? For Mike M FHS

[Gilligan]

Mike, can you or anyone at FHS put a time table on if or when we will see any Map Source mapping for Erie's east basin and Chautauqua Lake in NY? It's a bit dissapointing buying a unit with these capabilities and no maps to go with it.

[Mike Michalak]

It is my understanding Garmin has another release of maps coming early next year. The difficulty is the eastern basin is not in a digital format, so it must be converted. The same goes for the waters of NY.

But, we are addressing these issues! Keep an eye on your local dealer and/or our Website (www.fishinghotspots.com)

Thanks for the inquiry!!

[Blazer]

Mike,

I live in Wisconsin and am in the market for a GPS with mapping capabilities. I have been to several places looking at GPS units and the Fishing Hot Spots Map CD and have asked the question several times re: "how much memory in Megabytes is necessary to download the entire state of Wisconsin for which you have maps ready for" and I haven't gotten a good answer yet.

So can you help me with this? I think I would like to know this info when determing which GPS unit to get as they all have varying memory limits for downloading maps. Or is it that after you "unlock" the State of Wisconsin, can the Fishing Hot Spots maps be downloaded for just maybe the lakes you will be immediately fishing so that you can get away with less memory in the GPS? (I.E.- When you unlock the region, can you just put a few lakes in your GPS memory or do you have to load the whole enchilada?)

Thanks for your help!
Blazer

[Mike Michalak]

Blazer,

Specific unit questions can be directed to Garmin, but I think I can run a little ways with this. As with any computer, the more memory, the more you can do with it. It's my understanding that the "entire" state cannot be downloaded. The amount of processing space needed is immense and these portable units don't have the horsepower yet to handle it.

You are correct in your assumption that several lakes can be added at one time, once the CD is unlocked. Again, Garmin can provide accurate numbers for you as they pertain to specific units. The MapSource product has proven itself in a really short time and both Garmin and FHS are working to make it even better. Sometimes, the software does drive hardware development and if the market says it the units need more number crunching memory...they'll work it.

Hope this answers your questions...good luck on the water!

[SUPERTROLLER]

Once you download a lake off the CD, can you go back and download it again, say a year later, if you copied over the card to use it to fish different lakes? What does "unlocking" the CD actually mean? Can't you reuse it again and again?

[Mike Michalak]

"Unlocking" the MapSource program simply allows you access to that particular region. It's there for as long as you need it, loading whichever maps time and time again.

We know of one user who stores separate maps in his system for each species he fishes for. Neat concept.

[SUPERTROLLER]

Thanks Mike. Glad you frequent this site and answer questions quickly and with quality info.