Alpacas

I want to overlay the route on a satelite image. Anyways, I figured it out. You have to save the route as a .dxf file in Mapsource, then import it (I used Global Mapper). Then you will have the actual street by street route with turns, not a direct line route.

Does anyone know of a way to export autorouted (not point to point routes) from Mapsource? When I export routes it just gives me point to point .gpx files. I want the routes as they are following roads. If I need any extra software this is what I have: ArcGIS 9.2, Global Mapper v8.03, Mapsource 6.12.4, and Metroguide Europe v8 maps. Please tell me there is a faster way than drawing over the individual routes with the route tool.

City Navigator 8 Works perfectly on vista, since the Longhorn days (I remember build 1000) all the way to my fresh copy of Windows Vista Ultimate. As for City Navigator 7... try running it as administrator and in WinXP SP2 Compatibility mode. Right click on the City Navigator executable and go to compatibility. This stuff is in that tab.

The code you want is the one in the battery compartment. If it is longer than 8 Digits, then contact Garmin. There are some 9 Digit serial 60 series units out there. Garmin will, in this case, need to provide you with a 25 Digit unlock code.

Trust me... the Vista CX compass has a tendency of doing this... Set the unit level, and turn it on connected to your computer, then activate the compass. The arrow should be level now.

Search around on this (GPS Units) forum. There's an in depth review and discussion about it. I'll try to get a link... UPDATE: Here's the link: Delorme Earthmate PN-20

Unless you're aiming to get a unit which has a 3d Compass don't bother unless you REALLY want it. The compass is going to be a big annoyance, begging to be calibrated every so often and set flat or it will complain. Pick up a good magnetic compass and stick with that alongside your GPS. Brunton makes some good ones that offer Magnetic Declination tables so you can use them with your GPS.

I don't think Garmin would remove the external antena port... But they might have placed it elsewhere on the body, or covered it up by a discreet rubber strip (Like the USB on the Etrex CX line).

This is true... but the main thing is that the aforementioned GPSr is basically am ultra-rugged PocketPC with a great chip and GIS software. The thing that's great about this is the customization that is possible with a PDA based system. What I'm looking for Garmin et al. to strive toward is customization in their products, and a PDA based system that's actually rugged. The day when we will be able to use USGS Topo maps instead of the substandard Mapsource Topo maps and have REAL satelite imagery (instead of the cheap Delorme variety) instead of what we've grown to use, we will all be a happy bunch of people. Geocachers might not benefit the most ("tupperware hiders"), but for hikers like me this would be great.

High accuracy GPS recievers have been around for years, usually using omniSTAR and beacon corrections to get <8 inch accuracy. The problem is that the've usually been huge, and haven't shown submeter accuracy with regular WAAS and EGNOS signals. Well, the other day I stumbled upon this... a handheld Sub-meter accuracy Bluetooth and Wifi enabled, fully customizable handheld GPS reciever. Just take a look at it: Delorme, in this case, is the closest GPSr in terms of functionality as compared to a survey level unit like I mentioned. But what do we actually need in a GPSr? One thing the trimble allows is uploading over 50 types of GIS files. The most important of which are the GeoTiff and DEM (Digital Elevation Model). On such a GPSr (the trimble that is) you are able to overlay DRG scans of official USGS Quad Maps. But also... you can drape these maps over elevation data (similar to Global Mapper or ArcMap) to get a nice and useful shaded contour relief map on your GPS. What's more, with this elevation data your GPS can perform line of sight calculations, which turns out to be pretty useful when bushwacking through a maze of hills looking for a creek down below. What else is the modern GPSr missing? Aerial Photography! True, Delorme has some aerial photographs, but we're not talking DOQ (Grayscale USGS images) or Google Earth quality. On this survey GPSr you are able to load any GeoTiff file and have it show up on your display. Wouldn't it be nice to know where a lamppost you're looking for is located? Just look at an aerial photo. So what makes this GPSr different from a consumer GPSr? It is basically a fully featured GIS viewer sans the editing features. One day (if all goes well) we too will enjoy the luxury of all these features, but without having to pay $3500. The name of the GPSr is the Trimble GeoXT handheld BTW (although you're obviously not going to buy it).

