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I’m just starting to research the possibilities of using my hand-held Garmin E-trex Legend GPS unit to interface with software of some kind on a laptop.
This past weekend while out with the boys in the back country and with various maps in hand, we still had a heck of time figuring out where we were on the trails (signs missing or shot apart). My GPS has a very small screen and is difficult to read when you are on an area of a topo map that is forest service land (very dark background).
After talking with a friend at work today, he said to check out The Official OziExplorer Web Site - GPS Mapping Software for Magellan, Garmin, Lowrance, Eagle, MLR Receivers for software that could be installed on a laptop and it works in conjunction with a GPS unit. I thought, PERFECT! I checked out the web site and it looks real promising. I would especially like to download forest service maps since that is a big chunk of what we end up on. I also really like the ‘moving map’ feature and the optional 3D package. That would be WAY COOL! :tu:
So with this software, the GPS unit is only for locating my position and it then displays where I am on the laptop, which of course has a much bigger screen and is in color. At this point, I don’t own a laptop. The system requirements for OziExplorer are pretty basic by today’s standards:
Desktop PC or Laptop running Windows 95/98/ME/NT4/2000/XP
CPU Pentium 200MHz or better (higher CPU speeds will work better)
64 MB of RAM (preferably 256 or more)
VGA Monitor 800x600 or greater preferred
Mouse
CD-ROM drive (if your maps are on CD)
I would be willing to buy a used laptop in the $200-$300 range. Has anyone tried this combination before? Are there other/better alternatives? I would prefer the laptop for the large screen as I’m not getting any younger and pictures from trips could be downloaded from my digital camera and stored on it, plus journal entries for family vacations (heading to Yellowstone for a week in June). I just think I would get a lot more out of a laptop then some other device. I can get a power inverter to run the laptop while driving, so battery power is not too much of an issue.
Thoughts, comments, personal experience?
This past weekend while out with the boys in the back country and with various maps in hand, we still had a heck of time figuring out where we were on the trails (signs missing or shot apart). My GPS has a very small screen and is difficult to read when you are on an area of a topo map that is forest service land (very dark background).
After talking with a friend at work today, he said to check out The Official OziExplorer Web Site - GPS Mapping Software for Magellan, Garmin, Lowrance, Eagle, MLR Receivers for software that could be installed on a laptop and it works in conjunction with a GPS unit. I thought, PERFECT! I checked out the web site and it looks real promising. I would especially like to download forest service maps since that is a big chunk of what we end up on. I also really like the ‘moving map’ feature and the optional 3D package. That would be WAY COOL! :tu:
So with this software, the GPS unit is only for locating my position and it then displays where I am on the laptop, which of course has a much bigger screen and is in color. At this point, I don’t own a laptop. The system requirements for OziExplorer are pretty basic by today’s standards:
Desktop PC or Laptop running Windows 95/98/ME/NT4/2000/XP
CPU Pentium 200MHz or better (higher CPU speeds will work better)
64 MB of RAM (preferably 256 or more)
VGA Monitor 800x600 or greater preferred
Mouse
CD-ROM drive (if your maps are on CD)
I would be willing to buy a used laptop in the $200-$300 range. Has anyone tried this combination before? Are there other/better alternatives? I would prefer the laptop for the large screen as I’m not getting any younger and pictures from trips could be downloaded from my digital camera and stored on it, plus journal entries for family vacations (heading to Yellowstone for a week in June). I just think I would get a lot more out of a laptop then some other device. I can get a power inverter to run the laptop while driving, so battery power is not too much of an issue.
Thoughts, comments, personal experience?