+PuertoRicanJew Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 Have reviewed the offerings at Garmin I can see that for this model I have 2 choices: A dvd of the us for 116. or several regional topos on MicroSD for 86 bucks each. Well it's a no brainer that I want the dvd, just don't know if that's the right choice. If I get the dvd, can I put it directly onto my GPSr without the use of the sd card. or do I need to copy it from the dvd onto an sd and if so, will all the data fit on one sd? I see that I can buy A 2 gig SD around her for around 20 bucks, is this the way to go. This is my first gps and I know that topo would be very useful in other areas of my life besides caching, i.e. hiking, mountain biking, 4Wheeling. Also, with the TOPO map, can I get street level directions, finds and turn by turn directions? Any sage advice from you techno-gurus would be much appreciated. Quote Link to comment
Motorcycle_Mama Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 The DVD is a better choice for a lot of reasons. Including the ones you listed above, the DVD version of the maps can be used with your computer whereas the preloaded cards cannot. When you get the DVD you will install it on your computer and then you will use the MapSource software program that gets installed to load the maps. The Vista HCx doesn't have any internal memory for maps, so you must load them to a card. When you are selecting the map sections to load (known as map segments), you will want to be cognizant that there is a limit of 2025 map segments that can be loaded at any one time to that unit. You will typically be able to load about half the US at any one time. The US Topo maps do not contain turn-by-turn information. They are not what is know as "auto-routable". They contain some street data, but it is typically not as accurate as the City Navigator map data. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 The DVD is the way to go. You can run it on your PC and create routes, paper trail and cache maps, etc. You can't do that with the pre loaded cards. You can also eventually buy City Navigator with the turn by driving directions and load City Nav and Topo to your unit and run them concurrently. You can't do that if you have the pre loaded card. I'd shop around a bit more if I were you. You should be able to find Mapsource Topo for well under the $116 you stated. I've seen Topo 2008 for as low as $60. City Navigator should cost you closer to $116 Quote Link to comment
+PuertoRicanJew Posted July 26, 2008 Author Share Posted July 26, 2008 Thank you all for the useful information. I figured I could probably find it cheaper than what Garmin is retailing it for on their webswite. I just knew that I would have to buy two different applications. Pretty much how it always works. Quote Link to comment
+Doni08 Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Thank you all for the useful information. I figured I could probably find it cheaper than what Garmin is retailing it for on their webswite. I just knew that I would have to buy two different applications. Pretty much how it always works. I just got the city nav from Buy.com for 80.99. DVD version. Quote Link to comment
+The Sneaky Snakes Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 I know that a few people have made custom topo maps generated from USGS data - My area (Utah) has been done, search the forums to see if your area has been mapped. I like these custom maps better than Garmin's, and they're free. (A big THANK YOU to the person(s) who have taken the time to generate those custom maps for us!) see http://www.miscjunk.org/mj/mp_main.html Quote Link to comment
+K7CJS Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 I real new to this and am getting a 60cx and City Nav on DVD. I don't have a SD card reader. If I buy the 2GB microSD card to load City Nav do I load it directly onto the SD when it's in the 60cx or onto a reader then insert the card in the 60cx? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!! Quote Link to comment
+StarBrand Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 I real new to this and am getting a 60cx and City Nav on DVD. I don't have a SD card reader. If I buy the 2GB microSD card to load City Nav do I load it directly onto the SD when it's in the 60cx or onto a reader then insert the card in the 60cx? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!! Put the card in the GPS and then select the map segments you want to transfer and let mapsource do the transfer. Of course make certain the GPS is connected to the computer. Quote Link to comment
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