Zumo User Forums

Well, that's a deal breaker.

jfheath wrote: Sun Mar 20, 2022 10:57 pm
Please don't beat us up about the XT not being what you want.

Not my intent, sorry if I came across that way. See, I'm a simple guy having tremendous difficulty deciphering the questions and answers here in the XT section. Sometimes you guys are way too deep for my understanding. I'm just asking simple questions looking for simple answers to determine if a product is right for me, for the way I intend to use it.

TripleThreat719 wrote: Sun Mar 20, 2022 1:25 pm
... when you make a collection visible on the map, every track in that collection is visible. You can't turn off individual tracks within a collection, which I personally would like to be able to do, because when multiple tracks cross each other, it is a lot easier to get confused and take a wrong turn.

Thanks, @TripleThreat719 !  I found your post on another site as well.  Very helpful and how I intend to use my new Zumo. 

I believe I have developed a work around to the clutter drawback you mention. It requires a bit of configuring in Explore. I utilize the web version, but believe the same will work in the mobile app. I created an empty collection called “Show on the map” and set it to display.  I have all my other collections set to not display.  A track can reside in multiple collections. I simply add the track I want to see to the "Show on the map" collection. I have moved all my waypoints to the "Unorganized" collection in Explore, so they always show. (I might play around with that a bit more, but think the clutter comes from the track lines, not the waypoints.)

(Btw... I'm hopeful of riding the Riders for Striders ride in May. Check it out.) 

That's the way to do it !

You cannot make a collection on the XT itself, so I set up 5 empty ones using Explore so that there are always some available.

It gets very complicated if you have more than one collection visible if you have items belonging to a number of collections.


The tracks that are built up as you ride - your history - also show up on the map. This can be a bit distracting in your local area where you ride a lot, but it is ok as you move away. But you can stop these from showing without turning off the track logs altogether.

Bryan wrote: Sat Mar 19, 2022 11:54 am I’ve submitted to Garmin support via email as well.

After about a half dozen emails with Garmin...
Garmin claims the Zumo XT is in fact compatible with Explore, even though my Zumo XT is an "unsupported device" in Explore. As I've already confirmed.

Garmin have yet to offer a plausible explanation as to why I can load OpenStreetMap in the website, but not in the iOS app. They say some maps are limited to certain locations.

Garmin confirms that an inReach is required to share your current location to your personal MapShare site. Supposedly possible to send waypoints, tracks, routes to your MapShare site from a Zumo XT connected to Explore (via Drive), but I've not tried this myself.

Bryan wrote: Sat Mar 26, 2022 1:18 pm Supposedly possible to send waypoints, tracks, routes to your MapShare site from a Zumo XT connected to Explore (via Drive), but I've not tried this myself.

Once its is all set up, (ie Explore Site, Mobile, Drive and the XT) you have the choice of which device to use. They all get transferred to your Explore account and the other two devices pick them up. So add a waypoint on your XT - it shows up on the Explore ebsite and on the app. Add a track to the Explore website, it appears on the app on the phone and also on the XT.

Why ? Because they all communicate with the website where the info is stored. And if someone else shares (say) a collection with you, that appears on your account on the website and also ont he phone and on the XT.

The only thing that you cannot do is create a new collection on the XT.

I think that the Explore App says that it is not compatible with the XT because it cannot send data directly tot he XT like it can with some GPS devices. But it still works by sending data over your phone's internet data to the website. Then picks the the data to send to the XT through your phone's Drive App. There's a brief delay while it synchronises. But there is a force synch button on the XT.

I do not like Explore. It doesn't do anything that I want it to do. But I have to say that what it does, it does really well.

I'm using explore for mine POI management and icon changing. Aaand when I wanna to create new way point aka POI from mobile or PC.

jfheath wrote: Sun Mar 20, 2022 1:59 pm I have started to Email the GPX files to myself rather than send by USB. My phone receives the email, Drive intercepts when I click on the attachment and it transfers it to the Zumo. No need for Explore for this.

I do exactly what you describe and you're right, no need for Explore to do this.
Let me add that, even worse, you don't want to use Explore for transferring a GPX if you expect to get a Zumo XT trip from your GPX route.
This is because Drive transfer and Explore transfer behave very differently.

When you transfer with Drive app a GPX file containing a route (say a BaseCamp or MRA route), you get a new trip in your Zumo (and a new track if it was a route+track GPX). It is exactly the expected behavior. The Zumo then calculates the trip and you get it ready to navigate in the trip planner without having plugged the USB cable and without having to manually import the route into trip planner. If the track was in the GPX file, you get it as a track in the Zumo and it's also ready for display under your route.

When you transfer the same GPX file with Explore app it's totally different. You get a new Explore route in your Zumo Explore items (and eventually a new track if it was in the file). But an Explore route is nothing like a BaseCamp route, or an MRA route, or a Zumo XT trip. You can navigate it, but you can't see the route points you've eventually carefully chosen one by one in BC or any software you use, of course you can't edit them either, they all have lost their properties of route points, either shaping or via points.

To understand what's going on I tried to import a GPX route file into Explore web, then export the Explore route back to a GPX file, and then open this file with a text editor to look at XML. I saw that the exported GPX contains no route (<rte>) and no route points (<rtept>). It contains only a track (<trk>) and track points (<trkpt>). Thereby I got confirmation that Explore doesn't know what a route is, nor what a route point is. It seems that Explore only knows tracks and track points. I assume this is exactly why you loose all of your route points when you transfer a GPX route file with Explore app. Explore converts your original route to a track, your route points to track points... finally you get a so called Explore route which in reality is a track, very misleading !

Apart from the fact that Explore app doesn't communicate directly with Zumo, the fact that Explore doesn't cope with routes but only with tracks is for me a good reason to say that Explore is not compatible with Zumo XT. By now the only interests of Explore with Zumo XT is synchronizing waypoints and tracks, easier setting of waypoint icons and use of collections to show/hide groups of waypoints or tracks on the map.
That's limited interests because of no route/trip compatibility for the moment. Maybe one day ?

rbentnail wrote: Sun Mar 20, 2022 10:14 pm With the 595 there's an audio out jack on the octopus cable and I just plug into that with my earbuds, does the XT have that?

You can get a cheap Bluetooth receiver, pair that with the Zumo and use your wired earbuds. It's actually much easier than that old wiring harness (and forgetting to unplug before getting off the bike )

Here is the one I use:
https://www.taotronics.com/products/tt- ... h-receiver

axil wrote: Thu Mar 31, 2022 8:33 pm You can get a cheap Bluetooth receiver, pair that with the Zumo and use your wired earbuds. It's actually much easier than that old wiring harness (and forgetting to unplug before getting off the bike )

Here is the one I use:
https://www.taotronics.com/products/tt- ... h-receiver

Thanks. I've been looking at some wired earbuds that can also be used wireless Bluetooth. I just have no idea what will work in my ears and what won't.

The 595 cable isn't too bad. I have the audio out jack routed to pop out between the tank & seat at my right thigh so if (when) I do forget to unplug it does it for me.