Noob GPS questions

>>990889
Just find some topo maps for your location, they can be cheaply printed out and laminated for your specific trip/area and besides orienteering is a valuable skill to learn anyway.

>>990889
Yes op your phone is a faggot and so are you.

>>990889
No need to bump every 45 minutes. This is a slow board. Threads can last for months.

I have a Garmin GPSMAPS 64st. My favorite feature is that I can take a photo of any trail map and make it an overlay map in my GPS. This is perfect for hiking trails I've never been to before. Many of the Garmin GPSs have this capability (but not the one in OP pic).

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If price is truly no object, get GLONASS capable unit for speed and accuracy. Check that reception is available wherever you are.
We have two circa 2008 handheld Garmins at the office. Old school technology is still capable of sub 5 meter xy accuracy, sometime 3 meter. We send them out with n00bs and when I take the Trimble R10 with leica dot cors subscription to verify monitoring wells or reference points, it checks out.
Z data notwithstanding. Elevation accuracy is always less than xy, no matter the unit or technology.

>>990889

I did tons of backcountry stuff with a super basic garmin that had major roads and let you set down plot points. Just setting plots every half our I never had to worry.

If I did break the fucking thing I probably would have died though, didnt even bring a normal map

>>990889
GPS is frigging awsome! Don't rely on them though. Get a decent map compass and a paper map. Run the GPS to check your skills.

They are super for saving/finding fishing spots on the ocean. I've got a trusty old gamin without basemaps. My phone is pretty accurate, but I defiantly don't trust that.

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>>990889
GPS is only going to be as good as the person using it.
It's also a navigation aid - not a replacement for common sense and navigation skills.

Garmin's "the standard" for handhelds. Most of the free maps you'll find are for Garmins, and there's always their CityNav/Topo/Bluechart maps.
At minimum, I'd go with a color screen and µSD card. Beyond that is really up to you and what meets your needs.

Garmin's mapset formats haven't changed in years. They've added some features (digital elevation model for 3d-capable receivers comes to mind) but the mapset itself will work with just about any map-capable receiver.

I ride with a 76Cx. Ancient by todays standards, but it'll take the newest CityNav and topo maps. It does what I need it to, and I prefer its UI and data formats over the new shit.

I wouldn't worry too much about WAAS/EGNOS, BeiDou/GLONASS/Galileo. IMO all those really do is add another battery suck without really improving the performance of the receiver.

>I work with GPS equipment professionally
>pic related
>generating signals for 8 satellites that my receiver is locked onto

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>>991404 cont'd
Maps really depends on what you want.
From Garmin, the two mapsets I use are CityNavigator and Topo.

Reason I go with Garmin vs. free stuff: Coverage over large geographic areas (nation/continent-wide) and consistent quality.
If you rarely travel beyond a small area and free maps are available there, then there's no reason not to go with them.
With as much travelling/riding as I do across the country, having consistent quality anywhere I go is worth the price.
CityNav covers all of North America.
Topo I break into smaller regions, but I've got 4 or 5 mapsets that cover the entire US. When I ride in california, I switch to west-coast maps, and I've got topo coverage there. When I ride in the rockies, I switch to rockies maps, and iv'e got topo coverage there.

>>990889
Had pic related and the battery broke and it only works when charged. Now I just use phone maps, and good old paper guys.

I wish there was a GPS that was the size of an iphone and only did location and altitude. Also waypoints. I don't want boat anchor stuff, games, tides, etc.

>>992008
You're in luck

>>992028
Why? Is there a GPS without all the garbage and not a smartphone app?

