? ? ? GPS SYSTEMS SOFTWARE ? ? ?

[yamrx-1]

Rob,

Can't you save your tracking on all the trails you ride? mine will track where you've been then i save the track. thats been the best way for me too find a way back from some god fersaken place and hope i have saved the track the lastime I went though there. even short cut like from rouesso bar by mass city to baraga short cutt come in handy too.

 

[RobX-1]

yamrx-1, yes your are correct in that I can track my daily trail rides but with only having the unit for a couple of years now, my track logs are slowly but surely growing. Just thought it would be nice to have as much information as possible right off the bat.

 

[BOUNTYHUNTER]

Garmin, Garmin, Garmin Wow lots of you guys like those things. Sorry I gotta go with the big gun who has been around the longest and is used by the Military, Navy, Coast Guard & most of the other big name users. Who you ask? well" MAGELLAN " of course.

I've had one since they first came out, and have up graded every two years. These things truly are amazing. Magellan still has the best antenna system today, when your talking about overhead canopy cover.


But in all fairness to all of the other brands out there today, I believe they all are good and offer lots of features. Find one that will suit your needs,always keep extra batteries on hand and have fun trying it out. They all pretty much give you a 3 to 5 foot EPE.

 

[airboss]

I have the Magellan Sport Trak Map held in place with a Ram mount. Along with the available MapSend software this unit has provided me with great detail and reliability in all kinds of weather. The backlighting at night is awesome, but it has to be plugged into the sled's 12 volt system, otherwise it will eat up double A's very quickly.

 

[ToddMeister]

Garmin maps for da U.P.

Garmin's discontinued US Roads and Recreation Mapsource CD has good trail/forest road coverage in da UP. You can still find it on ebay and some dealers. Dats whut I use when I am up der riding dem dere trails. The TOPO CD didn't have nearly as much trail detail. I returned the TOPO to the store for a refund. I use an Etrex Legend, and have wired the Lighter power adapter into my sled's battery for constant power.

 

[RippinV]

I have the Garmin Etrx Legend and had it on my viper with the handlebar mount, worked really well. I always wrapped the tether from the unit around the handlebar in case the mount failed in big mogul runs, but it never failed. I had it wired up with a cigarette lighter plug mounted under the hood. Batteries are a waste of time out on the trail. With the RX1 it should be even better since we have batteries I shouldnt have to run the sled to work with the GPS. I did notice that it works well in the cold but it works slowly as will all electronics when its 40 below!!! I think both Garmin and Megellan are good brands and you really cant go wrong with either. Garmin has some airforce contracts as well so they are military tested.

Good luck!

 

[SIMMER]

Magellan Meridian Color...don't waste your time on a Monochrome unit....can't see it very well in the sun. Also

BIG DIFFERENCE between Magellan & garmin....? :ORC

SD-RAM.. ...removable SD-CARD that you can purchase. Garmin only has built in memory. Magellan allows you to expand. Very handy when loading/offloading tons of data.

 

[Sasquatch]

In response to some of your questions:
I tried every datum that was available on the machine, and then I downloaded the latest software; no difference. I exchanged the unit at the local Radio shack, same problem. My buddy has a different Garmin unit, same thing. It may be the (Canadian) map, but the error shows up in the built-in map before I put the detailed map in. I eventually gave up and just learned to live with it. Still, I would think that someone, somewhere would be able to speak intelligently about this product.

I have a etrex ledgend and Canadian software. If I was off by 1000 ft I would be on shore instead of over my favorite fishin hole. I not sure what the problem is with your garmins but mine works fine and tracks roads that I travel and bush trails on the map almost perfectly. When I place a point on the map for a lodge or somthing of that nature. There it is on the map right where its supposed to be on the shore not 1000 ft out into the lake. Not sure how three units are all off by 1000 ft. I am glad however mine is not.

 

[Sasquatch]

edit repost

 

[snowsweat]

I should make a correction. The unit was an eMap, not an eTrex. It has a removable memory card (16 MB). The inaccuracy was related to the map, not the accuracy of the unit. If I marked a spot, I could always get to within 10 feet of it. However, if I stood on an East-West road and zoomed in, it always showed that I was standing 1000 ft away. Every (Garmin) unit in the store did this. I would like to see if a different brand running the same map would have the same problem.

 

[MR.HAPPY]

Are you guys wiring it to a cig. lighter or something else?
OK! ITS THE "MEGALLEN MERIDIAN COLOR" what software do I want to get all the forest roads & dirt roads for the U.P.? [TRAILS?]
WILL THE GARMIN US ROADS & REC. MAPSOURCE SOFTWARE WORK WITH MAGELLANS?
THANKS ALOT GUYS!
BR

 

[Buckeye]

I don't think that the software is interchangeable between manufacturers. Here is a link to what Magellan offers:

http://www.magellangps.com/en/products/software.asp

 

[rx-1 blue reverse]

I am using the Lowrance IFinder. They have a software package that is very detailed for the US and memory card for Canada. It tracks the path that I rode and w/ the software I can edit/add waypoints. I mount the GPS on my handelbar using a RAM mount. Good product at a good price.

 

[nhrxrider]

Wow, another Lowrance owner! I have a very old one...the Globalmap 100. It works very well, and has taken some serious abuse...including being launched off my sled during a 90 mph endo, when the instrument cluster it was mounted to (I mount the bracket to the left of the tach) exploded during the impact, and my friends found the GPS about 200 feet away in the snow (thank God it landed on the packed trail!) Its really time to invest in a newer unit, and I have been reading the posts to get an idea of what to get.

Mine is pretty old technology, and won't allow me to upload any actual maps, but I can still plot a route on my PC using either street map software (it works with just about any modern mapping software...I use MS Streets & Trips for street routes), or Topographic map software (I run Topo! software www.topo.com) I can also reverse the procedure and record a route while I'm riding, then download it to the PC map.

It will be nice to actually have the map installed on the GPS unit...I just have to decide which to get. Also, does anyone know which ones have a memory for highest recorded speed? Mine displays speed, but it doesn't remember it. That would rock for lake crossings...its very hard to read 1/4" tall numbers at 119 mph...the fastest I've gotten on GPS. That was on a trail...a lake would be much easier.

Jim

 

[ToddMeister]

Small Garmin Color GPS now available

Garmin has recently released color versions of the Etrex series. Etrex Legend C and Etres Vista C. They are a bit pricey, though.