Garmin Map Questions?

[+bjb670]

I have an old etrex Vista that i am looking to replace. At this point im not sure what i want but i do want to know some more info about the maps garmin sells.

 

I have the old version of the US Topo maps, and for the most part i am pretty happy with them. If i upgrade to a new gps such as Vista HCx, 60 CSx, or oregon what maps should i consider? What differences will i see between the Topo 100k 2008 maps and the 24k maps. could i save some money for now and stick with the topo maps i have? these are the maps i currently use in mapsource http://www8.garmin.com/cartography/mapSource/topo.jsp

 

Mainly it is used for backpacking and geocaching.

[+fratermus]

You can use topo by itself if you want (or if money is tight after the upgrade). AFAIK autorouting GPSr will generally route on their basemaps when no routing mapset is present.

 

Routing GPS units really come into their own when you stuff autorouting maps on it, though. The orthodox choice would be City Navigator on DVD. Load whatever portions you want onto your SD card.

 

Since the new oregons, etc, are out you might be able to pick up a used 60c{s}x. I have a 60cx and love it. Best gps I've ever used.

[+Walts Hunting]

The 100K maps have a contour line every 160 feet of elevation change. The 24K maps have a contour line every 40 feet of elevation change. Kind of makes sense doesn't. Much more detail on the 24K. I bought the 24K west and put parts of it on my Oregon.

[+bjb670]

You can use topo by itself if you want (or if money is tight after the upgrade). AFAIK autorouting GPSr will generally route on their basemaps when no routing mapset is present.

 

Routing GPS units really come into their own when you stuff autorouting maps on it, though. The orthodox choice would be City Navigator on DVD. Load whatever portions you want onto your SD card.

 

Since the new oregons, etc, are out you might be able to pick up a used 60c{s}x. I have a 60cx and love it. Best gps I've ever used.

 

 

I have a Nuvi 255w that i use as my autorouting GPSr. So i dont really need the City Nav. Im only looking at Topo maps

 

 

 

The 100K maps have a contour line every 160 feet of elevation change. The 24K maps have a contour line every 40 feet of elevation change. Kind of makes sense doesn't. Much more detail on the 24K. I bought the 24K west and put parts of it on my Oregon.

 

 

I figured more detail but wasnt sure how much. aside from the contour interval what would make someone choose the 24k over the 100k. I assume accuracy would be better too? how about the locations of trails, lakes, streams etc? How do you like the 24k maps on the oregon?

Edited June 20, 2009 by bjb670

[MtnHermit]

I figured more detail but wasnt sure how much. aside from the contour interval what would make someone choose the 24k over the 100k. I assume accuracy would be better too? how about the locations of trails, lakes, streams etc? How do you like the 24k maps on the oregon?

Your existing Topo map is a 100K map, meaning it has a scale of 100,000:1 resolution or if a feature is 100,000 inches in real life it shows on the map at 1 inch. By inference, objects on a 24K map are 4 times as large.

 

Missing from 100K map that appear on 24K maps:

intermittent and unnamed streams

unnamed lakes and ponds (24K's will show beaver ponds)

bank to bank rivers, only shown as a wire on 100K

less accurate boundaries (public/private lands)

perhaps others can add more to this list.

 

Largely missing from all Garmin maps: most trails, not a clue why. But the trails they do have are routable on the new 24K series.

 

Garmin maps are very good on most roads, they buy them from Navteq, same as your Nuvi. Minor back roads if not on your Nuvi will also not be on the 24K maps.

[+MustangSmitty]

You can use topo by itself if you want (or if money is tight after the upgrade). AFAIK autorouting GPSr will generally route on their basemaps when no routing mapset is present.

 

Routing GPS units really come into their own when you stuff autorouting maps on it, though. The orthodox choice would be City Navigator on DVD. Load whatever portions you want onto your SD card.

 

Since the new oregons, etc, are out you might be able to pick up a used 60c{s}x. I have a 60cx and love it. Best gps I've ever used.

 

I just purchased City Navigator on DVD for my Oregon 300. How do I download it onto my SD card?

 

Thanks

[+fratermus]

I just purchased City Navigator on DVD for my Oregon 300. How do I download it onto my SD card?

 

Install the DVD to your PC.

Open Mapsource

select the CN map in the dropdown if not selected already

Select the maptiles you want

click "send to GPS" or "upload" or whatever it is in the most recent version

wait for it to think, perhaps a long time

success

[+bjb670]

Your existing Topo map is a 100K map, meaning it has a scale of 100,000:1 resolution or if a feature is 100,000 inches in real life it shows on the map at 1 inch. By inference, objects on a 24K map are 4 times as large.