>>990889
I bought a refurbished eTrex 30 for ~$100. Kicks ass, rugged, free OSM routable maps easy to come by, and expandable memory. I have 16GB in my unit, and I have all of the USA, bunch of South America, The islands, Still have 10GB or so. Also water rated at IPX6 or 7, so you cant take it diving, but it'll handle anything but that. Accessories are cheap, and with routable maps, you can make it your auto or cycling GPS as well. Battery life is decent, and with the right cords, I can power it from an expanded power pack I made, a powerbank, car charger, or even my phone if need be. It can use GPS, GLONASS, WAAS/EGNOS, or a combo of those. You can preload geocaches, if you're that kind of fag. Proximity alarms, man overboard, Sight 'n' Go, fishing calandar, can take screenshots. Downsides - I haven't been able to locate free topo maps, but I'm in Florida, so that's not a huge deal for me unless I travel, Input is slow and a pain in the dick using the joystick. Whatever you do, keep it isolated in your pack when it's on. I ended up with 100+ waypoints that made themselves from it bumping around one day. But it's tough, good battery life, and even when I'm in the far places, it gets me withing 40', and that's not normal. I regularly get readings of 9' in cities and ~15' innawoods. Also has waypoint averaging, which I like, and you can calibrate it to tune it in so you dont end up bear shit. That's all I got for now, sorry for the rambling, I'm a littlelit. But for my buck, I love it, and when it dies, ill be replacing it with it's newer sibling. Any questions, I got you.

>>992182
and honetly, get the 30. I've played with the others, it's well worth the extra money

I use a Garmin GPSmaps 64s for general outdoor activities but also for GIS/GPS work/mapping.

bit pricy, but multiple sattelite nets makes it incredibly accurate (1m in general, up to 4-5m. in dense forest areas).

i use maps from Openstreetmaps, they're more than good enough and contains a lot of information.
you can get the 64ST model for more money, but the only difference from the 64S and 64ST is that the ST has preinstalled topo maps.

Bump it

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GARMIN GPSMAP 78

easy to use, tracks you while you walk, and you can save that track for use later. can upload topo maps onto it and can take waypoints of stuff you find.

i work as a forest technician in the middle of nowhere in canada and our whole company relies on them with our lives. 10/10 recommend, if i ever quit my job i'd take one for sure. regularily use it for hiking wherever, whenever. never get lost again.

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>>994348
I had one and didn't care for it.

The new font was hard to read. Text is all dithered, and the screen resolution's the same as my 76, which just made the text harder to see.

UI was unpleasant to use. Too many buttons/menus to do basic navigation.

On top of that, the maps I had wouldn't load properly. Finding POI's in the map took for-fucking-ever.

It had some neat features, things I still kind of want today (raster overlay, mainly)... but the rest of it was so broken I couldn't deal with it.

Sold it and bought another 76.

I have a very bad sense of direction, bad even in the city.

How can I not get lost and die?

One of these handheld GPS devices would be good but if it breaks or something I'll be in trouble.

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>>990889
I'm also bumping this because I'm sick of those fags on /trv/ saying "jus use your phone and Google maps"

NO. It doesn't work like that. If you are on a mountain trying to follow a trail in some 3rd world country you can't just whip out your phone and expect to get step by step walking directions from a fountain in your city park to the nearest Five Guys.

I want a device that will point me towards my target and keep me on track with a colored map view anywhere in the word and a smartphone ain't gonna cut it.

t. someone who followed bad advice and tried his phone

>>994500
Sun rises in east, sets in west. Get a compass, lrn2map.

>>994521
Yea that is about as much as I know. I just don't know how to navigate with a map and shit.

>>994536
dont forget that moss only grows underneath trees so you can find the negative Z position of yourself

>>994536
http://www.learn-orienteering.org/old/
I hope this helps you.

>>994541
Lmao never dig straight up or straight down.

>>994541
Z position?

>>994542
Thanks bro, appreciate it.

>>994543
im a manlet so if i wanted to dig up id need a ladder anyway

Fuck Garmin and their shit mapping. We've been trying to get them to accurately show the location of the hotel where I work for 5+ years. Their response? "Not enough people have complained so we're not going to do anything".

Feel free to use them in potentially hazardous locations, I'm sure you'll be fine.

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>>994500
Pick up on clues.
As you're riding/hiking/whatever /out/ivity you're involved in ... Stop, take a look behind you, especially at intersections. Take a mental-picture of that trail you just came from. "This intersection, we go left to get to the truck."

See things like "that weird knot in the tree", "pretty flower patch", "stump that looks like a good place to shit", and obviously any signs/markers. Makes it easier to backtrack and reassure yourself you're on the right track.

