Zoom Levels

Hi, Here is an unofficial site which has lots of users of Oregons.

http://garminoregon.wikispaces.com/

Hopefully folks there can answer your question. This forum, as you know, is oriented to BaseCamp.

hth, Ron

I have never used the Discoverer maps, but I know some of them are raster-based - in other words, they are scans of paper maps. Is that what you're looking at? If so, the map settings you describe won't have any effect. They only work with vector-based maps (which are a collection of lines, points and polygons that the GPS interprets). With raster-based imagery, all you can do is zoom in and out.

With vector-based mapping, the zoom level settings determine when an element appears on the screen. For example, if you set the zoom level for streets at .2 miles, they would appear on the screen until you zoom out farther than .2 miles, at which point the should disappear.

Text size should be obvious, it determines the size of the text used to label things like roads and cities.

Shaded relief is not applicable to all maps, only certain topo products distributed by Garmin that contain data to describe the height of the terrain. This produces shading around a mountain, for example. If your map has this feature, you can turn it on or off using that menu. Turning off shaded relief sometimes makes the map more visible on the screen in difficult lighting conditions.

Again, these only work with vector based maps, because the GPS is reading a database that describes all the lines, points and polygons and then creating the image on your screen. Therefore you can set these options to control how it is rendered. With a product that is based on a scanned paper map, all the GPS can do is display it on your screen.

The Oregon Wiki that RONDI7 has linked to is excellent. There are also several other forums where Garmin handheld units are discussed, such as: http://forums.gpsreview.net/viewforum.php?f=21

Thanks for your comprehensive reply, OSROFF01.

I am sure that you have hit on the answer so far as mapping is concerned and that many of those options are not appropriate for my maps.

However the same question applies to zoom settings on routes. Your definition of Zoom settings is exactly what I thought it was, that is with my eTrex Vistas. However, when I try to apply those zoom settings to waypoints generated when creating a route I cannot make them disappear and my route looks very cluttered (see attached).

I am assuming that, within these settings, "waypoints" are generated by Basecamp when drawing a route and "user waypoints" are generated manually when, say, marking a location?

Thanks for the endorsement on the two alternative web sites - I shall give them a try.

Fogot to attach image