Do I really need ALL the states on my card? 60csx

[MichaelJ07]

So, I got to thinking, do I really need all the 50 states loaded on my SD card when using my 60csx?  I really just hang in Michigan and Ohio for most of my daily existence.  I mean, I really don't think I'll be hunting elk in Montana or Grizzly bear in Alaska within the next two lifetimes.  Do you think that having less data to read, the 60csx will refresh faster?

When you're up all night, ya think of these things.  Don't ya?

[Boyd]

If you are using Garmin's Topo US 100k, you can't put all the states on your 60csx. It has a limit of 2,025 map segments - the tiles that make up each map. You will pass that limit long before you run out of space on a memory card. US Topo 100k on DVD has ~6,500 segments, so you could only load 1/3 of the US. The full map of the US would require a little under 3GB of memory, so in this case you would hit the segment limit with only about 1GB of map data.

Garmin makes a special version of the 100k topo on a pre-loaded data card. It only uses about 500 map segments, but you cannot add other files to the card. So on a unit like the 60csx with no internal memory, that could be limiting.

If you want to load the whole US with maps from this site, I'm not sure how that will work out, but suspect you will run into the segment issue that way also.

[maps4gps]

The post 'SD vs SDHC and maximum gb size used by garmin devices' said yesterday that Garmin said 'The device has to read through the card each time it is turned on.' so the more you have on it, the longer it will take to get started.

Having it all for a first responder could be critical; for the rest of us ... 
For some the light comes on, for others ...
On those units which can only use a gmapsupp.img file, you could spend a huge amount of time uploading/reuploading never used data each time a new or updated mapset becomes available.

[MichaelJ07]

Yeah, it was reading that post that generated my question.

I only have Michigan and Ohio with the topo 100k and of course, your wonderful, more accurate than an atomic clock, Mi and OH maps.

But, for City Navigator, I would only make a file for the states I usually travel in Mi and ohio and Indiana for example?  I run the 60 off the 12 volt power supply in the truck all the time.  The search and refresh rates are awesome.  But, when out in the woods tagging whitetails, it will be on batteries.  If I had a full card on the device, I would think it would act a little slower having to read the whole card.

I'll make me some different cards and check them out this week as I am heading for the woods in a few hours.

I appreciate deeply all the efforts that the folks here offer to us.  You all have made life a whole lot more enjoyable for me.

Mike