Magellan Vrs Garmin

[fhew]

This is yet another thread about helping a newbe decide which unit to get, so I'm looking for opinions. Based on everything I've read, I've narrowed it down to one of four units, the: Explorist 500, eTrex Vista C, GPSMAP 60C, and the GPSMAP 76C. Apparently each unit has their advantages and disadvantages, but I can't decide!

 

Explorist 500:

 

I like the form factor, rechargable batteries, expansion card, but I hear there are a lot of bugs in the software. Not as accurate?

 

Vista C

 

I understand that the Garmin units have better (numerical) accuracy. It seems like more people like Garmin than Magellan. I like the satelite display better, and it has more features/screens. Still a nice form factor, but its left hand operation with buttons on the side is off-putting.

 

GPSMAP 60C

 

Seems to be a better unit still, but having that antenna sticking out makes it look like a kludge. It also makes it almost 2" longer!

 

GPSMAP 76C

 

Apparently has everything you could possible want, but it is 2" longer than the Explorist and Vista, and I'm not sure if I like the buttons on the top. It seems less rugged?

 

In general:

• None of the Garmins have rechargable batteries.
  
• I'm not sure if Garmins support the industry standard NMEA.
  
• Which one has better built-in maps?
  
• Since I don't do Windows... is there any Linux support anywhere? (this restricts my use of the map software/supplements.)
  
• And of course I don't want to spend too much money.
  

There is probably other criteria I can't think of right now.

[+BlueDeuce]

There is probably other criteria I can't think of right now.

How about what you plan to use it for?

 

Do you tend to do a lot of long distant traveling? Do you tend to hike in mountainous terrian? Do you perfer short distant hikes over fairly level trails?

 

How do you want your gps to work for you?

[CenTexDodger]

Oh boy, you are going to get every opinion on the board on the virtues of each unit you put in your list, along with the flaw of the units they don't have.

 

that being said, here is my $0.02.

 

The rechargeable batteries--Most users here (myself inlcuded) prefer standard AA batteries. If they run down, you can pop a new set in, you can buy them anywhere, and if you want rechargeables you can get rechargeable AAs. I prefer alkalines because to me they seem to last longer than rechargeables, they are cheap, and my 60cs seems pretty easy on batteries.

 

Also you said the 76c seems less rugged, from everything I have gathered (I don't have one, but from what users have said) it is every bit as rugged as the 60 series.

 

Garmins do support MNEA through a serial connection.

 

None of the manufacturers support Linux or Mac OS. Windows only.

 

I did not answer all your questions, but I tried to give you some good info.

 

As for my opinion, I love my 60cs. The 60c or the 76c would be good choices.

[fhew]

There is probably other criteria I can't think of right now.

How about what you plan to use it for?

 

Do you tend to do a lot of long distant traveling? Do you tend to hike in mountainous terrian? Do you perfer short distant hikes over fairly level trails?

 

How do you want your gps to work for you?

General technology playing/geek factor, but:

 

Yes, some long distance traveling. (as long as I'm buying a GPS)

Yes, geocaching

no to hiking in mountains, yes to short hikes.

 

Like most people. I really only want to buy one GPS (unlike others I've seen posting here, that are now on their 3rd or 4th units.)

[+Sputnik 57]

The Legend C does not support NMEA, since its interface is USB only. The 60C and 76C support it via a serial cable, but the cable is not included (a USB cable is included with all 3 units).

 

The 76C has a 128MB chip with 13MB basemap. The 60C has a 64MB chip with an 8MB basemap. The Legend has a 32MB chip with an 8MB basemap. Thus, not only does the 76C have 115MB of user-addressable memory to load maps, it also has a better basemap.

 

A comparison of the 60C and 76C is in this thread (among others). A side-by-side comparison of their basemaps is here.

 

I too prefer rechargeable AA batteries to a built-in rechargable.

[+scottjl]

• None of the Garmins have rechargable batteries.
   
  
• Which one has better built-in maps?
   
  
• Since I don't do Windows... is there any Linux support anywhere? (this restricts my use of the map software/supplements.)
   
  
• And of course I don't want to spend too much money.
  

 

Well others have replied but I'll throw in my 2bits too..

 

Rechargable batteries, you're better off with a set of regular NiMH batteries anyway. Do you really want a fixed LiON pack you can't replace in a year (think of the iPod battery mess). Far easier to deal with your own rechargables.