Being on a sled/moto i've got an odometer I use fairly often. "Big intersection 14.4 miles", "meetup-spot 17.5 miles". Mentally that gives me some distance/range estimates as I ride. Maybe counting paces or getting more familiar with how fast you travel and keeping track of time could help in a non-motorized situation.

With a GPS, a lot of times I'll drop waypoints at those big intersections or landmarks. Tracking is always on, so i've got a breadcrumb trail to follow as well, but ... I've also wrecked hard enough to peel my GPS open like a banana.

So I carry a map/compass as well, usually in my fieldbook with some other docs/notepads/etc.

GPS is really handy to pull tracks off at the end of the day, stash 'em with my photos. That'll let me geotag photos from any camera of mine based on timestamps, or go back and pre-trip an area in google earth from old GPS tracks.

>>994553
How about leaving marks? I know people will tie a bit of cloth or something every once in a while to know they've been there.

How much battery does a GPS use? Because if you let it always track it may run out rather quickly. Waypoints every 30 minutes or something would be good.

Whenever I go /out/ I'll make sure to have a GPS (With some spare batteries or way to charge them) and a map/compass.
GPS is probably easy to get the hang of, but I have no idea on a map. Also would probably need a map of any area that I visit or whatever.

>GPS is really handy to pull tracks off at the end of the day, stash 'em with my photos. That'll let me geotag photos from any camera of mine based on timestamps, or go back and pre-trip an area in google earth from old GPS tracks.
What do you mean?

Thanks a lot for all the info my dude, I truly appreciate it.

Everyone remember to thank the US Air Force for providing this service for you

>>991313
Our old Garmin units are GPS 76 CS
Good stuff.

>>994544
>Z position
Elevation coordinate
X=easting
Y=northing
Z=elevation

>>994567
I still don't understand how that helps.

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>>994511
>in some 3rd world country
Or just out of cell service range. This is what my google maps looks like.

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>>994556
>How about leaving marks?
Not something I'd do or recommend in normal circumstances. I carry orange flagging tape and a few sharpies in my pack/fieldbook, so if there was an incident where I needed to hike out I could leave 'marks' that way. Date/time on sharpie on the flagging tape.

>How much battery does a GPS use? Because if you let it always track it may run out rather quickly. Waypoints every 30 minutes or something would be good.
All fucking day, even in the cold on my sled.
Backlight's the biggest battery-eater. If you just let it do its thing, it'll run for quite some time. Mine runs on 2xAA's, same as my camera/flashlight, and I carry spares.
Tracks are the "digital breadcrumbs", a 30min waypoint probably won't be real helpful. Turn it on and leave it on, stash it in a pack, let it do its thing.
Need to get it wired to aux-power on my sled, so when that's running it's running off the sled instead of its battery.

>Whenever I go /out/ I'll make sure to have a GPS (With some spare batteries or way to charge them) and a map/compass.
"Two is one, one is none".

>GPS is probably easy to get the hang of, but I have no idea on a map. Also would probably need a map of any area that I visit or whatever.
Basic navigation isn't that hard. Biggest thing is techniques/tricks to figuring out where you are. Boy scout handbook is a good starting point.
And yes, maps of where you're going. I have a tote full of maps, finding the appropriate one is part of my pre-trip/packing list. CalTopo will let you generate maps and print them if you don't have a map of the area (bonus, they print with a QR code to retrieve or share).

GPS isn't trivial, there are tricks to using it effectively. Definitely more convenient than map/compass all the time.

>>994600
Yea, would be good if you need it for whatever reason. I am going to carry some also.

I was looking at this one
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HWL9BQ4/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AT3V8KD53O7JE
Supposedly the battery last only 16 hours, which isn't very long. Especially if I am going to do long hikes and shit.
Do they have some sort of mode that only tracks your location but keeps it in a low power state?

>"Two is one, one is none".
Exactly, always going to keep that in mind when setting up a pack.

I definitely need to learn a lot more on this area, going to read a boy scout handbook and do some research online.

Yep, but probably much easier to use. Even if it isn't ''easy''.

