I've been using MapSource for years to plan my trips and download them to my GPS (I know it's no longer supported by Garmin) and am very comfortable using it. My question is, should I switch to BaseCamp? For those who have experience using both, is BaseCamp significantly better? Is it worth investing my time to learn a new system? A lot of posters have mentioned the steep learning curve. Thanks in advance for any comments.
Basecamp has a slightly steeper learning curve than Mapsource. It is different from Mapsource in many (better) ways, but after using it for the last couple of years I would not want to go back to Mapsource.
As a long time user of Mapsource, I found Basecamp to be very confusing to use. However, I think the newer versions of Garmin GPS units will not interface with Mapsource, so you're forced to use Basecamp.
I read in the stored waypoints from my new GPS with Basecamp, store them in a file, then open the file with Mapsource.
Papa Bob 1* 2008 Brookside by Sunnybrook 32' 1* 2002 F250 Super Duty 7.3L PSD Husky 16K hitch, Tekonsha P3, Firestone Ride Rite Air Springs, Trailair Equa-Flex, Champion C46540 "A bad day camping is better than a good day at work!"
I don't remember seeing that much difference between Mapsource and Basecamp. Basically a change of names. I used Mapsource and now use Basecamp. I only use it to transfer routes to the GPS, I use Delorme Street Atlas to create the routes. Basecamp or Mapsource removed too many roads when you zoomed out, and made it very hard to try to plan a longer route.