Getting into it - Garmin Legend

[Team Piggy]

Seriously, I use the Legend with Aust base map, it is detailed enough for me.
I travel country a lot for work, including Overseas trips thrown in too.
Heres an example:

I am driving towards the Cambodian border 4 or 5 months ago, theres no signs in English whatsoever, all in Thai !
I had to find the turnoff to Kho Chang island.

Turned on the Etrex legend just to see if any caches happened to be around as well, and lo & Behold, the Base map for Aust even had minor roads in Thailand shown !
This is the preloaded from factory Aust basemap !

Found the way to the ferry terminal without even looking at signs I couldnt read anyway !
I also have taken shortcuts in Aust that you wouldnt know existed unless you could see a way across on the GPS.

Eg:
I did Maccamobs cache at Kaniva (VIC) on the way from Adelaide to Mt Gambier, A bit of an out of the way side trip so to speak, ended up using the Legend to navigate thru farming back roads and saved myself over 60 kms and probably an hour backtracking back across to bordertown to go down to Mt Gambier.

Mapping GPS are the only way to go I say !

[Slider & Smurf]

The more expensive ones with colour screens and road routing, are although quite nice to have, are pretty pricey. And also, I probably would prefer to still look in a street directory and get my own way, rather than let a GPS to prompt me when to turn. Something about re-enforcing my masculinity by being able to read a directory *grin*.

As opposed to reinforcing through acquisition of more toys??!! Or maybe that's just my family

[EcoTeam]

Seriously, I use the Legend with Aust base map, it is detailed enough for me.
I travel country a lot for work, including Overseas trips thrown in too.
Heres an example:

I am driving towards the Cambodian border 4 or 5 months ago, theres no signs in English whatsoever, all in Thai !
I had to find the turnoff to Kho Chang island.

Turned on the Etrex legend just to see if any caches happened to be around as well, and lo & Behold, the Base map for Aust even had minor roads in Thailand shown !
This is the preloaded from factory Aust basemap !

Found the way to the ferry terminal without even looking at signs I couldnt read anyway !
I also have taken shortcuts in Aust that you wouldnt know existed unless you could see a way across on the GPS.

The Garmin Aust base map is actually a complete Oceania map:

"The Pacific Recreational Routable Basemap v2 includes Asia, Australia, and Oceania, and covers an area from E60 to E180 Longitude, S60 to N75 Latitude. Also included is a high-level worldwide map with political boundaries and major cities.

Standard map coverage includes:
Oceans, rivers, lakes greater than 5 square miles and major streams
Principal cities and smaller cities and towns
Major and principal highways, regional arterial roads and some local roads
Political boundaries (state and international borders)
Major Airports "

EcoDave

[Snuva]

If you have the Legend with the aus basemap, does it have any maps for non-oceania parts of the world?<P>

Does it have enough memory to load more than one map?<P>

If I buy a US one, can I purchase the Aus basemap and load it without overwriting the other base map?<P>

If I buy one from the US, does it have any sort of world basemap as well?<P>

And why is it the toast always falls vegemite side down?

[Snuva]

And to add a further wrinkle to consider, devices always cost a lot more when they first come out. In the US GPSrs are getting quite cheap, and you can just pop into Target and see a selection.<P>Sssooo, looking at the newest junk mail in my post box, I was interested to see K Mart advertising the Magellan Expolorist 100! Then in the Tandy catalogue, a Navman GPS/PDA. Not that I'd be excited to see places like that stealing business from Alex or anyone else with specialist knowledge as they actually KNOW what they are talking about as opposed to the person just working to pay for uni, but if GPSs become more common in Australia there will be more people buying them, and hopefully prices coming down.<P>So, I'm seriously considering the Legend to have a GPS with some basic mapping, and waiting for those better maps/colour screens come down in price. Just trying to work out if it'll have any maps when I'm overseas!

[Hounddog]

I bought into GPS mapping quite some time back. As I stated in another topic recently the prices charged for mapping software are quite unrealistic for what you get. Then there is the updating thing. You would think that after paying such hefty prices for a map CD , you would get automatic free updates for a period of time but companies such as Magellan do not offer this.

From a geocaching point of view I have found that the real advantage to having a map unit lies in it's coverage of walking trails (both well know and obscure) and other associated terrain. My opinion is that none of the available software has nearly enough detail yet. Certainly not enough to justify the price.

You would also think that if they are serious about marketing GPS units as a bushwalking tool they would back it up with essential mapping detail such as Camping Grounds, Trig Stations, Drinking Water access points. Fire towers etc.

GPS Mapping is nothing to get excited about yet.

Hounddog

[Team Piggy]

If you have the Legend with the aus basemap, does it have any maps for non-oceania parts of the world?

Yes it has maps for America etc, but they are very basic from what I have looked at.

You can load maps as it has 8 meg of memory for this purpose.

