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Garmin Topo North Central Windows
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Garmin Topo North Central Windows
HOW TO USE GARMIN BASECAMP WITH GPS TOPO MAPS (SOME BASICS); A REVIEW OF GARMIN TOPO U.S. 24K WEST & OTHER GARMIN BASECAMP MAPS
2/26/10
FIRST galore PROS & CONS in regards to BASECAMP: PROS: This is a genuinely cool program. You may find any area on the map, blow it up to whatsoever size you want, print out a paper copy with UTMs and/or transfer the map to a Garmin (at least) mapping GPS, which shows you incisively where you are on the map, etc. It works outstanding in common and is easy to use ONCE YOU FIGURE OUT HOW TO USE it is splendid tech aid is available by way of email (through [...]) or phone. It apparently works well on Mac (OSx 10.4 or later) as well as PC (I have it on Vista). CONS: NO INSTRUCTIONS subsist (as of Feb. 2010)! It has many, but not all, of the trails that are on USGS or Trails Illustrated topo maps (although you may remunerate for this by adding “tracks,” possibly with assistance from a topo map that shows where the trails are). Apparently route lines have to at least partially be on a trail or road; they won’t necessarily go incisively how you want them toxicant
YOU may SKIP THE REST OF THIS REPORT UNLESS YOU ARE ACTUALLY ORDERING, OR recently ORDERED, YOUR primary GARMIN TOPO MAP THAT USES BASECAMP SOFTWARE. IN SUCH A CASE, WHAT FOLLOWS will have to BE VERY USEFUL. IT may SAVE YOU HOURS OF FRUSTRATION AND MAKE BASECAMP USEABLE FOR YOU. IT may concede YOU TO BE MORE CONFIDENT IN MAKING A GARMIN BASECAMP MAP AN AMAZON PURCHASE.
INTRODUCTION
In December 2009, after researching mapping GPSs and studying reviews on Amazon for mapping software for a Garmin GPS, I ordered a Garmin etrex Vista HCx mapping GPS, the Garmin TOPO U.S. 24K West DVD, a topo map CD of Utah from Above the Timber ([...]; works with Garmin’s MapSource software) and blank microSD Cards.
To my dismay, as of this time (Feb. 2010), Garmin maps that rely on BaseCamp software do not come with instructions. Nor are such instructions on the Garmin internetlocation yet. (Garmin’s internet site does have a user’s manual for their older software, MapSource, which I finally and inadvertently ran into could be utilized with BaseCamp maps.) I was in addition unable to find instructions for BaseCamp from a brief Google web search. I ordered two books from Amazon that discussed GPSs and mapping (the most recent with a 2008 copyright) in hopes they would talk regarding BaseCamp, but BaseCamp (c2009) was too new to be in them.
Never having utilized mapping software before, I felt at a disfavor without ANY directions. is one reason for my giving this software a four rather of a five star rating.) In my opinion, Gamin was irresponsible in not offering purchasers of it is new mapping software with at least a set of basic BaseCamp instructions until a more indepth user’s manual could be created. While I have a high regard for Garmin quality, this experience diminishes my belief in the Garmin name. Garmin’s website does grant you to email tech support and ask questions, which I did, and my experience with their tech support has been exceedingly positive. I in addition spent a good deal of hours experimenting with my Garmin DVD map and GPS in order to figure a lot of things out on my own.
To make it posing no difficulty for other purchasers of this software, I have written the basic instructions for BaseCamp that follow. (I have in addition added such a good deal of instructions for Garmin’s MapSource program that are not in that program’s user’s guide.) Others could write something better and more finish but this is the best I may offer. As I learn more, I might make revisions. I am not aware of any other instructions for BaseCamp at this time (Feb. 2010).
Thanks to Garmin Tech Support for providing such a lot of of the following information.
USING GARMIN’S BASECAMP DVD MAP
Opening the program on your computer: After the program was loaded into my PC (which has Vista) I was capable to access it by going from the lower left Start button to Programs to Garmin to then being capable to select BaseCamp (with the other option available being MapInstall).
