dhbaird

Not sure if anyone has created the entire AT as a custom map yet. But, I have the Garmin 24K Topo East, and good news, yes it does have the entire AT. I'll play around tonight and see if it would be doable to transfer the entire shapefile from the AT site into 1 custom transparent map. I'll let you know more late tonight. Thanks... I did go up on the Garmin web site and looked at the topo East with a high zoom factor and saw the trail there. It looked like they covered it all, but I was disturbed to see a quad that appeared to be missing in the CT/NY area. Maybe it was just a bilp on the display. I am not feeling that positive about Garmin right now.. this lock code thing is raising doubts in my mind about staying with them as a vendor. Do you know if there is another GPSr that can take maps from NG Topo or another good topo product so I can get trail information onto it?

I did pay the map data vendors... when I paid for the license the first time. Just like I paid Delorme when I purchased the Topo and Street Atlas programs. I paid them for the work they put into the data, the maps and the research they go through. Once I did that, Delorme does not seem to care what laptop or pda I use them on or what GPS is attached to the laptop or PDA. That is what I expect from a customer friendly software vendor not a dongle controlled product. I avoided a number of CAD programs ( I am a former CAD designer) if they required a dongle because too many times the dongle itself would not work with technology changes. I just got called into a construction company that experienced just that problem. They have a whole bank of brand new 64 bit Dell workstations that will not run any of their dongle protected design programs because the dongle expects a 32 bit system. Linking the software with a particular GPSr is just greed in my mind. You have a captive audience so wring every nickel out of them that you can. All the good will that Garmin might get for good customer service for replacing a 50cent USB weather cap pales in comparison. Do they discount the Mapsource software if you do not have a Garmin GPSr to load it up on, that you just wanted for the maps? I doublt it.

Being a total newbie to this stuff, which of the above formats can be read into the Garmin Topo program so I can map out some routes for hiking, ESRI, Arcview or MapInfo? Is it an easy import or do I need to use something else inbetween before it will work? Those formats cannot be directly opened in MapSource. And, since the ESRI, ArcView shape file, and MapInfo files they include are rather large, you run into another problem. if you try and run them through several different conversion programs, you hit track point limits. What you can do is use GPSMapEdit to import the file in shapefile format. Then, using GPSMapEdit, cGPSMapper, make your own custom map file. But, this is beyond the scope of the site. Check out cGPSMapper if your interested. Another option would be to use GPSTrackmaker to open the shapefile, save it in pieces, and then transfer those pieces to the GPS. Remember, the AT sites data is in NAD27 datum. So, you will need to change the datum when you open the file for it to import correctly. But, the shapefile from the AT site has 300,000+ points, so you will have to use it in small chunks. Do you know of anybody who has created the maps of the Appalachian Trail for upload to a Garmin using the GPSMAPEDIT or Ozi? I looked around for a while about that on the net last fall, but could not find any. I did find a person who was doing maps of the Caribbean and found a map of two of the islands I go to on a regular basis. Loaded them onto my Garmin this Christmas and they facilitated me finding 4 caches on St. Martin and St. Barths. I also was able to save a track as a local to St. Barths took me to two of their favorite beaches off the beaten track, so I can find them again. I have yet to find a group of through hikers who have done the same for the AT trail. Are you certain that Garmin Topo 24K National Parks east has the whole trail. I asked tech support at Garmin that question and no one ever wrote me back.

Of course one of the things that such a policy would allow people to do is make essentially unlimited copies to sell or give away to others. That might not hurt the GPS manufacturers all that much since their lost sales on map software might be recouped with greater sales of the hardware which would be more popular if buyers didn't have to factor in the cost of maps. But it could be devastating for companies like NavTeq that provide the map data and depend on earning revenue from those sales. Note that neither Garmin nor Magellan implemented any form of protection for the map software that was derived from publicly available USGS and TIGER databases as used in the old Roads&Recreation, Garmin's USTopo, and Magellan's MapSend Topo and MapSend Streets programs. The use of lock codes and other protection methods came when these companies turned to NavTeq for more up-to-date and routable map data as used in CitySelect/Navigator and DirectRoute/3DTopo map products. It doesn't look to me like adding such protection was the idea of the GPS manufacturers, but rather of the map data supplier, i.e. NavTeq. And with good reason given that developing their database is not an inexpensive undertaking for NavTeq and they have reason to be concerned that it might become freely available which would prevent them from getting any return on their investment. Then explain why I can install Delorme Street Atlas on any of my computers here and use it with both generations of the Delorme puck-type GPS units on my laptop. I've used that software without having to pay a lock-code on each one of my workstations for the last 6 years. I also purchased a GPS adaptor (not manufactured by Delorme) on my old Palm PDA and it worked with the Street Atlas and Delorme Topo 3D as well. Just plugged the adaptor into the PDA and uploaded the maps using Solus and away I went. The software did not care what kind of GPS I was using nor what platform. As long as I had purchased the rights, which I had, I could use the software on whatever mix of equipment and platform that I had available. I am used to such portability. When a company sells me the use of a particular piece of software of course I do not have the right to copy it and give it way. I don't do that. It is illegal and not just. But when a company sells me a piece of software and then says, oh by the way, you can use it twice no matter how long you might own it, that is wrong. As many people have indicated, streets, roads, mountains and trails do not change that much. I have avoided upgrading my Street Atlas version 7 for at least 6 years, maybe more. My Delorme Topo 3d program is version 3... Dont even know what new version is out there. Both have served me well. I am on my second laptop, 3rd GPS (soon to be a 4th) during that same time period. I expected the same to be true with the Garmin product line of mapping software and now I am very disappointed.

