Tymbee

Hi Jamie, "low'class" ??? What on Google Earth are you talking about?? I just made a simple factual statement summed up in the subject of my post. One's not allowed to comment on the relative strengths/weaknesses of a particular program for their purposes? Thanks for the input re. the Ask maps. I'll check 'em out.

Oh please, not the "it's free enjoy it" defense! Besides, I didn't say I didn't enjoy it. I rather like it. Just pointing out that it's pretty much useless for some purposes. Personally I'd gladly pay for the "pro" version but I assume the underlying data is the same. (?) I also expect that eventually they'll have the whole earth covered. But I won't be really impressed until someone figures out how to deliver high res, full color, _real time_ streaming video images! Of course by a hermit like me will have erected huge domes over my estate to keep out all those prying eyes...

Simple solution really. All you need to do is to get the forum admins to come in on weekends and evenings, and search and replace all instances of, for example, "GPS" with "GPSxxx". PDA could be replaced with "PDAxxx". Piece-a-cake! ;-)

Ok, Google Earth is really slick. I enjoy using it when I can. If the maps had any kind of detail for the areas I need, I'd probably use it as one of my primary mapping programs. But for virtually all the areas I need, the map detail simply isn't there. MS's Terraserver maps are simply vastly superior. I can pick out houses, streets and even small buildings w/ Terraserver, but that same area in Google Earth? Can hardly tell whether that gray splotch is even a town. Is it just me? I can't be the only one that lives in the boondocks and is feeling a bit left out...

I plan to call Garmin tomorrow when I'm back in the office to ask, but in the meantime perhaps someone might know how this works? When I had a problem awhile ago w/ a CitySelect CD, I called Garmin support. Ended up they gave me a discount for the CS7 I had ordered by not yet installed. Installed that and got everything back working again and received unlock codes for both GPS devices I was using (iQue 3600 & aviation GPS unit). I no longer have the aviation unit and now anticipate purchasing a handheld Garmin GPS. As I understand it, you can have/use up to 2 devices? Is there any way to "revoke" the one unlock code for the aviation unit (GPSMap 196) and apply that to the new handheld?

A fact that many, myself included, discovered for the 1st time the hard way. Remember when I first started working w/ a Garmin & Mapsource, I discovered while driving past NYC that I had apparently not selected a small detailed map segment we would be driving through. Not to worry-- I'll just fire up the laptop in the hotel that evening and "add" that one teeny map. I suppose a wiser person would have checked to confirm that what he thought had happened actually did, rather than only finding out on the road the next morning that they indeed had detailed coverage for that new area, but _only_ for that area! You'd think that the speed with which the map was written should have been the first clue-- again, were I paying attention. Sheesh...

I don't have the 76 being discussed, but I assume it would act the same as the other GPS units I have and use Mapsource for. You can rename the active detailed map img file and store it on your computer HD, or on the SD card itself. For example, I don't keep detailed maps of southeast US loaded, but can quickly add them when I'm in that area. When I created the map set I wanted for that area, I made a copy and renamed it FLA_GMAPSUPP.IMG (for use on the iQue GPS). I have similar map sets for other areas including Topo. Then whenever a particular region is needed, I just rename if back to the name the GPS recognizes, and use a card reader to overwrite what's there. Of course w/ the expanding capacity of these SD cards, one can easily store larger areas such as the entire east coast US and the need for multiple image files decreases.

?? "Exactly the same: perhaps with respect to the general, overall sun factors you describe, but I've read a lot of reviews that clearly state viewability in daylight varies considerably from unit to unit. Are they wrong? A fellow iQue owner was just telling me how when they were driving w/ someone that had a Treo 650 with a GPS system that the display was much brighter and more readable than the iQue in daylight.

Thanks for the explanation.

A related question if I may... How exactly do the tone signals work? Is there just one tone at a set distance from a turn?

Oh the pain... Having some experience with trying to view digital camera screens & notebook screens aboard a boat, this would seem like the ultimate affirmation as to the suitability of viewing in full sun. Very good to hear! Thanks much for the input from all. Looks like my iQue is about to have some company...

Love my iQue 3600. The large screen is viewable from quite a distance-- IF it's dark outside! Otherwise, driving in mid-day sun for example, it's all but impossible to read unless you twist & squint. I expect bright sun will always hinder viewing-- on any gps unit, but I'd like to hear other's opinions of the 60csx screen performance in bright sunlight?

I have their latest version. Beyond what others have said, in general I like it. Note that the current version is the 1st that can import .gpx files. Until now that's been a show-stopper for me as their older versions did not have that capability. I have some issues w/ the overall GUI. I use the Draw tab a lot to create different layers with waypoints, routes, and so forth. I also have layers w/ surrounding airports as waypoints and concentric circles for each going out 25, 50, and 75 miles. Helps a lot to give a better perspective. The overall Draw tab is, IMO, poorly laid out resulting in one having to constantly switch back/forth between layers and draw tools. One of the best features is the print options. I can get very clear, crisp color maps printed up to tabloid extra size on our laser printer. You can also print tiled areas to get even larger coverage. As you may know, Delorme has it's own forum as well: http://forums.delorme.com/

Howdy fellow iQuer. I also have/use the iQue 3600 and really like the unit. Biggest problem I have with it is the weird (to put it kindly) inability to talk directly to a computer-- to upload routes or waypoints e.g. I have all kinds of workarounds that can get the job done as most people who use the 3600 do, but it's a pain.

Garmin support is easily one of the best operations I've ever dealt with. I've had multiple car mounts replaced at no charge (even though the problem might have been of my own making). They also gave me a RMA for a unit that was months out of warranty. When I've called about a few issues I've had with trying to understand such things as unlock codes for multiple GPS units, I got very knowledgeable and helpful input that got me back on track each time. (pun intended)

Thanks for the input. To be clear, I don't yet have this unit but have narrowed it down to this particular model as it would seem to do the kind of things I need. As for "Highway" mode, again I haven't used this machine, but wouldn't that route overlay roads? I assume there's a direct line mode (since that's how the crow itself flies) would work best. (?)

Great to hear this (and saves me having to ask the question). The "shrinking" of track logs when save has always been an especially irritating "feature" for me. Glad to see that there's now a way around that.

That helps, thanks. I also wasn't very clear in what I'm doing... We do aerial photography. With our aviation unit (GPSmap196) I lay out a route to guide the pilot to each designation in a route I've created. Along the way, if we stray off the route I can tell at a glance what direction we need to head to get back on route. Of course the 60csx would not replace the aviation unit, but I do fly with some pilots who don't have GPS. In those cases I always bring my own GPS mainly to record track logs. The tracks are then matched to the date/time of the digital images to identify where each photo was taken. For my own information I'd like to be able to glance down and get a "fix" where we are with respect to the target.

Wondering if the Garmin 60csx allows for the display of a bearing line that indicates the direction of travel? That would come in handy when flying a direct line route toward a particular destination.