 

All built-in maps suck, just who's suck less? Seriously, if you're going to use it for navigation, plan on buying City Select or some similar mapping product. The base maps are only there as a tease anyway or for very general purposes. They want to make more money selling you better maps.

 

Hate to break it to you, load up WINE, vmware, etc. Other than GPSBabel, there isn't much going for the linux world and GPS's. There are some programs out there (GPSDrive comes to mind, tried it once, google for others) but nothing equal to MapSource. I've never tried MapSource under Wine or Cedega since my PC (which is usually running Gentoo) has a windows partition just for things like MapSource, GuildWars, etc.

 

My recommendation, the 60C. It really isn't as big and heavy as it looks. Better yet, stop at a local outdoor store (REI, Gander Mountain), sporting goods store (Dick's, Sports Authority) or even electronics shop (Best Buy, Fry's). Chances are they'll have one or more units you can see and handle yourself.

[+northernpenguin]

Explorist 500:

 

I like the form factor, rechargable batteries, expansion card, but I hear there are a lot of bugs in the software. Not as accurate?

Some bugs yes. More in the annoyance category than the critical failure category.

 

My 600 is way more accurate than my eTrex Legend was. The rule of thumb that I go by is that the Garmins lock onto a satellite faster, the Magellans keep the lock longer. What bugs it has will be corrected in a future firmware update no doubt.

 

I have found close to 400 caches with my 600 now and it is very good, even under dense tree cover.

The SD card slot on means unlimited maps and waypoints.

 

Garmin does have a slicker user interface, but I'm a lot happier with my eXplorist than I was with my eTrex.

 

I use my eXplorist under Linux for loading / unloading waypoints (with gpsbabel). It's nice as it pops up as USB mass storage. ( ie: /dev/sda). Have not tested NMEA under Linux, but it does support it under Windows.

Edited August 30, 2005 by northernpenguin

[vagabond]

I can't say anything about the other units, but but I have had a 500 for a little over a month and found almost 200 caches with it. As far as accuracy I would say its very accurate. And no problem about about the rechargeable battery.

The only thing I have found that I don't care about is, you cant edit or delete geocaches on the fly.

I think Magellan has sold a lot of these units and what your hearing is a vocal minority of people having problems just like Garmin has had with their units.

For some reason you very seldom hear people praising an item but they will gripe about it.

One other thing about the li-on batteries they are replaceable and you can buy replacements for around $7.00 to $11.00 bucks.

 

edited to add the batt paragraph

Edited August 30, 2005 by vagabond

[+BlueDeuce]

Out of the gate I'd say Vista C but if you really don't want upgrade envy then go with the 60cs with City Select. I think once you use it for auto-navigation you'll be happy you did.

 

I'm not sure about the non-windows support.

[+IVxIV]

Another Magellan Vs Garmin,,

 

If you're needing to deal with GPS maps and don't have a Windows PC, why aren't you considering a Lowrance GPS? With them you can simply insert a FreedomMaps map/TOPO cartridge and get instant full coverage of your whole area. The TOPO maps ship on 256mb MMC/SD chips, so they're especially rich in detail.

 

Ok,, back to your Magellan/Garmin debate...

[+briansnat]

GPSMAP 76C

 

Apparently has everything you could possible want, but it is 2" longer than the Explorist and Vista, and I'm not sure if I like the buttons on the top. It seems less rugged?

 

Its every bit as rugged as the 60C and eTrex.

[Neo_Geo]

General technology playing/geek factor, but:

 

Yes, some long distance traveling. (as long as I'm buying a GPS)

The 60C will more than suffice for your needs! Lots of bells & whistles to grow into. The 76 would be overkill!

[+northernpenguin]

Yes, some long distance traveling. (as long as I'm buying a GPS)

Yes, geocaching

I have the entire eastern seaboard loaded in my Explorist 600, Topo and DirectRoute (Street Routing).

Full POI and address search. Everything east of Winnipeg, and south of Montreal to about Tampa.

 

The map regions cover about 1000km square on average, so while I can't route Toronto to Tampa in one shot, I can route Toronto to Dayton, then Dayton to Chattanooga and Chattanooga to Tampa. Again, with turn-by-turn directions.

 

<asbestos suit>Try that on a Garmin.</asbestos suit>.

 

With the SD card, I could also dump every single Geocache in that area into my unit (granted divided into groups of 200). Right now I've got 4200 geocache icons in my unit, which means I can pretty much go anywhere in a 1 day drive, and geocache when I get there without turning my computer on first.

