Ok, I have been running mine for about two weeks now in succession with my laptop running MS Streets & Trips GPS & De Lorme Street Atlas 08 Here are my findings so far.
as far as punching Coordinates it is pretty straight forward. I’m a bit spoiled when it comes to using a laptop GPS system, you just punch in a start point then an end point and it draws a map and route to your destination. I’m still learning the system it is very powerful and will do allot of things for you. They do have a computer hookup you can buy for the BAJA 540c that allows you to use your laptop to make routes real easy then download them on the chip into the GPS unit. I think this is the way to go myself. I’ll be buying the little USB chip plug in from Lowrance.
The screen has four different brightness scales. When you turn the Unit on, it is very bright for daytime driving. All you have to do is hit the power button on the unit one more time and it dims it more, hit it again, and it dims it even more, one more makes it very dim. It works great while driving at night.
The unit comes with a base map of the US but is very basic. I purchased the extra detailed map #F103EX-S of the 10 central US States, this includes the following States. CO, KS, MO, AZ, NM, OK, TX, AR, MS, LA. The map detail is leaps and bounds over the MS & DeLrome products. It gives you actual Topo details, depths of any inland waterways, tiny little creeks, dirt roads, etc. The graphics are pretty cool too. The maps you have to buy extra are about $110. apiece. It’s a little expensive, but well worth the amount of detail that you get.
It is kind of funny, I was talking with Larry the other night, and he called and said “Man! Did you know that when you get close to the end of the detailed map chip, it’s like blank!, it just stops. I laughed, and said yeh, I watched when I went to TN leaving just the Eastern side of Memphis I watched the screen change, it reverts back to the base map with very little detail.
The unit has a cord that comes off it with bare wires so you can hook up a serial port to the end for a computer connection. I plan on doing this myself, that way I can just plug the laptop up load a route to the Unit. I’m sure Larry will have his own report for everyone.
So far I love the Unit, again I have only scratched the surface of its capabilities myself. It even has a RADAR function…Hummmm…
That’s my report so far, Larry can chime in here to when he gets back from AZ.
...
/ WPOK492 
Linear Mode