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>>GPS is really handy to pull tracks off at the end of the day, stash 'em with my photos. That'll let me geotag photos from any camera of mine based on timestamps, or go back and pre-trip an area in google earth from old GPS tracks.
>What do you mean?
Unload, start the day at the truck. GPS on while the sled's warming up, drop a waypoint and name it "Truck", turn on track logging.
I go ride. Through the trees, up the mountains, down the mountains, across the meadows, etc - GPS is taking points and writing it to user memory and SD card. Usually don't even pay attention to it, it's just there on my dash. Take a few pics along the way, or grab some off my helmet cam.

When I get home, I download all the pics off my cameras to the computer. Also plug in GPS and download that data - waypoints and tracks mainly.
Bunch of software out there that can mate a time-stamped photo (exif) with the time-stamp in a GPS track log.

Or, like last year ... Did a photo shoot with a few people from $gearCompany.
>pic related
They had never been on a snowmobile before. So 4 new riders, and 3 of us strong riders. Because $reasons, they had picked the place. It's not an area I ride regularly, but I had ridden there in 2010. So it'd been a few years.
Dug up tracks from that ride in 2010, was able to re-familiarize myself with that area. Parking lots, staging areas, play areas, terrain traps, areas to avoid, cabins/resources available should something happen.
Distilled that data down and threw those waypoints into my GPS, so I'd have it when I was riding.
Long story outside the scope of this thread, but shit did happen, and it was very helpful to have knowledge of the area and "outs" from where we were.

Pre-tripping is important, and it's even more important when you're a group-lead.

>>994566
>76 CS
>not getting the Cx
>sensors are useless
>expandable memory is useful

>>994600
>GPS isn't trivial, there are tricks to using it effectively. Definitely more convenient than map/compass all the time.
Unless you run out of batteries or lose it.

Always have a compass.

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>>994609
>looking at this one
Not bad.
I don't care for the UI of the new 6_/7_ receivers (I stick with the 60/76's for now). But that's my preference.
Topo is handy, but CityNav is a little more useful. Updated more frequently, fully routable, has useful POIs, and includes a fuckload of trails. About half the OHV trails I ride on the moto are listed, named, and routable on that mapset. Topo may or may not show it (It's got good FS roads, but smaller than that probably isn't on there).

I switch to topo for snowmobiling, but summer moto I stick with CityNavigator.

Might check out the marine-flavored receivers - 78's the one I had before, garmin may have a newer/updated version out. Same op sys and features as the 6_-series, but different form factor and it still retains the big-ass 4-pin round connector on the back for ext. power.
I like buttons-over-screen, since that's where your thumb naturally sits when you're holding the device. Gets kind of fidgety with the 6_'s since the buttons are at the bottom.
And if you're doing anything on water, the marine flavor floats.
RAM-mounts for the marine variety wrap around the entire unit, giving it a little more protection there too.

Things to consider.

Oh, and put a screen protector on it immediately after you take it out of the box.

>I beat the shit out of my old 60csx

>>994618
I honestly don't know much (Pretty much clueless) because I only started searching them up today, I need to do a bit more research on this area also.

As far as I know CityNav and Topo are maps? Might be wrong on that one.

Can you give me a very quick rundown on how they work? I imagine that you install and put them on the device through a PC.

>Oh, and put a screen protector on it immediately after you take it out of the box.
Yup! Plastic screens get scratched very easily. I would even put a case on one if I could.

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>>994615
Correct. Or your front tire catches a weird rut and slams you and the bike into the dirt, splitting the GPS wide open.