[Zytheran]

Some feedback from someone who bought a Legend from the USA via EBay. I had a budget of under $300 last Christmas to get a GPS and wanted a decent one. The comparison came down to one with altimeter/compass and one with mapping. I had already choosen Garmin as I wanted to make my own maps easily rather than fork out more money for maps, as my understanding is that the Ozzie basemap wasn't that crash hot.. (Someone want to correct me, are the Basemaps any good?) So I got my Legend from Florida for about AU$230 plus $50 postage without faffing with an auction. I was willing to risk the hassle of warranty as long at it lasted 2 years and Garmin seemed to have no warranty complaints so that wasn't an issue. Making maps that work is not for the faint hearted but as mentioned in another post can be done for free, and you learn plenty about mapping by doing it and then using them. Furthermore my maps are of the areas I go to, not the 99.99% of Australia I will never visit, even if I could afford the petrol for Geodashing! The DIY maps seem perfect for Geocaching as they have the mainand minor roads, rivers,streams, parks, vegetation cover, pipelines,etc. etc and contours if I so desire. My Adelaide area map weighs in at about 6MB, and covers S34E138 down to S36E139:30. I have no idea how big the Mapsource maps end up being for a similiar area and $200+. And another advantage, next time I go to the States, my GPS has the correct Basemap, ready for caching! Once my DIY maps having some nicer layering I'll be uploading them onto the web for free. You can also make kick-ass hi-res maps of National Parks, something money can't buy. So overall, I'm very happy with the legend.

[alex]

Wow, lots of comment here,
EcoDave

it may be worthwhile to consider an entry level GPS and a street directory.

Good advice, even with a mapping unit a street directory or topographic map, as appropriate, can always help. But with the price of the legend so low now it is almost a base level price. Get it and a street directory! (from Caro Graphics of course)

BearLeft

I got a set of street-level maps of NZ for my Magellan Meridian

Please tell me more about this product... Magellan have never mentioned it to me.

Now, colour screens are just a fad

Some colour are better than others.. the new Garmin screens offer huge extension to battery use. Claimed 30 hours for the 60C, versus 20hours claimed for eTrex basic and about 12 for GPS 72. Personal experience supports the long life claim for the 60C.

Snavu asked about maps

If you have the Legend with the aus basemap, does it have any maps for non-oceania parts of the world?

As I understand it you also get a world map with some major cities.

If I buy a US one, can I purchase the Aus basemap and load it without overwriting the other base map?

No, base maps are a factory setting, however, Australian detailed mapping (MapSource)will load onto a US base map unit and vice-versa.

Does it have enough memory to load more than one map?

The legend has 8mb of spare memory for extra mapping but I don't think you can load two lots of 4mb maps. I'm not an expert here but i think 8mb of Garmin MetroGuide mapping would allow you to load all of Tasmania or most of South Australia.

the Magellan Expolorist 100! Then in the Tandy catalogue, a Navman GPS/PDA.

I cannot recommend the Explorist 100, 200, or 300. They do not have external power or computer connection capability. Good little units to drop in the bottom of the tinnyboat for six months but certainly not good units for geocachers! ( lets load in all the caches for that visit to another city/state/country.......manually!!!).
I may be stocking Navman units in the very near future so ask me in a few weeks - providing they give me some product info

Houndog

You would also think that if they are serious about marketing GPS units as a bushwalking tool they would back it up with essential mapping detail such as Camping Grounds, Trig Stations, Drinking Water access points. Fire towers etc.

All we can do is keep nagging them about decent maps ...I'm constantly into Magellan Australia that they need good mapping advice from a good Australian mapping company (Carto Graphics?? ) but although they are an independant company they are still constrained by their French and American connections.


That's enough for now. Cheers all.

PS, I would make a very good dashboard decoration and I can read a map!!![/quote]

[Team Piggy]

I was willing to risk the hassle of warranty as long at it lasted 2 years and Garmin seemed to have no warranty complaints so that wasn't an issue.

Norty Norty Garmin...

I know of one cacher whose Legend has been repaired twice under warranty, for a well known Garmin etrex product fault..
And they also managed to mutter that they had fixed hundreds of them for this fault.

I run the Au base maps and personally find them good enough for what I need.
They have shown me roads in general areas i need, including some minor back roads thru national parks (Ngarkat etc).
When in Asia earlier this year, I also found the base map contained enough info to keep me heading to where I needed to go !

I have the mapsource CD but never loaded it as I feel it is a bit too Detailed, cluttering the screen.

[Cached]

The legend has 8mb of spare memory for extra mapping but I don't think you can load two lots of 4mb maps. I'm not an expert here but i think 8mb of Garmin MetroGuide mapping would allow you to load all of Tasmania or most of South Australia.

From memory,

I could get Adelaide, Canberra, Kosi Nat Park and everything in between in at the same time. OR Adelaide, a lot of Melbourne and everything in between into the 8mb.

Which was of course, when I had a legend....