GPSMAP60 and City Navigator NT maps

[+Nevgar]

I am looking at buying City Navigator NT Europe on DVD.

I have two GPSrs - a 76csx and GPSMAP60 (no card, no colour, basic unit).

Will I be able to load the CN NT maps onto the 60 through mapsource?

I don't need routing, but it would be nice to be able to use the same product on the 2 different gpsrs.

 

As an alternative, what differences are there between the CN NT Europe and the City Navigator (non-nt) Europe?

Would I get navigation on the 76csx if I used the non-nt version maps?

 

Any help appreciated. I am on my way across the pond to England and Scotland in a couple of weeks, and want to do some gc while over there.

Tried using the 60 without maps in the UK before, and ended up going down a number of dead ends because I didn't have maps on it.

 

Thanks for any help

 

Nevgar

[Ken in Regina]

Hi Nevgar,

 

Fancy running into you over here!

 

Yes, you can load City Navigator maps - either NT or non-NT - onto your 60. BUT...

 

(There's always a "but", isn't there? )

 

I don't recall how much internal memory the 60 has but you might not be able to load a lot of map data onto it. I had an eTrex Venture HC once, for about half an hour before I traded it for a Legend HCx with memory card. The Venture has around 24MB of internal memory available for maps and I found that to be too limiting for me. But that's because I'm lazy and would rather just load all of Canada once and be done with it.

 

For your trip to the UK you might find it okay if you can select map segments that will fit on your 60. I don't know how the UK/Ireland maps are segmented.

 

Of course this isn't an issue with your 76CSx. You can just buy a bigger card if you need to (Yeah, I know you don't want to buy more toys but it's just a memory card...).

 

If you're really bent on dragging both handhelds along and using the maps on both, you will need to buy a second unlock code. The DVD only comes with a single unlock code so you can only use the maps on a single device without buying another unlock code.

 

That's the advantage of the micro-SD/SD card maps that you have coming, if only your 60 could use the card. Once you have the card you can use it in any Garmin device you want without multiple unlock codes. But you can't use the maps on the SD card product in your 60 because it doesn't have a card slot. And you can't use those maps in Mapsource either. You need the DVD product for use in Mapsource and to load maps into the 60 ... and multiple unlock codes for multiple devices.

 

Regarding the difference between NT maps and non-NT maps, they both do autorouting on any device that supports it. The only difference is the compression technology. The NT maps are more highly compressed. The result is that the segments cover a larger surface area so there are usually fewer segments in a mapset for the same coverage. This has a couple of impacts.

 

When you are trying to load a mapset with a very large coverage area with loads of detail, you can keep the segment count below the limit of the nav software. This was often a problem with non-NT maps.

 

In your case, depending on the segmentation of the UK, the larger segments might create a difficulty loading them to the internal memory of the 60. The only way to know this is to have a list of the map segments in the UK/Ireland mapset and their individual sizes.

 

Non-NT maps have smaller segment sizes so it usually takes more segments, and more memory, to get the same coverage. Otherwise there's no functional difference. They are the same mapset, just compressed with different technology.

 

I hope that all made some sense.

 

I still think you should just ditch the 60 and use the 76CSx for the trip. You can use either the SD card map product or the DVD maps in it. And it makes your gadget bag smaller and lighter.

 

...ken...

[Ken in Regina]

If you want to take the 60 along so you can use it in the airplane, instead of fighting with the electronic altimeter in the 76CSx in a pressurized cabin, you don't need detailed maps for that. If all you want to do is capture a track file to view later, that will work fine without detailed maps. You can just transfer the tracks into Mapsource at any time and look at the track files in Mapsource. Or use them in Google Earth or whatever.

 

If you want to be able to see where you are during the flight and you don't like watching the nav display on those little TV screens in the airplane seats, you can just load one of Garmin's free basemaps into the 60. At least I think you can do that, if it doesn't already have one in it. If it has just a North America basemap in it, you can download a world basemap from Garmin. But I think it's about 32MB so it might not fit. .......... Fooey... just ditch the 60 and simplify your life.

 

...ken...

[+Nevgar]

Fooey... just ditch the 60 and simplify your life.

 

...ken...

 

I am sort of resigned to doing just that, but have put my order for the sd card on hold for a day or two while I sort out if I want the sd card or the dvd.

If I get the dvd, I will be able to use the maps on both the 60 and the 76, if I purchase a second unlock code, of course. I like the idea of that option.

It also means that when (not if) we go back to europe, I won't have to worry about whether my maps cover the countries we are travelling to, thereby saving the cost of buying the individual countries. In particular, we are likely to go back to France to do a battlefields type tour in a year or so.

I figure I will just put up with the weird altimeter on the 76 and only take it. I have an sd card for it (1g, if I remember correctly) so should be able to load any maps I need onto a combination of it and the netbook.

 

Good to know that the NT maps will work in the 60. Disappointing that you can only load them on one unit though. I guess Garmin has to make money somehow, right?

 

Are you a geocacher too? What is your username (so I can what caches you have)?

 

Talk to you again soon.

 

Chris

[+jotne]

60

60C

60CS

Do NOT work with NT maps

(They need the old non-NT maps, not updated any more)

 

60Cx

60CSx

Does work with NT maps

[Ken in Regina]

Ooops, my bad. Thanks, jotne, for the correction on which 60 models work with which maps.

 

Nevgar, I'm not much of a geocacher. I sometimes take the info for a few caches along when I travel. When preparing for the trip I see if there are any caches near some out-of-the-way place I want to see anyway. That way I can combine the cache hunt with the trek to the scenic location. But I'm not terribly diligent. I have not found many. If it's difficult to find I don't spend a lot of time on it. I'm more interested in exploring what's around and nearby than the cache itself. My last hunt was up in Skagway, Alaska, at the end of May. But my main goal was to see an old cemetery and a lovely waterfall. The three caches in the same area were only of minor interest. We took a look but didn't find any. We had a splendid time wandering through the cemetery and viewing the waterfall. The failure to find any of the caches didn't detract at all from the pleasure of the hike.

 

I think I've only registered one find. I only did that out of curiousity, to see what the process was like. I don't see the attraction to recording finds and keeping a running count. I'm not knocking it. I'm plenty old enough to understand the concept of different strokes (I'm a golf nut; my wife loves to shop ... we get along just fine). It's just not something that interests me.

 

I've never hidden a cache. That interests me even less than recording finds. If I make a hide, I've obligated myself to, first, make sure it's okay to hide one there and, second, look after it in perpetuity. I'm just not that into it.

 

Frankly, it's the technology that interests me the most. That's why I check into this particular section occasionally. It's one of the best places on the net to keep up on the latest handheld GPS tech. I don't think I've looked at any other sections on Geocaching.com except the "Canada" one once in awhile.

 

Is the username you are refering to different than the user name at the top of my posts?

 

...ken...

Edited August 2, 2009 by Ken in Regina