a humble beginning with Zumo & Mac

[pgods]

I apologize in advance to all you GPS geeks with advanced degrees in navigation.

I have a Zumo 450. I can type in a destination and get there. Wahoo!
I just downloaded Garmin for Mac: Roadtrip, Base Camp, MapManager, and MapInstall.
Here's the stupid question: what the hell do I do now? Is there anybody willing to provide a paragraph or two on how all this works?

[EmmEff]

If you don't have any maps (ie. TOPO) to load from the Mac to the Zumo, you're basically limited to being able to transfer tracks, waypoints and routes from the Zumo to the Mac and waypoints/routes to the Zumo.

BaseCamp is really useful only if you have the TOPO map DVD.

I have no experience with MapManager and MapInstall but I'm pretty sure these are subsets of Road Trip.

The better question might me, what do you want to be able to do?

[pgods]

Originally Posted by EmmEff

If you don't have any maps (ie. TOPO) to load from the Mac to the Zumo, you're basically limited to being able to transfer tracks, waypoints and routes from the Zumo to the Mac and waypoints/routes to the Zumo.

BaseCamp is really useful only if you have the TOPO map DVD.

I have no experience with MapManager and MapInstall but I'm pretty sure these are subsets of Road Trip.

The better question might me, what do you want to be able to do?

Thanks for the quick response. Now to your question:
1. if someone offers a GPS file (gpx) of a route, how do I then apply it to my Zumo ,ie turn on Zumo, select route, and go?
2. make a route... eg, look at all the "unpaved roads" in the Catskills on a map, chart it out in my Mac, then transfer it to my Zumo?
3. if I want a TOPO map of, say the Catskills, do I buy it from Garmin and download it to my Mac. Are TOPO maps really for MX/off road riding?

I guess that's it for now.
Thanks,
Paul

[EmmEff]

Originally Posted by pgods

1. if someone offers a GPS file (gpx) of a route, how do I then apply it to my Zumo ,ie turn on Zumo, select route, and go?

There might be an easier way but I'd simply load the route in Road Trip, plug in the Zumo, and then transfer the route to the Zumo.

2. make a route... eg, look at all the "unpaved roads" in the Catskills on a map, chart it out in my Mac, then transfer it to my Zumo?

Since you do not have a mapset in Road Trip (do you?), my recommendation is to use Google Earth (free download) to set the route and/or waypoints, save as a KMZ file, and then use GPS Visualizer to convert the KMZ to GPX. Once you have the GPX, you can import that into Road Trip and save it to the GPS (as above).

Disclaimer: There might be an easier way to do this, but that's how I'd do it.

3. if I want a TOPO map of, say the Catskills, do I buy it from Garmin and download it to my Mac. Are TOPO maps really for MX/off road riding?

Usually you'd buy the TOPO maps from Garmin, however there are free topo maps available download for most of North America. Use Google to find them. I use the Ibycus Topo maps for Canada.

Topo maps are definitely useful for planning your off-road route.

Hope this gives you something to go on...

[pgods]

Originally Posted by EmmEff

There might be an easier way but I'd simply load the route in Road Trip, plug in the Zumo, and then transfer the route to the Zumo.



Since you do not have a mapset in Road Trip (do you?), my recommendation is to use Google Earth (free download) to set the route and/or waypoints, save as a KMZ file, and then use GPS Visualizer to convert the KMZ to GPX. Once you have the GPX, you can import that into Road Trip and save it to the GPS (as above).

Disclaimer: There might be an easier way to do this, but that's how I'd do it.



Usually you'd buy the TOPO maps from Garmin, however there are free topo maps available download for most of North America. Use Google to find them. I use the Ibycus Topo maps for Canada.

Topo maps are definitely useful for planning your off-road route.

Hope this gives you something to go on...

It's a start, very helpful, and all I asked for ... for now!
Thanks!