Navigation and direction of the route

awinkel

I’m using the navigation function of my Ambit2 very often.
A disadvantage of it is that at a crossing the direction of the route is not displayed.
You have to known to which direction you need to go by yourself.
Is this improved with the newer Suunto watches?

sartoric

@awinkel
yes, there are the direction arrows based on how the route has been drawn.

If you search the forum you should find some pictures too.

but check the note here at the end of the page.
https://www.suunto.com/en-gb/Support/Product-support/suunto_9/suunto_9/features/routes/

zvonejan

Amm, you are not correct. Direction arrows are not based how the route has been drawn, but how are you moving. You can try yourself, change the direction in the middle and arrows will change directon also.

Fenr1r

@awinkel Or, if you mean which exit out of an intersection (as opposed to you crossing your own route) is the exact one your route takes … nope: it’s effectively the same.

The later watches’ arrows show direction of travel on your synced route, still floating on a blank background.

Except for the S7, which does maps.

The intersection issue has cropped up.

sartoric

@zvonejan
I mean, at start, then of course they adapt … I called it “direction arrows” so I pointed out the manual page

awinkel

I mean that when I’m at an intersection the watch tell me if I have to go left, right or forward.
When I read this “If you navigating a route that crosses itself, such as a figure-8, and you make a wrong turn at the crossing, your watch assumes you are intentionally going in a different direction on the route. The watch shows the next waypoint based on the current, new direction of travel. So, keep an eye on your breadcrumb trail to ensure you are going the right way when you are navigating a complicated route.” than this is not what I want.
At a crossing I want the watch tells me where I have to go.

sartoric

@awinkel
well, the watch do not shows you a “go right” message, but it shows you (based on how the route was drawn) were you should go, to follow the original route.

Then, if you change your mind , the arrows will adapt to your choice

Obviously, since there are no map (except for S7 that anyway it shouldn’t have a suunto turn-by-turn navigation atm afaik) the intersection should be YOUR route intersection (as specified in the note) as the watch doesn’t know if there is a path crossing your route.

Fenr1r

@awinkel Then that would be a No (if you mean an intersection on the ground). Unless you added a Waypoint for the intersection named with those instructions you will see nothing. No Turn-by-Turn like a Garmin Connect course, for example.

sartoric

as @Fenr1r says , named waypoint (if you go for a Sx) could be a solution

awinkel

Unfortunately that the new Suuntos do not support that yet. Especially with mountain biking it is more common that you cross an earlier path.I’m going to try to solve it with waypoints.
Thanks for your replies!

@sartoric actually that can be used for Ambits too, at least my Ambit3 if I approach a waypoint the watch will beep on me and with proper naming, direction navigation can be achieved for turns and route junction.

awinkel

I just read the release notes about the new firmware for the S5:
https://forum.suunto.com/topic/5742/system-update-pxdz-201119-005-a1
It seems this firmware will provide the function I want to have. Unfortunately I don’t want a smartwatch but just an outdoor watch without unneccasary bleeps…
And I have to think twice (and many more…) of I will ever buy a Suunto again after their dramatic digital revolution…

@awinkel I know what you want, because I want/need the same, but I believe that needs a technological evolution.
I experience the same on the Etrex vs 530, the Etrex (circa 2015) doesn’t have that feature and the 530 has.
That is why, as people told you, you need to use waypoints for that, to understand where do you want to go.
You realize the ambit 3 was launched in 2015, even if it is/was sold now, there are limitations of hardware.

sartoric

Not to mention the good’ol tools, compass and map.

Strip out all the mumbo-jumbo !!!

Fenr1r

@sartoric said in Navigation and direction of the route:

Strip out all the mumbo-jumbo !!!

Absolutely! Mental workout - fine principle! Keep track of time in your head! Note your pulse with your fingers!

Write lap times on your arm! You’ll have extra space without a watch cluttering it up!

awinkel

I agree but on the mountainbike on a trail with many crossings that’s quite challenging.

stevena

yes, it would be better if the arrows didn’t automatically flip. You can still decide to do the route against the direction if you want to.

sky-runner

@sartoric I don’t know if this has been fixed in a more recent firmware, but I did have multiple instances of arrows pointing a wrong way on S9B when I still was at intersection. Another example of that was when I went off-route by mistake. I then continued on an alternative trail slowly making my way towards the original route, and as I was about to merge back into the route, the watch showed me the arrow in the opposite way (because that way was closer to the end of the route, I guess).

sartoric

@sky-runner
The “direction arrows” need a while to recognize the direction (and to be sure you’re still moving the same way) so sometimes it could be tricky

isazi

Remember this topic is about Ambit.