Does ExpertGPS recognize the USB port on a Garmin 76CS(x) or do you have to get a serial connector? I want to d/l the Appalachian Trail centerline shape files and then upload them to the CS. Can it be done this way via the USB interface?

Being a total newbie to this stuff, which of the above formats can be read into the Garmin Topo program so I can map out some routes for hiking, ESRI, Arcview or MapInfo? Is it an easy import or do I need to use something else inbetween before it will work?

I have a large number of very expensive graphics programs for my work. None of them link them to my Computer, only to me the user. If they have an activation routine, like Microsoft currently does, they give you an 800 number and when you explain that you have just upgraded your computer they give you a new activation code. That is what I expect with software purchases. I am on my third computer with the same version of MS Office XP. Agree with you totally here. When you buy a license, do you only buy it to play it one or two times? No, you buy it to play as long as you own the cd. In my mind, by linking program to GPSr they have basically increased the cost of each Garmin by $100 for each unit. If I had known that before I purchased I never would have moved to Garmin as the platform for my GPS activities. I assumed, wrongly that once I had bought the software that I could use it on my Garmin based units like I use my Adobe software on my last 3 computers. After I sell, I may still upgrade to a 76csx because I don't want to purchase another batch of software right now... but when I have to purchase my wife's unit, I probaby will look elsewhere since I will have to spend money on software anyway. That is what makes it bad customer relations. No matter how good the unit may be, if the cost per unit goes up by $100 to be able to be able to use it then it is logical to look elsewhere.

I don't think that they thought it through at all. I am the one who purchased the maps... They belong to me, not to the GPS that they might be loaded upon. Assigning the lock code to the unit is linking the two together forever... Not very smart, nor very customer friendly. So what happens if my GPSr dies? Do I have to purchase another lock code in order to use a map program I have already paid good money for with a new unit? We don't want to use up the second lock code because we were planning on purchasing a Street Pilot for my wife's car and use it there.

Okay... I have listed my Garmin 76Cs on Ebay and assume that it will be gone in a week or so as I upgrade to the 76CSX... How do I deal with the lock code registration issue for my City Select 7? Will Garmin re-assign the lock code to my new unit or will the person who buys it be getting the lock code for free? I never thought of this issue when I listed it on Ebay... but started thinking about it when I began gathering the packing materials, Mapsource Disk, Documentation books etc...

$350.00 plus shipping A fair price. You're not going to throw in the unlock code for CS for free? hmm-hmm? I think I have already used it up but I am not certain how it all really works. My wife has a GPS for her car, lock code #1, the 76cs has lockcode # 2... I figure I can call Garmin and switch that lock code to the new unit, correct?

That feature didn't make it into the 60/76C(CS) units either for some reason or other. I think the V is the only handheld that did have it. Someone in their wisdom must have decided that users did not need it. There are a couple of other features the V had that I really miss in my 76C. I can't remember what they are but I recall being disappointed when I first got the 76C and found it was without. Olar The lack of via is one of my only true disappointments on my 76CS too. I am used to using via's with my old GPS puck and Delorme Street Atlas and my laptop. It is more intuitive to say "use route 95" for me than to say, "go here but make certain you stop here" that is required with waypoints. The other tihing I discovered is that if I selected a way point on a divided highway, that unless I was very careful in selecting the correct lane, that my 76CS would start telling me to take u-turns and it would beep all the time trying to get me back to that waypoint... Lacking a via tool is not helpful at all.

I'm not certain this is the only way to do it, but what I did was create a couple of waypoints along the route. Then I got a route where I wanted it. The other way is to use Mapsource, routing tool and click the vias as you build the route. That will send "invisible" waypoints to the GPS so it builds the route with the via's you desire.

$350.00 plus shipping

If anybody is interested, I put a 3 month old Garmin 76cs up on Ebay the other day. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...AMESE%3AIT&rd=1 It's a good deal, and if you end up being the buyer I will load up your home area of Topos and Street Select before I ship.

Before I make my transflash purchase I want to be certain of a couple of things... Are there access time specs published anywhere on the microSD chips that ship with the unit? If so can someone post them? In connection with the first question has anybody determined if there any advantage to pending more $ for faster access times? Does the unit repaint faster? Does it acquire faster, store more points? Are there any particular manufacturer's microSD's that have not worked?

