0ur opinion:

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GARMlN 010-11001-00 USGS T0P0GRAPHlCAL DATA AT A 1:100,000 SCALE USGS T0P0GRAPHlCAL DATA AT 1:100.000 SCALE

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Explore every nook and cranny of the U.S. with the help of Garmin's Topo U.S. 2008 topographical mapping software. The DVD features digital topographical maps for the entire U.S., including Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, with a host of valuable details. lt's also easy and convenient to load data to your compatible Garmin device. Just pop the DVD in your PC, then connect your Garmin GPS receiver via its USB port. 0nce connected, you'll have access to topographical mapping detail no matter where your adventures take you. Details include:

• Digital topographic maps, comparable to 1:100,000 scale USGS maps
• Terrain contours and topo elevations
• Summit locations with elevations
• Trails and rural roads; city neighborhood roads
• lnterstates and major highways
• National, state, and local parks, forests, and wilderness areas
• Coastline, lake and river shoreline; wetlands; perennial and seasonal streams
• Searchable database of cities, geographic names, summits, lakes, and more
• Elevation profile on PC and compatible units; estimate terrain difficulty
• Allows you to plan your next outdoor adventure on your PC and download routes, waypoints, and map detail to your compatible Garmin GPS
• Lakes, reservoirs, waterways, rivers, and streams with icons to represent boat ramps, dams, campgrounds, and trails

Piece Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

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Buyer's feedback: - * Garmin Mapsource Topo 2008 ...
This product seems to have everything that I need to keep my gps adventures
on track. Going with the cd version for the computer and downloading maps as I need them works well. This also lets me upload tracks and waypoints
onto my computer to store and plan routes, and connect waypoints with pictures or web links. I haven't had any problems with this software so far. There also is a link to view your map and waypoints on google earth.
(this requires a download from google) but is a very cool feature.
This software has many features which I haven't yet explored them all but most of the usual items are self explanatory.

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Buyer's feedback: - Good Mapping Software, few shortfalls
Garmin MapSource Topo 2008 was my first purchase of topographical mapping software in four years. Previously, I used a Magellan topo map version on an older GPS unit. I installed Map Source on my Garmin E-Trex Legend HCX, the maps are for the most part high quality. In a week of testing I have come across a couple of errors on back country dirt roads. These errors include roads that do not exist, or are in a state of impassibility, they should probably be re-marked as such. On a final note, an excellent feature is the ability to open up your locations on Google Earth.

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Buyer's feedback: - * Off Roading Made Simple ...
I purchased this software in conjunction with a Garmin 200W GPS unit. While it takes a lot of space I was able to download the entire map to the memory card for the GPS UNIT. It is plenty detailed enough for use in the GPS. The National Geographic software is so busy when you zoom in that it is difficult to understand. The biggest issue that I found is that the roads and the elavation lines are the same color and there are some trails that are not mapped that I would have thought would be there. For example. Arches National Park the trail to Delicate arch. Overall I am very pleased with the program.

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Buyer's feedback: - i found myself!
The last version I had was 2005. This has excellent graphics and much improved maps. Would definitely recommend

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Buyer's feedback: - * Off by 100's of feet AND tough to use - what a deal ...
I see other reviewers have found the same thing - the maps aren't accurate, they are off by 100's of feet. This was easy to verify it wasn't the GPS:
1) Walk/drive down some neighborhood streets with tracking on your GPS
2) Upload the tracks to the map and see how far off the streets they are
3) View the same tracks in Google Earth (which is one of the few easy things to do in this software -- View>View in Google Earth)
4) I see that the tracks are correct on Google Earth, wrong on the maps. 100-300' foot errors are unacceptable for an expensive product like this.

Here's a note I pulled up on their support site, I hope this isn't correct. The map is supposed to be 1:100,000 so I wonder if the accuracy is then more like +/- 130 ft, since the scale is 10x less than the note says. In any case, the circle shown on the device is not 130 ft wide when there's a good fix. It's more like 10ft.

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Question: Why is my position on the map screen not accurate?
Answer:

The basemap in your unit has been drawn from a map with a scale of 1:1,000,000. You can expect an accuracy of .25 miles (1,320 feet) from a map of this scale.

Additionally, when you view your position on the GPS map page, you will notice that a circle displays around your current position. This circle shows the area you can expect your actual position to fall within. The less accuracy the unit has at the time, the larger the circle will be. The diameter of this circle considers both your GPS accuracy and the accuracy of the map to which you are trying to plot your position.


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Another thing -- the online help says I can locate a street address but that option isn't available on my version. So it's close to useless for finding a landmark by street address.

The software itself is really poorly done - it seems like a UI that was designed about 10 years ago.

Free (ie Google) maps would be far more accurate, but Garmin has ensured you can't use them to download to your device with their proprietary scheme. OK, great -- but at least make the software accurate if you're going to do that!
All and all, an overpriced, poorly done product. Oh, and the CD isn't even readable on 1 of my two PCs.