Comments on: Dual use GPS for road and trail

By: Rich Owings

Rich Owings — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 13:36:36 +0000

Tricia,

This might also help…

http://gpstracklog.com/2010/03/handheld-gps-101-routes-vs-tracks.html

By: Boyd

Boyd — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 13:13:08 +0000

I think you’re confusing tracks and routes. Tracks a “breadcrumb trails” that show exactly where you went. The Nuvi 1490 can record these and you can transfer them to your computer, but you cannot send them from your computer back to the GPS. In fact, none of the Nuvi series can do that. The Nuvi’s also don’t have any ability to control track recording – they are always recording your track and you cannot disable this, although you can clear it.

Newer Garmin handhelds like the Oregon 450, GPSMap 62s and Montana 600 have much more control over track recording. You can turn it on and off and save portions of tracks which can be named. They also have a feature called track navigation such that a track can be converted to a route.

Routes collections of points that describe a way to go from a start to a finish. If you are driving on roads that are on the map, the GPS will compute the best roads to use to accomplish this. If the roads are not on the map, then the GPS will just draw straight lines between the points. The 1490 can do this.

Really, for what you describe, I suspect you would want a Garmin handheld device and not a Nuvi. Either way though, take a look at Garmin’s maps to see what roads are covered: https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=253&fKeys=FILTER_REGION_AFRICA

Click on the map you want, then click the coverage tab and click the link for the detailed interactive map and you can view it in your web browser.

By: Tricia

Tricia — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 05:12:24 +0000

I’m in need of one or two gps units and am completely new to using them. Any guidance would be most appreciated! I live in Southern Africa and drive to new areas both in the city and off road. I would like to be able to get around new cities without getting too lost.

Also, I would like to be able to map off road routes I take – both driving and walking – when I am with someone who really knows the area. Then I can go back and use the same routes without the expert on the area and not get too lost. Being able to download other people’s off-road maps would be a huge plus.

Am I correct that I cannot download to something like the Nuvi 1490 the .gpx files? Which I assume are tracks recorded by someone and then can be shared… Also, is it correct that I cannot record my own off road route with one of these types of units? Sorry, might be stupid questions, but just don’t know yet.

I do marketing trips to areas that I am completely unfamiliar with in the UK and Europe, so the ability to download international driving maps would be necessary for the city gps.

I don’t have tons of money to spend on these, but this is important to my work and play, so good to get the right tools. Thanks for any advice you can give me!