I did a test of the same sort of idea the other day, but with a reference point twist. There are 6 different Benchmarks listed on the geocache.com site that are within walking distance of my home. I copied down each of them, including elevation from the information page on the site. I input them as waypoints in my GPSMAP 76cs and then went for a walk. I was 6 feet off from the first BM with an error of +/- 12 feet indicated on the GPS... I went over to the first Bench Mark, laid the GPS down on it and did an AVG for 100 different logs and it came up with about the same. I also calibrated the altimeter and then walked to the next Bench mark and did the check all over again. Over the course of the test I averaged 6-10 feet away from the BM with accuracy indicators staying about the same +/- 12-15 feet. The altimeter was within 1-2 feet at each point after the calibration at the first BM. I covered about 1.5 miles in my walk and came home feeling reasonably secure that despite chaging conditions/locations/tree cover etc that my accuracy seemed pretty constant. Does that help?

Which antenna did you get. I just got my Gilsson today and it did not acquire that much better than without it.

Peter - aren't those two the ones that won't be available until around the end of this year?? Also, I read somewhere that #35 would undergo 2 or 3 months of testing after reaching 142°W and will not be available for GPS use till testing is finished. #35 has been sending correction data consistently whenever I've seen it recently, but hasn't sent any ranging data since shortly before it started to move. The Galaxy15 (#48) has been sending both ranging and correction data but is still in a test phase so it might not always be doing so. The Anik (#38) has also been sending correction data but wasn't sending ranging data recently. It's also still in a test phase. I haven't seen any D's the last 4 times I have had the GPS out. I have WAAS activated and that is why I asked the question. I don't remember seeing #48 at all on my Satellite page, can not remember about 38.

Actualy the first post in response is a help... The most important question is what's your budget? The second most important question... What do you want this GPSr to do? Do you want it to have the ability to connect with your computer? Do you want to be able to edit tracks? Auto-route? Built in Geo-Cache function? Answer those kind of questions and people might be able to begin to anwer it more to your satisfaction. When I told folks what I wanted to do with mine they quickly steered me to a particular range of models from three different manufacturers. I then was able to do some more research online and ask some more questions and narrow it down to 2 models. From there it was personal preference, so I went to some retail stores and tried them in my hands. From that process I then ordered my GPSr online. So give us more to work on and we might be able to help.

Are you able to use Ozi to create more detailed Topo maps that you then can d/l to the 76csx. If so, what maps do you start with? I want to begin to do this but am afraid of the steep learning curve ahead. To say nothing of the $ I might need to invest in map software and the like. I have a large collection of unique maps printed by various outing clubs, mountaineering orgs and friends from treks I did around the world in the late 60's through 1979 when I finally stopped trying to climb everything in sight. Some of those routes need to be preserved and passed on as they were first ascents. I am about ready to retire and will have some free time to visit some of my old climbs. I would love to be able to d/l maps with my old routes and treks to a gps.

Today I located 3 different benchmarks. While I was at the first of them I calibrated the altitude sensor on my 76cs for the height that was in the record books for that benchmark. I checked the altitude at the next 2 and it was within a foot or 2. Thought that was pretty good. My question is how long does that calibration last. Did I lose it when I turned off the unit when I was done?

Just wondering. Of the Sats that I can acquire here in CT, which ones are sending out a WAAS correction signal? Do the 76Cs show when a Sat's data is being corrected?

Hi dh, If I dismember correctly, that will put a set of coord's UNDER an image you post in a log. See my benchmark log with picture and posted coord's. Bee Bluff Log/Image JohnTee So you just write down or create a waypoint where you took the photo and then enter it on the screen? That is simple. I thouhgt we were dealing with something geeky here :rofl:

I recommended that my mom get Garmin StreetPilot c330. She has almost the exact same needs as your daughter--user friendly, touch screen, easy to input addresses/locations/POIs. It also does not require any uploading of maps(it comes preloaded) and is set up around a very simple interface. Is it possible to update the map data in a C330 with a new release of Street Select or Street Navigator when they come out or are you stuck with the pre-loaded maps forever? Need a simple unit for my wife as well. She fell in love with the GPS her last business trip, but I don't want to be locked into sharing it all the time. I am not greedy, but sometimes she leaves for weeks at a time and while she is gone is my prime time for going cache hunting. Sort of defeats the purpose to have the GPSr gone with her while I am home alone spinning my wheels.

How are others using track logs? Is there a quick and easy way to convert them into routes? I have some logs of my hikes that I have saved. Don't know if they would be interesting to anyone else or not. Is there a central repository for uploading tracks so others can use them? Is there a protocol as to what information you should include with a track to make it useful for others? Just wondering... I have tracking turned on autmatically and it seems to be a waste of memory most of the time.