Very true it is expensive, sometimes they run a $99.00 perstate sale. I have Illinois and Indiana.

There are some quirks in Terrain Navigator Pro that I Don't like. the file system is strange some drawing features are a pain. But for the most part It works well in a SAR environment.

I have used Delorme and Street Atlas and National Geographic, I guess NG was the best of the three for me. But the user interfaces and no UTM, limited printing was a dissappointment.

Even our $30,000 GIS system at work is not perfect. All I can suggest is try before you buy if you can.

Looks like Delorme version 6 will not ship until May, so I'm personally cooling my jets for a while. I asked them about upgrade and the reply, while prompt, was less than I expected: If you purchase a Delorme product that is updated within 30 days of your purchase, they will offer you a discounted purchase offer on the new version. Nothing specific.

ESRI product at work - like ARC View, maybe? I use that at work, but am waiting for IS to install the latest version. I don't enter data or maintain data, though - just an executive user. Database design and maintenance is the real work behind the scenes... and the real expense. I probably give our IS staff nightmares... nah, not really.

Tom

I have loaded both DeLorme Street Atlas and Topo to my HD. Have the entire US for both map sets. I don't remember the steps, but it was very simple. Seems like I ran another program called the extractor which asked me which maps I wanted. I clicked US and it put it all on the HD. Works great.

While you're waiting, check this out. I've never used it, but it says it is free and looks kind of cool.

http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/index.html

Ken