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Nuvi with topog maps possible?

Started by Bill S, November 30, 2012, 04:00:40 AM

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Bill S

A friend of mine wants topog maps loaded onto a Nuvi 200 gps unit. Is this possible and does anyone know of any problems I may encounter? Also, if I have any problems, can I reload the map base or will I overwrite it in the process?
Thanks for any help.

Boyd

#1
It should be no problem to load a topo on that Nuvi. No worries about overwriting the pre-installed maps, they are stored in a special file and Garmin's software will not delete it. Just follow the tutorials for either Basecamp or Mapsource (your choice)

http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/tutorials/how-to-open-maps-in-mapsource/
http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/tutorials/how-to-open-maps-in-garmin-basecamp/
http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/tutorials/how-to-load-maps-on-my-garmin-gps-unit/

While they will work fine, they will be displayed in a different style from a Garmin handheld GPS. Actually, older Nuvi's like the 200 do a better job than the new models though.

Also, I would suggest making a full backup of your Nuvi before anything else (unless you already have one). Just make a folder on your computer and either drag or paste all the files from the Nuvi into it. This will take a long time since it has a slow USB 1.0 interface and there are almost 2GB of files. But it could save you a lot of grief later if you have a problem.

Bill S

Thanks Boyd. Its actually a Nuvi 205 but I'm sure the procedure is the same. Good idea making a backup before screwing with it. Yea it is a slow USB connection. About 45 min to make a copy of the unit on my laptop.

Will let you know how it goes.

Thanks again.

Boyd

A Nuvi 205 will work fine - I have one myself and in fact the only reason I keep it is for testing the maps I make.  :)

Bill S

Here's how things went:

Made the backup as recommended. Then downloaded the topogs (all of SW oregon in 1:24000 scale, 63 maps, 201.3 Mb). Took about 10 min. No problem with memory or overwriting built-in maps. I did need to go into the settings to enable the new maps. (tools, settings, map, map info) uncheck the CN North America...map and chec the newly downloaded map (NW Topos Topog map) I also changed the Map View to "North Up" rather than "3-D". When zoomed in to between 500' or less on the scale indicator in the lower left corner of the screen, the contours show up well. Any larger than 500" and the contours start to disappear.

We'll see how my friend likes it an let you know.

Thanks again.

Boyd

You might also want to go to Tools > Settings > Map > Detail (or something like that) and set it for "most". That should keep features like contour lines visible when you zoom out farther.