Grasscatcher

GeoBobC, note the screen shot above......it saves the "active" track not as "active log" but as a "date" .gpx. That's what caught my attention, because if you just "save" a track in memory, that's the naming format it uses. I'm guessing that you won't have to do anything special for naming on the card either. The next one should be named "Date (2).gpx. "Different strokes...." . I don't need to load more than 20 tracks at a time , but I SURE would enjoy not being limited to 500 pts / track when saved, and like the idea of retaining all the data. If it indeed works,these are the kind of features that might cause my billfold to get flatter........

Can I respectfully disagree? Are the "x"'s really that much different? Yes , the active track creation is automatic,. Any time the unit is locked on , it is creating the "breadcrumb trail". If you shut the unit off and then turn it back on in a different location, the GPSr connects the two locations with a straight line "BC" trail. This active track log is continued as one trail until the tracklog limit is reached ,and if you have "wrap when full" option selected. it adds points on the "latest" end of the track and takes points off the "earliest' end. This can span a "several day" time period. OR.....you can start a NEW "active tracklog" at any time by clearing the entire tracklog. My 76CS has a "percentage" bar meter graph on the "Tracks" page that shows how much of the internal 10,000 trackpoint limit has been used. When the entire tracklog is cleared , that goes back to "0" If I am incorrect in this method of operation, someone please let me know.

Since I only have a 76CS and not an "x" and can't do this myself..... try this.....I know you don't have any control over the "creation" of the active track log, but once it is saved to the card, I doubt seriously if saving another one is going to delete the first one. Do an experiment. Download the active tracklog and save it to the card. Then clear the tracklog ,"clear entire tracklog?" "Yes" , go out and record another track and then download the active tracklog again and save it to the card. I'll bet you still have the first one saved on the card with all data intact, and then you'll also have the second one saved with all it's data also,but only back to the point where you cleared the "entire tracklog". Two separate and distinct tracks with complete data, not pared down to 500 points or data stripped away.

If I understand this correctly......you now have the option to "save tracks" as usual, which would reduce them down to a max of 500 track points per track and eliminate some of the data,or......save the "active" tracklog to the memory card and retain all the data? Kinda the best of both worlds ! There are sometimes when it really isn't be necessary to retain all the data so those could be just "saved" into internal memory. Can you see any reason you can"t save multiple "active" tracklogs individually to the card?

I have the Mapsource Topo --United states and am curious about the 24K West series. Has anyone actually compared both of these products? Is there enough difference in features, detail, etc to warrant me purchasing the 24K? I'm mainly interested in the practicality or differences once the maps are downloaded onto my Map76CS. Comparing the 24K screenshots on Garmin's website to my Topo US, I can't see a whole lot of difference, but I don't know if there are a lot of additional features and capabilities on the 24K series which is much newer . Anyone got both? Of course, the Topo US has the whole US and the 24K series is split into West, Central, and East areas and includes the NP. I'm only interested in the West. Thanks

Another thought.....consider a model that is compatible with an external antenna......then you can carry it , clip it. stick it in a inside pocket, whatever .....and the sensitivity is always the same, and both hands can be free.

In my USAPhotomaps v 2.75, (and I'm using a Garmin Map76CS), to use USB I go to GPS, Protocol, Garmin USB.....and it works fine. I think if you use NMEA,and select the correct com port you'll also have to use a serial cable instead of USB ???. I may be incorrect but I don't think NMEA will work over a USB connection. You might also go to jdmcox.com (developer for USAPhotomaps) and see what he says.

I use Topo a lot and I'm not aware of another program compatible with tpo files. However, the data in a tpo file (waypoints, tracks, routes, but not maps) can be exported as text files and then imported into other programs such as Expert GPS, etc. Kind of a PITB to have to do that.

I'm not sure I see what you mean. I don't know if the lack of hi-res photos and some of the difference in street detail makes GE "absolutely worthless" as you stated earlier. It seems like it would still be adequate to let me FIND Lake City, and to navigate my way around those two square miles. What kind of GPS do you use, and what software? Do the detail maps that area available for your GPS compare well to the real street layout My whole "worthless" point is the lack of hi-res photo availability , because as you (can't) see , there is none. Worthless from that perspective only..... Also as you can see, if you need a map or GPS to navigate around a town of this size , you probably need more "help" than a GPS can give you. I don't even care about "Detailed" maps of "the real street layout" Backcountry detail and trails and unmapped roads detail, which is what I'm interested in, is totally missing. Try USAPhotomaps, or Expert GPS.... I have a Garmin Map76CS and use: USAPhotomaps, NG Topo, Expert Gps, MapSource Topo & MetroGuide, ArcView, Arcview Explorer, DNR Garmin, g7towin, nRoute, and probably a couple more that I can't think of. I use what "works" for me,for whatever detail I need at the time. I just haven't found anything I can use GE for.....personal preference only. Please don't "Find" Lake City......we enjoy the peace and small town quietness.