When the program opens and map appears, to find the geographic area of interest: move the marker for the “+” and “-” scale on the left up or down to select the size of the map you want to see (zooming in or out), while using the “compass” on the left (using your cursor to work with the middle department that has a pointer for every every and/or using the cursor’s “hand image” on either of the two map images that appear, to move the map up or down, to right or left. whether or not you use the mouse/cursor to “left click” on the “N”, “E”, “S”, or “W”, or click/hold/drag on the outer ring of the compass, it will reorient the map, whether or not that is desired for viewing or printing. whether or not you have entered a waypoint on the map and that waypoint is not visible on the area of the map that you are viewing, but it is listed on the left end, you may click on the symbol or name on the left and that area of the map will appear. After you have played with these things for awhile, you will find it easy to locate the map area of interest, and you will get an idea of how in truth cool this map program is.
About creating waypoints: You may manufacture and save waypoints with your GPS and then transfer them to the map on your computer. You may in addition fabricate waypoints directly on your BaseCamp map on the computer, in the following manner: Once you find an area on the map where you want to produce a waypoint or waypoints, you may click on “File” and go from “New” to “Waypoint.” (Or where you see an effigy in the tool bar at the top, of either a waypoint, route, or track, you may use the mouse/cursor to activate the waypoint feature [or the route or track feature]. whether or not the image shown is for a waypoint [a flag], click on it is whether or not the image shown is for route or track, then click on the inverted triangle to the right of the word “New” to select waypoint.) With the waypoint feature activated, when you left click on a spot on the map, a waypoint will be produced there and a symbol and number for it will appear on the left end of the screen. You may give the waypoint a name by right clicking (with PC) on the waypoint’s number and selecting “rename”. After creating the introductory waypoint you may proceed to fabricate more in the same manner. As long as you do not take the step to delete a waypoint, it seems to be mechanically saved when you close the program, since it appears on the map when the program is started up again. To delete a waypoint, using the mouse, right click (with PC) on the waypoint name or number on the left end of the display screen and select “delete”. whether or not you right click (with PC) on a waypoint’s name or number on the left end of the screen, the “properties” field appears, which (among other things) gives you the possibleness of altering the waypoint’s symbol to a different one by clicking on the inverted triangle to the right of the flag icon that is next to the word “symbol”. You may turn off the waypoint mode by clicking on another toolbar symbol, like the “hand” for moving the map around. When you make waypoints on the computer map and transfer them to the GPS, they do not affect the allotted number of waypoints your GPS gives you, which only relates to waypoints you develop with the GPS.
Sending waypoints to the GPS: The MapInstall program will only send maps to the GPS, so other info selective selective info info is transposed through the BaseCamp program. With BaseCamp open, and the map with your chosen waypoints on the screen, connect the GPS to the computer and turn the GPS on. On the left end of the screen, amid “Library” and the list of your routes, will have to appear a “Devices” field with the name of, and an icon for, your GPS. Click/hold on a waypoint icon/name and drag it up to the GPS icon and “drop” it in. You will briefly see a little status bar showing the degree of transfer until it is finished You may have a microSD with a map of any area in the GPS, or not have a microSD in the GPS at all, when you do this.
About creating routes: You may develop and save routes with your GPS and then transfer them to the map on your computer. You may as well formulate routes directly on your BaseCamp map on the computer, in the following manner: firstborn activate the route feature in the same way as described for waypoints. This allows you to draw routes amid assorted points, with the cursor appearing as a pencil. Whenever you left click on the map screen it gives rise to a “flagged” point which is one connection in the route. The lines you draw, however, appear as straight lines while you are drawing among every pair of points. It took me rather awhile to figure out how to end the procedure of route drawing without moving the pencil/cursor off the map page and actually closing the program. When you right click on the mouse (on PC) the process of making a route ends until you left click on a point on the map at which time the process resumes. One weird thing relates to when you are not creating a route on an actual trail or road. With such a good deal of exceptions perhaps, as you manufacture the second point the line is connected to, the straight line re-forms to go up or down to the closest trail or road before going back up to the second point. You actually just wanted a route going across country, but you end up with a route that takes you all over the place in order to utilize a trail or road. In other words, the route feature only seems to consistently work well or accurately when you are doing a route that follows a trail or road that is shown on the map. perhaps there are numerous tricks to this percentage of the program of which I am not aware. formulated routes are listed on the left side of the screen and you may right click (on a PC) on any of them and select “delete” to delete the route itself, or select “rename” to rename the route.
About sending routes to the GPS: Use the same procedure described for waypoints.
