Paperless Topomaps

[+Frank22]

I've made the decision to go paperless with the Palm Tungsten E2 and the Garmin Etrex Legend GPS. Thru another forum, I'm using GSAK and Cachemate. I agree with everyone that this is the way to go. I'd like to get a map software like the Geocache map option on each site. Where you can view several site locations and zoom in and out to get more or less detail on the map. The Legend has a map which will zoom in to highways. If you zoom in closer, there is no added detail. A topo map would be real nice. The map could be a better detail one on the GPS or on the PDA. Does anyone have any knowledge or experience in this area?

[+New England n00b]

I've made the decision to go paperless with the Palm Tungsten E2 and the Garmin Etrex Legend GPS. Thru another forum, I'm using GSAK and Cachemate. I agree with everyone that this is the way to go. I'd like to get a map software like the Geocache map option on each site. Where you can view several site locations and zoom in and out to get more or less detail on the map. The Legend has a map which will zoom in to highways. If you zoom in closer, there is no added detail. A topo map would be real nice. The map could be a better detail one on the GPS or on the PDA. Does anyone have any knowledge or experience in this area?

I bought teh Garmin Mapsource TOPO Maps (1:100k). They are a LOT better than the basemaps, but obviously not as good as paper 20k maps. The TOPO maps cover the United States. You can also get more detailed Park maps, but they are limited in coverage.

 

I have found the TOPO maps to invaluable. I got mine from offroute.com for $89, which is relatively cheap. I think generally you can expect from there to $100-something bucks. Shop around.

Edited April 10, 2006 by New England n00b

[+WolfTrekker]

I've used both Delorme and National Geographic Topo on my tungsten E2. The topo maps turn out pretty well on the PDA, but with either one you sometimes end up transferring alot of maps to get all the details. (different zoom levels and such). If I'm doing more than a few caches, or covering a wide area, I just print them.

[+New England n00b]

Oops. I forgot to mention, the Mapsource maps only work on the Garmin - not on a PDA.

[+briansnat]

I have Mapsource Topo on my Garmin and find it to be very useful.

[+ozymandiasism]

Interesting discovery though.... I went to Garmin's website and checked out the TOPO US-base map. Took a look at the Map view on the right of the page.... I discovered that they labelled one of the major highway in LA WRONG. They labelled the 710 as route 7... and also labelled part of the 710 is also route 91. the 91 intersect with the 710, not become the 710. I'm curious how they made such a big mistake....

[+New England n00b]

Interesting discovery though.... I went to Garmin's website and checked out the TOPO US-base map. Took a look at the Map view on the right of the page.... I discovered that they labelled one of the major highway in LA WRONG. They labelled the 710 as route 7... and also labelled part of the 710 is also route 91. the 91 intersect with the 710, not become the 710. I'm curious how they made such a big mistake....

Technically, 'they' didn't. They simply convert the maps to work on their system(s). They bought the map data from a vendor is my guess, and the vendor either has incomplete, incorrect or dated information. You can report it Garmin, I guess, and they can report it to their vendor for fixing... In my area I haven't seen any major issues, or even moderate ones, for that matter. I am very happy with them.

Edited April 12, 2006 by New England n00b