[+BlueDeuce]

The map regions cover about 1000km square on average, so while I can't route Toronto to Tampa in one shot, I can route Toronto to Dayton, then Dayton to Chattanooga and Chattanooga to Tampa. Again, with turn-by-turn directions.

 

<asbestos suit>Try that on a Garmin.</asbestos suit>.

hmmmm, with City Select it takes 81.6 MB.

 

My 76cs holds 115MB.

 

Piece of cake and enough room for seconds.

[Neo_Geo]

The map regions cover about 1000km square on average, so while I can't route Toronto to Tampa in one shot, I can route Toronto to Dayton, then Dayton to Chattanooga and Chattanooga to Tampa. Again, with turn-by-turn directions.

 

<asbestos suit>Try that on a Garmin.</asbestos suit>.

hmmmm, with City Select it takes 81.6 MB.

 

My 76cs holds 115MB.

 

Piece of cake and enough room for seconds.

...and he can go from Toronto to Tampa DIRECT! No need to stop in Dayton or Chattanooga.

 

</ASBESTOS SUIT> CAN'T DO DAT WITH A MAGGIE! </ASBESTOS SUIT>

[CenTexDodger]

Oh boy, you are going to get every opinion on the board on the virtues of each unit you put in your list, along with the flaw of the units they don't have.

See what I mean? You really are getting some good information, sprinkled with the reasons why "My" unit is the best!

[+Renegade Knight]

...The map regions cover about 1000km square on average, so while I can't route Toronto to Tampa in one shot, I can route Toronto to Dayton, then Dayton to Chattanooga and Chattanooga to Tampa. Again, with turn-by-turn directions.

 

<asbestos suit>Try that on a Garmin.</asbestos suit>...

Garmin map regions on Topo tend to be smaller than Magellans, you can select a route and have full topo the entire way. City Select uses larger map regions but they get smaller around big cities. If you more or less knew your route you can have routing from start to finish. It would be interesting to see how much memry your trip would take in City Select. If it's below 56mb the 60C/S would do it in one shot. Below 115 the 76C/S

 

My preference is the entire country both topo and streets in memory and no fussing with loading and unloadhing maps. Nobody offers that yet in a handheld.

[+Thrak]

Like most people.  I really only want to buy one GPS (unlike others I've seen posting here, that are now on their 3rd or 4th units.)

I too wanted to buy one GPSr - so I got the Garmin GPSMAP 76CS. I like it!

 

[vagabond]

Like most people.  I really only want to buy one GPS (unlike others I've seen posting here, that are now on their 3rd or 4th units.)

I too wanted to buy one GPSr - so I got the Garmin GPSMAP 76CS. I like it!

 

Just wondering do you still have your first car and tv, or do you like to get newer models from time to time, so you can have someting better.

[fhew]

Like most people.  I really only want to buy one GPS (unlike others I've seen posting here, that are now on their 3rd or 4th units.)

I too wanted to buy one GPSr - so I got the Garmin GPSMAP 76CS. I like it!

 

Just wondering do you still have your first car and tv, or do you like to get newer models from time to time, so you can have someting better.

Ahh, all good questions...

• Cars are bio-degradable, so I only get a new one, when the old one stops working, or costs too much to get fixed.
  
• I only get a new TV when the old one fails. Of course, now with the HDTV (Gestapo upgrade) pending... I may be forced into buying a new TV.
  

I'd rather spendi a little more up-front and get a 'future-proof' model, rather then spending time on the upgrade treadmill.

[vagabond]

Like most people.  I really only want to buy one GPS (unlike others I've seen posting here, that are now on their 3rd or 4th units.)

I too wanted to buy one GPSr - so I got the Garmin GPSMAP 76CS. I like it!

 

Just wondering do you still have your first car and tv, or do you like to get newer models from time to time, so you can have someting better.

Ahh, all good questions...

• 
   
  
• Cars are bio-degradable, so I only get a new one, when the old one stops working, or costs too much to get fixed.
   
  
• I only get a new TV when the old one fails. Of course, now with the HDTV (Gestapo upgrade) pending... I may be forced into buying a new TV.
   
  

I'd rather spendi a little more up-front and get a 'future-proof' model, rather then spending time on the upgrade treadmill.

