Garmin GPS - Adding memory to Garmin Vista C

Author

Adding memory to Garmin Vista C

tacohen@mindspring.com

2005-12-23, 5:48 pm

Is there any way to increase the amount of memory from 24 meg to
something else?

Jack Erbes

2005-12-23, 5:48 pm

tacohen@mindspring.com wrote:

> Is there any way to increase the amount of memory from 24 meg to
> something else?

No practical way at the user lever. There is a new family of Garmin
handhelds (60Cx, 76Cx, etc.) that has a slot for TransFlash memory cards
for expanded memory.

The Magellan Meridian series have always used SD memory cards for
expansion memory. Those are getting pretty reasonable, especially on
the used market. Of course that would mean you would have to have
Magellan MapSend proprietary detail maps too.

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA - jackerbes at adelphia dot net
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine.com)

4MLA1FN

2005-12-30, 11:48 pm

On 23 Dec 2005 09:24:14 -0800, tacohen@mindspring.com wrote:

>Is there any way to increase the amount of memory from 24 meg to
>something else?

i'm with you there. i just got a vista c and have discovered that
24mb won't do what i need. i live in the metro DC area that is split
over three (!) maps requiring 40+mb (in city navigator v7). i'm
really stuck. i might just switch to magellan for an explorist unit
with an SD card. (when will garmin offer sd cards also?)

Jack Erbes

2005-12-30, 11:48 pm

4MLA1FN wrote:
>
> i'm with you there. i just got a vista c and have discovered that
> 24mb won't do what i need. i live in the metro DC area that is split
> over three (!) maps requiring 40+mb (in city navigator v7). i'm
> really stuck. i might just switch to magellan for an explorist unit
> with an SD card. (when will garmin offer sd cards also?)

Garmin is offering a couple of newer models that will use TransFlash
expansion memory. These are the "x" series models, 60cx, 76cx, or
something like that. TransFlash is a slightly smaller card than the SD,
prices and size availabilities should be competitive with and comparable
to the SD cards in time but they are not right now. It is not a
proprietary, Garmin only, card. It will be used in cameras and other
portable electronics.

I'm not anti Garmin but I do happen to own a few Magellan Meridians. I
like them very much. They are, in my opinion, more versatile than the
Garmins because of the SD cards.

I can travel with one SD card in my Meridian and carry and choose from
detailed street maps, topo maps, or marine charting.

Every brand has its pros and cons. Many of the cons have to be learned
the hard way, by buying one and finding out if will do what you want.

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA (jackerbes at adelphia dot net)
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine dot com)

4MLA1FN

2005-12-30, 11:48 pm

On Fri, 30 Dec 2005 20:15:15 -0500, Jack Erbes
<jackerbes@adelphia.net> wrote:

>Garmin is offering a couple of newer models... the "x" series models, 60cx, 76cx, or
>something like that.

hi jack. thanks for the response. i didn't know about the x series.
i'll do some googling. i do like the size of the etrex line though;
if only the vista c had a card slot, it would be the perfect unit (for
me, at least.)

>I'm not anti Garmin but I do happen to own a few Magellan Meridians.

i've been looking at the explorist 400/500/600. (geocaching is an
important.) they're very nice, but don't appear to have auto-routing
(like the vista c.) if this is true, then there seems little point in
having hundreds of MBs of maps on an SD card. (i'm still new to all
this so maybe i'm missing something.)

>Many of the cons have to be learned
>the hard way, by buying one and finding out if will do what you want.

luckily ebay helps to make this learning a little less painful. :)

tbanks again.

Jack Erbes

2005-12-30, 11:48 pm

4MLA1FN wrote:

> hi jack. thanks for the response. i didn't know about the x series.
> i'll do some googling. i do like the size of the etrex line though;
> if only the vista c had a card slot, it would be the perfect unit (for
> me, at least.)

Look for 60cx or 60csx and 76cx or 76csx. Last I knew there is
absolutely no mention of it on the Garmin web site. It was supposed to
be on the street the first week of December but apparently didn't make it.

> i've been looking at the explorist 400/500/600. (geocaching is an
> important.) they're very nice, but don't appear to have auto-routing
> (like the vista c.) if this is true, then there seems little point in
> having hundreds of MBs of maps on an SD card. (i'm still new to all
> this so maybe i'm missing something.)

The Meridians and eXplorists will autoroute when you are using the
detail maps from one of the optional MapSend DirectRoute packages. I
use it on mine and it works well enough. The autorouting on the
Meridian is pretty weak on features in comparison to any full featured
dash mount navigation unit (like RoadMates, StreetPilots, etc.). But it
is good enough to be useful and its primary advantage is that it comes
in a compact, waterproof, rugged, and self powered device.

I'd be surprised to find that the autorouting on the Vista C is any more
sophisticated than what the Meridian offers and it also probably
requires the use of one of the optional mapping packages.

I'm happy enough with my Meridians (one color, one monochrome) for now,
I like the larger display on the eXplorist XL but I'm not going to buy
one anytime soon.

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA (jackerbes at adelphia dot net)
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine dot com)

4MLA1FN

2005-12-31, 5:48 pm

On Fri, 30 Dec 2005 22:12:04 -0500, Jack Erbes
<jackerbes@adelphia.net> wrote:

>Look for 60cx or 60csx and 76cx or 76csx. Last I knew there is
>absolutely no mention of it on the Garmin web site.

i found something on it; at a bass shop, of all places.

http://tinyurl.com/a8u8b

i'd like to know more about the expandable memory capabilities. it
comes with a 64mb card. is that the limit? can it use a 1gb microSD
card when it becomes available? great marketing by garmin.

>The... eXplorists will autoroute when you are using the
>detail maps from one of the optional MapSend DirectRoute packages.

that's really good to know. *thanks*.

>The autorouting on the Meridian is pretty weak... But it
> is good enough to be useful...

yeah, that's all i want. i rarely need the optimal path; i just want
to get there.

Jack Erbes

2005-12-31, 5:49 pm

4MLA1FN wrote:

> i found something on it; at a bass shop, of all places.
>
> http://tinyurl.com/a8u8b

Okay, that place sells all kinds of stuff and you can get mapping
packages for some of the bigger lakes.

> i'd like to know more about the expandable memory capabilities. it
> comes with a 64mb card. is that the limit? can it use a 1gb microSD
> card when it becomes available? great marketing by garmin.

Still nothing from Garmin though? Kind of strange because it was
supposed to be on the market in early December.

TransFlash and MicroSD are synonymous. It looks like 512mb chips are
the largest available now. I'm sure they will continue to get larger
and cheaper in time (SD did the same thing).

Right now street prices on SD cards is around $60 for standard 1GB
cards, TransFlash is more like $70 for a 512mb.

If Garmin is like Magellan they will not tell you the usable ceiling but
will recommend the sizes they sell as Garmin branded. Those will cost
two to four times the street prices.

The high speed or ultra fast SD cards at double the cost are not worth
the extra money for most purposes as far as I am can tell.

Magellan is still mumbling about 128mb while the Meridians are being
very widely used with 1GB and 2GB cards. I have several 1GB SD cards
(SanDisk, Toshiba, Lexar) and would not hesitate to buy any brand that
comes with a guaranty. I had one Lexar 1GB CF card replaced promptly
with no questions, that is the only piece of flash memory I have ever
had a problem with.

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA (jackerbes at adelphia dot net)
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine dot com)

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