losthwy

I viewed the map souce software on the net and the lack of detail makes it useless for hiking/hunting. Is there a better map that can be loaded on a GPS for ANY brand? Or if you want detail stick with paper maps?
Secondly, if there are not, are maping features even needed? Seems all you would want is to be able to download your points onto your computer/map and not pay for all that extra memory, etc. on the GPS. Or am I missing somthing here? Help.

LeeinVa1

i have been using gps units for years and the combination i have used is garmin and a program called maptech which allows me to print out my own topo maps. i used the gps to locate my postion on the map. now, recently i have been playing around with a magellan sport trak pro which has a build in memory and contains streets and highways, but you can order a program called mapsend topo for the united states and install it to your computer. you can then bring up a location on the map and download it to the gps. by zooming in on the map, you get all the detail you will need and then some, can' t wait to try it out in the field and compare the map in the gps with a hardcopy to see how close they come.

losthwy

Lee Thanks for the info. Post what you find about the map. Interested on your impressions of the product. After MUCH searching and MUCH question asking, I also decided on a Megellan- " Sport Trak Pro" . Seems the smaller the unit= smaller antenna= less reception which was a major concern for me where I live and hunt in the Rockies. The " Sportrak" is larger than the " Etrex" and the " Gekos" but, not too large like the meridian for my hiking/hunting. And has enough memory (32MB) for maps and can map. According to an email from Ron Wilson of www.gpsnuts.com/ the magellans in general have better reception than the Garmins. Though the Garmins have better software topo maps. Seems the Mapsend Topo for Magellan does' t have trails on it. What' s up with that? The maps for both makes leave alot to be desired. The folks at http://gpsinfomation.net/ stated that the Sportrak Pro was the most accurate handheld they have tested to date. Anyway that' s what influenced my choice.

LeeinVa1

just wanted to let you know that i got most of the mapsend program figured out. found out if you darken the contrast on the gps, the elevation lines would show up better on the screen. i downloaded a portion of a map of NC (160 miles wide and 160 miles long. i could zoom in on the road where i live. the map program does leave a lot to be desired, does not show trails, houses, and other small details, but it is accurate enough to compare with a regular TOPO map to locate your postion on a map if that is what you need. it does take a little effort to set up the gps, seems like you can do different things on different screens, but once you get it setup, it is very accurate. i use UTM for all map work, and the unit allows you to set it up for viewing dual information one screen, e.g. ddmmss and utm on the same screen, take a right click on the arrow to see this. hope this helps some.

losthwy

I' ve been playing with the Mapsend and Sportrak. I' m amazed at the reception on the Sportrak I' m able to get a 3-D lock in my bedroom with a small window! Don' t care for the way they designed the access for batteries and connection to the computer but those are minor issues. Overall the Mapsend like you say useful enough to find where your at. I have noticed some errors in the map such as Vaughn Lake was labeled Baughn Lake and a road that doesn' t connect with another road. Like you I use UTM, but the Mapsend Topo doesn' t have UTM. I emailed Magellan and suggested they update it to support UTM, like the National Geographic and Delorme do. Maybe if enough customers contact them about it they will post an upgrade. Might post a review of the Sportrak.

LeeinVa1

yea, i found a few items in mapsend and also on the sporttrak that were not labeled right also, mostly roads. one thing i did want to mention, if you load a section of a map from the mapsend program into your sportrak gps, you CAN change the gps to read UTM. from any screen, click on the menu button, the one that looks like a book. scroll down to setup and hit the arrow button. scroll down to coord systems and hit the arrow key again. primary should be highlighted, hit the arrow key again, highlight UTM and hit the arrow key again. the screen should be back at coord system, hit the arrow key again and scroll down to secondary and hit the arrow key. scroll down to UTM and hit the arrow key again. hit the key with the X on it to get out of there. hope that helps. i have found that i can load a sizeable portion of a state into the gps and you can zoom right down to the streets. have fun.

LeeinVa1

just wanted to let you know that i wrote an email to magellan about a road being misnamed and they replied back and wanted to know more about it so i gave them the location, coordinates, etc. they might make an update to the program, who knows? reason i mentioned this is because you might want to mention that lake to them also.