About creating tracks: A mapping GPS may automatically develop “tracks” as you are hiking. A track appears on the GPS as a small dotted trail that shows exactly where you walked while the GPS was on. Tracks may be saved or deleted on the GPS. whether or not they have not been deleted, they may be transposed from the GPS onto a map on the computer. You may in addition give rise to tracks directly on the computer map in the following manner: In BaseCamp you activate the track feature in the same way as described for waypoints. This allows you to draw your own trail (or route) on the map that is more exact and liquid than were you to use the route feature. The most fluid way to draw the track (on PC) is by holding the left click for the mouse as you drag it over the map to formulate the trail. You may as well left click on discerned points and a straight line (or lines) will appear to fabricate the track amidst those points. You may leave track mode by right clicking the mouse. You may delete a track by right clicking on it is symbol/name on the left of the screen and selecting “delete” (or select “rename” to rename the track).
About sending tracks to the GPS: Use the same procedure described for waypoints.
About the search feature (the image of binoculars in the toolbar along with the “Find,” “near,” and “containing” fields): You have to play around with the search feature to figure out how it works. It does not constantly work for me. I think there are numerous tricks to it I have not yet learned. if you initiate a search and what you want is accurately listed on the right side of the screen (perhaps along with other options), you may click on the location’s name/address to disclose where it is situated on the map, and then you may click on “show on map” to have the emplacement shown in more detail. If you wish, you may as well click on “add waypoint” to mark that spot on the map. (If you may not find what you want in this way, at least galore emplacements may be found with a little goodnatured tolerance by moving the map around and increasing or decreasing it is coverage area.)
About creating and using folders: With BaseCamp open and a map on the computer screen, to the left is a “Library” department with a “My Collection” folder. The folder will incorporate ALL of the waypoints, routes and tracks that you add to the map. You may develop other folders, every of which will comprise only the features you add to the map while the specifi folder is open (with all of the features as well being added to the “My Collection” folder). To produce a new folder, click on File and go from New to Folder In Library. With a PC you may name the folder by right clicking on it with the mouse. Whenever you open one of the folders (by left clicking on it), its information is displayed on the map and at that point, if you wish, that specific selective information may then be transferred to your GPS. With BaseCamp open, you may delete or rename a library folder (except for “My Collection”) by using your mouse’s right click feature (on a PC).
About transferring chosen map areas from the computer to a microSD (which is connected directly to the computer with an adaptor): If you undertake to save map info onto the same microSD on more than one occasion, after saving the first map data, every consecutive “map save” erases whatsoever selective information had antecedently been saved on the microSD. It is easy to on purpose erase the contents of a microSD. Connect it to the computer’s USB port and open the microSD. Right click [PC] on the Garmin folder icon/name and select delete.
About printing out a paper map: (You may get water & tear resistant paper for printing maps at places like REI or through amazon.com or another website.) Once you have chosen the approximate area you want to print out, drag down from “File” to “Print Preview” to see how the map will look on paper. It in all likelihood won’t show all of the area that was on the screen, so you may need to move the map area around a little to print what you want. If you wish, you may move the map from the print preview screen with the cursor (with PC, hold down left click and move mouse), altho it have a tendancy to respond slowly. Once the Print Preview shows you what you want, you can print it out while still in the Print Preview mode.
As other Amazon reviewers have pointed out, the map does not have all the hiking trails that exist on the land or on USGS maps. However, you can add a trail to the map using waypoints and route lines or tracks, while perhaps working with a printed commercial topo map that shows you the trail you want to add. Thus you can make up for the map’s insufficiency with regards to trails.
When you have made changes to a BaseCamp map and close the program, the changes seem to be saved on the program automatically mechanically MapSource gives you the option of using “save” to save the file to the MapSource program).
USING GARMIN MAPINSTALL
Were it not for a friendly clerk at REI (Recreational Equipment Inc.), I would have had no idea how to get the Garmin DVD map onto my microSD and then into my GPS. The key is that you open MapInstall while BaseCamp is closed.
(First add any desired waypoints, routes, or tracks, to the map of interest, with the Garmin DVD map/BaseCamp program. Then close BaseCamp.)
Using an adaptor (which can be purchased through Amazon or another source), put a microSD in a USB port for your PC or Mac (or have the microSD in the GPS and connect the GPS to the computer’s USB port).
Open MapInstall (on my PC: “Start” > “Programs” > “Garmin” > “MapInstall”)
Follow the instructions from there – the process is very apparent and you are guided step-by-step, but here are a few pointers:
Zoom in and out of the map until you find the area you want to transfer.
