Routes in the TT ONE

[pikov]

When I plan a trip from Philadelphia to Boston, the TT insists on taking me over the George Washington Bridge. (If I had the traffic service, would that affect the route it selects?)

I would like to specify using the Tappan Zee Bridge but bridges are not POIs! Also I find it very difficult to select a point on the map.

What advice do you have?

 

[46jimbo]

You can very accurately mark a point on the map if you use something pointy like a Palm Pilot stylus or the cap of a ball point pen. Best it be plastic to protect the screen surface.

You have to zoom in very close and place the curser in the correct lane of the highway. Doing this with a thick finger, it is very difficult to be accurate.

 

[pikov]

You can very accurately mark a point on the map if you use something pointy like a Palm Pilot stylus or the cap of a ball point pen. Best it be plastic to protect the screen surface.

You have to zoom in very close and place the curser in the correct lane of the highway. Doing this with a thick finger, it is very difficult to be accurate.

I've been using the stylus from my TREO 700p.

When I try to move the map, frequently, TT selects the point as the one I want on my route. What am I doing wrong?

 

[jzerocsk]

When I plan a trip from Philadelphia to Boston, the TT insists on taking me over the George Washington Bridge. (If I had the traffic service, would that affect the route it selects?)

I would like to specify using the Tappan Zee Bridge but bridges are not POIs! Also I find it very difficult to select a point on the map.

What advice do you have?

I had the same exact problem! Part of the problem is that I could never remember that the bridge connects Tarrytown and Nyack - you can't even begin to search if you can't remember what city something is in!

If you had the traffic service (which you should b/c it's currently still in beta and free) it would still route you over the GW but if there was traffic on the GW you could request an alternate route but there is no guarantee it would take you over the TZ as opposed to trying to take you over Staten Island or some other insanity.

After much messing around, I determinde that you can "find" the Tappanzee bridge by searching for a cross street in Nyack, NY. Type in 87 and you will get I87/287 in both directions.

If you choose I87 NB and then start to type in Tappan, you will get another I87 NB entry. If you hold your finger on it you will see that the very end it says Tappan Zee Br

If you choose I87 SB for the trip home and begin typing Tappan you will, oddly enough, actually get an entry for Tappan Zee Br by itself!

Chalk this up to a map quirk - try searching for any of the bridges in Philly by name and you'll find them. For whatever reason the TZ just isn't well-labelled. Maybe because it's so long?

My preferred method now is to drop my own POI or Favorite somewhere on the bridge itself, one for each direction, that way you can easily use it as a waypoint without having to dig for it. As mentioned above, make sure you zoom in as tight as it will allow so that you can get the POI on the correct side of the road.

 

[46jimbo]

When I try to move the map, frequently, TT selects the point as the one I want on my route. What am I doing wrong?

Each time you touch the map with the stylus, the blue cursor marks the spot. But it doesn't register until you press 'Done'.

 

[pikov]

Each time you touch the map with the stylus, the blue cursor marks the spot. But it doesn't register until you press 'Done'.

In theory!

Thanks.

 

[Three3]

TomTom just loves the GW Bridge.

The most effective way to route things your way is to prepare them offline with google maps and then turn them into a TomTom itinerary with the script at http://houghi.org/tomtom.

Tappan Zee is the bridge between Nyack and Tarrytown.

 

[pikov]

The most effective way to route things your way is to prepare them offline with google maps and then turn them into a TomTom itinerary with the script at http://houghi.org/tomtom.

Wow! Just like the old aviation RNAV system! Looks like you have to add a "waypoint" at every turn along the route! How tedious.

I wonder how Google "understands" the route without the need for a zillion waypoints.

Thanks for the URL.

 

[Three3]

Google uses its routing algorithm, and TomTom uses its own. there's no guarantee that a pleasing google routing will end up the same way with TomTom. So you will have to experiment with which google waypoints anchor the route down well enough that TomTom can't mess with it.

 

[pikov]

Google uses its routing algorithm, and TomTom uses its own. there's no guarantee that a pleasing google routing will end up the same way with TomTom. So you will have to experiment with which google waypoints anchor the route down well enough that TomTom can't mess with it.

For a 5 hour trip, I think I will try to improve my manual skills and select points on the TOMTOM map.

 

[Three3]

You can also do it through the "Operate my device" capability on TomTom Home. You'll get better resolution and generally easier manipulation of the screen with the mouse than you do with fat fingers on the real TomTom!

 

[pikov]

You can also do it through the "Operate my device" capability on TomTom Home. You'll get better resolution and generally easier manipulation of the screen with the mouse than you do with fat fingers on the real TomTom!

Good idea!!

 

[pikov]

You can very accurately mark a point on the map if you use something pointy like a Palm Pilot stylus or the cap of a ball point pen. Best it be plastic to protect the screen surface.

You have to zoom in very close and place the cursor in the correct lane of the highway. Doing this with a thick finger, it is very difficult to be accurate.

OK. I'll try "Travel via point on route". I want to add the Garden State Parkway and then the Tappan Zee Bridge. I click on the GSP and on DONE, I click on the bridge and DONE and it asks if I want to replace waypoint(s) with this one! That doesn't work. ???

 

[46jimbo]

With 'Travel via', you are only allowed one point. If you want more, you will have to build an itinerary.

 

[pikov]

With 'Travel via', you are only allowed one point. If you want more, you will have to build an itinerary.

Ouch! Let me ask you this: if I specify a few waypoints, will TT figure out the routes from one to the next? (I'm looking to specify as few waypoints as possible.) Thanks.

 

[46jimbo]

You are just going to have to experiment with it. When you build the itinerary, use 'Point on map', zooming in really close, to mark the waypoints.

Make sure that only the last item is marked as a destination (checkered flag). All the others must be marked as waypoints (yellow arrows).

The TomTom will use it's usual routing 'logic' to get you from one waypoint to the next. Examine the route carefully on the map. If it isn't quite right, then add more waypoints to force it to go the way you want. When you get it right, then you can save the itinerary and call it up whenever you need it.