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Mapsource Topo on the GPS V?


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I am thinking about purchasing this, but I wanted to get some opinions on how goo dit is. I looked at the online version on Garmin.com and it does not seem to have much detail, at least not in the area where I would use it. It appears that the City Select that came with my GPS VG has as much (or even more) detail than the Mapsource Topo. Any thoughts or opinions out there about the MapSource Topo product on a GPS V?

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And please don't take this as a insult or in any way a derogatory comment about your state. But if you don't have much elevation differences in country as flat as a pancake TOPO isn't going to be of much benefit to you. You probably would be better off purchasing one of the other mapsource products.

team sidewinder

 

LOST AND FOUND DEPT.

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Ditto on the 'flat state' comment. Topo is useless if there isn't much deviation in elevation in your area. The street detail is no where near as detailed as Metro or City select. Features like rail roads are also missing (at least in my area).

 

Most importantly, if ROUTING is important to you on a GPSV you should be aware that TOPO does NOT support routing. That was the biggest factor in my decision to dump TOPO on ebay.

 

I live in Illinois so the contour lines hardly ever came into play for me.

 

Jolly R. Blackburn

http://kenzerco.com

"Never declare war on a man who buys his ink by the gallon."

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So if I got Topo, could I load both Topo AND City Select into memory at the same time. I know one will take priority, but I think I can just disable City Select in the Map Source menu before I started walking around. Would that work? That way, I can use City Select th auto-navigate to the cache, then use Topo when off-road.

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quote:
Originally posted by SIDEWINDER:

And please don't take this as a insult or in any way a derogatory comment about your state. But if you don't have much elevation differences in country as flat as a pancake TOPO isn't going to be of much benefit to you. You probably would be better off purchasing one of the other mapsource products.

team sidewinder

 

LOST AND FOUND DEPT.


 

I agree with your statement to a point. With flat lands that are void of wetlands, Mapsource Topo will show few topographic variations because there aren't any. What it will show is many of the woods roads and trails that the highway versions will not show.

 

_________________________________________________________

On the other hand, you have different fingers.

15777_2200.gif

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I use Metro, R+R and TOpo in my Vista. I usually print out the 24000 topo from Topozone as a carry along of the park I'm caching in. Topo's great off trail. Although it.s hard to see some of the info, it helps orient you and can used for finding your position on the hard copy topo map.

 

Topo shows trails and off-road roads as mentioned. Also streams, lakes and other bodies that don't show on the STreet type maps. Also, it'll come in handy when you do travel to areas that have more hills where elevations might be more important. Like most features, most are absolutely non-essential but do make the whole hobby more interesting.

 

Good luck

 

Alan

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quote:
Originally posted by Cypress Cacher:

So if I got Topo, could I load both Topo AND City Select into memory at the same time. I know one will take priority, but I think I can just disable City Select in the Map Source menu before I started walking around. Would that work? That way, I can use City Select th auto-navigate to the cache, then use Topo when off-road.


 

Yes, that works.

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quote:
Originally posted by BrownMule:

I agree with your statement to a point. With flat lands that are void of wetlands, Mapsource Topo will show few topographic variations because there aren't any. What it will show is many of the woods roads and trails that the highway versions will not show.


 

I'm in agreement with BrownMule here. Topo shows landmarks, trails, and the like. I can find my way around a city. It's the trails that can give me trouble.

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quote:
Originally posted by Cypress Cacher:

So if I got Topo, could I load both Topo AND City Select into memory at the same time. I know one will take priority, but I think I can just disable City Select in the Map Source menu before I started walking around. Would that work? That way, I can use City Select th auto-navigate to the cache, then use Topo when off-road.


 

Yes, that is correct. I do that with our GPS V (and I am also a flatlander!). I am usually fairly selective about which topos I load. They are small and don't take up much memory when they are only supplemental to the City Select maps. They are useful for knowing the position of creeks or streams. We have also enjoyed having them on hikes where there is more elevation change, such as in many of the state parks. However, the detail of the topos is not nearly as good as even the topos from expertgps. However, if you want topos in the gps, the Mapsource Topo is your only choice.

 

Alchemist2000

 

texasgeocaching_sm.gif

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I'm going to weigh in here because I have almost a years worth of motorcycling and hiking experience with Topo and Metroguide and I've been geocaching with both for a bit more than four months.

 

In the Oregon forests where I do most of my hiking, Topo has almost no trail coverage. You have to realize that there are quire a few trails in these areas and Topo shows only a few major trails in the most used areas. Your mileage may vary.

 

The main use I have for topo is not the contour lines, those are too far apart to be of any to me while hiking. In the car and on the motorcycle where I am covering more distance they can be of some use. I use the stream data to help determine how to approach geocaches. This is about the only real use I have for Topo. Topo also uses this annoying shading for National Forests and parks (almost everywhere in the woods around here) and this makes the roads and contour lines extremely difficult to see on my Vista. The display on the V may do a better job in these areas. I purchased Metroguide pretty quickly after using Topo for a while because it has all of the forest service roads that I want to see and enough in the way of gas stations and restaurants, etc.

 

That's my two cents. I guess it all depends on what you want to do with it.

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quote:
Originally posted by DougsBrat:

quote:
Originally posted by alchemist2000:

if you want topos in the gps, the Mapsource Topo is your only choice.


 

Actually this is not correct any more, There are 2 ways to make your own maps that are downloadable to Garming GPS's now.

http://www.gpstm.com/eng/dekode_eng.htm

 

http://www.gpsinformation.net/gpsmapper/gpsmapper.htm

 

http://www.keenpeople.com/geocaching/custom.shtml

 


 

Very cool. Thanks for the info. I stand corrected!!

 

Alchemist2000

 

texasgeocaching_sm.gif

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