garmin etrex legend

[nflxterra]

i've searched through the archives here and i see chuckH has had experience with this gps. i just bought one today, was wondering if anybody has any feedback on using this gps. it seems pretty straightforward and simple to use, although i wish i could find the extras for it somewhere in town, looks like i'll have to order them. how accurate are the mapsource maps (street guide, recreational or topo) this is the first gps that i've owned and don't even know if i need to buy the software. did anybody order the mounting system for there truck or the power supply from garmin? any help would be appreciated.

N 30deg 18.557
W 081deg 47.388

these things are so cool:frog:

[rrdstarr]

ChuckH actually got that Legend from me! I loved it but wanted something that I could see while driving. It has a pretty good base map, but you'll want to get Garmin's TOPO USA or Metroguide USA, or if your in the Great White North, get Garmin's Canada Metroguide with Roads and Recreation.

Ordering direct from Garmin is Expensive!
Good places to order from online are:
http://www.gpscity.com/products/garmin/etrexlegend.html
http://www.tvnav.com/index.html (Site sucks but you can't beat some of their prices) I personally recommend them.
http://www.affordablegps.com/Merchan...egory_Code=R-G

This place is where you can learn it all!
http://gpsinformation.net/

An actual photo from GOXII

[Schludwiller]

4x4books.com always seemed to have good prices as well. Check for specials every once and a while. Not to mention their collection of GPS software and trail books.

[XID]

I've had my Legend since the first of the year and I love it! I've used it hiking and off-roading. The tracklog that it generates is the best feature so far. I've taken this thing out on trails and when I get home I download the tracklog to see where I've been and how close I was to finding an area I thought I knew how to get to.

I couple of things I'd recommend getting are:

A lighter adapter/serial cable combo so you can run you GPS off the X's power instead of chewing up batteries. I ordered my combo cable from this Ebay seller http://www.stores.ebay.com/id=42698189 He was quick to respond to questions and quick in shipping. If you're not comfortable with Ebay, there are other online shops that offer these same cables for about the same price. Save some money, DON'T BUY GARMIN CABLES!!!

He was quick to respond to questions and quick in shipping. Plus the cable costs significantly less than a Garmin brand cable.

Waypoint manager SW/mapping SW:
Check out http://www.topografix.com They offer 3 different GPS products. EasyGPS is a FREE waypoint manager, it's a nice tool to have. PanTerra is an upgraded version of EasyGPS with more features, runs $30. Expert GPS is awesome! It's $60 and it includes all the functionality of the previously mentioned products, plus it allows you to download USGS topo maps and satellite photography views of most areas of the US as you scroll around the map. Highspeed Inet comes in real handy for this feature. You can then pick your waypoints out on these maps and download them to your GPS. It'll also allow you to create routes and download those as well. I believe the "pay" versions have a 2 week trial period where they stick "DEMO" blocks on the maps you view.

Topofusion http://www.topofusion.com/ is a similar product to ExpertGPS. I recommend D/L'ing them both and finding what suites your needs. I think it's $40.

Here's a sample of my recent off-road adventure in Topofusion.



One last thing, if you are looking for a cheap way to "mount" the GPS in the X, I picked up a cell phone holder that attaches to any air vent. I got mine at Walgreens for $6 and it works like a champ, even with all the bumping of going off-road.

Hope you enjoy the fun of this GPS.

Andy

[nflxterra]

i appreciate the info. by the way I went to the local boat supply store, seems like they have the best choices of gps stuff, and bought a garmin swivel mount and power supply (lighter) (I know garmin = $$$$) but i didn't want to cover any ac/heater vents with a cell phone holder gets to hot down here and like rrdstarr i mounted it to the dash (i used velcro to mount it) and just detach it from the swivel when i leave the truck seems to get the best satelite readings from up there anyways and it's easy to view. about how much of a topo chart can i load into this gps anyways i know it only has an extra 8-9megs so before i spend any $$$ on a topo cd how much will it hold, 1 state or maybe a whole region???

[Schludwiller]

I don't think you'll get a whole state on there with Topo. I've almost considered buying a small chip for just the Topo area I wheel in, and then keep the large state Roads & Rec in the chip I have. Uploading takes forever with serial connections (maybe I'll get the USB otherwise). Plus if you're going someplace like Moab you can get TOPO and just switch chips when you're there.

[nflxterra]

hello again, for some reason i could not get this web site to load the past 3 days, maybe it's something with bellsouth, but the other forums loaded fine, i'm using dsl.

anyways, i purchased Garmin Metroguide u.s.a. and the topo software.
yeah like i can't load much at all into them. I guess i'm going to have to get a notebook to run them off of sometime in the future. for now though I can fit the details of where I go in florida and north carolina on metroguide and topo i'll just worry about later nice software though, but i do find the metroguide a little inaccurate with street names and such but who's complaining, at least I can tell the kids where the next McDonald's is on the HWY. lol

also I know you're out on the west coast, I'm trying to get hooked up with an Xterra club to go running with out here on the east coast any suggestions and help would be appreciated.
thanks again

[XID]

There is a Florida club Flordia Extreme Xterras(FLXX), not sure if they have a website up yet, but you can chat with them over on XOC

Have fun and enjoy the new toys.

Andy

[nflxterra]

thanks. i got a hold of warmonger and am planning on hooking up with him and some others, sounds like fun. appreciate all the info guys. by the way, i like this gps now that i've been using it all week at work. i'm a UPS driver and i took it out on my route with me, pretty cool when i uploaded the info to my pc, made it much easier than panning through on the gps. my wife finally approves of a new toy, i showed her how it finds places to eat by category of food, movies etc...... although this info was not in the gps as purchased it came with the metroguide U.S.A.

cheers:ylsuper