Not your normal Garmin vs Lowrance post....

[deadeye]

LMK what happens with that fix. I still love that etrex. It was super accurate and I gotta admit that I liked the interface a bit better than the Lowrance. It would be nice to have a backup or use it for hunting since its much smaller. My dad really liked it too so if it was fixed he could have a nice fathers day present loaded with a bunch of hotspots on it.

I have seen that endura series online but I have yet to see one in person. It looks nice but I wouldn't buy one till I can see it in person. cabelas used to have a really nice setup in the store for checking out gps's but for some reason they changed it. Bummer because you could see all of them and compare them hand to hand.

[silverbulletguy]

Ed--Thanks for the info. Wish you worked at the GM in STC. The guys here seem arrogant and don't want to help. Or don't know what they are talking about. Thanks again.

[pulleye16]

Just an FYI...If you buy a Garmin, I found a great HSOforum that offers FREE downloads of software. I just bought the Dakota 10 (as stated earlier) and was going to buy some topo software through them at $129. I did a search and found "gpsfiledepot.com" that offers FREE garmin dowload maps. They also have step by step instruction on how to do it. Put about 90% of the state of MN on my Garmin in about 30 minutes and works awesome. I haven't found lake maps yet but they have tons of free downloads like ATV trails, BWCA, snowmobile trails etc. on that site...

[Kirsch]

pulleye16,

The HSOforum you quoted does have some nice simple downloads for a few types of data and states. It is not a full sportsman map as there really is only one all around sportsman gps map which MNTRAX is. Usually people say, you get what you pay for but in this case, I would say gpsfiledepot does give you more than what you paid for because it is hard to beat free. MNTRAX is in a totally different league so if you like those maps, you would really appreciate MNTRAX.

[pulleye16]

Kirsch-

Haven't had a chance to check out MNTRAX but it does sound great, though when I was reading an earlier threat about MNTRAX it didn't include topo elevation. GPSFILEDEPOT had a great Topo software for free and saved my $129...just an option. I heard that MNTRAX show's all public hunting areas, so yes that is great and I wll check it out when I can save up a few bucks and will probably purchase it if it's as great as everone is saying. I just hope I can overlay the two maps together for the "ultimate" outdoor experience!!!

[Kirsch]

Pulleye,

I have the elevation contours for Minnesota. After speaking to many sportsman across the Dakotas and Minnesota, and even Montana, it was the overall common theme not to include them. You get to a point with any map that too much is too much. When you put roads, trails, land elements, lakes, public borders, section lines, and either ownership information or township, range and section numbers, it just gets too busy to use. As you mentioned, there are lots of options for topo but there is nothing like MNTRAX.

To answer your question, I do have a Mapsource version where MNTRAX can be loaded with different maps which use MapSource, but honestly I try to encourage people to buy the pre-loaded memory card. When you start to mix maps, the concept of Garmin layers begin to take affect and the majority of all my support calls happen when people start to do this.

The best example I can give you is a common thing which occurs in North Dakota as many common Garmin maps show a big area in western ND as something called the Custer National Forest which is not correct. When maps overlay each other, this shows through the Little Missouri Grasslands and makes all of Western ND look like it is open to public hunting. Long story short, you can overlay it if you buy MNTRAX - Mapsource but the SD/microSD card option is easier and the map is much easier to read and is the way the map was designed to be used.

[pulleye16]

Kirsch-

I'm not try to say anything bad about MNTRAX. It sounds like a alot of research was done before the development of this product, and yes, things do get "clustered" when using topograpghy maps so it makes scense not to include with MNTRAX. When I posted my reply on GPSFILEDEPOT i thought it would just be a nice added feature for someone who "wants" topography on their GARMIN for free of charge as some people, like me, may like that feature.

My GPS, Dakota 10, is unable to take pre-loaded memory cards, so thats why I downloaded that map. I have the feature of turning on/off downloaded maps on my unit. If I want to use topography I can, and when it becomes to "clustered" I can turn it off. With MNTRAX, would I have that same option? Could I use one or the other? So far all the features from MN 24 K topo of GPSFILEDEPOT have worked great and no software issues.

Sorry if this is interfering with this persons thread...maybe we could start anothere on SOFTWARE FOR GPS UNITS.

Basically, just letting the person who started this thread be aware of some of the possiblities with a grarmin unit and why I chose it,use it for, and topography is something that is helpful to me.

Thanks for the info on MNTRAX!

[Ed Carlson]

Ed--Thanks for the info. Wish you worked at the GM in STC. The guys here seem arrogant and don't want to help. Or don't know what they are talking about. Thanks again.

Your very welcome, I try to help where I can. I'm a fellow sportsman too, more of a fishing guy, but we all have the same passion.

[Kirsch]

Pulleye,

I didn't take anything you wrote as negative towards MNTRAX. I also agree GPSFileDepot has options that may help lots of people.

To answer your question, MNTRAX loads as 7 layers/maps, so the feature is very similar but it may help even more. It sounds like for topo, you can turn it off or on in MapInfo. The same thing applies for MNTRAX but it sounds like at a more detailed level. With MNTRAX, you can turn on or off the roads major, roads minor, water, land, plss sections and number(section, range, and township), labels and borders, and I also include a background layer to cover all standard GPS maps if they are causing issues. With MNTRAX - Garmin Mapsource, you would be able to load only which maps you want on the GPS and/or load them all and then select or not once on the GPS as you have mentioned.

Bottom line it is very similar to what you are used to. This same feature exits when using the memory card solution which I realize doesn't help you but for others who may read the thread, layers can be turned off in the same manner. Good discussion.