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Messages - California L33

#1
I know this thread is old, but woodstramp, the reason for the slow transfer is not your computer. The original Legend has a RS-232 interface. It moves data at a glacially slow pace. Updating your computer's RAM or video card will not increase your transfer speed. RS-232 is a 1960s technology. I think it was designed to move about 20,000 bits per second, with some tweaking done to improve that. I'm not sure what speed the Garmin port works at, but it's S-L-O-W.
#2
@Boyd

If it works and the OP only ATVs in one area he probably won't need anything more. If he finds himself needing to swap maps often the RS-232 transfer speed will probably 'inspire' him to upgrade. I just switched from the original Legend (8 meg) and was able to keep my little area of northern CA and a few other maps in it, both road and Topo. It was a pain to switch maps when I traveled, though.
#3
I don't have an eMap, but I believe they were compatible with Mapsource maps, so I'd say there's a good chance it will work. Keep in mind 64 megs isn't much these days, and new maps do tend to be quite a bit larger than the old Garmin Topo maps- more detail and larger areas covered.

You will need a computer with an RS-232 port to connect to the eMap, or a USB to RS-232 converter, plus a cable with the odd Garmin serial connector on it.
#4
Thanks for the clarification, though from a practical end user point of view sometimes having twice as many lines is beneficial, even if you're not technically getting more accurate data. Looking at the local biking 'heartbreak hill' (quite short and steep) on Garmin's US Topo and you can barely tell there's a hill there. Look at it with 20 foot topo lines and you can tell it's a leg breaker.
#5
I'm brand new here, and not great at searching forums, so excuse me if this tip is common knowledge, but there is a way to get 20 foot overlays for California using 'California Topo' (http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/view/28/) which isn't listed as a transparent map. This is good for folks who have City Navigator or the old MetroGuide and want to see their named and routable (only early versions of MetroGuide) streets with the 20 foot overlays.

When I was having trouble with California Topo I did find a thread here mentioning that it wasn't one set of maps, but two. One has the road data. The other has the topographic data. Rocket scientist that I am, it took about two days for it dawn on me that if there are two maps sets shown simultaneously one of them has to be transparent. Sure enough, it's the topographic map that's transparent. (The reason you'd want to use this instead of the mc73 overlay designed as a transparent map is that the mc73 data is in 40 foot overlays, so you get twice the detail with California Topo.)

How to do it-

Install California Topo, open MapSource. Select Californa Topo on the pull down menu. Selecting only the 20 foot overlays is fairly easy. For a small area you can select maps individually. The transparent topo maps are the tall, thin, evenly spaced rectangles. It's important NOT to select any of the road maps as they aren't transparent, and if you accidentally select one you won't be able to see your other maps beneath. To do the entire state (or a large area thereof) zoom way out and lasso a big area with the map tool. To the left of the maps are the 'user data tabs.' Select 'maps.' In this window look for any maps labeled 'California Topo' that are named with place names like 'Santa Cruz,' 'Eureka,' etc. Those are the street maps. Delete those. (Not from the disk, just from that window.) Leave those that are named with an eight digit number. Those are the topo maps.

Naturally you need to also add that City Navigator, MetroGuide, or other maps you want visible under the topo data. Select those from the pull down menu and add them as usual. Send the maps to your GPSr and voila- named streets with 20 foot topo overlays. (I've only been able to test it with my Vista HCx, but it works with that.)

Special thanks to map makers. Your work is appreciated.