As a new user you have the ability of buying the latest and the best you can afford, just remember in a couple of years it will be dated equipment.

Sure it will still be useable and probably work ok, but still dated equipment.

And a lot of people still use the basic Garmin etrex and they work great, but others like to have all the latest bells and whistles

Edited August 30, 2005 by vagabond

[+GOT GPS?]

This is how the Map76S and the 60C fit in my hand

 

25 Screenshots of the Map60C GPS (large image)

 

You can't go wrong with a 76C/CS, and these units should last a few years, and waterproof enough for boating use. The 76C/CS should be the most durable of the GPS units, for use IN or around water, even for geocaching on a wet day with lots of water on the ground.

 

The best alternative for a Magellan unit would be the Explorist XL GPS, but I don't know if that can handle Bluechart mapping for boating on the waterways, like with the Magellan Meridian series.

 

The Map 76C/CS will handle mapping for Land and waterways in it's 115 meg memory.

Edited August 30, 2005 by GOT GPS?

[+tirediron]

I love my 76CS, but if I'm objective, it's way more than I need. A Legend will do just fine, and that leaves a lotta coin to spend on maps....

[+briansnat]

My preference is the entire country both topo and streets in memory and no fussing with loading and unloadhing maps. Nobody offers that yet in a handheld.

 

Close. All of City Select NA preloaded. It does have an additional 140 megs for Topo or Bluechart, but that's optional.

Edited August 30, 2005 by briansnat

[+scottjl]

Close. All of City Select NA preloaded.  It does have an additional 140 megs for Topo or Bluechart, but that's optional.

can you update that yearly via dvd upload or something? would suck if you're locked into last year's maps...

 

Something interesting, looking at the CS NA 7 map data installed on my system, it totals up to roughly 1820M. A large amount, but not too large for today's modern devices. 2G of flash could add $100 or so to the price of a GPS. I'd certainly pay $100 more for one pre-loaded with CSNA7 and even for yearly updates. But it has to be same form factor as my 60cs.

[Neo_Geo]

A Legend will do just fine, and that leaves a lotta coin to spend on maps....

Perhaps a LegendC MIGHT do just fine, but NOT an 8MB B&W Legend! Still, IMHO, 24MB is very limiting! Washington, DC to New York nearly maxes-out my 60's 56MB!

[+northernpenguin]

A Legend will do just fine, and that leaves a lotta coin to spend on maps....

Perhaps a LegendC MIGHT do just fine, but NOT an 8MB B&W Legend! Still, IMHO, 24MB is very limiting! Washington, DC to New York nearly maxes-out my 60's 56MB!

LOL. I used to use a B&W Legend 8MB. I could pick an overview map of southern ontario (highways and arterial roads only) or a detailed map of ONE suburb of Toronto. Pretty much useless on the mapping front. Not to mention the 20-45min loading times for the map from the computer. Still, it makes a good dashboard puck these days...

 

I replaced it with the eXplorist, which is rated for a 2GB SD card. That will pretty much take all of North America on it, with room for some worldwide basemaps. I'm wondering what DirectRoute 3 (due in September) is going to do to the map sizes though. I have absolutely no idea what kind of BlueChart style maps work with the eXplorist for boating, but the Magellan website does indicate the Mapsend Lakes USA product will work with the eXplorists. I guess I'm out of luck using a boat in Canada though.....

[+Scook]

...Rechargable batteries, you're better off with a set of regular NiMH batteries anyway. Do you really want a fixed LiON pack you can't replace in a year (think of the iPod battery mess). Far easier to deal with your own rechargables....

I haven't had my eXplorist for a year but I have PocketPCs with LI-ion batteries. My old Compaq Aero is still working fine after 4 years on the same battery. The battery life is reduced and since the unit obsolete, the batteries are obsolete as well. My Casio and Toshiba PocketPCs are still using the same Li-ion battery as when I purchased them 3 and 2 years ago. (Not all batteries are Apple lemons.)

 

As for the rechageable batteries in my new Magellan eXplorist 500, I was able to change the battery quite easily. In fact, it was not installed in the GPS at the time of purchase. I have purchased a non factory spare battery ffor the 500 or the outrageous sum of $2.99 (plus $7.99 shipping )

Many of the NiMh batteries I use in my other GPS units and cameras, are failing to hold a charge after as little as a year of use. The better ones are giving out after 3 years of use. Any way you look at it, batteries are an expendable commodity. Get used to buying them!