 

Missing from 100K map that appear on 24K maps:

intermittent and unnamed streams

unnamed lakes and ponds (24K's will show beaver ponds)

bank to bank rivers, only shown as a wire on 100K

less accurate boundaries (public/private lands)

perhaps others can add more to this list.

 

Largely missing from all Garmin maps: most trails, not a clue why. But the trails they do have are routable on the new 24K series.

 

Garmin maps are very good on most roads, they buy them from Navteq, same as your Nuvi. Minor back roads if not on your Nuvi will also not be on the 24K maps.

 

 

That is exactly what i was looking for. It seems that the 24k would be a worthwhile investment. I will prob make due with the 100k maps for now but as soon as money is available i will purchase the 24k maps. routable trails sounds like a pretty cool thing. it would be nice to have better boundaries for areas also.

 

Thanks MtnHermit that was most helpful.

[+bjb670]

Anyone who has the 24K topo of the west could you do me a huge favor??

 

Here are some coords: N38 29.972 W119 47.035

 

Could you take a screen shot of the map centered on this waypoint and at a zoom of 0.3 mi and email it to me? That would be amazing if anyone could do this, i really want to compare my topo 100k maps to the 24k for this particular area.

 

bjb670@gmail.com

Edited June 20, 2009 by bjb670

[MtnHermit]

I just purchased City Navigator on DVD for my Oregon 300. How do I download it onto my SD card?

Install the DVD to your PC.

Open Mapsource

select the CN map in the dropdown if not selected already

Select the maptiles you want

click "send to GPS" or "upload" or whatever it is in the most recent version

wait for it to think, perhaps a long time

success

You forgot to mention unlock!

Some where, some how the CN maps need to be registered to the OR300. I assume it's an online process.

[MtnHermit]

That is exactly what i was looking for. It seems that the 24k would be a worthwhile investment. I will prob make due with the 100k maps for now but as soon as money is available i will purchase the 24k maps. routable trails sounds like a pretty cool thing. it would be nice to have better boundaries for areas also.

 

Thanks MtnHermit that was most helpful.

Well for me I'd rather have complete trails than fewer that are routable. Besides a beep to tell you to turn, at 2MPH, give me a break!!! Supposedly a route can give you distance. I tried a route on my Nuvi, amazingly accurate but I can't get it to display distance. Do you know how?

[snowfleurys]

I will prob make due with the 100k maps for now but as soon as money is available i will purchase the 24k maps. routable trails sounds like a pretty cool thing. it would be nice to have better boundaries for areas also.

The gpsfiledepot.com has free 24k scale topo maps for most States. Not routable and road/street info is from Census data files, but they may meet you needs.

[+Walts Hunting]

A guy I cache with downloaded the California map from gpsfiledepot (it was almost a gig so it takes awhile) and it had 20 foot contour lines. Thanks MtnHermit for the details on the difference. I agree that trails are missing from the Garmin for some reason. We were hiking in Cronan Park and his showed the trail we were on while mine didn't. However the shading from the DEM seem to be a nice feature.

[+fratermus]

You forgot to mention unlock!

Some where, some how the CN maps need to be registered to the OR300. I assume it's an online process.

 

Last time unlocked a Garmin map it was done from Mapsource itself, IIRC. I try my hardest not to buy/use/consider locked software. I run MetroGuide v8 on my autorouting GPS and it routes just fine, given a bit of convincing.

[+bjb670]

A guy I cache with downloaded the California map from gpsfiledepot (it was almost a gig so it takes awhile) and it had 20 foot contour lines. Thanks MtnHermit for the details on the difference. I agree that trails are missing from the Garmin for some reason. We were hiking in Cronan Park and his showed the trail we were on while mine didn't. However the shading from the DEM seem to be a nice feature.

 

 

Yea, i had them downloaded but they just stopped working all the sudden, plus my etrex only has 24mb of memory. i did like looking at them on my mapsource though!

[+bjb670]

Here are the Topo 100k from Garmin side by side with the Topo 24k that is free from gpsfiledepot.

 

 

 

Even though the contours are significantly better i still prefer the 100k, at lease to this 24k topo. There are no labels on lakes, trails, rivers etc. Would these things be labeled in the Garmin 24k?

[snowfleurys]

Even though the contours are significantly better i still prefer the 100k, at lease to this 24k topo. There are no labels on lakes, trails, rivers etc. Would these things be labeled in the Garmin 24k?

The author of the CA map did not include points/labels from the USGS GNIS files. It is probably the only state mapset on gpsfiledepot where this info was not included. I believe Garmin still lets you view an area of you choice in the product of you choice on their website - this is more of a MapSource view than an actual GPSr view, but it may help you determine what is included and the level of detail of the different products.

