Bright Ideas Anyone?

[inang-teneer]

Hi all. I got wind of this site recently. I need a bit of help. I have a Garmin Colorado 400t. It's this handheld GPS that's ideal for the outdoors. My brother from the States bought it for me to use whenever my family and I climb. I've been to the Garmin website, they have topographic maps (maps for use in mountaineering) for all mountains and mountain ranges in the States, Europe, Canada. They don't, however, sell topo maps of Asia and the Philippines. I've asked Garmin Philippines for assistance - they haven't even heard of the Colorado400t yet.

What do I do? It's a $600 paper weight that we use to merely determine altitude, temperature, coordinates and nothing else.

Would anyone in the community have any bright ideas - besides torching the thing?

If I download the standard road map from this site, would it be useful for mountaineering?

Hope no one snickers at this post...

Inang-teneer

[Roadguide2000]

Hi all. I got wind of this site recently. I need a bit of help. I have a Garmin Colorado 400t. It's this handheld GPS that's ideal for the outdoors. My brother from the States bought it for me to use whenever my family and I climb. I've been to the Garmin website, they have topographic maps (maps for use in mountaineering) for all mountains and mountain ranges in the States, Europe, Canada. They don't, however, sell topo maps of Asia and the Philippines. I've asked Garmin Philippines for assistance - they haven't even heard of the Colorado400t yet.

What do I do? It's a $600 paper weight that we use to merely determine altitude, temperature, coordinates and nothing else.

Would anyone in the community have any bright ideas - besides torching the thing?

If I download the standard road map from this site, would it be useful for mountaineering?

Hope no one snickers at this post...

Inang-teneer

Hi Inang-teener,

Welcome to Roadguide. You are not wrong to find this place. You were destined to find this great place. Surely your unit will not be a US$600.00 paper weight. Your presence are very much welcome here. We have a lot of colleagues here who will advice you in your predicament and share their expertise. Not a day will pass that your problems will not be solved here. Be patient and don't use your unit to boil water to make coffe. I'm sure they will recommend to you the right maps you are going to download for your mountaineering needs. You can also browse the forum's "how to" on how to contribute and be a Contributor.

Best regards.

[batulao]

hello inang-teneer, welcome to roadguide!

[Borgie]

What do I do? It's a $600 paper weight that we use to merely determine altitude, temperature, coordinates and nothing else.

Would anyone in the community have any bright ideas - besides torching the thing?

If I download the standard road map from this site, would it be useful for mountaineering?

Hope no one snickers at this post...

Inang-teneer

Please don't torch it, I'd gladly get that GPS for $50 and rid you of an expensive paperweight j/k. Seriously, that's a very nice GPS handheld you have there. There's a recent thread here posted by Batulao showing a colorado 300 taking a river bath in some far-off mountain. Methinks that GPS is just dying to meet his older brother ...

Anyways to answer your questions:
Yes, you can do more with your colorado 400 with the correct map. Finding roadguide maybe the best thing going for you as articulated well by Roadguide2000. For starters, download and install Mapsource (if there's no Mapsource CD installer in the box of your colorado). Then download the roadguide standard map v5.17 here http://roadguide.ph/forums/showthread.php?t=5 (please check the FAQ's on how to get the contributor's map). Since you're looking for contour maps that you can use when you climb, check this out http://roadguide.ph/forums/showthread.php?t=500. Also, don't forget to download the demo map http://roadguide.ph/forums/showthread.php?t=17 that you can use to check if and when you contribute data. Said demo map will also give you an idea about the coverage of the map as compared to the standard map.

After you've installed these maps in Mapsource, you can then send them to your colorado using the map tool and the "send to device" button. Just combine the roadguide standard map and the contour map into one img file. In your colorado, you have the option to turn on/off the different maps that you have generated so it will not clutter up your screen unnecessarily.

Aside from using the colorado for mountain climbing, you can use it also for urban navigation. With the roadguide map installed, you can do autorouting similar to Nuvi's and can do search for POIs, addresses and etc. Please check out this thread http://roadguide.ph/forums/showthread.php?t=183, our units are very similar... Hope to see your contributions soon...

... and please PM me if you still plan selling it... at the price qouted above... j/k

[inang-teneer]

Trying never hurt anybody...

