OK, I thought I would start a new thread for this.
I now have in my possesion my new GPS, a Garmin GPSmap64st.
It has batteries - Just alkaline for now.
It turns on, and shows the location.

I want to use the GPS on my trips to record my track during trips, and mark campsites/portages/fishing spots etc. Mostly for my review after trips, or for planning return trips.

Now I need you guys to make me an expert on using this thing!

First question is about memory cards. I know someone mentioned maybe buying a few smaller cards, to make loading/scrolling easier. I know that with cameras, you need to buy faster cards to deal with video...any concerns with the GPS? I don't mind paying a bit more to get what will work best.

Next question is about downloading maps, portages and campsite locations. Will I be using Garmin Basecamp?

I think that is where I will stop for now, unless you guys think I should do something else first. Let me know what I should do to get the most out of the unit.

Thanks,
Don

Memory speed is not that critical. 9 mapsets, 6 BirdsEye topo maps covering BWCA and Quetico use 6GB on a 16GB chip I loaded up. With that chip in startup takes 30 seconds. Just picked up several 16GB Sandisk UltraPlus HC1, $9 each. They work fine. I have a bunch of 4GB chips and use them often.
BaseCamp is the program you will use, should have been included.
Or download it from here.
Turn it on and let it sit in an area with good sat reception for 1/2 hour to update it's almanac. I took mine to work and tracked steps for a few days to to learn, geocaching is another great training tool.

Have fun with it! Use it a bunch to learn. Ask questions as needed.

butthead

I picked up a 16 gig card today, and have loaded basecamp on the computer and fiddled with that.
I took a 1.5 mile walk today, and set some waypoints along the way. So far, everything seems pretty intuitive.

So, I will be going to Quetico in June, and I have the topos for the US that came with the unit. Should I buy the Canadian topos from Garmin, or look elsewhere?

GPSFiledepot Ibycus Topo YumYum portage.


Garmin Birdseye Topo Silver Falls.


2 I like to use. Both internet downloads.

butthead

Thanks BH!
I was on Basecamp and downloaded Aerial imagery for a few State Parks in Indiana. It seems that only aerial imagery is available with my free one year subscription to Birdseye?

When I downloaded the imagery, I believe it went to the internal memory on the unit...how do I direct it to use the memory card?

Uncheck the "copy imagery to device", transfer to chip latter.

butthead

got it, thanks!