GPS Garmin eTrex 20 Newby / Topo Dwnloads?

[oldnevada]

Hey!

I just got this eTrex 20 and quickly learning that I have to download topo map for the LT and Eastern Canada.

It's all quiet Greek to me right now. Can someone help me with what to do? I've downloaded the map handler software from Garmin. Would like to avoid having to fork out another hundred bucks on a map. Appreciate help... Gar

[leaftye]

Go to www.gpsfiledepot.com and find a suitable map for those areas. Go ahead and start downloading to your computer.

Are you going to use a memory card with your gps? I do think it works best with one even though it has plenty of internal memory. The next step depends on if you find a suitable map and if you have a memory card.

Since you only mentioned topo's, am I right that a map with street info isn't that big of a deal?

[10-K]

I'd help you but there is an Initiation into The World of GPS that requires you suffer for a few months trying to figure it out on your own after getting 30 different wrong answers from people who try to help you because they have a different GPS or don't really know what they're doing either..



Seriously though - what *exactly* do you want to do?

[leaftye]

Suffering happens when you don't ask the right questions and don't answer the questions of those trying to help you while trying to figure out things on their own. It's happened before.

Getting a free topo map on your gps is incredibly easy, but we have to know what you're working with and what you're willing to do. It's all about communication.

[10-K]

Suffering happens when you don't ask the right questions and don't answer the questions of those trying to help you while trying to figure out things on their own. It's happened before.

Getting a free topo map on your gps is incredibly easy, but we have to know what you're working with and what you're willing to do. It's all about communication.

I just noticed you're in San Diego... I was out there on business a few months ago and really enjoyed unwinding in La Jolla in the evenings. Beautiful out there.

[leaftye]

Too bad you weren't out here a week ago to enjoy the beautiful weather we've been having while half of the country was baking.

As to the map issue.

I will say that Garmin's maps have the benefit of having roads that allow you to do road navigation and typically have the most/best points of interest. Even the topo maps have pretty decent roads. That can be nice if you're hitching and want to give turn by turn directions to your ride.

I wouldn't bother with 100k maps whether it's free or has a price. I think 10-K found out something about that. 24k maps are the standard.

You can have multiple maps on your gps, but it does require a bit of trickery...maybe some trial and error too. I think I have half a dozen maps on my gps.

[10-K]

You can have multiple maps on your gps, but it does require a bit of trickery...maybe some trial and error too. I think I have half a dozen maps on my gps.

Do you mean multiple maps of the same area?

I would imagine all you'd have to do is load every map you wanted and then turn the ones you wanted hidden off.

Wasted money getting the 450T with the 100k maps. Should have got the 450 with no maps. I just popped the microSD card with my 24k topos out of my eTrex and put it in my Oregon and was good to go.

[leaftye]

Do you mean multiple maps of the same area?

I would imagine all you'd have to do is load every map you wanted and then turn the ones you wanted hidden off.

Wasted money getting the 450T with the 100k maps. Should have got the 450 with no maps. I just popped the microSD card with my 24k topos out of my eTrex and put it in my Oregon and was good to go.

Some of the same area, some of different areas.

Off the top of my head:
Free 24k California topo
Free 24k WA/OR topo
Old Garmin 100k nationwide topo
Garmin City Navigator
Free bike map...forget from where
And a couple free park topo's

One of the maps I just downloaded the file and put it on either the gps or memory card. For the rest I had to use Garmin old Mapsource software to select the area I wanted of a map, change maps, select another area, change maps, select another area, etc, and then I uploaded all of that with Garmin's software. I'm not sure what the process is with Basecamp.

I say memory cards are easier because you could just take entire files and put each one on a different memory card. Those cards are so small that it's not a big deal to carry a few of them. It might even be possible to store one or two of them in the gps...but don't blame me if I'm wrong and you crush your memory card! As you found out, working with a memory card can be very easy. It can also mean never hooking your gps to a computer. There's some risk in uploading directly to a gps, and I think it's less risky to upload to a memory card instead. The memory card also allows non-gps files to be stored...multi-purpose memory.

