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Sportrak Map And Topo


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I have a Sportrak Map with a basemap of 2mb.

 

I'm thinking of buying either mapsend topo or mapsend streets and dest. I've read that these software titles are not that accurate. I really just want to add more major roads, and railways in my area (Long Island) to give me more detail.

 

I would be happy with the level of detail that is on the Sportrak Pro basemap for my area.

 

1) Can I accomplish this on my Sportrak Map?

 

2) Will the basemap that is on my Sportrak Map be replaced or will the added detail just be added to the basemap?

 

I thank you all for your replies...please help as I am thinking of getting the software today.

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I have Mapsend Topo and a SporTrak Map unit. The detail for my area is great. I even compared the mapping detail against a military map. It was very accurate. It did not however show military restricted areas, like airfields or small base camp training areas. But it did show the roads which, ran though, or around these areas, which was very cool. So in answer to question one, Yes you can achieve very good detail with Mapsend Topo & your SporTrak Map GPSr. In answer to question two, the detail will be added to your base map, they work together. You have a setting on the SporTrak Map for activating a downloaded region. This download region will show greater detail than your base map. When you zoom in the detail is visible, but only for the region(s) you downloaded. I hope this helps.

 

Finler.

:o

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We also have a ST Map, and recently purchased Topo. We checked accuracy of streets where we live now, and also in other states where relatives live. It seems to be quite accurate down to the level of one-lane neighborhood streets. We live on a non-state-maintained one-lane gravel road and it is present, but the map shows it with some odd turns. I don't have the unit it in front of me, but I think you can turn on and off all of the various map features individually (topo lines, water features, etc) which is helpful in cleaning up the map. If anything you may end up with MORE road info than you want, as it includes far more detail than came on our Magellan Platinum basemap.

Will the basemap that is on my Sportrak Map be replaced or will the added detail just be added to the basemap?
On ours it seemed to replace the basemap, or at least merge with it. The ST Map only allows one "map" screen, and it becomes the TOPO. As far as I know there is not a way to toggle back to the basemap, but I haven't for a way to do it. I can't imagine wanting to go back to the basemap. For my rural region it was pretty much useless. We loaded an area of TOPO that's around 100x100 miles. Our region is heavy on topo contours and light on roads, so your area will probably be smaller with heavy road density.
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Thanks for your replies.

 

It sounds as if the Mapsend Topo is better than the basemap in the Sportrak Map. If anyone disagrees please tell me.

 

1) I understand and accept that it is not 100% accurate but will it just be a cause for frustration? When you are on a street does your GPSr state you are in fact on that street?

 

2) Is there a way to choose the amount of detail to upload?

For example, can I upload only major roads and railways and not every street for a certain area?

 

3) At what zoom level does the uploaded map display?

 

I'm sorry for all the questions but I would hate to spend the money and be disappointed.

 

Thanks again for your help.

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1. As mentioned previously, accuracy varies by geographic region. I've been very satisfied in south central Pennsylvania. My impression has been that things are pretty good in the East, more accuracy complaints in the West (hope I'm not making that up). Sometimes the track is parallel to the road on the display due to GPS error more so than map error, but with a little common sense it's not hard to interpret.

 

2. The only upload choices are whether to include POIs and/or Topo lines or not...no choice on the streets. Also, leaving POI or Topo lines out cuts the file size down very little...I would term it insignificant.

 

3. At .8 mi the basemap is operational, at .4 mi the detail map kicks in.

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On the Meridian, you can select the level of detail to show on the detail maps. It's probably the same on the SporTrak. The options are:

Lowest

Low

Medium

High

Highest

 

I have mine set to High, which shows full detail up until I zoom out to 0.80 mile scale, when only the major roads are shown. At the next zoom out scale (1.60) the display reverts to the basemap, and only major highways are shown. At Medium, the display shows only major roads at the 0.40 scale, and the basemap comes back at the 0.80 scale.

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1) I understand and accept that it is not 100% accurate but will it just be a cause for frustration? When you are on a street does your GPSr state you are in fact on that street?

