Garmin - Help please

[Alf]

I seem to have dropped a major clanger with my Garmin Legend HCx. I have the UK and Ireland City Navigator on micro SD card to give detailed road mapping. Now, when I switch the unit on the detailed maps have gone and it has reverted to the base map. I think I must have wiped the data when I had the card in a card reader in my computer. I know I backed up the contents of the micro SD card somewhere on my computer but so far I have not managed to restore it.

If anyone else has City Navigator, it would be very helpful to know what the files are called that I need to find on my computer somewhere and then restore to the SD card. Otherwise, I am going to have to buy the whole thing again.

Thanks
Alf

 

[Alf]

Phew, fixed it. Sorry for false alarm. It turned out I had afterall found and restored the correct files back on to the micro SD from the backup on the computer but they had to be in a folder called Garmin on the SD card. When I recreated that and put the files inside it it started working again.

I will have to be doubly careful in future not to delete the crucial stuff when I am copying over my daily track logs. You would think they would protect the files some how. Perhaps they don't do that so twits like me have to buy new software!

Alf

 

[Joe24]

Just as a question to you, how do you find the Garmin Legend? Im thinking of getting one(as a present to myself for my 18th)
What mount do you use?
How long have you had it and have you had any problems?

Cheers

 

[Alf]

Just as a question to you, how do you find the Garmin Legend? Im thinking of getting one(as a present to myself for my 18th)
What mount do you use?
How long have you had it and have you had any problems?

Cheers

Hi Joe. I'm fairly new to it myself so I would not claim any great expertise. I looked at the Edge models but the cost put me off and the fact that if I ever used it on really long rides, the need to recharge the Li-ion battery of the Edge might be a problem. I also thought about the Vista but I didn't think I would have quite enough interest in the altitude function - might have underestimated that one, though.

I bought a standard cheap Garmin handlebar mount from Amazon and, with a bit of duct tape to tighten up the fit slightly, it has been rock solid so far.

I have the impression that people use their GPSs in different ways. So far my main method has been to create a Track starting with Google maps and then converting to .gpx using a web tool called GMaptoGPX and converting to under 500 track points using the Mapsource software. You can create routes in Mapsource but I haven't tried that yet and my impression of Mapsource is that it is decidedly unfriendly.

There was a comment on another thread that if you are planning to depend on a GPS on a big ride you should start learning how to use the thing a year ahead of actually needing it. Not bad advice, I think. I am certainly still finding my way around mine. It has already proved its worth, though. I have plotted a route on Google maps and then used it on complicated unknown roads and never had to stop and get the map out - which can be a pain, I find, if you are making a lot of turnings.

So far, I still think I have made a good choice so I would say, you won't go far wrong in getting a Legend, but expect to have to put some work into it before you get the most out of it.

Good luck
Alf

 

[Joe24]

Hi Joe. I'm fairly new to it myself so I would not claim any great expertise. I looked at the Edge models but the cost put me off and the fact that if I ever used it on really long rides, the need to recharge the Li-ion battery of the Edge might be a problem. I also thought about the Vista but I didn't think I would have quite enough interest in the altitude function - might have underestimated that one, though.

I bought a standard cheap Garmin handlebar mount from Amazon and, with a bit of duct tape to tighten up the fit slightly, it has been rock solid so far.

I have the impression that people use their GPSs in different ways. So far my main method has been to create a Track starting with Google maps and then converting to .gpx using a web tool called GMaptoGPX and converting to under 500 track points using the Mapsource software. You can create routes in Mapsource but I haven't tried that yet and my impression of Mapsource is that it is decidedly unfriendly.

There was a comment on another thread that if you are planning to depend on a GPS on a big ride you should start learning how to use the thing a year ahead of actually needing it. Not bad advice, I think. I am certainly still finding my way around mine. It has already proved its worth, though. I have plotted a route on Google maps and then used it on complicated unknown roads and never had to stop and get the map out - which can be a pain, I find, if you are making a lot of turnings.

So far, I still think I have made a good choice so I would say, you won't go far wrong in getting a Legend, but expect to have to put some work into it before you get the most out of it.

Good luck
Alf

Thank you very much Alf, you even answered a question i forgot to ask!
The Legend does look like what i need.
I looked on YACF and saw a different mount, which looks more robust, which was one i was going to use.
Although i will look at the bicycle one.
Being a student, i do have way too much spare time to be pratting around with it! So in theory i should get to know it well, or sort of well, i hope.

Got to wait for my birthday and see how much money i get though. Hopefully i can get it alot cheaper from work, looking like i can, which will be nice

Thank you very much for the information Great help

 

[Alf]

Just found some useful looking GPS advice on the audaxUK site - http://www.aukweb.net/index2.htm . Look at the bottom of the list on the right of the window for the link to GPS. I haven' been through it all yet but it might shorten the learning process.

Good luck with yours!

Alf

 

[Joe24]

Thanks very much Alf