Garmin Gpsmap Questions.

[Nuli]

I've been reading through the topics here for the last few days and I'm having trouble understanding the differences in the specs between the GPSmap60 and the GPSman60c. Specifically I'm trying to get an idea of how many maps I can store in a given amount of memory.

 

At the moment I've got two things I want a GPS to do. The first one is that I'm going to need it for a cross country move from New Jersey to Colorado. I don't have a laptop to be able to swap maps as I travel so I'm looking to get an idea of how much space I'd need to hold the northern states. As I understand it the units come with a basemap that contains major highways. I'm hoping to take mainly secondary roads while traveling so it's possible the basemap and a half decent county map would be enough but I'm not sure I really want to hold onto that many paper maps since I can't fold the dadgum things anyway. So, ideally, I'd like to have maps containing the secondary roads and some points of interest along the way. Using the mapping software on a PC can I build a map with a custom level of detail or am I stuck with what they provide by default?

 

The second thing I'd like to do with it is use it in hiking once I get out to Colorado. I'd like to be able to load a decent topo map for a large area, preferably the entire Front Range area, and maps for the major cities in that area.

 

I'm betting, going by the one other topic I saw discussing map size, that the first task isn't going to be all that possible with the GPSmap60 though I'm hoping it is with the 60c. If it's not possible with either is there a way I can store the maps on a PDA and then transfer them to the GPS at need? I've got ten times as much storage in the PDA as I would have in either of these devices.

[CenTexDodger]

It takes about 86 megs to get all the detailed maps from Edison NJ to Denver. Bear in mind that is just selecting the maps that follow the route, and the route follows the interstate. you may be able to go in and pick and choose to get down to 56 megs( the 60c and 60cs capacity). Wou could just select the maps that you will need (for stops and such) but it won't have a lot of backroads on it. The 60c and 60cs basemaps have Interstates, and US Highways, and a few state Highways. If you want to get down to street (county road) level, you need City Select. I don't know of a way to load maps from a palm pilot to a GPS. the 60 has much less capacity--24 megs. The 76c or 76cs will hold 115 megs, which should cover your entire route.

 

As far as your other use, either should work, but I am not sure either will hold the whole front range.

[CenTexDodger]

Something I got to thinking about, you could get one of those devices that work with your PDA. It comes with mapping software, so then you could get a legend or a vista for hiking. You could store all the maps you need in your PDA and use it as a GPS.

[Nuli]

Something I got to thinking about, you could get one of those devices that work with your PDA. It comes with mapping software, so then you could get a legend or a vista for hiking. You could store all the maps you need in your PDA and use it as a GPS.

I bought a Bluetooth enabled PDA because I had planned to try that out. The more I thought about it though it seemed to make more sense to get a device that's capable of doing all I want natively, and one that's not quite as fragile as a PDA. The Garmin Bluetooth gps device along with a legend or vista would run about the same price as a 60c anyway.

[CenTexDodger]

Something I got to thinking about, you could get one of those devices that work with your PDA. It comes with mapping software, so then you could get a legend or a vista for hiking. You could store all the maps you need in your PDA and use it as a GPS.

I bought a Bluetooth enabled PDA because I had planned to try that out. The more I thought about it though it seemed to make more sense to get a device that's capable of doing all I want natively, and one that's not quite as fragile as a PDA. The Garmin Bluetooth gps device along with a legend or vista would run about the same price as a 60c anyway.

That is true, but you solve your memory problem.

[+Night Stalker]

60C has 56 meg of ram. Since you are not going to stop at every small town on your trip all you need to do is download any locations that you plan on stopping into your GPS. You should have room left over. As far as TOPO is concerned that is a different piece of software. I assume you want to autoroute for your trip so you will need City Select. For Topo you will want the Mapsend Topo map. There is plenty of room for any adventure you wish to take on. I live in Idaho which is at least as hilly as Colorado. I am able to load all of Idaho and parts of Montana and Wyoming on there at the same time with the Topo maps. I normally load City Select and Topo on mine when I go caching. That way I get driving directions to where I want to park and then shift over to TOPO for hiking.

 

The 76C has twice as much room for maps so you should never have a problem, but you should handle both units. Some cachers have said that the 76c feels awkward. You always need to try it out before you buy to make sure it is right for you.

[CenTexDodger]

Nightstalker makes some good points. If you want all the detailed maps between NJ and Colorado, I am not sure the 60c will do it, but if you plan your route, pick and choose, you can get to 56 megs.

 

As far as your hiking when you get to Colorado, You can fit the whole state Topo and about 90% of the state in City Select in about 56 megs.

 

I understand you wanting a standalone unit to do it all. The 60 has like 24 megs and I am sure won't have enough memory for your trip.

 

The 60c or the 76c should do the trick for you, but like Nightstalker said, hold the unit if you can to see which you like better!

[Nuli]

As far as your hiking when you get to Colorado, You can fit the whole state Topo and about 90% of the state in City Select in about 56 megs.

 

That's one of the main things I was looking for. I've never used any of this gps mapping software so I've got no idea how large these maps really are. I didn't have anyway of gauging just how much better 56 megs was than 24.

 

but if you plan your route, pick and choose, you can get to 56 megs.

 

Ok, that's what I was hoping for.

 

One more question about the maps. Can you take one of those city maps and filter out information you don't need before you put it on the GPS device? As an example I expect to be driving through a good bit of Ohio and I'd probably want the secondary roads for the urban areas there but since I don't really plan to stop I wouldn't need any points of interest like hotels or restraunts. Can I take out the things I'm not interested in to make the map a smaller size or am I stuck with taking it as one large chunk of data?

[CenTexDodger]

 

One more question about the maps. Can you take one of those city maps and filter out information you don't need before you put it on the GPS device? As an example I expect to be driving through a good bit of Ohio and I'd probably want the secondary roads for the urban areas there but since I don't really plan to stop I wouldn't need any points of interest like hotels or restraunts. Can I take out the things I'm not interested in to make the map a smaller size or am I stuck with taking it as one large chunk of data?

Unfortunately, no. You can tell it not to load route calculation data, but that defeats the purpose of having a routing GPS. Otherwise, there is not a way to cut out the POI data.

[kerecsen]

It seems that for these purposes a Magellan unit with unlimited memory would be a much more natural fit.

[+briansnat]

The Map 60 is too small for what you want to do. You can make it work with the 60C like some said by only loading the areas where you are likely to stop and using the base map for in between. Or you can get the 76C which will probably hold everything you want, with room to spare.

[Neo_Geo]

Considering the overall cost of the trip, the difference in price of the 76C over the 60C is a very small percentage. You never know WHEN you might need to make an emergency stop, and then having all those POIs with addresses and phone numbers can come in REAL HANDY! As a general rule of thumb, the 76C can hold the maps for an entire cross-country drive (there are exceptions) whereas the 60C can only hold enough for about halfway.

 

I would go with the 76C in your case.

Edited July 24, 2005 by Neo_Geo

[Nuli]

It seems that for these purposes a Magellan unit with unlimited memory would be a much more natural fit.

How rugged are the Magellen units? With an SD slot I don't imagine they're really waterproof? I do expect the device to get rained on occasionally, one reason I decided against using my PDA, so that's something to consider.

[kerecsen]

I've never had one, but looking at the Explorist 500/600 design it looks solid, and they should be at least as water/shock proof as the Garmin 60 series (the SD slot is under the battery).

 

Anyway, rain isn't usually an issue with most handheld devices. My Garmin eMap, which was never designed for this sort of punishment, withstood several downpours without any issues...