• High-sensitivity GPS receiver that gets better reception under canopy and in deep canyons
• Barometric altimeter provides improved elevation data
• Electronic compass allows you to find a bearing while you are standing still
• IPX7 waterproof case lets you work in the rain and drop it in a puddle
• Large, color TFT display for easy day and night viewing
• Built-in Americas autoroute basemap, which gives you the basic layout of the major roads in the area
• Built-In Waypoint averaging, which allows you to get a more accurate waypoint position
• Good Battery life and field replaceable, AA batteries.
• Ability to add an external antenna

These last three benefits are what i consider making this a very useful mapping gps. The ability to add a external antenna is very useful while driving, or for stashing you gps in your pack and still being able to track. This is great when used in conjuction with a digital camera, and being able to geotag the images. The waypoint averaging allows you to increase the positional accruacy by averaging thelocation instead of taking a one time reading as the waypoint location.

There are a couple of tools out that can help you import kml to shp but the best one that i have found is the Department of Natural Resources of Minnesota DNR Garmin extension. You can download the script at the DNR website. This program can also be used as a stand program if you do not have ESRI ARCgis. Open the kml file by going to the file menu and selecting Load From -> File. On file type drop down select the kml file extension and browse to the file you want to load. An Output Shape dialog box will appear and select between Point, Line, or Polygon depending on the format you want the data displayed as. When the file has successfully loaded you will not want to save it as a shp by going to File -> Save To -> File. In the Save as Type drop down menu you will have two choices of shapefile to save it as. You can save it as a projected or unprojected shapefile. Select the one you want, browse to where you want it saved and name the file. When the process is complete you will have the kml data in a shapefile that you can open in Arcview or many other GIS software packages. Before you bring it into ARCgis remember to define the projection as DNR Garmin does not do it.

Converting KML files to shapefile is only one of the many great features of DNR Garmin, and they are continually updating and improving it. If you work with Garmin GPS receivers in your GIS work flow this utility will help you easily incorporate the data into you regular working environment.[ad#Google Adsense under post links]

Here you will select the Tracks icon, this will take you into the tracks access menu.

At the tracks menu page you can; turn tracking on/off, clear your track log, save it, trackback, and access the track setup screen, which is where we want to go.

Use the drop down menu to select the TIME interval, and then set the interval to 1 second.

I also make sure that the Wrap When Full box is Not checked. If you think that you will run out of memory adjust the time interval possibly to 2 seconds. If this is not an option you will have to make arrangement so that you can download your gps in the field when it gets full.