Another GPSs-kick-ass story, since we're on the topic. Posted it here before.
>Be me, snowmobiling with friends for a week, winter 2014
>Day 2, wx moving in, temp dropping fast, ceiling dropping, visibility getting worse
>On the main trail heading back into town, 1630-ish
>I'm 2nd from last, one more rider behind me
>Random guy flags last rider down, who radios to me help is needed
>I race ahead to catch the rest of the group ahead of me, regroup with random rider
>"My buddy went down a canyon and got stuck, can you help?"
>He takes our group to the top of the canyon, "He's down there".
>pic related
>uhh ... seriously
>Check maps, check GPS. Checked avalanche reports that morning before we left, danger was moderate.
>Look for a way around/out... wasn't happening, long detour around and without knowing that area well we weren't going to risk it this late in the day
>Quick group discussion, review emergency plans and contacts, agree on a plan for this situation
>Well dude, with the hazards and weather, we're not sending any of our riders down there right now.
>Fortunately there was enough phone coverage to get messages to the rider in the canyon, said he was OK, unable to unstuck sled, would start hiking up
>We get fire going, basically set up camp and wait
>Check in with hiker periodically, make sure he's okay, no medical, still alive, etc
>One of our riders had gone down to the next ledge to wait for hiker when we knew he was getting close, easy turnaround there and getting back up isn't hard
>Hiker meets up with our guy, they 2up to where we have the fire going
>Hiker rests for a bit, water/snacks
>Two of them 2up on the rider that didn't go down the canyon's sled back to town
>Couple of our guys in front leading the way, myself and the rest of our crew behind them in case there's an issue

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>>994633 cont'd
So we got everyone back to town that night. The two of them were going to leave the next morning, so they extended their hotel reservation and let people know they were staying another day. We'd meet up with them in the morning and do the sled recovery.

Cabins we were staying at is owned by a guy who also runs a rental fleet and guide service, and he works with the avalanche forecast and SAR team.
>Downloaded GPS data and photos the night before, as usual
>Two riders meet at our place in the morning
>Take laptop into shop, talk with hiker about where he thinks his sled is based on the terrain he hiked up the previous night
>Drop a waypoint there, "Stuck Sled"
>Ask guide about access to said waypoint
>Long way around, can get in over here and take this FS road in, couple other places you can drop down to the creek and ride in too.
>Discuss avalanche danger and ride plan, because those canyons do slide, and if something goes big we're in a terrain trap at the bottom of the creek
>Drop some more waypoints/tracks on the map
>Send to my GPS and buddy's GPS so we'd have that data on the mountain
>Gear up, trail all the way the fuck around, "nope not going down this way with this crew"
>Backtrack a bit and drop in where it's easier to get to the creek, ride the creek bottom in
>Finally find a cat stuck in the snow, get the rest of the crew up there and unstick it. "Found Cat" waypoint.
>Hiker-dude's glad to be back on his sled
>Regroup at the bottom, break for lunch
>Continue riding, get everyone up/out and back to town. Took most of the day.
>They thank us for everything, drop off a case of beer and head on their way
>We ride the rest of the week without incident

These guys weren't prepared - neither had area maps, no flashlight, were nearly out of water/snacks when we caught up with them. They were in a real bad spot, and shit could have gotten a lot worse than it was.

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>>994642 cont'd
>Pic related, different view of the area. Long fucking way around.

>Be me, at major snowmobile event in minnesota the next fall
>At our tent doing avalanchey-professional stuff. Showing off gear, helping people figure out what equipment they need, general sledder talk
>Two guys come in, looking around at gear and handouts/flyers
>one of those two looks at me, "You--! You're the guy that was taking pictures that night I went down the canyon!"
>We talk a bit, introduce them to a couple other instructors who I had told their story to
>That night, when our crew just "seemed to have all the answers", it wasn't just luck, it's because we were prepared and had a plan before we began the day's ride
>Sure, plans changed, but we sort of planned for that too
>They realized how shitty things could have gone that night, and took that as a huge learning experience
>and now they're getting some gear, getting some education, riding smarter and more prepared than they were before
>Thanked me again, headed out on their way

Met up with them again that following winter, we got into town the weekend they were leaving, had a few beers at the cabin. They had bought GPS's that summer, and were getting familiar with them and found them to be quite handy to have. Answered a few questions they had.

They're sort of my "success story" as a snow professional... the reason I keep doing the education and training I do.

>>994633
I was doing helicopter-access surveys in northern Ontario, really remote. It was early May and it snowed like crazy overnight and was freezing, so being dropped off at 7 am or so in a swamp and trying not to get wet was fun.

We drove to the area the helicopter was going to pick us up to take us to our survey areas and noticed lots of skids full of ore samples.

Anyway, I was with a partner who was doing the compass work and, long story short, our compasses were taking us in weird bearings and it was hard to get a good sighting. Turned out there must have been magnetic bedrock, because we had to go strictly by GPS and maps until we got out of that hotspot.

