+Team GeoBesse Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Hi! I am looking for a replacement for my old eTrex Legend (the b/w version), and the Oregon Series looks very promising to me. But after the first look on the Garmin site, I have a few questions... The functions I want: * Navigation as usual * Paperless Geocaching * Very good accuracy, even under heavy foliage or in the 'canyons of the big city'. * Topo-maps, maybe even provided by myself (scanned an overlayed or so) I am wondering about the difference between the Oregon 300 and the 400t: just more memory and Topo maps included? Since I have a wish open with someone, I can do without the integrated topo map, I just write it on my wishlist :-) My questions: * If I expand the memory on the 300 (what is the max size it takes?), is this memory added to the integrated mem, or is it not fully useable for maps? If I put a 2GB card in the 300, is it useable exactly like the 400t? * Can I buy (or, in my case, 'can I let me buy' :-) ) a topo map (there seems no topo map for Austria, EU?) and put it on the 300, thus making a 400t out of it? * Is it possible to put self-made maps on the device? I have access to some very detailed maps of certain areas, can I take these bitmaps and align them somehow on the device? * Can I use the device (with the right maps) as a normal car-navigation device? Oh: Europe (Austria), Dell.at doesn't know about the deal for the 300... :-( Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment
+FierceDeityLink1 Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Yeah, from what I can discern, the only difference between the 300 and 400t is the extra memory and included 100k world topo maps. You need City Navigator if you want to use it as a car navigation device for routable maps. The max size is only limited by microSDHC and FAT32 (4000 map tiles or 4GB, whichever comes first). I'm not sure about making your own maps, but I know you can convert some maps into Garmin formatted ones or buy one for your area if it's available. Quote Link to comment
+jotne Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Do a search on this site and you will find lots of information. You can also look at the Oregon wiki http://garminoregon.wikispaces.com/ Quote Link to comment
+Red90 Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 (edited) Garmin Topo Austria: http://www.garmin.at/show_berichtdetail.ph...66&fpid=427 You can not use bitmap files, but you can make your own maps, if you want. Some free maps here: http://mapcenter2.cgpsmapper.com/maplist.p...ory=4&text= Edited June 17, 2009 by Red90 Quote Link to comment
+g-o-cashers Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 http://garminoregon.wikispaces.com/Product+Information#toc5 http://garminoregon.wikispaces.com/Product+Information#toc11 Quote Link to comment
+Entropy512 Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 As far as I can tell, the actual card size limit is equal to that of SDHC (32GB) - I have an 8GB card and it works fine. MicroSDHC cards greater than 8GB are incredibly rare. That said, FAT32 limitations limit the size of a file to 4GB. As the Oregon only supports one map file on the expansion card (actually, has anyone tried putting another map file named gmapbmap.img or gmapprom.img on the addon card?), there's a fundamental limit of 4GB of maps. BTW, you can take maps from multiple mapsets and place them onto the card. It is possible to obtain free topo maps of many areas from http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/ The Oregon 300 appears to vary in terms of internal memory depending on when it was manufactured. Some apparently only had 512MB internal, newer ones like mine seem to have 1GB internal. Right now I think the basemap uses <100MB and I have most of the northeastern U.S. City Navigator mapset loaded for around 250MB (not sure, don't have the device connected at the moment.) In my case I have CN installed on internal memory and topo maps installed on the MicroSD. To my knowledge, the only thing the 400t adds are preloaded topo maps on internal memory and more internal memory (4GB IIRC.) Quote Link to comment
+Team GeoBesse Posted June 18, 2009 Author Share Posted June 18, 2009 OK, thanks for the help. I checked the Oregon-Wiki too. What I found out (I think): * If I add an 4GB Card to the 300, it can do everything the 400t can do. * I can buy seperate topo maps (or download some for free) and put them on the device. * With card and topo map, the 300 comes on at about the same price as the 400t. But since I can get the topomap as a present, it won't cost ME that much. * I can put files (GPX) and maps on the internal memory or on the sd-card: they will both be recognized without problem (except maybe startup-times) But, the Oregon 300 seem to a very suitable device for me. :-) Just one question: how sensitive is the touchscreen? When I am caching in the city, I'm used to put the GPS away (in my coat pocket or so) if I don't need it for a few minutes (when going to a location, or after I arrived and am busying searching), but leaving it on... Quote Link to comment
+jotne Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 You can add maps to both internal and external memory, but on internal you can use several file names for maps, and on external only one. Internal gmapsupp.img gmapbmap.img gmapprom.img gmapoem.img External gmapsupp.img So you are more flexible with large internal memory. Not a big problem, but a different. Quote Link to comment
+Team GeoBesse Posted June 18, 2009 Author Share Posted June 18, 2009 You can add maps to both internal and external memory, but on internal you can use several file names for maps, and on external only one. ok, that's usefull info, thanks! So I guess I will put City Navigator Europe (or a part of it) on the external Card, and on the internal card the bits of topo where I plan to go on a trail... Quote Link to comment
+Entropy512 Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 As I mentioned before, it is possible to include multiple map sets in a single map file on the device. May not work if you use MapInstall but definately works with MapSource. Select a set in MapSource and choose tiles, than switch sets and choose more tiles. The tile selection from the previous set will be remembered. I have three different sets installed into one file on my SD (Topo 2008 for DEM relief shading, and Northeast USA topo parts 1 and 3 from gpsfiledepot.com) Quote Link to comment
+g-o-cashers Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 You can add maps to both internal and external memory, but on internal you can use several file names for maps, and on external only one. Internal gmapsupp.img gmapbmap.img gmapprom.img gmapoem.img External gmapsupp.img So you are more flexible with large internal memory. Not a big problem, but a different. I don't think gmapoem.img is supported unless something changed recently? Have you tried this? Quote Link to comment
+Eagle93 Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Just one question: how sensitive is the touchscreen? When I am caching in the city, I'm used to put the GPS away (in my coat pocket or so) if I don't need it for a few minutes (when going to a location, or after I arrived and am busying searching), but leaving it on... The touchscreen is pretty senstive, however you can lock/unlock the screen by tapping the power button. Quote Link to comment
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