Garmin Map76 What Must! I Have Installed

[+BrianM1a]

What is the general consensus when it comes to this unit. What should I have to get the most out of it.

 

I am really new to this and only recently figured out how to upload and download maps and tracks from to pc to the unit?

 

Thank you

 

Brian

[+Timpat]

I invested in Garmin mapping, namely City Select v.6 to be able to autoroute, and US Topo for hiking and caching off road. City Select is somewhere around $119 if you shop around, and US Topo is about $90. With these two map sets (you have to use Garmin map products for your Garmin) I can do everything I want.

[+briansnat]

If you have the bucks, Timpat's idea of running both City Select and Topo on the unit is a good one - If you're talking about the 76C(S) which has the memory to do it

 

If only want to buy one and you plan to use it mostly for hiking, geocaching it the woods and other outdoor pursuits, Mapsource Topo is your best choice. If you plan to use it for finding your way around town and for urban geocaches, City Select is the way to go (with the caveat below).

 

If its the regular Map 76 I suggest you get Mapsource Topo. Seeing as you live in NYC, you'd barely get all of Manhattan into the GPS using City Select (it takes up a LOT of memory in urban areas). At least with MS Topo you can get all of NYC and most of northern NJ and Long Island into the unit.

[peter]

If this is the gray-scale 76 and not the color 76c/cs, then it won't auto-route anyway and MetroGuide-NA would be a better match than CitySelect (the maps and POIs are the same, the two only differ in their routing capability and that CitySelect uses unlock codes).

 

I'd choose MetroGuide-NA as the initial mapping program to get for general applications. It will let you look up addresses, intersections, business and other locations, and has streetmap detail that's pretty up-to-date and complete.

 

I also recommend USAPhotoMaps (jdmcox.com) to be able to create routes and tracklogs based on USGS topo maps and aerial photo views of an area. Also handy for previewing where waypoints (such as geocaches) are located.

[+briansnat]

If this is the gray-scale 76 and not the color 76c/cs, then it won't auto-route anyway and MetroGuide-NA would be a better match than CitySelect (the maps and POIs are the same, the two only differ in their routing capability and that CitySelect uses unlock codes).

 

I'd choose MetroGuide-NA as the initial mapping program to get for general applications. It will let you look up addresses, intersections, business and other locations, and has streetmap detail that's pretty up-to-date and compl

 

I'd generally agree with that, but he lives in NYC. If its the Map 76 (not CS, S or C) it only has 8 megs and he isn't going to fit very much of the NYC area into the unit using Mapsource or City Select. Topo doesn't have the street map detail of Metroguide or City Select but it does have most streets (not all are labelled) and he can fit considerably more area into the unit's 8 megs.

 

If he has one of the other units (76S, CS or C), then Metroguide (for the 76S) or CIty Select (for the 76C and CS) would be the obvious choice.

[peter]

I'd generally agree with that, but he lives in NYC. If its the Map 76 (not CS, S or C) it only has 8 megs and he isn't going to fit very much of the NYC area into the unit using Mapsource or City Select. Topo doesn't have the street map detail of Metroguide or City Select but it does have most streets (not all are labelled) and he can fit considerably more area into the unit's 8 megs.

Yes, the 8MB is a significant limitation, but personally I'd still choose MetroGuide as being more useful for NYC than Topo even though the area covered would be smaller. I'd rather have the area I need most covered well, with accurate street labeling and placement, than have a larger area that's way out of date and doesn't include useful features like address&intersection lookup. With a smaller covered area it'll require more frequent reloading of maps, but I've found the greater usefulness of more current maps with better search functions to be worth that inconvenience - even though the city here (SF) has far more topology where the contour lines of Topo are useful than does NYC.

 

In any event, both maps can be viewed with Garmin's MapViewer at:

http://www.garmin.com/cartography and I'd urge the original poster to zoom in on some areas with which he's familiar to determine his own preference.

[+BrianM1a]

Wow............. the knowledge here is overwhelming. I checked out their (Garmins) Topo at their web site.......... the first thing I noticed is that it really did not do a good job at showing bogs or small ponds. I will probably get it (TOPO) though. The city street maps you mentioned also sound quite desirable but at the moment (and I'm still learning) the current Mapsource I have, set at the highest detail setting, seem to fill the bill. (I don't see myself caching in NYC but I do work there)

 

Thanks folks

 

Brian

 

Plain ole Garmin GPSmap 76

Edited April 21, 2005 by BrianM1a

[+Quoddy]

Once you load CitiSelect and begin routing, you'll never go anywhere without it. Absolutely great for getting you to the cache site, too. I switch over to Topo for caching in remote or diffficult terrain areas as soon as I get out of the truck. Very simple to use and switch between the two.

[+briansnat]

Here is a basic idea of what you can fit in the 8 megs of your Map 76. The pink area comes to just under 8 megs. The top is for City Select (figure slightly more for MetroGuide, but not a lot more) and the bottom is Topo:

 

City Select

 

Topo

 

As Peter mentioned Topo is not as up to date as Metroguide or City Select and doesn't have all the street names. It does have most streets and the names of major streets. But with MG or CS your coverage will be VERY limited, almost to the point where its usless unless you have a laptop along to load new maps every few miles. Now once you get away from NYC you will get a good deal more coverage with Metroguide and City select, but still nowhere near the amount you will get with Topo.

 

I have City Select and Topo on my 60CS. I find myself using Topo about 80 percent of the time and if I absolutely had to choose one over the other, I'd go with topo.