 

BTW, I do like my eXplorist 500 over my old Etrex Legend and Magellan Meridian.

[tttedzeins]

Although I am a Magellan owner I would probably not buy an Explorist 500 or 600 as there are some wierd things up with them from what I read. The proprietary battery is also not such a great idea.

It may last a long time and you may be able to purchase another one but there is always that time when the spare is flat and you are sc#%@ed.

As for the Garmins not having rechargable batteries buying nicads or nimh at 2500mA/h will save a fortune no matter what unit you buy (except for the explorists) or how cheap the alkalie batteries are. I bought 2 sets and so far have saved about $100 in batteries.

[+arie1]

I have been using my Maggie eXplorist600 for one and a half week now and sofar I am satisfied with it. I chose this one, not because it is supposed to be the best (don't know), but for the expandable memory ('limitless').

I live in Europe. I have loaded the DirectRoute maps of Holland, Denmark, northern Germany, northern France, the south of France and switzerland on an 512 MB sd-card leaving room for about 80 MB on waypoints (POI's), tracks and geocaches.

On a 2GB sd-card, I suppose I could store the whole of Western Europe and a large part of the US, without ever having to establish a connection to a laptop which I don't have and wouldn't take on my trips anyway.

The amount of waypoints and caches to be stored is up to me. As mentioned earlier a limit of 200 geocaches per file. This means that I can make different files for different regions or separate files for simple caches and multi caches, you name it.

What I further like about the explorist is that it locks on satellites very well. It takes some time doing it, but then I even get reception in the woods (beech and ash, dense foliage, small specks of blue) while doing my run. Accuracy went from 8m to 25m.

I've read opinions about the 4 navigation screens on the explorist which should be more and should have more datafields. I think I agree on that. I have seen a screenshot of some nice navigationscreen on a Garmin 60cs and hope that a firmware update might bring that and more to us Magellan users. Who knows.

At the moment I wouldn't swap my eX600 for a Garmin 60cs. Sofar I haven't encountered lifethreatening bugs.

On the battery: I am going to make a 5-6 volt NiMH battery pack with a plug that fits in the usb-cable (like the 230volt adapter does) which should provide me with 3 to 4 recharges of the LiIon battery inside.

 

Good luck.

 

Arjen Hulskemper

 

edit: remark on battery

Edited August 31, 2005 by arie1

[Manoroth]

I recently bought the Explorist 600 for $289 from Harmony computers, based on a tip in this forum about the price. I bought Mapsend Direct and downloaded the extended manual off the internet(a must). I also bought a SD memory card on sale at Best BUY.

I spent a couple hours learning the unit and Mapsend and very quickly created a base map of a large area around Bristol TN and went to the Nascar race this past weekend. This unit, my first GPS, worked flawlessly. I "marked" the hotel and also created waypoints/POI's for race shops and the 600 was just invaluable! I highly recommend it based on the ability to connect to a computer, add a memory card, and the rechargable L-IOn batteries.

[+JohnnyVegas]

Explorist 500:

 

I like the form factor, rechargable batteries, expansion card, but I hear there are a lot of bugs in the software. Not as accurate?

I understand that the Garmin units have better (numerical) accuracy. It seems like more people like Garmin than Magellan.

 

 

My 500 is very accurate I don't know were you heared it was not, I cache of a regular basis with cachers that use Garmin and Magellan and we all seem to get the same accuracy.

 

Do you really want a fixed LiON pack you can't replace in a year (think of the iPod battery mess). Far easier to deal with your own rechargables.

 

This statement is not correct, the Lithuim Ion battery in the explorist is not built into the GPS, It can be taken out. It is also not a propriatary battery. I just picked one up from e-bay for $2.99 Lets get the fax straight, we are not talking about an I-pod.

 

The only thing I have found that I don't care about is, you cant edit or delete geocaches on the fly.

I really do not see a need to delete or edit a cache. I have used garmin and magellan and found over 1,000 cache I have naever had a need to delete of edit a cache. When I update my PQ any cache I have found is filtered out. Before I went paperless I made my notes on the printouts. Now i make them in my Pocket PC.

 

Perhaps a LegendC MIGHT do just fine, but NOT an 8MB B&W Legend! Still, IMHO, 24MB is very limiting! Washington, DC to New York nearly maxes-out my 60's 56MB!