I always have a GPS and compass on me these days.

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>>994627
>I honestly don't know much (Pretty much clueless) because I only started searching them up today, I need to do a bit more research on this area also.
Definitely - there's a lot of options and features out there. Familiarize yourself with what's out there, figure out what you need and what'd be nice, figure out a reasonable budget, and go from there.

>As far as I know CityNav and Topo are maps? Might be wrong on that one.
Correct. Some now ship with topo maps loaded, CityNavigator is what the car GPS's use. Your handheld can take and use that mapset.
BlueChart maps are for marine navigation. That map has depth charts, navaids/buoys, etc.

>Can you give me a very quick rundown on how they work? I imagine that you install and put them on the device through a PC.
Yeah, pretty much. BaseCamp is Garmin's software for communicating with the GPS. Wraps everything into one package - waypoints/routes/tracks into and out of the GPS, file management, firmware upgrades, map installations, etc.
MapManager/MapInstall are Garmin's older software tools for getting map data to the GPS.
Personally I'd try out BaseCamp, since that's currently-supported software.

Garmin's map install process is kind of clunky. If you buy the map on disc, you'll have one step where you load the maps from disc onto your computer (that's what MapManager is for).
This typically installs the entire map area onto your computer.
The second step is selecting the map tiles (sections of that entire map you just installed) then packaging them and moving it to the GPS. That's what MapInstall does.
BaseCamp should incorporate both those tools, and I'd hope they've made the process a bit simpler since I did it.

Once it's on the GPS, it should just show up on the map page. There's some configuration you can do to show/hide layers, dive into the menu and figure out what does what in there.

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>>994657
Wild. My compass is on the keychain I keep my truck keys and spark plug gap gauge on... Neither are particularly magnetic, but i'm sure it could throw off the compass a bit. The keychain's a short length of paracord, so those metal bits are far enough away to not interfere.

My old-old-old GPS12 freaked out every now and then on my old-old sled, interference from the spark plugs or dash instruments would cause the receiver to calculate wildly inaccurate positions, and eventually just give up and say "GPS Unuseable" or something to that effect. I'd have to shut it off and restart it for it to do anything again.

Cracked the case open, and there was no shielding behind the patch antenna or on the RF section of the PCBA.
Cut some tin and soldered it over the back of the antenna and PCBA to shield it, GPS worked fine after that.... never had any more problems.

I only ran that GPS12 for a year or two before I picked up my first 60CSx. That 60 didn't have any problems with the same sled, and I haven't had any issues with any of my other GPS's with any of my snowmobiles/motorcycles since then.

>>994668
I see, thanks mane! You've helped me understand a lot with this information.

If my device comes with Topos/CityNav loaded right off the bat, do I even need to worry about anything? I would imagine it automatically gives you a map of where you are, and lets you use all the features. Or do I need to download maps for that certain region or area?

The name kinda gives it away, but I assume that CityNav is better for urban/city environments, and Topos is better for trails and the outdoors.

Cheers my friend!

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>>994683
>If my device comes with Topos/CityNav loaded right off the bat, do I even need to worry about anything?
Not really, it'll give you enough to get going. Better then the basemap, which ... is pretty useless.
I'm at the same point in the screenshot in >pic related as I am in >>994668 - only difference is the mapset I have loaded.

>I would imagine it automatically gives you a map of where you are, and lets you use all the features. Or do I need to download maps for that certain region or area?
Should have most if not all the country installed, if you buy it with the maps pre-installed. Might have coverage outside for other countries on the continent as well.

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>>994683
>The name kinda gives it away, but I assume that CityNav is better for urban/city environments, and Topos is better for trails and the outdoors.
Yeah, more or less.

CN is updated much more regularly than topo, so the streets and information in it are more current. Also has a fuckload of POI's (Points Of Interest) - these are sort of like waypoints, but part of the mapset.
You can "find" a POI and save it to a waypoint.
The POIs in CN have street address and phone number too.
Citynav will let you "Find" by an address or intersection and navigate to that, where topo can't do that.

