Re: Which Units support MDR?



Jack Erbes wrote:
Dale DePriest wrote:
<snip>

That would be via routing which is not exactly the same thing as multiple destinations. Multiple destinations means different things to different people which is one reason it is not talked about much. Some considerations for Multiple Destination routing.

I'm not sure any of this is defined in concrete anywhere. I can live with it either way. I think Garmin started calling it that. I am comfortable with just using multiple waypoint routing or via routing or anything else that is understood.

I do not believe that via routing is called MDR by Garmin. Do you have a model or documentation that calls it that? My iQue 3600 and M5 have via routing but do not call it MDR.

1. Is it just adding a via inside a current route? If so is it mandatory to go through the via point or just use it to guide the router?

Unless you pick one specific unit and talk about what that will do and how it does it, it can be either way. Let me pick my 76Cx for this case.

That is my point. No clear definition making a checkbox worthless.

MDR on the 76Cx is that I can put waypoints at a series of places, put those waypoints into a route (in MapSource or on the 76Cx) and it will lead me to those places in that order. And when I activate the route I can choose Follow Road (autorouting on road vectors) or Off Road (point to point) navigation.

The behavior of the GPS is not the same for Follow Road and Off Road routes.

Off road is mainly what you describe below and this has nothing to do with MDR which is specifically for autorouting I believe. This can get really confusing when you start mixing apples and oranges.

For Follow Road routes, if the waypoint is via point (as was decided in my mind when I placed it) it directs me to the next waypoint after I pass by or through the waypoint.

Garmin tends to require the via point which can be a problem if you go offroute and would prefer the re-calc to just send you on to the destination.

2. If the via point actually called a destination. Does the product report it as a destination and describe ETA etc. to that point.

The only waypoint that gets called a destination is the final one. But I can have data boxes that show distance to the next waypoint and also distance to the destination. And I can have ETAs to those too.

You are describing the behavior of off road routes I believe since you talk about actual waypoints although if you view the route page (not the eta on the navigation page) then you can get the data on Garmin units.

3. If it is a really a destination then the unit should announce it and then allow the user to stop.

No voice prompts on the 76Cx but the display tells me when I am at a waypoint and I can stop there. For days if I want. When I turn the GPS back on, choose Resume Navigation, and start moving, if directs me to the next waypoint. If I don't stop, it simply leads me too the next waypoint.

Your 2610 is more the autorouting unit rather than the 76Cx although the later does have some minimal autorouting navigation capability.

The logic for when you have actually attained or passed a waypoint is obscure and not explained. It looks like it is when the waypoint has passed behind a line that is perpendicular to my projected course. But I not certain.

For off road routes it is described in my manual for Garmin. For on road the rules are a bit different so this is another apples and oranges thing in that you need to be specific.

For Follow Road routes I try to place waypoints on the vector of the road I want to drive on. If I place them in the southbound lane when I'm going to be northbound, it will take that as a literal requirement, take me to an off ramp, get me back in the southbound lane, and lead me to the waypoint. When I've passed through it, I'll be lead south to an offramp, back to the northbound lanes, and the journey will continue.

This is a problem with using a via or destination. This should be considered a bug in that it is clearly not what the user would ever want for selecting a point visually on the screen.

4. What happens, next. Does the unit attempt to return to the route or continue on to the destination?

Whether I stop or not, it will lead me to the next waypoint. If I did stop and stopped navigation or turned the GPS off, when I turned it back on and Resumed Navigation it will continue to the next waypoint. I have gotten to the point that another waypoint, further on down the route, was closer to the point where I chose to Resume Navigation and it then it will lead me there and maybe skip a waypoint in the process.

Again this is likely off road manual route navigation that you are describing. Not what MDR means or applies to.

On Follow Road routes it will recalculate the route (automatically if I want) soon after I get off of the road vector it has me following or if I go the wrong direction on it.

5. Can the destination be added on to the end or only in the middle.

The last waypoint is the destination. If I have a saved route, I can add waypoints and move waypoints up and down in order. The 76Cx does not have a route optimization feature so I get my waypoints in the order I list them in the route. I can optimize routes in MapSource before I upload them if I remember right.

On the 76Cx, I have to stop navigation to edit a route. When I resume navigation the route is recalculated from my present location. It is still working towards getting me to the last waypoint from where I am, going to the nearest waypoint first and passing through the rest of them.

Not an MDR issue and again you are generally talking about off road routes.

6. If added on, does the unit compute the whole route initially or just to the intermediate point and wait until the arrival to calculate the next point?

The distances and ETAs for each leg and the entire route are listed on the Routing page. The numbers change on the fly (with some delay) as your speed changes.

This is easy to implement, by the way, since the destinations are merely placed in a stack to be popped off as you arrive, but you don't know the final eta.

If that is the ETA at the last waypoint, that is something I always have an estimate of.

7. Many folks want the unit itself to determine the optimum order of the destinations, or at least a reasonable order. You never want this if you are adding via point. A Real Estate person, for example, may want to input a bunch of houses and let the unit determine the order to visit them.

The 76Cx won't do that (as I mentioned above). I think my 2610 will though. I don't want a GPS that will not go to waypoints in the order I list them. Optimization is okay as long as I can decide when to use it, otherwise I do not want it.

The 2610 is classified as MDR with the newer firmware. the 76Cx is not.
The 2610 lets you reorder the destinations but I am not sure it optimizes them on its own. I haven't look at a 2610 recently.

8. An aside capability is after the fact to be able to detour to a side destination. Such as when you decide to find a restaurant, or gas station while on a trip, and then you want to return to the original route (or route a new one).

The 76Cx is sort of intended to meet a number of needs and maybe even works best for someone that is well founded in using GPS receivers and in navigating. If I want to do a Find while I am navigating a route, I can do that.

Yes and if you choose to route to it you will lose your original route. This is because it is not MDR.

If I Stop Navigation (on the original route) I can chose to GoTo the place I found.

From the "found" place, I think I can choose to Resume Navigation on the original route. I'm not certain if I can resume the original route after doing a Goto. But if I choose the route from the saved routes, I can activate it and it will lead me back to the route.

Saved routes is separate from MDR and is a work around as you have discoverd.

Some of the behaviors are obscure to me still or at least not clearly remembered.

9. Is multiple 2, or 5, or more?

More, up to 250.

All of the features could be covered but just saying MDR doesn't really tell you very much as a check box.

Right, and Garmin would use one term or set of terms for it and someone else another.

We need to get everyone on board for a set of rules that clearly defines every term applicable to GPS and quit screwing around with inventing new names for old things and processes.

I have the 76Cx and 2610, tell me if there is something specific I have not answered or if you would like me to find out with them.

Cheers,

Jack


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_ _ Dale DePriest
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Relevant Pages

  • Re: Which Units support MDR?
    ... Some considerations for Multiple Destination routing. ... MDR on the 76Cx is that I can put waypoints at a series of places, put those waypoints into a route and it will lead me to those places in that order. ... And when I activate the route I can choose Follow Road or Off Road navigation. ... if the waypoint is via point it directs me to the next waypoint after I pass by or through the waypoint. ...
    (sci.geo.satellite-nav)
  • Re: Which Units support MDR?
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  • Re: Which Units support MDR?
    ... route for deliveries or sales calls? ... destination probably contributed to my use of the phrase too. ... i.e. for which this features was available, ... do multiple destination routing. ...
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