The 8MB monochrome would work just fine for goecaching, you would just have to load maps more often which does not take long. A freind of my use the old monochrome legend and he has a large portion of N Cal on his. And you can get them new for around $140.00

 

The proprietary battery is also not such a great idea

.

 

This is not true, The battery is not propiertary

[+arie1]

I wouldn't know how to reset the unit when frozen if the battery couldn't be taken out of my eXplorist 600.

Great machine though.

 

Regards,

 

Arjen Hulskemper

[vagabond]

Its just as easy to pull the battery on the explorist as it is to pull the batteries on any other unit

[+arie1]

That's what I mean. Maybe I don't understand what was meant by proprietary earlier in this thread , but I thought that it meant that the battery of the explorist could not be taken out of the apparatus. Indeed it can.

In another thread replacement/extra batteries for the eXplorist are discussed. The motorola t720 extended version seems to be the one. I have no experience yet on that terrain.

 

Regards,

 

Arjen

[vagabond]

proprietary means that it would be the manufacturers battery, but as some cachers have found out there are cellphone batteries that will work with the explorist.

Some people were misinformed about the batteries and thought they could not be replaced, or had to be replaced by batteries from Magellan, which is not true.

[fhew]

Just a followup to my own post...

I'm now the proud owner of a Garmin GPSMAP 60C!

 

Pros:

• I like the presentation on the displays, and the data field options.
  
• Long battery life
  
• Adequate map memory
  
• Highly recommended
  
• I concluded that the ability to substitute my own rechargable batteries with AA cells on demand, was a more versatile option than the 'dedicated' rechargable pack that can't be substituted 'in a hurry'.
  
• USB and serial support
  

Cons:

• Usage with the buttons on the bottom, make extended single handed operation tiresome
  
• I should have got the 60CS with the electronic compass.
  After two geocaches I can see where its nice that the map (and stuff) rotates by itself whenever I'd pivot, rather than waiting for me to move enough for the GPS to kick in.
  
• Would trade the fixed and pre-purchased 56Meg of built in memory for an user-demand-expandable SD (or similar) card slot
  
• Wished Garmin supported ABM (anything but (only) Microsoft) ie. Linux support please.
  

I got it at RadioWorld in Toronto. Helpful staff, a wide selection, competative prices, and they have demo units for you to play with.

[+scottjl]

• Would trade the fixed and pre-purchased 56Meg of built in memory for an user-demand-expandable SD (or similar) card slot
   
  
• Wished Garmin supported ABM (anything but (only) Microsoft) ie. Linux support please.
  

first off, congratualtions!

 

after you use the unit a bit, see if the 56m still bothers you much. i've got most of southern WI and northen IL loaded, the city select v7 and topo maps. i haven't had any need to change maps since (other than just playing around). even if you do, USB transfers are very fast and easy.

 

don't know what ABM is, but what linux support are you looking for? mapsource will most likely never run under linux (though you could try wine or vmware, i've never tried since i just dual boot into windows). gpsbabel runs just fine under linux though. it's unlikely we'll ever see a mapsource for linux since the market isn't large enough (i'd guess they'd support macos X before linux and that isn't happening either).

 

congrats again and enjoy!

Edited September 7, 2005 by scottjl

[fhew]

after you use the unit a bit, see if the 56m still bothers you much. i've got most of southern WI and northen IL loaded, the city select v7 and topo maps. i haven't had any need to change maps since (other than just playing around). even if you do, USB transfers are very fast and easy.

 

Its not that 56M won't be enough. Its 56Meg more than I can use right now. (See the OS support issue below) Its just that having a card slot would remove the need for paying for memory when I don't need it, and yet allow me to expand to the amount of memory rather than a 'fixed' amount when I actually do need it.

 

don't know what ABM is, but what linux support are you looking for? mapsource will most likely never run under linux (though you could try wine or vmware, i've never tried since i just dual boot into windows). gpsbabel runs just fine under linux though. it's unlikely we'll ever see a mapsource for linux since the market isn't large enough (i'd guess they'd support macos X before linux and that isn't happening either).

 

ABM = Anything But Microsoft

 

Yes... I like to be able to use the included Garmin Waypoint manager, and yes... I'd like to be able to install city select or topos. My first attempt at WINE with the waypoint manager failed. I don't have vmware, and I don't have any Windows machines (and hopefully never will). Don't get me wrong. I actually did spend over 3 days (many years ago) trying to install MS Windows ('95 I think) and gave up in frustration, and went back to using my Unix machines (at least that would install).

