ILBandit

OK, after getting info from many of you on this forum, I finally went out and got the US Topo for my Legend. WOW!! what a difference! It does everything that I was hoping it would do. I have a couple questions about it though, When I downloaded the topo for my local area, it warned me about erasing everything from the Garmin programing. I loaded about 6MB for northern IL where I live, and loaded close to the final 2MB that it would hold for southern IL where I hunt every year. So I know that I am close to using the full memory. What happens when I am going to travel out of state or something, and need to load up a ton of maps for where I am going? Do I need to remove the mapping I have in it first? then program the new spots I need? Or does it just automatically pull the oldest map off and replace it in the new spot I choose? And.. when I move the maps to a different area, does it just leave the old areas completely blank? with nothing at all for a base map? (from the warning I got about it erasing everything) Any info is appreciated, I'm just kinda wondering about how to use the software all over the place when I travel, without messing things up. (8MB storage isn't a whole lot)

I discovered that a little bit ago, guess I should have looked a little more before posting the question. Sorry about that. I believe that the Topo is the one I want, looks like it will do everything I need. And it sure looks like it will make things alot easier to navigate once it is installed. Will the 8 MB of storage I have on the Legend cover a fairly large area? I live in north central IL.(just south of around the I-80 / I-39 jctn.) Would i be able to save a fairly decent size area on it? Or would I have to re-load it every once in a while if I move around very much?

Thanks for the info, I think that is my problem, I don't wait long enough. I usually just notice right away the accuracy was worse, then just switch back to disabled. I will give it some time next time I'm out, and see if it makes a difference.

I'm a newby to most of this, and I had a question, It's my understanding from reading the manuals, that when you enable the WAAS satelites on the units, they will get you alot closer, and be alot more accurate in pinpointing a spot. I noticed that when I "enable waas" on my Legend, the accuracy reading at the top gets alot bigger numbers, i.e. waas enabled = accurate to 65 ft., waas disabled = accurate to 19 feet. I figured it would be the other way around? Am I missing something here? Or do I just not understand the WAAS thing?? Aren't they supposed to make it MORE accurate?

Had to jump in here, I had sorta the same questions, I was thinking of getting the topo, my main concern is having something that shows all the country roads. Does topo show all the county roads with the road numbers? Wanting something to help guide me to the sites. I don't really need the routing or anything, just would like to see the country roads with names/ numbers. Will Topo do that for me? Or do I need to go with something else to see all the roads with names also? Any help would be appreciated.

I am wanting to get the US topo map for my legend, and have a couple questions... Will the 8MB memory be enough to download the map onto my unit? Or at least enough to load the coverage for several states? And, is there any regular, common retail stores that sell the Garmin US topo map CD's? I'm planning on using it for geocaching, hiking, and hunting trips. I'm basically wanting something that shows the county, and country roads I'm traveling on. And some more detail of the lakes/streams I'm near. Is the "topo" CD the one that would best suit my needs? Or is there another one that would work better for me? Any info would be appreciated, thanks

Me and my 5 year old son just found our first one this afternoon, just about 1/2 mile from our house. Lots of fun, and a good way to get out of the house, and do something together. He (and I) are both looking foreward to the next hunt. Until about 1 week ago, I had never even looked at or used a GPS unit, now I'm hooked, I don't leave home without it!