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I got a really nice handheld Garmin GPS for Christmas, and I can't seem to figure out how this thing works.. Its not like a car GPS with the maps all loaded.. My oldest son is in Boy Scouts and we do a lot of hiking and camping.. I was looking for something to help on hikes, maybe with trail systems loaded, or something along those lines.. I've been doing some reading and it looks like I have to load the maps for the area I want to be walking in... Anyone have one of these units that can give me a place to start getting set up.. I've got the Garmin GPSMap 62S...

Is it a portable car GPS or a special one for walking? I use a portable Garman car GPS and it is a lifesaver.

Walking model.. it does on/off road, and marine.. I've got a Garmin in the car and its great if you know where you are going.. This new one is meant more for off road/walking...

I have a portable Megellan I use for a rail buggy on back roads and trails. It uses a tracker system, that maps where I go so I can back track to get home. Maybe yours has something like that under menu?

JB

Ken,
Been in the high end GPS biz for years. We will get this going :-) For hiking and such you will want Topo (scanned USGS 1:24000 Quadrangle) maps on the unit. Preliminary look shows there is a Garmin GPSMAP 62 ST(T=Topo). Might save some time if you can exchange the 62 S for a 62 ST. Cousins kid is an engineer at Garmin so we have a resource above "press 1" for support.

I'll poke around some more on this particular model and post back. If you want PM your number and I'll give you a call.

>*EDIT for clarification*<
Garmin is grouping their maps by region. 1 region will cost $100. That's the price difference between a 62 S and 62 ST. Best to keep the 62 S and add the region(s) you need. Will not effect the "global basemap" in the 62 S. Nice looking unit.
Don't believe a bit of the "works in forest/urban canyon" hype. Obstructed signal will cause substantial positional errors. The EPE (estimated positional error) value will alert you to unfavorable conditions.     

Creighton
 

JB.. this does have the tracker feature.. I was expecting it to be able to work like a road GPS and plan trail hikes and stuff... Most of the trails and camping we do is in either county, state or federal park areas.. I was expecting to be able to punch it in for trails like you can for street directions..  Sand Rail??

Creighton.. thats awesome.. Thanks.. Check your pm.. I did manage to acquire a copy of the 2008 Topo maps, which I think I read its a bit better than the 24k for road use.. I'm a bit disappointed in the price for their map setup after paying that much for the unit. I will probably do the $30/year for the birds eye view which sounds pretty cool. I did some research on units and for the features and money, this was a good unit.. The antenna system is pretty amazing. I'm picking up satellite signal in my basement.. I found a forum for these that has some good info..

Ken,

I have a fairly basic Garmin GPS 72 handheld that I use for the tracker system and for fishing.  I haven't spent a lot of additional time trying to figure out the rest of it.  Depending on the parks that you will be visiting, a lot of them are now posting way points on their web-sites/maps.  With most of these hand-helds, you can enter a way point and the unit will direct you to it.

If you have not checked it out already, you need to look into geocaching (geo-cashing).  Your boys will love it.  It is a great way to check out different areas and a lot of fun.  Check http://www.geocaching.com/

 :drinking: Tim :drinking:

Thanks Tim... We have done some Geocaching in the past.. That was one of the features I made sure this had.. I haven't been to the site yet to look up any cache spots, but thats on my list..

Yep, sand rail or dune buggy, just don't have any sand dunes in Ky so I call it a rail buggy.

JB