Clicking on a map department on the screen selects it for transfer; if more than one section is on the screen, click on each one you want to transfer. Clicking on a map section a second time unselects it. With a little exercise this process will be apparent and easy to do.
MORE with regards to TRANSFERRING DATA OTHER THAN MAPS FROM THE COMPUTER (WITH BASECAMP AND MAPSOURCE)
You can transfer one or more map counties from the computer to a microSD that is connected directly to your computer. You can in addition transfer map regions from the computer to a microSD while it is loaded into the GPS and the GPS is connected to the computer. What neither my “eTrex HC series” manual nor the MapSource User’s Manual tell you (!!!) is that waypoints, routes, and/or tracks that you develop on the computer map can NOT be transferred to the microSD. They have to be transferred to the GPS itself. So if you hook the GPS up to the computer, and have a microSD card in the GPS, when you instruct the computer to transfer maps as well as waypoints, routes, and/or tracks, the map is saved on the microSD and the data besides the map is saved on the GPS. (Garmin Tech Support told me this, after I wasted a lot of time trying to transfer waypoints as well as my map selection onto microSDs connected directly to the computer.) If you have a map or map set on the microSD and the microSD is in the GPS, you can still transfer waypoints, etc., to the GPS from the computer without harming the contents of the microSD (as long as you are not as well transferring a map or map section[s], which would replace whatever map or map segmentations are already on the microSD). (When interfacing between the computer and the GPS, be certain the GPS is turned on and that the computer program recognizes the GPS. [For MapSource, see MapSource User's Manual, vJune 2008, p.7.])
If you have waypoints (or routes/tracks) displayed on a map on the computer and transfer them all to the GPS, then add more waypoints (or etc.) to the same computer map file, that you want on the GPS, you can again transfer all of the displayed waypoints to the GPS. At that point, only the new ones will be added to the GPS (at least in the case of my Garmin HCx), since the other waypoints are already on the invented formulated of course, gives you the option of selecting individual waypoints/etc. to send to the GPS. not similar to with MapSource, you don’t have to send all of the ones that have been created for a particular map file.) If – on the computer map – you alter the properties of a waypoint that is already on the GPS (changing, for example, its its and you again send that waypoint to the GPS, the renamed waypoint will transfer but the primary version will still remain on the GPS (until you delete it) since the GPS understands it as different from the changed version.
TRANSFERRING MAPS (from the GPS/microSD) AND OTHER DATA (from the GPS) TO THE MAP PROGRAM ON THE COMPUTER
Transferring maps from the microSD onto MapSource (from Garmin Tech Support): “You can transfer maps from the data card back into MapSource by checking the `Maps’ box when you connect the GPS [with the microSD in it] to the computer and select `Receive from Device.’ This will send the maps to MapSource and grant you to view which map segments are on the card. There is no way to do this in BaseCamp. And this can not be done with pre-loaded datacards.”
For information on transferring waypoints, routes, and/or tracks, as well as more information on transferring maps, to the computer, when using MapSource, see the MapSource User’s Manual, vJune 2008, p.15.
With BaseCamp is open, and you connect your GPS to the computer, waypoints, tracks and routes that are on the GPS automatically show up in the BaseCamp library. From there you can transfer them to a folder that you create, which will keep them in BaseCamp after the GPS is disconnected from the computer.
SAVING MAP FILES ON THE COMPUTER; BACKING UP; ETC.
MapSource map files that you give rise to with waypoints, etc., can be saved outside of the program (like in a folder on the desktop), using the program’s File > Save As. (Then, if you wish, you can delete the altered map or modify its name at the emplacement of its name on the computer [using the mouse's right click feature for PC].)
With BaseCamp you can do this by selecting File > Backup. Later, the first time you open BaseCamp by clicking on the name for the file that you saved on the computer, a dialogue box comes up (on a PC) with the message, “Windows Cannot Open This File.” At this point, chose “Select a program from a list of installed programs” (click on “OK”), and then select BaseCamp to open the program. It will open up with the “My Collections” folder open showing all your waypoints on the program. Subsequently, when you open the program by clicking on the file name on the computer, the program will open automatically.
Be sure to back up principal map files that would be hard to replicate. If you think a map file that was on your program has been in an unintentional manner deleted, do a “search” on the computer to see if you can find it there somewhere.
