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.
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.
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