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Mapsource CD or MicroSD


KATMAI1

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I just purchased a Garmin 60CSx and wanted to add the Mapsource City Navigator and Mapsource Topo to it . Should I buy the CD or the pre-loaded MicroSD card? Is there an advantage with one vs. the other. Also if I get the CD what size card will I need to load all of City Navigator on it , and can I load both City Nav. and Topo on the same card.

Edited by KATMAI1
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Are there any advantages to having the Mapsource Software loaded on my PC.

 

Since you are using one of Garmins top of the line hand helds I'm sure you must be computer savy enough to load your own maps to your GPSr. By all means get the CD and not the maps on the memory card. The memory card is for the individual who doesn't have a computer or doesn't want to learn the elementary process of transferring maps from the computer.

 

Buying maps on the memory cards very much limits your capabilities of using Mapsource and of the 60CSx.

1. You CAN NOT load multiple types of maps (such as CN, Topo, Blue Chart, Nat'l Parks Topo, Inland Lakes, etc. at the same time) on your GPSr if you buy the maps on the memory card. What you buy on the card (let's say CN) and that is all you will be able to put on your GPSr.

 

2. You CAN NOT transfer other types of Mapsource Maps to that memory card without losing all the maps you bought on that memory card. (ALL MAPS are erased from the memory card with every new transfer of maps to the card, therefore you transfer all the various types of Mapsource Maps that you want on your GPSr at one time to your GPSr.

 

3. You can create waypoints, tracks, and routes on your computer using the CN software to create those as you desire and then download to your GSPr, without some Mapsource software on your computer your are very much limiting what you can do with your new GPSr.

 

The only advantage of buying CN on the memory card is that I have been told (can't say first hand so verify if this is an important consideration) that if you do purchase the CN memory card that you can use that memory card in multiple GPSr, unlike purchasing the CN CD which is locked to 1 GPSr.

 

All of CN NT will fit on a 1Gb card, but due to the drop in price for the 2 Gb cards now available online for less than $25.00 I'd go with the 2Gb just because it is relatively inexpensive.

Edited by eaparks
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There can be many advantages. Perhaps the main one is that it is much easier to plan routes, make waypoints etc on a PC. However, once you are all done with that, you do need to upload the resulting maps into your GPSr. The process of doing that involves selecting all of the "maps" from your product that you want in your GPSr. I live in Michigan and use City Select V6. The entire state is made up of about 40 smaller segments that are called maps in Map Source. If you travel a lot and want coverage of many different areas, it is a bit of a pain to do this. Having said that, the mapsets that you create on the PC can be saved and a subsequent upload into your GPSr will not involve re-selecting these smaller map segments. I do not know how much of CN will fit onto a 2 Gb MicroSD card. I've never desired to load that much into my GPSr.

 

Another advantage to doing it this way is the mapset that you create can have smaller map segments from any map product that you have licensed. For example, you could select CN maps and Topo maps in the same mapset. Those maps can overlap or they can be for different areas. Switching between the two is easily done in your GPSr. If you owned the MicroSD versions, you would have to keep both chips available and switch between them.

 

If you have a laptop, you have another very cool option available to you with the CD versions and that is to run nRoute on the laptop and use your GPSr just as the receiver, plugged into the laptop via USB. nRoute displays where you are on your very large laptop screen with full routing, Points of Interest, voice commands and everything else you could want. In this scenario, you do not load the maps into your GPSr so all maps from all regions are available to you and you can also switch between map products. The GPSr does have to be unlocked for the various map products you want to use, just like it does to load maps into it.

 

The down side to all of this is that once you unlock your CD products to your particular GPSr, you cannot "move" your license to a future GPSr you buy. With the MicroSD versions, you just put the card into any Garmin GPSr that has the MicroSD slot and you are set to go.

 

Sorry for being so verbose. I guess the executive summary is that the CD versions provide greater flexibility with more restrictive licensing. The card versions are easier to use and will work in multiple GPSr's but you lose all the PC (and especially laptop) features.

 

Others probably have other opinions but this is mine. Hope it helps.

 

C.S.

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