help me with my gps please

[raggie33]

not sure why but gps is something i still cant figure out i have this gps and a usb cable
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=145&pID=30120 i want to add maps to it of my local streets the basemaps on it are awefull not even showing the four lane near my home.i prefare free maps if there are any id love a map for gainesville ga

 

[BB]

If I understand which model this is... There is only 24MBytes of free memory for maps.

That is not enough to contain more streets than a good sized city (approximately 10MB per million people--if I recall correctly).

Garmin (and many others) lock their units so that you can only download "official" maps (~$100+ per mapset)... However, there has been some hacking going on where people may be able to make and download their own (maps that can route would be a bunch more work and is probably not worth building your own at this time).

You can go buy a Garmin (or other brand) on sale that is all setup for using in a car (maps for US+) with autorouting for less than $200 for the whole thing (hardly worth purchasing a map for the older/smaller GPS).

If you would like maps for your area--look for "Topographic" Maps. Will not have routing, but has streets, lakes and hills etc... (still ~$100 for the Topo maps--which tend to have much older data--sometimes decades old). You can load an area of interest (hiking, camping, fishing) for an area with your GPS.

For all things GPS, go here:

http://gpsinformation.net/

The CPF of GPS's. (that is a good thing :naughty: :twothumbs)

-Bill

 

[LowBat]

Maybe something here will help.

 

[raggie33]

ty for the info

 

[raggie33]

ps i dont drive ill be walking with it or kayaking with it if that helps hiking to

 

[Patriot]

Who's map software are you trying to use?

You'll need to use their software and if you want detailed road maps, you'll have to select from CD ROM which areas of the city you want to upload since the memory is so limited. Unfortunately general purpose GPS are poor substitutes for street GPS's and visa versa.

 

[raggie33]

dang it didnt come with software this thing is useless why do they even put a map on it i mean highway 60 in gainesville ga aint even on it http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou....306009,-83.817616&spn=0.081818,0.179043&z=13. thats a pretty big road

 

[geepondy]

I agree, You can get sucked into buying a mapping GPS for a hundred something but it's useless unless you want to buy another $100 mapping software.

Do any of the handheld GPS's, Garmin, Magellan, etc., come pre-loaded with detailed topmaps?

 

[Patriot]

dang it didnt come with software this thing is useless why do they even put a map on it i mean highway 60 in gainesville ga aint even on it http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou....306009,-83.817616&spn=0.081818,0.179043&z=13. thats a pretty big road

Well, I wouldn't say it's useless. This unit is a general purpose outdooring receiver and only includes Garmin's base map of "major highways, cities, lakes and rivers. They're included for general reference and not for road navigation. If you're using it for any road navigation work, it's really out of its element. Likewise, if you purchased a street nav unit, it would be terribly inefficient for kayaking or hiking. In other words, they're design specific. For the two applications you mentioned, this unit is far better suited to kayaking.




geepondy, yes, the manufacturers now have base topo's built into certain models for some time now. Memory capacity has always been the limiting factor with every portable unit. For example, the street versions don't have topo information. Anyone ever used a street version for wilderness use? I've done it before with my Nuvi, just to see if it could be done and it very lacking. It would serve in an emergency but they're missing all of the nice features that make outdooring navigation such a pleasure.

 

[raggie33]

Well, I wouldn't say it's useless. This unit is a general purpose outdooring receiver and only includes Garmin's base map of "major highways, cities, lakes and rivers. They're included for general reference and not for road navigation. If you're using it for any road navigation work, it's really out of its element. Likewise, if you purchased a street nav unit, it would be terribly inefficient for kayaking or hiking. In other words, they're design specific. For the two applications you mentioned, this unit is far better suited to kayaking.




geepondy, yes, the manufacturers now have base topo's built into certain models for some time now. Memory capacity has always been the limiting factor with every portable unit. For example, the street versions don't have topo information. Anyone ever used a street version for wilderness use? I've done it before with my Nuvi, just to see if it could be done and it very lacking. It would serve in an emergency but they're missing all of the nice features that make outdooring navigation such a pleasure.

guess i know where i am but not how to get to any streets lol guess its a fancy compass?it does have good signal strength at least

 

[raggie33]

i like it a little better now the track feature is kinda cool like leaveing bread crumbs that no one will eat whcih map datum should i use for north ga usa?

 

[Patriot]

i like it a little better now the track feature is kinda cool like leaveing bread crumbs that no one will eat whcih map datum should i use for north ga usa?

Once the track memory is full, the oldest crumbs will eventually disappear to be re-written as new crumbs. Wrapping is the default setting anyhow. It's never an issue at any one place in time but if you use the tracking feature liberally you can't count of the crumbs being there a week or a month later. That's why it's always a good idea to mark a few points along your crumb trail. You can always delete unnecessary or redundant waypoints later to free up space if you need to.

 

[raggie33]

i found its first geo cache with this unit was 12 feet off im happy with that hect that may of been just user error on there end or mine.note to self gets ready to have the crud scared out of ya self when ya are walking thru the woods at 1 am lol not sure what it was but iut was loud and made me change my location fast didnt see it

 

[raggie33]

how about loading locations of camping sites ? that i haven't been to before

 

[raggie33]

ok got camp sites loaded in that will help a lot

 

[Sigman]

...note to self gets ready to have the crud scared out of ya self when ya are walking thru the woods at 1 am lol not sure what it was but iut was loud and made me change my location fast didnt see it

Swamp monster? Sasquatch? Yeah OT, but did you ever watch "The Fog" with Adrienne Barbeau...sorry, I got me started...How about "Creature from the Black Lagoon" (filmed partially in Silver Springs, FL).

Ok, back to GPS units...

 

[raggie33]

Swamp monster? Sasquatch? Yeah OT, but did you ever watch "The Fog" with Adrienne Barbeau...sorry, I got me started...How about "Creature from the Black Lagoon" (filmed partially in Silver Springs, FL).

Ok, back to GPS units...

lol

 

[raggie33]

this thing is awesume other then the maps its so fast and accurate the chip inside must be some new improved kinda thing

 

[HarryN]

They can be fast and accurate, and they can also lead you astray. When the "threat level" is low, the military allows more precision in the GPS system. When the threat level is higher, they put a "randomly changing" offset into the system which can be rather large.

After 911, I went on a trip and used the GPS in OR. I had been in the town before, but it had been a while, so I decided to trust the GPS instead of my memory - ended up in the wrong town with my boss in the passenger seat.

 

[Patriot]

Selective Availability or (SA) which caused inaccuracies in the civilian sector were adjusted originally to not exceed 328 feet error. That is to say, the highest amount the GPS receiver could be off was 328 feet + the tiny inaccuracy of early antennas, 5-30 feet. SA was turned off in the year 2000 so civilians can receive highly accurate measurements in inexpensive units. I still remember the first time I switched on my old Garmin 38 and it said (EPE) estimated probably error, 15 feet. I thought that the the neatest thing since the first time I ever used GPS in 1995 or 1996. I still own my original Sony.

With the FAA now relying on accurate GPS readings SA will likely never be used again and sometime around 2006 or 2007, new GPS satellites being launched to replace older ones, don't even have SA capability. Good news for anyone using GPS.