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Heading settings Bearing/Course

6619804
over 5 years ago

Could somebody explain me what does it change when I set  Settings > Navigation > Type  Bearing or Course?

The manual says:

Bearing: Points in the direction of your destination.

Course: Shows your relationship to the course line leading to the destination.

But what points, what shows, in which situation? All tests I have made show no difference:

Bearing:

Course:

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 5 years ago

    Hello. I'll take a look and see what I can do to help. The navigation setting should work as described for bearing and course, but I may need a little more information about the screenshots you provided. If you still need help please send me a private message and I'll work with you. Thank you.

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to Former Member

    Hi, Anthony. The problem is in the "as described" part.  The manual does not clearly describe much. Saying that course mode "Shows your relationship to the course line leading to the destination" is highly ambiguous and open to interpretation (to put it mildly). What does that mean exactly? Will it point you to the nearest point of the course line? Will it point you to the nearest waypoint (if the course has any)? Will it simply tell you that you must inflect right or left without pointing to a specific point? Will it compare the direction of the track you have been following with the direction of the intended course line and somehow tell you (using the arrow) "go right", "go left", or "straight ahead"? Bottom-line: what does "show your relationship to the course" mean exactly?

    If you could provide a clear answer to this, it would help the many of us that have (or have had) this question (or at least the ones without the time, the opportunity, or the gumption to perform extensive testing through controlled experiments to then decide by ourselves what the manual really meant to say).

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to Former Member

    Hi,

    here is the situation:

    And other screenshots:

     

    Numbers "Bearing" and "Course" have sense. (But the opposite sense than the manual say ..?)

    The heading is taken from the compass, which has constant deviation - another problem I want to solve. GPS HDG. has no sense, probably because I am not moving.

    So it seems to me that the arrow shows "Bearing" regardless the setting of Settings > Navigation > Type  Bearing or Course.

    So my question stays the same - what does this setting change?

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    I used to ask myself the same questions, spent quite some time investigating and I did not figure it out, I gave up. In my opinion difference is either negligible or it is badly implemented. I used it quite a bit until few months ago, I cycled between one and the other and wile sometimes I felt like it shows something different I wasn't even sure if it is real difference or just placebo.

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to 1340982

    During actual activities it would typically be between 10-30 meters, up to 50m often enough. My hobby was cross country off the beaten track running, so I relied on my watch map 100% to know if I am even going in the right direction.

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to Kamil

    In my case, in both modes, after go off 50 meters from the course, the watch began to show the end point. But as the thread shows, it has nothing to do with the description in the user manual.

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 4 years ago in reply to 6619804

    I just made a test yesterday and came to the same conclusion as you...so when you look at 3rd and the 4th picture that you've posted the course points to the end point while bearing to the nearest point on the course. I found it the best to when you are of track navigate yourself back to track the way that you will try to match you're heading with course numbers and than when on track to use the pointer....because in my opinion the pointer when off track is pretty unreliable and honestly I don't often know where it points. So set up a screen with heading/course/bearing and navigate yourself back to track using and matching those numbers. Hope this helps. Cheers 

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to Former Member

    If it helps, I think I understood the mechanics of the bearing/course settings, as far as the map screen is concerned. The setting does indeed make a difference, and it aligns with what the manual says. There are a couple of details to understand it, but once you do, it even seems reliable. I tried to explain it in another post. See here, for what it's worth:forums.garmin.com/.../effect-of-the-bearing-course-navigation-setting