spillenger

I am a fairly new GPS user. I’ve just bought a Garmin Etrex Legend HCx, and my computer is a Mac.

I plan to use the Legend mainly for hiking and backpacking trips, both here and in Canada.

I have a few very basic newbie questions.

1. I’m thinking of buying MacGRO Pro, since the Garmin software doesn’t work on Macs. Has anyone used this, and do you recommend it? Why is connecting the unit to your computer better than just using the unit alone? What sorts of practical advantages does it offer?

2. I would like to be able to us the coordinates I save to my Legend to actually create a map of some land I own in Canada. What are my options for doing this?

3. I have tried to use Google Earth to give me a satellite picture of a particular latitude and longitude, but I am finding the images very blurry when I zoom in even moderately. Is this just the limitations of satellite imaging or is there a way to get better pictures on the Web? Is the paid version of Google Earth significantly higher resolution/better quality than the free one?

4. The Legend has a “tracking” feature. Why would I want to do this? What practical advantages would I get from tracking my route?

Thanks a lot.

Andy

Hi spillenger! Welcome to the site!

I can't answer all your questions but...

I use the tracking feature to save where I've been. It lets me accurately save a line to indicate where a trail is at for example. I like to see where I've been once I return. And later if I need to take the exact same route, I can use the tracklog to follow.

Garmin has some Mac software. They are behind on their Mac support but in the last year they've made some big improvements. You can find their Mac software here. Garmin | Mac OS X - Current Software, news and more

dav

1) no Mac here, so I do not know
2) this is why you need a tracklog - upload it to ExpertGPS (here: ExpertGPS - GPS Mapping Software for Garmin, Magellan, Lowrance, Eagle GPS)
3) resolution is only as good as the pictures they took. Normally the lower the population density, the poorer the resolution. The paid version has more features, but the resolution is the same.
4) see "2)" above

Welcome to the site!

iamasmith

Ooooh, thanks

I'm totally Mac at home as far as I can help it. I thought I might have to use VMWare fusion with my new Garmin unit - nice to know Garmin are supporting OSX ^^