As long as you understand the general limitations of GPS technology, I don't think you'll be frustrated. As far as I know, Topo doesn't have any kind of display box that says something like "you are on First Street." What it does is show the map, with a cursor placed on it to show your position. Depending on the level of zoom the street names are written (or not) alongside the streets as labels. Keep in mind we're talking about small writing on a small screen. Not something I'd recommend trying to read while driving.

 

Which raises my next concern for you: I have a ST Map and it gets great reception in both our cars. However, I rode to a cache in a new Saturn Vue recently, and could get no reception at all. If you plan to use your unit for navigation, make sure your intended vehicle doesn't have special window tint or anything else that would require use of an external antenna, because your ST Map can't use an external antenna.

 

And if you really want to use your GPS for driving consider that: The software you might really be happier with is DirectRoute, which is specifically designed for road navigation, is more accurate, and gives audible route cues so you can drive without looking at the screen. Your ST Map doesn't have enough memory to run DirectRoute, but something I read recently indicated that it actually can, as long as you are using a small enough map to fit in the 6MB memory. I don't know how small that map would be for Long Island.

 

Which brings up my last thought: Maybe you need a different unit. If your ST Map is less than 30 days old, return it and consider a Meridian (I've seen Gold and Platinum) for around $50 more than ST Map recently. Then you get SD card memory to run all the maps you want. More than 30 days old? Have you examined your ST for the dreaded cracks in the case? I thought mine was fine till I looked at pictures of other people's (which are shown in the link). Then I found buldges at the screws which are just now turning into cracks. Some have said that Magellan let them upgrade to Meridian series instead of repairing the ST. I personally love my ST, especially it's size, and would not want to trade it or the Topo program for my purposes. But if you can spend a little more money to upgrade to a unit and software that for your needs might make you a whole lot happier, it could be worth looking into.

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As far as I know, Topo doesn't have any kind of display box that says something like "you are on First Street."

 

If the SportTrak is like the Meridian (and I think it is), you can select the data shown at the bottom of the map screen. One of the options displays the street or topo feature (e.g. creek) that you are traveling along, as well as the upcoming cross street or topo feature.

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I bought a package with the SporTrak Topo and the MapSend topo software. The GPS is fine. The MapSend topo software is to be avoided. The detail is okay except for - get this - the elevation lines. A creek near our farm is shown flowing 100 feet UPHILL! The creek is in the right spot, but who knows where the elevation lines come from. They don't appear to be from anywhere in the area. Also, sections are not shown. I'm not happy with MapSend Topo at all. If anyone has topo software that they like that works with SporTrak topo, I'd be interested to hear about it.

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What version of Mapsend Topo are you using? And what area of the country are you in? I’m using ver 4.2 and I have no complainants. Topo was comparable to a military map. I’m on the East Coast. The gentlemen who just posted stated that there were noticeable discrepancies on the west coast.

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I'm using MapSend 4.2.0d in Missouri. Here's what I told Thales:

 

To see what I mean, have a look at Dry Creek, starting with N37°57.000', W91°13.259'.  It flows toward the north.  According to MapSend, by the time it flows into Huzzah Creek at N37°58.448', W91°12.300', it has gone from 718 ft. at the first point, down to 695 ft., up to 825 ft., and back down to 692 ft.  I've verified the position of the creek, and I think the problem is with the elevation lines themselves.  They really seem to be for some other location in that they don't match the terrain that's actually there.

 

The topo lines are completely different than the actual terrain, both there and here in St. Louis. It's not just that they're a little off, they're completely wrong - not for the correct areas at all.

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Just a follow-up. I did purchase Mapsend Topo and have to say it meets my expectations so far. I have only used it in my car and my tracks are for the most part pretty much accurate as far as the roads go. Sure, I guess there are inaccuracies (a road going through the preserve near my house that isn't there) but I knew it wasn't perfect from the beginning. All in all it is a nice addition to the Sportrak Map.

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