Eagle Electronics FishElite - Manual (Page 15)

7
The background map is suitable for many navigation chores, but for
maximum accuracy and much more detail, you need either our optional
map-making software, MapCreate
 6 or a predefined FreedomMap from
LEI (no PC necessary!). Some unit features — such as searching for busi-
nesses and addresses — won't work without a custom MapCreate map or
FreedomMap. There is so much detail in our background map (and even
more in MapCreate and FreedomMaps) that we'll describe their contents
and differences in Sec. 6, Basic GPS Operations, on page 102.
Another portion of the unit's onboard memory is devoted to recording
GPS navigation information, which includes waypoints, event marker
icons, trails and routes. This lets you look back the way you came.
Think of this data storage like the hard drive memory in a computer or
a tape in a cassette tape recorder. You can save several different GPS
data files, erase 'em and record new ones, over and over again. Like any
computer file, these
GPS Data Files (file format *.usr) can be shared
between Eagle GPS or sonar/GPS units or even personal computers.
This unit has one more thing in common with a personal computer.
Just as computers have a floppy disk drive for storing and exchanging
files, the unit has a slot for an MMC (MultiMedia Card) or SD card (Se-
cure Digital card) flash memory card. These solid-state memory devices
are about the size of a postage stamp, but can hold data ranging from 8
MB to more than 256 MB in size. (Compare that to a floppy disk's 1.44
MB capacity!) This unit uses all that MMC space for two key GPS pur-
poses. (The MMC is also used to record sonar logs…see page 6.)
First, you can backup your onboard GPS Data Files by copying them to
the MMC. Since the MMC is removable (like a floppy disk or a cassette
tape), you can store these GPS Data Files on a personal computer
equipped with an MMC card reader. (Or store them on a pocketful of
MMCs, if you don't have a computer.) Our MapCreate mapping software
can save, edit or create its own GPS Data Files, which can be copied to
the MMC and then loaded from the MMC into the unit's memory.
(
NOTE: No matter where they come from, GPS Data Files must be
loaded from the MMC into memory before the unit can use them.)
The other key GPS use for MMCs is storage of special high-detail, cus-
tom maps, which you can produce on your computer with our MapCre-
ate software. These MapCreate custom maps contain much greater de-
tail than the basic background map. These
Custom Map Files (file
format *.lcm) can also be shared between Eagle GPS or sonar/GPS
units and personal computers.