SOME INFORMATION ABOUT DELETING BASECAMP FILES
Let’s say you produce a new folder on BaseCamp, then save it on the computer as a backup file, and then at galore point later delete the folder on the BaseCamp program and close the program. If you then reopen BaseCamp by clicking on the backup file’s name, when BaseCamp opens, the folder will NOT show up on the program. If you create a new folder on BaseCamp, then save it on the computer as a backup file, and then at such a heap of point later delete the backup file, the original folder will still be found on BaseCamp (at least that has been the case in my limited experience).
(Some distinct elements affiliated to purposely or accidentally deleting map files from the BaseCamp program are still a mystery to me.)
SOME INFORMATION ABOUT RENAMING AND DELETING MAPSOURCE FILES
When you change the name of a MapSource map file where you had saved it on the computer, the new name doesn’t show up on the MapSource program until MapSource is opened by clicking on the new file name on the computer (as opposed to opening the program with Start > Programs> Garmin> MapSource [with PC]). When you delete a map file on the computer (where it had been saved) and then open MapSource via Start > Programs etc. [with PC], the name of the file still appears on MapSource (when you click on “File”), but when you click on the name in the “File” menu to select it, a message appears saying it can’t be found, and the name then disappears from the “File” menu when you close that dialogue box by selecting “OK”.
(There are distinct elements associated to how file names show up or don’t show up on MapSource that that are not discussed in the program’s user’s manual and that I don’t comprehends The manual does not do justice to the areas affiliated to renaming, deleting, and saving MapSource files.)
GPS (Garmin etrex Vista HCx) AND MAP USE
With a map on a MicroSD that is loaded into the GPS (with “Map Data” chosen in the GPS’ map menu): When you turn on the GPS it shows the percentage of the map affiliated to your emplacement as well as a emplacement marker (assuming you are located within the area of the map on the microSD). (If you are not located within the map on the microSD, and the GPS comes with a preloaded basemap that covers your location, the location marker will show where you are on the basemap.) (Note: such a heap of mapping GPSs will allow you to load a map directly into the GPS without needing a microSD.) You can use the upper 2 buttons on the left side of the GPS (Garmin HCx at least) to zoom in or out and when the GPS is turned off and back on, it comes back on displaying the last map size you antecedently selected. As you walk, with the GPS on, the locator indicating where you are on the map changes accordingly.
I have been told that if you load a big map area into your GPS, it will be a little slower to work with than if you had loaded in a littler map area.
Something that I wish my GPS manual had noted is that when using the zoom in/out feature, where you locate your pointer on the map on your screen, using the “rocker” (on a Garmin HCx at least), determines the area that will be focalized on for zooming. (I am referring here to a pointer that you can move around, not to what I call the location marker that shows where you are located on the map.) For example, if you located the pointer in the lower right corner of the map that is being displayed, then zoom in or out, that lower right corner is what will be centered and focused on. (It took me awhile to learn this. When I zoomed in and out with a map on my GPS screen it was confusing to see the map areas shift around so much. It made it nearly out of the question to focus on a specific area. Finally I realized this related to where I had the pointer.)
To find a map on the microSD that is loaded into the GPS that covers an area within which you are not located: For example, if you have a topo map of SE Utah in the GPS that you want to look at, and you are in California……when you turn on the GPS and the map page appears, it will show where you are in California (if your location is on the GPS pre-loaded basemap). With the Utah map the right way selected in your map menu options, you can zoom out more and more until you can see an outline of the states. Then you can use the rocker to move over to Utah. From there use the pointer/rocker and the zoom feature to find the map area you for which you are looking. Two other ways to do this that were suggested by Garmen Tech Support: (1) You can “turn off satellites and relocate the GPS position to an area within the elaborate map segment. To do this, go to the Satellite Page > Menu Button > Use with GPS Off > Menu Button (again) > New Location > Use Map > Use the click-stick (rocker) to pan to the area where you acknowledge there is detailed map coverage > Press Enter (the click-stick). Now the device believes you are in this area and you can zoom in and out to see the detail.” (2) An easy way to find a distant map area in the future is to place a waypoint there in the GPS, then you can locate the waypoint in the “Find” menu, bring up the data on the waypoint, and select “view on map” [or, with my GPS, just "map"] to show that map area on the screen.
