Gps Or Not

[Russ Chung]

What do you mean by this? How much bigger are they? Do they not fit at all or? I just ordered my upgrade so I'm curious.

With v.7, each map was 1 or 2 MB in size, so I could create a set of 8 to 10 maps that covered just the route that I was interested in, and load them in the 19MB of storage on the GPS V. With v.8, each map covers a larger area, but each map is 4 to 8 MB in size, so at most, I could load 2 or 3 maps, and they wouldn't necessarily cover the entire route that I wanted. For example, when I go to the Bay Area from Los Angeles, I load a set of v.7 maps that cover the entire route along I-5. But with the bigger v.8 maps, I could only load two of them, and those two only covered part of the route. I suppose the work around is to store the maps on a laptop, and download them as needed, but my laptop doesn't have a serial port, and the USB to serial converter that I have will only work at 9600 baud, so it would take six hours to download the maps from my laptop to the GPS V!

[sarah]

Thanks for the info Russ. Yep, this oughta be interesting.

[Russ Chung]

Comparison of v7 and v8 maps

Sarah,

Here is a comparison of the boundaries of each v7 and v8 map. The v7 maps are smaller, so I can fit enough of them in my GPS V to cover the entire route from Los Angeles to the Bay Area:



By comparison, the v8 maps cover a larger area, so the file size is larger. I can only fit two or three in my GPS V at a time so I cannot get the entire route from LA to the Bay Area in my GPS V at the same time:

[sarah]

Gotcha ... thanks for the info Russ, I did cancel my order for the update to v8. Considering the lengthy trips we have planned this year, I'll need my route to cover multiple states. I'd hate to say that I'm in the market for a new GPS just yet - I do truly LOVE this one - but fitting Socal to Colorado with the updated data looks pretty much impossible.

[majormadmax]

Amazon has Garmin eTrex Vista Handheld GPS Navigators for $159!

They also have the Garmin eTrex Vista CX Handheld GPS Navigator (color) for $237!

Has anyone used the Garmin® StreetPilot c340 with topo maps? Or should I get a GPSMAP 60CSx? The former is on sale for $349, the latter $399 on base. And how much should I expect to pay for topo maps?

Cheers! M2

[FishPOET]

If you're not going to go all "FishPOET" with it, hehe, I'd recommend the V.

Funny enough I still use my V every trip. I have a special set of SBNF trail maps loaded on it and they have saved me many wrong turns on unfamiliar trails.

We also use Tracy's GPSMap60 as well. It holds more maps and the color display is much easier to read than the V.

[Britain]

I have the Garmin 60CSx and installed the 1 gig chip.

Not a big screen but work well for what I bought it for.

[sarah]

Funny enough I still use my V every trip. I have a special set of SBNF trail maps loaded on it and they have saved me many wrong turns on unfamiliar trails.

Haha!! Sweet!!

After looking at the Magellan lineup, it seems you can pack a bigger punch for your money. Anyone ever use the button-based (not touch screen) Magellans?

[Britain]

Keep in mind this. Garmin is the largest GPS used. I have had lots of tracks sent to me from other Garmins and they all work on mine. Thats cool cause if your going someplace that someone else has their scan help you out.

Sarah,

Perhaps a section for GPS and sharing tracks?

edit:

Heres a google earth plus of some tracks going through...Ya Tijuana. It would be cool to have the ability to load other peoples tracks when your in an area your not comfy with. My tracks are in red....

[Old Fart]

Haha!! Sweet!!

After looking at the Magellan lineup, it seems you can pack a bigger punch for your money. Anyone ever use the button-based (not touch screen) Magellans?

Probably 10% of the third party and user base support with the Magellan

[sarah]

Keep in mind this. Garmin is the largest GPS used. I have had lots of tracks sent to me from other Garmins and they all work on mine. Thats cool cause if your going someplace that someone else has their scan help you out.

From my experience with it, if both parties don't have the same version of Garmin's software, you can't read the files. Different versions aren't compatible with each other, unless you've discovered otherwise, rendering the entire concept useless.

Probably 10% of the third party and user base support with the Magellan.

Based on my comment above, I don't receive support anyway! Hehehe

Perhaps a section for GPS and sharing tracks?

Do we have any other interest for this? A couple of years ago, when I launched the maps page (not the reports section), I went on a mission to find a "universal" track format. I ended up with nothing but a computer full of viruses, spyware, and my brother bitching at me

What am I missing?

[Britain]

Not sure about the Garmin software. I havent had problems with getting tracks from other garmin parties. Matt P gave me some JV stuff and I got some other from another person and some from yet another. All good.

Perhaps the Garmin Software is look down. Lower cant read the newer.

Any other views on this?

[aston]

Do we have any other interest for this? A couple of years ago, when I launched the maps page (not the reports section), I went on a mission to find a "universal" track format. I ended up with nothing but a computer full of viruses, spyware, and my brother bitching at me

What am I missing?

Me ;-)

Oh yeah....EasyGPS from topografix.com has worked well for me.

[Britain]

It would be cool to have a source for tracks. But doesnt seem to be much interest.

I have most of the tracks to JV. Would be cool to get Big Bear's.

[sarah]

aston
[nana]what file format do you use?[/nana]

Britain,
which software version are you running? I still have 5.