Hi folks Im new to gps units and have looked at various ones and am drawn to the oregon 450. Before I buy one I would like to know of any map license issues. I have a friend with a garmin edge and rather than us both buying the exact same maps is it possible to use the sd card with maps from one unit on another, can maps be copied on to an sd card for use with any unit, can you only use garmin maps or can you use memory maps on the 450. cheers plod1
You just missed the big Oregon sale at REI. >:( But wherever you buy, Garmin is offering a $50 rebate, so be sure to download the paperwork and apply.
You don't say what country you're in, so I'll assume it's the US. With City Navigator, if you purchase Garmin maps on DVD or via download, they will be permanently locked to the first unit they're installed on. You can copy them, but they will not work on any other GPS. If you purchase maps pre-installed on a memory card, then that card can be used in any GPS - they will not be locked. However the memory card itself is copy protected, so you cannot duplicate it. So you would have to share that one card and could not both use the same map at the same time.
If you purchase the Garmin 100k or 24k Topo products on DVD, they are not locked. Not sure if the license allows you to share this with another individual however. I believe the download and memory card versions will be as I described above for City Navigator however.
Of course, you can use the free maps from this site as an alternative. :)
Im in the UK so not so sure if we benefit from the rebate or whether i will be able to source maps from this forum for my use. cheers
Quote from: plod1 on September 13, 2011, 12:12:28 PM
Im in the UK so not so sure if we benefit from the rebate...
I believe that it's a North American Rebate.
Go to Garmin.com and see if they're offering the rebate in the UK. Here are a couple places to find free, open source maps:
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OSM_Map_On_Garmin/Download
http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/
I have read good things about these as well:
http://www.talkytoaster.info/
All from OSM data. TalkyToaster sums up accuracy issues pretty well here:
QuoteCAVEAT: No mapping solution is perfect.
From OpenStreetMap:-
"By the very nature of the wiki-style process there is no guarantee of accuracy of any kind. Then again, few proprietary maps carry a guarantee of accuracy, either. In fact, some have artificially-introduced errors."
Furthermore, I and others have already confirmed this with even GB OS maps; deliberate errors and moved paths (some from 10 years or more after the change was documented by the local council/county are not reflected on the latest OS maps). Not everything is accurately mapped, even on 1:25K. All maps should be considered a guide, not a factual statement.
That's a nice way to put it. Of course, there is a very old tradition of intentional errors on maps that the cartographer included so they could trace plagiarized versions. Kind of like our modern digital signatures. :)
buy it! i got mine a few days ago and have already downloaded several free maps,gone geocaching and we are taking it to the naches trail sunday. i recomend changing the background to white too.this is my very first gps and i am no computer guy but this thing is pretty easy.download basecamp and start messin with it.rei ,even though the sale is over, has good price,great warranty and 10 in stock in tacoma with a rebate too -see you on the trail