ryleyinstl

http://reviews.ebay.com/Buying-Used-Garmin...000000007023878

http://reviews.ebay.com/Buying-Used-Garmin...000000007023878

I have a Legend HCx (same as the Vista but no electronic compass and altimeter). I really like it. It works very well for what I bought it for......frequent use on my bike. However it's also very good for hiking as well. My wife and I went to the Chicago area this weekend to look at houses in Evanston and run the half marathon (driving from St. Louis). I purposely did not look at any maps before hand to see how the GPSr would do on the highway. The eTrex was perfect for use while walking around downtown Chicago/Evanston and driving on residential streets. However, on the highway while auto routing, the unit could not quite keep up when it was forced to do continual screen redraws when interchanges that we needed to take were spaced close together. This caused us to miss an exit at one point. When I asked the GPSr to recalculate it took over 30 seconds by which we had just missed the best alternative route. With an auto specific unit this may not have happened. With no text to speech you also have to read all the info on small screen. This is usually not a problem but again, when successive exits are close together, you may not have the time. The small screen, lack of spoken directions and slowish screen redraw rates are a drawback. It's primary focus is handheld use and it’s designed with that in mind. If I was going to use it for auto-nav every week I would look at getting something else for that. That said it's just fine for occasional use. micoSD is great. Can't see anything wrong with it. 2GB card can fit roadmaps of NA and topo data for half of it. EDIT: Compass – You will find very different options on whether this is worth it or not. My opinion. No. From what I have read and witnessed the electronic compass was not a replacement for the real thing. The need to calibrate it was also a drawback in my mind. Just something else that made it not as convenient as the real thing.

Garmin has a "MapSource Map Viewer" on the website to view maps before you buy. Give that a look before buying anything else.

^^^

According to the manual none of this is possible on the GPSr and I can attest to that fact. Once in MapSource, yes.

Yes, for UK Topo your only option is more money.......

Nope...it will be 32bit.

No.... But you can buy a 2GB miniSD card for $11.00

Worked fine for me on Vista. Try running the install as administrator (the right click option). Also try running it in Windows XP mode. Perhaps also download again to make sure that your binary is okay.

Only some GPSr need to be pointing upwards and even then those that prefer it usually work quite well regardless (new chipsets). My eTrex HCx works the same whether it's up, down, backwards, or sideways. Belt clip has worked very well for me. As long as you're not a 300lb fat-o with gargantuan love handles for the GPSr to get lost in you should be fine. When biking I usually zip the GPSr in the outside pocket of my Camelback....again no signal issues. That said an external antenna won’t hurt anything (other than battery life).

Click here for a look at an external Ant. If you’re getting a new GPS this antenna will not give you better signal strength unless you can get it on the other side of the thing that is causing the signal loss. In new units the high sensitivity chip sets have done away with the need for external antennas for regular use. Might I suggest purchasing a protective case for the GPS and just clipping it on your belt or on the back of your pack. Much simpler.

I second that

Nice to see GPSr manufactures in the forum answering questions. What a novel idea! It shows that they are watching. Delorme might be lacking in a few areas (no Canadian maps killing it for me) but with the PN-40, this unlimited subscription thing and promising GC support these guys are making up ground fast.

Run WebUpdate and you will be in the know.

Right you are. I searched for 010-11033-00 but the PC one came up and I didn't catch that. I guess Amazon does not sell the MAC copy. You can get it directly from Garmin.

If you go here (http://www8.garmin.com/cartography/mapSource/citynavnt.jsp ) and get the product code and then search on Amazon you get this (http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Navigator-Ame...0137&sr=8-1) It says it’s the 2007 version but many have said that they get the 2008 when they order as Amazon just hasn’t updated the description. Then once you unlock it you can download the 2009 update for free.

By "load" what do you mean? What error messages are you getting?

Watch out Garmin.....Delorme is comming!

Given that you are asking how to copy your "friends" Garmin UK Topo maps into your install of MapSource I'm not sure what else we are all supposed to think. If you’re looking for cheaper or free solutions for topo maps they do exist. In North America there are some amazing free topo maps. However that will not help you. I’m not aware of anything for the UK (topo) beyond trying the links below. http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk http://mapcenter.cgpsmapper.com/ http://mapcenter2.cgpsmapper.com/ If things in the UK work like they do in the USA and the Dominion then you should be able to download digital elevation data from the Government and turn that into topo maps in a similar fashion to how it's done here...... http://home.cinci.rr.com/creek/garmin.htm

Yes

If by "easy" you mean illegal, we can't help you.

If your out side of the USA and Canada perhaps. However being as WAAS is an error correction system I'm thinking the likelihood of it creating more problems then it fixes should be low. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wide_Area_Augmentation_System

I’m not sure what GPSr type emergency you’re having. You may want to consider doing a little research first rather than making a hasty purchase. There lots of options. Like it was said above…..the Garmin units have been compared to death here…..if you’re pressed for time why not try a forum search.

Read.... http://cypherman1.googlepages.com/ http://home.cinci.rr.com/creek/garmin.htm