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Legend - Topo Vs Metroguide Software


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This may have been discussed before.

I own a Garmin Etrex Legend and would like to get a more complete road map.

 

Are the roads with the US Topo software complete? From what I've gathered it doesn't have street names, or something... but I don't think that'd matter too much if the actual streets are still there on the map.

 

What are the advantages of Topo vs. Metroguide outside of the car?

 

I thought maybe I would want Metroguide, but it seems that the autorouting will only set up routes intersection to interestion, not along the road, with the Legend, which is kind of a bummer... If this is true what is the entry level gpsr that supports routing along the roads?

 

Also, are there any limitations on the Topo software I purchased? eg. it will only work for a certain region without buying more unlock codes or whatever..

I already have Topo in my possession but can still take it back to the store.

 

I think that is all. Thanks.

 

ben

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Topo is good in the woods and there is no unlock code. You can use it for the entire US. It has all the streets but with no names. Good choice for caching in the woods. Metroguide is for the car but as you said it does not autoroute in the Legend. Only on your PC. You can transfer the route points but it's a pain.

 

Open the Topo box - good product.

Edited by Alan2
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Sorry Benji I didn't mean to hikjack your thread.... please forgive me

 

Alan--A friend told me to download this from a file sharing program and I have done it. I guess what I am wondering is if I can upload it to my GPS and then it will be there OR is there some sort of install code that I am missing to make this not work. I am so new to this and so confused :lol:

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Sorry Benji I didn't mean to hikjack your thread.... please forgive me

 

Alan--A friend told me to download this from a file sharing program and I have done it. I guess what I am wondering is if I can upload it to my GPS and then it will be there OR is there some sort of install code that I am missing to make this not work. I am so new to this and so confused :lol:

If I understand your question, only Garmin's maps can be installed in their GPS's so you can see the maps. Ditto with Magellan and other mfr's. On the other hand, there are many mapping programs where you can trasnfer waypoints, routes and tracks from the mapping program installed on your PC. But the maps can only be seen on your PC and cannot be trasnfered to your GPS.

 

One more "on the other hand". This file you are refering too. If it a Garmin CIty Select for example, you do need access codes to transfer but I'm not familiar with these Garmin maps.

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Alan--A friend told me to download this from a file sharing program and I have done it. I guess what I am wondering is if I can upload it to my GPS and then it will be there OR is there some sort of install code that I am missing to make this not work. I am so new to this and so confused :)

Topo maps transfer from PC to GPS no problem, no unlock codes required, the versions floating around P2P networks work just fine.

 

I mean, ya know, I've heard....

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I have heard of working Metroguide copies... older ones, version 3 I believe. I've also heard that City Select is proving harder... ;-)

 

As for autorouting, I'm a newb myself, but I can tell you that the Etrex Legend and Legend C will do it. My Legend C will auto-route along the streets in the basemap, but ignore the extra roads added by Metroguide and Topo - which makes sense, since these programs don't support autorouting with their data. I guess City Select does, and beyond that... well, I'm still trying to figure all this out myself!

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I have an eTREX Legend C. All below information is based on Mapsource products.

 

With the base map provided with the GPSr, the Auto-routing feature work for Major interstate highways.

 

I pruchased Topo for the US and the Auto-routing capabilities did not change. The GPSr did not regonize the road data with the Topo maps as available roads. They were just shown on the map.

 

I then pruchased City Select North America v7. The Auto-routing capabilities are awsome and can be done both in the PC and on the fly in the GPSr. The routing feature works the same as any online website like Google or Mapquest.

 

Basically it comes down to preference:

Topo if you want topo lines and non-routable road maps

Metro or City Select if you want routable maps and buisness details (addresses)

 

hope this helps.

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Had to jump in here, I had sorta the same questions, I was thinking of getting the topo, my main concern is having something that shows all the country roads. Does topo show all the county roads with the road numbers? Wanting something to help guide me to the sites. I don't really need the routing or anything, just would like to see the country roads with names/ numbers.

Will Topo do that for me? Or do I need to go with something else to see all the roads with names also?

Any help would be appreciated.

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I discovered that a little bit ago, guess I should have looked a little more before posting the question. Sorry about that.

 

I believe that the Topo is the one I want, looks like it will do everything I need. And it sure looks like it will make things alot easier to navigate once it is installed.

 

Will the 8 MB of storage I have on the Legend cover a fairly large area? I live in north central IL.(just south of around the I-80 / I-39 jctn.) Would i be able to save a fairly decent size area on it? Or would I have to re-load it every once in a while if I move around very much?

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Maps and Recreation a rather older program takes about 12M for all of the state. It's got the streets and streams (something Metroguide does not) and is far smaller than Metro something to think about for the limited memory of the Legend. especially since the Legend does not autoroute, Metro is of limited value.

 

You may use some combo of Topo for the woods and Maps and Recreation for street identification. That';s what I use to do before I got my PPC. Now I use Topo only on my Vista.

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