SergZak

Do you have detailed maps loaded into the unit (like from MapSource City Select) or are you using the unit's built-in basemap for autorouting?

What you're trying to do is common for those who want to run MapSource directly from the hard drive without having to have the MapSource CD in the drive. It should be working for you. This is unclear to me...is the MapSource install looking for the D drive to install to or is MapSource looking for the D drive (which may be your defunct CDROM drive?) to install from? The directory structure of the CD copy on the hard drive (that you're trying to install from) should be exactly the same as on the original MapSource CD. Copy the CD contents to a single folder and run the install program from within that folder. You may also want to clear out your windows/temp folder since this sometimes causes problems with previous installs that haven't completed fully.

Thanks RB. Since I've long departed with my beloved GPS V, I've upgraded to a 60C and 60CS, a Vista C and a Quest. The GPS V was (and still is) a fantastic unit, with the exception of it's meager 19MB of detailed map storage and slow serial interface. Though I've not had the opportunity to use any unit on a long trip, it's nice to know that the basemap really can come in handy. One thing I find amusing is that my Vista C has 5MB of memory over the GPS V...and I'm finding fault with that! I think I got along reasonably well with the GPS V for well over a year...

What MapSource product are you using? City Select v6? MetroGuide USA v6? City Select has the option of transferring route calculation data to the GPSr. Make sure you deselect this option on the very bottom (you may have to scroll down to see it) of the "Maps" tab. MetroGuide does not have this option since the maps do not contain route calculation data. If the GPSr still autoroutes when using MetroGuide, it's doing so on the unit's built-in basemap which *does* contain autorouting data regardless of what maps youve uploaded to the GPSr. To avoid this, be sure and do a direct route goto. When you select the waypoint you want to go to, simply select the "Off Road" option. This will route you directly to your waypoint without autorouting on the basemap or detail maps. You can also autoroute (follow road) as close to the waypoint as possible, then recalculate the route (menu key/recalculate/off road) using the off road option. As for the battery life, I've found that having the backlight level set to 30% is adequate. If you need it higher than that for a few seconds or so, use the the following shortcut: with the backlight off, press and release the power button once to set the backlight to a preset level setting that you can set in the setup/display menu options or press and release the power button twice to bring the backlight up to its full level. Turn off the compass when you don't need it. Simply press the Quit/Compass key for longer than 3 seconds.

Make sure you get the latest v6 of City Select. Also be aware that you can unlock (City Select maps need to be unlocked for the GPS which they will be used on) two Garmin units per coupon code. If you live in a densly populated area like I do (Los Angeles), don't expect to be able load a ton of City Select maps to the Vista C's 24MB of memory. While 24MB is fine for Topo and other non-memory intensive Garmin maps, City Select maps along with the route calculation data can fill up that 24MB pretty quickly. If you're unfamiliar with Garmins unlock process, read about it here.

If you want autorouting, you will need to use CitySelect. As TresOkies++ mentioned, MetroGuide maps do not contain autorouting data. You could try and find an older version of MetroGuide (v4 if I recall correctly) on eBay since this version of MetroGuide -does- contain autorouting data.

Note that this also works on the 60C and 60CS. It should also work (but is currently broken) on the Quest (BlueChart v6.5 tide table prediction plotting is also broken on the Quest).

Personally with my current setup, I like to use the Quest for getting there and then the Vista C for the cache because of it's small size. The Vista C used on it's own for both auto-nav and caching may be pushing it memory-wise since City Select with autorouting uses a lot of memory (at least here in So. Calif). If I were to choose one unit for all, it would be the 60C(S) since it has more than twice the memory of the Vista C. The Quest might be kind of awkward to hold horizontally while caching but it's totally doable. One drawback with the Quest that hasn't been mentioned here in this thread is the non-replacable internal Lithium Ion battery. If it dies in the field, you can't just pop in some new batteries and continue. On the other hand, the unit is always charging when plugged into the car's 12v power so this may not be a problem. Garmin states the Quest's run time is ~20 hours on the internal battery. It's just as easy to switch back and forth on the Quest. The entire keypress sequence to switch from an on-road autoroute to an off-road direct route is: 1. press and hold MENU 2. press rocker pad right once to select "Recalculate" 3. press OK 4. press rocker pad down twice to select "Off Road" 5. press OK That's it. You can now press the PAGE key and get the compass screen.

The questions aren't directed at me but I'll answer them anyways. Unless you do an off-road goto, you will never see the compass screen (of which I posted screen shots above) since it's active only in this situation. I guess many people didn't know it existed until they read this post & saw the screen shots (or stumbled on it on their own like I did). You can load any combination of mapsets to the Quest (or any other Garmin unit) and switch back and forth between them as needed. This is not a problem and the Quest has plenty of memory for different mapsets. This is by far my favorite unit for car navigation. I have the Quest, a 60C, a 60CS and a Vista C.

Specific road avoidances are not available on the 60C(S) 76C(S) units. My Quest does however have configurable avoidances. This includes specific road/highway avoidances along with area avoidances (draw a rectangle around the area you wish to avoid and you wont get routed through that area). The avoidances are also configurable to never expire or expire on a certain date. It's my belief that the memory used on the 60/76 series units for say, the geocache mode, calendar, hunt/fish, games and other utilities is used for other options (like avoidances and other options) on the Quest. I doubt that Garmin would include all the options available on the 60/76 series on the Quest and vise-versa.

