Just the basics

I just got the 66i and have never used a garmin before. The manual I find is quite useless for someone like me. It tells me where to find settings but not what settings are for. Have a few hours of research I figured out how to import a trail I want to hike. It is 8 Km.

I imported it to Garmin Explore site and the first stumbling block was to create a route or track. I selected a route and sent to my garmin and I can see the route in purple. I created a waypoint for parking. Now I got in the car and said to go to the waypoint, all good.

I started to hike and it would only show a small segment of the route (about 2Km). There was a message, something like can only display a certain number of points when driving. No idea why it said driving but I could not get any more of the route to show. I kept having to exit and go back in to see the full route which then dissappeared after 15 seconds or so. Luckily I also had my phone and just used the gps on my phone to find my way.

Secondly I found that often it would not show my position on the device. I kept having to scroll over to where I thought I was.

So I obviously and missing some very basic info. Is there a basic step by step manual out there that describes how to do a hike and where I can find the info on the device? The online manual mentions options that I don't even have on my device even though the manual is for the same model. I have updated the firmware and loaded the most recent update.

I have not activated the device yet as i only want to use the device to find my way around some simple trails. I will activate to use inReach and tracking later in the summer.

Any help would be appreciated.

0 twolpert over 4 years ago

Setup > Routing. Set Direct Routing NO, Activity Prompted, Calculation Method prompted. With activity prompted, you will be asked to select the activity when you begin routing. By choosing the appropriate activity (for example, hiking, automobile driving, pedestrian walking), you also choose the appropriate routing mechanism. You can probably get by with Calculation Method based on activity - but I like to see all my options all the time.

Normally, the map centers on your current position (the blue triangular "head pointer"). However, once you pan the map with the rocker, you will see the white arrow panning pointer. Once in panning mode, the map shows the location of the panning pointer. To return to centering on the head pointer, press Quit.

Pro tip: In panning mode, Mark marks the waypoint at the location of the panning pointer, not at your current location.

Edited to add: Garmin manuals are always reference manuals. In many cases, you will find more tutorial style documentation, including screen shots, here: http://gpsrchive.com/

0 3561307 over 4 years ago

I am also a new 66i owner and someone who has been reading thru the user manual. I concur that it is pretty useless as-is and needs to be more task oriented. For instance, one of the very first things it explains how to do is to lock the keys... but then doesn't explain how to unlock them!

I have also been finding the recording functionality confusing. It starts once you turn the thing on and there is no immediate way to get to the recording controls from the map. Of course this is explained to some extent in various parts of the manual but again not in a task oriented fashion.

It's a shame that such an expensive and capable device is let down by such poor documentation. Surely there have been enough questions here about the device to provide ample material for a rewrite.

0 beezd123 over 4 years ago in reply to 3561307

Hi, I "thought" I had it figured out and then when I went on a hike the other day, the tracks (that showed up on my garmin explorer app on my phone) did not show up on the 66i. So back to the drawing board. I did find a more comprehensive manual and I am now going through it again. You can find it here (and you can download the PDF as well). Hope it helps, I am not sure why I did not see this before as I was searching for the full manual. Anyway good luck: support.garmin.com/.../

0 beezd123 over 4 years ago in reply to 3561307

Also I will mention that I purchased backroad maps for my area and it is excellent. I also have TrakMaps but do not find it anywhere near as good as BackroadMaps. I think Trakmaps is popular for motorcylists but backroad maps is much better for hiking.

0 3561307 over 4 years ago in reply to beezd123

That's the one i have been looking at. Good luck, you'll need it! :)

0 twolpert over 4 years ago in reply to 3561307

Setup > Recording > Auto Start controls whether or not the unit starts recording on power-up.

Enter on the map screen brings up enough of the recording controls to start and stop (paused, shows the current state and the elapsed time.