thechubbybunny Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 Just wondering if it would be better to purchase Garmin City Navigator North America V8 instead of Metroguide Canada V4. I am looking for city maps of Greater Vancouver, BC, and Area that would show street names/details. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment
+Nozzletime Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 Here is a good link to decide for yourself which you need. http://www.gpscentral.ca/accessories/mapso...differences.htm Quote Link to comment
QuigleyJones Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 I use Metroguide and it works fine, however its older and on the odd occasion streets/addresses have changed and are wrong. Quote Link to comment
+Red90 Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 If JUST for the Vancouver area.... CN is better as it is more up to date. However, it is very poor outside of major cities. Quote Link to comment
+The Blue Quasar Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 I've been using MetroGuide Canada 4.0 for a few years, and there are a few advantages to the older software of MGC4. Some of the old roads that are now trails are on the maps. However, that is a disadvantage too when you use Auto-Routing. It tries to take you ways that you cannot drive. A lot of roads are not included in MGC4 if they are new or very rural. My friend has a cottage and even though the road has been there for 20 years, it isn't in MGC4, but a road that was closed over 20 years ago locally is still there including the bridge that was removed 25 years ago. From my little experience, there still isn't a product that covers both requried aspects in one package. The Blue Quasar Quote Link to comment
QuigleyJones Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 Have you thought about Topo Canada? Quote Link to comment
+Red90 Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 A lot of roads are not included in MGC4 if they are new or very rural. My friend has a cottage and even though the road has been there for 20 years, it isn't in MGC4, but a road that was closed over 20 years ago locally is still there including the bridge that was removed 25 years ago. Rural roads are directly taken from the federal topographic map database. As I'm sure you are aware, in many areas these maps have not been updated for 30 to 40 years. Quote Link to comment
+LeGodFather Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 Although a lot of new roads are missing with V4, I like V4 better because all the streams are shown. There aren't much new streams! And when caching, if you are 7m from the cache, that 7m is often on the other side of that stream! Quote Link to comment
+Red90 Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 I know you did not ask..... but.... Topo Canada has all of the same roads as MG Canada 4 plus topographic data but minus the POI database. IMO, for a geocacher, this should be their first map set. There is rarely a need for anything else unless you are really fussy about up to date auto-routing on the road. Quote Link to comment
thechubbybunny Posted November 8, 2006 Author Share Posted November 8, 2006 (edited) Thanks for all the advice everyone! I was thinking about the advantages that I may have with Topo Canada. It probably would come in handy for hiking, snowboarding and any outdoor activities. I bought my GPS primarily for weekend geocaching and on-road navigation. Topographic mapping would probably be better for geocaching though. I'll review the maps on garmin's website. What type of basemaps does everyone seem to have more success with geocaching; Topo, CN V8 or MGC V4? Edited November 8, 2006 by thechubbybunny Quote Link to comment
+ve6dave Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 I have to agree with Red90, Topo Canada is the best bet when starting out. As for the "basemaps", I am assuming that you are refering to which of the maps do you keep loaded on the unit. Myself, I have portions of Topo Canada and City Navigator V8 and on occasion World map. Depending on the model of GPSr you have, it is possible to "layer" the maps ( I use the term layer quite loosely as they are not transparent and are equivilent to laying several paper maps on top of each other, thereby requiring you to move one map in order to view the other map). But if you really, really need to find the nearest Tim Horton's, CN V8 is the software for you. Quote Link to comment
Dragonmaster13 Posted December 15, 2006 Share Posted December 15, 2006 (edited) I read somewhere that Topo Canada doesn't require an unlock code, is this true? If so, any body in Calgary have it, I'd like to see it before I buy it for a few of my GPS units. Edited December 15, 2006 by Dragonmaster13 Quote Link to comment
+AV Dezign Posted December 15, 2006 Share Posted December 15, 2006 I read somewhere that Topo Canada doesn't require an unlock code, is this true? If so, any body in Calgary have it, I'd like to see it before I buy it for a few of my GPS units. Here are a few places where they "SELL" the product in Canada, it's not that expensive and anybody who can afford to purchase a GPS can afford to purchase the software and support the companies who maintain it. www.gpscity.ca www.gpscentral.ca Quote Link to comment
+mtn-man Posted December 15, 2006 Share Posted December 15, 2006 I read somewhere that Topo Canada doesn't require an unlock code, is this true? If so, any body in Calgary have it, I'd like to see it before I buy it for a few of my GPS units. A good way to see it might be to go to an event cache and see if someone attending might have a laptop that has it. Unlock codes typically are computer specific as well. The US version allows you to put it on two computers. After that you have to buy additional unlock codes. You can use any number of GPS units once loaded. Of course, pirating software is illegal, if that is what you are asking. Quote Link to comment
+ibycus Posted December 15, 2006 Share Posted December 15, 2006 I read somewhere that Topo Canada doesn't require an unlock code, is this true? If so, any body in Calgary have it, I'd like to see it before I buy it for a few of my GPS units. Stop by GPSCentral, they are in Calgary. They have all the different Mapsource Products loaded up on a machine there, and you can check them out and compare. They are also very helpful there (as long as you don't come when they are sending out orders for the day). My personal mapset of choice is: Metroguide Canada V4 (Isn't is discontinued now or something?) +Calgary Area Trail Maps (http://www.calgarycachers.ca/trailmaps) +Some custom topomaps created from geobase.ca website. Quote Link to comment
+PDOP's Posted December 15, 2006 Share Posted December 15, 2006 (edited) Dragonmaster13 if you're considering purchasing TopoCanada you might want to look at the package deal I've seen at Walmart which includes TopoCanada, the original Legend and case for $200. You could then sell the GPS and case and end up out of pocket less than the $140 price of TopoCanada. Edited December 15, 2006 by PDOP's Quote Link to comment
+jangor Posted December 15, 2006 Share Posted December 15, 2006 We use City Navigator v8 and it is great. We are in the Vancouver area and have found the auto routing to be very good, except in Burnaby where they tend to put concrete barriers across roads for no good reason. Just punch in the coordinates and follow the road. We have tried to second guess the GPSr a few times and paid the price. It is usually right and we are wrong. jangor Quote Link to comment
+akela_jamie Posted December 17, 2006 Share Posted December 17, 2006 I really am happy with Metroguide Canada V4. It really does a wonderfull job of autorouting, and my wife love the "Find the closest Tim Hortens" feature. I debated between City select and Metroguide for a while, and did a lot of research online, at the Garmin website, and in other websites dedicated to GPS. City Select is a great program if you are sticking to major centers, Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa etc. Metroguide has much better coverage in the "less traveled areas". I bought Metroguide (On Ebay from Radioworld Canada, currently has multiple listings for the same product) for about $40. I use it in my GPSMAP60C and love it. It does not require unlock codes. On a recent caching trip through southwestern Ontario it dirrected us "on road" perfectly, getting us to the closest spot to park before switching to "Follow trail" to get us to the cache. The POI data is fantastic, allowing us to find obscure places we have been looking for easily. I highly recommend it for anyone who needs to travel outside of major metropolitan areas, and with the current buy it now price of $40 on ebay, you cant loose. (by the way, I am not affiliated with Radioworld Canada, I just am thrilled to get the software at such a great price and want all my fellow Canadian Geocachers to know where to get it at a fantastic price) Jamie Quote Link to comment
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