HELP PLEASE! USER DEFINED: POIs, POI Categories, Sub Categories, and Icons, etc for Magellan MapSend /Meridian Gold SE

Having recently acquired Magellan Meridian Gold Special Edition, and
having read numerous reviews rating this GPS receiver among the best,
I am sorely disappointed at the lack of and/or quality, accuracy and
timeliness of Magellan's predefined data such as POIs and related
categories and icons.

I use Magellan MapSend (S&D and Topo Canada) PC software to plan my
treks and to code and download waypoints etc., working from hard UTM
NAD27 topo maps (scales from 1:20k to 1:250k).

As an aside, I have also been unable to find a method [or even mention
of it within the documentation] to change the coordinate system and
datum source used by MapSend to make it agree with both my receiver
and with my standard UTM maps [upon which the Magellan base maps are
allegedly based]).

By definition POIs are relatively static within a finite time space
and define a spot which will likely remain in place for months or
years.

Waypoints are temporary- defining the start or finish of a leg of a
route which may get refined or deleted at my pleasure.

However, the user is forced to define static POIs as fleeting
waypoints using non-standard, cryptic, and generally unreadable icons.

Although the predefined POI categories and POIs are probably fine
(although grossely incomplete) for motoring, they are TOTALLY
inadequate for my purpose which is wilderness camping, canoeing and
hiking, where I may not see another soul for 10 days, let alone a
restaurant, zoo, or WalMart.

Within MapSend, I require the ability to define a POI structure along
the following lines with each POI having a standardised Icon as
defined by NRCAN/MNR ON:

POI Category:                         'Trekking'
        SubCategory:                         Water Features
                POIs:                                        Lake Elevation
                                                                Dam (man-made)
                                                                Dam (beaver)
                                                                Waterfall
                                                                Rapids (Class 1, Class2, ...Class5)
                                                                Liftover
                                                                etc.

        SubCategory                        Land Features
                POIs:                                        Access Point
                                                                Launch Point
                                                                Portage, Maintained
                                                                Portage, UnMaintained
                                                                Campground
                                                                CampCluster
                                                                Campsite, Canoe
                                                                Campsite, Trail
                                                                Emergency Cache
                                                                Ranger Station/Tower
                                                                Lookout        
                                                                Geological, botanical, historical, and
cultural features                                                        
                                                                etc.                                                        
                                                                
Portages, trails and logging/mining roads are static, non-linear,
multi-leg subroutes again with standardised pictographic properties.


If anyone has any insight or may want to collaborate on a solution to
these problems, I would greatly appreciate your input even if trivial.
I am a literate computer geek and know there is a solution to this
problem buried somewhere within the MapSend/Raima support files.

Trekker wrote:


Menu, Setup, Datum and Menu, Setup, Coord System will change those.


I'm under the impression that you can edit and modify the POI database
in the Magellans, check out the POI_DB* programs at this link:

http://www.msh-tools.com/index.html

Did you know that you can edit the names and message associated with
waypoints to convey more information? It will show up when you cursor
over the waypoint.

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA - jackerbes at adelphia dot net
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine.com)