Uk Topo Maps For Vista C

[+HooloovooUK]

Is there any way of getting topo maps on to my Vista C without resorting to the expensive Garmin version?

 

I've downloaded the Scottish Mountaineering contour maps but unless I'm doing something wrong they don't seem very detailed.

 

Is there anywhere I can download detailed UK topo maps that are compatible with the Vista C? I'd like it to show public rights of way and footpaths etc. as well as contour lines.

 

Thanks for any help!

[+Team Ballibeg]

If SMC not detailed enough your only option is the expensive Garmin Topo product.

 

Dave

[+HooloovooUK]

If SMC not detailed enough your only option is the expensive Garmin Topo product.

 

To be honest I'm not sure if it's not detailed enough or if I'm doing something wrong.

 

I haven't actually got my Vista C yet so I'm just looking at them on MapSource. When I'm zoomed at the 500ft level they seem quite detailed, but when I zoom out one more level to 800ft all the lines disappear and get replaced with only one or two really coarse contour lines. Is there some way of changing that?

 

A similar cut-off happens at 1.5miles zoom level.

 

Is there any way of getting MapSource to show me the contour lines at the same time as the MapSource Road and Recreation maps I have loaded?

 

What level of detail will the basemap on the GPS give me?

 

Thanks!

[+HooloovooUK]

Ah...!!! Change map detail to high..........

 

Now I get loads of contour lines at half a mile zoom level! Pretty good. Is there any way of colour-coding the contours to make it easy to see what's high and what's low?

 

Now I just have to work out how to get it to show more than one map at a time.

Edited May 8, 2006 by HooloovooUK

[+UKGeoCyclist]

As far as I know you can't get mapsource to display both the roads and rec maps and contours at the same time.

 

You need to use the drop down box to select which map set you are viewing.

 

However, you can load both sets to the GPS, and on the GPS you will see both sets at the same time, as the contours are a transparent overlay, so the roads and contours are displayed simultaneously.

 

Just use the select tool in Mapsource to select the road maps you want, then change the drop down box to "contours" and carry on selectine contours to cover the same area.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Adrian

[oddsock]

If SMC not detailed enough your only option is the expensive Garmin Topo product.

 

To be honest I'm not sure if it's not detailed enough or if I'm doing something wrong.

 

I haven't actually got my Vista C yet so I'm just looking at them on MapSource. When I'm zoomed at the 500ft level they seem quite detailed, but when I zoom out one more level to 800ft all the lines disappear and get replaced with only one or two really coarse contour lines. Is there some way of changing that?

 

A similar cut-off happens at 1.5miles zoom level.

 

Is there any way of getting MapSource to show me the contour lines at the same time as the MapSource Road and Recreation maps I have loaded?

 

What level of detail will the basemap on the GPS give me?

 

Thanks!

One of the ways to get the map and contour lines onto the gps is to use an application like sendmap or img2gps which has sendmap built in. ..As far as the vitsa c goes,has it got enough memory to hold enough of an area to use Garmin topo??

 

Dave

Edited May 9, 2006 by oddsock

[+Moote]

If SMC not detailed enough your only option is the expensive Garmin Topo product.

 

To be honest I'm not sure if it's not detailed enough or if I'm doing something wrong.

 

I haven't actually got my Vista C yet so I'm just looking at them on MapSource. When I'm zoomed at the 500ft level they seem quite detailed, but when I zoom out one more level to 800ft all the lines disappear and get replaced with only one or two really coarse contour lines. Is there some way of changing that?

 

A similar cut-off happens at 1.5miles zoom level.

 

Is there any way of getting MapSource to show me the contour lines at the same time as the MapSource Road and Recreation maps I have loaded?

 

What level of detail will the basemap on the GPS give me?

 

Thanks!

If it maintained the detail of 500ft, at all zoom out options you would soon just end up with a display with too much information, and a cluttered display

[+HooloovooUK]

If it maintained the detail of 500ft, at all zoom out options you would soon just end up with a display with too much information, and a cluttered display

 

Yes I can understand that, but it seemed to reduce the detail level too quickly.

 

Anyway my new GPSr arrived this morning so I'll wait until I've had a play with it properly before commenting further

 

Is there any way of colour coding the contour display based on altitude? It's very difficult to tell if a gradient is going up or down by just looking at the lines, without inspecting the altitude numbers. It seems a shame to not take advantage of the colour display.

Edited May 9, 2006 by HooloovooUK

[oddsock]

If the contour lines were coloured then if they were overlaid onto road maps it could be difficult to tell them from the roads. Anyway just think how many colours you would need if you wanted a different one for each foot or metre of altitude, no, much easier the way it is with numbers!

 

Dave

[+HooloovooUK]

If the contour lines were coloured then if they were overlaid onto road maps it could be difficult to tell them from the roads. Anyway just think how many colours you would need if you wanted a different one for each foot or metre of altitude, no, much easier the way it is with numbers!

 

I don't mean a different colour for every contour line. I mean a gradient of colours, so dark green for altitutes below a certain value, and say red for altitudes above a certain value, with a gradient between the two colours for values inbetween. That way it would be immediately obvious whether the terrain was going up or down without having to inspect the numbers.

 

My Vista C arrived this afternoon. However it isn't a Vista C - it's a Vista Cx with 64Mb microSD card and international basemap!!!!

 

I ordered a Vista C from amazon.co.uk for £200 and got a Cx...... well chuffed!! They are out of stock now, I'm not surprised if they were selling Cx's for that price!

Edited May 9, 2006 by HooloovooUK

[+HooloovooUK]

Thanks for your help everyone!

 

I've now got the Garmin Roads and Recreation maps, and the SMC contours on my Vista Cx...... very pleased.

 

The roads and recreation maps are quite detailed in the populated ares, and the contour lines fill in the gaps where the garmin maps just show empty green areas.

 

Everythings quite detailed now that I have it setup properly. I'm sure the proper Topo Maps would be better, but I'm happy with this considering it's free rather than a hundred and fifty quid!!!