The possible downside with all those maps is that it might make it take longer for the gps to turn on. I'll do some testing some time, but I believe it loads everything first, and then looks at your settings to determine what it should turn off. Maybe not, but I'm not crazy with how Garmin's boot. Like mine has a camera, but I have to wait for all the non-camera stuff to load before I can take a picture, which makes a possibly useful feature nearly worthless on the trail since I lose my photo-op by the time the gps is ready to take a picture.

[10-K]

Suffering happens when you don't ask the right questions and don't answer the questions of those trying to help you while trying to figure out things on their own. It's happened before.

No, you can ask the right question and get a bunch of guesses and responses from people who think you're wrong because they don't have the same problem you do.

I asked a question about the 500 trackpoint limit when transferring gpx files to my eTrex on 2 different forums as well as here on WB... Only 1 person knew what I was talking about, several people told me I was confusing waypoints with trackpoints, and a few others thought I was doing something wrong because they didn't have the same problem with their Garmin.

Finally the dim bulb went off in my brain and I emailed Garmin tech support (which I should have done first..) and got back a response that included Garmin models that did not have that limitation.

If you spend a few minutes scanning GPS forums you'll see that many people struggle with their GPS's trying to do relatively simple things - often having to cobble together 2-3 different programs just do get something to work correctly.

I think it's just the learning curve and sticking with it long enough to figure it out. I've made a lot of progress and it's all starting to come together now.

And even so, I think it is more difficult than it needs to be. Or maybe a better way to say it is that it could be a lot easier than it is.

[Lyle]

If you spend a few minutes scanning GPS forums you'll see that many people struggle with their GPS's trying to do relatively simple things - often having to cobble together 2-3 different programs just do get something to work correctly.

I think it's just the learning curve and sticking with it long enough to figure it out. I've made a lot of progress and it's all starting to come together now.

And even so, I think it is more difficult than it needs to be. Or maybe a better way to say it is that it could be a lot easier than it is.

I agree, and I use GPS infrequently enough, that I have to re-learn everything each time. With today's understanding of user interfaces and the power of most products install and upgrade programs, this really shouldn't be so terribly complicated and unintuitive.

The first company that simplifies this will have a real winner.

[oldnevada]

Thanks, leaftye...... I guess I should just get an extra memory card for it eh?!... hmm, good idea. I'll check the link. Thanks!

[oldnevada]

Thanks to all for the salient problems I'm likely to encounter! Gar

[10-K]

Ok.... to get the Long Trail on your GPS you need this:

http://gpsfiledepot.com/maps/view/103/

1. Download the map from gpsfiledepot.

2. Install the map on your GPS. I use a Mac, can't help with Windows but here are directions: http://gpsfiledepot.com/tutorials/ho...rmin-gps-unit/

3. After you do that, go into the setup function of your GPS, find "Maps" and make sure that the box is checked next to the New England Topo map so that the topo will display on your unit when you use the GPS in New England.

Now you should have 24k topo maps for all of New England. There is no topo on gpsfiledepot just for Vermont - only the entire region of New England - but it includes Vermont obviously.

Second, you need this...

http://www.sendspace.com/file/m6mfzr (thank you whywoogy)

Download the file, unzip it, and copy the individual tracks to your GPS. The way I do it on my Mac is to first import the gpx files into Basecamp.

Then I connect my GPS to my Mac, and Basecamp detects the GPS. Once the GPS is visible in Basecamp I drag and drop the tracks from Basecamp to the GPS.

That's it.

Since you have the eTrex 20 you will get the full tracks. My unit (Oregon 450T) has the same specs as your unit and I have verified that the tracks fully copy without truncating - as they did with my eTrex Vista Hcx.

