2manytoyz

My Garmin iQue has a 512 MB removable card. For navigation, I haven't seen anything better. I will still keep my Etrex Legend as the iQue is delicate. It isn't waterproof and it really isn't ideal for Geocaching IMHO. The 512 MB card was only $129. Prices keep coming down.

The Metroguide is a nice software package, but the maps take up more room. It has more "useless" (to me) data available (gas stations ,restaurants, campgrounds, movie theaters, Post Offices, etc.). This information takes up more space. My Legend only has 8 MB, so I use it carefully. I'm currently using the Topo map set and the Roads and Recreation set. The R&R set is my most commonly loaded software. It provides most everything I use. I can get almost half of FL loaded into 8MB. It also contains all the marine navigational aids that I use while boating. Robert http://www.2manytoyz.com/

I'm using the Roads & Recreation software with my Legend. The maps are off. The lock on road feature is available, but has no effect. Two of my coworkers have the same setup with the same results. We also have the latest firmware loaded into our GPSs. Not a big deal, but it's a shame this feature isn't working with this software. Also a shame that the software isn't near as detailed as Street Atlas! For what it's worth, if I log my trip to a location and back, my tracks are almost on top of one another... both of which may be off the road according to the map. Easy to tell where I'm going, but would have liked better accuracy. The GPS typically gives me 20' or better resolution and the track is more than that off the road. Robert http://www.2manytoyz.com/

No experience with the Geko model. However, I do have the Etrex Legend. I paid $247 for it a year ago. Now, it sells for $180 at Amazon.com and Garmin has a $50 rebate on it. I'm using the Mapsource Roads & Recreation software ($79 online). I've used it for trips and for navagating our boat, especially at night. All the navagational aids are already built-in. Since the price drop and rebate, two of my coworkers also bought the same model. Robert http://www.2manytoyz.com/

quote:Originally posted by solohiker: I am not sure about the trekking poles, but I know I can fend off a dog with a stick and I am pretty sure I can disable a single human with a stick as well. Unfortunately, pit bulls are a way of life here in the South. There's been many stories in the news about one latching on and having to be killed before it would let go. If it already has a hold of you, you won't get much of a whack at such a close range, especially if he's eating your arm. Seeing hunting dogs while in the woods is a common occurance. Most are friendly, some have been abused. It isn't common that someone is attacked by man nor beast, but if defense is your choice, then a firearm is more effective. Still carry the stick, but have a small cannon if needed. The Kel-Tec is so small that they offer a built-in belt clip. Bigger than a pager, shorter than a cell phone. It can be slipped inside the belt line of a pair of shorts or pants and pratically forgotten. Carrying a gun is absurd... until you need it. I had hoped that this thread wouldn't turn into pro/con gun debate. That's a personal choice, you decide and live with the consequences either way. If you want to know why I, my family and my friends carry guns, contact me directly and I'll tell you some horror stories. Bottom line is the main predator I'm concerned about is the two legged kind. If you do carry a gun, please take an NRA rated gun safety course so you don't shoot yourself or me! Robert http://www.2manytoyz.com/

I've got a nice collection of guns & knives. For traveling with a lightweight gun, look at the Kel-Tec 32 cal. pistol. VERY lightweight. Only 6.6 oz empty. It's a double-action only, so it's very safe to carry. I have two of them, one is carried by the wife. As someone once said to me, "it's the gun you carry when you're not carrying a gun". Yea, I've got a .38, .357, .45, etc., but those are all too heavy to put in my shorts pocket during the Summer unless my ankles need the shade. Here's a link to their website: http://www.kel-tec.com/prod02.htm My In-laws also own a couple of these, my father has one, and a number of my plinking buddies have them too: http://www.2manytoyz.com/plink.html Don't kid yourself into thinking a .32 doesn't have enough knock down power. This gun is also rated for the occasional use of +P ammo. The price is about $250-$275 for the one with the Hard Chrome Finish. It's small enough that I can hide it under my hand. Robert http://www.2manytoyz.com/

