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Loading Maps - Best Practices

Started by TulsaDavid, November 12, 2011, 08:09:03 AM

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TulsaDavid

This thread is a product of having read numerous threads on this forum. Looking for the best practices regarding maps.

Would one of the best practices be to load up my Garmin 62s through MapSource, combining the various maps into one file?

My Garmin 62s works just fine with a 32GB microSD card. However, one of the tech guys at Garmin told me that the largest tile it will work with is 8GB. I've also read on here where people load images, different tiles, etc., making good use (and in some cases total use) of their microSD card.

So, is one large tile (file) best? In your experience, how much of the U.S. seems to load best into one file (topo and trails)? (I'll be hiking some of Arches and Canyonlands soon.)

If one large file is not the best way, what do you find to be the best balance?

Obviously, wisdom being sought. :)

maps4gps

One large file was the only way to go with the older units.  It had the drawback that anytime some data was added or deleted, the entire file would have to be recreated.

The newer models, like your 62, allow the gmapsupp.img file which MapSource and BaseCamp send to the GPSr to be renamed with anyname.img extension.  It has been reported that a single .img file on the newer units does NOT allow individual mapsets within it to be enable/disable seperately.

There is an file size limit for each .img file on the GPSr; do not remember if it is 2 or 4Mb.
There is also a limit on the number of quads/segments which the unit can handle.  The often quoted 4000 is high, I get error messages at 3944; one post said 3860 which worked for me.

How much of the US are you actually going to be going to? 
Which mapsets sets for the US map?


TulsaDavid

#2
I need them for Utah and Oklahoma. I've download maps for Arches, Canyonlands and other areas in Utah, northern Arizona and Oklahoma. Should I combine them?

Seldom

If you have downloaded the maps you want to load and have installed them in MapSource it will show a list and count of maps selected for installation as well as the total map sizes.  MapInstall in BaseCamp gives you a total of map sizes, but no tile list or count.

If you have BaseCamp installed but don't have MapSource installed, you can download and install the latest MapSource update.

OK and UT won't come close to tile and file size limits.

babj615

I still use MapSource to install maps to my Garmin GPSr's because MapSource allows you to change the name of the Map "as it will be seen in the GPSr Map Menu":

http://imageshack.us/f/823/loadmapsfrommapsourcead.png/

I think they limit the total number of maps you can have on the unit to ~20, beyond that they will not be read.

Remember, the fewer maps you have enabled at any given time, the faster the unit responds, so I like to keep maps of areas I will not be using together separate and simply enable the map(s) I need for the area I am in!
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Boyd

One of the things I like about my Montana is that it shows you the *filename* of each map in the enable/disable menu. For example, if there's a map named "West Virginia 24k Topo" and I name the file "wvatopo.img", both of these names appear in the map menu on the Montana. On my Oregon, it would only show "West Virginia 24k Topo".

Maybe some of the other new Garmin units like the 62s also do this?

Seldom

Quote from: Boyd on November 12, 2011, 10:40:47 AM
One of the things I like about my Montana is that it shows you the *filename* of each map in the enable/disable menu. For example, if there's a map named "West Virginia 24k Topo" and I name the file "wvatopo.img", both of these names appear in the map menu on the Montana. On my Oregon, it would only show "West Virginia 24k Topo".

Maybe some of the other new Garmin units like the 62s also do this?

Pretty much like you said, Boyd. My 62s displays the tiles and map product in the gmapsupp.img file and the filename and product name of any non-gmapsupp.img files.  So for the gmapsupp.img it displays tilenames and Desert Southwest, but for an OSM map I extracted from http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/ it displays "TexasOSM" (my name for the IMG) file and "OSM Word Routable" as the product name.  It doesn't display the IMG extension, however.

TulsaDavid

So it seems like with the 62s you still rename whatever you wish to be "primary" to gmapsupp.img?

Seldom

No, you can call it anything you like, but if it's named gmapsupp.IMG the unit software is smart enough to look inside and tell you what's there.

TulsaDavid

There are a lot of maps on here. My Garmin 62s comes with a basic map, so should I gravitate towards the transparent maps?

I've pretty much stayed with the Editors Choice maps, except for a few specific maps of Arches-Canyonlands, South Utah overlay, Utah Topo and Arizona, Oklahoma, etc. However, most of them are not transparent, even the picks. Is that really any matter?

Seldom

Transparent maps are mostly used to overlay other maps to provide data that doesn't exist on the originals like topo and high detail hydrography. 

You would want to disable transparent TOPOs if you had another non-transparent TOPO you were using because the topo lines wouldn't "exactly" line up and the resultant map would be confusing to read.  Same applies to MyTrails if you have another map you are using for trail data.  Try it out with OK data and see how it works.

The basemap on the GPSr is a low detail map that I wouldn't want to overlay a transparent map onto.  It's of use in long zooms (over 100 miles or so.)

TulsaDavid

#11
Excellent information, Seldom, maps4gps, babj615, Boyd.

I see that in using MapSource to send my maps to Removable Media (my microSD card),  it automatically created the \garmin folder.

(Adding a few notes here and there:) I also see that Arizona, Utah and Oklahoma only made a 664MB file (extra topos included).

Getting the hang of it.