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Edge 820 Navigation Map Detail and Orientation

Hello everyone. I’m new to the Garmin family. I’m trying to figure out the last few details about the GPS Edge 820.

What’s the actual difference between “less” and “normal” map details? Is “less” enough concerning being able to distinguish between confusing road splits? Which option is better and why?

Also, concerning map orientation, is Track Up or 3D view better?

My main goal is for it to have enough battery so I can finish a century yet get good navigation quality.

Thank you!

0 looigi over 4 years ago

It's easy to just try it and see what less, more, and normal looks like at different zoom levels. It mainly depends on where you are and the zoom level you're using For example, in densely populated areas like cities and towns, there can be too much screen clutter so "less" can help. Zooming in spreads things out so normal might still be OK. As you zoom out, smaller roads can disappear off the map if you're using "less". You can change it on the fly while riding to suit the local feature density and the zoom level you want to use. I find "normal" works in most cases.

I greatly prefer north up. I find it much easier to keep oriented that way, but that's how I think and navigate when not using GPS, preferring to keep aware of the cardinal directions and generally thinking in terms of turning north then west rather than just sequentially turning right then left, if you get what I mean. I keep north up on my phone and auto GPS as well.

It'll easily last a century... if you ride fast enough. Best thing to reduce battery drain is to turn off the backlight, BT and Wifi...and maybe use smart recording rather than every second. I always use smart recording anyway and find it more than adequate for my purposes. There's also power saving mode, but I haven't used that.

One last thing. People saw a noted decrease in battery life with firmware revisions after 11.20. It seems the jury is still out as to whether the latest revision, 12.50, has resolved that. You might try running with 12.50, or revert to 11.20.

0 MrMarcosMiranda over 4 years ago in reply to looigi

Awesome intel! Thank you. I'm in a suburban area so "normal" should be good then. I typically average 17MPH on centuries so hopefully it'll last... Anyway, I really appreciate the insight and tips. I've been using 3D because I'm used to from my car GPS but I'll experiment with other types then. I was worried 3D view might drain the battery more than other views...