I've got a nice collection of guns & knives. For traveling with a lightweight gun, look at the Kel-Tec 32 cal. pistol. VERY lightweight. Only 6.6 oz empty. It's a double-action only, so it's very safe to carry. I have two of them, one is carried by the wife. As someone once said to me, "it's the gun you carry when you're not carrying a gun". Yea, I've got a .38, .357, .45, etc., but those are all too heavy to put in my shorts pocket during the Summer unless my ankles need the shade. Here's a link to their website: http://www.kel-tec.com/prod02.htm My In-laws also own a couple of these, my father has one, and a number of my plinking buddies have them too: http://www.2manytoyz.com/plink.html Don't kid yourself into thinking a .32 doesn't have enough knock down power. This gun is also rated for the occasional use of +P ammo. The price is about $250-$275 for the one with the Hard Chrome Finish. It's small enough that I can hide it under my hand. Robert http://www.2manytoyz.com/

quote:Originally posted by ApK:I use Mapsource Metroguide with my eMap in my car all the time and love it. I've used it find resturants, hotels, and shortcuts. Metroguide was shown to me by my coworker. He uses it on his chartplotter which has gobs of memory. We started selecting maps with his software in a "simulated download" just to see what would fit in my legend. Metroguide has a wealth of information about local businesses, but that extra data eats up a lot of room compared to the R&R version of Mapsource. Same coverage for street names and details. As an example, the county I live in takes up over 2MB in Metroguide, only 544KB in R&R. Just food for thought when space is an issue. A bad thing about the Metroguide series is not being able to limit the amount of data being downloaded. You can't tell it not to download business info, so you're stuck with the additional info, whether you need it or not. I think Delorme did a better job in this aspect. I had previously used Street Atlas to load maps into my PDA via Solus Pro software. Worked good, but more finiky than a dedicated GPS. That being said, I really like the Etrex Legend with the R&R software. If you guys want restaurants showing up on your maps, just understand the memory will be filled quickly. Robert http://www.2manytoyz.com/

Thanks for posting this, it answered a question I sent to Garmin earlier tonight. I loaded 44 maps from the Roads & Recreation CD (7.8MB) and the indicator also gave me the 7% used. I thought it could be a firmware bug, or as you found out, it isn't referring to the "upload" memory storage. Robert http://www.2manytoyz.com/

Only had mine a week so far, but I'm very impressed. I already purchased the Mapsource Topo and Roads & Recreation Maps. Though it only holds 8MB of data, that works out to be about 2/3rds of the State of FL worth of roads and nautical markers. As for additional maps being necessary, well no, but it's the reason I wanted it. The base maps are VERY basic. Only hwys and major roads are shown. Lots of land and bridges not shown in my area until uploading maps. I now have incredible detailed maps of my area. Mine came with the latest version of the firmware. I haven't had any reception problems at all. As a test today, I tried it inside the house. I have a 1962 house that is of cinder block construction (single story) and a hand framed timer roof covered with 3/4" planks. My computer room has two windows with aluminum mini-blinds, which were closed during the test. I was able to keep locked on the satellites and accuracy dropped from about 18' down to about 30'. I left it running next to my computer for about 10 minutes. It wasn't as happy as being outside, but still worked. So how does my house compare to a thick wooded area? It doesn't, just impressed that I could maintain a signal without a view of the sky. Probably nothing wrong with your GPS. Unless you have two GPS receivers side by side, it's impossible to do anything more than a subjective comparison. One of my pet peeves is reviews that don't do side by side comparisons and use the term "seems". Not referring to posts on this board but rather websites claiming to be doing an actual review. My friend has had his basic Etrex model for a year. He uses it in his kayak frequently, but puts it in a ziploc bag. His still looks new and works perfectly. He does take care of it. Don't know if Walkin Stick got a bad one or if he's just tough on his toys. Either way, I would have sent it back to Garmin for repair. The reports I've read gives glowing feedback for their service dept. Robert http://www.2manytoyz.com/

