jgilliland

Thanks. So your advice is "wait for or find v5"... Now all I have to do is to figure out who (if anyone) has stock at a fair price.

I guess I should have done some research before posting those last questions, since it seems that the answers are available at the Garmin website (and in the downloadable MapSource user manual). If I'm correct in my reading, the base map in the unit will not be touched when I load a new map, but there are some "points of interest" that will be wiped out. It appears that there is no way to back up that data, but it also appears that there is no need to do so - since the default POIs are also downloadable from the Garmin website. So, now that that's settled <g>, anybody know the answer to my questions about version 4 vs version 5 of the US Metroguide?

OK, I guess nobody knows the answer to my question about the MetroGuide versions. So let me ask a different question. How do you go about loading map data into your GPS unit? And when you do load map data, what happens to the preloaded data that came direct from the factory? Is there any way to back up the initial configuration before you load new data from one of the map packages? Is there any reason to? [Don't bother answering, read next message instead.] Perhaps all this will be clear once I actually buy a map package, but if anyone wants to give me a brief explanation, I'd appreciate it. [This message was edited by jgilliland on April 10, 2003 at 11:49 AM.]

Wow, great information, thanks. I'm sure that this thread will help lots of people besides myself. OK, I've done some comparisons between R&R and MG. The Metroguide seems to be considerably more detailed and accurate in most respects (though obviously not all, as you've pointed out, Kurt). And that additional detail obviously has its cost in the amount of memory that will be required to hold a portion of it. Now, what about version 4 vs version 5 of the MetroGuide? Is the newer version readily available? The Garmin website doesn't seem to have it in stock. The tvnav and other web vendors don't seem to mention a version number. And the packages that I've seen in stores are all the older version.

Thanks to you both. Kurt, I'm curious - why did you select the R&R package over the others? It would seem that the new version of MetroGuide might be the best general purpose package, but perhaps not the best Geocaching package. Thoughts? I'm just trying to decide which one to buy. I really can't afford to buy several of them. (Actually, I might if they were cheaper - I think Garmin is charging a pretty high price for them.)

Thanks, yes, that helps a great deal. Regarding my third question, I'm pretty sure that someone here has mentioned the possibility of building custom maps for the Garmin units, so it would appear that at least someone has reverse engineered it. Perhaps it's just a matter of time until a commercial vendor attempts it. I haven't purchased any map software yet, but I may do so soon.

OK, thanks, but (and please don't take this the wrong way) you haven't actually answered any of my questions. Does anyone know the answers to the three main questions that I asked above? I'll state them more clearly: 1) Which Garmin map packages will work with my Legend? 2) When exactly do I need an "unlock" code? 3) Is there some reason why other companies can't produce maps that will load into the Garmin units?

First of all, I see that Garmin sells a variety of map packages for their line - MetroGuide, City Select, Roads and Recreation, Topo, and others. I understand that Topo has a different purpose, but the others all seem to overlap. The Garmin website seems to suggest that some are better than others for specific Garmin GPS units, but I can't tell whether that is because of compatibility issues or just feature sets. For example, for my Legend, they recommend the MetroGuide software. Does that mean that Roads and Recreation and City Select won't work at all on the Legend? Or does it just mean that some features won't be of benefit? Their website just doesn't make this clear. Also, I'm very confused about these "unlock" codes. Do you need to buy the map package and then buy a separate code so you can load it into your GPS? That would seem excessive. Finally, why is it that ONLY the Garmin maps can be loaded into Garmin GPS units? Is there some reason why a map competitor couldn't build a product with that capability? Or has Garmin managed to lock up the interface so well that no one has been able to figure out how to do it? Thanks in advance for any insights.

Thanks, everyone. I ordered the Legend today. It'll be here in time for her birthday on Friday.

Then again, I've just read several reports of difficulty with the Magellan. For example, this thread: http://opentopic.Groundspeak.com/0/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=1750973553&f=5740990093&m=5800915245

quote:Originally posted by Johnnyvegas:I should look at Magellan for Topo maps and Features: Mageelan is also offering rebates. Yeah, I have been. I was focusing on Garmin, just because their rebates makes them quite a bit cheaper for a comparable product than Magellan. But Fry's Outpost has the Magellan Meridian (the basic 2MB unit) for $110, which is really just about what I'd like to spend. After all, this is a gift for a 14 year old - it's hard to say how serious she'll be about using it. Any major drawbacks to that unit? It looks pretty good. I haven't seen any other mapping GPS units at anywhere near that price. Is the screen resolution a problem?

quote:Originally posted by nincehelser:There are maps available... ...showing trails and such, but those cost extra Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread. I'm going to order the Legend for her. But I am curious about the map issue. Nincehelser says that there are maps available showing trails and such, but if so I haven't found them. The one map package that I looked at closely was the $100 US topographical package from Garmin. Their website allows me to see the actual content of the map, and the detail available there has absolutely nothing on trails. It just isn't that detailed - despite mentioning "trails" in the product description. I even used their sample map to navigate down to the National Park near here, and still found no trail data at all. Roads and waterways, but no trails or other POI. Most parks seem to be represented as a just a dot on the map, with no internal detail at all. In fact, their website mentions "hiking trails, snowmobile trails, backwoods trails", yet I see none of those on the web samples. Is their website lying to me? So anyway, who DOES make maps for the Legend that actually show trail detail for local metroparks, county parks, and state parks in the US?

Thanks for the help. I expected these units to be able to display trail information for parks and other off-road areas. I didn't realize that the maps would be limited in their usefulness to just roads. It seems to me that someone's missing an opportunity here. If I were in charge of a state or national park, I think I'd try to arrange for GPS-friendly trail guides to be downloadable from my park's website - for free. In any event, I'm trying to buy a GPS unit for my daughter who has taken an interest in geocaching. She'll probably be doing it locally for the most part, so the mapping feature may not prove that useful. On the other hand, though, with the Garmin rebate, the mapping Legend unit is only about $40 to $50 more than the non-mapping units. So it might be worth it to spend the extra money anyway. I'll have to make a choice here no later than tomorrow morning so I can order it for her birthday. Probably makes sense to get the Legend - the additional screen resolution alone probably is worth the extra money.

I've been shopping for a GPS unit for geocaching, and it seems to me that it would be worthwhile to get a unit that lets me load maps into it. The Garmin $50 rebate makes the "Legend" unit look particularly attractive. Except for one thing.... I've been looking at the Garmin unit and the "US Topo" map software that they sell for it. On their website, they have a feature that allows you to see what kind of map detail is in the product for a given area. And, frankly, there doesn't seem to be much there. It shows the lakes in the area and the topographic lines, but there's literally NO detail at all in any of our local parks. In fact, most of the parks don't even appear on the map as a "point of interest". Am I doing something wrong here, or is the map feature just not very useful for geocaching? I'm completely new to this, so feel free to educate me or point me to a FAQ (though I've read several already). Thanks in advance.