Which Garmin, if any.

[Alexandra]

[QUOTE=geronimo;519555]well, I have only taken one set of readings so far. it sends an electronis signal through you body. it had my muscle/ fitness at 9 (the top level) fat at 7.3%, hydration at 69% and gave me a metabolic age of 41 which i was dead chuffed with as I am 56. will see as i take more readings whether it is a gimmick or has any real use[/QUOTE

Gosh, if I thought I'd get readings like that I'd order one tomorrow!!! But I fear ending up with a metabolic age of 100! Food for thought, though.

[old un]

Yes you can. Basically, if you can export from Memory Map in a format that the eTrex likes (.tcx, .gpx) then you can upload it to your device via Garmin BaseCamp. The problem with the eTrex 10 is that it has a limited memory capacity (compared to the 20/30) and a monochrome LCD display, so you can't overlay your track/route onto any kind of mapping. That said, the eTrex 10 zooms down to quite a tight resolution and is fine for basic navigation, it just lacks some of the fancier features of the other eTrex devices.

hi martin thanks for that , im a map and compass man but thinking of getting into the gps as im abit of map/nav geek but sadly my computer side lets me down, ive a a few memory map discs that passed to me but there playing up and a bit dated so am thinking of buying some new software and a device and my wife came home with this for me with a gift receipt so another question is would i be better taking it back and getting a better gps unit and which would anyone recomend and is memory map software the best one for uploading etc. im more intrested in planning or plotting than statistics. thanks for any advice anyone can give

[Fat Bloke]

Hi Old Un - sending you a pm.

t.

[Martyn P]

hi martin thanks for that , im a map and compass man but thinking of getting into the gps as im abit of map/nav geek but sadly my computer side lets me down, ive a a few memory map discs that passed to me but there playing up and a bit dated so am thinking of buying some new software and a device and my wife came home with this for me with a gift receipt so another question is would i be better taking it back and getting a better gps unit and which would anyone recomend and is memory map software the best one for uploading etc. im more intrested in planning or plotting than statistics. thanks for any advice anyone can give

Hello Simon, like a lot of us I'm first and foremost reliant on map/compass and would never rely solely on GPS, in fact for the sort of thing you're training for (ie. BGR) I think there's a real danger that you can lean too heavily on a GPS device and never learn the route properly as a result. They have their place, but will never replace being able to navigate properly. Anyway, in answer to your question I don't think there is any real interoperability between the new Garmin eTrex series and Memory Map. The eTrex 10/20/30 is (I think) tied to the Garmin BaseCamp software (download here) and it is through this that you manage your unit's waypoints, tracks, routes etc, it's also the portal via which you update the unit's firmware (ie. the software on the eTrex itself).

My knowledge of Memory Map is limited, but I believe you can define a route/track and export it in .gpx format (which is pretty much the standard nowadays) and BaseCamp will allow you to import it and upload it to your eTrex. The thing to remember here is that it will just be a trace and you will have no other mapping information, as the eTrex 10 does not have the capability to display it. The eTrex 20 and 30 do, however you won't be able to display Memory Maps here (just the traces/routes), as Garmin use a proprietary bit-raster format (.jnx) for their new GPS devices and that has to be uploaded to the device via BaseCamp. I have been doing a bit of research into this and it might be possible to upload it in different formats, the question here is whether you would want to - the .jnx format renders much faster than other formats and is always going to be the optimum.

So, how do you get mapping into BaseCamp? Well, Garmin have been quite sneaky about this and encourage UK users to download 1:25,000 OS mapping via their BirdsEye portal, this costs 20 quid per 600sq km*. This mapping is always registered to the GPS unit in question, so what I'm saying here is that you can put the mapping onto as many PCs/instances of BaseCamp as you like, but only ever use it on one handset. It's an effective means of anti-piracy I suppose, but would only apply to users of eTrex 20/30 as you can't upload the mapping to the eTrex 10 anyhow. Of course, there is nothing stopping you acquiring the .jnx mapping on BaseCamp as long as you appreciate that it will only be useful for manipulation of waypoints/tracks/routes.

As regards your question about whether you should take the unit back and exchange it for something else, well, the eTrex 10 is a very capable device as long as you recognise its limitations - that call will be entirely down to you. I personally think the 10/20/30 are very suitable for fellrunners, they are small and fit nicely into the palm of your hand, moreover they're very rugged and weatherproof. OK, so they don't have a touch-screen ... honestly, how useful is that when you're wearing thick gloves and it's hammering it down with rain? I have an eTrex 30 and absolutely love it, a few people moaned about the screen freezing on it early on it's life but the latest firmware updates seem to have fixed this, personally I've never had a problem. The 20 and 30 both display colour mapping and have micro SD cards, while the 30 has a proper 3-axis compass and barometric altimeter. Probably costs twice as much as the 10 though.

Anyhow, I've waffled on long enough. Hope this helps.

[old un]

thanks martyn as ever very useful indeed and you can never waffle on enough. and i see what saying re not learning the route however the garmin is only ever intended as a back up in the bag as the last 3 trips have been in clag or white outs and just a bit of reassurance as theres a fair few bits im not familiar with yet and the night sections to come yet !!! so is the garmin maps the same as os mapping then in appearance ? and yes id prefer durability against fancy features too now too decide wether the 10 is enough or invest in a 30 maybe thanks again for your help and no doubt i may have to call on your expertise again :thumbup:

[Martyn P]

thanks martyn as ever very useful indeed and you can never waffle on enough. and i see what saying re not learning the route however the garmin is only ever intended as a back up in the bag as the last 3 trips have been in clag or white outs and just a bit of reassurance as theres a fair few bits im not familiar with yet and the night sections to come yet !!! so is the garmin maps the same as os mapping then in appearance ? and yes id prefer durability against fancy features too now too decide wether the 10 is enough or invest in a 30 maybe thanks again for your help and no doubt i may have to call on your expertise again :thumbup:

Yes, the mapping you download via the BirdsEye portal is regular OS mapping. Here's a screenshot of Gable to give you a clue of what it looks like on BaseCamp, much smaller on the actual device of course.

Attachment 6648

[old un]

Thanks Martyn. I'm on scarbro rock on Sat and I'm sure they'll be couple there I can have a look at ;-)

[old un]

Out of interest Martyn do you use a site called moorland challenge , and can you up load the tracks from there onto your etrex?

[Martyn P]

Out of interest Martyn do you use a site called moorland challenge , and can you up load the tracks from there onto your etrex?

Simon, do you mean this link: web.tiscali.co.uk/yorkshirewalker/ ??

If so, the answer is yes. The format available to download is .gpx, so you would import into Garmin BaseCamp on your PC and then upload it from Basecamp onto your eTrex device. Very straightforward.

[old un]

yes i think it is the same site although we get it as moorland challenge i cant load it as tiscali something to do with us being monopolised by karoo network in hull. but anyway its good it loads ok another +ve thing. thanks again martyn.