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Be Gentle: First Time User Question Re: Maps/SD Cards

Started by Yooper, November 30, 2010, 07:44:40 PM

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Yooper

Sorry for the long title and I hope this question is in the right part of the forum. 

GPSr: Oregon 450t

Question:  Despite the fact that this unit comes with preloaded topo maps, I'm going to want to add more maps in the future.  Specifically Michigan (Upper Peninsula) and Canada (Ontario).  I know that I can purchase 24k maps from Garmin or other sources by either getting a loaded micro SD card or by downloading the maps.  Now, would it be best to buy a new, clean micro SD card and use that one card as storage for all the custom maps I would like to create in the future or better to get the micro SD cards that are already loaded with the maps?  Also, as a follow up, if I create maps and save them to the SD card when I go back and add more maps do I have to upload everything all over again? 

I appreciate any input and if I'm in the wrong place just steer me in the right direction. 

Thanks

Boyd

First - you shouldn't add anything to Garmin's preloaded data cards or you risk damaging them. Also, they will not have much free space. If you want to add a bunch of different things, best to get the DVD version.

You can add as many map files as you want to a card (you should also have nearly a GB of free internal memory available before you even need a card). But Mapsource and Basecamp don't take full advantage of Garmin's newer software. Everytime they send a map to the GPS, it will be named gmapsupp.img. But the Oregon can recognize any filename that ends in .img.

So after sending a map, locate and re-name gmapsupp.img to something descriptive like ontario.img. Repeat as needed. And also drag a copy to a folder on your computer. This will allow you to manage maps by dragging and dropping in the future as you collect a library.

Yooper

Great info!  So two more related questions.

1) is it best to download maps into Basecamp first (like free maps from this site) and then upload onto my Oregon when I connect?

2) I've gone through the tutorial on sending maps from Basecamp to my GPS and there is a note under step 9 that says that previous maps will be overwritten when uploading new maps.  Is that the reason for assigning new names while in basecamp? 

jbensman

1) Yes, but to be mor precise, you install the maps into basecamp and MapSource.  Then you can download the maps onto your GPS.

2) Yes

Boyd

Regarding #1 - it's not only "best", but it's the only way to get the maps into your GPS. With few exceptions, the files on this site are not in the correct format to install directly on the GPS. They must first be installed on your computer. You then use Mapsource or Basecamp to send the map (or portions of the map) to your GPS.

Yooper

Thanks again for all the help folks.  With the help on this topic plus a few hours of reading other posts I was able to install a few new maps on my Oregon 450t with absolutely no problems.  Just put the card in the reader, ran the files, installed maps and I'm up and running.  Much easier than I thought it was going to be.  Maybe someday I can pay it forward and help someone out. 

Thanks again!! 

Boyd


jrredho

Quote from: Boyd on November 30, 2010, 08:47:26 PM
You can add as many map files as you want to a card (you should also have nearly a GB of free internal memory available before you even need a card). But Mapsource and Basecamp don't take full advantage of Garmin's newer software. Everytime they send a map to the GPS, it will be named gmapsupp.img. But the Oregon can recognize any filename that ends in .img.

So after sending a map, locate and re-name gmapsupp.img to something descriptive like ontario.img. Repeat as needed. And also drag a copy to a folder on your computer. This will allow you to manage maps by dragging and dropping in the future as you collect a library.

Boyd, this is fantastic information.  My guess is that there are enough people interested in this exact topic that it merits a tutorial.  That is, if you're feeling generous enough with your time to create one... :)

Thanks!

cheers,
john