MAPSOURCE VS BASECAMP; MAPSOURCE rather OF BASECAMP
Since beginning to study BaseCamp I have downloaded MapSource for use with a map CD that covers Utah, and explored MapSource some. MapSource is more user-friendly and it is posing no difficulty to figure out how to use most of its aspects without a manual than is the case for BaseCamp. Unlike MapSource, BaseCamp prints out maps with UTMs, which is actually nice. On the computer screen (and printed map), BaseCamp shows you a small map in the corner of the screen or page which gives you an idea of where the map area you have selected is at is in relation to a bigger area. A printed BaseCamp map also shows you unfeigned north and gives you the geographic area’s declination. I am sure BaseCamp has other vantages as well. (Unlike BaseCamp, MapSource comes with a user’s manual, although I still had to figure out such a great deal of things it does not discuss.) Both programs print out maps that have a distance scale. One neat thing I encountered about a Garmin BaseCamp DVD map is that if you have a current version of MapSource (which can be downloaded from [...]), you can work with the map with either MapSource or BaseCamp. (In the toolbar section of the MapSource screen, in the upper left corner, to the left of the “+”and “-” zoom features, is a little field for selecting maps that have been loaded onto the computer.) If you want to use the simplicity (and user’s manual!) of MapSource, it is nice to have the option to do so.
I’ll cut to the bottom line: As far as I can see, this is the best topographic mapping product available.
It’s better than computer maps from DeLorme, National Geographic or other vendors, and much better than Garmin’s earlier “MapSource” productions Maps displayed on one’s PC or Mac (I’ve tried it on a Mac) are visually compelling, with very high solution and near-perfect accuracy. There is also an excellent user interface — you can browse, zoom, rotate or tilt to your heart’s content. Even better, these high-resolution maps (unlike anything from other vendors) can be downloaded directly into your Garmin handheld. Most recent Garmin models are supported.
Today while out hiking I was astonished at the detail and solution on my handheld — 40 ft topo lines make a enormous difference when resolving whether the hill in front of you is a mountain or a molehill.
The only downside I have noticed is that there aren’t very galore hiking trails designated on the maps. But it’s perpetually a good idea to obtain a local trail map if one is available. Drivable roads near where I live are all there, and as far as I can see there are no errors of labeling or placement. This is a big relief, because such a lot of other merchandise I have seen are loaded with errors.
P.S. (7 Aug 2010). With so many recent software fixes (both to my Garmin 60 Csx firmware, and also updates to the “BaseCamp” and “MapInstall” software, I have been able to download almost the entire mapset (California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington), accept for a few panes in eastern Nevada, onto a single 4 Gbyte microSD HD card in my Garmin 60 Csx handheld. It works wonderfully. How did I ever live without it?
Pros:
Route-able Roads and Trails
24K Topo Detail
Cons:
Dark Colors and Poor Contrast
Missing Trails
Trails aren’t named
No BLM or State Lands
My comments are limited to Colorado and I’m comparing the Garmin maps to another 24K topo set by Above the Timber. On a recent 3-day backpack I employed the Above the Timber maps 95% of the time, Garmin 5%, readability was the key. The good news, both map sets reside inside my Garmin GPS and switching is a breeze.
In my sentiment a 24K Topo is a back country map applied for foot, horse or other slow travel. This map set combines the excellent route-able Navteq highways and also route-able trails, that’s slick. However due to an overly dark set of color choices, it’s very difficult to see the trails to make an intellectual trip and/or route choices Having the routing engine choose your route based on time or distance misses the humane dynamic of most scenic. Not seen a routing engine that knows my scenic values . . . it’ll occur someday.
The Garmin maps do not show BLM or state lands, a very big deal in Colorado. Also the trails lack either names and/or numbers, kind of like having a highway map w/o names or numbers, huh? Names and/or numbers give you invaluable clues as to where you’re going, which you verify with occasional sign posts.
To comprehend my colors and contrast comment, you’ll have to view the attached Nuvi screenshots. They’re fuzzy, the Amazon import did that and I’m not sure why.
For fun, take a paper or digitized paper topo of Panamint City (Surprise Canyon, Inyo County, CA, the Ballarat quad) and look at the level of detail on that map — all the mines, roads, springs, and so forth. Then take this product and pull up the same area. You’ll see that it’s missing most of the details, even altho both are supposed to be 1:24K maps. And what detail there is, is now and again incorrect — for example, they put Ballarat into the middle of Panamint Dry Lake!
