Messages

Thanks Mapper  I did chek out that site.  I will be subscribing.  I still need to know how to get the POI into the unit.  Learning as I go....

Thanks everyone for your input.  I got the 50LM on sale at BB.  Also got the friction dash mount. So Far I like it.  Have put some locations in it. My wife has problems remembering how to get places.  This will help her if she can remember to turn it on and then use the favorites.  But thats my problem and I am trying to solve it. 

THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE

THanks Boyd.
I am looking at the Garmin brand since Amazon has a 40% off sale.  I would like to know the best choice though...

I have an cross-over SUV and the reach to the windsheild is long.  I am looking into putting a gps  into the vehicle and after reading all the sale literature am completely at a loss as to what is best available for the least amount of money and how easy to install, use *so not to be distracted while driving*, TOM TOM seems good but has issues on mounting.  Any suggestions welcomed. 

THanks in advance.

Its only FREE if you are an Amazon PRIME member.  otherwise it is $4.95 ... still a good buy.

It is full of useful info.

    Back from my Kayak adventure.  Cleared up the matter of current location.  It really was simple once I looked it over. 

After launch and turning on TRACKING, we travelled around to our fishin spots. When we returned I turned TRACKING Off.  then saved that track.  It of course had the track from initial setup at home.  I then imported the GPS info into Basecamp and renamed to one I wanted.  I then edited out the track from HOME to the Launch. 

I then deleted everything from the GPS and then put that revised file into the GPS.  WALLAH ....

I'm still learning Basecamp and switching back and forth with Mapsource ...  Some things are still not easy to do in Basecamp.

Thanks to everyone for helping.

Another Newbie

Thanks Horserider.   You made me think and Yeah I did overlook the obvious.  WHat you said is true.  I will try that on my next venture in the Kayak.  I will be launching at a known location and I know the way back to that launch.. Thanks again. 

I have asked this question in various ways before and no one seems to understand my question.  I have indulged several knowledgeable users and they didn't have an answer either.  So Here goes;  I have an Etrex Vista HcX and I like it.  When I first got the unit and applied power to it I was instructed to insert my CURRENT LOCATION.  The unit did so automatically.  Next I entered known waypoints into the unit.  I currently have about 40 waypoints.  I fish from an kayak and it is very important that I return to my launch point.  When I launch I MARK my location and set it to TRACK.  (So far so good)   
When I look at the WAYPOINTS screen, at the bottom it tells me how far I am from my current location when I highlight a marked waypoint.  Understand that I am no longer at my current location.  For example I am sitting in my kayak at a friend's dock and the unit tells me I am 3.48 miles from my current location.  Since I am sitting at that dock isn't it my current location?  NO!  It is the location where I first set up the GPS unit.  Can someone please tell me how to change my current location  to where I really am rather than where I was when I set up the unit? 

I like to launch from roadside entry points along canals and estuaries.  They are not boat launches and there are mazes of canals, some dead end, that are traversed while fishing.  I use the tracking method to get back to the launch and that helps but I need to know how far I am from the launch point. I presently have no idea.  I could then work my way back without the long paddle if I knew where it was.

Thanks for your help Boyd.

I don't know if I can put this into words.  Here goes...
When I first got the unit and turned it on... IT marked my home as my LOCATION.  So now when I go to a launch site to launch my Kayak I press the MARK key and thought that would be my new location.  It is only a waypoint I learned.  If I try to use the TracBack feature. It tells me I am so many miles from HOME.  and the tracback then tries to send me back via breadcrumbs unlike my old GPS MAP76S.  That one was hard on batteries and had short backlight life.. 

SO my real question is ... How do I establish a NEW LOCATION without losing all my waypoints? BTW I do love this unit and I can usually figure out launch point once I have established a waypoint and have daylight.  But when on open water or in a maze of canals with mangroves on both sides it can be difficult. 

Thanks again for helping me ....

Thanks Boyd for your clear info.  That makes much more sense to me.  I have kept both tutorials and both files.   I was not aware that I had an OLDER unit since it was just purchased this year.  Garmin suggested it for my application and a few other kayakers have them here and love them.  We are going to have a group meeting (class) to pass along information and learn new techniques. 

STILL... Not sure how to change locations (launch points) so I don't have to go back home...  Has to be a way.

 :)Thanks for that info.  I had already done that. 
I only have FLTOPO on my GPS.  I saw nothing that shows Mapsource or BaseCamp.
Since you say its only a viewer I guess I need not worry about what it says. 

I guess I should delete the mapsource from my computer so I am not confused further.
Is that a correct approach??? 

Thanks for reply and other info.

I have a Vista HcX and it has Mapsource on it.  I have BaseCamp but when I try to display it, it continues to show Mapsource on the unit.   I am still learning this unit and this is frustrating.

I have an ETREx HcX and love it so far. I use it for kayak fishing and when I launch from a new spot I want to use the GoTO feature to return to the launch spot.  It keeps wanting to send me back to my Home which is where I initialized the GPS..  How do I begin a New Location for my return to place?  I cannot find information in the manual.

I do mark the spot as a waypoint but it tells me I am a number of miles from HOME.. 

I am new at this... 

THanks for all the help.. I just returned my unit to Garmin.  It seems something is wrong with it.  They are going to send me a new unit but that will take a week or two with shipping.   SO I am now in limbo. 

I will come back here when I know more and can work with the unit... 

Thanks for all your help... everyone.

My problem is still the same.   I installed Basecamp and cannot get FL TOPO to show on the computer.  FL TOPO seems to be a GMAP file and Basecamp seems to want .kmz files. 

I also installed the latest Mapsource. THere was a warning on Garmin.com that it would not work if the maps were not purchased.   No other explanations given.  I am so totally lost now. 

I still think the problem is with my computer OS being Windows 7 64bit.  I can't use my XP computer due to overheating.,...