GPS Mapping

Eric – with all due respect, your statement "only discover oz maps will work on your sd card" is not true - as I mentioned Hema make a "special" version of their Great Desert Track Map data for use with Magellan GPS units so DiscoverAus is not your only option for some areas (though probably the best). There is also Magellan specific maps of the USA, Europe and Canada and I think South Africa? If you try hard enough you can even make your own maps - see the yahoo mobilemapper user group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mobilemapper
Cheers
Greg

Thanks mate , I stand corrected. I now want to punch the salesman in the none that gave me that info lol .

Thanks

Discover Aus is a load of rubbish. There is so much missing I'd have to be very desperate to use it.

Mad Dog - My only experience with DiscoverAus is in WA so am basing my opinion on experience in a small section of the total package but must say it is pretty good but like most maps, not perfect. If you buy the CD expecting all the never used tracks in the middle of no where you will off course be disappointed and it would be slightly foolhardy to rely on the track coverage of DiscoverAus if your were planning a trip into remote areas. Despite its limitations in certain areas I would say though that for the price and for the target audience the product is excellent. Certainly a great step forward from 10 years ago (well maybe 5) when GPS units only had blank screens. If you have a Magellan it is certainly better that just having the basemap. It is also handy in the more settled areas where road coverage is just about 100% (up till about 6 months before the CD was released anyway).
Cheers
Greg

Greg, After reading some good reviews about Discover Aus I thought it would be a welcome addition to my map collection. I have found it to be a complete disaster with not only major tracks in well used parks here in Vic missing but also large numbers of country sealed roads.

have a look at the pic below. The top map is a shot from Discover Aus while the bottom map is of the same area and is a throwaway map from a Gov Dept. There is so much missing from the Magellan offering, 99.9% of the tracks through this popular park and sealed connecting roads no not appear. I would not give this map to my 5yr old to play with.

map

Mad Dog - classic case of user error - zoom in a bit more on the DiscoverAus map over the Little Desert and you will see all the tracks you desire (more than on the throw away Govt Map actually). To reduce clutter on the screen only major tracks are shown at certain zoom levels – i.e. As you zoom in more detail is shown. Maybe you should let your 5 year old navigate:)
Cheers
Greg

That makes me a classic Goose. I'll have to have another look at it, perhaps it may be of some use afterall. Thanks Greg.

Mad Dog (or is that Mad Goose?. sorry couldn’t help myself) - the only people who don’t make mistakes are those that dont do anything - so don’t dwell on it too long. The fact that the "minor" tracks don’t show up until you zoom in is actually a bit of a pain for the exact reason illustrated by you...its like having to hold a paper map right up near you face to see the detail only to have it disappear when you try and get a more regional view. You can actually change the zoom level at which certain grades of tracks appear but it requires changing the contents of some *.ini files..not so easy unless you know what to do. Anyway, hope you get a bit more out of your investment now.
Cheers
Greg