Getting maps to work on an old 60CSx

[BabyJesus]

So I've spent a good amount of time trying this out and I haven't had much luck. The only thing I see left to try is downloading MapSetToolkit and cgpsmapper but I'm trying to avoid that if I can.

So I recently got some hand me down Garmins. There is a 76s which I will get around to listing on eBay at some point and a GPSmap 60CSx. The later of which I've taken out for a few hikes and find it fun to use. The learning curve for not saving a track and leaving it as an active log has been quite a pain in the rear but we're getting there. I would like to use it more to compare to my phone/smart watch and have maps downloaded on it. I can't deny the allure of a 20 year old electronic device not only still working today but also being quasi relevant.

Sorry, I got distracted there. The reason I am here is that I have tried adding maps to it without much success. I have basecamp 4.7.5 and I ensured the 60CSx already has the most up to date firmware from 2009. I also have a 256MB Micro SD card. I wish to have maps for the purpose of seeing trails or at the very least terrain for hiking around NE Pennsylvania.

I have downloaded several different maps and most are .img or executables. I know that basecamp needs .ucx or .gma per the upload file options but this is what I saw that was smaller. I know know that the ones marked Garmin Custom on this site will not work on the older 60CSx.

I first downloaded the PA Topo Map (https://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/view/198/) which needed to be installed. I did that and when it didn't work I did some more reading and found that basecamp had to be closed when I installed it so I uninstalled, closed basecamp and reinstalled. Still nothing. I did read somewhere that in newer versions of windows there would be an issue with it editing the registry keys and I just wasn't comfortable doing that manually myself.

Next I found these NE maps (https://garmin.opentopomap.org/#us_northeast) which I thought would be good as it's just a single .img file but no luck with it opening in basecamp in any of the folders and it's too big to directly move to the Garmin.

I later found a map from another site (https://www.userbeam.de/osm/maps/north-america/us-northeast/) which downloaded a single .img file. After doing some more reading I moved it along with the others over to the garmin map folders (Program Files x86 AND ProgramData) but still no dice. After reading about using an external drive I moved the three of them over to there and this was the only one that basecamp could see. When I went to add it to the Garmin though it wasn't in the drop down list. I was hoping this would appear and then I could crop it as you listed in the instructions but the option didn't present itself as I'm assuming it wasn't recognised.

Then I found maps on GMapTool (https://www.gmaptool.eu/en/content/usa-northeast-osm-topo-routable) after searching around. It had a readme which I followed in terms of installing after unzipping but it opened a cmd file (sweating emoji) but didn't seem to do much.

The only one on the list I could add to the Garmin was the My Trails (https://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/view/53/) which is just a transparent map. It had an installation which worked thankfully but it has no map behind it that I can utalise. I added it regardless and it's the only "map" I can currently get to work. I downloaded the trail 100 (https://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/view/250/download/) after I saw that this worked but didn't find it too useful without labels or much detail.

I also downloaded the Northeast Topo United States part 3 of 3 (https://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/view/202/download/) as part 1 didn't have the box checked for trails but it seems to only be a small portion of what I need. it only goes through half the state of PA. When I searched for maps of PA, it didn't include 2 of 3 and again the lack of trails in 1 of 3 made me not download it.

Any help is much appreciated!

[Boyd]

Only have minute right now, but I still have my 60csx and can't understand why you are having problems, it should still be fine as long as you use the correct software and storage media.

For starters, I don't think a 256gb card will be fully compatible, pretty sure 4gb is the max, as this FAQ says

https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=qGfL8GafT70kjKfDzCwGl8

What are .ucx and .gma files? Whatever they are, they will not be compatible, AFAIK. And then there's the larger problem that I think you will always have issues with Basecamp. IIRC, I couldn't get it to work last time I tried with my own 60csx.

You should be using Mapsource (see the tutorials here for how to download/install that). If you're using a Mac, you will need to use a Windows VM. Also not sure whether it works on new versions of Windows.

Another possible issue is the very restrictive "tile limit" on the old 60csx. IIRC, it only allows a total of about 1000 map tiles. This is the total of ALL tiles in ALL maps on the device. If you exceed this number, unpredictable things will happen, depending on the specific mix of maps.

Have a look at Javawa's tools, they can help diagnose and fix problems like this. They may not be compatible with newer operating systems though, not sure because I no longer use Garmin devices, but it's worth checking out as they are very useful

https://www.javawa.nl/jdm_en.html

[BabyJesus]

For starters, I don't think a 256GB card will be fully compatible, pretty sure 4gb is the max, as this FAQ says

It's 256MB, not GB so no worries there. I see that 4GB is supported and 8GB works just fine. As long as it's less than 32GB it can be formatted to FAT or FAT32 which I know is important.

What are .ucx and .gma files?

These are the files that Basecamp are looking for when you try to add maps per the file search criteria.

Mapsource

I downloaded this originally and then saw posts about Basecamp so I deleted it before even trying it.

Another possible issue is the very restrictive "tile limit" on the old 60csx. IIRC, it only allows a total of about 1000 map tiles.

This shouldn't be the issue as I haven't gotten to add it yet to the GPS. I should get to the part where I can crop the map but I haven't seen that yet.

Thanks for the response!

[Boyd]

Haha, sorry, it's been so long since I've heard of 256mb cards that I missed that! You should be fine there then.

I still don't know what ucx and gma files are and think you're on the wrong track messing with those. Basecamp didn't exist when the 60csx was introduced and it was designed for use with Mapsource. It will just eliminate a lot of possible issues if you use that. Garmin stopped developing Basecamp back in 2018, although they did one final update afterwards to fix some serious bugs.

Anyway, good luck. I'm all for nostalgia and have a milk crate full of old Garmin devices that I (literally) spent thousands on. But they no longer interest me, I have very little patience with old technology these days (or Garmin, for that matter) 

[BabyJesus]

Thanks again for the help! I saw an old phone being priced at Salvation Army and asked if I could just buy the card inside it. 4GB for $0.99 so I couldn't turn that down. Used the map I listed above that just downloaded as an .img of around 1GB (https://www.userbeam.de/osm/maps/north-america/us-northeast/). Loaded it directly onto the card as Basecamp didn't recognise it and it works! Thanks again for the help and good luck with that box of old units you have laying around. If you happen to have anything newer than the 60csx that's at least an s model let me know. I'm already looking to upgrade haha

[Boyd]

Bear in mind, .img files are actually "containers" - a file with an .img extension could be two completely different things. One type (like yours) is a compiled group of tiles and additional data to make it recognizable on the GPS. Basecamp will not directly recognize these (neither will Mapsource).

However, if you take a flash drive (or SD card in a slot or reader) and create a Garmin folder on it, you can then copy the .img file there. Basecamp should recognize that and will cache it, which might take a minute or so. Then you can view the map in Basecamp.

But the trick is that this only works with "removable storage" devices and not with files on your computer disk.This feature came along when Garmin started making their devices mount like external disks; it allowed people to use the City Navigator maps in Basecamp without downloading or installing anything, just connecting their GPS.

[BabyJesus]

Thanks for the reminder! I did read that before but had forgotten about it. I could try that with the others I downloaded to see if Basecamp then recognises them. Do I need to have only one file on the external storage and name it as it needs to be for the garmin to read or will Basecamp recognise multiple map files regardless of name?

[Boyd]

I no longer use Garmin devices, but am pretty sure Basecamp will recognize any valid maps in the Garmin folder. Give it a try and see...

[mountain_paladin]

@BabyJesus: Did you get your 60CSx working? I have 2 of them and I can load maps onto both with BaseCamp, the correct cable, and map files from this site. Let me know if you still need help