom left pane) via the Route Options tab.
I don’t own a Zumo, but on your device there should be a Set-up or Customization screen. There you will be looking for something like Navigation, Routing, Route Planning etc. Check your manual. On my outdoor unit, I can only set Faster/Shorter and Avoidances.
