Garmin ETrex for a GPS newbie

[drevil]

My bro gave me his old Garmin Etrex last night. I've never had a GPS before, so I'm not sure what neato-torpedo things I can do with it. This thing seems so simple that I'm wondering if it can do fancy pants stuff I've seen Pedro Cervezas (http://www.more-mtb.org/forum/showthread.php?p=9228&highlight=lodi#post9228) do. A little scooping reveals that there is a data cable I can attach to it, however, do I need to get software and maps to make it useful? What do you GPS folks recommend to get me started? Anything free/cheap and good? Thanks!

http://images.rei.com/media/440079.jpg

[rpiontek]

check out www.topofusion.com you can download a fully functional demo version. 1/3 of the screen will have 'demo' overlayed on the map. but it works pretty well. to get rid of the 'demo' is $40.

[GoClipless]

It's been a while since I played with it, but try QuakeMap. There is a fairly full featured free version at http://www.earthquakemap.com/

[gotbike]

Software to dump or load GPS paths. Can overlay paths onto graphics (maps). I've used it a few times. It works. It's Free.

http://www.gpstm.com/

-Jerry

My bro gave me his old Garmin Etrex last night. I've never had a GPS before, so I'm not sure what neato-torpedo things I can do with it. This thing seems so simple that I'm wondering if it can do fancy pants stuff I've seen Pedro Cervezas (http://www.more-mtb.org/forum/showthread.php?p=9228&highlight=lodi#post9228) do. A little scooping reveals that there is a data cable I can attach to it, however, do I need to get software and maps to make it useful? What do you GPS folks recommend to get me started? Anything free/cheap and good? Thanks!

http://images.rei.com/media/440079.jpg

[ODG]

I've considered using Google Earth Plus.

http://earth.google.com/earth_plus.html

[rpiontek]

I've considered using Google Earth Plus.

http://earth.google.com/earth_plus.html

so have I, but after reading many complaints about various problems from current users on the forum I came to the conclusion that it's not quite ready yet. but when they get the bugs worked out and if they add some more features it could be very cool.

[Jackson]

so have I, but after reading many complaints about various problems from current users on the forum I came to the conclusion that it's not quite ready yet. but when they get the bugs worked out and if they add some more features it could be very cool.

I forked over the $20 and it's neat - but not very useful. You can create paths and follow them, and download data from the GPS. But you can't edit a saved path in this version, which is a serious PITA.

I've considered getting the National Geogrphic software, it looks pretty cool. But it is about $100 for a handful of states.

[Squirrel Girl]

I've considered getting the National Geogrphic software, it looks pretty cool. But it is about $100 for a handful of states.That's what I've been using lately.
e.g.:
http://www.deepcaves.net/biking/patapsco.html

It's OK, but maybe not the best. It's much, much better than MapSource, but I still use MapSource to put the topos into my GPS.

SG