Hi Robert I've emailed Garmin on this issue also but my biggest gripe with my Quest (and something that I'm sure can be fixed in the firmware) is that the unit does not beep directions (guidance beeps) from within the GPS unit itself while connected to external 12v power. The unit only provides voice guidance through the external speaker while connected to 12v and only beeps while running off of the internal battery. Since I don't care for the voice guidance & don't care to use it, I have to be disconnected from 12v to hear any guidance beeps. Other than that, the Quest is an awesome unit for it's intended purpose.

Maybe it's not an oversight...since the Legend comes standard with a PC cable, maybe Garmin figures if you have a Legend, you already have the PC cable.

The Legend C is primarily marketed as an outdoor/geocaching unit but also has the same autorouting capabilities as the 60C(S), 76C(S) and the other newer Garmin color units like the Quest. The main drawback for City Select autorouting with the Legend C/Vista C is the 24MB of memory. While this amount of memory is very adequate for the unit's intended use, it's a pretty big limitation when it comes to loading City Select maps with autorouting data. Like Sputnik said, it's do-able but you'd have to use the basemap for alot of the trip. The 60C holds all of Los Angeles to San Diego and the Quest or 76C will hold about 95% of California. Like the others here mentioned, a better option would be either a 60C (56MB) or 76C (115MB) for long trips.

Simply upgrading from the v5 CD to the v6 CD does not unlock City Select v6 maps. You still need to get a new unlock code from Garmin at this link. If you already have a new unlock code for v6 from Garmin, you need to unlock the maps using the code from within MapSource (make sure you are running the latest version 6.3 available for download for free here). This version has the latest Unlock Wizard. From within MapSource, select Utilities/unlock maps and go from there. The option "Include route calculation data" is displayed when unlocked maps containing route calculation data are selected for download to the GPS unit. Currently, these are City Select, City Navigator, BlueCharts and US Topo 24k (here in the US).

Hmmm....mr magellan may need to change his name to mr garmin.

I own a Quest but have not used it for geocaching. It's mainly meant as a very portable automotive navigator, but.... The unit does have an off-road straight line goto like any other GPS out there. You simply choose your waypoint (or "location" as the Quest calls it) and select "route to". Just like the 60C(S) or the Vista C/Legend C you will be given a three options...Faster Time, Shorter Distance or Off Road. If you select Off Road, a straight line goto will be generated along with a compass screen with a switchable course or bearing pointer. Bearing pointer: Course pointer:

I agree that the internal battery is killer for geocachers out there, but if the unit is used as it's being marketed (mainly as a very small, portable automotive nav unit), there is pretty much no problem. The battery charges when it's plugged into 12v so it's pretty much always topped-off. I would much rather have had standard AA's so I could swap them at will but there is no way they could've fit them in there and kept the size as small as it is. I agree though that this should not be considered as the GPS V replacement...but it suits my needs just fine (with the exception of a few dumb quirks like the voice nav/unit beep while connected to 12v that I mentioned above).

The Quest does have an external antenna port right next to the USB port...I'm looking at it right now.

I owned a V for more than one year and loved it (except for that measley 19MB of map storage and slow serial data transfer). Switching from the V to a 60C, I thought I'd really miss the landscape mode of the V. Well, I got used to it pretty quick. Now I have a Quest and it's landscape mode only (not switchable, robertlipe). Now it seems that I prefer portrait mode as on the 60C since you can see approx 1.5 times the distance ahead of you at the same zoom level. Still, the Quest is very usable and has some great features like area avoidance and road avoidance. Here in SoCal, some freeways are pointless to even get on at certain times of the day (55 fwy south/Newport Blvd. into Newport Beach on a Saturday afternoon is one) and being able to set up multiple avoidances is really great. I love both units though and both see about equal useage. One thing I hate about the Quest is that it won't beep through the GPS while the 12v power is running the unit. If you're pluged into 12v, the unit will use voice guidance only and no beeps. Since I don't care for the voice guidance, I turn it off within the GPS. The only way to have the GPS beep through the unit for upcoming turns is to unplug it from 12v and run off the battery....pretty silly. Hopefully, this will be corrected in a software update.

If the device is greyed out, MapSource probably can't see the device on the USB or there's a problem with it. You could try turning off the unit and then back on and see if MapSource sees the device. Also try plugging/unplugging the USB cable on both the GPS end and the PC end. Make sure you're running MapSource v6.3. If not, you can find it on Garmin's website and it's a free download. When you upload a new mapset to the GPS, all mapsets in the unit are erased, then replaced with the new mapset. You can't manually delete mapsets on the GPS since MapSource does this for you at upload time.

The version I'm referring to is simply MetroGuide USA (no version number), data version 3 (the data version is obtained using MapSource/Help/about MapSource and looking at the data versions of the installed products). I'm unclear if this is the version 3 that you are referring to because the product is titled simply MetroGuide USA. I have it loaded and running on two different PCs and yes, it does support autorouting on both the PC and the GPS.

MetroGuide USA v3 will also autoroute on the GPS but the map data will be a bit outdated. The selectable map segments are also quite large compared to newer versions.

You don't and can't "remove" maps from the GPS unit. They are over-written when you upload another mapset. Simply create another mapset with CS v6 and upload it to the GPS. Your old CS v5 mapset on the unit will be replaced with the new CS v6 mapset.

You gave me lots of good info as well and your write-up on the Quest was very well done and informative. You should stick around...

I think the memory meter used on the older Garmin non-color units was confusing people and was misleading. Even though it had nothing to do with showing the memory used for maps, people still got the impression that it did. Maybe that's why Garmin chose to eliminate the meter from their newest GPS units.