 

The market for non-Microsoft platforms is probably larger than they think. It's not 'how much of a market will you get by doing it', its 'how much of a market are you alienating by not doing it'. And also, supporting multiple platforms isn't really all that hard anyway; it just takes a conscious decision.

[+scottjl]

Yes... I like to be able to use the included Garmin Waypoint manager, and yes... I'd like to be able to install city select or topos. My first attempt at WINE with the waypoint manager failed. I don't have vmware, and I don't have any Windows machines (and hopefully never will). Don't get me wrong. I actually did spend over 3 days (many years ago) trying to install MS Windows ('95 I think) and gave up in frustration, and went back to using my Unix machines (at least that would install).

 

The market for non-Microsoft platforms is probably larger than they think. It's not 'how much of a market will you get by doing it', its 'how much of a market are you alienating by not doing it'. And also, supporting multiple platforms isn't really all that hard anyway; it just takes a conscious decision.

Well, all GPS manager lets you do us upload and download waypoints saved on the unit. GPSBabel will pretty much do the same thing and works fine under linux.

 

I've never bothered to attempt wine or vmware with mapsource since i just dual-boot back into windows.

 

I'm curious how you can manage to install and run a linux distro but have problems installing windows on your hardware. I'm as pro *nix as the next guy (*nix admin for over 20 years now) but even I know now and then you have to bite the bullet and run another OS.

 

As for software development, converting from a windows programming project to a *nix based one might be more expensive than you think (been there, done that). For the very small marketplace it just isn't worth it. Linux on the desktop is at about a 5% marketshare according to some of the more recent surveys. Now think about how few of that 5% have/use GPSrs. Is it worth it for Garmin to hire a programmer or two (salary, benefits, etc) for a very small minority of people? You and I may be happy with it but that's what, two people?

 

Ah well, you can still do very much w/o a PC connection. Or take it to a friend's house and borrow some time on their computer to load up maps.

[+JohnnyVegas]

Or you could just buy a used PC which would be very cheap and just use it with your GPS. That is what a freind of mine did a few years ago when he bought a GPS and soon realizedhe could not use Mac with it. I think the used PC he bought was about $100.00

[+arie1]

Am I missing something? What is this 'geocaching mode' on the eXplorist. Aren't geocache points not just some sort of POI's? Or can I make my geocache trips with the eX600 more worth my while?

 

Regards,

 

Arjen

[+embra]

Am I missing something? What is this 'geocaching mode' on the eXplorist. Aren't geocache points not just some sort of POI's? Or can I make my geocache trips with the eX600 more worth my while?

Geocaching POIs allow the loading of some gpx data into the GPSr. So, for instance, in addition to the coords the GPSr will show difficulty/terrain ratings, hints, etc. It's not quite ready for prime time IMO because only the first 50 characters of long hints display, and the description is not loaded or displayed.

 

Some are put off in that Geocache POIs (unlike regular POIs) cannot be edited or deleted on the GPSr.

[+JohnnyVegas]

I like the geocaching software, when you look at the Explorist screen the icons for the geocaches are the same ones that are used on the web sight. You know right away if the cache you are looking at is a Reg, Multi, Mystery etc,

 

I have never had a need to edit a cache any of my GPSrs. Before I went paperless I just made notes on the print out (it is a lot faster) now that I am paperless I just make notes in my pocket PC (it is also faster )

 

Edit a wapoint, no thanks, it just takes to long.

[+arie1]

Does this mean that I have to become a premium member of geocaching.com to feel the advantage of the geocaching mode of my GPS? Or can I manually change the *.loc files in GSAK and fill in difficulty and hints before uploading to my GPSr?

 

Regards,

 

Arjen

[+embra]

Does this mean that I have to become a premium member of geocaching.com to feel the advantage of the geocaching mode of my GPS? Or can I manually change the *.loc files in GSAK and fill in difficulty and hints before uploading to my GPSr?

I would say yes to both questions.

 

If you fill in missing loc fields and upload the data to an explorist as Geocache POIs, it should work. My impression, though, is that one's time is worth a lot more than the few dollars needed for premium membership; i.e., to take *full* advantage, premium membership is needed.

 

I suppose, if one were on a tight budget, that one could pay the monthly membership fee and then quit after downloading the immediate caches of intererest in gpx format. Of course, that data can become stale before too much time has passed.