Can a NUVI tell what county you're in?

There's a POI file that shows state lines. I don't recall seeing one for county within the state you are in. That would be a lot of data.

that would just be extra lines, some states have a bunch of counties.

It will show you where you are compared to the line, but still doesn't know which county or state you're in. For that you would need some kind of a transparent map to cover the area. Not all units supports such a thing though.

This is what I use.

http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/view/10/

JJEN: Do you have that map on your 1490 memory or on the SD card?
Does the map affect your boot-up time?

nickjr made a zip code file that shows what zip code you're in and near....over 40,000 plus entries. Just thinking out loud, I wonder if there's a way to compare zip codes to county ?

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/2356

There's also this one by H Hannah

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/20160

This website returns a county name for a zip code.

http://quickfacts.census.gov/cgi-bin/qfd/lookup

No effect that I can tell. I also include topos of some states which I select as needed. They are all transparent.

I've just put this one on my Dezl 560. I see the lines, but if I'm in the middle of a county, it's going to be hard to tell what county it is. Still, I'll keep it!

I'm a ham radio op, and I operate HF mobile. A lot of other hams "collect counties", trying to talk to someone in each county in the United States. If the GPS could tell me what county I'm in, it would be a lot easier, otherwise, I have to try and watch the signs, and hope I don't miss one.

That is a great find. Thank you for posting that!

Unfortunately it is not always easy to tell which county you are in. You may have to check a few surrounding counties to determine which county it is. The name displayed on the line may be that of an adjoining county.

For Illinois I have created a poi file for each county court house.
Long | Lat | County | Address & City
I hope to have my own pic of each one some day.

I have started a similar file for Indiana and Tennessee.

the data size is way too big to fit into any standalone GPS. You are better of using a smartphone where a cloud center can store the data and automatically download to your phone as needed. That's how Google map operates.

The map overlay should do it.

Oh man, JJEN, you just made my day.

I've been a member here for more than five years ... your "after market" county boundary overlay map is one of the best tips I've ever received on POI Factory. It should be pulled out and made a "sticky".

We travel all over the US in an RV. Often times my weather radio will alert ... but we have no idea what county we are even in.

I've already put the overlay map on my 2460 and my 1450 .. it works perfectly with 2013.1 USA map.

Now granted, you have pull the map around to find a county boundary and name ... but the overlay map appears to work like a charm.

Thanks.

And thanks to the original poster for asking the question about how to tell which county you are in.

I thought everyone here knew about GPSFILEDEPOT. Lots of good stuff there. I like the transparent maps that overlay Garmin maps. I like to use the Topos that are transparent.

No way as there are too many variables. For example a zip code may cover two or more counties. I live in a zip code that that covers two counties.

tried this on a 660, just seen the post today.

I'm interested too. Light me up.

Thankx

From jjen

State And County Lines For USA
This is what I use.

http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/view/10/

Those are OK, but what I REALLY want is for the GPS to tell me what county I'm in when I'm nowhere near a county line.

Good luck on that one as I don't think it is possible. County lines are not uniform and there are so many roads that will cross those lines it would be an impossible task to cover every one in the US.

Another example would be the accuracy of the location. I just live about 1/2 of a mile from the county line that runs right down the street. Park on the south side and you are in one county and if you park on the north you are in another. How accurate do you

When you are on the air just give the other station your coordinates and let them figure out what county you are in. County hunters will have access to that information if they are serious.

Been a ham for 49 years and DX is the name of the game here.

Speaking of DX -- I worked S57DX a few nights ago on 20, and JA3CVX this morning, also on 20. Both from the CAR.

I doubt the GPS will be able to tell me what county I'm in, although it does seem to do that with states.

It works on my nuvi 2455 ... I will try it out and will report back if I have any problems.

--

it's the dog's fault

I understand it would be nice to see what county you are in ...

But like I say ... we do a lot of RV'ing around the country .... it is going to be nice to be able to scroll around and see what counties we are near.

A weather radio ALERT is pretty useless if you don't know what counties you are near ... eg ... a tornado warning has been issued for Peoria, Stark and Woodford County and is headed towards the northeast.

JJEN's find makes it easy to scroll your Garman screen and see what counties are southwest of you.

Another good thing about JJEN's county map is that it is an OVERLAY and has a small footprint ... doesn't slow down Garmin city nav map at all.

I have that map in all my units, 760, c580 and c330. Works well and no problems. I usually am in view map mode and set to a screen shot that shows all the small county roads as I drive along.

The county lines show up nicely and I have plenty of time to read the county I'm in as well as the one I am entering. It just sort of becomes a mental check in the mind where I am at, just like knowing what the current mile marker is.

The things we do with hours of windshield time at our disposal...but it isn't hard to get used to if you do it all the time.

Daniel

Would be nice if pressing the vehicle icon brought up the county information along with nearest gas, hospital and police. How hard would it be to program that? How much extra data would it require?

Good idea, but Garmin would charge for it.

have Where I Am. Giving hospital, police, and your location.

That's what I was referring to two posts above. I forgot that there's a menu icon for it as well. Pressing the blue icon on the map view brings up the same info. Wondering why county info couldn't also be on that info screen.

I am interested in if you use the older style 1050 hZ weather radio or if you have the newer SAME weather radio? I suspect that it is the odler type because otherwise you would have already had to look uo the county to get the SAME code. Anyway, on another forum I was kicking around the idea that it would be handy to have a weather alert receiver that has GPS built in. That way as you travel it could re-tune to the correct frequency for that area AND alert when necessary.

The other idea for the RV situation is the new Wireless Emergency Alert system for cell phones. Not all phones are capable of this, but the ones that are will alert for an emergecny for the area that you are located in. Which is fine if:

-You have a cell phone.

-Your phone has power.

-You are in a coverage area.

-The cell phone is Wireless Emergency Alert capable.

http://www.ctia.org/consumer_info/safety/index.cfm/AID/12081

Fantastic find.

http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/view/10/

That is a fantastic find ... I am always amazed at what I run across here. Thanks so much!

CC

If you dont know what country you are in, then you really need a GPS!!!!

COUNTY not COUNTRY