alecmuffett said:
If I buy a second Garmin GPS - am looking at the GPS60 for Geocaching - can I use the same MapSource installation to upload waypoints and generally poke-around with it?
Hi Alec:
I have about half a dozen different GPSR's at any given time (2720, 7200, 296, 2650, etc.), but I only ever have one installation of MapSource on my computer, and one installation of each of the cartographic products that I use. So, from that you can safely assume that you will have no problem at all using your existing MapSource application for route and waypoint manipulation with your second GPSR.
You sometimes run into 'minor' difficulties - for example, your 2610 uses CityNavigator, which is a locked map product. If your second GPSR uses a different locked map product (e.g. City Select), or, if it uses an unlocked map product (e.g. MetroGuide), then the routes will need to recalculate when you apply them to different map products. Generally this does not cause any problem beyond the "Why did it do that???" blank stare the first time you encounter this.
If the second GPSR you buy has the capability to support loading maps from a locked map product (some of the really inexpensive geo-caching units don't), then you can contact Garmin and ask them to give you an unlock code that will allow you to use your existing CN cartography (from the 2610) in your second GPSR. They will do this for you free of charge, as a customer courtesy. This will eliminate the need for you to load a different map product (for example, City Select) that comes with your second GPSR, and then have to worry about always working on the computer screen with the cartography that matches what is in the different GPSRs. If you get a second unlock code for your second GPSR, don't even bother loading the cartography that comes with the second GPSR onto your computer - just stick with what you already have for the 2610. Or, if what you get with the new GPSR is a higher version number (meaning, newer maps), then install it, get a second unlock code that allows you to use the newer stuff with your 2610, and then uninstall the older version of the maps (what you have now).
There is a little bit of a learning curve associated with using two different GPSRs on the same computer, but it is not steep. I do stress that life is a lot simpler if you run the same cartography on all of the GPSRs. For example, all I ever use is CityNavigator - I no longer load CS or MG on my computer, even if the GPSR comes with a CS or MG CD. I just don't want the confusion.
Michael
