eTrex Vista HCx, with multi maps, which does it display?
Moby
Hi Guys,
I have an eTrex Vista HCX and have added several maps, including
Garmin street level, and shonky maps.
All maps on the device are checked so they are available.
So, there are areas where both Garmin and Shonky cover.
What map do I see on the screen then? Is there a layer order? Can I
adjust that?
What I want is to use garmin street maps when in the burbs, and be
able to switch to Topo maps when in the required area.
Regards,
Moby
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> eTrex Vista HCx, with multi maps, which does it display?
>
> Hi Guys,
>
> I have an eTrex Vista HCX and have added several maps, including
> Garmin street level, and shonky maps.
>
> All maps on the device are checked so they are available.
>
> So, there are areas where both Garmin and Shonky cover.
>
> What map do I see on the screen then? Is there a layer order? Can I
> adjust that?
>
> What I want is to use garmin street maps when in the burbs, and be
> able to switch to Topo maps when in the required area.
>
>
>
> Regards,
>
> Moby
>
Menu/Setup Maps / scroll over to the "i" icon / menu / select "show" or
"hide" for the two map sets as desired.
Moby
wrote:
OK, I know that.
But if 2 different maps are set to show for a particular area, and you
are in that area, which map will be displayed?
Is there a hierachy order for display??
Jack Erbes
<snip>
> OK, I know that.
>
> But if 2 different maps are set to show for a particular area, and you
> are in that area, which map will be displayed?
>
> Is there a hierachy order for display??
>
Yes, there is a hierarchy.
For the North American mapping the newest street and highway mapping
(City Navigator) will display when I have a supplemental map that
contains mapping from City Navigator, BlueChart Americas (marine
charts), U.S. Topo, and MetroGuide (an older street and highway mapping
package) installed.
As it appears on mine, the hierarchy has City Navigator at the top, then
BlueChart is next, and it becomes a little foggy after that simply
because I've not taken the trouble to figure it out.
But only one kind of supplemental mapping will display at a time. The
basemap and MarinePoints Database that is included on some handhelds
seem to be handled a little differently than the supplemental maps. It
appears to me that, (1), the basemap is always inferior to any other
supplemental mapping when two or more are in the show mode, and,(2) the
MarinePoints Database is always displayed with any mapping.
The latter point above can be a little annoying at times in that if you
are using marine charts you'll sometimes see two icons or objects for
the same navaid, one from the BlueChart mapping and the other from the
MarinePoints Database. The location properties of the two icons will be
very close together normally but not exactly the same.
Depending on your mix of mapping, you may only have to turn City
Navigator off to see the supplemental mapping you want. Or you may have
to turn off more than one of them. Or you can turn them all off and
then turn the one you want to see on.
Turning all mapping off and then BlueChart on, in the case of the
MarinePoints Database, can introduce further catch 22's. If I turn off
the MarinePoints database I lose the tide symbols from BlueChart because
they are not included in the uploaded BlueChart mapping, only in the
MarinePoints Database.
The tide symbols in the MapSource BlueChart install on a PC are not on
the charts, they are in the Tides and Marine Services "mapping" that is
installed along with BlueChart. The Tides and Marine Services map has
very little detail (basically a coarse world map with national borders,
major towns, cities, and highways) other than icons for tide point
symbols and POI symbols for marine services.
And the final piece of trivia on having multiple mapping is that when
you have more than one mapping turned on (and only one is being seen of
course) and you zoom out, at a certain level you will also start seeing
the outlines of all the maps that are turned on but not being displayed
in slightly muted or dimmed down lines. But they can be a visual
annoyance and give rise to a desire to only have one mapping on at a time.
Jack
Dan Anderson
same time as a non-transparent map. I don't think Garmin makes
any but you might find some third party maps that are transparent.
A transparent map might be limited in content to avoid display
conflicts with some other map. There's no command in the receiver
or MapSource to change the map type. The map is built one way or
the other.
I make my trail maps transparent so they overlay a topographic map.
That way I get the trails and contours.
--
Dan
Personal: www.gpsmap.net
Business:
Western Maps LLC
www.westernmaps.us
Jack Erbes
> It's possible to have transparent maps that will display at the
> same time as a non-transparent map. I don't think Garmin makes
> any but you might find some third party maps that are transparent.
