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GPS/map files for dummies...

xL8 APEKSx

xL8 APEKSx

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Garden Grove, CA
Ok, this confuses the living hell out of me!

In a nutshell...I have borrowed my mother's portable GPS. It's a V7 730 (yahoo or google search will find info on it). The folder that contains the maps on the GOS unit is titled "IGO", and the map files seem to be *.fbl files. I don't know what these are.

What I'm trying to figure out is...how can I download and install other map files, or save maps from Google Earth for use on the GPS unit?

Are there GPS units that don't cost an arm and a leg that allow the user to do this? Any info appreciated, this crap is all greek to me. Thanks!
 
Define an arm and a leg?

You might be able to do some conversions with GPSBabel or GPSVisualizer.
 
5-90 said:
At risk of sounding silly - what's wrong with a paper map? I've been using them for years, and navigation is pretty simple...
Click to expand...

You can't Geocache with a paper map. Well, I guess you could, but that's a little too much effort for me. lol. I'd rather enter my Lat/Long and be done with it.

Not only that, but for excursions, I like to pre-load GPS waypoints of POI's. It's very handy to see your relation to the POI's change in real time while you move...rather than coloring all over a map and getting it out, un-folding it, locating your position, then folding it and putting it away again....and repeating that every few minutes. :rof:

Also...if you're taking a trip that covers a few hundred miles, but you want both street AND detail AND topo maps of everything...you'd need about 50 paper maps to cover everything. Or, one little GPS unit that has all of those maps pre-loaded.
 
I believe the V7 730 has only been on the market for a few months. I don't believe that GPSBabel has the capabilities to transfer .fbl files yet. http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/gpsbabel/

Typically all mapping software is proprietary and will not transfer from one brand to another.

I don't know of any GPS receivers that work with Google Earth. Google bought TomTom and I believe that in the future some TomTom units may work with Google Earth.
 
I have a Garmin eTrex. They're a small hand held unit u can use for geocaching, or mount in on your dash with the optional mounting kit. The program I use that is made by Garmin is called MapSource, it's pretty simple for tracking trails, and u can load maps on it with the right maps on CD or pre-loaded data cards if they're compatible with it. The one I have is the top of the line Vista Cx. I was able to get GPS files from someone else and put them on my GPS. Haven't messed with google though. the thing works with Easy GPS as well.
 
BTW, the eTrex line is aimed at the hiking community, so it's great for us four-wheelers as far as being not on the paved roads, except the screen is kind of small. Most GPS u see today are meant for mall crawlers and don't have good features you need for being off-road, but they will tell you where the nearest starbucks is (which the eTrex actually does, but it's not the prominent feature).
 
xL8 APEKSx said:
You can't Geocache with a paper map. Well, I guess you could, but that's a little too much effort for me. lol. I'd rather enter my Lat/Long and be done with it.

Not only that, but for excursions, I like to pre-load GPS waypoints of POI's. It's very handy to see your relation to the POI's change in real time while you move...rather than coloring all over a map and getting it out, un-folding it, locating your position, then folding it and putting it away again....and repeating that every few minutes. :rof:

Also...if you're taking a trip that covers a few hundred miles, but you want both street AND detail AND topo maps of everything...you'd need about 50 paper maps to cover everything. Or, one little GPS unit that has all of those maps pre-loaded.
Click to expand...

I suppose - but one should be able to navigate to where they want to be using a sketch map or written notes, then pull out the topo chart/street map/quad/whatever for the final area you're working in.

Probably just me. I can use a GPS quite well - I just don't care to. Kinda the whole "what happens when the batteries go flat?" argument. Or something like "don't get into anything you can't get out of" - your electronics may suddenly not work, and you find yourself using your noodle anyhow.

(Or, I'm just cranky because mapreading is becoming a lost art.)
 
xL8 APEKSx said:
What I'm trying to figure out is...how can I download and install other map files, or save maps from Google Earth for use on the GPS unit?
Click to expand...


If you're trying to use a GPS that was primarily designed to guide cars around city streets and instead use it to find where you've been off road, you're going to have a difficult time.

Are there GPS units that don't cost an arm and a leg that allow the user to do this? Any info appreciated, this crap is all greek to me.
Click to expand...

Most any Garmin or Magellan with a removable data card or a USB connector will do what you need. Even the cheapest ones.
 
Unless you want to get into some complicated GIS (geographical information systems), then importing maps from other sources into any handheld device will be complicated.

I enjoy the Garmin units more than any based on the software usability yet if you just need some basic coords then any unit is about the same. I have the Garmin 60Csx and like everything about it. I have also used the Etrex and will most likely get that one next because it is just as functional as the 60Csx but is smaller, lighter, and batteries last longer (I do alot of ultralight hiking, boating, and feild research).

As for using google earth, it is possible and not all that complicated if you have a laptop/PDA with an internet connection. Download http://www.download.com/Google-Maps-With-GPS-Tracker/3000-12940_4-10494227.html and you can see your position real time along with a google map. I use it in the car with a mobile broadband card and a bluetooth GPS unit.

In anything mapping, data is over 80% of the cost so expect to pay for good data.

-KG
 
juryrigjalopy said:
Unless you want to get into some complicated GIS (geographical information systems), then importing maps from other sources into any handheld device will be complicated.

I enjoy the Garmin units more than any based on the software usability yet if you just need some basic coords then any unit is about the same. I have the Garmin 60Csx and like everything about it. I have also used the Etrex and will most likely get that one next because it is just as functional as the 60Csx but is smaller, lighter, and batteries last longer (I do alot of ultralight hiking, boating, and feild research).

As for using google earth, it is possible and not all that complicated if you have a laptop/PDA with an internet connection. Download http://www.download.com/Google-Maps-With-GPS-Tracker/3000-12940_4-10494227.html and you can see your position real time along with a google map. I use it in the car with a mobile broadband card and a bluetooth GPS unit.

In anything mapping, data is over 80% of the cost so expect to pay for good data.

-KG
Click to expand...

Why is it that he's my son and he knows so much about this stuff and I have all this fancy crap he says I need and I continue to be lost most of the time?.......SANTA
 
4xSanta said:
Why is it that he's my son and he knows so much about this stuff and I have all this fancy crap he says I need and I continue to be lost most of the time?.......SANTA
Click to expand...

HAHA!!! That's great! :laugh:
 
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