Question

[GarethHem]

Hi all,
I have a Garmin NUVI 1340 Nav and Im going to Florida soon for my holiday. Is it just a case of download a map onto a memeory card, insert and away I go??

Thanks,
Gareth

[Seldom]

Not normally.  Details below:

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/

Also, bear in mind that most maps on this site aren't routable.

[Boyd]

Topo maps will work on your Nuvi, but that particular model makes them look very ugly unless the author has taken pains to tweak them for the Nuvi - 99% of authors don't. Actually it might be closer to 99.5% 

I used to have a 1350 myself, so I speak from experience. Now you might still find them useful, and you might not be as particular about how a map looks as me, so give it a try and see what you think. And Seldom makes a good point about the lack of routing capability.

[maps4gps]

'... 99% of authors don't. Actually it might be closer to 99.5%'.

That sure would be nice if there were 100 or 200 map authors creating topo maps.

[Boyd]

My point exactly. 

Actually I've got an article in the works for GPSReview that will contain a few versions of a custom .typ file to vastly improve the appearance of topo maps on different models in the Nuvi series.

This gets into a tricky area for GPSFileDepot, since it might be viewed as bordering on modifying maps that somebody else made, something that's frowned on here. But I am doing it because the Garmin topo map that I paid good money for is basically unusable on my Nuvi 3550 but looks great when you add a custom .typ file. 

[babj615]

Look forward to your article, Boyd. I have been creating my own custom TYP files just this week!

[Boyd]

Thanks. If any of the map authors here are interested, they will certainly be welcome to include these files with their own maps, or point Nuvi users to where they can be downloaded. I posted several before/after screenshots to a thread on "better looking topo maps" in the Nuvi forum at GPSReview.

Unfortunately, I find that 4 different .typ files are needed to make a topo map look its best depending on how you're using it.

Basecamp/Mapsource require their own .typ

Garmin handhelds (Montana, Oregon, etc) require another one

Nuvi's with 480x272 screens need a different .typ

The 3xxx Nuvi's require something completely different due to the 800x480 screen and 3d terrain capability.

Fortunately, JaVaWa's GMTK program makes it very easy to switch between different .typ files or completely disable them. This is an important step forward, because it was rather awkward for the average user to do this before.

[babj615]

Boyd, are yo also going to address how different TYP files appear in BaseCamp/MapSource?

I am finding some colors will work on my Garmin Montana 650/Oregon 650/Oregon550 but do not appear correctly in MapSource or BaseCamp.

Lots of trial and error!

[Boyd]

Actually I find that I can make the Nuvi and Mapsource look remarkably similar, BUT you need a separate .typ file for Mapsource. So you would insert the "Nuvi-style .typ" into the mapset and then send it to the GPS. Afterwards you would "replace it with the "Mapsource-style .typ" for using the map on your computer. Mapsource and Basecamp map rendering is virtually identical in my experience, however they display titles differently (Basecamp has more controls for this).

Now all of this is based primarily on my work with polygons and lines, I have not been making any fancy POI's. Judging from other threads around here, that's where it gets complicated. 

And of course the Nuvi just won't display many of the topo map POI's at all. That kind of problem is beyond what can be fixed with a .typ file. The Nuvi also doesn't like to display certain line types unless you zoom in super far. I have actually used non-standard line types for things like railroads and trails in my own maps to address this issue. I imagine you could use a similar technique to help with POI's.

Trial and error is DEFINITELY the name of the game. But I am also kind of obsessive about this and my background as an artist/designer makes me a lot more critical than most people would be.