California Topo 2011 on Garmin Nuvi?

[SoCalGuy]

Has anyone been able to use the CA Topo 2011 on a Garmin Nuvi? (Model 205, if that matters). It seemed to install OK, and I can see it listed on the Map Info page. Not sure if it's supposed to overlay the default map (City Navigator) or not, but even with only CA Topo active all I see is the base map and no contour info.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[jangeo67]

you have to uncheck citynav. for the topo to show

[Boyd]

Well the OP says that only the CA topo is enabled already. I haven't used that map, but I have an old Nuvi 205 and it works fine with topo maps. Are you certain that you've send the whole map to the GPS? How large is the gmapsupp.img file on the Nuvi?

[SoCalGuy]

you have to uncheck citynav. for the topo to show

Please see above: "even with only CA Topo active all I see is the base map and no contour info."

[SoCalGuy]

Are you certain that you've send the whole map to the GPS? How large is the gmapsupp.img file on the Nuvi?

Thanks for the reply. Didn't send the entire map, but selected the parts for SoCal in MapSource and sent that - do I need to send the entire thing? If so, I can give that a try. The Nuvi is in the car right now, but I can pull it later on and get the gmapsupp file size for you if my question doesn't solve the problem.

[Boyd]

You should not have to send the whole map, just be sure you're looking at the area you actually did send. 

You could also try one of the other California maps to see if it works. That might help us understand if this is a problem with a specific map.

I recall discussion of one of the CA topo maps before however, not sure if it's the same one. But it consisted of two maps in fact. One of them was a transparent overlay containing the contour lines. If you're only using one of those two, it might explain what is happening.

[Seldom]

Nuvis render things oddly.  The latest compiles of Desert Southwest don't work on my Nuvi, but work fine on my handhelds.

[maps4gps]

That is the older CA topo that has two mapsets together.  If Nuvi's have profile settings, they sometimes cause data types not to show on the hand-held units. 

[Boyd]

Profiles on the Nuvi? Nope.

The Nuvi 205 actually does a better job with topo maps than most of the newer models. But this sounds like several other threads where people somhow only installed one of the two mapsets.

[SoCalGuy]

How large is the gmapsupp.img file on the Nuvi?

It's 32,344 KB (32.344 MB) according to Windows Explorer (and the CA Topo 2011 is the only "extra" map on it) - does that sound about right?

[SoCalGuy]

just be sure you're looking at the area you actually did send. 

I'm reasonably sure of that - though this is SoCal, after all...   

[SoCalGuy]

Profiles on the Nuvi? Nope.

The Nuvi 205 actually does a better job with topo maps than most of the newer models. But this sounds like several other threads where people somhow only installed one of the two mapsets.

Curious where I'd find the option to only install one of the two - unless i missed something, there's only one install file for that map (?).

http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/view/523/

[SoCalGuy]

I grabbed the entire map in MapSource and uploaded it to the Nuvi (size = 425,912 KB), and that worked just fine - so maybe it doesn't work with only a portion of it?.

It doesn't overlay over the City Navigator map, but turning that off and Topo on shows the contours over the base map which is a lot more than I had before. Doesn't work great for driving (the routing is a lot more crude, more like several straight line segments vs. following the road itself - CN must have some sort of "snap" function to keep the vehicle icon on the road), but I think I can live with the either/or choice.

I was basically just looking for something different to look at during the commute (and also to learn a little about the local topography along that route), so I'm glad to finally get that working. Kudos to the author, that must have been a LOT of work to compile.  :-)

[SoCalGuy]

If Nuvi's have profile settings, they sometimes cause data types not to show on the hand-held units.

Just for my own education, what are profile settings and how are they used?

[Boyd]

Profiles are a very powerful feature of Garmin's newer outdoor/handheld devices. These models have a lot more menu options to customize their operation so it can take awhile to get them setup just the way you like. But after you do, you can create a profile and give it a name. You typically want to set the GPS up a little differently depending on what you're doing though. So for geocaching you might use a certain map and menu options, for hiking you might choose a topo map and other options, and for driving you might choose City Navigator and still other options.

So you would create separate profiles for each of these activities, and when you choose them from the profile menu in the future, all of your custom settings and the map you chose would be automatically set. Basically, profiles are a way for the GPS to "remember" all the menu choices you have made. As mentioned above, none of this is possible on any of the Nuvi series.

BTW, you need to realize there are two categories of maps - "routable" and "not routable". Most topo maps on this site are not routable. That means they do not contain the information needed to calculate a route and provide turn by turn directions. On the Nuvi, if a map isn't routable then it will create the best route it can using its basemap. But the basemap is really crude and only contains a few of the biggest roads.

So that is what you're seeing with the CA topo, the Nuvi is creating routes from its basemap since the topo does not provide any routing data. Basically, that topo map will only be useful to show your position on the screen. You will need a routable map to provide directions. Garmin's 24k topo map series are routable, FWIW.