ZeroG Posted October 1, 2003 Share Posted October 1, 2003 I am looking to increase the detail of the built-in base map in my Garmin eTrex Legend. I am going to mount the GPSr on my motorcycle and it would be nice to see more roads as I explore the back roads around here. I am looking at either Mapsource US Roads & Recreation or Mapsource MetroGuide USA v5. I was first thinking I should go with Roads & Recreation since it requires less memory and my Legend only has a meagre 8MB. But when I checked out the online versions (using Garmin's MapSource Map Viewer) of both of these products, I found that the map detail of MetroGuide was a lot better and also more correct. The residential streets in my neighborhood showed up totally messed up (couldn't even see my cul-de-sac!) in Roads & Rec, but it was looking perfect in MetroGuide. Also, MetroGuide had all the back roads I am looking for. So MetroGuide seems to be the choice, but... will my 8MB Legend be able to handle it?? I don't need to load a huge area or anything, just a few counties would suffice. I would be greatful for any input on the matter. Thanks! Quote Link to comment
+Tahoe Skier5000 Posted October 1, 2003 Share Posted October 1, 2003 The Metroguide maps aren't TOO much of a burden. You can squeeze quite a few in on even 8 mb. ----------------------------------------------------------- Garmin Vista Using Opera 7.1 Quote Link to comment
+Goldfinch Posted October 1, 2003 Share Posted October 1, 2003 I also have the Garmin Legend and I use the MetroGuide USA maps. I have not used Roads & Rec. so can not help you there. The amount you can load does depend on the area that you are loading. ex. Is it a city or rural area. To load the Detroit MI area it takes 6.71 MB. The hole State of Alaska is 5.55 MB. As for the Colorado area I was able to load Denver Co. is 4.23 MB. This is an area of 100 miles wide by 70 miles high. I hope this helps you in some way. GOLDFINCH, Mason, MI Quote Link to comment
ZeroG Posted October 1, 2003 Author Share Posted October 1, 2003 Thanks goldfinch! That helps a bunch! Looks like I don't need to worry much about memory constraints if it can do the entire Denver area (100x70 miles) in 4.23 MB! How do you select which region(s) to load? Is it by state/county/city or how does it work? Thanks again for your help! Quote Link to comment
+apersson850 Posted October 1, 2003 Share Posted October 1, 2003 Denver area (160*160 km, or 100*100 miles) in US Topo: 3.93 MB. In US R&R: 3.11 MB. In MG USA (older version, with large "chunks"): 7.45 MB You select one or more of predefined map tiles. The size and shape of these tiles is entirely map-product dependent. Anders Quote Link to comment
ZeroG Posted October 1, 2003 Author Share Posted October 1, 2003 Anders, tack så mycket för dina kommentarer. I think I will be going for MetroGuide. They are both priced the same, and only advantage with Roads & Rec seems to be that it uses a little bit less memory, which is not a big deal for me since I don't need to have a huge area loaded. With MetroGuide I can also use the "Find" feature on my Legend. So... time to start shopping around! Quote Link to comment
+apersson850 Posted October 1, 2003 Share Posted October 1, 2003 Good Swedish for somebody in Colorado! Don't forget to make sure you get the new MetroGuide (5), not the one I have (4). Version 5 has more granularity as far as map tiles are concerned. Allows you to select more precisely what you want to load into the GPS memory. Ha det så trevligt! Anders Quote Link to comment
+Maeglin Posted October 1, 2003 Share Posted October 1, 2003 My only gripe with MetroGuide is that it insists on loading all of the map areas you want to work with on the hard drive... that becomes a pain on a laptop, which is more difficult to upgrade that par of it. Roads & Rec, on the other hand, lets you use the map data directly from the CD... I haven't found a way to do that with MetroGuide yet (unless I'm missing something?). Quote Link to comment
+Alan2 Posted October 1, 2003 Share Posted October 1, 2003 I have R+R Metro and Topo and load all three depending on area and work with all three on my PC. Since I have a Vista with 24M I have more flexibility but frankly there's never enough memory. Metro eats it like a hungry mongrel. R+R is better and shows streams which is handly in shwing a cache or which side of the stream so you're not on the wrong side when you get there. It takes less memory and is older and does not route. (I'm not sure but does Metro 5 route? I thought only Metro 4 routes.) R+R loads a map page by county whcih makes it really easy to select the maps you want. Metro and Topo loads rectangular areas ignoring state political boundaries. Metro and Point of Information which is handy when you're looking for Donukin' DOnuts after a cache for a coffee and something to feed your sweet tooth. Metro for a first mapping program is a good selection. Then I'd get Topo and save the money for R+R for an upgrade to one of Garmins newer models with more memory. Like I said there's never enough. Alan Quote Link to comment
