Garmin DVD vs Card

[Pat]

Hi - I've looked through the GPS discussions regarding Garmin (since I have a 705), am new to Touring, and hope to do the PCH from Seattle to San Diego this summer (this is my first big retirement project), and may try to do the North German Plain next summer from Calais to Warsaw with some excursions through some of the Baltic Capitals.

I get that the DVD for the USA allows for "off GPS" trip planning on my PC, which sounds like a good idea.  But, before I order the DVD, I have a question about what can be loaded onto the Garmin.  I fully expect I will be able to load the route as a course, and it will display nearby Way Points (any number of web sites and other programs support that as well).  But I have never seen the added map detail from the other sites (I use GPSIES mostly).

QUESTION:  Will I be able to load the entire map to Garmin (assuming my card is big enough), or will I just get the particular route information that I have built up?

I am sorry if this has been specifically answered already, and I missed it.

Thanks,

Pat

[FredHiltz]

QUESTION:  Will I be able to load the entire map to Garmin (assuming my card is big enough), or will I just get the particular route information that I have built up?

A 2GB card holds the 48 contiguous states of City Navigator, so that should not be a problem. I do not own an Edge series GPSR, but the owner's manual shows how it displays your position on the map.

You have read about the 705 being a superb bike computer but not the best for long routes in new terrain. The ACA routes are written to be loaded into a more suitable unit, where they will give distance to the next turn and which way to turn while showing your position on the map. For the Edge, you will need a program that converts those routes to a course or a track. From what I read on the Garmin forums, both the course and the track display with your position on the map. How well they navigate, supplying distances and directions to turns, is not clear.

We need some advice from an experienced Edge series owner here. Any help?

Fred

[mdxix]

The DVD is a great idea. You can then mix and match maps on your device, adding sections from North America, Europe, and topo maps as you wish. I have 4GB SD card in my Edge 705 stuffed with maps and routes.

The key with the Edge 705 is to observe the 100 waypoints limit. Routes with more than that will get truncated, unless you convert them to a course.

I loaded the latest GPX file from the Atlantic Coast route. I can see and navigate the routes, but they are straight lines, not following the roads. I did get directional prompts at each route point to go north, west, etc, without road names. The waypoints for points of interest along the route were not all there, since the unit can only store 100 of them.

There are of course many ways around these limitations. GPSies can be of great help there.

[Pat]

I appreciate the feedback.  I am aware of the limitations of the 705 as a tool for touring...as I am retired, I need to watch the pennies...so I'm trying to reuse as many existing resources as possible.  But I will upgrade where I need to.

Thanks for the idea of using courses.  I will have to see how that works out.  If all else fails, and I have a detailed "vanilla" map (no waypoints or other Adventure add-ons) I could always use it as a confirmation of where I am, as long as I can see enough satellites.  What to do about recharging is still something that I must work out.

Thanks for the feedback.  I will report back if I figure something out.