Rider 550 Routes

[sprint]

Hi

I have recently purchase a Rider 550 and want to plan some routes on My Drive and then download them.

Setting the start and destination points is straightforward however, in order set the specific route that I want to take I am having to add several stops in order to stop My Drive simply jumping to an alternative route. Fine, I have the route that I want to take but I now have several stops/waypoints that I now have to pass, as I understand it, or else the 550 will just keep telling me to go back to the missed stop/waypoint effectively leaving me without a Sat Nav from that point onwards.

Whilst I have set the stops/waypoint on places on the route that I should pass but due to roadworks, diversions etc you cannot guarantee that will be the case, so is there a way that you can overcome this, as you can on the Garmins by changing the waypoint to a bend which then does not matter if you pass the point or not, so that if for whatever reason you do not pass the specific stop/waypoint it will then just carry on to the stop/waypoint without forcing you to go back to the missed stop/waypoint?

Thanks

 

[canderson]

There's no way to modify the nature of the waypoint, but - if I correctly understand how you have created the route - you can go to "Current Route" and "Skip" the current waypoint which removes it from the current route. That will prevent the device from trying to send you back to it.

 

[sprint]

Thanks for the reply.

Is the 'Skipping' that you refer to something that you do directly on the TomTom Sat Nav itself whilst you are riding?

I note that the route that I have downloaded from My Drive on my PC to the 550 has been stored as a Track, dotted arrow. From what I have read that it means that it has been downloaded as a GPX file is that correct? If so are not the waypoints ignored in GPX files or is that a misunderstanding?

 

[canderson]

Yes, you would do the "Skip" on the device itself, but I see now that you've answered the other question, so now whether that option will be available to you isn't clear.

If you are using a *.gpx file (not setting the route up on the device itself), it matters what style *.gpx was created.

If you set up a track style (a *.gpx with <trkpt> entries), and try to follow that route, it will try to follow that EXACT track.
If you set up a route file (a *.gpx with <rtept> entries), then the device will do its best to take you from one point to the next. I *think* but cannot immediately verify that you are allowed to use "Current Route" "Skip" on the device when in that mode.
What the device will NOT process is a *.gpx file set up in waypoint style (using <wpt> entries). For that, you should instead create a good old TomTom *.itn file and follow that instead. Indeed, that may be what serves you best for this purpose. Many of the utilities that can create a *.gpx can also create a TomTom *.itn file.

I have also seen *.gpx files that contain both <trkpt> and <wpt> entries, and the <wpt> entries are indeed ignored.

 

[sprint]

Thanks for the detailed reply.

I am new to the TomTom and not particularly well versed in computers, files etc. I can follow instructions and push buttons but if it does not work I am usually stuck.

As to what files I am creating I am not sure, gpx, itn etc? Currently I am doing the route on My Drive and using stops to create the route that I want. After saving the route I have then sync'ed the PC and 550 via the USB connection to import the route to the 550. However, I then find that this has imported three routes to the 550. All three are the same route, with dotted arrow, two of them have only the start and destination points and one has both the star and destination and also all the stops that were created on My Drive.

So clearly something is amiss, which is a bit troubling as I will be leading a group and relying on the 550 for navigation and currently left not knowing which version to use and how reliable it is going to be?

 

[canderson]

As you are using MyDrive web, you need to use a utility that creates *.gpx files that are <rte>/<rtept> style. Some utilities will create that style, and some will create that in combination with the <wpt> all in the same file.

One of my favorite tools, POIEdit, will NOT do this job for you because it builds the *.gpx file in <wpt> format.
TYRE should do it, though I believe it creates both <rtept> and <trkpt> all in the same file. You would want to see how your 550 manages with that (does it create two files?). If you don't like the result, you can edit out all of the <trkpt> information with a word processor if you do it carefully.

http://www.tyretotravel.com/download-tyre/