On the map page, ...but not the "Map info" choice of the map page.. Menu> setup map.....chg Map Points to 0.5 miles and chg User Waypoints to 0.2 miles. Internal POIs will so up at 0.5 miles and User Waypoints will show up at 0.2 miles. I don't have an "X", so no custom POIs, but they will show up at one or the other of those distances, so you can adjust to taste. The "Show All" is found at map page>menu>setup map>scroll over to Map info icon> menu> Show all

The first responder "Klatch" hit the nail on the head. Map 60 & 76 owners take notice! I don't know if other models have this capability or not..... Obviously, I didn't even know mine had it! It sure is not covered in the manual and it was/is embarassing considering how long I had tried to come up with a solution. I sent a note to Sputnik 57 to see if he thought it worthy to include in his FAQ website. NOTE ! When you press "reposition here", it Immediately changes the coordinates "of the waypoint you selected and had displayed when you pressed Menu" ..... to... "the coordinates that are on the GPSr display RAT THEN"...so, for learning purposes, create a bogus point or two to play with. Thinking about it, I'll bet that that's why the "Reposition Here" selection is NOT on the initial Menu selection page....why you have to intentionally scroll to it. Finding how to do this is almost like a kid finding a Secret Decoder Ring !

I won't say how long I've had this 76CS (about as long as possible though) and I won't say how many HOURS I've spent trying to figure out how to solve what should have been a simple task. Thank You! I guess I just never hit Menu at the right time, because I have NEVER even seen "Reposition Here" .......until tonight! Thanks again!

That is another reason to use an external antenna....so you can leave the GPSr in an internal warm pocket , except for intermittent "looking" and only the ext antenna is constantly exposed to the cold. Hands can stay warmer that way too...

Maybe Sputnik or ??? can help... On the 12XL, you could have an "approx" hand entered location for an object and use the GoTo to get there. When you found the actual location of the object, on the screen there was a data window "Dist to Dest" (or something like that) and what you could do is edit that distance to "0" and it would change the coordinates of the "approx" location you were going to , to the actual "present" coordinates. And the editing of the "Dist to Dest" was a simple sideways press on the toggle button. The process is described on the left hand side of page 20 in the 12XL manual, and it talks about "Reference" waypoints. On the Map76CS, there is a Dist to Dest data window that you can show on the map window but it won't let you edit that data. So is what you have to do is "save" a new point and delete the old , or write the coordinates down and edit the old? Is there a way to do the same thing using the "Change Ref Point" on the 76CS?

If you are downloading waypoints... In DNRGarmin when it first opens up , go to waypoint, then Waypoint Properties...be sure the Comment field is checked to download. That field is where the time/date is shown. If you are downloading Tracks and are wanting the time on the trackpoints..... Tracks that are "saved" and then downloaded have the timestamp stripped away. If you download the "active log" (without saving) it will still have the time data.

You might also look into a Garmin GA25 antenna. Per reviews, it's reception is just as good and it is a bunch less expensive. 20+ vs 60+ I have both and cannot tell any difference in reception. Both have 90deg MCX connectors.

Where in Colorado is this - town name or general area? I've been comparing the road layer in G.E. to other online map sources and would be interested to see it, Lake City, CO....SW part of state UTM Coordinates- 13S 296827mE 4211737mN

Also check out Snowmobile Trails. Click on "Trail Reports" then, "Lake City trails", and then on either of the two maps at the top of the page.

The photo resolution varies greatly by area. What hapens when you turn on the "roads" layer - do you at least get decent road maps? About the same or worse quality of roads that you would see from a comercial airline flight. Without the yellow "road" lines layer, you couldn't even make out where the roads are.

Regardless of how many decimal places they show on their coordinates, I would almost bet money that they would not guarantee (in writing) that their maps have that kind of accuracy. Even the accuracy on USGS 7.5 min Quads is something like 40ft! That's the mapping tolerance.

In my area (SW Colorado) Googleearth is absolutely worthless. When I try to zoom in any closer than 40,000ft it is so blurry that there are NO details. So maybe it depends on where you are...

Did you have your GPS on so that it would log your tracK? If so , download it to your PC into what ever mapping software you have. I learned a lesson a long time ago (you know, been there, done that ) to leave it on logging any time I'm not on a clearly marked road back in the boonies. Also what I've found is that no matter what mapping software you use, whether new or old, you will still find roads that are not shown. Even if you use the latest and greatest USGS quads.

And the confusion REALLY sets in if someone asks "How much distance on the ground does 1 Minute equal?" , and since locations are not one dimensional, you have to include Longitude.

If you start with UTM, you End with UTM..... no conversion.....real simple. It's when you use Lat/Lon with all the variations of DMS or decimal degrees, or decimal minutes ,etc etc, that all the (unnecessary) conversion enters the picture. The puzzlement and various questions in other posts about conversions seem to answer the OP question in this thread.

Opinions are like belly buttons......in that everybody's got one.... Here's mine.... When you are trying to find something / someplace, there is a distance involved between where you are and "it", and your brain has to be able to interpret that distance from some data describing it. (Most) people's brains do not "think/work" in DMS, or decimal degrees, etc. as related to distance, so there is a constant mental attempt to convert to some understandable "distance". Since UTM is based on a 1000 meter grid and only uses two "directions", Easting and Northing, its always easy to understand whether you need to go "More East" or Less East" , or "More North" or "Less North". Considering that the last three numbers in each of the UTM coordinates tell you where the point is within that particular 1000 meter square, you can quickly visualize which direction, and how far, you need to go. Whether or not you are familiar with the metric system, you can just equate each of those last three numbers to a "pace" or "step". If you are working with a paper map with UTM coordinates, the 1000 meter squares are usually described in the "collar" or border area. USGS quads use "little blue" numbers and tick marks. More accurate??, probably open to lots of debate.....but once you get familiar with using UTM , it sure does "Fit in the Brain" as being a lot more logical .