USA Major Routes

daftdave · Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2006 10:57 am Post subject: USA Major Routes

I have purchased the USA (State) maps, but need to navigate from NY to Washington DC. Each State map works fine separately. Is there another map I need to link them all together?

[I tried searching older topics but just got more confused.]
Thanks
_________________
David
Medion PNA100
running TomTom5.000
GB plus map v571
1G SD card

BodgerBaz · Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2006 4:32 pm Post subject:

Dave,

My understanding with the USA maps was that you could either load one state at a time or use the regional map for a particular area. I think its something like East Coast, Mid West that type of thing.

I also believe the CD comes with the Major Roads of America so you can go from City A to City B without much details on the side roads.

schneid · Regular Visitor Joined: Dec 03, 2004 Posts: 147

BodgerBaz is correct. To use one map you must use Major Roads. You can however, plan a cross-country itineary that will work across all maps. To get street level detail you will have to swap cards or buy a large card. I have a 2GB card that will hold all three regions.

I highly recommend purchasing Streets&Trips for route planning. Its files can be converted to TomTom routes using a free program called ITNconvert.exe.

daftdave · Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2006 5:37 pm Post subject:

Thanks all for such quick replies. I guess we forget here how BIG the USA is, and expect too much from a PDA.

I don't recall seeing a Main Routes map on the CD, but I will go back and have another look.
_________________
David
Medion PNA100
running TomTom5.000
GB plus map v571
1G SD card

schneid · Regular Visitor Joined: Dec 03, 2004 Posts: 147

It isn't obvious. Maybe click More or Other

RickR · Occasional Visitor Joined: Mar 03, 2006 Posts: 4

BodgerBaz · Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 7:37 pm Post subject:

Hello Rick,

To get any detailed street-level maps you can either load a State map i.e. South Carolina or load one of the six regional maps i.e. New England or South East taking in the whole eastern seaboard.

However, if you wish to navigate from one state to another or wish to navigate from one region to another region you'll need to load The Major Roads of America (MRA).

Essentially this shows the whole USA's major road network and is similar to the PLUS maps for Great Britain and Europe.

In the planning stage you may want to save an itinerary using the MRA which terminates just within the State boundary you are heading for. Set the next itinerary (using that State's map) from the same point to wherever you are going. That way crossing the States will not be a problem but when you arrive within your chosen State you will have details at street level.

Does that sound feasible?

RickR · Occasional Visitor Joined: Mar 03, 2006 Posts: 4

BodgerBaz · Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 5:55 pm Post subject:

Rick,

I'm not aware that there is a way of saving the route - perhaps the thinking is that if you've driven the route once you should maybe remember it the next time??

Using the itinery is a good way to save a route or parts of a route.

Of course you can always save a part route then in the future you can pick up the saved itinery and add a destination or waypoints to it for a specific route.

schneid · Regular Visitor Joined: Dec 03, 2004 Posts: 147

As I stated above, Streets & Trips is an indepensable desktop companion to TomTom and it only costs about $20.00. You can use its trip planning, save the file, and then use ITNconvert, a free utility, to convert it to a a TT ITN file. The ITN file will function across maps. When you look at in TT the stops that not on your current route are grayed out.

I think one might go blind anyway trying to create a cross-country route on a small display. A big screen in big keyboard make it much easier.

On big trips I share a Holux GPSslim 236 receiver between my notebook and PDA allowing them both to navigate the route. One uses the bluetooth signal and the other is hard wired serial signal.

RickR · Occasional Visitor Joined: Mar 03, 2006 Posts: 4

It looks to me like the combination of MRA along with regional/state maps will work quite well for me. And yeah, it appears that the only way to save routes is to use the Itineray, which is fine.

As to Streets & Trips, I have it actually, and yes, it's a good program. But I got TomTom so I would always have the route available with me, without using my laptop, and from what I've seen, I greatly prefer TomTom.

I do have a question about using an Itinery, though. The way I would use this, is to map the whole thing (SC-TN-PA-SC) on MRA, and use that for most of the point-to-point driving, then switch to regional/state maps for driving around each destination. My question is, if I'm partway through my Itineray, say in TN, and then switch to MRA and load the Itineray, will it know I want to continue along the Itinerary, rather than go back to the beginning or some such thing? Stupid question, probably. Wink

BodgerBaz · Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2006 9:18 am Post subject:

schneid · Regular Visitor Joined: Dec 03, 2004 Posts: 147

The itinary is saved to the \ITN directory in Main Memory. It will remain undisturbed as you change cards. The Waypoints that are covered by the Current Map will be "grayed" out.

When you load the Itinary, you pick the next unvisited Waypoint. The Itinary function is sort of confusing and I think needs some practice to be good at it. I think TT loads all the stops as Destinations and the intermediate stops must be changed to Waypoints. It appears this is because a salesman just has to go to a bunch of places but not in any particular order while a traveler wants to take a route from A to B to C and so on.

RickR · Occasional Visitor Joined: Mar 03, 2006 Posts: 4

schneid · Regular Visitor Joined: Dec 03, 2004 Posts: 147

No, I don't think it optimizes the route between them. They are just places to be visited. The ITN is text file and the order remains as entered.

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