On the plus side, the latest version works fine on MacOS Snow Leopard, and programs my Garmin 60csx and Garmin Nuvi 200 just fine. It’s even a routable map, unlike older versions of the software which required you to turn off the topo map to route. But really, Garmin’s maps are just plain pathetic compared to the real thing. Even altho Delorme’s PN-40 irritates me because of its small screen, short battery life, and lack of a belt clip (not to mention that I have to boot into Windows to run their clunky software), I’m still going to be carrying it on my upcoming trip because the digitized paper topos that you can load into the PN-40 have so much more detail than the pathetic maps that Garmin provides.
I employed this with my Garmin Vista HCx and it works well. If you are resolving between the DVD or the micro SD card that loads into the device, get the DVD. It was well worth it! The DVD lets you look at all of the maps on your computer (Mac for me). You can make routes, tracks, and waypoints and load them into the GPS. Awesome! You do need to buy a blank micro SD card for the GPS though. I got the 2 Gig card for about $7 and loaded topo maps for all of WA, OR, and such a heap of of northern CA and I left about 60 Megs open! (This took a few hours!) It is also having little impact to type in route names on the computer than on my GPS. Another cool feature is the fact that you can right-click your mouse on the map and it will grab the 3-D map and move it around like you are looking at it in your hand. From what I can tell, it does just fine including trails. I did observe one trail so far where half of it was missing. Not sure how many mistakes there are, but I think there are more things correct than there are incorrect. I am also able to use my GPS to navigate on roads and highways and it will give me turn by turn directions. I for the most part use my GPS for hiking and these maps are stellar and are at USGS quality. You can print maps, but I don’t think their quality is spectacular. Overall, great product! The only problem I have with Garmin products, in general, is that they have TERRIBLE directions. For example: they don’t tell you why you would want to make a route instead of tracks, they just tell you how to make each one. Just use it to figure it out, I guess.
I recently purchased a Garmin 60CSx GPS unit,and living in the Southwest thought it principal that I have 24k topographic maps for the areas that I travel. It’s common knowledge that the base maps that come with every manufacturer’s GPS units fundamentally are useless. I thought that becoming the Garmin maps at 24k resolution would solve some of those issues. I ordered the Garmin MapSource TOPO! US 24k Southwest Topographic, DVD version, available here on Amazon.com at Garmin MapSource TOPO! US 24k Southwest Topographic Coverage of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico (DVD).
I was somewhat disappointed that even at high zoom levels there’s a lack of detail that I thought should be present. Considering the high price that you have to recompense for the maps I would think that Garmin would research and add additional map detail themselves. On the plus side, it was easy to use the Garmin MapSource software to choose and load the maps or areas that I desired.
I would hope that someday soon Garmin would make available maps at a fair expensive
I purchased a GPSMAP 60Csx and the western US topo 24K maps to use for hikes in and around northern California. I typically bought the 24K map version because it has routable trails. The problem is that the map is missing a LOT of trails. For example, in Mt Tam, Steep Ravine is not included. Around Santa Cruz, all of the trails that make up the Skyline to the Sea trail are missing. These are major, heavily used trails and having not complete trail information actually limits the functionality of the maps and the GPS unit for hikers. I have heard that the 100K version includes all of these trails (albeit with fewer contour information). I’m really pissed at Garmin and will most likely be returning these maps.
I purchased this for my Garmin Vista HCX and the two make an unbeatable combo. I can be on a trail, in the mountains and request a route home. The route will state something like this:
Go north to forest trail 122 (4 miles).
Turn right on forest trail 122.
Go to farm road CO123 (12 miles).
Turn right on I25 (43 miles)
… Arrive at home (123 miles 6.5 hours)
The miles listed are the trail miles and not straight line distance. When I have passed a national forest sign that says Jones Park 1.7 miles and checked the distance on my GPS it matches exactly.
The find feature is good as well. Want to acknowledge if there are any hot springs in your hiking area? Do a find on “Hot Spring” and the nearest one will be listed and you can plot a route to it as shown above.
Overall, a very good product that I highly recommend.
In Arizona, around the Big Lake area in the White Mountains,I found several Forest Road numbers that are incorrect. Even in the city of Tucson the map has Alvernon Way not crossing the Rillito River, there is a very nice bridge at the river. All of these mistakes are in a small area, but I acknowledge these places. How can these maps be trusted in areas one does not recognise That is unless you don’t mind being lost in the Forest.
I contacted Garmin and their response was to carry back-up navagational maps.
So I guess they don’t trust their own maps! Buy National Geographic State topos, in my experience they have never been wrong.