Garmin PC

[Teresaa]

Hi,

Are there any issues with "uploading" maps to the Garmin Mobile PC software (for laptops, etc)?  (in case I'm being unclear on what I'm talking about, it's this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001G12K0A/ref=oss_product).  Or does it work the same way as with any Garmin device (load the trail maps into Mapsource, "download" them to the Garmin PC software).

I want to order Garmin PC, but won't if it doesn't load my trail maps! ;-)

Thanks.

[Moun10Bike]

I wish I could answer your question, but I'm unfamiliar with the Garmin PC.  I'd assume it is just running a version of MapSource, but I would make sure first.

[Teresaa]

Well I went ahead and bought the GarminPC software with 10x bluetooth receiver because the spouse wanted it.  And yes, installing NW Hikes is pretty much just as I said.  

So in case anyone else has the same question in the future, here are the steps for loading NW Hikes on GarminPC
1.  Install GarminPC.  
2.  Install Mapsource on the same computer where the GarminPC software is installed.
3.  Install NW Hikes on the PC
4.  Open Mapsource as Administrator.  Do this as follows (applies to Vista and Windows 7).  Choose start/programs/garmin.  Right click on Mapsource and choose "Run as Administrator".  (If you don't run Mapsource as administrator, when you attempt to transfer the maps from Mapsource to Garmin PC, you might get the error "Access is Denied" depending on how your Windows is configured).
5.  Choose the maps you'd like to transfer, just as you would for any device.
6.  From the Menu, choose Transfer/Send to Device.  Garmin PC should be listed as one of the devices.  Choose GarminPC and send.

Since GarminPC is set up like all of the auto Garmin devices with seemingly "built-in" maps, no worries about downloading street maps with hiking maps to get overlays working properly.  The nice benefit of all this is that you can see gigantic trail maps, rather than keyhole-sized versions that you see with the little hiking GPS' like our Dakota 10.  We love this on our touchscreen laptop so much that we've decided we'll take it hiking from now on and we can pull it out of our pack if we want a "big picture" view of the trail (and we'll likely get a lighter Windows based "Ipad killer" in the future if an acceptable one comes out, so we'll have less-luggable gigantic maps).  (We don't go for long hikes these days so our 3 pound laptop is no big deal).


Anyway, so there you have it.  Thank you for a good product!

[Teresaa]

Small update:

I discovered that many of the NWHikes maps on Garmin MobilePC look fragmented, with parts displayed in red, parts in grey.  This happens even if I choose the highest visibility option when installing the maps.  My workaround is to use MobilePC's night mode when looking at the maps, wherein most maps look complete.  Garmin software is such a moving target.

[Update] To fix, I use the least "visible" maps and they look pretty good, have contiguous red lines as opposed to the fragmented ones in the "more visible" maps.

[Moun10Bike]

The "normal" visibility set uses an unbroken red line for trails, while the two "hi-vis" sets use dashed red lines.  One of those hi-vis sets also uses a light gray outline around the dashes, which helps visibility on my Oregon.  You might want to try the the middle (not outlined) set to see if it is a good compromise on the MobilePC.