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So I recently bought a Garmin GPSmap 62s. I could only afford it due to the 64 coming out and the fact its tax season. Anyhow I played around with it at REI and liked it, brought it and like the set up. I still haven't uploaded any caches just yet I am about to do this after posting.

 

My concern is in regards to the maps. The stock map is well lacking. Most everything is black. So, it seems I will need to buy a map. Now, the two reasonable options seem to be BirdsEye Satellite and BirdsEye TOPO. My first question is what is the difference between the 30 dollar option and the 100 dollar option? It seems to get the most out of your GPS you would need the BirdsEye Satellite and also the TOPO map. At this point you might as well buy a second GPS.

 

So am I simply over reacting? Do all GPS Brands up-sell when it comes to maps?

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Unless you are going to use the GPS for routing I see no need for maps to cache. I have yet to use a map in the GPS to cache, If I want to get an idea of the layout I use the maps on Groundspeak before I leave. But to each his own, just my take on it.

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So am I simply over reacting? Do all GPS Brands up-sell when it comes to maps?

Yes, you may well be overreacting. Some GPSr units come with excellent maps, no extra cost... Garmin units are not one of them. You just didn't get a unit that offers them.

 

Check the sites given by BlackRose67.

 

But, DonB is right, you really don't need maps at all... just ambulate, ride, swim or fly to the coordinates. Thousands if not millions of caches have been found before maps were available on GPSr units at all!

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I'm kind of astounded by the opinions that maps aren't needed on GPS units. My first GPS was a yellow Etrex and trying to follow the arrow to the cache in the region where I live which is crisscrossed with bayous, canals, ditches, lakes, creeks, etc. was a real challenge. The best day of my life was when I bought a Meridian Platinum and put detail street maps on it. A local cacher who was using an Etrex looked at the caches superimposed on the Platinums screen and said it was almost like cheating. Regarding GPS units I think detail maps are the best thing that ever happened to them followed by the 3 axis pointer.

Along the same lines you wouldn't need maps on a Nuvi, just set your destination and follow the arrow....all a cache is is a destination.

Edited by robertlipe
Moderator deletion of questionable maps.
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I agree that maps are important. Yes, you can cache without them. You can also cache without a gpsr. But it helps to know what side of the ridge you need to be on, where the trail leads, and whether the street dead ends before you reach your destination.

 

I switched to OSM maps when I changed units awhile back and have not looked back. The street maps even include many of the major trails in my area and places we are planning to visit.

 

But I would be wary of an EBay deal for a map that has been "transferred from an unused, broken GPS Device" to a sd card. Although Garmin's recent attempt to release a new map authentication process was a debacle, it does show that Garmin is concerned about the unauthorized proliferation of their maps. I am not sure that a map "transferred from" another gpsr would make the cut down the line. My immediate thought is that it does not seem different from any other pirated map. So I will stick with the OSM.

Edited by geodarts
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I'm kind of astounded by the opinions that maps aren't needed on GPS units. My first GPS was a yellow Etrex and trying to follow the arrow to the cache in the region where I live which is crisscrossed with bayous, canals, ditches, lakes, creeks, etc. was a real challenge. The best day of my life was when I bought a Meridian Platinum and put detail street maps on it. A local cacher who was using an Etrex looked at the caches superimposed on the Platinums screen and said it was almost like cheating. Regarding GPS units I think detail maps are the best thing that ever happened to them followed by the 3 axis pointer.

Along the same lines you wouldn't need maps on a Nuvi, just set your destination and follow the arrow....all a cache is is a destination.

 

Comparing a Nuvi to a GPS for caching is comparing apples to oranges, I don't know too many people that put their Nuvi in the off road mode to travel to a destination, people might object to them driving across their lawns. I'm not into numbers but I have found a little over 1100 caches without using a map in my GPS. If you read my post carefully I did say to each his own and that it was just my take on using maps.

Edited by robertlipe
Moderator deletion of questionable maps.
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Lots of true free maps out there as others have posted. If you can make do without maps, great but personally, I use my montana for car nav, ATV nav, hunting, fishing, mountain biking and hiking. I have topo and highway maps plus I use my own tracks to generate my own trail maps.

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Whatever you do get detail maps for your unit.....here is a link for the City Nav. 2014.40. I've bought 3 of these and they work great in all my Garmin handhelds ( including 3 , 62S units ) as well as in all my Nuvi's. For $14.75 you can't beat it.

 

 

Well unless someone else knows different those must be pirated maps, since you can't simply "Transfer maps from an unused, broken GPS Device onto a NEW 4GB micro SD card, with adapter" as claimed by the seller since that map would be locked to the original unit. Anyone using them should be prepared for a 'knock on the door' one day.

 

I'm not sure about that, as you can see these are sold openly on Ebay and while not shipped in the packaging you would get when purchasing from Garmin they do come sealed with a Garmin tamper proof seal. Some time ago I bought cards in 100% Garmin original packaging for about $20.

Perhaps for a small fee Garmin provided the info. necessary to retrieve the maps.

 

I imagine the seller is referring to Nuvi's as handhelds don't come with detail maps.

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Unless you are going to use the GPS for routing I see no need for maps to cache. I have yet to use a map in the GPS to cache, If I want to get an idea of the layout I use the maps on Groundspeak before I leave. But to each his own, just my take on it.

Ah, we're back to that nasty word 'need' again. You don't need a GPS to cache, either. You can use satellite shots and take a good bit more time trying to find them. But getting unnecessarily stuck on the wrong side of a fast moving stream when you could have known which side to start out on to being with ... priceless! When caching is more than ordinary urban terrain, those free topo maps certainly can come in handy.
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Well pretty much anything can be forged these days ... and there are lots of forgeries on e bay. If they were original Garmin ones why not just say so rather than the weird story they've posted?

 

The listing states that the maps were transferred from a broken garmin and put on a new sd card. It's hard to imagine that Garmin put them into a sealed card under these circumstances, and I don't see much difference between this practice and transferring garmin maps on any of the free pirate sites. So again, I would be wary. But the ultimate test might be when and if garmin makes a new attempt to update its map authentication process.

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[ Moderator note ] I've deleted the link as it's highly unlikely that they're Garmin authorized. If you own Garmin products, you know how grumpy they are about transferring maps between devices.

 

Garmin statement

 

Please refrain from using Groundspeak's resources from promoting distribution of questionable repute. Garmin maps from Garmin dealers (that are much less shady) and many truly open/free options are plentiful.

Edited by robertlipe
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