1kickerfish Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Just bought a Garmin Venture HC and was surprised to find out the base map is junk. We started geocaching with a cheap Lowrance iFinder Go2 that has a great base map. I was hoping the Garmin would be much better. I checked out the Garmin site and for an additional $129 I can get a map as good as the $20 ifinder came with for free. I saw some posts here about free base maps. So, what do you guys recommend. If you say give Garmin more money this baby is going on ebay. Thanks. Quote Link to comment
+mpilchfamily Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Most hand held units have crappy base maps. Fortunately its a Garmin and there are all sorts of free maps available for it. Check out GPSFileDepot. Quote Link to comment
+splashy Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Basemap is ONLY mayor roads, nothing more. Free maps @ gpsfiledepot or OSM Quote Link to comment
1kickerfish Posted October 5, 2011 Author Share Posted October 5, 2011 gpsfiledepot is a bit complex for a newbie, but I got it loaded. Was surprised how big the files are and my Etrex was only able to hold my state. Thanks for the help Quote Link to comment
gps_dr Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 gpsfiledepot is a bit complex for a newbie, but I got it loaded. Was surprised how big the files are and my Etrex was only able to hold my state. Thanks for the help Venture was lowest price color eTrex! like other base models, memory was intentionally limited so they could charge more for a device capable of holding more maps. It was not designed for cross country/globe use. They want you to buy maps, therefore only primitive "base maps" are included. Quote Link to comment
+Team CowboyPapa Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 Most hand held units have crappy base maps. .... Without debating the definition of "most", allow me to note that the DeLorme handhelds come with 5 DVDs in the box which have the detail, residential street level maps for the entire US. Also included on the DVDs are numbered rural roads, such as BLM, USFS, etc., leaving nothing else to buy or aquire from third party sources. Quote Link to comment
gitarmac Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 I have a venture, it's pretty easy and quick to load the parts you need. I have the SEUSA map from gpsfiledepot.com and do this all the time. Now I have other units but the venture has served me well. Quote Link to comment
1kickerfish Posted October 10, 2011 Author Share Posted October 10, 2011 Thanks guys. The Garmin Venture gets a lot of high ratings, but none of the reviews mentioned the crappy base map that comes with the unit. Thanks to great sites like gpsfiledepot to look out for the little man. Quote Link to comment
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