Ken in Regina

Hi LadyBee4T, I have a very specific question for you or anyone else who can answer it. I have searched and it appears that the Montana is pretty good in bright sunlight but I'm looking for the answer for a much more specific case. For the record, I have the same issues many have described: aging eyes. I should also mention that I'm a long-time Garmin user, starting with the iQue 3600, Mobile XT on my Palm smartphone, Mobile PC on my laptops and netbook, a couple of Nuvis and the next two... I have an eTrex Legend HCx and a Garmin Approach G6. Both are really good in bright sunlight to the point that when I'm outdoors I rarely turn the backlight on on either of them unless it's a really dark day (heavy-overcast-in-deep-forest dark). Thus I get incredible battery life on both. However, although the eTrex still works well and serves all my functional needs, I find increasingly that I'm having a difficult time reading that teensy screen. Especially on my motorcycle and mountain bike where holding it closer to my face is not an option. After much research I've come to the conclusion that the Montana would allow me to pass my eTrex and my Nuvi 765T and my little Canon digital camera on to someone else. The only concern I have is whether the screen will get it done for me. I'm hoping that there are many former eTrex users who have now moved to the Montana. So... My very specific question is: When compared specifically to the last generation eTrex models (eg. Legend HCx, Vista HCx, Venture HC) or the Approach G6, is the Montana 6xx screen at least as readable in bright sunlight with the backlight off? ...ken...

Yes. ...ken...

It should display but it might not look good. Some Nuvi models display the contour lines with thickness. At some zoom levels they nearly cover everything else on the map. I can't recall how Ibycus displays on my 765T but I know it works. There should be no other trouble. Okay, I just tried 4.0 on a 255WT and it works okay. The contour lines are a little thicker and darker colour than I like but it works and should be usable. ...ken...

I have a laptop and a netbook. Yes, the laptop has a much bigger screen and more fullsize keys on the keyboard. But it's the netbook that travels with me. The laptop rarely gets used since I bought the netbook. ...ken...

Okay, I've got GREAT news for all those who are trying to get their Palm devices to sync in Windows 7 64-bit!! Check out this discussion. http://forums.palm.com/t5/Windows-HotSync/64-Bit-Palm-Desktop-Drivers-are-HERE/td-p/337516 I had Hotsync working with my Garmin iQue 3600 and 3600A, my Palm T|X and my Palm Centro in the XP Mode virtual PC that you can use freely if you have one of the high end versions of Win7 (I have Ultimate 64-bit) and it worked, mostly. But it was a pain trying to get the timing just right when capturing the USB port. It usually took at least three or more tries. Then I followed the instructions in the thread linked above. Now I have Hotsync working in native Windows 7 64-bit with all four of the above devices on two different USB ports: one that has the iQue desktop cradle connected and the other that has the PALM T|X sync cable connected (used for the T|X and the Centro). One thing I have discovered, and I think it's mentioned in the linked thread, is that the Access v6.2 Palm Desktop is not recommended. The Palm v4.2 Palm Desktop installation works okay but it also has some issues (with the Desktop apps, not the Hotsync manager). My personal preference is to use Garmin's version 4.1 of the Palm Desktop. It works great with all four of my devices. For anyone who wants to give it a try, it's available here: https://www8.garmin.com/support/collection.jsp?product=010-00264-00 Enjoy!! ...ken...

That's an issue with the way they've chosen to name the files that the custom POIs are loaded from. It shouldn't be that difficult to fix, I hope. I've forwarded the link for Viajero Perdido's first version 2 post to the Backroad Mapbooks lead developer so I hope they'll read these posts and add the appropriate cases to their change request list. ...ken...

First, just as a bit of information, Backroad Mapbooks has moved development of the GPS maps inhouse so they have better control over the development. There has been a massive amount of work gone into this release but, understandably, there is a learning curve. Especially with the scale of some of the improvements they are trying to make. For instance... Yes. The initial maps were done with the assumption that probably only people with handhelds (eTrex, Oregon, Dakota, etc.) would buy them. They allowed the object attributes to pretty much default to the same as Garmin uses in their topo maps. Anyone who has ever tried to use a Garmin topo on a Nuvi or Mobile PC, where the display attributes are totally different, will know what a disaster that is!! They have discovered that a bunch of people with Nuvis have bought the maps and are genuinely dissatisfied with how badly they display. So one of the major changes Backroad Mapbooks is making is to force the object types to display "properly" on any Garmin device. While the new map display is a little different - not necessarily worse - on my eTrex Legend HCx, it is HUGELY improved on my Nuvi 765T and Mobile PC. To the point where I would not hesitate to use it with either of them now. Yes. A simple logistical decision based on two factors. One, it reduces the download size by quite a bit, and Two, the basemaps on most Garmin devices already contain the necessary DEM data. So just make sure your basemap is not disabled. I miss the DEM display when using them in Basecamp and Mapsource where there is no ability to display multiple maps. I'm not sure the saving in download time is worth the tradeoff when using them for planning on the PC. But I have a high speed internet connection so perhaps others will feel differently. Excellent advice, always!! ...ken..

Same here. I've taken the cap off the upload speed, not that it makes a huge difference on ADSL but I'll leave it that way for a few days before I throttle it again. ...ken...

Ummm.. Is that 92GB base2 or 92GB base10? ...ken...

Thanks Dale. Downloading now. I'll leave it seed for awhile to help get it out there. ...ken...