Thanks for the instructions to a clueless first time GPS user like me and thanks for the unexpected warm welcome and reply to my post. I will attempt to load the maps you suggested and cross my fingers. I feel like a fish out of water - is this normal? Jeez... But the site's great... I've been reading threads here and there and people are actually downright friendly. Thanks again and I will let you know if my efforts fail and I might actually need to sell the thing.

[inang-teneer]

Hello Batulao,

I saw your waterproof pics of your Oregon. So it's true that they're submersible! Did you download your maps from this site too? I'm trying to access the contour map Borgie recommended... I hope that'll work. I'm with a group that does mostly exploratory climbs to unexplored and undiscovered peaks - kaya the Colorado 400T could really be valuable to us. In theory pa lang - we've only used it to get more accurate data on LLA, elevation, temperature and track our routes. Without the maps, it's underutilized. What do you suggest?

Our latest climb is featured in http://www.pinoymountaineer.com/2009...iminublan.html - just to share.

Thanks for the warm welcome. This site is ok - friendly people and all.

[inang-teneer]

I think I did it!

To Borgie and all the wonderfully helpful people of Roadguide Philippines,

I'm sending maps (the standard road map and philippine contour maps) to my Garmin Colorado 400T as I write this and I've never been happier! I was reading through the threads in the Newbies Corner (esp the How to's) and following Borgie's instructions at the same time and it was nerve wracking at first. I'm really not that comfortable around the software side of computers and editing registry entries was really nightmarish! But I did it. The Mapsource says data has been sent successfully!

I will pass this site on to fellow mountaineers and recommend it to everyone I know. You guys are just great! Great! Great! Great!

Thanks much,
Inang-teneer

Did I say you guys are great? I hope to be able to contribute something after our next climb. I definitely owe people a round of beer...

[Roadguide2000]

To Borgie and all the wonderfully helpful people of Roadguide Philippines,

I'm sending maps (the standard road map and philippine contour maps) to my Garmin Colorado 400T as I write this and I've never been happier! I was reading through the threads in the Newbies Corner (esp the How to's) and following Borgie's instructions at the same time and it was nerve wracking at first. I'm really not that comfortable around the software side of computers and editing registry entries was really nightmarish! But I did it. The Mapsource says data has been sent successfully!

I will pass this site on to fellow mountaineers and recommend it to everyone I know. You guys are just great! Great! Great! Great!

Thanks much,
Inang-teneer

Did I say you guys are great? I hope to be able to contribute something after our next climb. I definitely owe people a round of beer...

Hi inang-teener,

Goodluck to your next climb. I hope you will log your track, post and contribute here.

Post your trekking experience in below thread;

http://roadguide.ph/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=39

and your tracks and waypoints in the contributions section.

[Borgie]

Did I say you guys are great? I hope to be able to contribute something after our next climb. I definitely owe people a round of beer...

That's good news and you're welcome. Hope to hear some reviews if you get to use the contour maps mountain climbing. Please note though that as mentioned in that download contour map thread, contour interval is 10m and that data it is from SRTM3 (NAMRIA's is much better even if at 20m contour interval). Just don't set your expectations that high when actually climbing and checking the contour lines. While it's ok for hiking, the 10m contour interval might be a tad too wide for climbing and might not give an accurate lay of the mountain up close.

Take note also of the track-back feature of your colorado. That would come in handy on the return trip. And if you want to try routing to your destination (the summit for example, whose coordinates you have identified in Mapsource or other reference maps) the "routing set-up/guidance method" - should be set to off-road when traversing trails/roads that are NOT yet on the roadguide map. That way, you'll be routed/guided to your target destination in a straight line. If you choose follow road (the setting you should set for road autorouting navigation btw), the GPS will connect you (perpindicular line) to the nearest known road, then autoroute you to your destination, again with a perpindicular line reckoned from the nearest known road. In short, it will not give you the shortest line-of-sight distance, and may give an erroneous route. Hope hindi malabo my explanation...

It might interest you to know that a fellow mountaineer has already contributed his tracks of mountain trails here http://roadguide.ph/forums/showthrea...1498#post11498. Hopefully, it can be included in the roadguide map as a "trail" that will help guide other mountaineers planning a trek to that mountain. If you're willing to share your mountain tracks, roadguide is the best place for it as well and it will count as a contribution...

Good luck on your next climb...

[felixbertoo]

Hello inang-teener,
Welcome to roadguide, we have the same interest, climbing mountains. Hope to see your "treklogs" here in roadguide forum.