ZeroG Posted October 2, 2003 Author Share Posted October 2, 2003 I will make sure to get the latest version of MetroGuide. No point in paying for old technology when newer is availabe. When it comes to Metro insisting on loading map areas on the harddrive and not reading from the CD, I for one would rather have it on the harddrive than the CD. Especially on a laptop, for both speed and power reasons. Maybe I am just not understanding what you mean and how the software works. A Vista with 24 MB of memory... yum! That is something to put on the wish list! I was originally going to buy the Venture, but the mail-in rebate on the Legend made it a no brainer. Glad I got it because with the mapping function I can do more than just geocache with it. (Anders, Jag må ha bott i Colorado ett tag, men inte tillräckigt länge för att ha glömt mitt modersmål. ) Quote Link to comment
+Firehouse16 Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 I just got the garmin topo maps and was going to install some, but I got a warning saying all preinstalled garmin maps will be erased permanently. Well that made me hit the brakes real fast. Does it delete all of the maps? I mean it's nice to go anywhere in Calif. and have maps installed. I don't really want just a county or two, I'd have to be loading different maps all the time. Advice, help? Firehouse16 & Code3 "Dave, Teresa & the 2 kids" Quote Link to comment
Neo_Geo Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 Are you refering to uploading maps to your GPSr? If so, then don't worry. It means that you're gonna overwrite any maps that YOU'VE previously uploaded. You will also lose the marine Points of Interest that Garmin generously pre-loaded into the unit. That's not a problem either because you can download those from Garmin's Web site. The base map does not get overwritten. It'll still be there if you erase the maps that you upload. Quote Link to comment
+apersson850 Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 The basemap will be there even if you don't erase the downloaded maps. (Sorry, but I always consider PC -> thing as download, but thing -> PC as upload. Regardless of what the thing is.) If you move outside of the area which is covered by your downloaded maps, the basemap will become visible. Also, if you zoom out far enough, the downloaded map will be turned off, in favor for the basemap. (ZeroG, jag har en bekant i Frisco, en annan i Loveland. Nära?) Anders Quote Link to comment
+Firehouse16 Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 Thanks for the help! Firehouse16 & Code3 "Dave, Teresa & the 2 kids" Quote Link to comment
+ZingerHead Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 This was mentioned briefly, but it's worth mentioning again - MetroGuide lets you plot routes that can be downloaded to your GPS. This is a must-have feature! You can plan a route at home, download it to the GPS, and then just follow the arrow for turn by turn directions. I use this feature all the time when navigating in unfamiliar territory. Next best thing to a Garmin V that will do the autorouting on the fly. Quote Link to comment
ZeroG Posted October 13, 2003 Author Share Posted October 13, 2003 I agree with the previous poster on the significance of routes. I had never even explored routes on my Legend before I got MG. But I tried plotting my first route last weekend and it worked just beautifully. (Anders, jag bor bara några minuter norr om Loveland, så det måste jag säga är nära!) Quote Link to comment
+apersson850 Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 The ability to download a simplified copy of an automatically generated route is even better with the more recent expansion of routes in the Legend/Vista models. Previously, with max 50 waypoints in a route, it could occur that you ran out of waypoints in a complex route. But now, when these units can hold 125 waypoints per route, that's very unlikely. (Alla svenskar är orienterare?) Anders Quote Link to comment
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