GeoPup&ShelpieGirl

I just took an out of state trip and have some important waypoints. Can I transfer them from my handheld GPSr (Garmin MAP76S w/Mapsource Metroguide 4.x) onto my computer (WinXP Home)? Does the Garmin software handle this, or do I need something like EasyGPS? Any pointers welcome. I will lose them soon as I need to download maps of a different state and remove all existing waypoints on the GPSr for my next trip. Triva: Also, where do the waypoints go after transfer - onto the Hard Drive - but what folder? Willl my route or track also be saved? That would be cool

A while ago, I bought a printed atlas of one state made by DeLorme. It had a free CD called Map Print Pack. Long story short - it has topo maps of the whole USA on 2 CD's. It was a freebee! I dont know much about the quality compared to on-line services, but Ive used those CD maps many times, and as the title indicates, it is set-up for printing the maps. Very cool. (PS: no association with brands mentioned) I see that DeLorme has new version (not free) called Topo USA.

I also borrowed one of the +12V DC lines out of the back of my computer's Antec power supply, took a hard drive power molex connector & added a cigarette lighter receptacle so I can use my GPSr car adapter during downloads (or fire up the cigarette lighter to light up a stogie while Im waiting As PSuspect said, downloading maps *is* very time consuming. Waypoints are way fast Sometimes, I need download and fly - no time for drained batteries or recharging if I need maps along with the waypoints. I believe that the downloaded maps have more detail for small roads in the country, or topo information, if you get that version. Thanks to everyone, Ive learned much from all your comments!

I live in the sticks and can get a Firewire PCI card for a PC at Wal-Mart I have Firewire on my Dell (not a mac) and it is available for PC's external hardrives, etc. In fact, pro digital cameras like Canon utilize Firewire. My opinion is that GPSr units should offer at least USB2.0 for map downloads. I didnt know about the NMEA standard; it may require serial for external displays, but it doesnt make sense -- for multi-MB downloads i.e. maps *to the GPSr unit* -- at least not to this farm boy. Thanks - very useful info. Wow. You just saved me from a major headache - I was about to add one map section just for the heck of it. THANKS! Question: now that I have some Metroguide maps in my GPSmap76S, how do ensure that I am actually using those MS MG maps, instead of the built-in basemap?

Thanks ...didnt know that. I completed the transfer of waypoints, routes, and maps - about 20 mins for ~19 mb. Questions: 1) I did routing on my desktop computer. When I drive the route, do I get a warning before a turn? 2) Now that I have the maps for the region downloaded to my GPSr, if I alter the waypoints / routes, I can simply download the latter two (not the maps again), correct? The tranferred maps cover (more than) the area I will travel.

I got a AC adapter from GPSgeek and am ready to download my first waypoints, route, and Mapsource Metroguide maps for a portion of a state. Im going to power my GPSr from the AC adapter when I do the download. Ive heard its really a slow process. I was just wanting to make sure that I'm *really* running off the AC adapter, not running down my batteries. Should I just take out the batteries when I use the AC adapter? OT: in other technologies, firewire is common - what goes with the antedeluvian (and slow) serial data transfer in GPS land?

I have DeLorme Street Atlas "plus" and the Phone Data CD's. Is see that it can somehow access DeLorme "Topo's" topographic maps according to the literature. My question: I have a older copy of DeLorme Map Print Pak (free CD that came with a hardcopy atlas!). Is there a way that I can access the Print Pak's topo features from within Street Atlas?

Thanks for helping with my encyclopedic question. Your replies were very helpful. Im playing & learning. I wonder - does decreasing the map detail setting result in smaller maps in terms of storage size needed in the GPSr? The drawback it that I like to see those small country roads that only seem to appear at the max detail setting. Also, thanks for the warning re: the download time - I may tie some flies, or perhaps do some weaving, etc.

A few questions. I have Garmin 76S Map & Metroguide v4: This is my first time doing waypoints with MetroGuide, doing routing on my WinXP desktop, and transferring maps, routes, and waypoints to my Garmin. Any pointers welcome! Im wondering: should I keep my waypoint names short - how short? Once I have waypoints, how do I make them into a route? It looks like I like making my own route, rather than autorouting. If Im on a long trip, it seems to make sense to do several shorter routes - will that work? Im going to several cities and looking for geocaches throughout the trip. Also, any help with downloading to GPSr appreciated. I have an AC adapter and serial cable. How do I select & download chuncks of map to the GPSr? Can I fit all of CA in the 24mb that is available?