And like I said, there's a fuckload of trails in CityNav that just don't exist on topos. Little shit like OHV trails and singletracks. Surprises me how much stuff is in that map.

But on the snowmobile, since i'm offroad/offtrail, having topo is much more helpful, see >>994633.

Give topo a shot, since your receiver will probably come with it. But know other options exist, if you find yourself wanting something else.
>again, same spot in the screenshot, this time with citynav loaded

>>994688
>>994692
I think the one I linked says this in the description.
>Preloaded TOPO U.S. 100K maps plus a 1-year BirdsEye Satellite Imagery subscription

So which one do you recommend? I am gonna stick to trails but might go off several hundred meters and explore a bit. Nothing crazy honestly.
From what you've told me I am leaning towards Topos.

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>>994707
100k topo is pretty rough - I have 24k and even it could use a little more resolution at times. It along with a map of the area has always been sufficient for what i'm doing though.

"BirdsEye" is their aerial photo system. "BirdsEye"-capable receivers have the ability to display a geolocated raster image on the map page. Their subscription lets you select areas and dump those satellite photos to the GPS.

There are ways to take Google Earth imagery, geolocate that, and shove it into the receiver. Not as simple, but it can be done.

Or, and what I'd do with it and why I want that feature... is scan trail maps or MVUM's, geolocate those, and shove that into the GPS.
Then I'd have trail maps with all the information for my particular sport on the GPS, tracking right with me on the display.

So again, I think that will get you started, but know that 24k topo will get you better map resolution and birdseye subscription isn't as important as garmin wants it to be.

I'm sure things have changed with the newer receivers, but the 60/76's I use are all USB1.1 spec.
Moving a gig+ of maps over that slow-ass link takes for-fucking-ever.
Format/prepare the memory card in the receiver, when you're ready to move the maps over, pop out the µSD card and plug it into a USB2.0 card reader. Takes minutes instead of days.

>>994714
I see. I imagine that I can easily put 24K? If so, it would be one of the first things I could do. I just want the smoothest, and best experience without a crazy amount of work.

Also keeping that in mind! Definitely don't want to take that long transferring shit.

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>>994716
Yes, but 24k topo is an additional mapset you'll need to obtain (either purchase from garmin or ... "other sources").

If it were me, being as noob as you are to GPS, I'd roll with what comes on the receiver while you become proficient with it as a nav aid, then as you use it you'll find out what maps would be more helpful in the situations you're using it.

Focus more on the other features of the GPS. Maps are easy to upgrade later, hardware and UI/UX features aren't.

My GPS12 didn't even support mapping.
It would drop a track log trail, up to a maximum of 1024 points. Which I could fill in about half a day of riding. That track log space is the main reason I upgraded to the 60CSx.
So I learned GPS nav with no GPS-based maps - just waypoints and the last 1024 trackpoints of where i've been.

>Hit an owl at ~50m/h coming home through this canyon later that night
>rider behind me described it as "an explosion of feathers"
>added "owl-proof" to the list of features of my radio's speaker-mic

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>>994720
i'm supposed to be studying

>>994720
>>994731
Grateful to have had your help bud, I understand a lot more now.

I'm looking into them. I'll probably get one before the year ends.

Cheers mate! Hopefully I see you around /out/

Also surprised the owl didn't cause the vehicle or yourself any damage haha

Mapz shmapz, i carry two gps units and a compass.
One entry left garmin unit has my base marked and is turned off and stashed snugly in a waterproof bag in my pack the other one is a 64st and is my primary nav tool.
Plenty of spare batteries and i stop every half hour or so and check my location, orientation and progress

Honestly learn how to navigate using map and compass theres plenty of resources online and buy a basic gps. If you get lost you can backtrack with one. Also advice i get from my army friends is a gps is a nav aid and should never be used in place of a map and compass(batteries, signal etc.). I ended up getting a garmin etrex20 (i think) so i could load 3rd party maps onto it (shonkeys maps Aus) and they turned out ok. nothing beats a trail map or topo though.

>>994731
tfw no licence and you're living my dream.

>>997795
I had shonky and wasnt impressed.
There is a guy on Ebay that sells mincroSD cards with the legit Garmin topo maps for $25 - guy is obviously not legit