Chat Button

FREE SHIPPING
ON ORDERS OVER $50
(U.S & CANADA ONLY)

Browse Products

gps

GPS Map Software

Base Maps vs. Detailed Maps:

Navigation vs. Mapping

Navigation:

When navigating to a destination on a non-autorouting GPS unit, the unit will simply point you in the right direction using an on screen arrow and tell you how far you have to go to get there (i.e. 6.2Km with a compass arrow pointing North). Imagine now that you are (on a road) traveling North to get to your destination when you come to a T-junction where, if you turn left you will head West and if you turn right you head East. Your GPS is telling you to carry on 5.4Km's Northwards. Which way do you turn?

How to choose a GPS

Which Manufacturer?

Chances are, you have already heard the name 'Garmin' when talking GPS anywhere in South Africa. This is due to the fact that Garmin have by far the largest chunk of the GPS market share in this country. When we started this business in 2002, we did extensive research into the recreational GPS market from a GPS dealer's point of view. We weighed up factors such as the backup and support from the distributors, the quality of the GPS systems themselves and the availability of map software.

How can GPS benefit me

Benefits:

Just think how much time, money and (most of all) stress you can eliminate from your life.

(1). How would you feel if, every time you climb into your car, you knew exactly how to get to wherever you were going AND how long it will take you to get there - even at night or in a unfamiliar city, town or suburb?

Types of GPS Receivers

Handheld GPS:

Basic GPS Systems:

Buying Local vs International

Firstly, when comparing the prices of a GPS package in South Africa to those advertised on a US website, make sure that you are indeed comparing 'APPLES to APPLES'.

  • Some Garmin GPS units have different specs depending on where in the world they are sold (the US version Garmin Quest sold in the USA, for example, only has 115Mb of built-in memory while the Atlantic version which we get here in SA has 243Mb of memory).

Basemaps Explained

What are the basemaps?

Garmin mapping units come with built-in, factory installed, permanent basemaps that cannot be altered. These basemaps come in a variety of global designations (i.e. Americas Recreational Basemap, Atlantic Recreational Basemap, Pacific Recreational Basemap, Americas Autoroute Basemap, Atlantic Autoroute Basemap, Americas Highway Basemap, Atlantic Highway Basemap and Pacific Highway Basemap).

GPS for City Use Local and International

OK, so you’ve decided that you want to buy a GPS. You’ve also been able to figure that you need a "city navigator" autorouting type of unit (mainly for city/urban use and local or international traveling). Now you look at the available options and find 10 different units to choose from… What now?

The easiest way to categorize the units is as follows:

[Please Note: We categorize "Outdoor" use as hiking, biking, geocaching, hunting, fishing and other off-road & handheld use.

Loading And Unlocking Your Garmap Maps

Everyone get many queries on a daily basis from people battling to understand / download / update / unlock their Garmap Southern Africa Streetmaps v.1 detailed map software to their StreetPilot or Nuvi GPS unit.

How GPS Works

How GPS Works

For those who are unfamiliar with the term, GPS stands for Global Positioning System, and is a way of locating a receiver in three dimensional space anywhere on the Earth, and even in orbit about it.

Mapping on GPS

Mapping

Knowing where the device is in space is one thing, but it is fairly useless information without something to compare it with. Thus, the mapping part of any GPS software is very important; it is how GPS works our possible routes, and allows the user to plan trips in advance.

Getting Started with GPS

Getting Started

There are a few solutions available to consumers, ranging from sophisticated in-car GPS systems, which feature voice guiding, powerful dynamic route calculation, and the possibility to update the map from a CD.