Thanks. If I use the update, will I lose my current waypoints?

really? [darn] Hmmm - is the "program" waypoints for new attractions, etc. - or is that part of the "maps?" I assume that new streets & streetnames are part of the "maps" not "software?"

Yes - I still have the original CD's.

I have an old verson of Mapsource Metroguide on my desktop computer. I just downloaded the [free] update. When I install my new version, will my old version still be there? I want to keep the old version as it is more compact and does autorouting.

larsl, yes, please ! this is exciting - thanks for sharing the plug-in, larsl - i read the opensource mission statement & like the spirit if sharing in that group. remarkable. bobby, great idea! thanks all!

larsl, Thanks for sharing that - I send you an email and an reading the site. Nice work! Is this a plug-in for qgis? Is the correlation done using the *time* of the photo and the track point? Does this assume that the camera cannot insert GPS coordinates into the EXIF? Some can. My current cameras cannot, so I am interested. I'm so happy that my post drew you out of "forge." Is there a charge for these programs? I see that there is a Windows beta for qgis - do I need the EXIF plugin to experiment with this?

The last Bruin I saw had a Garmin. They're smarter than I thought Really - animals will even go after soap! And Bears do like Beer. Immediate consumption is the best policy when in doubt.

For backpacking, I always put liquids in their 'leakproof' container, then a ziplock (or 2 - depending on mess potential). Maybe this would work in a cache. Some port would work for me ...just my 2k

Interesting. I am getting DeLorme Street Atlas plus (older version to experiment with) - and 7 CDs of linked phone numbers (yellow and white pages ~114 million?). Im dumping all the maps and phone #'s onto my hard drive. You can enter a phone number an get a point on the map. Perhaps there is a poor man's version? Even the simple track is useful once you place it on a high res map. Do tracks record time at the waypoints along the track?

Thanks. I learned something (now I can call it a day ;-) Got it: (on the Garmin 76s screen called "Track Information Page" ) Ok - I can turn it on , select options for recording, and then follow it back: "track back" - hey even their name for it is backarsewards makes sense now. Ahhhh, so that is the electronic bread trail. If only Hansel & Gretel had a Garmin - they wouldn't have had to bake that nice old lady edited for attempted humor timing.

I'll start by saying, apologies for this WOT (way off topic) post, but I see that there are some programmers here & if I can do this, it will go to good use. New pro digital cameras have wireless transmitter options and all of them can shoot tethered to a laptop, sending the image files to the hard drive via a utility program. The preferred connection is Firewire IEEE-1394. A few (like the Kodak Pro-N/C) can take a GPS input into the camera via a cable from a handheld GPS unit and record it in the image's metadata (along with things like camera settings, date, time, etc.). Amazing. I wonder what it would take to "shoot" to a laptop, insert the GPS (that would be easy if the camera is GPS ready / mine isnt) and insert the addresses or phone number that we are hovering over? I already know that GPS can record your actual traveled route as you are driving/flying it. I wonder how you could insert "shot numbers" or even a dot/point along the path *on the map* -- the camera numbers each photo or "shot" as we call them (unless you are around a VIP - they dont like that word ;-) Then you could have a base map from the GPS, a route showing the path you actually flew, points along the path where you took photos, and a photo with GPS coordinates (and perhaps some custom data like altitude, direction of travel of the aircraft) embedded in the image file. The main point of interest (for me) is this: how can I insert a point on a track everytime I fire the camera? Can the camera communicate back the GPS software running on the laptop? This could be fun for people on road trips too (oh, no! no we will be looking at GPS, talking on cell phone, and taking a photo Be safe! Wow - all that, and I havent even had my coffee, yet BTW, Im one of the good guys.

I picked up a 2003 version of the Plus with the phone data. If anyone is interested, let me know & I'll let you know more when it arrives. Hmmm 116 million phone number ...give me a few days for testing

Right. Hmmm - perhaps a user of an older version can chime in ?

The 2005 version must be very new - local Staples still has 2004. The DeLorme site has the 2005 "plus" version of Street Atlas. Even if you use the 2004, I like to hear your impressions. Thanks

For those who follow: the Garmin GPSMAP 76S voltage specs: 8-35V DC. -source Garmin GPSMAP 76S User's Manual

Wanted to buy: DeLorme Street Atlas "Plus" Version - prefer DVD, will consider CDs. Also, I am looking for the additional DVD that has residential phone coordinates. Prefer recent or current version. Prefer USA seller. Can pay via PayPal or other. Must be like new.