15 MINUTES???!!! That's definitely NOT normal. I haven't owned a Magellan myself, but on Garmin's the slowest routes (I'm talking Downtown NYC to Downtown Detroit) take 40 seconds.

Now that I better understand your question, you wish for info on retailers more than anything, I think I might be able to suggest a few more. Tigerdirect.com (I'm sure you've heard of them) has the Vista CX for $239 sans shipping. Amazon.com has it for $245 with shipping. After looking at amazon's price, I think you would be better off with amazon because they also have the lowest price for City Navigator v8. You can get the whole thing with free shipping (which is actually pretty fast 4-5 days or so).

I've searched long and far for this... I never wanted to pay $200 for the USGS Topo DRG's so this is the answer. I tried out some of these maps in ArcInfo and Global Mapper v8, and I must say I am impressed. For those of you that don't want to spend $200 on Global Mapper, there is a free version that will let you view the maps draped on elevation models. Libremap apparently offers only 1:24K maps, but they are 200-300DPI scans and are pretty handy while Geocaching compared to the utterly useless Garmin Topo Maps. I usually print these out or put them on my Palm Tungsten T3. Why has it been so long before DRG's have become free to the public?

Everyone here calls it "Skenecktadee".

I take it the GPSr's you've seen for $238 are not the vista CX. Anyways... my only big suggestion is that you buy from a REPUTABLE dealer. It'll save you hastle in the long run, such as if you need to return anything. At Tigergps.com they sell the etrex Vista CX for $250. For $334 you can get the much better Gpsmap 60CX and 76CX as well. Take your pick... As for City Navigator (I take it you live in North America), you can get it for $100 at amazon.com (the non NT version). If you REALLY want the whole City Navigator on a card you can either buy a 2GB MicroSD or buy the NT version. Personally, I did the former. As for Garmin TOPO, you can buy it pretty much anywhere, search around.

So I have a Garmin 76CSX and a laptop. I don't wish to invest in a $1500 Chartplotter though so... I own Global Mapper v8. I downloaded the U.S. Military Digital Nautical Charts from the internet. They are really detailed (5GB for the East Coast) but here's the thing... Has anyone used a laptop and handheld gps like this to mimick a chartplotter? After seeing just how detailed the DNC's are, I don't think Garmin Bluechart can beat this. Any comments?

It is in the setup menu. You'll see it in "Setup", "Interface".

Just use garmin Mapsource. Use the find feature, let mapsource show you the address, and add it as a waypoint. This waypoint has the lat/lon data.

Try google earth. Record the coordinates and manually enter them where nescessary.

Yes, but remember that magnetic declination varies quite a bit around certain areas (yes, the Bermuda triangle included). I don't see a reason not to set it to magnetic north.

The Surefire M3-HA Combatlight. Probably the most useful flashlight/illumination device I have ever owned in my life. You turn this thing on and night turns to day. Also, a swiss army knife is a good thing to have (The Victorinox Swiss Champ is a great deal actually). Furthermore, ALWAYS carry a magnetic compass of some sort when doing any kind of hiking or geocaching. I'm really new to geocaching so I can't tell you how exactly to find a cache solely with a compass, but if you get lost and your GPSr decides to go freaky, It'll be mighty helpful. And last but not least... Bottled Water! Bring some sort of beverage or water filtration system or you'll be sorry later when you get lost and you have nothing to drink but microbial infested water.

So I'm going on a trip to Europe soon, and the fact is that I don't wish to spend the barbaric $300 Garmin charges for City Navigator V9. So... I became aware of a program that allowed the creation of a routing table for download to a Garmin device. Has anybody tried this yet? I am aware you can only fit 512MB of data using this method, but that's not a problem because I have a couple of 1GB MicroSD cards.

O.k... is the card in the device (the microsd card)? If it is, then fire up mapsource and click "Utilities", then "Get Unit ID" and then select your device. It should show up. If not, then give Garmin a call.

Yes, It should run under any of the Intel based macs under Windows XP. I've had no problems so far.

Most of the mapping products out there (except maybe the fugawi maps) use the Navteq routing and street database. It is updated entirely every 3-4 years. It's really hard to get mapping data within 1 year.