Only had mine a week so far, but I'm very impressed. I already purchased the Mapsource Topo and Roads & Recreation Maps. Though it only holds 8MB of data, that works out to be about 2/3rds of the State of FL worth of roads and nautical markers. As for additional maps being necessary, well no, but it's the reason I wanted it. The base maps are VERY basic. Only hwys and major roads are shown. Lots of land and bridges not shown in my area until uploading maps. I now have incredible detailed maps of my area. Mine came with the latest version of the firmware. I haven't had any reception problems at all. As a test today, I tried it inside the house. I have a 1962 house that is of cinder block construction (single story) and a hand framed timer roof covered with 3/4" planks. My computer room has two windows with aluminum mini-blinds, which were closed during the test. I was able to keep locked on the satellites and accuracy dropped from about 18' down to about 30'. I left it running next to my computer for about 10 minutes. It wasn't as happy as being outside, but still worked. So how does my house compare to a thick wooded area? It doesn't, just impressed that I could maintain a signal without a view of the sky. Probably nothing wrong with your GPS. Unless you have two GPS receivers side by side, it's impossible to do anything more than a subjective comparison. One of my pet peeves is reviews that don't do side by side comparisons and use the term "seems". Not referring to posts on this board but rather websites claiming to be doing an actual review. My friend has had his basic Etrex model for a year. He uses it in his kayak frequently, but puts it in a ziploc bag. His still looks new and works perfectly. He does take care of it. Don't know if Walkin Stick got a bad one or if he's just tough on his toys. Either way, I would have sent it back to Garmin for repair. The reports I've read gives glowing feedback for their service dept. Robert http://www.2manytoyz.com/

I've only had mine for a week, but I've been using it everyday (playing, of course!). I purchased the Mapsource Topo Maps and US Roads & Recreation Maps. I was amazed by how much data I could actually load into it. 8MB sure doesn't sound like much, but I was able to load all the street level maps for about 2/3rds of Florida before filling the memory. That also includes all the nautical markers as well. I looked closely at the Vista but couldn't see paying $100 more for only 16mB more. Yes, it does include an altimeter (very important here in FL) and a compass (just move a little, the GPS will do a fine job). I bought the suction cup dash mount (perfect) and the handle bar mount for my mountain bike (haven't tried it yet). I'm looking for a BRIGHT, floating soft cover for use in my kayak. No complaints yet... other than the memory indicator doesn't seem to be working correctly. Mine came with the latest firmware. I uploaded 7.8MB of data but the indicator only shows 7% usage. I contacted Garmin, waiting for a response. Weird, but not a real issue. The Mapsource software tells you the size of the map(s) before downloading to the GPS. I'd buy it again in an instant. Robert http://www.2manytoyz.com/

I bought an Etrex Legend this week, along with a couple of the Mapsource CD-ROMs. I've uploaded 44 maps to fill the available 8MB of onboard memory. VERY SLICK!!! Topo maps don't do much for you here in FL. The maps I have loaded show: bridges, wrecks, channel markers, etc. for fishing; structures, parks and waterways for when in the boonies; street level maps with exit numbers for traveling. Very easy to tell where I am based on the maps. The built-in base map was very basic, showing only major roads and channel markers. The display IS small, no doubt. However, I bought the optional dash mount and have it mounted in front of my dash (rather than on it). Depending on how far I have it zoomed, it isn't too difficult to see much of what I need to while traveling. A printed map is handy for getting "the big picture". Something hard to do with the limited size of the disply. I feel that it was well worth the extra money for this feature and very glad I got it. If you are unsure, ask around locally if someone has a GPS with this feature so you can compare for yourself. FWIW, my coworker has a Garmin 176 chartplotter he uses on his boat and in his truck. Very nice, but big and expensive. He's so impressed with my Legend that he's now considering buying one of those too. Robert http://www.2manytoyz.com/