Garman Nuvi?

[steelo]

We have a Garmin Nuvi 1490T, got it on special at Dick Smiths, with free life-long map updates & was wondering what other/better off road maps can be used on it that are better.
Thanks :D

p.s. I have some Shonky Maps but they're no better than what's on there

[incisor]

nothing i know of...

[Yorkie]

garmin oztopo or gpsoz, both will cost you more money but the gpsoz version works ok.

[austastar]

Hi,
Oztopo maps are good, with detail right down to fire trails. Using Basecamp these can be loaded onto the Garmin, along with tracks, routes, waypoints etc.
cheers

[PhilipA]

Funny, I have never found the Garmin topo maps much good, more because of a Garmin trait to not show track names until the map is on maximum amplification usually 700 metres on the screen , even with "high" detail.

Its very frustrating to look for say a turnoff , which shows on the screen, and not know whether there might be another turnoff just off screen, because the track names are not shown.

Another thing I find frustrating is the inability to track a route even by placing waypoints at one intersection , then the next.

I remember trying to plot a route to the camping ground on the 6 foot track, which had been predetermined by the club, and the 1490T just refusing to follow the waypoints.
BTW if it is like mine , it may just turn off on you from time to time. You need to reboot it and the method is on the Garmin website. I have found you also have to clear previous trips regularly or the thing freezes.
Regards Philip A

[jakeslouw]

The latest Garmaps have all the detail you need, the problem is the logic on the unit that zooms out and hides detail with no regard to your requirements.

My 215W performs better than our new 1490LT.

I use Tracks4Africa on my 215W and I can lock it on to a low level zoom for proper waypoint tracking.

Tracks4Africa uses a similar back-end software to GPS OZ (Basecamp type system).

[goingbush]

Download "Shonky Maps" and install with garmin base camp / map manager

Shonkymaps by Shonkylogic (http://shonkylogic.net/shonkymaps/)

much more useful than garmin topo maps, not sure about vicalps but seem to have most of outback exploration , mining and station tracks
but its handy to have hema maps running on win-ce for an overall view while you run shonky on a nuvi.

btw, you have to go into the menus and turn off street maps for shonky to work properly

[PhilipA]

I find Shonky maps just as frustrating as you have to get to max amplification for all of the tracks to show at all.
I recall recently trying to plot a route in Bendethra and none of the tracks showed at even a moderate screen size. it was only when you get down to 700 metres that all the tracks show and its hard to know where you are when trying to set a route.
I think the limitation is teh 1490T itself, although I have been trialling Oztopo on my ALDI 10inch tablet and the NSW 1/150,000 maps are also difficult to read and pixilate at more resolution. Google maps are almost as good !
I haven't found an ideal solution yet. Maybe its mudmaps on Ipad but that is big bucks unless you already have a 3G Ipad.
Regards Philip A

[incisor]

i found nothing that i thought was effective

shonky maps is as good as it gets imho and it is not much chop compared to other options out there on other devices.

and as the man says himself

"The purpose of shonkymaps has always been to aid in the pursuit of outdoor activities (such as Geocaching) rather than vehicular navigation. "

[StephenF10]

We have a Garmin Nuvi 1490T, got it on special at Dick Smiths, with free life-long map updates ...

Don't put too much faith in the "life-long" map updates. The reason the 1490T is on special is because Garmin's agreement with Sensis to provide maps has ended and there probably won't be many more updates. The later Garmins use Navteq maps.

Stephen.

[Yorkie]

OZtopo - Topographical Maps for Garmin GPS units (http://www.oztopo.com.au/index.htm)
this is the one i have, vers 3 though so could update if needed.
using base camp on the pc you can create a route but depends if the 1490t can accept route, mine cannot so that feature is unavailable.
have used mine throughout the high country and blue mountains and all the tracks have been shown, some only bike tracks but they are all there.

saying that i am moving to iPad/hema for upcoming outback trip and will have the garmin as a backup.

[austastar]

Its very frustrating to look for say a turnoff , which shows on the screen, and not know whether there might be another turnoff just off screen, because the track names are not shown.

Another thing I find frustrating is the inability to track a route even by placing waypoints at one intersection , then the next.

Hi,
Yes they do have some limitations trying to use them to make decisions in the field.
I prefer to do my planning on a pc at home using a variety of map sources and down load a track to the garmin to use in the cab. I used to use a laptop in my previous vehicle, but the D130 single cab is a bit cramped for that.
If every thing is going pear shaped and I'm geographically embarrassed, I'll get the lap top out to make some decisions.
If the garmin recognises where I am as a road, I'll just use its turn by turn to get me somewhere I know and then carry on.
cheers

[steelo]

Don't put too much faith in the "life-long" map updates. The reason the 1490T is on special is because Garmin's agreement with Sensis to provide maps has ended and there probably won't be many more updates. The later Garmins use Navteq maps.

Stephen.

Yeah I heard something along those lines, it hasn't picked up the new Bruce Hwy south of Gympie yet & that opened a couple of months ago. I updated maps before I went down a couple of weeks ago & I was driving on nothing with voice constantly saying "recalculating", just as well it's a nice female voice LOL.

[PhilipA]

We changed the female voice from "Julia" Aussie female to"Bruce" the aussie male.
The Aussie female voice was too close to a well known figure , and was very annoying.

Regards Philip A

[130man]

Hi PhillipA, apparently the voice of Garmin is an Australian lady called Karen Jacobsen. Currently resident in New York, she won an audition as the best understood accent for the English speaking countries. I believe she now has a book out. Cheers, 130man.