> A transparent map might be limited in content to avoid display
> conflicts with some other map. There's no command in the receiver
> or MapSource to change the map type. The map is built one way or
> the other.
>
> I make my trail maps transparent so they overlay a topographic map.
> That way I get the trails and contours.
>
I think that is what is happening with the MarinePoints Database. I'm
don't know why they called it a "database" instead of a map but it may
just be, as you suggest, a transparent map.
Jack
Dan Anderson
> I think that is what is happening with the MarinePoints Database. I'm
> don't know why they called it a "database" instead of a map but it may
> just be, as you suggest, a transparent map.
Humm... Not saying that it isn't effectively a map but I wonder
if it's working more like user POI's.
Is there a file installed on the micro SD card that contains
the MarinePoints? If so, filename?
Jack Erbes
> Jack Erbes wrote:
> > I think that is what is happening with the MarinePoints Database. I'm
>> don't know why they called it a "database" instead of a map but it may
>> just be, as you suggest, a transparent map.
>
> Humm... Not saying that it isn't effectively a map but I wonder
> if it's working more like user POI's.
>
> Is there a file installed on the micro SD card that contains
> the MarinePoints? If so, filename?
I thought I remembered as being a file in main memory but cannot recall
the name of the file though<
I thought I also remembered it as being available as a download you
could reinstall if necessary< But maybe I am confused about that too<
I searched the Garmin web pages and can't find it mentioned anywhere<
I looked at the 76Cx detailed specs here:
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/store/assets/pdfs/specs/gpsmap76cx_76csx_spec.pdf
and it says that
"(GPSMAP 76Cx & 76CSx) Built-in routable basemap (North and South
America) with cities, highways, interstates, local thoroughfares and
secondary roads within metro areas, interstate exit services, airports,
rivers, lakes, coastlines and tide stations"
That spec sheet seems to be dated REV0806 (June 2008 or August 2006?) so
maybe something has changed< They make no mention of an "Americas
Marine Point Database" or anything like that< I still have that listed
on the Maps Info menu on my 76Cx and can turn it on and off from there<
It may be that the Marine Points database is like or part of the basemap
and cannot be loaded or reloaded except during manufacture<
But I use my 76Cx on boats quite a bit and know that, with the basemap,
City Navigator, and Marine Points database on, I see all or nearly all
the navaids that I ever encounter in New England waters<
And if I am using BlueChart mapping I see two marks in most places, one
from BlueChart and the other from the Marine Points Database< One of
the two will go away if I turn either BlueChart or the database off<
The included navaids listings are actually very good< I could navigate
familiar waters with those alone as far as getting from one waypoint to
another in familiar and known to be safe from point to point routes< Of
course, I would not have accurate shoreline locations, soundings, rocks
and shoals, and all the other stuff that is on the BlueChart mapping<
Jack
Dan Anderson
but the marine data is part of the "basemap." Navaids, tide stations,
and services can be turned ON/OFF under map setup->marine. The 76C[S]x
seems to have made it a separate "map" as it's listed in the map list.
The map setup options removed those mentioned above and added colors,
light sectors, and symbol set.
The plain 76 (not a mapping receiver but had 1 meg for POI's) came with
some marine data and a city database. The eTrex Venture was not marketed
as a marine GPSR so it only had a city database. The files for these
databases were/are supplied on the Garmin web site so you could restore
the original data. Since I don't use these for marine activities and the
Venture city database had smaller towns in it than the one supplied for
the 76, I put the Venture's city database into the 76. There was no
other "basemap" in these non-mapping receivers.
I'd characterize the basemap for the GPSmap 76 as containing the marine
database plus the basic roads and cities. The basemap for the eTrex
Legend (never had one to confirm) probably had the roads and cities minus
the marine data.
The marine data is clearly a "database" and roads are also a "database"
but a special case that someone would more likely call a "map." How you
want to structure and call the parts is just a matter of programming and
marketing. So that's my take on why it's a "database" and a little on
how Garmin is changing the organization of the data stored in the receivers.