7
The performance doesn't stop there. Stored in the permanent memory
of each GPS unit is a basic background map of the entire world. We lock
it in here at the factory — you can't change or erase this map.
The background map is suitable for many navigation chores, but for
maximum accuracy and much more detail, you need our optional map-
making software, MapCreate 6. Some unit features — such as
searching for businesses and addresses — won't work without a custom
MapCreate map. There is so much detail in our background map (and
even more in MapCreate) that we'll describe their contents and differ-
ences in Section 6, Basic GPS Operations, on page 99.
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 other Lowrance 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 (Secure
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!) The unit uses all that MMC space for two key GPS purposes.
(The MMC is also used to record sonar logs.)
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-