Thanks for the link update. I'm not sure it matters which way 'round you do it. I've created a couple of new Windows 7 systems and then installed nRoute on them. It worked just fine without any messing about with drivers. I've also upgraded an existing Vista system that had nRoute installed on it. After the upgrade to Windows 7, nRoute continued to function happily without doing anything to the drivers. I suspect ... and this is just a guess ... that the newer USB drivers from Garmin's website simply support some of the very latest GPS receivers. If you don't have one of their very latest, it shouldn't be an issue. Or, it's possible that the new ones are certified for Windows 7 and the old ones aren't, but might work anyway. ...ken...

so don't extract it with 7zip? it's not a 7zip archive, it's an ISO image. 7-Zip handles ISO images. Just not this particular one. After doing some more testing and poking around on the internet since entering that message, it appears that there are some specific types of ISO image that make 7-Zip gag. The Ibycus 3.2 file is one of them. It handles others fine. ...ken...

Did you notify the Backroad Mapbooks folks of the two issues (installer and icon display)? They typically try really hard to fix things if they can. A good example happened when I was evaluating the first release of their GPS maps (BC). I pointed out that their custom POI file could not be used in Mapsource on the PC nor in many of the handheld models that people using their maps will likely use for navigation. There is nothing, so far, that they can do about the Mapsource limitation but it did not take them very long to come up with a version of their custom POI file that would work in all of Garmin's handheld devices. ...ken...

That translates to "North-East quarter of Section 23 in Township 42 Range 10 West of the Fourth Meridian. If you're interested, here's the explanation of the Dominion Land Survey. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominion_Land_Survey What do you have your display Details set at? Perhaps changing it to a lower setting will help. That's a "feature" of Garmin's installer, which Backroad Mapbooks uses. The same thing happens when you try to download one of Garmin's downloadable maps and there's insufficient space on C:. It appears that the installer insists on downloading to the C: drive and doing the actual installation from there. You could probably subvert this behaviour by changing your TEMP folder location to the target drive instead of leaving it at the default (C: drive). ...ken...

Dale, we've discovered another small problem with 3.2. When trying to extract the files with 7-zip it says it can't open the file as an archive. Any thoughts? ...ken...

How about golf?? ...ken...

I have no suggestion for the Zire. The Palm T|X can sync using WIFI so it works just fine with any version of Windows. The problem with Windows 7, either 32-bit or 64-bit is not the Palm Desktop and it's not the Hotsync Manager. As was mentioned above, it's the lack of good USB drivers. So the only totally reliable solution is to avoid using a USB connection. That means WIFI. Any Palm device that will sync with WIFI, like the T|X, will do the job just fine with either version of the Palm Desktop. I don't much like v6.x of the Palm Desktop from Access so I stay with version 4.x, the last version from Palm. ...ken...

Can you provide some details about what you are doing, what you expect to happen and what is actually happening? Also, what maps do you have on the 1350? ...ken...

If you have Mapsource, you can use "Transfer from device" to transfer them into Mapsource and save the resulting file. That's what I do for my 765T. That allows me to edit them in Mapsource -- much easier than on the unit. I've used Mapsource to organize my Favorites into categories and assign the relevant symbols to them. ...ken...

Speaking of moving on ... in the next chapter you might want to consider backups. You can do that by installing Garmin's Basecamp or Mapsource and transfering the waypoints from the unit. If you do that periodically you will have a backup of all your waypoints except the most recently entered and you can transfer them back to the unit if you ever toast them again. Or to a new unit if/when you replace your current one. There is no way to back up the "recently found" list but that's usually only a minor inconvenience because it will rebuild itself as you do more searches. ...ken...

You can't use the custom POI file in Mapsource. Mapsource does not know how to open or use .GPI files. They have created a version of the custom POI file that works on units that do not support the Tour Guide POI format so the custom POIs are now usable on any Garmin unit that supports custom POIs. ...ken...

Thanks for the clarification. That will make my map loading simpler. ...ken...

Yes, uploading directly to the card is always faster. Not being a patient person I learned that with my iQue 3600 about six years ago. Since then I've never bothered to load maps directly to the unit. Always direct to the card. The only thing I transfer direct to the unit is waypoints and routes. ...ken...

If anyone is interested, here's my review at Laptop GPS World. http://www.laptopgpsworld.com/3545-review-...pbooks-gps-maps I had no issues with accuracy. I'm not sure what was meant by KFBradley's comment. Here's an excellent review at BC4X4.com. http://www.bc4x4.com/pr/2010/backroad-gps-maps/ He also does not mention any issues with accuracy. As you can see from examples in both reviews, Backroads GPS Maps has considerably more trail coverage than Topo Canada and even Ibycus Topo 2.1 at least in the areas reviewed. Both reviews are for the BC version of the product. I agree that using the Calgary Area Trail Maps with any set of road or topo maps is very useful if you are in an area they cover. I've also been using the Quad Squad maps in the Crowsnest Pass and Flathead Valley areas for a few years and found them very useful. I actually find the overlay maps like these can sometimes be more useful with the Metroguide Canada road maps. I find for some of my purposes the contour lines on topo maps add too much clutter. I have downloaded the Northwest Trail Maps just recently so I have no idea how good they are yet. I'm hoping to get a chance to try them out once or twice this summer/fall. Living in Saskatchewan is hell when you would rather be exploring trails in the mountains. ...ken...

Download is done and I'm seeding now. I've uploaded about the same as the download. My connection is asymmetrical DSL so the upload speed is pretty slow. I'll leave it run for a couple more days as payback. ...ken...