viewing map on sd card

[barrylad66]

hi all,
well i have eventually got my garmin etrex vista hcx and now i got to learn about it!
i purchased the laos cambodia vietnam pre loaded card from you,and i need to know how to view it on my gps unit.i want to look at certain areas in laos but when i enter the region i need to know street names and numbers,but i want to look at the city's in general,and try to work out routes.i'm in the u.k at the moment will this make any difference.would like some help as this is the first gps unit i have owned!!!!

regards
ade

[lurkin]

hi all,
well i have eventually got my garmin etrex vista hcx and now i got to learn about it!
i purchased the laos cambodia vietnam pre loaded card from you,and i need to know how to view it on my gps unit.i want to look at certain areas in laos but when i enter the region i need to know street names and numbers,but i want to look at the city's in general,and try to work out routes.i'm in the u.k at the moment will this make any difference.would like some help as this is the first gps unit i have owned!!!!

regards
ade

Congratulations, finally you got your unit. Treat it well, it will remain your good friend for a long time

Generally speaking it is possible to view the map on your unit - if you are willing to fiddle around.
The trouble is that you are actually in the UK and the map you want to view is just on the opposite site of the world. So once you switch on your unit it will show you your current location in the UK.
To "move" to Laos you need to zoom out the map, the unit will automatically display the pre-installed world map.
Use the joystick (top right of your eTrex and press it to the right -> the map starts moving. Carry on until you reach Laos. Now you may zoom in to see the details.

But there is another, much easier way for you to view the map
Download the new, free BaseCamp software from Garmin [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before replyclick here to register] and install it on you computer. This is pretty straight forward and does not require any special knowledge.
Once installed, connect your eTrex using the USB cable and start BaseCamp.

BaseCamp is pretty slow compared to Mapsource but it reads automatically also maps installed on your GPS unit and on the microSD card.
Select the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam map in the top left part of the BaseCamp screen (from your microSD card) and wait until BaseCamp loads the map onto the display window.

Now you can see the map. Zoom in or out to see details or the contours.
Hope that helps.