[+AlienFroMirth]

I have just gotten into the fray with my new Oregon 300 ( first handheld). For 24k maps in my neck of the woods ( lower NYS) I have no other option , but to figure out (with some help from the forum community ) the proceedure of how to download free maps from gpsfiledepot, open them in Garmin MapSource and then transfer them down the USB cord into my GPSr. I was a little lost at first as a complete noob, but after the first session, it is a fairly simple process. I would consider buying Garmin's 24k if it ever becomes available if it has alot more polish and routable trails. I consider NYS Topo to be very detailed: most streams, ponds and all roads big and small to be labeled...not bad for free! On a side note, but seemingly inline with Garmin's incomplete software lineup, I can't even get their coastal marine software (Blue Chart?) because it was just recalled...so much for kayaking, lol. Paper charts ftw!

[+bjb670]

Even though the contours are significantly better i still prefer the 100k, at lease to this 24k topo. There are no labels on lakes, trails, rivers etc. Would these things be labeled in the Garmin 24k?

The author of the CA map did not include points/labels from the USGS GNIS files. It is probably the only state mapset on gpsfiledepot where this info was not included. I believe Garmin still lets you view an area of you choice in the product of you choice on their website - this is more of a MapSource view than an actual GPSr view, but it may help you determine what is included and the level of detail of the different products.

 

They do let you view most maps but for some reason the 24k is not one you can view, go figure. one would think it would be pretty popular among hikers/backpackers.

[+Entropy512]

Yup. The NYS Topo is pretty good, although I somewhat prefer the "Northeast Topo" - it seems to be slightly more accurate (shows marshland as marshland, not ponds.)

[+geodarts]

Largely missing from all Garmin maps: most trails, not a clue why

 

The 24k maps I have from Garmin have less trails and fireroads than the standard Garmin topo. I have often wondered why they have a routable trail feature but include less trails to route -- actually, no trails in the areas I generally hike.

 

But its not just Garmin. The acuterra maps that are sold through magellan promises a "a unique collection of road and trail data" but don't have the fireroads that were on my first magellan topo.

Edited June 23, 2009 by Erickson

[snowfleurys]

The NYS Topo is pretty good, although I somewhat prefer the "Northeast Topo" - it seems to be slightly more accurate (shows marshland as marshland, not ponds.)

Two different sources for the hydro info. NYS source was from Census, probably a mix of 24K and 100K, names for wide water courses, and 'tested' for many years. NE was from NHD 24k which is fairly recent, does not name wide water courses and has some issues with polygons - oceans and lakes in some parts of the US. Take you pick - always nice to have a choice.

[+bjb670]

Ok well, a little update here. I think i figured out the best of both worlds with my old Etrex Vista. At least until i can upgrade.

 

This is not a very efficient method with the old serial port on the vista but it seems to work: i was able to load the map set from my 100k topo from garmin along with just the contour lines from the free gpsfiledepot map. Switching between the maps in mapsource shows they are identical except for the closer contour intervals. Solves the problem of the lack of labeling on the gpsfiledepot map for california.

[+Entropy512]

The NYS Topo is pretty good, although I somewhat prefer the "Northeast Topo" - it seems to be slightly more accurate (shows marshland as marshland, not ponds.)

Two different sources for the hydro info. NYS source was from Census, probably a mix of 24K and 100K, names for wide water courses, and 'tested' for many years. NE was from NHD 24k which is fairly recent, does not name wide water courses and has some issues with polygons - oceans and lakes in some parts of the US. Take you pick - always nice to have a choice.

Thanks for the info!

[+wvsar]

Does garmin offer a 24K map for West Virginia? Everything I saw on their site only covered states west of the mississippi

[+Redwoods Mtn Biker]

Not yet, but here's a free one...

 

http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/view/117/

[+wvsar]

Thank you

 

Not yet, but here's a free one...

 

http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/view/117/

[+bjb670]

Not yet, but here's a free one...

 

http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/view/117/

 

 

Looking at the screen shot it looks like a pretty well labeled map. i wish they had something like this for California, other than the contours the CA 24k from gpsfiledepot is worthless.

[+coggins]

Not yet, but here's a free one...

 

http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/view/117/

 

 

Looking at the screen shot it looks like a pretty well labeled map. i wish they had something like this for California, other than the contours the CA 24k from gpsfiledepot is worthless.

[+fratermus]

i wish they had something like this for California, other than the contours the CA 24k from gpsfiledepot is worthless.

 

Feel free to contribute your own non-worthless mapset to the project.