vector mapping gps??

**phil tregear 2** · 8th September 2012

Hi I have an adventurer 2800 gps , OS 1:50k maps, which is great for walking, but a bit clunky for navigation on a bike. The reason is it uses rasta mapping.

I have read the thread on gps in this forum. coolboarder mentions theGarmin Etrex Vista Hcx

. This looks like it might be right for me. I do road riding and want a gps I can upload routes to . My need is purely for navigation and avoiding major roads, not for performance measurement. I can do this on the adventurer but it is not that brilliant. My questions about the garmin are:

1. does it use vector maps?

2. are the maps of the UK it comes with it good enough to plan road riding routes?

3. is it easy to write routes on the PC and transfer them to the unit?

4. Is it easy to then follow that route on the garmin?

5. does the display rotate with the orientation of the rider? ( rasta maps will not do this, hence why I would opt for vector maps)

6. What is the best mount to buy? ( I have seen pics of a stem mounted mount that looks good but no link to the shop selling them)

Many thanks for any advice and info

Phil

**puddings** · 8th September 2012

I run the 705 which is also based on vector maps. The installed base map is absolutely useless (unless you are sticking to trunk roads). You will need to load maps onto your device - assuming you can with your chosen model. Even when you load the maps, they are ok on road because you have a reference point. Off road, especially if you are away from bridleways and footpaths they are pretty useless unless you have a OS map to back it up.

To get the more detailed maps, don't bother with the Garmin version - they are over priced and out of date (even the ones labelled as 2012 are only updated with service references not new roads). Your best option is to go with open source maps - you can find a good source for them here

Once on your device you can then load routes onto your GPS with a resource such as bikeroutetoaster

My 705 does orientate with direction but not sure about your chosen device.

Personally if you have a nav GPS already, I would look to get a bike specific unit because it will come with bike mounts etc - the likes of the 705 are pretty cheap from places like Handtec

**phil tregear 2** · 9th September 2012

Thanks for the above. I am downloading the map of Uk via the link (401MB!)and Im going to see if I can load it on to my GPS and whether that device will read it and orientate etc. Should that fail, I will explore garmins!

**phil tregear 2** · 29th September 2012

my gps wont read these maps ( bummer). oh well, something else to add to my wishlist.

**coolboarder** · 1st October 2012

Originally Posted by phil tregear 2

I have read the thread on gps in this forum. coolboarder mentions theGarmin Etrex Vista Hcx

. This looks like it might be right for me. I do road riding and want a gps I can upload routes to . My need is purely for navigation and avoiding major roads, not for performance measurement. I can do this on the adventurer but it is not that brilliant. My questions about the garmin are:

1. does it use vector maps?

2. are the maps of the UK it comes with it good enough to plan road riding routes?

3. is it easy to write routes on the PC and transfer them to the unit?

4. Is it easy to then follow that route on the garmin?

5. does the display rotate with the orientation of the rider? ( rasta maps will not do this, hence why I would opt for vector maps)

6. What is the best mount to buy? ( I have seen pics of a stem mounted mount that looks good but no link to the shop selling them)

Many thanks for any advice and info

Phil

As my name has been mentioned I best reply. If you want a powerful, inexpensive GPS that has the mapping features you want then IMO you can't beat the etrex Vista HCx. At just over £100 the best place I've found to get them is Handtec, http://www.handtec.co.uk/section.php...dc66b8d1992252. These may be new or reconditioned now as was my latest aquisition but you wouldn't know it wasn't new.
Sadly the base map is useless so you need something else. Garmin tried to charge me a fortune to unlock my Mapsource Topo GB mapsets I have for my broken Oregon and I was not willing to pay so after some initial difficulty I downloaded the maps from http://talkytoaster.info/ukmaps.htm - just follow the instructions on how to download from the website. These maps are in fantastic detail and are routable if you choose the right one, I'm not sure what you mean by vector maps but these maps work on Garmin which is all that matters. What I haven't worked out however is how to open the maps on my PC (I just copied them straight to a micro SD card) for actually plotting the route although I think that is my crap computer rather than anything else, however as I have Topo GB it will let me do that and download the route to the etrex. Not sure what the way round this is if you haven't bought Topo GB to start with - if you do then you won't need anything else but it is the best part of £140! You can plot a route on the unit by marking waypoints but it is infinitely tedious. However if you download Basecamp http://www8.garmin.com/support/downl...ls.jsp?id=4435 this allows you to connect the unit to your PC and use it with Garmin mapping and there is a trip and waypoint manager software in the box with the etrex.
Other answers:
4) The routes once loaded are easy to follow and turns are prompted.
5) you can set the etrex to North up which is fixed and I prefer or route up which then orientates with the ride.
6) You can get a bike mount at the same time as you buy the unit.

My logic is that if you buy the etrex it is less than the cost of a Garmin Edge 200 and has it's features and more so even if you can't put routable maps on it you've lost nothing but once you can it is the best value navigable GPS you can get.

**Ashley Webster** · 1st October 2012

Originally Posted by puddings

Once on your device you can then load routes onto your GPS with a resource such as bikeroutetoaster

Thanks for all the advice, Puds; on the strength of one of the other threads, I bought a 705 from Handtec and have been really pleased with it but as said above, the maps supplied with it are basic at best.

The maps mentioned seem very good but do I take it from your comment that routes created on things like Garmin Connect won't work with the open source maps?