Lowrance LMS-320, Operation Instructions Manual

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7
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 95.
Another portion of LMS-320'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 LMS-320s, other Lowrance GPS or sonar/GPS units, even per-
sonal computers.
LMS-320 has one more thing in common with a personal computer.
Just as computers have a floppy disk drive for storing and exchanging
files, the LMS-320 has a slot for an MMC (MultiMedia Card) or SDC
(Secure Digital card) flash memory card. These solid-state memory de-
vices are about the size of a postage stamp, but can hold data ranging
from 8 MB to 128 MB in size. (Compare that to a floppy disk's 1.44 MB
capacity!) LMS-320 uses all that MMC space for two key GPS purposes.
(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 soft-
ware can save, edit or create its own GPS Data Files, which can be
copied to the MMC and then loaded from the MMC into LMS-320's
memory. (
NOTE: No matter where they come from, GPS Data Files
must be loaded from the MMC into memory before LMS-320 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 LMS-320s, other Lowrance
GPS or sonar/GPS units and personal computers. (For example, the
exact same MMC, custom map files and GPS data files can be used in-
terchangeably between your gimbal-mounted LMS-320 and the hand-
held iFINDER

GPS receiver.)