[oldnevada]

Hi 10-K,

.. to use it along with my LT mapset. So, it seems, herein lies the adventure. I have seen youtube vids showing that it was poor for geocaching, but I'm just not into that. I just want to put topo maps into my eTrex and using on hiking trips.... besides geocaching, marine use, what else is there?

[leaftye]

No, you can ask the right question and get a bunch of guesses and responses from people who think you're wrong because they don't have the same problem you do.

...

I think it's just the learning curve and sticking with it long enough to figure it out. I've made a lot of progress and it's all starting to come together now.

And even so, I think it is more difficult than it needs to be. Or maybe a better way to say it is that it could be a lot easier than it is.

Your question was is there a gps maker that handles more than 500 waypoints. The answer was Garmin. That wasn't what you really meant though. I can't fault you for that though. I was wrong in assuming you confused waypoints and trackpoints, and you did answer which unit you had, but you didn't confirm which methods you tried with transferring those files to your gps. Personally I think it's easier to transfer pre-made files using a file manager. It seems you were only trying to use gps software to do it, as did the people on those forums. Using the file manager built into your operating system might be the easy workaround to make it work. It may have been part of that learning curve you're talking about, but you actually have to try it or let others know you tried it before good further help can be provided.

[leaftye]

@oldnevada

See if you can find gps track points for the LT. You can simply drop the file onto your gps with your file manager just like the gps is a drive. If you get a memory card, it's even better and safer. Better because you can also drop your map file onto it, and maybe other non-gps files that you might need in trail towns, like ebooks, music or use it to store a copy of your pictures. Safer if you use a separate memory card drive because if your gps batteries go dead while transferring those files, it might do bad things to your gps.

You might also find a map overlay. That's basically a map that probably had trackpoints converted into a route that was converted into a map. The only thing on that map might be the line for the trail, and everything else will be transparent so you can view other maps beneath it.

If you're just using it for hiking, you really have what you need with topo maps. You can complete the ensemble if you find a good set of files with trackpoints that show the trail and waypoints that show points of interest in that area like water sources. Other types of maps may be completely worthless unless you decide to use your gps for those other purposes. The only other map I really find useful is City Navigator because I can use it to help me get to the trail head, and maybe someday use it while hitching....and even that doesn't add much value if you already have a file with great waypoints.

Fyi, trackpoints are like the Handzel & Gretel bread crumbs. They show where you've gone. Other hikers save these files and share them with others. They're very nice to have. You can easily turn them off and on with your gps as needed. Waypoints show places that might interest you, like stores, water sources, campgrounds, or whatever you wish to make a waypoint out of. You can also turn these off and on within your gps, but on the Oregon it's a very tedious process.

[oldnevada]

Thanks folks! leaftye and 10K.

You've all given me a really nice 'heads-up' Much appreciated. Don't feel so un-'coordinated' now.... har har.

[10-K]

@oldnevada

See if you can find gps track points for the LT. You can simply drop the file onto your gps with your file manager just like the gps is a drive..

I gave him a link to those... Now he's just got to figure it out on his on. You can't hardly explain in a forum message.

I like the "My Trails" transparent map on gpsfiledepot. It displays trails on the topo maps and has pretty much every trail you can imagine on there, including the AT and LT. On long trails there are often gaps though so it's still better to have a gpx that someone else has made.

[leaftye]

That's what's great about these new gps's. You can store so much on them and pick and choose what you want to use while out on the trail.

[russb]

I agree, and I use GPS infrequently enough, that I have to re-learn everything each time. With today's understanding of user interfaces and the power of most products install and upgrade programs, this really shouldn't be so terribly complicated and unintuitive.

The first company that simplifies this will have a real winner.

Agreed. That is just one of the reasons I got rid of my standalone GPS unit awhile ago. As far as the company to simplify things, I have found the Backcountry navigator app for my smartphone to be incredibly intuitive and easy to use. Since my phone has the camera as well, all is good.