eTrex Venture
 

Just found a new in the box Venture that I won while on a camping trip in 2007 or 2008. It has the pc interface cable and the unit but no manual so I need help on how to get started and use it. How do I download a google bicycle route into the Venture? Does it already have maps or do I have to purchase and download maps into it (HOW) and is it really worth the cost or is it so outdated as to not be worth it? The box says "with WAAS", and 1 MB memory for poi.
I will be using it for bicycle road navigation only but would love for it to have road maps like car gps units have as well as off road trails if possible to not get lost.
Thanks,
Tony

From Garmin's site:
http://www8.garmin.com/manuals/eTrex...nersManual.pdf

Thanks, I got the manual. Now want to hear from bicycle users for tips and info.

...

Thanks for the help. I need info and obviously not getting what I need on other foums so why not try and help me? I double posted because trying to hit a targeted useers group. Soooooo please help me.

I have and use an eTrex Vista Hcx which is very similar to your Venture (i think). City Navigator is the Garmin software maps/program that can be used with the eTrex. It has route planning and the ability to load the routes from a computer to your unit. Its expensive though and has a poorly designed user interface, IMHO.

For free you can download the BaseCamp software from Garmin. This software allows you to load GPX files onto your unit. You can use the the Bikely online routing system to create the GPX files.

Thanks for all help.
How do I download a google bicycle route into the Venture? Will BaseCamp allow me to do this? Is it really worth it?
The box says "with WAAS", and 1 MB memory for poi.
I will be using it for bicycle road navigation only but would love for it to have road maps like car gps units have as well as off road trails if possible to not get lost.
Thanks,
Tony

Your Venture has 1MB of internal memory. Unfortunately, there is no space for downloading maps; that 1MB is mostly provided for the ability to save waypoints to your device.

The Vista HCx that BigAura has is very similar to the Venture HCx that I have. Both are eTrex units with a high sensitivity antenna ("H"), color screen ("C") and extra memory via a microSD card slot ("x"). By using the 1GB and greater cards you can purchase cheaply today, it becomes a very capable tool for storing multiple maps and countless routes/waypoints.

Since you already have your device....

As BigAura stated, go to garmin.com and download Basecamp. Just like Mapsource, this will allow you to create and manage waypoints and then upload them to your device. I believe the primary difference between the two is that Basecamp allows a simple process for transferring routes created on other sites (Bikely, ridewithgps, etc) to your device.

When you open up Basecamp or Mapsource, the basemap has limited detail; I'm sure you'll want something additional, but there's no point in purchasing an expensive Garmin map product just for the ability to manage waypoints. Go to gpsfiledepot.com and download a free map. I see that they have several quality maps for the Southeast (link). I downloaded the topo map for CA and find it to be just fine.

The Venture should be a fine tool for helping you find your way back in the event you become disoriented, as well as for navigating you from point to point. If you think you need a device with map storage and greater navigational capability (in addition to auto-routing), then you'll need to upgrade to an HCx, GPSMAP, Dakota, etc, but that's also another $250+ for the device plus city navigator maps.

You can also go here for more help. Let us know how it goes.

Thanks for all the help.

Is there a way to connect my Venture to my laptop? The cable that came with it connects to a tower and there is no where on my laptop to connect the cable.

Ooops, I didn't even think about your Venture having a RS232 connection. I understand that USB adaptors are available, but I don't know if there would be any compatibility issues with using one. I'd suggest either calling Garmin or talking to someone that understands computer cable interfaces a lot more than I do.