Mobile GPS poll

[Scott Brady]

I am really on the fence now.

I like Garmins new models and think they will work ok (276, 376, etc.), but I have had two Garmin Hand Helds (III+ and Vista) fail on me (the screen dies), and Garmin has no intention of providing reasonable assistance and support.

They are the most arrogant company I have ever dealt with when it comes to supporting people in the industry. On my first inquiry, they told me it was impossible that the screen died on my Vista, said to replace the batteries, so then I explained that I was using it in the Outback Challenge RACE and the top of the screen is what died, the top 1/3 of the screen lines were blank, but the rest worked. They said it was my fault for subjecting the unit to excessive vibration and that it was out of warranty. Basically, we don't care if you just won an international race with our GPS and it broke, go down to Walmart and buy another one...

Pride cometh before the fall

 

[Martinjmpr]

. One drawback (which it sounds like they've fixed with the xplorist) is that the Meridian Gold is limited to 64mb worth of map data - regardless of how big the SD card is (when was the last time you saw a 64mb SD card? You can get 1gb SD cards for around $15 now!) quote]

Yeah, but you can put several 64mb maps on a 1G card. About 2 states worth of map will fit on the 64mbs allowed. I routinely switch between at least two maps (one directroute and one topo) on any given trip. Yes if you are making an extremely long trip it can be a pain to switch maps on the road, but it works.

Ummm...OK, how do you do that? I'm using the mapping software that came with it (can't remember the name) and it would only let me save 4 "regions," each of which had to be less than 16mb. I was able to get all of Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and the northern "strip" (about the northen 1/4) of New Mexico and AZ. When I tried to save another region, it wouldn't let me. This was using the SD card in a card reader rather than attached to the GPS but it shouldn't matter. If there's a way to get more storage, I definitely would like to know because I don't think you can even buy a 64mb SD card anymore!

 

[jim65wagon]

OK first off let me say that my Meridian will only do a 512mb card not a 1G.


On DirectRoute or Topo:
1. Click "regions" then "new"; use the cursor to highlight the region you wish. If you hang the cursor anywhere in the box you are making it will show the size in KB, you can go up to 64,000 KB

2. Once your box is sized click on the "hand" symbol in the toolbar.
3. Warning box opens saying "you have been editing a region. do you want to save changes?" Click "yes"
4. A Naming box opens, give your region a name. Click "OK"
5. On the right side of the screen a toolbar with your region named is open. Your new region is in grey. Check the box next to your region name. This highlights your region and allows you to send it to an SD card.
6. Move cursor to the top of the toolbar and click "Regions"
7. Click "upload to GPS"
8. Select "upload to SD card programmer" and click next
9. DirectRoute asks to verify your GPS serial number, click next
10. Next screen shows the drive the card is in and how much space there is available. click next
11. "Ready to upload" box opens click finish
12. Region uploads to SD card, this may take a few minutes. the fun begins
13. Open My Computer
14. Double click the MMC/SD card thumbnail
15. you should see a thumbnail that is named "detail00.img" rename this to "xxxx.img" ex: Virginia.img
16. With that renamed you can go back to your Mapsend Topo or DR and make a new region, name it highlight it and upload it to the card. rename the map on the card and you have multiple maps on your card. You can only upload one region at a time so only highlight one to upload. I have several for DR and Topo saved to their respective mapping programs and all are 64mb. I currently have six maps on one SD card 3 topo and 3 DirectRoute.